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DAYTONA BEACH (FBW) –In a two-day celebration made more memorable by Hurricane Charley, First Baptist Church, Daytona, marked Bobby Welch's 30^th anniversary as pastor. Without air conditioning, microphones or any other electrical convenience, church members, extended family and dignitaries gathered Aug. 14-15 to fete the Southern Baptist Convention president and his wife, Maudellen.

NORTH PORT (FBW)-On a day when Southern Baptists from across the world prayed for those who were in the path of Hurricane Charley, Southern Baptist disaster relief volunteers from around the Unites States hunkered down on the west coast of Florida Sunday, Aug. 15, to begin a massive “heart-to-hands” ministry that could last for weeks in the storm-ravaged area.

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)—The 2004 Maguire State Mission Season of Prayer and Offering, observed in September, will provide Florida Baptists with a renewed opportunity to reflect on the anniversary of the Florida Baptist State Convention and the many ways God has blessed the state convention during the past 150 years.

TAMPA (FBW)—Bill Bunkley is a familiar face in Tallahassee. Determined to keep Florida Baptists abreast of public policy issues before the state legislature, Bunkley has spent literally thousands of days walking the halls of the State Capitol.

DAYTONA BEACH (FBW)—In a two-day celebration made more memorable by Hurricane Charley, First Baptist Church, Daytona, marked Bobby Welch’s 30th anniversary as pastor. Without air conditioning, microphones or any other electrical convenience, church members, extended family members and dignitaries gathered Aug. 14-15 to fete the Southern Baptist Convention president and his wife, Maudellen.

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During previous weeks, we have discussed the Doctrine of the Church, defining the church and its nature. This week we will examine the mission of a church.

1. Jesus Christ, as He is presented to us in the New Testament, and as He stands forth from all its writings, is too single and too great to have been invented so uniformly by all these writers. The force of Jesus Christ unleashed these writings; the writings did not create the force. Jesus is far bigger and more compelling than any of His witnesses. His reality stands behind these writings as a great, global event stands behind a thousand newscasters. Something stupendous unleashed these diverse witnesses to tell these stunning and varied, yet unified, stories of Jesus Christ.

When was the last time a documentary was the top-grossing movie in America on its opening weekend? Has any documentary ever made $80 million in its first three weeks? You’d think any documentary that could perform that well would have to be something pretty special, wouldn’t you?

Have fun with cryptography and exercise your Bible knowledge. A King James Version verse is encoded by letter substitution. The same letter is substituted throughout the puzzle. Solve by trial and error.

PUNTA GORDA (BP)—Even as Hurricane Charley left widespread destruction around them, God’s people gathered for Sunday services to count their blessings.

JACKSONVILLE (FBC)—A record Cooperative Program budget of $37 million, representing a nearly 5 percent increase over the previous year’s budget, was initially approved by the State Board of Missions Budget-Allocations Committee during its annual budget planning meeting Aug. 12 at the Baptist Building.

BRANDON (FBW)—Christopher Lofton, a leader in the singles ministry of First Baptist Church, Brandon, drowned Aug. 3 at Venice Public Beach. Lofton, 28, was an associate of divinity student at the Tampa Theological Education Center extension of Baptist College of Florida.