First On Mission

Ghana 2010 Mission Trip Video

2010-08-18T15:32:00.001-07:00

WorldCrafts Village

2010-08-12T03:54:00.000-07:00

Support artians while buying meaning gifts for your family and friends

Click here for more information.

FBC Ghana Mission 2010

2010-06-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

Front: Fran Manley, Stephanie Broyles, Beverly Elam, Cheryl Read

Back: Jillian Maners, Chris Read, David Conley, Jay Scott, Martin Jones

The FBC Ghana Mission Team will depart on July 9 and return on July 22.

Click here to access the team blog.

Thank you for praying!

Surplus funds to help with adoptions

2010-06-15T07:42:00.000-07:00

Click here to read about how the SBC Pastor's Conference will use surplus to help fund adoptions.

$148.9 Lottie Moon Offering Shows Commitment

2010-06-05T16:35:00.000-07:00

Click here to read about the third largest Lottie Moon Offering in history.

Israel 2010

2010-02-20T19:38:00.000-08:00

Click here for more information regarding a tour/mission trip to Israel.

Mission Trips

2010-02-13T07:54:00.000-08:00

Ghana, West Africa
July 9-21

Israel
Oct 2010

Contact First on Mission at fom@fbcrockwalltx.org if you are interested in being on a mission team.

Sanctity of Life

2010-01-23T11:26:00.000-08:00

Click here to read about the abortion tragedy as reported by the Baptist Press

Baptist Global Response to Haiti

2010-01-15T21:23:00.000-08:00

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A Southern Baptist assessment team is working out logistics for a trip into Haiti early the week of Jan. 18, to connect with Haitian Baptist leaders and craft plans for disaster relief efforts in the aftermath of the 7.0 earthquake that struck the island Jan. 12.

The international community is rallying to meet urgent needs – from food, water and medical services to transportation and security, according to news reports. Search and rescue teams began combing the massive amount of rubble in the devastated capital, Port-au-Prince. Military teams from other countries began establishing communications, transport and security services – critical needs in a country where government offices and basic infrastructure were destroyed by the largest earthquake in 200 years.

The death toll among the city’s 3 million inhabitants could top 100,000, Haiti’s prime minister told reporters Jan. 13.

Serious security concerns could emerge as people become more desperate for food and water in areas where police and military control has not been established, said Jim Brown, U.S. director for Baptist Global Response. The capital’s main prison also collapsed in the earthquake, raising the prospect of criminals escaping into the city. As a result, near-term attempts to travel to the country would be ill-advised.

The five-member assessment team will evaluate ministry needs like rescue operations, medical services and shelter, as well as logistical concerns like transportation and security, Brown said. A separate Florida Baptist disaster relief team is planning its own assessment trip for the weekend and the two teams will collaborate in their reporting to the national Southern Baptist disaster relief network. The teams also will report back on long-term strategies to help Haitians rebuild their lives.

“There are two Baptist conventions in Haiti and the Florida Baptist Convention has historically partnered with one convention while the International Mission Board has partnered with the other,” Brown said. “We will combine our findings to draft the overall strategy.”

The Southern Baptist assessment team will be composed of representatives from Baptist Global Response, North American Mission Board and disaster relief specialists from Kentucky, Mississippi and South Carolina, Brown said.

Initial funding for the relief effort is coming from the International Mission Board’s disaster relief fund. New contributions toward the relief effort can be made at the Baptist Global Response website, gobgr.org. Money donated to the disaster relief fund will be used 100 percent for ministry, Brown said.

Apart from donating to the disaster relief fund, concerned individuals can help greatly by joining in focused prayer for Haiti’s 9 million people, more than 80 percent of whom live below the poverty line, said David Brown, who with his wife, Jo, directs Baptist Global Response work in the Americas.

“We want to encourage Christians to focus their prayers on several points,” David Brown said. “Please pray for those who have been affected by the quake – people who are trapped in rubble or homeless, those who are hungry or injured or traumatized. Pray for all those who are involved in the relief effort, that the Lord would give them strength to deal with the awful conditions they are facing. And pray for those who are trying to organize people and resources to assist with the relief efforts. Pray that God would stir up his people to respond with the love of Christ to help people in desperate need.”

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

Ghana 2010 Mission Trip

2010-01-02T22:14:00.000-08:00

Date: July 2010

If you are interested in knowing more about this trip, contact Cheryl at fom@fbcrockwalltx.org

Commission Stories

2009-12-20T10:14:00.000-08:00

Click here to read firsthand stories from IMB missionaries on the field.

World Mission Offering

2009-12-12T14:18:00.000-08:00

Given with love, by the First Family

$527,000

Operation Christmas Child

2009-10-09T05:08:00.001-07:00

First on Mission will be collecting shoe boxes during the month of October.

Click here to read more about Operation Christmas Child.

2009-09-20T19:30:00.000-07:00

Click here for information about Kids on Mission

Ghana, West Africa Mission Trip Interest Meeting

2009-09-07T19:35:00.000-07:00

Wednesday
September 16
6:00pm
First Baptist Church, Rockwall

New Affinity Group

2009-08-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

Missionaries, new affinity group honored at Southern Baptist Conference of Deaf8/4/2009
By Emilee Brandon

RIDGECREST, N.C. (BP)--A sometimes forgotten people group has stepped into the spotlight as one of IMB’s (International Mission Board’s) affinity groups. The Southern Baptist Conference of the Deaf celebrated this milestone, along with its first commissioning service honoring eight IMB missionaries, July 26 during its annual meeting at LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina.

Seven of the missionaries were recommissioned to another term of service; the eighth is going to the mission field after short-term volunteer service.

The missionaries are among more than 5,600 other Southern Baptist personnel worldwide, including 32 missionaries who use sign languages from various countries to share the Gospel with Deaf peoples. Of the 32, eight are Deaf.

The Deaf are one of nine affinity groups — large groups of related peoples that share similar origins, languages and cultures — outlined in IMB’s reorganization.

Matthew and Virginia Stuart,* veteran missionaries and Deaf affinity group leaders, want to recruit Deaf to serve in ministry, empower them to reach other Deaf communities and then go to places with the most need. Within five years, they hope to increase the number of missionaries to the Deaf to 200, including at least 150 Deaf workers.

“We are committed to … lead efforts to bring Christ to every corner of the Deaf world,” Matthew said.

The identification of the Deaf as an affinity group has not only opened doors for more outreach to the Deaf, it also has opened the hearts of Deaf who never thought they could or would be involved in missions.

“When we first moved to Russia, Deaf Russians told us they couldn’t have a Deaf church,” signed Tex Winsome,* one of the missionaries commissioned at the service. “When we asked them why, the answer was always, ‘the hearing people tell us we can’t because God doesn’t call invalids into ministry.’”

Tex and his wife, Margaret,* have spent more than seven years trying to discourage this mentality. “We planted a Deaf church, and as a result, three more Deaf churches have been established,” Tex said.

For years, the people the Winsomes worked with lost hope because they focused on what people told them they couldn’t do instead of what they could do. “Today the Deaf of Russia have begun to understand that there is hope that the Deaf can,” Tex said.

IMB President Jerry Rankin told conference participants that “your deafness is not a handicap. It is a gift from God to be used to reach others for Christ with that uniqueness that only you have.”

With this unique gift, Rankin said, each person has the potential to reach multitudes of Deaf for the Gospel. Jason Shifflett, one of those attending the conference, hopes to fulfill that potential.
Although Shifflett is not Deaf, he grew up between two cultures — his mom is hearing, his dad is Deaf. “My first language (was) sign language,” the 20-something said.

“It’s really given me a unique position,” he said of his dual upbringing. “I don’t want [it] to go to waste, ever.”

Shifflett, who attends Deaf Fellowship Church in Grove, Okla., came forward after the commissioning service to learn more about Deaf missions opportunities abroad.

Learn about the affinity groups, including the Deaf, at imb.org/main/aroundtheworld.asp. E-mail deaf@imb.org to find out how you can be involved in sharing Christ with the Deaf around the world.
*Name changed
Emilee Brandon wrote this story on behalf of IMB.

FBC Ghana Mission Trip Update

2009-07-16T06:01:00.001-07:00

Click here for updates on the FBC Ghana Mission Trip.

Explore People Groups on Google Earth

2009-06-04T19:31:00.000-07:00

Click here to start exploring.

Telling the Story of Jesus

2009-04-26T19:46:00.000-07:00

International Mission Opportunity in Dallas!

2009-03-26T08:06:00.000-07:00

Click here for more information on how to share the love of Jesus with people from around the world.....right here at home!

Summer Mission Opportunity

2009-03-15T18:43:00.001-07:00

Local Summer Mission Opportunity for Families

Mission: Feeding children a lunch provided by a federally-funded lunch
program for low-income school children.

Time: 1 1/2 hrs daily for as few or as many days as you want

Date: Anytime from June 8 thru July 31

Place: Brittney Place Apartments
14222 Dallas Pkwy
Dallas, TX
**Located near the Galleria**

Contact: Barbara Oden 214-789-1405
barbara.oden@charter.net

Families on Mission

2009-02-25T08:22:00.000-08:00

Interested in taking your family on a summer mission trip? Read below for information from the North American Mission Board (NAMB).

Families on Mission is a pre-packaged, week-long (Saturday through Thursday) family mission opportunity that allows mom, dad, and grandparents to model an on-mission lifestyle for their children and grandchildren.

Parents and grandparents have the unique privilege to be "hands on" as they guide their family through devotions, missions awareness, mission projects, worship, family small-group discussions, and interaction with resident missionaries and the community.

Mission activities include acts of kindness and other evangelism events, light construction and painting, yard work, prayer walking, Vacation Bible School, sports camps, block parties, and others. Children must have completed kindergarten in order to participate.

Click here for more information.

Royal Ambassadors Mission Report

2009-02-14T07:27:00.000-08:00

The R.A. Valentine Bake Off
Raised $674.00 For
North American Missions!

Click here to learn more about Royal Ambassadors

Go Tell in Ghana, West Africa

2009-01-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

Mary

Dagomba Tribe

Dates: July 1 -12

Cost: $3,200.00

Join FBC team members as we partner with IMB missionaries to reach the Dagomba tribe, an unreached people group.

If you are interested in this mission, please contact Cheryl Read, Team Leader, at fom@fbcrockwalltx.org or 972.989.9668.

Click here to visit the Ghana Mission '09 Blog.

Go Tell by Travis Cottrell

2008-12-25T18:03:00.000-08:00

Lottie Moon Offering Update

2008-12-20T18:33:00.001-08:00

$467,000.00

Go Tell The Story of Jesus

2008-12-08T05:51:00.000-08:00

Lottie Moon Christmas Offering

$435,000.00

That Your ways may be known on earth,

Your salvation among all nations.

Ps. 67:2

Click here to learn more about Lottie Moon.

Click here to learn more about the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

The Power of a Simple Gift

2008-11-26T07:27:00.000-08:00

Ghana, West Africa

Shoe box distribution

671 Shoe boxes

from

FBCR

Operation Christmas Child

A special thank you to all the volunteers that loaded and delivered the shoe boxes to the distribution center.

These shoes will go to children in desperate situations all over the world.

GA's On Mission

2008-11-22T04:07:00.000-08:00

FBC's Girls in Action (GAs) just completed filling 22 boxes with snacks, goodies, military Bibles, and hand written cards/notes of encouragement to send to American soldiers during the Christmas season.

Girls in Action and OCC

2008-11-10T19:13:00.000-08:00

Thank you GA's for providing 46 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child!!

Go Team Update

2008-11-02T04:46:00.000-08:00

After months of chronological Bible storytelling with 17 Bhutanese (Hindu) refugees living in our area, God led the Go Team to present a movie panorama (Genesis to Revelation) of the Gospel on Saturday, Nov. 1st. This movie is called God's Story.

We praise God for planting seeds of His words and His story in the hearts and minds of these precious people. We thank God for the 10 hands that were raised, indicating that they wanted to know more about Jesus. We give God the glory for bringing the nations to our doorstep and allowing us the opportunity to tell them about His wonderful love and grace.

If you would like to join us in telling them more about Jesus, contact Chris/Cheryl Read at fom@fbcrockwall.tx.org

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8

Operation Christmas Child

2008-10-12T11:32:00.001-07:00

THE POWER OF A SIMPLE GIFT

Operation Christmas Child brings joy and hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled shoe boxes and the Good News of God’s love. Since 1993, more than 61 million shoe boxes have been packed, shipped, and delivered across the globe. People of all ages can be involved in this simple, hands-on missions project while focusing on the true meaning of Christmas—Jesus Christ.

Click here to watch an Operation Christmas Child video.

Click here to get more information on Operation Christmas Child.

Mission Opportunities

2008-09-07T09:59:00.001-07:00

Let's tell them about Jesus

Be a part of the Go Team

New Friends Ministry
Tuesdays
6:00pm-7:30pm
There are hundreds of international refugees living within 25 minutes of FBCR. Join us as we begin building relationships with Bhutanese families that are new arrivals to the US. Reach out to them with the love of Christ as you help them learn how to assimilate into our country and culture.

Children's Storytelling Team

Tuesdays

6:00pm-7:30pm

Can you cut, glue and color? Experience international missions right here at home! We are looking for team members willing to engage in Chronological Bible Storytelling with refugee children who have never heard the Gospel. No preparation required.

Homework Helpers

Tuesdays

7:30p-8:30pm
Building relationships is the key to reaching international refugees for Christ. We will be providing homework help for one hour after we engage in Bible Storytelling. No experience required. Come as little or as often as you want.

*******************************************************************************

Interested?

Contact Chris or Cheryl Read

fom@fbcrockwalltx.org

972.772.3325

High School Mission Trip Video

2008-08-17T08:10:00.000-07:00

Our high school ministry traveled to Biloxi, MS July 27 - August 1 to work with Habitat for Humanity. It was a great week and we really were thankful for the opportunity to go and serve along side some wonderful people who are making a difference in the lives in the face of a horrible tragedy like Hurricane Katrina.

Thank you for all your prayers and support of mission work done by students @ FBC

English School Mission Trip

2008-08-13T08:28:00.001-07:00

From Aug 4-8, more than 20 FBC members had the privilege of going to Gaston Oaks Baptist Church and working alongside NAMB missionaries, Carl and Kerry Lorey, along with a team from Arkansas, in teaching English and directing a VBS program for over 200 international refugees from Burma, Iraq and Bhutan. These refugees represented four religions: Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and Christian.

In the words of one team member, "God is bringing the nations to our doorstep. How can we NOT join God in this work?"

When surveyed, over 80 refugees indicated that they wanted a personal visit from someone to learn more about Jesus. We praise God for sending us into the field and we ask you to pray for the refugees to know and understand Truth.

If you are interested in joining us on this mission field, please contact Chris and Cheryl Read at fom@fbcrockwalltx.org

Janis Ferguson helps a young refugee boy color his picture.
On Monday, these girls sat silent and seemingly afraid. Within a couple of days, they were laughing, playing and enjoying VBS.
Josh Miller was a huge hit with all the children. He taught them many songs about Jesus.
Stephanie Broyles, VBS Director, with one of her special students.
Joey Biggerstaff found that bubbles are a universal language. He played with this little boy, who had been traumatized in the refugee camp, for over 2 hours.
Cheryl Read (pictured with son Josh) taught a Beginner's English class for high school students.
Chris Read is encouraging MaLerki to introduce herself to the class. Most of the refugees are very shy and quiet.
Kim Mills, childcare worker extraordinaire, comforts a small boy who was suffering from separation anxiety.
Beverly Elam holds and comforts a small Iraqi girl who had arrived in the US just four days before.
Krissie Flores provided lots of hugs to the Burmese refugee children.
We watched in fascination as the children "came alive" after Fran Manley brought out the musical instruments.
Lou Jean Beckett played the piano for the adult refugees each evening. She then helped out in the Memory Verse room in VBS.

Shelby was wonderfully patient with the children and always had one sitting in her lap.
Amber Points joyfully exhibited the love of Christ to each and every child.
Cindy Biggerstaff, childcare director, found a special little girl to hold on to.
Martin and Fiona Jones played games and provided snacks for VBS.
Linda Northcutt is teaching them how to count five loaves and two fish to put in their bags.

Carlee Smith always had a group of children clamoring for her attention.
Caleb Read assisted in the Memory Verse room and also with games.
Beverly Davis was very patient in helping the children learn the Bible stories.
This is Sat De Ga Be, a student in the English school. She knows very little English, but worked very hard at learning greetings and introductions.

...and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth. Acts 1:8

First Baptist Ghana Video

2008-08-10T21:07:00.001-07:00