Christmas Eve

On December 24, at 7:00 p.m. we invite you to join us for a very special Christmas Eve service!  This day marks the completion of our Advent season and we will conclude this service with our traditional lighting of the Christ candle and sharing of this light as we circle the church to share in the song, Silent Night!

Grace Tabernacle, the Congolese church, will be joining us for this service and sharing some music with us as well as other special music, including some Romanian Christmas music!  Come and join with us as we finish our preparation and celebrate the birth of our Savior, who is Christ the Lord!

Manna Saturday

This Saturday, December 21 will be another Manna offering at CCBC.  We will serve a hot breakfast of eggs, hash browns, bacon, fruit, cereal, etc...  from 9:30-11:00 a.m to our local community.  We have had as many as 45 (non-church) visitors to these meals and invite our members and friends to join us for this event to sit and dine with our visitors in this important outreach program. 

Many of our visitors join us by invitation to our local Crooked Creek Elementary School, from our neighborhood, or by word of mouth and many of them live right in our community.  Crooked Creek Baptist began this meal in response to the number of families at the school who qualified for free and reduced lunches. 

Besides offering a hot breakfast and take home food from our pantry, we also offer fellowship with our visitors reminding them that they are important to God and to God's servants.

This month, thanks to the generosity of a donor, all of our visiting families will have a chance to receive frozen ground venison or stew meat! 

Thanks to all of our hard working volunteers and faithful suppliers who make this ministry possible!  See you Saturday morning!

Upcoming Christmas Events

Sunday, December 15 is going to feature 2 special events at Crooked Creek Baptist.

1.  In our regular 10:45 a.m.worship service the choir will be presenting its Christmas Cantata entitled, "A Song is Born," which will feature both some traditional and new Christmas songs to inspire us for the season!

2.  Progressive Christmas Dinner- youth and children are invited to join us at 4:30 p.m. (starting at Crooked Creek Baptist) for a semi-formal (best Sunday clothes) dinner event that will take us to multiple homes from our church family.  To register for this event, please let Pastor Tom know by Monday, December 9.

Proposed Bedrock Belief(s) for Crooked Creek Baptist

Yesterday following worship several tables worth of church members met to determine our bedrock beliefs.  Bedrock beliefs are the principles or symbols of faith that matter most in the daily life of congregational participants (Tom Bandy).  Each table met to determine up to 7 Bedrock beliefs and following this exercise, we attempted to develop a consensus list.

We did.

Grace.  There were other beliefs identified shared, a lot of discussion around the words and beliefs proposed.  But when we broke everything down, we came back to one word upon which EVERYONE could agree.  Grace.

On one level this represented a sense of frustration for those gathered.  With words like Scripture (Word of God), redemption, God is love, etc... thrown out for various reasons (not that these are rejected terms for our church, just that they did not "matter most in our daily lives), we wondered what we had done wrong in light of the fact that we could have up to 7...

And yet, on another level, the time spent was a tremendous success.  It is powerful to say that the belief most important to the membership of Crooked Creek Baptist is grace!  Webster defines grace as:
    unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification
    a virtue coming from God     a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace

For those gathered on this Sunday afternoon free from distractions such as Colts football games (they play Monday night) it was a powerful statement about the membership of Crooked Creek Baptist and what we believe to be the most influential concept in the life of our church family.

Grace.  This Sunday in our regular worship service, we will be focusing on this powerful word (acutally ,it seems we have been focusing on this word for some time now) as we sing, pray, and think about the grace we have from God. 

I am proud to be able to serve a church where Grace, God's unmerited assistance for creation, exists as the most basic building block of our faith.

Commitment Sunday

This Sunday, October 13 member and friends of Crooked Creek Baptist are invited to join us for 2 special events:

1.  The return of our pledge cards for the year 2014 in our regular worship service.  In the event that you are unable to join us these cards can be submitted to the church office.

2.  Bedrock Beliefs meeting- Immediately following worship we will head to Fellowship Hall for a baked potato lunch (from McAlister's Deli) followed by a session to determine the bedrock beliefs of Crooked Creek Baptist.

We hope you will make plans to join us for these events on Sunday!

Overwhelming Response

Thanks to all of you who have donated school supplies and underwear for the local elementary school!  Today I delivered a part of these donations as they were taking up so much space in my office!  The school secretary was overwhelmed with what I brought in and could not believe the stories I shared with her as donations came from so many different places.

She told me that this surplus was going to give them enough supplies to last them for some time to come and suggested we take the remaining supplies and use them to bless other schools in the area who are also in need!

Thanks to everyone who donated to this ministry!

Generous Giving

We are not even halfway through our collection of school supplies and underwear for our local elementary school and have to pause to remark on the incredible generosity of our church members and our community at large to this response.  We have received donations from as far away as California and Detroit.  The response has already exceeded our expectations and we have several weeks of collecting still to go!

Just this past weekend we attended a meeting that considered the generous nature of God.  We talked about all the blessings God bestows upon us as human beings, and specifically the blessings of living in this nation where our standard of living is indeed high. 

If God made human beings in the image of the Divine, and if we believe that God is a generous God- full of grace and blessings, then does it make sense that we too can be a generous people?  In fact, when we do give we come a little closer to that Divine image.  It will be exciting to see how this generous God will be represented when we finally deliver all of the supplies that will be collected. 

Imagine what could happen if we became this generous in other areas of our life...how different would our own world, and the world of others, be changed?

School Supplies

Crooked Creek Elementary notified the church of their need for school supplies for many of their students who come from homes where these supplies are not available.  Below is a list of supplies that can be brought into the church and donated at any time through the month of September.  The church is also accepting monetary donations and these can be made out to the church and marked for School supplies.  Thanks!

Supply list:
Pens
Erasers
Dry Erase markers
Markers
Crayons (24 packs)
Folders
Notebooks
Pencil Boxes
Scissors
Glue sticks
Colored pencils
Backpacks
Hand sanitizer
Tissues
Underwear for boys and girls (sizes 4-10)

Several stores around Indy have already put these items on clearance!  Thanks for all of your help!

Worship Retreat

Kingdom Builders
Crooked Creek Baptist Retreat at
Indian Creek Baptist Camp (Bedford, IN)
Friday, August 16 6:30 p.m.-Sunday, August 18 11:45 a.m.
For children and youth grades 4-8*

Crooked Creek Baptist will be sponsoring a retreat for youth in grades 4-8 for the weekend of August 16-18. The theme for the weekend will be “Kingdom Builders” and will offer work with Legos and Bible stories culminating as we share in the worship service at Crooked Creek Baptist in our 10:45 worship service. They can be picked up by parents following the service around 11:45 a.m-12 noon.

We will meet at the church at 6:30 p.m. (please have your child eat dinner) on Friday evening and depart for Indian Creek Baptist Camp near Bedford, IN. We will be staying at the air-conditioned lodge for the weekend which features separate dorm style housing for boys and girls. Retreaters will be asked to bring their own shower supplies including towels and linens, sleeping bags, etc. A full detailed packing list will be provided at your child’s registration. Meals will be provided as part of this event and we will also (weather permitting) have access to the camp’s swimming pool and GaGa ball pit. Just FYI- Ipods, I pads, and other electronic gaming equipment will not be permitted for this weekend!

Cost for the retreat is $70 and will cover meals, overnight lodging, swimming pool use, etc… Scholarship support is available for families who qualify. A special discount is available for children who bring a friend with them for this weekend. Both would pay a discounted fee of only $55. Youth older than 8th grade can still join us for this event in a leadership capacity. Children younger than 4th grade will not be able to join us for this event.

Permission forms and fee are due by Sunday, August 11. If you have any questions about this event feel free to contact Tom Bartley at 317.670.4313 or at tbartley@ymail.com.

Vacation Bible School

Crooked Creek Baptist will be offering Vacation Bible School July 8-12 from 9:00 to 12 noon each day.  The theme for the week is "God's Backyard Bible Camp" and will focus on the call to serve!  Children entering K-6th grade are invited to join us for the whole week of fun, stories, music, and games.

You may call on your registration with the church office at 317-251-7804!

Kings Island trip rescheduled

Our Kings Island trip has been re-scheduled for Wednesday, July 17.  We postponed the July 1 trip due to poor weather conditions near the park.  Refunds will be given to those who can not attend the make up day.  New permission forms are now available and due by Sunday, July 14.

Kings Island Permission Form

Crooked Creek Baptist Church Permission Form

Kings Island Trip

Monday, July 17

Starting time:  7:30 a.m.

Ending time:  12 midnight

I, _____________________________ am the parent or legal guardian of __________________________

born on ________________, 19___. I warrant that I possess all the rights, powers, and privileges of a

parent or legal guardian necessary to execute this document with binding legal effect.

As the parent or legal guardian of ____________________________, I certify and affirm that I have been

completely and thoroughly informed that as a child attending Kings Island, my child

will participate in certain activities which carry with them a degree of risk and danger. I acknowledge and

understand that Crooked Creek Baptist may offer other activities not listed above that present

similar risks or dangers to my child. I consent to my child’s participation in these activities. I acknowledge

and understand that this PARENTAL AUTHORIZATION, CONSENT AND RELEASE has the same

force and effect regardless of whether the activities engaged in are free or if a fee is charged. Further, I

personally assume, on my child’s behalf, all risk in connection with said activities for any harm, injury or

damages that may befall my child as a result of my child’s participation in the activities, whether foreseen

or unforeseen, and I still wish to allow my child to proceed with the activities.

In consideration of my child being allowed to participate in these activities and to use

Crooked Creek Baptist equipment and facilities, on behalf of my child, I hereby voluntarily

release, forever discharge, and agree to indemnify and hold harmless Crooked Creek Baptist Church,

from any and all claims, demands, or causes of action, which are in any way connected with my child’s

participation in these activities or use of Kings Island, equipment and facilities.

I understand that it is my obligation to inform the church of any and all health considerations or medical

conditions that would restrict my child’s participation in any and all activities while in the care of

Crooked Creek Baptist Chaperones. Should the need for medical attention arise the church will attempt to

contact me as soon as practicable under the circumstances.

In cases of emergency, I further consent to the examination or treatment of my child by a physician duly

licensed to practice medicine in the United States of America or any health care professional duly licensed

to provide heath care serviced in the United States of America for medical care and services deemed

necessary by the doctor, its agents, servants, and employees. I give permission to the doctor or health care

professional to provide any and all medical care they deem, in their professional opinion, to be necessary. I

agree to pay for any and all medical expenses incurred as a result of the use of this consent.

I acknowledge by signing this document, that if anyone is hurt or property is damaged during my child’s

participation in these activities, I may be found by a court of law to have waived my right to maintain a

lawsuit against the church on the basis of any claim form which I have released them herein. I agree that if

any portion of this agreement is found to be void or unenforceable, the remaining portions remain in full

force and effect. I have fully informed myself to the contents of this PARENTAL AUTHORIZATION,

CONSENT AND RELEASE by reading it before I signed it.

______________________________________ ____________________________ _______________

Signature                                                                               Printed Name                                       Date

Contact Number in case of an emergency ______________________________________

Crooked Creek Baptist Kings Island Trip

Crooked Creek Baptist is planning a family trip to Kings Island near Cincinnati, OH on Monday, July 1, 2013.

We will depart Crooked Creek Baptist at 7:30 a.m. on July 1 and return home around midnight on the same day.  Admission to the park is $30 (group rate).  Meals will be at your own expense.

Children and families are welcome to join us for this event (we will be arranging carpool details as registrations are set).  Children going into the 4th grade and younger will need to be accompanied by an adult (We might be able to arrange a chaperone for children who do not have a parent accompanying them.)  Youth going into 6th grade will be able to stay in the park with a second youth.  There will be regular MANDATORY check in times during the course of the day (set by Pastor Tom).  Of course friends and guests are welcome at this event.

Permission slips will be available this Sunday, June 9 and must completed and turned in along with the $30 registration fee by Sunday, June 23.  Please note that travel arrangements will be finalized at this point and we may have to deny late registrations due to space restrictions. 

If you have any questions, please contact Pastor Tom at church, via email, or by phone at 670-4313.

Oklahoma Tornado Relief

From our Executive Minister...note that 100% of funds donated go directly to helping with the relief effort. Our One Great Hour of Sharing Offering is a trusted way to provide immediate relief to those who have experienced the tornado devastation in Moore, Oklahoma. To give online, click here.  Enter your information and select "One Great Hour of Sharing" from the drop-down menu.

American Baptists Respond... A massive tornado tore through Moore, Okla., and surrounding suburbs of Oklahoma City on Monday, damaging homes, businesses and elementary schools. American Baptists are joining with others to respond to this disaster. Church World Service has issued an appeal, and $5,000 in One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) domestic emergency disaster-relief funds have been released in response to the appeal.  Read more...

Many from our wider ABC family gave sacrificially to OGHS last year when tornadoes struck Henryville, IN.  May we respond generously this year. In Christ, Rev. Soozi Whitten Ford, Executive Minister American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky

Matching grant offer for missionary support

DOUBLE your gifts to IM: May 1 – June 30

IM announces a generous Matching Gift Opportunity. New individual donors and current donors who give a gift over-and-above their previous contributions can have their gifts to International Ministries DOUBLED when they respond between May 1 and June 30, 2013.
A generous group of donors from the Luther Rice Society (LRS) are making this gift-doubling opportunity possible. These individuals have created a matching pool that now totals $200,000 and may grow larger in the coming weeks.
The LRS donors are inviting other individuals to contribute gifts of $50 or more to International Ministries. Participating with IM through these gifts will help to call new workers into international cross-cultural mission service as well as undergird the work of current mission personnel. These gifts will be matched dollar for dollar between May 1 and June 30, 2013, or until the matching pool is depleted, whichever comes first.
“The Matching Gift Opportunity will help us send new personnel into service on location and strengthen the support for our 110 current and endorsed long-term missionaries, development workers and global consultants,” commented Reid Trulson, IM’s executive director.
Individual donors (rather than groups or congregations) may participate in this Matching Gift Opportunity. “Matching Gift” must be written on the memo line of checks for the gift to be doubled.
Gifts may be made online or by check payable to International Ministries. Checks should be mailed to: International Ministries, P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482.

GIVE TODAY… DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT!

Visit with newly appoint International Minsitries Missionaries

Crooked Creek Baptist Church invites you to join us on Tuesday, May 21 at 7:00 p.m. to meet with newly appointed missionaries Kyle and Debby Witmer.  Kyle and Debby have been appointed to serve with the Karen in Thailand.  More information about their appointment can be found at this link:

http://internationalministries.org/read/48007-im-endorses-two-missionaries-for-service-in-thailand

Crooked Creek Baptist invites you to come and meet with the Witmer family to hear of their call to serve and what steps they are taking to prepare for this exciting ministry.  Crooked Creek Baptist is located at 5540 Michigan Rd in Indianapolis, IN 46228.  For more information you may contact the church office at 317.251.7804.

Special Music on Sunday

Alex McGrath will be sharing special music this coming Sunday, May 5.  Alex will be playing "Meditation from Thais" on the violin as the offering is collected.

One Great Hour of Sharing

During the month of May, Crooked Creek Baptist will be collecting for the One Great Hour of Sharing special mission offering.  This offering is primarily used to supply emergency aid in disaster situations.  Int he past, grants from this fund have been used to help with tsunami victims worldwide, tornado and flood victims in the United States, and earthquake victims in the nation of Haiti.  100% of funds donated go directly to help people in need.

To find out more about how this special offering affects those around the world one can visit this link:
http://abc-oghs.org

Believer's Baptism

Our next believer's baptism is now scheduled for Sunday, May 19 as part of the 10:45 a.m. worship service!

Crooked Creek Baptist Core Value

Recently the members of Crooked Creek Baptist met to identify the core values of the church.  These core values are the basic building blocks of our faith and activity in our local community understood through our relationship with Jesus Christ.  These 7 Core Values proposed are:

1.  Care
2.  Creativity
3.  Disicpleship
4.  Diversity
5.  Faith
6.  Mission
7.  Worship

Over the next several weeks we will be exploring these words and how they help shape the ministry of Crooked Creek Baptist.

Holy Week Update

If you have had trouble reaching the church the last couple of days it is due to an internet connection issue which has been resolved (as of today).  Any emails or other electronic communication since last Thursday (March 14) may have not been received in the office, though personal emails have been delivered.

We kick off Holy Week with a Palm Sunday service this Sunday morning that will feature believers baptism.  There will also be special music from the worship team and more!

Maundy Thursday, March 28,  we will offer a public Tenebrae service (the extinguishing of lights) in our 7 p.m. special service.  Communion will be offered and we will hear the passion story of Christ as read by Shannon Wise.  You may remember Shannon from last year's Easter Cantata as the narrator in that service.

Good Friday we will be participating in a community service hosted at Witherspoon Presbyterian Church.  This service will begin at noon on Friday, March 29 and will focus on the last 7 phrases of Jesus.  7 different pastors will offer 5 minute reflections on these phrases (Pastor Tom and Joy Amick will be 2 of those 7). 

And finally, on Sunday March 31 we will offer a Resurrection Celebration Service at our regular 10:45 a.m. time.  This could be a great opportunity to finally invite that friend, neighbor, or relative to join us in a service of celebration that on the third day Christ arose!
The worship team has been working on several pieces of special music and will debut a brand new original song in the service!

We hope you will make plans to join us for these special worship opportunities!

Special Called Business Meeting

A special business has been called for Sunday, April 14 at 12 noon (immediately following worship) to discuss a proposed recommendation from the Leadership Council to sell about a quarter of an acre of property to Douglas Realty.  This is the company developing the property across the street that is seeking access to a sanitation sewer located on this property.  More details about the proposed sale will be shared once the final details are arranged.

Core Values of Crooked Creek Baptist

On Sunday, February 3, 2013- members of Crooked Creek Baptist assembled to discuss the values that our church family holds to be as the most critical for our family of faith.  Many concepts and values were discussed and lifted up and a great process led our church to settle upon suggesting the following 7 values to be the Core Values of Crooked Creek Baptist.  They are:

1.    Care                  

2.    Creativity                    

3.    Discipleship                         

4.    Diversity                     

5.    Faith         

6.    Mission                                

             7.    Worship  

These values will be discussed and unpacked further in the near future and for now we ask that you consider how these values accurately reflect the core of values here at Crooked Creek Baptist.

Crooked Creek Covenant for 2013

This Sunday we will begin a 4 week sermon series on a covenant proposal for Crooked Creek Baptist for the remainder of 2013.  This covenant is a challenge for each and every member to take more responsibility for our ministry in our community.  On the final week an invitation will be offered for our members to commit themselves to this covenant.  The covenant is as follows:
 

Crooked Creek Baptist recognizes that with the new year many people make resolutions to improve their health.  In this tradition, the members and friends of Crooked Creek Baptist, in order to strengthen the ties in our fellowship and in our community, covenant together to:

1. faithfully maintain personal devotions.

2. faithfully attend Sunday worship and educational opportunities.

3. invite friends and neighbors to experience the presence of God through worship and warm Christian relationships.

4. become a welcoming host in all our endeavors.

The Leadership Council has approved this challenge for the members of Crooked Creek Baptist and we hope you will prayerfully consider how you are being called to respond.

Ash Wednesday Service

Crooked Creek Baptist will be hosting an interfaith Ash Wednesday service on Wednesday evening, February 13 at 7:00 p.m.  Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season that culminates with our Resurrection Celebration that will occur on March 31!  Ash Wednesday is a time for us to begin the process of reflecting on our own life and re-discovering the power of repentance in light of God's gift of salvation through Christ's death and resurrection.

Several churches and their leadership will be a part of this service, including Rev. L. Bryant Parker of Witherspoon Presbyterian, Rev. Kevin Bausman of Immanuel Presbyterian, and Pastors Ryan Algrim and Shannon Dycus from the First Mennonite Church.  We hope you will make plans to join us for this evening of worship, introspection, and repentance!

Clean Up

The restoration contractor has been at the church hard at work already.  We are currently in what they refer to as the clean up phase- the first of three in the repair to the church kitchen.  All the debris from the crash has now been removed from inside the building.  A salvage crew has removed what can be saved from the kitchen where it will be cleaned and stored until the renovation is complete.  Damaged and unusable materials are in the process of being inventoried and discarded.  Cabinets and countertops that were damaged have also been removed in preparation for a structural engineer to begin reviewing the damage to the walls in the kitchen.  We are at this time unsure of when this visit will occur. 

The kitchen at this point is out of commission and will be so until the repairs are completed.  The pitch in meal set for Sunday has been postponed and Fellowship time has been moved this Sunday to the Fireside room.

Thanks for your patience as this process continues. 

Church Collision

This past Sunday a SUV struck the church building early Sunday morning.  At 8 a.m. police were called to respond to this accident.  There was no driver or passengers in the vehicle when it was discovered.  The collision took place on the north-eastern part of the building, where the kitchen and parlor sit respectively.  The collision punched a hole in the exterior of the building, pushing cinder blocks and the exhaust fan into the kitchen.  There was no one present in the building at the time of the accident and no report of any injuries to anyone.  We do not know the condition of the driver or any passengers in the vehicle.

Police, fire, and other emergency agencies responded to this incident and agreed the building was safe for meetings that day.  We secured a temporary block of the hole and conducted worship services for the day.

We met with our insurance adjustor today who gave us a 2 month estimate on repairing the kitchen and other damage done to the building.  During this time the kitchen will not be accessible to church members for any reason.  Because of this we will postpone our scheduled pitch in and meeting set for Sunday, January 27.  We will release details about a modified re-scheduled event soon.

Thanks for your prayers and concerns for our church family and for your patience and understanding as we adjust to the renovations necessary to restore our building.

January 27 Core Values Pitch In Luncheon and Meeting

On January 27, Crooked Creek Baptist will host a pitch in luncheon following worship.  Following the fellowship meal, we will work on developing our core values.  What are core values?  They are the characteristics within our church that help us understand who we really are a community of believers.  Our core values help us understand our passion for ministry and communicate that passion to others! 

This is NOT a project for a select few, but a process our whole church determines together.  We hope you will join us to help determine our core values and discover how these can help with our future and present ministry.

The Woman at the Well

What if we spent 4 weeks in a row examining one passage of Scripture?  The story of the woman at the well in John 4 will be our choice for this study of Scripture in our regular worship service.  Many people have already made (and possibly broken) their commitment for the year 2013.  What kind of goals/hopes do we have for ourselves in this year?  What goals do we have as a community of believers?  How are we going to carry out the Great Commission from Christ?

Over the month of January we will be exploring these and other questions, and using this story in the 4th chapter of John's gospel to help us.