Harvest Baptist Association

The Greece Mission Trip deposit deadline is next week June 1st. We have a few spots still open for those who are interested in joining our team. If you are interested or have questions about the trip please reach out to our office ASAP. Call 940-627-0723

We will be booking flights by the end of June so you don't want to wait.

First Baptist Decatur is looking for a gifted, experienced Children's Minister who loves kids and their families. We want someone who will lead our children's and preschool ministries with vision, passion, and a clear commitment to the gospel. If that describes you, we would love to hear from you.
In order to be considered, please submit your resume and cover letter by emailing [email protected]

Qualifications and Expectations:
Full-time position
Bachelor’s Degree
4+ years paid ministry experience
Age focus of all children from birth to 6th grade

Benefits
Salary: $65k-80k (based on qualifications)
Health insurance
Life insurance
Retirement Contribution
Paid Holidays
Paid vacation time

Primary Function: The Children’s Minister is responsible for planning, coordinating, directing, and evaluating the children and preschool ministries of the church.

Reports To: Executive Minister

Responsibilities:

1. Maintain a spiritual example as a follower of Christ.

2. Plan, coordinate, direct, and evaluate the preschool and children’s ministries of the church through the preschool and children’s ministry organizations of the church; schedule on the church calendar accordingly.

3. Work with the children and preschool leaders to plan a ministry for leading children and preschoolers toward the knowledge of salvation, leading toward a time of believer’s baptism, and a discipleship strategy that assists children to grow and develop as followers of Jesus.

4. Assist the organizational leaders in the enlistment, training, equipping, and guidance of children and preschool leaders to achieve the purposes of the church within the children’s and preschool ministries.

5. Lead in planning and conducting special age-group gatherings appropriate for spiritual growth, including but not limited to Vacation Bible School, camps, retreats, fellowships, service projects, and mission activities.

6. Work with the Worship Ministry to strengthen the preschool and children’s ministry through music programs.

7. Ensure there is a systematic approach to follow up with and contact parents of children who are first-time guests or prospective members.

8. Study and make recommendations for needed changes in the preschool and children’s ministries such as organizational changes, space use changes, equipment and furnishing needs, and policies and procedures of operation.

9. Prepare the annual budget for the preschool and children’s ministry and administer and oversee the approved budget according to church policy.

10. Study new materials, programs, curriculum, and educational methods for preschool and children and make recommendations when feasible.

11. Maintain a safe, welcoming, and nurturing environment for all children participating in the children’s ministry.

12. Oversee and help the Mother’s Day Out Director and Preschool and Nursery Director fulfill their responsibilities, including the weekly operation of the MDO ministry as well as weekly preschool ministries, including paid and volunteer staffing for the nursery, preschool, and children’s Bible studies, while equipping and ensuring leadership in these ministries is supported with vision and guidance from the Children’s Minister.

13. Work with the directors within the Children’s Ministry to oversee and, when needed, assist in the scheduling of teachers and volunteers for preschool and children’s ministry programs and activities, including childcare for special church-related events, in coordination with the church calendar.

14. Minister to and partner with parents to equip them to share their faith at home and strengthen family discipleship.

15. Perform other duties as assigned by the Executive Minister or Pastor.

Some guys dread committee or team meetings. But when you hold said meetings at the local bbq joint the mundane has instantly turned into a great excuse to get out of the office!

My Nominating team knows how to host a meeting. Good discussion, great fellowship, and delicious food. What a combination.

All in all it was a good day. I was able to promote our Athens Greece mission trip this morning and then consulted a Constitution and Bylaws committee this evening.

First Baptist Church of Bowie had begun the process of updating their Constitution and Bylaws and asked for my help navigating this process. This is one of the many ways we walk alongside of our churches as a resource to their people.

As of today 8 people have signed up to be apart of mission team to Athens in September. For those who still might be interested in joining our team, your $200 deposit is due by June 1st. If you feel the Lord might be asking you to be a part of our team please reach out to me ASAP.

We had a very productive and engaging 3rd Thursday lunch gathering today. We were down in attendance due to this being the last day of school for many of our communities but those that were able to attend enjoyed the fellowship and discussion.

Micah Caswell walked us through several exercises helping us to wrestle with moving our church members from spectators to equipped, mobilized, and engaged people out on the front lines of ministry.

We will take a break for the summer months and then start back up in August.

Harvest finally has our office put back together after the flood from 2 years ago. (Well almost. My library is still sitting on the floor of my office!). We have a few items of furniture that we are not planning to bring back into the office. Therefore we would like to offer these items to any of our churches on a first come first serve basis. There would be no charge for any of the items if you come and pick them up. Any items not taken by one of our churches on or before June 15th we will then try to sell (for cheap) locally or on Facebook.

Items available to you are as follows:

1. Coffee table.
2. 2 drawer wooden filing cabinet.
3. 1.5 foot by 2 foot rolling kitchen island.
4. 2 glass top computer desks. 2 foot by 4 foot.
5. 1 Red leather office loveseat.
6. 8 Red leather rolling office chairs.

Please contact the association office with questions or for pick up arrangements.

Make plans now to join us on may 21st for our final monthly lunch gathering until after the summer. We have invited Micah Caswell, pastor of Redeemer Church in Denton and a church planter catalyst with Send Network to be our special guest. Micah will be sharing insights with us about raising up na mobilizing volunteers from within your church.

Here's our key question for discussion. How do we help to move church members from spectators to equipped, mobilized, and engaged people out on the front lines of ministry?

All Harvest pastors, staff members, and key lay leaders are invited to join us for this free lunch and timely discussion. Please RSVP to our office so that we can plan accordingly for lunch.

May 21st lunch is served at noon and we will wrap up by 1:30 pm.

Made a run down to Springtown to check in on the Disaster Relief work that is continuing. As of this afternoon they have over 120 open work orders and new requests keep coming in daily. The more we look the more damaged homes we find.

I was able to drop off another stack of Walmart gift cards that were graciously donated to us from partners across the state. Those gift cards were given to First Baptist Springtown to distribute as they encountered families in need. This is one of the many ways we partner with our churches throughout the association for Kingdom impact.

Continue to pray for their pastor, Bobby Cates, and the work their people are doing in Springtown and the surrounding community. Also continue to pray for SBTC Disaster Relief and their volunteers as they serve our communities.

It’s been several months since I’ve been able to attend church with my family. So to honor my wife I sat next to her at First Baptist Church Decatur, Texas.

We celebrated 4 baptisms, 5 baby dedications, and honored all the mothers. It was a great morning to be with my family.

At the end of a long and fruitful ministry week I represented Harvest at the quarterly board meeting for Camp Copass. Harvest has been well represented by board members from Pleasant View Baptist Church, First Baptist Jacksboro, First Baptist Church, First Baptist Springtown.

Tonight we celebrated the newest building on the camp grounds, the Springer Gathering Chapel. This new chapel will host campers, church groups, and ministry groups for many years to come. It’s a beautiful new addition to an already beautiful camp.

Did you know that active churches within Harvest qualify for a special reduced rate at summer activities? It’s certainly with checking out.

Today was a good day for sure. After a chaotic week cleaning up after the storms, First Baptist Springtown had a Spirit filled gathering of the saints. Pastor Bobby preached a powerful message out of 1 Timothy 4.

Today also mark the conclusion of brother JB’s 30 years of ministry leading the music at First Baptist Springtown. Such a great church, actively being the hands of feet of Christ in our world today.