MV Weekly Leadership Update

Good afternoon,
Prayer Requests: Please continue to pray for Mrs. Gay Prevost and family as they travel to Oklahoma for the burial service of Pastor Rob.
Please pray for Gene Burton, member of FSB Reedley, who will have back surgery tomorrow, April 14, in Santa Barbara.
Pray for Allen Greaves, son of Richard and Helen Greaves. Allen had surgery yesterday for a tracheotomy (sp?) and will be in the hospital for several days. Pray for Richard, Helen, and Allen's family.
Pastor's Blog Pastor Tom Sims is creating a MV pastor's blog -- look for the link in the next couple of weeks.

Missions
Vancouver Focus Project - Cityview Baptist Church, Vancouver: 8-10 people are needed for a Ministry Team to help communicate Christ through servant evangelism projects; scout three communities for possible church planting; lead children's recreation and Bible teaching in the evenings in a multi-housing community. Project dates: July 8-14. To adopt any of these projects contact Terry Maldonado, Assn. Mobilization Coordinator at 297-2600 or call the Association office at 297-5550 or go to the website of Cityview Baptist Church at www.cityviewchurch.ca

Feeding Those Who Feed Us:
The Vision: The vision is to permeate 54 valley communities with the love of Jesus. The strategy is to connect believers from local churches to a valley community to be the voice, hands and feet of Jesus. Ministry actions may include food distribution, children's recreation, assist health/dental screeners.
The Need: Volunteers from MV churches to send individuals or teams one or more days during the following weeks
a) July 24-29 - contact Pastor Lee Yarbrough at 584-7255 or at yarfam@lightspeed.net
b) July 31-Aug 5 - contact Frank Sanchez at 233-3623 or pastorfranksanchez@sbcglobal.net
c) June 19-24 - contact Jim Reyes at 240-7374 or jimreysr@yahoo.com

World Changers:
Vision: 140 students want to come to Clovis to express Christ's love by re-furbishing 14 homes of those in need.
Need: 14 MV host churches are needed to provide the noon meals for the working teams of 12-14 people each team during the week of July 16-21. Contact Terry Maldonado at 297-2600 or at terry.maldonado@clovishills.com

LifeRock Church:
Pray for the launch of LifeRock Church in Parlier on April 30, 2006 at 6:30 pm. The new congregation will be meeting at the school in Parlier, and Pastor George Sanchez will be leading. This new work grows out of the vision and partnership among FSB Sanger, Annadale Baptis tSanger, FSBC Selma, and FSBC Reedley.

May 25, 2005 Mission Advocate Training:
How to Develop a Church Mission Strategy
Kingdom-focused churches are those that are committed to leading their members through a process of intentional, integrated, comprehensive, and year-round learning, praying, giving, and going. Terry Maldonado will provide training on equipping, encouraging and expecting members to get personally involved in the Great Commission. Your church doesn't have a designated mission advocate? Send the persons who are most passionate about missions. Meet at the Association office at 6:30 pm on Thursday, May 25.

Available to speak:
Mark and Sharon Bennett are IMB missionaries serving in Japan. They would like to share with MV churches about the the Kingdom work taking place in Japan. They will be in the Fresno area in early June. Mark & Sharon are available to speak on Sunday June 11. If you would like to hear about their exciting work in Japan, contact Mark at bennett@gol.com or Joan Esrey, Mark's mother, at 559-891-7566.

Training Events:
April 21-22, 2006 Effective Parenting in a Defective World: hosted by Clovis Hills Community Church and presented by Walk Thru the Bible. In just five hours you can learn to be an effective parent no matter how defective your world. Times: Friday 7:00 pm- 9:00 pm and Saturday 9:00 am - Noon. Cost $20/person. Contact Patrick Vance at 297-2600 for more info and to register.

May 2, 2006 Children's Camp Counselor Training: All camp counselors are requested to attend this meeting at the MV office, 1363 Fifth St., Clovis. 6:00 pm.

May 6, 2006 VBS Leader Training We believe that every church can impact their community for Christ through an effective VBS strategy. This training is designed to equip VBS leaders to effectively teach and reach children and families through VBS. Location: Sierra Heights Baptist Church. 8:30-9:00 am fellowship and coffee. 9:00 am-Noon training.

May 12-13, 2006 Turning Hearts Tour Uniting Moms, Dads, and teenagers at the same event! Families will discover God's plan for their family through His Word. Compels parents and students to reestablish heart connections between each other and with God; provides 1-2 days of worship, Bible study, and honest dialogue between parents and teens. Cost is $20/person. Hosted by Clovis Hills Community Church. Contact Patrick Vance at 297-2600.

Chairs:
If your congregation could use 20 padded chairs with arm rest and book rack please contact Gene Hightower of OAkview Baptist Church in Auberry at 974-4214 (cell ph) or 855-2115 (hm ph). The chairs will need to be cleaned but are otherwise in good condition. Free to a church congregation.

I will be out of the office.....
Next week, April 17-21, I will be in Pascagoula, Mississippi, to help with hurricane clean up efforts. My daughter, Nicole, and I will be joining a group of 46 others from our former church in San Jose. We will be re-roofing homes and doing general clean-up work. The First Methodist Church of Pascagoula will be hosting us. I so look forward to meeting people in the community. Please pray for us as we travel and do the work that God has planned for us. Pray for the people in the community and the First Methodist Church. Thanks for your prayers -- I appreciate them!
Rich will be in the office and will check the phone messages.

Have a great Easter!
Rita West, Ministry Assistant