Wisconsin Fellowship of Baptist Churches » Events

Calvary Baptist Church Celebrates their 55th Anniversary

director — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:43:20 +0000

Sunday April 22nd Calvary Baptist Church in Jefferson celebrated their 55th Anniversary. In addition the church recognized the 75th Wedding Anniversary of the Gale Schafers who were used of the Lord to found the church fifty-five years ago. April is also the 18th anniversary of Pastor Rich and Micki Akins and their ministry at Calvary Baptist.

Pastor and Mrs. Gale Schafer

During Sunday School we viewed a pictorial history of the church followed by a challenge from Joshua by Pastor Akins. I preached for the AM Service out of Acts 20 in the theme, “Finishing the Course with Joy.” At noon the church provided a delicious catered dinner for all who were in attendance in the fellowship hall. In the afternoon a number of present and former members shared testimony of the Lord’s working in their lives through the ministry of Calvary, including Pastor and Mrs. Rod Anderson who served there during their college years. I was able also to share a testimony of the ministry of Calvary Baptist in my life during the two years I was a student at Maranatha College. The church purchased a bus for students to come to Calvary in 1968 and I drove that bus for all the services for the entire school year. Pastor Akins closed the service with a brief challenge.

It was a great day of praise to the Lord for his faithfulness through this local church ministry. Only eternity will reveal the full impact of this local church in the lives of many.

2012 WFBC Ladies’ Retreat

Admin — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:14:24 +0000

Nearly 400 women attended the annual WFBC Ladies’Retreat on March 23-24, 2012. Addressing the theme, “Clinging to the Vine,” Faith Taylor challenged ladies to truly live as though they believe John 15:5, “I am the Vine, ye are the branches…without Me, ye can do nothing.” In addition to three main sessions, ladies were able to choose 4 of 10 workshops offered on various subjects which pertain to women’s roles in the home and church. For fun and fellowship, other activities included orchestra, ladies’ chorus, stamping or jewelry workshops. The bookstore and gift shop was a great place to browse and find resources not usually available. Ladies donated crafts to sell as a way to provide a scholarship fund for future retreats, and generous offerings were given for the Heart to Heart Fund and Mrs. Mary Dow. Many women made spiritual decisions, and at least one received Christ as her Savior. Information will be updated on the WFBC website as well as a unique website just for the ladies’ retreat, www.wfbcladies.org. Plans are already “in the works” for next year’s retreat to be held at Green Lake Conference Center on March 22-23, 2013.

Pastor’s Family Camp – Aug 6-8, 2012

Admin — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:50:20 +0000

Faith Baptist Church in Beloit is once again hosting a Pastor’s Family Camp this summer at the Riverside Bible Conference Grounds in Amherst. The camp goal is for your family to experience a special time together in a relaxing atmosphere with people who understand the joys & pressures of the ministry as you do.

The Camp will be August 6th-8th, 2012. Arrival can be any time on Monday August 6th, with the first activities beginning at 2 P.M. The schedule provides opportunities for group sports, swimming, and lots of family time. Morning group devotions and evening services will be around the subject of Faithfulness.

Faith Baptist has requested that registration be completed by July 9th if possible. All cabins will be reserved on a first come first served basis. Any questions can be directed to Pastor Dan Stertz at (608) 346-0838

Click Here to download the brochure/registration form

Pastors and Wives’ Retreat

Admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:34:35 +0000

2012 Retreat: February 27-28 in Sparta

Pastors and their wives are encouraged to register today for the annual WFBC Pastors & Wives Retreat to be held February 27-28, 2012, at Calvary Baptist Church of Sparta. Dr. James Maxwell is the president of Faith Baptist Bible College in Ankeny, Iowa, and will challenge pastors with their high calling. Registration fee is $15 per person, which includes the Monday evening meal. Please pre-register by e-mailing Pastor Ron Sherid at rsherid54656@yahoo.com

Registration Mon. Feb. 27, 1-2 pm
First Session @ 2 pm

Retreat will be over at noon on Tuesday, Feb. 28

Recommended Motels

Country Inn – $80.10 – Pool – 608-269-3110
Best Western – $75.59 – Pool – 608-269-2664
Super 8 – $63.00 – Pool – 608-269-8489
Best Nights Inn – $39.99 – 608-269-3066

2012 WFBC Ladies Retreat Info

Admin — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:57:19 +0000

Dear Ladies of the WFBC churches, We are excited to tell you of some recent developments in the planning of our 2012 Ladies’ Retreat. While studying the evaluation forms of past retreats and reviewing your comments, we began exploring other options for a future location for this retreat. While we were thankful for the gracious hospitality of both Christian colleges who have served us sacrificially for more than 25 years, our purpose was to see if we could find a location that would be more conducive to our ladies’ needs. We are happy to tell you that our 2012 Ladies’ Retreat will be at Green Lake Conference Center near Green Lake, Wisconsin which is located about 30 miles west of Fond du Lac and about 60 miles north of Watertown. To view more pictures, you can visit their website at glcc.org.

The speaker for the 2012 Ladies’ Retreat is Mrs. Faith Taylor,the wife of Dr.Dean Taylor, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Simpsonville, South Carolina. The desires of her heart are to be continually growing in Christlikeness, to support her husband in his life calling, and to be used of the Lord to encourage continued spiritual growth in the lives of their young adult children. Faith is a graduate of Bob Jones University with a B.A. in Church Ministries and a minor in speech. Following graduation she spent 4 years on staff at BJ, teaching Ladies’ Personal Evangelism and Children’s Work classes, and as Director of the Ladies’ Extension Ministries. After leaving Bob Jones, Dean served as a youth pastor in Indianapolis, Indiana, until 1994, when he became the pastor of Brookside Baptist Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin. In December of 2003 the Taylors moved to Simpsonville, South Carolina, to begin their ministry at Calvary Baptist Church.

For more details about the Retreat including information about the sessions, schedule, and registration process, click here

Click Here to download and print the Retreat Registration Form

Pastoral Installation at Emmanuel Baptist in Elkhorn

director — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:31:32 +0000

Emmanuel Baptist Church in Elkhorn held an Installation Service for their new pastor, Paul Vawter, on Sunday October 2nd. Pastor Vawter taught Sunday School and preached for the AM Service. Following the service the church provided a delicious dinner in the fellowship hall. The installation service took place at 1:30 PM and was led by members of the pulpit committee. Paul and Pauletta Vawter provided special music for the service. I had the privilege of preaching the installation message for my son from I Thessalonians 5 on “Befriending and Building One Another.” Several area pastors attended and shared with the deacons in a laying on of hands for the Vawters at the conclusion of the service. A dessert fellowship concluded the special day’s activities.

The Vawters recently moved from Las Cruses, New Mexico where Paul has been teaching in a Christian school for the past four years. He also completed his Master of Arts and Biblical Studies at Maranatha Baptist Bible College in May. The Vawter family currently have three children: Michael, Grace and Lydia, with a fourth due in the middle of December. They have taken up residence in the church parsonage across the road from the church building. The church congregation has done a lot of work in a complete remodeling of the parsonage in preparation for their coming. It is our prayer that God will give the Vawters a long term fruitful ministry in Elkhorn.

Fiftieth Anniversary of Faith Baptist Church in St. Paul

director — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:03:07 +0000

Sunday September 25th we attended the 50th Anniversary of Faith Baptist Church in St. Paul, MN. I served as the assistant pastor in that church 1972-76. This local church is pastored by Julian Suarez who was unable to attend the special celebration due to being hospitalized for a medical emergency. In his place the assistant pastor, Rodney Golightly led the services. A number of the former pastors were present (including Chuck Johnston who pastored there for over 20 years before coming to Calvary Baptist in Sun Prairie) as well as many former members. The activities for the day included a service of testimonies (I shared an update of our ministry since leaving St. Paul), special music (Carole provided a special keyboard number) and dinner following the service.

Faith Baptist Church was started on the east side of St. Paul as a result of the burden of three ladies fifty years ago. Over the years the church has grown to a congregation of several hundred with a Christian School. Despite being located in the inner city, Faith has maintained a strong witness and faithful testimony to the Lord in the city. Praise the Lord for committed ministries to the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Sixty-first WFBC Annual Meeting

director — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 19:15:33 +0000

First Baptist Church of River Falls did an excellent job of hosting the 61st Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Baptist Churches. Over forty pastors representing their churches with over 100 total delegates came and enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship, Bible challenge and good food.

Dr. Greg Huffman, assistant pastor at Brookside Baptist Church in Brookfield provided three challenging messages from the book of Jude about “Contending for the Faith.” They were timely and a blessing for all who attended. Other sessions included a message by Dr. David Saxon of Maranatha Baptist Bible College, a workshop by Pastor Brad Anderson on reworking the church constitution and Carole Vawter provided a session for the ladies. Also Pastor John Terpstra, who serves as our president, gave the opening message on Monday afternoon.

Pastor Phil Bushy and his wife Karla along with several members of their congregation did a fine job of making our stay enjoyable. The food and other accommodations by the church fully met our needs and even some wants. Thanks First Baptist for your ministry!!

Pastors’ Family Camp

director — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:10:25 +0000

On August 8-10 we held our 7th Annual Pastors’ Family Camp at Riverside Bible Camp in Amherst, Wisconsin. The camp is scheduled and led by Pastor Dan Stertz, Faith Baptist Church in Beloit. Over 75 pastors, wives and children attended this year’s camp and a good time was had by all.

We enjoyed some great fellowship and challenges from the Word of God by several of the pastors who were present. Special sessions for children, teens and the ladies were held as well. Once again Dave and Char Fiedler from Beloit assisted by Tom and Andrea Anderson headed up the food preparation providing good meals with lots of food for all who were in attendance. Activities included sand volleyball, tubing, swimming, frisbee golf and an evening camp fire, as well as just relaxing and visiting with one another.

It was a blessing throughout the three days to see folks visiting and talking about family and ministry, sharing burdens and having a great time. The schedule is always pretty open and relaxed. Dates for next year’s camp with will be sent out soon so that you can put the dates on your calendar and plan to attend.

2011 WFBC Ladies’ Retreat

Admin — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 16:53:16 +0000

The 2011 WFBC Ladies’ Retreat was enjoyed by nearly 300 women who traveled to enjoy to campus of Northland International University in Dunbar, Wisconsin, on March 18-19. Archivist Marcia Phillips was the main speaker, following the theme, “Perfectly Preserved.” Starting with various aspects of archiving, Marcia humorously but pointedly challenged women with the faithfulness of God to preserve His children, through all the trials of life. In addition, ladies could choose from several workshops offered 4 different times. As usual, the retreat included inspiring music, friendly chats, crafts, volleyball games, and shopping in the campus bookstore and coffee shop.

Ladies who attended the retreat gave a generous offering to Mrs. Juli Tobin, whose husband, Jaeson, was killed in a car crash in November, 2009. Jaeson had been the assistant pastor and school principal at Tomah Baptist Church. It was precious to hear Juli’s testimony of the way God had prepared her for the grief of losing her husband, and how He has faithfully preserved Juli and her three children in the months since the accident.

The WFBC hosts a retreat annually, renting facilities at either Northland International University in Dunbar or at Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Watertown. In 2012, the retreat will be held on the campus of MBBC on March 23-24, and the main speaker will be Mrs. Faith Taylor.

The Audio from the main sessions is available below in Mp3 format:
Friday Afternoon Session – Provenance
Friday Evening Session – Ephemera
Saturday Session – Palimpsest