Ron Pracht Pastor Tim Dodge Discipleship & Outreach Pastor Keith Ferguson Student Pastor Kenny Underkofler Music & Arts Pastor Angie Hettenbach Preschool Director Sheila Warner Children’s Director Danae Hunt Communication’s Director Kathy Dakin Financial Secretary Cheryl Phipps Secretary Mike Phipps Building Engineer Gordon Dorian Pastor Emeritus olivetter Olivet Baptist Church 3440 W. 13th St., Wichita, Kansas 67203. November 2011 volume 32 issue 11 olivetter Check us out! www.olivetwichita.com Missed a sermon? Want to check the calendar? It is all there! Would you like to receive the Olivetter via email? Let the church office know. As we continue in the Sermon Series, EMPOWERED CHURCH, there are some dates we want you to have for your calendar. The series will continue through November 27th. By November 13th we plan to have a copy of the proposed by-law amendments for you that will reflect a new leadership/ decision-making model. We want you to have ample time to read through these recommended changes so you will be knowledgeable and have time to pray about what God wants for Olivet. We also want you to search the Scriptures to see the biblical foundation of these proposals. The Pastoral Staff has been encouraged by the Personnel Team, and other leaders, to have this information ready so you will know specifically what is being proposed and how it will look if implemented. The Staff wants you to know that we are not being presumptuous but that these recommendations are being put into writing so you will know exactly what is being recommended. We want you to have time to process this information. We want to be completely above-board and up-front with you. We have no hidden agenda. Please read these proposed documents with that in mind. On Sunday afternoon, November 20th, we will hold our second Town Hall meeting in the Carol Room where these amendments will be discussed and questions answered. It is vitally important that you join us that afternoon so we, as a church family, can be on the same page about how these proposed changes will potentially impact Olivet. You need to know this information! If you have had to miss any of the messages in this series, you can go to our website: www.olivetwichita.com and find the audio messages and sermon notes for each of the messages of the series. Please take the time to listen and read through the notes. If you have not missed any of the Sundays, it would still be beneficial to you to listen again. This proposed change is significant. We believe it is a biblical approach to church leadership that many churches moved away from decades ago. Elder leadership is experiencing a renewal among Baptists across the U.S. It is time for us to address this and seek to put ourselves in line with what the Bible teaches about church leadership. It is our plan to have an additional Town Hall meeting (TBD) and hopefully vote on this change before the beginning of the New Year. We will have those dates for you in the next couple of weeks. The Pastoral Staff, Leadership Team and Deacons have been encouraged to fast and pray every Friday 6pm - Saturday 6pm to seek God’s face in this important matter and pray for unity and oneness of purpose for Olivet. Please join us. “The Journey of a Lifetime” With school back in full-swing, this time of year becomes especially meaningful for a particular group of students in our midst—our seniors! Not only are they putting the finishing touches on a final year of high school, but they are also dealing with the coming transition after graduation. Thus, this will prove to be one of the most significant and formative seasons in their lives, as some of the questions they will be facing are: Who am I? Why am I here? What do I really believe? What am I going to do with my life? Now, imagine this whirlwind season, and picture what it might look like if shaped by a once-in-a-lifetime experience right after graduation. Imagine where faith collides with an opportunity to encounter another part of the world with an indescribably different culture, unfathomable spiritual lostness, and distressing human brokenness in a way that would completely alter the course of a life. Sound intriguing? Or really scary? Maybe a little crazy? It should! In the coming weeks, Olivet’s high school seniors will be given the opportunity to apply and interview for a trip like nothing they have ever experienced before. With the support of their parents, families, friends, and Olivet, they will undergo a 10-14 day cross-cultural immersion that will change their lives forever. Would you please pray for our seniors, their parents, and our church regarding this opportunity? It will require pushing the perceived limits of our faith—as individuals, as families, and as a church. And would you please pray for our seniors in general, as they prepare for the changes in life ahead? For the King and His Kingdom, Keith