Pleasant Grove Baptist Church of Neese, Georgia

by Gail Lester
How blessed are we who have heard the Good News of Jesus, God’s gift, of salvation! How blessed are we who have received Him, to have our lives changed forever. Let us take to heart the message given to the shepherds that night long ago and, “Go Tell”, “Go Tell”!

Go, tell it on the mountain,
over the hills and everywhere;
Go, tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born!
Down in a lowly manger the humble Christ was born,
And brought us God’s salvation that blessed Christmas morn.
Go, tell it on the mountain,
over the hills and everywhere;
Go, tell it on the mountain
that Jesus Christ is born!
John W. Work

God gave us His Son, to save us. God gives us the Wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace to make the troubled and painful areas of our lives less frightening.
He whispers to us, “Don’t rush by me, walk slowly with me, don’t be afraid of the dark, I am with you always.

Peace I leave you, my peace I give unto you… Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus: there is room in my heart for Thee!

by Gail Lester
The Lottie Moon Offering for International Missions is off to a good start. The Chili Supper received $483, and offerings continue to come in. We are now up to $533.
Our Chili Supper and International Mission Study is always a good time of fellowship, as well as a learning time to focus on an area of our world that needs to hear the Gospel. This event is always well supported by our church and I want to thank all the ladies and men who prepared and served the meal Sunday evening. It was good again! I also want to thank all who took part in the program, from “Fast Facts” readers to our special guest Amazon Al.

How blessed are we who have heard the Good News of Jesus, responded to it, and had our lives changed forever. Let us take to heart the chant of our children as they marched in last Sunday night and, “Go Tell”, “Go Tell”!

The Lottie Moon Post Office Box is open for business. Look for it on the table in the church foyer.

Please remember that any Christmas Card for an active church member can be brought to church and mailed in the Lottie Moon Post Office Box. The money you would spend on postage should be placed in an envelope and put in the box with your cards to be donated to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

By Gail Lester
The following is taken from the introduction to the book of Revelation in the New Living Translation:

“At God’s appointed time, the risen and ascended Lord Jesus will burst onto the world scene. Then every one will know that Jesus is Lord of the universe! Those who love him will rejoice, greeting their Savior with hearts overflowing into songs of praise. But his enemies will be filled with fear. Allied with Satan, the enemies of Christ will marshal their legions against Christ and his armies. But who can withstand God’s wrath? Christ will win the battle and reign victorious forever! Jesus, the humble suffering servant, is also the powerful, conquering King and Judge.
Revelation is a book of hope. John, the beloved apostle and eyewitness of Jesus, proclaimed that the victorious Lord would surely return to vindicate the righteous and judge the wicked. But Revelation is also a book of warning. Things were not as they should have been in the churches, so Christ called the members to commit themselves to live in righteousness.

Although Jesus gave this revelation of himself to John nearly 2,000 years ago, it still stands as a comfort and challenge to God’s people today. We can take heart as we understand John’s vision of hope: Christ will return to rescue his people and settle accounts with all who defy him”.

I urge you to come to our Sunday Evening Service and hear Pastor Jonathan’s very informative study of the Revelation!

By Pastor Jonathan
Our vision is becoming increasingly clearer as of this past Wednesday’s quarterly meeting. The church adopted the following vision statement as a guide to future ministry: “Our vision is to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to become His fully committed followers, equipped to serve in His name.”

In the months to come, I will take the time to break this statement down to give us a more concrete strategy to fulfill that message. In short, we will be about evangelism of the lost, discipling those who are committed to membership, and equipping all to serve the world in Christ’s name. This biblically-based statement gives us a unified mission and vision that will help us determine the future of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church.

Thank you church for your unity and togetherness in adopting this important statement! In the month of February 2009 during the 11:00 a.m. services, we will be taking an in-depth look at how to actualize this vision. Please prepare to attend these important Sundays as we dream together and pray for God to continue to guide us during this “Vision Month.”

by Gail Lester
Harvest Knights is over, and Wednesday nights have returned to the regular schedule. During the winter months, the children’s groups will be meeting together in the Fellowship Hall.

Last Wednesday night was our first evening and it was noisy and fun! We watched a ten minute segment of the Operation Christmas Child DVD. For that ten minutes, you could have heard a pin drop, as the children saw a world of children who had much, much less than they have. At the conclusion of the DVD, Miss Amy divided the children into two teams and asked them questions from the DVD. As they answered correctly, they were able to select a gift to go in a shoe box for a boy or for a girl. At the end of the game, they had filled two boxes. One of the questions they answered was, What is the most important thing you do after you pack your shoe box? “Pray” was their correct answer. My heart was touched as each group put their hands on their shoe box and prayed for the boy or girl somewhere in the world who will receive the shoe box. Be sure you do the same!

by Pastor Jonathan
Wow and Whewwwwww! 100 plus people visited PGBC’s fall festival last night.
Honestly I was expecting 50–60 and would have been pleased with that number! We met many families who were looking for a church home. We reconnected with some former attenders/members of PGBC.

Thank you to all who worked the booths! Thank you to all who brought food! Thank you to all who built and decorated booths! Thank you to all who invited and brought people! Thank you to all who decorated the grounds, fellowship hall, and other places! Thank you to all who prayed for the event! Thank you to all who volunteered to clean up, set up, do the hayride, etc. Thank you to all the persons who assisted in transportation for folks to and from PGBC! And… thank you for meeting and greeting guests, listening to their stories, and helping them to feel so comfortable.
We have about 30 folks/families that we can follow-up on. These are folks who registered for a drawing when they arrived.

Some quotes from folks, positive and humorous:
“We are definitely going to visit your church again”
“Everyone here is so nice like a big family”
“We have been out of church for a while and our kids don’t have any family nearby”
“He hit me!”
“Somebody stole my candy!”
“I was just walking by and saw your church and figured I would come in an see what’s going on”

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church
invites you to Softball and Supper Night

When: Wednesday, June 4th
Where: Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in the Neese
Community off Diamond Hill-Neese Rd

Time: 6:00 pm hotdog supper at fellowship hall
6:30 pm Kid’s game
6:50-8:30 Adult and youth game

Bring: Friends, gloves
Kids: Children are welcome but MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY ADULT!

For more information contact Pastor Jonathan Tolbert:
706-548-3945
Email: pleasantgrove230@bellsouth.net

By Jonathan Tolbert

Are you experiencing the physical, emotional, and mental health that God has in store for you? Our Christian health study has begun and continues every Wednesday in the Spring. Our hearts are being challenged.

I want to say thanks to you all who are supporting this health study. You encourage me by your willingness to learn what the Bible and Christian physicians have to say about health. It's not too late for anyone to join this week or any other. Each week I am teaching a lesson that has to do with important topics on our health.

Let me invite you and your friends to come and join us. My goal is to challenge us in our thinking, encourage you to start or restart life changes, and to inspire us to better manage our bodies for God's glory and for our own fuller and more enjoyable life.

I am trying to keep the lessons informative, exciting, and extremely practical. I'm not encouraging vegetarianism or body-building, just the best you that the Lord can develop with the time, resources, and talents He has given you. Come early for fellowship and supper and you will even have a salad with all the fixings available. Won't you join us?!

By Jonathan Tolbert

This will be a great event to bring another man who needs some encouragement. I encourage you to invite someone and to mark your calendars!