First Baptist Church of Monticello is pleased to welcome their new pastor to the community.  Bruce Venable, who moves here from Lubbock, Texas, will officially begin his ministry here on Sunday, February 19.  Also coming to the community is his wife, Rita.  She is originally from Black Oak, Arkansas, and currently teaches elementary physical education.  Both Bruce and Rita are graduates of Arkansas State University and Bruce holds a Master of Divinity Degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  Bruce and Rita have two young adult children, Chris, who lives in Orlando, Florida; and Ashley, who will complete a degree in education at Texas Tech this May. 

The community is invited to come and worship with First Baptist on Sundays at 10:55am, meet their new pastor and be a part of the exciting things that are going on within this church family.  Bruce's sermon topics and scripture references are list below.

Sunday A.M.

 A one-eight community of Faith

Expressing Worship/Being Transformed/Serving Others

Revelation 1:8; Joshua 1:8; Acts 1:8

Description:  What does it take to be the church today?  Why is the church different from other groups that promote self-help philosophy, feel better products, and get what you deserve from your life?  In this message, Bruce will outline a framework from which we can operate as we begin our journey together.

Sunday P.M.

My little Black Book:  Where did I get my Bible?

Description:  One preacher on a flight took the opportunity to share Christ with the young man sitting next to him.  The young man asked, "Why do you believe that?", to which the preacher replied, "Because it is here in my Bible" as he pulled out his black book.  The young man replied, "Well, that is not what my black book says" as he pulled out his copy of the Koran.  Claiming our bible to be true can be easy if we know the facts.  Tonight we begin looking at those facts.