Missional Communities

The above video is a snapshot into the life of a Missional Community. Below you will find a Q & A about Missional Communities at our church, and a short more simple explanation of MC's. If you would like more information please fell free to contact me! 

What are Missional Communities?

A smaller groups of Grace Baptist Church from six to twenty people who are united, through Christian Community around a common service and witness to a particular neighborhood and/or a network of relationship.  With a strong value on life together, the group has the expressed intention of seeing those the group impacts choose to start following Jesus, through this more flexible and locally incarnated expression of Grace Baptist church.  The results often are that the group grows and ultimately multiplies into further Missional Communities.  They are networked within Grace Baptist Church.  These mid-sized communities are “lightweight and low maintenance.”  These groups gather formally and informally numerous times a month in the group’s missional context.

What is the Goal?

The end goal of the groups is christian growth and multiplication for the kingdom of God.  So these uniquely flavored mid-sized groups are designed with missions/disciple making as their target!

When and Where?

The groups will gather formally and informally as best accommodates the needs of the community and the leader of the group.  A list of active Missional Communities will be avaible for the church to pray over, plug in new members, and assist as needed.

Who Can Come?

Anyone.  With the exception of those who fall under 1 Corinthians 5:11.

Saying Good-Bye: Practical Help for Talking to Preschoolers about Death.

Death is all around us in movies, video games, and the news. We cannot shelter our kids from it for very long. That is why it is very helpful for you to speak to your children openly and honestly about death, particularly when a loved one passes away. You may be tempted to think that they will not remember or be impacted, but what they will recall as an adult may surprise you. So here are a few tips from a pastor/former preschool teacher with a minor in Human Development and Learning on how to talk to them about death.

1. Walk Them Through the Cycle of Life.

Movies like Lion King and All Dogs Go to Heaven, introduce children to death, but preschool children often don't understand it. They need to be told the truth about it from their parents. You talk to them about dead plants or a dead pet fish as an introduction. They need to understand from you that birth, growth, decline, and death are all part of life.

2. Remind Them of How Much the Deceased Loved Them.

This is simple but important. They need to know that they are loved by the one who has passed away. Remind them of examples of this:

"Remember when your uncle gave you that special _______?" or " when your grandma cooked you that special cake?"

3. Create a New Category in Their Heads for Death.

Small children don't/can't make a distinction between sick with a common cold and terminally ill. Therefore, you need to create a new category for death in their young minds. They understand sleeping and going away somewhere, but this is different than death. You need to be very clear that death and being dead is not the same as going to sleep or going away. If you are not clear, children may be afraid to go to sleep at night or go away on a trip. Our efforts to shelter them from the harshness of the separation of death can backfire in a terrible way! Tell them things like:

"They are dead so that means they cannot talk to us anymore, they can't play anymore, they can't cook anymore, etc… Because their body does not work anymore."

4. Give Them Hope in Jesus Christ.

God's Word tells us to grieve differently than those who have no hope. If there is a clear testimony from the departed, let the child know that they are now in heaven with Jesus. Give the child hope that Jesus has conquered death, so we don't have to be afraid of death anymore!

5. Be Patient.

Being patient with young children can be a task any time, but it is especially true when we are grieving. When children ask questions like "do they breath anymore or do they go to the bathroom anymore?" They are not being insensitive, they are usually trying to understand what has happened to the person they love. They may even play games and use words like death and die as they play, to try to understand the concept. Their minds are sponges and they are taking all of it in, and believe me they are thinking about it.

6. Follow Up.

Don't forget to follow up with them in the coming days and weeks after you tell them. Ask them what they are thinking and how they are feeling. Be prepared for anything they may say, and above all love them!

Remembering Aunt Karen

“I thought I could describe a state; make a map of sorrow. Sorrow, however, turns out to be not a state but a process.”

― C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

Aunt Karen entered into eternal rest in the arms of her Savior, Jesus Christ, Friday morning, July 11, 2014, after a long battle with cancer.  Karen was 54 years old. Karen loved her Savior and family. She loved us all through her amazing country cooking skills! As she sipped on her Mountain Dew, she would fry eggs to perfection, make amazing sausage gravy, cook the best peas you've every tasted  or beat you at a game of Rook. She was a long time member of Willow Springs Baptist Church. Former employer of Levi Strauss for over 20 years. She was beloved by the Lord and will be deeply missed by her family.

Preceded in death by mother, Norma Sue Severs.

Survivors: ex-husband, Steve Beeler of Luttrell; daughter, Keyla Beeler of Knoxville; father, Everett W. Severs; and sister: Deborah  and Jack Tyler, Fall Branch; brothers, Chris and Lisa Severs of Karns, Jeff and Linda Severs of Powell; special friend, Shirley McLain;  Nephews, Travis and Becki Tyler of Elizabethton, Ryan Severs of Knoxville, and Christopher Severs of Jacksonville, North Carolina, Luke Severs of Powell; Nieces, Tiffiney Tyler of Kingsport, Jessica Severs of Powell and cousins; She is also survived by several beloved great nephews and great nieces.

I wanted to write about my aunt as part of my process of the grieving.  Our family will dearly miss her, because we had spent so much time with her over the last five years especially.  Over the last six years or so, due to unfortunate events, Karen lived with my parents.  During this time she became very close to my children like a second Mamaw. She made many trips to Indiana for all the major events in our lives like my seminary graduation, the birth of all my children, holidays, birthdays, and baby dedications.  In addition to this she also came up many times to help us, for example when Becki was on bed rest before and after Asher was born.

I loved her dearly, and the grief is more than I thought it would be.  I find great comfort in hearing her tell me about how she repented and placed her complete trust in Jesus Christ for her salvation.  She told me that she was "saved during a regular Sunday Morning at a little baptist church off Unaka Avenue in JohnsonCity, Tennessee".  We all tried to prepare ourselves for what is coming, and I knew that she was going to pass soon.  Being in the ministry for nearly 12 years now, I have stood by many bedsides and watched people slip into eternity.  Karen fought her cancer hard, she had stage four lung cancer for two years!  The average life expectancy rate is about 9 months for stage four lung cancer.  I want to share with you what I learned from my Aunt.  Without her help I would have no idea how to make homemade sausage gravy, dice veggies with ease, or make peas that taste amazing.  I learned from her and I thought I would give a little window into what she taught me/us.  Here goes:

Karen you taught us how to…

     Love passionately,

    Forgive completely,

    Work Happily,

   Cook correctly,

    Laugh heartily,

    Serve sacrificially,

   And fight fervently!

"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." -Psalm 116:15

I love you, Aunt Karen and will miss you always, until we meet at Jesus' Feet!