MISSIONS AT IMMANUEL
A New Program of Outreach: Downloadable Scripture
If you were in the worship service on February 7, you learned about the program Immanuel is participating in during Lent: "Faith Comes By Hearing" - a 40-day listening plan for the New Testament. MP3 CDs were distributed after worship on February 7, and additional MP3 CDs are available in the church office. On Wednesday, February 10, at 6:20 p.m. in Fellowship Hall, Andrew Smith will answer technological questions about how to use the MP3 CDs.
By clicking on the banner above, you'll be connected to the "Faith Comes By Hearing" website, where you can learn more about the initiative and download a free audio edition
of the Bible.
Women's Missionary Union
The objective of the WMU of Immanuel Baptist Church is "to teach missions, engage in mission action and evangelism, support missions, and provide and interpret information regarding the work of the church and the denomination." We have two groups dedicated to these tasks. Both meet once a month; one meets on Monday evenings and the other meets on Tuesday mornings. The two women's groups support numerous organizations, individuals, and projects: Agricultural Development Initiative, Support for missionaries Van and Jackie Ingram and Todd and Karen Helm, Christian Women's Job Corps, International Friends, Metropolitan Women's Prison, San Diego Collegiate Ministries, Tennessee Adult Homes, Vanderbilt/Belmont Baptist Student Unions, and many more. The WMU groups also lead the church in special prayer and missions emphases.
Mission Study for Children
Missions Friends, GAs, and RAs meet weekly during the school year at 6:20 p.m. on Wednesdays after Church Family Supper. They study about missionaries around the world and here in the United States. In May there is a recognition service for all the children when they share with the church all they have learned.
Mission Opportunities
Our motivation for doing missions is partly explained by the question Barbara Brown Taylor writes in her book Leaving Church, "What if the church's job were to move people out the door instead of trying to keep them in, by convincing them that God needed them more in the world than in the church?" This we believe. We also believe that not only does God need us more in the world, but we also need to be more in the world because our encounters with God's people teach us something about the One who created us.
Listed below are some of the ways we are seeking to be, and to find, the hands and heart of God in our community and beyond.
Inter-generational Mission Trip to New York City
July 24 - August 1, 2009
Immanuel Baptist is one of six churches being given the opportunity to host a day camp in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan this summer. We are partnering with Metro Baptist Church and Greater Restoration Baptist Church to provide a safe, loving environment for children of these neighborhoods to experience Bible study, art, music, education, and recreation.
One member of last year's team expressed her experience this way: "I believe I brought back with me a stronger sensitivity, more compassion, better listening skills, and a greater ability to show Christian love to people who might seem different."
Another Immanuel volunteer said, "One of the perks of the trip was the bonding that occurred between members of our team from Immanuel. We experienced a strong love for one another."
A variety of skill sets are needed from people who are willing to join the effort. If you can sing, teach, play, drive the van, or cook, you are needed!
Christmas Baskets
Every Christmas, members of Immanuel and the Vietnamese congregation collect money to purchase items which are then sorted and delivered to Vietnamese families in the community. Learn more about our Vietnamese congregation.
Other Organizations and Projects
We also include in our budget and in our prayers the following organizations and projects.
Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty
Siloam Family Health Center
Belmont University
Woodcock Baptist Mission Center
Baptist World Alliance
Baptist Center for Ethics
Pastoral Counseling Center
Mills-Buttrick Scholarship
Click logo for Facebook page
2010 Project (See the Video)
Click Here for the 2010 Project List
Operation InAsMuch [ website]
ARTICLE BY ASSOCIATE PASTOR, TAMBI SWINEY
Fifteen years ago, Snyder Memorial Baptist Church held a one-day missions blitz in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The church called the event Operation Inasmuch - a reference to Jesus' words in the parable of the sheep and the goats. Since 1995, over 500 churches have adopted Operation Inasmuch to mobilize believers in local communities. Immanuel has participated in the event since 2005.
This year's observance of Operation Inasmuch will be held on Saturday, March 6. We are currently developing our list of ministry projects, and if there is a particular ministry that is near and dear to your heart that you think would be a great venue for a project, please let us know. Past project sites have included: Habitat for Humanity Home Store, The Next Door, Bordeaux Long Term Care Home, Deer Lake Retirement Center, Ronald McDonald House, and Siloam Family Health Center. Several projects last year were geared toward ministering to our homebound members, including making and delivering soup and floral decorations. One team of volunteers provided much needed prayer support at the church during the event. This year Safe Haven Family Shelter will be a new addition to our project list.
Information about specific projects will be distributed later this month. Last year over 100 church members participated in ten different projects. If you have participated in Operation Inasmuch in the past, you already know why you need to set aside March 6 on your calendar. If you haven't been a part of this missions blitz before, make plans now to join us.
Tambi
Boulevard Bolt [ website ]
Since 1994, volunteers from Immanuel Baptist Church, The Temple Ohabai Sholom and St. George's Episcopal Church have labored to raise money for the homeless of Nashville through the Boulevard Bolt, a five-mile run/walk on Belle Meade Boulevard on Thanksgiving morning. Since then more than $1M has been raised to benefit the homeless people in and around Nashville. It???s a great way to spend a few hours on Thanksgiving morning. Please contact Becky Atkinson, Debbie Maxwell, Abigail Reynolds, or Judy Skeen or go directly to the Bolt website for more information.
(Call 615-297-5356)
Habitat for Humanity
[International Website] [Nashville Area Website]
In March of 2007 the Boulevard Bolt and its three sponsoring congregations built a Habitat House for the Bayar Mohammed family. The house was completed on April 1 and was dedicated on Sunday, April 29 at 1 p.m. at Providence Park, a Habitat neighborhood in southeast Nashville.
Room in the Inn [website]
Room in the Inn, a ministry of the Campus for Human Development, provides food and shelter for up to 225 homeless people each night in more than 150 area congregations from November 1st to March 31st. Immanuel Baptist Church is one of the participating congregations.
"These 'houses of the good' are a blessing to the men, women, and children who receive a safe place to rest during the coldest months of the year...What each volunteer provides, though, is never simply a place to stay. What each offers is a chance for people to feel respected and cared for when they often feel invisible or ignored. There is an abiding gratitude for the roof and food and services that each congregation supplies, but the real warmth comes from the fellowship they experience with each volunteer." (from the CHD website)
IBC invites 12 men to stay the night in our Fellowship Hall several times each year. Church volunteers usually work with members of their Sunday School classes, but there is always a place to serve. Please contact Mark Sullivan or Susan Sullivan for more information.
Bordeaux Long-Term Care Home
Since 1946, Immanuel members have been enhancing the quality of life for the residents at Bordeaux Long-Term Care Home. Opened on December 5, 1893, the hospital provided a variety of medical services in its first 74 years; however, since 1967, Bordeaux has focused solely on the delivery of quality, long-term care to its residents. Once a month, IBC members take goodies and visit with the residents. Contact Lerma Hearn for more information.