I love the fall season of the year. Everything begins to change, the weather becomes cooler, leaves change colors, grass quits growing but then you have to rake leaves, swapping summer clothes for winter clothes, homemade soup or chili and we get an extra hour when we change our clocks back. Fall is also the time of harvesting all the crops. So this month we observe Thanksgiving by remembering and celebrating the many blessings that God has given to all of us.

We not only celebrate Thanksgiving as families, but also as a church family. God has blessed FBC with multiple salvations and baptisms that have happened over the past several months. On November 23 at 5:00 pm, we will have a churchwide Thanksgiving Dinner in Elliott Hall.

Two other important dates to remember: the SUMMIT is the annual meeting of the Tennessee Baptist Convention. This year it is meeting at the West Jackson Baptist Church in Jackson, TN, November 9-11. Sunday evening November 9 at 6:30 pm, is a Tennessee Reunion worship service for all the local churches to attend. Dan Spencer, Pastor of FBC Sevierville will be preaching. He will also be nominated to serve as the President of Tennessee Baptist Convention.

Thankful to serve our Savior together, 

Brother Stan

October was an exciting time full of Fall activities. The rain did not stop us from having an amazing time at Fall Festival. Thank you to everyone who helped us transform the gym as we adapted to the crazy weather. Thanks also to everyone who decorated a table, served food, monitored the inflatables, helped on the safety team, and donated candy. This event truly would not be possible without our volunteers. Congratulations to our “Best Decorated Trunk” award winners, Cathy and Julia Abston.

Early last month, we launched a new version of Children's Church specifically designed for our PreK and kindergartners. We are calling this new group “Kinder Worship.” Mrs. Teresa Pleasants has so faithfully answered the Lord's call to lead this new group. The children are building an understanding of the church as God's forever family, and they are learning we all have a place in serving the church. They are also learning what it means to be reverent by learning manners in God's house. As they engage in a Bible lesson, singing, and an activity each week, the foundations of faith are slowly beginning to build within their hearts. If you are interested in helping with Kinder Worship, please contact me or Teresa Pleasants.

In the nursery, we are growing at a rapid pace. The Lord is sending new families our way on a regular basis, and I am so excited that we have the opportunity to serve them. With the growth that is taking place in the church nursery, we are actively working to build a volunteer schedule that works on a permanent basis. We are asking volunteers to pick a Sunday they want to work each month in a specific classroom at a certain time. If you are interested in serving on a permanent basis, please contact me.

Happy Fall! October was a great month for our student ministry, as we concluded our Wednesday night study in the Book of Daniel and held Fall Retreat from the 24th to the 26th at The Grove in Cordova. We had a great group of students go to Fall Retreat this year, and the Lord blessed our time away together. We studied the Book of James the whole weekend, and we enjoyed different activities together throughout the weekend. I want to offer a special thanks to Emily Waldon, Luke Crafton, Jonny Shelton and Kaylee Garrett for their help at Fall Retreat! The Lord has continued to bring new students and volunteers to our ministry on Wednesday nights, and we are grateful for all that is going on. We are looking to do different service projects in November and December, with one being at the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Village in Millington and with the other being local.

Basketball signups have been extended a few more weeks and will be going until November 21. If anyone is interested in signing up a 4–12 year old for basketball, please sign up online through our website or Facebook.