The First "Go Week" Coming Soon!

"Gather, Grow, Go" is the mission statement of Apex Baptist Church. We believe that as a result of our 'Gathering and Growing' we should be 'Going' with the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the town of Apex. As the church, it is our duty and privilege to be Christ's messengers. People in our community should be impacted with the Gospel of Christ because our Church is in existence. It is the role of the church to proclaim the Glory of Christ to everyone, in words and actions.

We believe that sharing the love of Christ with our community, in word and deed, should be an intricate part of our Church's DNA. That is why we are committing the 4th week of every month to actively and creatively sharing the love of Christ with the town of Apex. We will not be having our regular Wednesday night activities on the 4th week of every month so that we may give our full focus to spreading the love of Christ.

Each month we will be providing the congregation with two main service opportunities along with other creative ideas for life groups and families to do during the 4th week. These are the two main service opportunities for September:

1) Feeding the Firemen - On Wednesday, September 24, we will be feeding the firemen of Apex at the Fire Station on Salem St at 5:30pm. Everyone can get involved in cooking the meal because we will be doing it 'pot luck' style. You can sign up to cook a main dish (meat), a side dish, or a desert. All the food will need to be dropped off at the front of the church at 5pm. Then we will take the food down to the Fire Station. You can also sign up to help with the set-up at the station, serving the food and drink to the firemen, and the breakdown process as well. We will also be giving a free ticket to see the movie Firepoof that is coming out on Friday, September 26th, to any fireman that wants to go see it. This is a great opportunity for us to thank the firemen for their service to us and show them the love of Christ in a practical way!


2) Apex Nursing Home Ministry - We will be going to all three of the nursing homes in Apex during the 4th week of September. We will go and sing hymns with the residents, read them stories, paint fingernails, do skits, and visit the residents that are visited the least. Each one of these nursing home visits will be on separate nights and you can sign up for them individually.

We will be going to Spring Arbor Rest Home on Monday, September 22nd at 7pm.

We will be going to Rex Wellness Center on Tuesday, September 23rd at 6pm.

We will be going to Atwater Rest Home on Wednesday, September 24th at 6pm.

If you would like to sign-up for one of these events, or have any questions, please contact Matthew Bradham at 362-6176 x. 236.

If your family or Life Group is looking for other creative ways to share the love of Christ with our community here are a couple of ideas.

1) Your family or your Life Group could throw a block party in someone's neighborhood. The Moonwalk, popcorn machine, and sno-cone machine will be provided for you by the church. This is a creative and easy way for you to share the love of Christ with your neighbors.

2) Your family or your Life Group could help a family in need do some much-needed yard work. I have placed a sign-up sheet in the Western Wake Crisis Ministry for families to sign up for yard work during the 4th week of September. This is a great opportunity to serve and build relationships.

3) Your family or your Life Group could collaborate in providing breakfast or lunch for the teachers of a local school. This would be a great way to say 'thank you' and share the love of Christ in a practical way.

If you have any questions about these three ideas and would like help in putting them together, please contact Matthew Bradham @ 362-6176 x. 236

Passing over the Impassable Rivers

Alex Cosio
Pastor of Hispanic Ministries

All of us in someway have been confronted to an impassable river, it may be a difficult person to deal with, it might seem to be our spouse, or a family member, a son, a daughter or a relative. It may be an addiction or a bad habit. It seems that we have tried all but still are unable to conquer. It might be a job situation or a financial difficulty. What is your impassable river?

The book of Joshua chapters three and four tells the story of Israel before the Jordan River. They left behind the desert where they wondered for 40 years and before them was the Promised Land, a land flowing milk and honey. God is about to perform one of the great miracles for the people of Israel, dry up the Jordan River so that his people could come out of the dessert and conquer Canaan to enjoy the abundance of the promise land.

How can you and I conquer and enjoy a fruitful Christian life? There are three principles found it the next verses of Joshua 3:

Joshua started early the next morning and left Acacia Grove with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan and stayed there before crossing. After three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people: "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God carried by the Levitical priests, you must break camp and follow it. But keep a distance of about 1,000 yards between yourselves and the ark. Don't go near it, so that you can see the way to go, for you haven't traveled this way before." Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, because the LORD will do wonders among you tomorrow."

First, spend time early with the Lord (v.1). The Lord Jesus exemplified this habit in his life. Joshua also was an early riser, (Joshua 6:12; 7:16; 8:10). God has given us the ability to present ourselves before Him. Because you and I can, let us take advantage of this privilege and get close to Him.

Second, set our eyes in the Lord (v.3). Peter asked to walk on water, and at the command of the Lord he stepped down the boat but when he looked away from the Lord and focused at the waves, he began to sink. I wonder if we fill that we are sinking in the middle of the river. Let us keep our eyes focus on the Lord and his Word for us.

Third, sanctify ourselves for the Lord (v.5) the reason is that God wants to do wonders. The New International Version translates this word as “purify.” God still does wonders. He takes a sinner, forgives him/her and makes him/her brand new for him. What a great reality, philosophies try to offer change, but God erases our sin by the blood of Jesus and makes people completely new, this is the wonder of God.

If a river is impassable; how can someone pass over it? Remember these three principles: Spend time with the Lord, Set your eyes on Him and purify yourself from un-confessed sin.

A Hand of Hope

Hand of Hope is a Pregnancy Resources Center located in downtown Fuquay Varina. You can check out their website here or here. If you'd like to volunteer or need more info you can contact Tonya. Below is a video from A Hand of Hope put together by Steady Film Productions.