Welcome to First Baptist Church

Pastor’s Corner

Dear Church,

 

Let me begin this email by saying First Baptist Church of Hobbs is doing well.  I have talked with pastors across the state and some congregations are struggling to keep their doors open.  We on the other hand are seeing strong attendance, solid giving and quality fellowship restored in spite of the challenging things we've experienced with the COVID virus and the oil industry being in a slump. 

 

With that said, the Governor of New Mexico has issued an order requesting all New Mexicans wear masks when in public and around others.  I have included the exact language from her most recent press release and how long this order is to remain in force.

 

Jul 2, 2020 | Press Release (link)

 

Every New Mexican must work together to stem the spread of COVID-19. Get tested. Stay home, especially if you are sick. Wear a mask or face covering when in public and around others.  

Public Health Order according to June 30th page 9, item 4.

"This order shall take effect immediately and remain in effect through July 15, 2020."

 

 

As a church body, I believe we should make every effort to comply with this directive.  I realize this request is an inconvenience and a bit of a burden to wear a mask during our worship service, however if it contributes to the overall health of our community, helps our schools open on time, and promotes our common good it will be worth the effort. 

 

In addition, I believe our compliance is an act of obedience to the Lord found in scripture in Romans 13:1-8 and 1 Peter 2:12-15.  This kind of behavior pleases the Lord and is an act of love for our fellow man.  

 

I hope this request will not deter you from attending Sunday worship services for the next two weeks.  There is far more to be gained in fellowship and worship by being in church with your brothers and sisters in Christ, than sitting it out on the sidelines. 

Finally, let's not allow this issue to divide us, but instead unite us and bring us together because God is faithful to protect His own. 

God bless, 

 

Pastor Stewart  

 

Sunday AM Small Groups

Underground Youth  - Sunday at 9:00 am in Underground youth room.

Adult 4 - 9:00 am In the Big Ed room
(1st floor)
  
Encounter Class - 9:00 am in the Troutt

Berean Class -9:00 am in the Troutt  

Sunday AM Worship - 10:30 am in the worship center or watch the sermon on www.FBCHobbs.org

Monday: Underground Youth
1:00 pm Meet in the Undergrounds for fun and fellowship 

Wednesday: Underground Youth
6:00 pm Meal and Bible Study

Thursday: 4:00 pm Bible Nerds in the Parlor

Church Office Hours:  We are open Monday & Thursday from 8:00-1:00 PM.  Call or email for an appointment.  575-825-9722 or jim@fbchobbs.org

What's Happening to our Trees?  
If you were here last week you probably noticed some changes in the landscaping.  Due to the Pandemic, we had to cancel our Church Work Day in March.  Our bushes needed trimmed and so we took the opportunity to trim them and all the trees around the Church, Troutt, and Stone buildings as well.  It opened up the grounds since several of the trees had very low branches needing to be removed.  At the same time, the Building & Grounds committee has been  addressing the Mimosa trees growing in the planters on the Southside entrance.  Unfortunately, the roots were starting to cause damage to the building and our sprinkler systems.  The decision was made to remove them.  This week phase one was completed and they were cut down down all except 2-3 foot above the ground.  Danny Watson will provide the equipment needed to remove the remaining tree stumps here in the near future.   It will probably look a little ugly for a bit.  Don't fret, the Building & Grounds Committee is discussing a plan to offer an attractive alternative in the not to distant future. 

Fresh look!   
The hallway in the Children's wing has a fresh coat of paint.   Our Children's Directors wanted to provide a fresh new look to the children's area.  Thanks to the help of Pastor Stewart and Pastor KC, the walls in the Kindergarten - 5th grade hallway received 2 coats of new paint while the church was closed.   It look great!   

Firewall Upgrade: 
One project underway since early May has involved changes to the church internet system.  The effort to stream our weekly service to YouTube during the shutdown of the church brought some deficiencies in our current internet set-up.   While we have a great 5G system, our church system was not as secure as it needed to be for this day and age.  It also was creating problems for our worship team.  They lead a heroic effort to ensure you were able to worship live from home each week.  Since our return, we started an extensive review of our internet system by the folks at IT Works.  This week we made the first few changes which should be transparent to you but improved the office IT system and reduced several vulnerabilities in our network.   This coming week we will start to make changes to the worship team equipment that will further reduce risks of failure and allow our Worship team to focus on other things and reduce the risk of Murphy's law striking so often.   We hope to offer a dedicated guest WIFI login in the not so distant future.   We know many people use tablets and phones for scripture reading and note taking.  By reducing the number of people accessing our dedicated network, will help provide stable service to the worship and audio visual team.    

July 12th: Deacon Ordination for new deacons and their wives.