Palmetto Avenue Baptist Church

Look what I found! Christmas cookies! 😋. And, they are still edible after 6 months! 🤔😲🥴. Wait! That’s not a good thing, is it?

Join us for the food and the fellowship!

The team has arrived in country, and they’ve settled in with Doug and Donna Stamper, our missionaries in Thika, Kenya!

- the team has landed in Kenya! They are 7 hours ahead of our time. So, the team is sleeping now and will be starting the work tomorrow!

As many of you have learned, Shirley Williams went home to be with the Lord this past week. You are warmly invited to join us as we celebrate her years of life and service. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 14, at 10:00am at Palmetto Avenue Baptist Church. It will be preceded by a time of viewing and visitation at 9:00am. A graveside ceremony will take place immediately after the service at Sanford’s Evergreen Cemetery. We appreciate your support and prayers for the entire Williams family. They also invite you to join them for a traditional potluck luncheon after the graveside ceremony.

You know you “won’t sum a dis”! Nice to know that if this preachin’ thing doesn’t work out, I can always go back to being a cook. 🤔😲😂

Oh yes! I am! Almost Heaven! Buc-eel’s! 👏👏👏🎉🎉🎉⛄️⛄️⛄️

And, our 11am Service will happen in the sanctuary, too. See you there!

We will be having church this Sunday. We have power!

(Holy Spirit power!)

Our church family invites you to join us as we celebrate the life of Elba Lopez on Saturday, June 18, at 5:00pm. The Memorial Service will be held in the PABC auditorium. After the service, friends and family will be enjoying a meal together at Giovanni's Italian Restaurant. Please pray for grace and comfort.

Our church family invites you to join us as we reflect on the life and legacy of Joanne Brown on Sunday, May 22.

- We will have a combined Sunday Worship Service in the gym at 10:00am.
- We will have a time of Viewing and Visitation in the PABC sanctuary at 11:30am.
- The Memorial Service will begin at 12:00pm.
- Guests are also invited to join us for a catered meal and fellowship in the gym after the Memorial Service.
- A Graveside Ceremony will take place on Monday, May 23, at 10:00am at Evergreen Cemetery in Sanford.

In person and online options to participate in Jay Williams’s service.

Over the years, to those of us here at PABC, he was a church member, friend, middle/high school teacher, coach, music minister, Hearts on Fire music guest, brother, son, uncle, and so much more. He was loved deeply and will be missed greatly. We will see you in glory, Pastor Jay!

The memorial service/celebration of life for Pastor Jay Williams will be held at Venetian Gardens on Sunday, October 10, at 4:00p. Everyone is welcome to attend. The service will be live-streamed on Central Baptist Church’s page for those of you who can’t be there in person.

There will be a basket at the memorial for sympathy cards, and light refreshments will be available.

If you would like to send flowers, please send them to Beyers Funeral Home.

The Venetian Center
1 Dozier Circle
Leesburg, Fl 34748

Beyers Funeral Home
1123 W. Main St
Leesburg, Fl 34748

Tonight’s the night!! Come out and share the good news about our church, our school, and Jesus by connecting with members of our very own community!!

We will be serving sweet tea, popcorn, cotton candy, and balloons. We will also do face painting! Lots of volunteer opportunities! Where can you help??

Starts at 5:00…come any time! We are already here setting up!

Congratulations to Pastor Jonathan for 15 years of faithful service to our church and school!

This past Sunday marked 15 years on staff at Palmetto and LCS! Pastor Jonathan wears many hats here as pastor, ministry head/liaison, high school teacher, LCS administrator, and coach. He also always lends a willing hand in caring for the facilities - he's become quite the fixer-upper! His pastoral roles over these past 15 years have ranged from communications pastor to administrative pastor to assistant pastor, and now, lead pastor. In the classroom, he has taught classes in English, Spanish, speech, creative writing, and life management.

Thank you, Pastor Jonathan, for serving God through serving our church and school family! Happy 15th Pastoral Anniversary!!

*Missionary Minute from Madagascar*

From Phil & Vala Long:
To quote the wise theologian Yogi Berra, “It’s like déjà-vu all over again.” That’s right, we are under full lock down again. Last time we reported, we had just come out of a 6-week full lockdown where we had several outreach opportunities that sped up our timeline for a church launch by about 3 months. We locked on a place to begin meeting, and within 3 weeks we outgrew it and had to find something bigger.

~~~~~~~

The Longs are experiencing great growth in their Madagascar church launch, especially in the kids ministry! So much happened in the 3 months after their first lock down, and now, they are locked down once again! Pray for continued spiritual growth in their area, especially as they have been blessed to secure a radio spot every Sunday morning for only $7.76! Many families are not able to afford internet, therefore church streaming would not be very useful, but most families have a radio. Let's pray together that this radio spot reaches not only their church members but many others in their community as well!

**Missionary Minute**

While many, many churches in the United States were shut down (and many still are!), many people in Kenya are meeting EVERY day in small, socially distanced groups. The Gospel is preached and godly principles of living through suffering are taught, and many are accepting Jesus as their Savior!

Our missionary, Jerry Daniels, says, "We have been so encouraged to see our Kenyan brethren using the Coronavirus plague as an opportunity to demonstrate Christian love and demonstrate the Gospel with great commitment and self-sacrifice!"

There are blessings through these challenging times! Let's pray together that the Daniels and other spiritual leaders in Kenya can continue to reach the people of Kenya during this time and all times!

**Missionary Minute**

The Bankstons in New Zealand have a very similar story to our church. Our church had to make the hard decision to cancel our Missions Conference Weekend a couple of weeks before it was scheduled to happen. The Bankstons had to do the same, yet theirs was canceled just ONE day before it was supposed to take place! We know how much of a disappointment that surely was, but praise God that the Bankstons have been able to do a lot of online ministry! During their very strict lockdown, they have been sharing their new "home church" service online, as well as holding Bible studies and ministering one-on-one to others online. Guy Bankston has also had the opportunity to meet with a few folks struggling with depression - this is certainly a challenging time for all and even more so for many.

How amazing is it to know that missionaries we support are not only ministering around the world but holding their own missions conference as well?! And although events have been canceled, we can be thankful for all the extra ministry that is occurring online. We may never fully know the reach and impact that sharing the Gospel more intensely online will have...until we get to Heaven, that is. Oh, what a glorious day that will be!

We are reopening!! We will see you this Sunday, May 24 at 10:00am for a combined family-style worship service in the gym. We have recreated our space to be in line with social-distancing recommendations, and we are so excited to worship alongside you this weekend!

If you attend Sunday school, please check with your group leader regarding details about meeting before or after the service.