United Christian Ministries is in need of: canned soup, canned chicken and Boost. To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. Thank you!
1st Explorers Summer Camp
Midweek Meal & Activities
Our Wednesday evening fellowship meal and bible studies are going great! Let’s keep the momentum going, inviting others to join us and enjoying the deepening of our fellowship.
Please spread the word. And remember, preschoolers and college students’ meals are free, grades 1 to 12 are $7, and adults are $11. Join us!
REMINDER: Reservations must be made before noon on Mondays.
Below is the schedule for our Wednesday evening activities:
The meal begins at 5:30 p.m. each Wednesday. Group time begins approximately 6:10 p.m. and goes to 6:45 p.m. This group time is for college students and adults.
Our youth will meet from 6:10 to 7:00 p.m. in the youth room.
Our children also meet from 6:10 to 7:00 p.m, and they will be in the children’s department for a devotional, activity and play time.
Choir rehearsal follows at 7:00 p.m.
We can’t wait to see you on Wednesday evening!
College Bible Study
Join us for our weekly college Bible study every Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m. in the youth room!
1st Explorers After-School Ministry Update
We had a lot of guests come in this week as we celebrated Earth Day all week long. Ms. Rebecca with the 4H Club came and taught about ecosystems and the explorers made “pudding ponds.” Rob Hawke from Cooperative Extension came and taught about weather using cloud charts, and other weather instruments to predict weather. Miss Kaitlyn taught chapel on God creating the earth and how important it is to take care of it. We finished off the week with Lauren from Baxley’s chocolate coming over and doing some chocolate covered pretzel rods, which the kids thoroughly enjoyed!
1st Explorers Summer Camp
Mission Moment 4.30.25
Kirk and Suzie
CBF Field Personnel, Southeast Asia
“There are two books through which God is speaking: the book of holy scriptures and the big book of the universe.”
—John Scotus Eriugena
Through our many years of service in Southeast Asia, my husband and I have come to appreciate tropical landscapes—verdant rice fields, coconut trees, dense jungles and an incredible variety of flowers—God’s creativity on full display!
“See how the flowers of the field grow…” (Matthew 6:28b).
Before we had kids, one of Kirk’s and my favorite things to do after a long day of ESL teaching was to drive our motorcycle through the rice fields and watch the sunset. To this day, we continue to find spiritual refreshment and rejuvenation in nature—especially when we take a moment to be still, look up at the sky through the leaves of a tree and know that God is God!
But like everyone else, we tend to worry—about our kids; about our ministry; about our ever-expanding “to-do” lists; about all the people we fear we will be letting down; about aging; about the anger and divisions that have overtaken so much of our world. Lord, have mercy. Lord, help me to get it all done. Lord, help me to remember what is important.
“Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26)
Among all created things, birds have a special place in my heart. Years ago, while living on the 14th floor of a Bangkok apartment building, I was amazed to see tiny birds among the plants on our veranda. One looked like a yellow hummingbird and seemed to appear on my porch when I needed a little lift. He—or his identical twin—also showed up a few blocks away, in the garden of a dear friend in the final stages of cancer—even as a Christian physician shared the Gospel with her. We were amazed to discover our common winged friend as we planned to read the Gospel of John together.
“Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.” (Psalm 84:3.)
Now our own birds—our kiddos—have flown the nest. For the first time in 26 years, it’s just Kirk and me again. Our downtown apartment is far from any rice fields, but we do have some trees on our sixth-floor balcony. And birds. One mama bird has built her nest right in the center of our porch; she stares me down when I hang out the laundry. Others flit around wildly, riding the winds funneled through the forest of skyscrapers. We downloaded an app to identify them based on their songs. We call our new home “Sparrow’s Rest.”
“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God Why, even the hairs of your heard are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows!” (Luke 12:6-7)
This is a great Gospel truth—that God knows, remembers and loves God’s people! This is what sent Jesus to the cross—and the stone rolling away. Jesus came to give us life—life to the fullest. Life eternal.
My prayer is that you will be reminded of God’s life-giving love today—maybe, like me, by one of God’s smallest winged ambassadors!
Pray, Practice, Ponder
Today, pay special attention to the birds and other small creatures who make an appearance throughout your day. What do these small beings have to teach you about God?
Pray...Give...Go.
Midweek Meal & Activities
Our Wednesday evening fellowship meal and bible studies are going great! Let’s keep the momentum going, inviting others to join us and enjoying the deepening of our fellowship.
Please spread the word. And remember, preschoolers and college students’ meals are free, grades 1 to 12 are $7, and adults are $11. Join us!
REMINDER: Reservations must be made before noon on Mondays.
Below is the schedule for our Wednesday evening activities:
The meal begins at 5:30 p.m. each Wednesday. Group time begins approximately 6:10 p.m. and goes to 6:45 p.m. This group time is for college students and adults.
Our youth will meet from 6:10 to 7:00 p.m. in the youth room.
Our children also meet from 6:10 to 7:00 p.m, and they will be in the children’s department for a devotional, activity and play time.
Choir rehearsal follows at 7:00 p.m.
We can’t wait to see you on Wednesday evening!
Giving the Jesus Way
United Christian Ministries is in need of: canned soup, canned chicken and Boost. To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. Thank you!
Webster Student Ministries BBQ
Join us for a fundraiser for Webster Student Ministries on Sunday, April 27 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. We will gather in the Webster Baptist Church's fellowship hall. The cost is $15 per plate, and all proceeds go to the WSM Nola Mission Trip this summer.