March 18, 2020: Due to the recommendations and orders of state and federal government, Bro. Billy and the deacons have made a decision to CANCEL all services and church activities from now through April 4, 2020. Services and activities will resume on Sunday, April 5, 2020. This decision may be extended at that time depending on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic. Click for updated information about COVID-19 by the Lake Cumberland District Health Department. March 22, 2020: Bro. Billy’s Sunday message: March 20, 2020: Click on the video below to listen to a special message from Bro. Billy titled “Real Fear Factors” and based IITimothy 1:7. You may also elect to “follow” our new video site on Vimeo.com for future messages from Bro. Billy, and ask others to follow our site. March 18, 2020 Dear Muldraugh Hill Baptist Church Family, I have watched daily, as many of you, the news regarding the coronavirus (CoVid 19) to find guidance as our deacons and church leadership consult to make decisions about our church services and activities. The Bible declares in II Timothy 1:7, “For God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power, of love and discipline!” Ronnie Martin who pastors a church in Ohio writes, “[…] It’s a difficult thing for pastors to cancel a worship gathering. In fact, we begin our Sunday gatherings with this statement: It is a special time when brothers and sisters of the faith gather to pray, sing, proclaim and partake of the gospel. It’s an hour for our weary and heavy-laden souls to find rest and renewal in the company of saints as we bow together before our sovereign King and receive His conviction, communion, and compassion. So, to cancel a worship gathering can carry a lot of second-guessing and mental anguish for many pastors [deacons and church leadership].” Since we have been called upon to cancel worship services and church activities due to the spread of the coronavirus, we must remember whether our church family gathers publicly or not we know Jesus is still our sympathetic high priest. In the absence of worship together, we have the opportunity to experience a longing for that Sunday in the near future when we will gather as a church family again. This is a longing similarly expressed in Romans 8:23 which says, “…but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” We are also reminded in Nehemiah 8:17, when the Israelites celebrated the Feast of Booths after years of captivity and returned to re-establish their worship, “… their joy was very great.” We, too, can look forward to the time when we gather again and what a day of rejoicing that will be. We believe God in this unique season can provide us with wisdom as we seek His face. We must allow the assurances of Christ, along with the riches of the Gospel, to quiet any guilt, anxiety, or fear that threatens to condemn us because we are comforted by God’s faithfulness to us! We want to use self-discipline while acting with discernment to protect the health and well- being of our church families, along with our entire community, as we respect our public officials, their office, our responsibility to pray for them and our cooperation with them for the good of all as Romans 13:1-7 encourages us to do. Join me in praying for our church, community, state, nation, and world. Prayerfully, Bro. Billy P.S. As God leads you to give tithes and offerings during this time, you can use snail mail, the Generosity link above, or by downloading the Generosity app by Lifeway on your phone or tablet. If there are any questions, feel free to contact Bro. Billy or any of our active deacons (Trent Pyles, Jim Sabo, Jr., Sam Graham, Dennis Wise, Josh Veatch, Steve Morris, or David England). ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Roger Dale Barnett upon his death on March 25, 2020 at the age of 70. Parrott & Ramsey in charge of details. He became a deacon at Muldraugh Hill Baptist Church on October 21, 1990 and was ordained by Bro. Vic Stansbury. He was a faithful servant of God and will be missed by all who knew and loved him. Our baptismal service scheduled for the Morning Worship Service on March 15, 2020 has been POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE:. We have begun collecting candy for our upcoming Easter egg hunt. There is a box by the front door to put your candy donations in. POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE: GAs, RAs and Mission Friends are having a Bike-a thon at MHBC on March 28th from 11:00A.M.-2:00P.M. to raise money for the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. Donations can be made per lap or a flat rate can be given to help raise awareness for North American Missions. The Central Kentucky Baptist Associational Annual Spring meeting will be held Monday, March 30, 2020 at Thompsonville Baptist Church from 6:30-8:30 P.M. Bro. Billy Compton will be preaching the annual sermon. POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE: Our March Gladness Sunday School campaign with Pleasant Hill Baptist Church dates are March 12-April 12. There are two goals that will need to be met by our church in order for Bro. Billy to receive a “pie in the face”. There should be an average of 125 in Sunday School over the 5 weeks and there should be at least one of the Sundays in which there are 160 or more present. MHBC will host a dessert fellowship for our 2 churches on April 26th at 6:00 P.M. This is not EASTER as usual… We know what EASTER is all about…the death and resurrection of Jesus. But is it possible there’s more hope and freedom for our lives right now than what we are experiencing in our day-to-day living? We’re facing an unprecedented time as we seek to cope and to find assurance as we deal with Covid 19. Perhaps, it is our opportunity to learn new means of connecting as a body of Christ of Muldraugh Hill Baptist Church. My sermon plans and our focus on Easter include what is called “The Easter Challenge.” This challenge is a five- week series beginning on EASTER Sunday. We will be challenged, no matter where we are in our faith, to discover just how deep God’s love is, and how powerful it is to transform us from the inside out in such a time as this. I have available “The Easter Challenge” devotional book to be provided for each family who wants to follow the sermon topics each day for thirty days. If we are still unable to gather for public worship, I will video and make the sermons available on Facebook and our website. Also, the devotional books will be available for pick up at the covered drive beginning at 4:00 p.m. Good Friday through Easter Sunday. HOW TO STAY CONNECTED FOR SUPPORT • Email your contact information to billycompton@muldraughhill.org • Sign up for online giving. Look for the Give Online Generosity app. Once you download the Generosity app, you can give from your mobile device or you can text your offering at 52014. Add the amount you wish to give and press the Send button. On February 23, 2020, Rev Alan Witham was our guest speaker. We are considering funding church facility updates in the coming months and he gave a presentation of what that would involve. The Vision 2020 team, in consultation with appropriate committees, will make recommendations for church action. There a vote taken by paper ballot in a Special Called Business Meeting during the Morning Worship Service on March 1, 2020. The motion carried by 64% of votes taken by members present to enter into a capital campaign contract over the next 3-year period with the Kentucky Baptist Convention, with Alan Witham as the consultant. A motion was made by the Parking Lot Sub-committee of the Vision 20/20 Committee at the Monthly Business meeting on March 4, 2020 to enter into agreement with Hayden Materials to blacktop the recently enlarged gravel area for a cost of $20,200. Three bids have been received and Hayden Materials provided the lowest bid and they have a good reputation for quality work. The blacktop will not be done until this summer. It was noted that there is almost $11,000 in the Parking Lot Fund that will be used to help pay for this project. The Fund will need to be left in place after this Phase II is completed because the sealing and striping of all the parking area will have to be done at an additional cost. Due to the fact that the motion is for between $15,000 and under $25,000 the motion will have to be tabled until the next Business Meeting on April 8, 2020 in which the final vote will be taken. POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE: The Safety and Security Team meeting will be on March 26, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. The volunteer schedules will be completed for April and May. The Monthly Deacons meeting will be on April 5, 2020 at 4:00 P.M. The Monthly Business Meeting will be on Wednesday, April 8, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. All members are encouraged to attend as important decisions are made for our church family and facility. We are still in need of Children’s Church teachers/Volunteers and Nursery Workers during our Morning Worship Service. If you can help please let Bro. Billy know.