
Happy New Year! We say this every year, but this year we actually mean it! Many, if not all, of us are excited to see 2020 exit (no offense 2020… or all offense 2020) and are ready for 2021 to enter. This year has produced troubles, stresses and headaches in almost every area of our lives. When we look back over this year we experience a range of emotions including anger, grief, fear and confusion. As we look to 2021… we may still feel some of the same with maybe a little hope that it will be better than the last.
As I look to 2021, I see what I saw looking back over 2020: Jesus. What we need in this new year ahead is to Encounter Jesus on a daily basis. We need Him to lead and guide us every day we wake up. We need Him to guide our Encounters with other people. We need Jesus to guide our thoughts and words. We need Him in every facet of our lives just as we did this year. He’s the only stable factor in our lives year in and year out.
We have been focusing on the vision for Ava G/B church to Encourage one another all the more as we see the Day of Christ’s return drawing near (Hebrews 10:25), to Equip one another with the Word of God for the work of God (2 Timothy 3:16) and to Encounter those not following God with the salvation message of forgiveness through Jesus Christ alone (Matthew 28:18-20). Our focus for 2021 will intensely be on Encountering Jesus Daily. We don’t know what this year holds, but I know one thing: every one of us needs to Encounter Jesus Daily. That is in prayer and the reading and studying of His Word. We need to Encounter Jesus Daily ON PURPOSE. If we are not intentional in setting a time and plan for reading the Bible then we won’t. If we are not intentional in conversing with God daily then we won’t. We will find ourselves scrambling to Him in times of crisis and then blaming Him when we are lost in confusion instead of walking with Him daily to find clarity for the things and people whom we will Encounter daily.
Will you pledge with me to Encounter Jesus daily… on purpose? Are you ready for 2021 to be the biggest year of personal growth with your relationship with God? Are you ready to surrender 2021 to your Lord and Savior?
We will help you do that as a community of believers who identify as Ava General Baptist Church. We will be giving a devotion to everyone in person during the January 3rd worship service. Anyone who wants one who joins us online that Sunday we’ll ask to comment on the Facebook live feed and mail/deliver them a devotion.
This devotional is written by a lady in our congregation who Encounters Jesus Daily. She currently sends a text every morning to a group of women to Encourage and Equip them with God’s Word. We are thankful for the work and study that Stephanie Degase puts into these and would like to thank her for the commitment to the body of Christ and letting us print her work. I know it will Encourage and Equip you in your walk with God.
I challenge you to commit 34 days to reading God’s Word by using this devotional as a guide. Will you join me?
I would also like to thank you for the partnership in ministry for 2020. We had 2 baptisms and 6 new members join the church. Together, we have helped our community with food by partnering with The Food Harvest in Ava and the backpack program within the Ava School system to send children home with food on the weekends and long breaks. We’ve also helped students with needs for learning by partnering with the local Care to Learn chapter, and provided supplies/training for new parents in crisis pregnancy by partnering with the Options Pregnancy Care Center. We’ve helped those struggling with utility bills by partnering with the Ava Ministerial Alliance to bring relief during difficult times. There have been numerous cards/flowers sent to those mourning the loss of a loved one and those recovering from sicknesses/surgeries. We’ve been able to partner with G/B International Missions to help feed people around the world and provide pastoral assistance to those on our G/B mission fields and drill wells for people in India with little/no access to fresh water in their village/city. We’ve helped fund our local FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) for Ava Schools and have been able to offer a scholarship to both High School students by partnering with the Ava Ministerial Alliance and to college students by partnering with Oakland City University. We’ve had updates to our signage and other needed repairs that came up during 2020. We’ve been able to provide all of this while still taking care of our church grounds and every day operating expenses without having to receive help from any outside agency. Thank you for your faithfulness and partnership in ministry with Ava G/B church. I know it’s true: we are Better Together! I’m excited as to what God will do through us in 2021.
May God Bless and Lead you this New Year!
Pastor Tim
Becoming the Encounter – Acts 28
New Year Necessities
Main Point: As we Become the Encounter, we are to look for new opportunities to grow in our relationship with God and lead others to do the same as we Encounter the unexpected.
Acts 28:23-31
- To be the Encounter in 2021, we must be ALERT and ready to ADJUST to wherever God leads us!
To be ALERT, we need:
2. Ears that hear
To ADJUST, we need:
3. A heart that understands
January 2021
8:30 a.m. Service
03 – Theresa Miller
10 – Janice Gray
17 – Kylie Loftin
24 – Cindy Garrett
31 – Helen Hoogendoorn
Sunday School Service
03 – N/A
10 – Lyndsey Reese
17 – Kim Johnson
24 – Helen Hoogendoorn
31 – Andrea Naylor
10:45 a.m. Service
03 – Alisha Jones
10 – Micca Sims
17 – Lauren King
24 – Morgan Loftin
31 – Kwincie Hannaford
My Prayer
Humbly let me walk, oh Lord,
beneath the heavenly sky;
Daily may I seek, oh Lord,
thy blessings from on high;
May all my acts—my deeds, oh Lord,
be the extension of Thy hand
to loved ones, neighbors, friends or foe,
to all throughout the land.
Meekly let me walk, oh Lord,
with grace Thy light to shine;
Sincerely may I feel, oh Lord,
good works are yours—not mine;
Give me the faith, oh lord,
to feel Thy presence ever nigh;
When for advice of choice I need
To Thee alone I’ll cry.
Humbly let me walk, oh Lord,
that I may keep in mind,
that I, vain self, am oh, so small,
To thee, the One most high.
—— Faye Case
Special Events
- Monday Morning Men’s Prayer Group Meets At 7 a.m. ~ 04, 11, 18 & 25
- Adult Bible Study At 7 p.m. ~ 06, 20,& 27
- Filled Youth Meets At 7pm~ 06, 20 & 27
- Filled Kidz Meeting At 7pm ~ 06, 20 & 27
- Happy New Year! ~ 01
- Church Council Meeting At 5pm ~ 03
- The Office Is Closed ~ 01 & 18
- Sunday School Begins Again At 9:45am ~ 10
- 1st Quarterly Business Meeting At 7pm ~ 13
(All Other Services Are Dismissed
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day ~ 18
- Movie Night At 6pm ~ 31
- Family Sunday ~ 31
Verses For The New Year
Psalm 96:1-3
At the dawn of the new year I’m filled with hope for what is to come, and I have thankfulness in my heart for what has already passed. I pray that I will keep my focus where it needs to be this year and that we’ll all have a year filled with joy, love and happiness
Isaiah 43:18-19
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Tex-Mex Fantasy
(From The Kitchen Of Lula Mae Denney)
In a 13”x 9” Pyrex dish layer the following:
Layer 1: 2 cans of Frito Jalapeno dip
Layer 2: Mix together 2 ripe avocados, mashed
2 T. lemon juice, fresh
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
Layer 3: Mix together 1 c. sour cream
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
Layer 4: Layer these– 1 bunch of green onions, tops and all
chopped
1 – 6 oz. Can ripe olives, chopped
3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1-2 c. shredded Monterey
Jack cheese
Serve with tortilla chips or Fritos


- Tina Allen
- The Wally Jessen Family
- Trenton Pueppke
- Vi Fritz
- Ruth Barrett
- Beverly Grabell
- Becky Decker
- Jeff Silvey
- Our Country
- Faye Wray
- Unspoken Request
- Our Church
- Ronnie Curry
- LaDena Thompson
- Cecil & Lois Robertson
- Delores Cradic Family
- Bud & Lavelle Clinkingbeard
- Harold Cooper
- Rose & Birch Families
- Johnny Gunter
- Sybil Gheer
- Carolyn Wallace
- Raymond Robertson
- Ladenia Carter
- LaVern Norman
- Eileen Anderson
- The Marvin Loftin Family
Lula Mae Denny 02
Beverly Johnson 05
Connor Johnson 09
Beverly Brown 10
Donna Sherman 13
Coleman Sims 14
Jody Porter 16
Terri Tabor 16
Nan Mothes 17
Matthew Lakey 21
Robert Jones 22
Nick Key 27
Clinton Porter 27
Lily Naylor 29
Paul Kester 30
Sarah Key 30
Kandace Miller 30
Brent Lakey 31