GRR Calendar

January 18-21 -SKWIM 2008 at Greenlake for Areas II & III Youth

February 23 -Area IV Annual Meeting, Centralia, IL FBC

Feb. 29 - March 1-Area I Annual Meeting, FBC Elgin, IL

March 8 -Area III Annual Meeting FBC Peoria, IL

Message From Our Region President

On January 6 we finished our Christmas season with the visit of the Magi—those Wise Men from the East.

Have you ever

thought about the types of wisdom we see in that familiar passage from Matthew 1?

King Herod’s approach to wisdom is simple—get rid of the competition. If this newborn is being called King, he must be done away with.

The wisdom of the Magi was to sort out the evidence. Their understanding of the wisdom of the ages and the stars in the heavens seemed in conflict with what King Herod was telling them. Like a crime scene investigator, they had to take what they heard and knew and come up with a solution.

Our own wisdom might take us another direction. Does it make a difference in how we will be treated? What about how much money we’ll have in our pockets as a result? What about our social life and status? Do we handle sticky situations based on our own wisdom or do we use another kind of wisdom?

As I began the year I put to use a gift I receive—a Bible that is organized so that I can easily read through

it in a year. Each day I will be faceto-face with truths from the Scriptures. What I do with those truths, how I incorporate them into my daily life, will definitely have a bearing on the wisdom I exercise in making decisions.

How do you make decisions? Do you get rid of competition so you’ll come out on top? Do you sort out evidence so you’ll make a rational, logical decision in the world’s eyes? Do you use your own judgment so it will leave you in the best place? Or do you consult the one asset we have as Christians—the Scriptures. Let 2008 be the year of making decisions with God in the equation, and may it be a genuinely Happy New Year.

For the praise of His glory, Pastor Diane DeSmidt

Area I

Friday, February 29 - Judson University Fine Arts Auditorium Saturday, March 1 - Elgin First Baptist Church

Area II

Sunday, March 9 - Greenfield IL First Baptist Church

Area III

March 8, 2008 at Peoria FBC Speaker: Reid Trulson, Executive Director, Board of International Ministries

Church News

First Baptist Church, Moline, IL has taken on the challenge of resettling a Karen refugee family from Burma. So far the church has ministered to 23 Karens who have been attending worship at FBC. The ABC/USA is working to resettle 10,000 Karen refugees who were persecuted and have been living in refugee camps in Thailand. The Karens are historically American Baptists and were among the first converts of Baptist Missionary, Adoniram Judson.

First Baptist Church of Galesburg, IL will be celebrating their 160th Anniversary January 13-16th, 2008.

Area IV

February 23, 2008 at Centralia First Baptist Church

Area V

March 8 - Kansas City MO First Baptist Church

For more information and to download registration forms for these meetings: www.abc-grr.org/areas/annualmeetings.htm

Take advantage of these times of fellowship, worship, and learning.

The anniversary date is January 15th. An "old fashioned" church service will be offered on the 13th at 10:00 a.m. A winter tri-annual meeting will follow during which we will recognize the members of 50 years and greater. There will also be a memorial time to honor those the Lord has taken home in the past year.

On January 15th, a 24 hour prayer vigil will be held. Then on the 16th there will be a family night with a Potluck and a time of singing. It will be a special time for us to reflect on our heritage and the future the

GREAT RIVERS REGIONAL SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS

Scholarships for any college student (regardless of major) or seminary student from the Gernenz-Shurtleff / Wilcoxen Scholarship are available.

Ministerial students attending ABC-related schools and seminaries in preparation for ministry can also apply for the Harold O. Long Scholarship.

All applications must be received in the GRR office by April 1, 2008.

To receive an application for these scholarships, write to: Scholarship Committee, Att: Sharon Downs, PO Box 3786, Springfield, IL 62708, phone: 217-726-7366; fax: 217-7267566, or email: Sharon@abc-grr.org

Missions Conference

Bethel Baptist Church, Colchester, IL Welcomes: Larry Zimmerman and Roxie Zimmerman

First Baptist Church, Macomb, IL Welcomes: Pat Allison, Allen Black, Wayne Melvin, Lou Melvin, Victor Milleson, David Shinneman, and Marci Shinneman

Muncie Baptist Church, Muncie, IL Welcomes: Katherine Kinney and Katie Marble

First Baptist Church, Paris, IL Welcomes: Jenae Dodd

Mainstream Contact Information

Send your stories of mission and ministry. Please also send the names of new members (the fruit of this mission and ministry) to:

Linda Ricks 232 Devron Circle East Peoria, IL 61611 E-Mail: Ricks4LR@insightbb.com