November Newsletter
Hello Church Family,
Ecclesiastes 3:4 says that there is a time to weep and a time to laugh. In October, we experienced both. We lost Pete Kiser and Connie Ely, and both women will be missed. Some of you may also have known Patricia Mader, Mark Deal’s aunt. I performed her funeral in October as well. Yet even in the midst of our pain and grief we also had times of joy. Our Harvest Party at Maynard Mitchell’s home was a great success. The food, the hayrides, and the fellowship were all enjoyable. We also began our weekly prayer meetings at the beginning of October, and those times of prayer have been edifying and refreshing for me. I hope that everyone else who has attended those meetings has experienced the same feeling. We also hosted the Moms Night event at the church, and Celeste had fun time with the other women who attended. Celeste plans on making that a monthly gathering, so be on the lookout for more details from Celeste.
October was also a big month for our affiliation with the Greater Dayton Association of Baptists. In early October, I attended the association’s annual meeting in Centerville. During the meeting, Union Baptist Church was voted into full membership with a unanimous vote. What does that mean for us now? Beyond keeping in regular contact with the associational leaders and attending the associational meetings, our membership does require a monetary contribution. I will be meeting with the deacons and trustees before our official budget approval to discuss how much money we will give to the association.
However, this monetary contribution also brings many benefits to our church. GDAB has bounce houses, portable smokers, and other equipment that affiliated churches can borrow for community events. As full members, we will now have the ability to request those pieces of equipment for future ministry opportunities. GDAB hosts workshops and equipping events each month that I and other church members can attend. In November, I will be attending the “Engage Our Neighbors Lunch,” where we will discuss vision and strategy to engage our communities and neighbors with the good news. We will have lunch together and discuss plans to collectively engage throughout the counties that make up Miami Valley. If anyone from the church would like to attend that lunch with me, just let me know and I can RSVP on your behalf for the lunch. Among other benefits, full membership will also help be build stronger relationships with other pastors in the association. At the end of October, I grabbed lunch with Jamie Wellman from Piqua Baptist Church and Seth Cusson from Gospel Baptist Church of Greenville. We had a good time of fellowship and discussion about pastoral ministry.
As we look forward to November, the big events to keep in mind are the Thanksgiving dinner and annual business meeting on November 9. During that business meeting, we will approve new deacons and trustees, approve the 2026 budget, and I will share some of my vision for next year. If you can attend the meeting, please plan on doing so. Having a unified vision going into the upcoming year will help us get off to a good start.
Thank you church family! I look forward to my family’s first Thanksgiving with you all and our upcoming Christmas season. I am thankful for your generosity and kindness to us, and to God’s provision for us all over my first year at Union Baptist.
Pastor Nathan Justice
Ecclesiastes 3:4 says that there is a time to weep and a time to laugh. In October, we experienced both. We lost Pete Kiser and Connie Ely, and both women will be missed. Some of you may also have known Patricia Mader, Mark Deal’s aunt. I performed her funeral in October as well. Yet even in the midst of our pain and grief we also had times of joy. Our Harvest Party at Maynard Mitchell’s home was a great success. The food, the hayrides, and the fellowship were all enjoyable. We also began our weekly prayer meetings at the beginning of October, and those times of prayer have been edifying and refreshing for me. I hope that everyone else who has attended those meetings has experienced the same feeling. We also hosted the Moms Night event at the church, and Celeste had fun time with the other women who attended. Celeste plans on making that a monthly gathering, so be on the lookout for more details from Celeste.
October was also a big month for our affiliation with the Greater Dayton Association of Baptists. In early October, I attended the association’s annual meeting in Centerville. During the meeting, Union Baptist Church was voted into full membership with a unanimous vote. What does that mean for us now? Beyond keeping in regular contact with the associational leaders and attending the associational meetings, our membership does require a monetary contribution. I will be meeting with the deacons and trustees before our official budget approval to discuss how much money we will give to the association.
However, this monetary contribution also brings many benefits to our church. GDAB has bounce houses, portable smokers, and other equipment that affiliated churches can borrow for community events. As full members, we will now have the ability to request those pieces of equipment for future ministry opportunities. GDAB hosts workshops and equipping events each month that I and other church members can attend. In November, I will be attending the “Engage Our Neighbors Lunch,” where we will discuss vision and strategy to engage our communities and neighbors with the good news. We will have lunch together and discuss plans to collectively engage throughout the counties that make up Miami Valley. If anyone from the church would like to attend that lunch with me, just let me know and I can RSVP on your behalf for the lunch. Among other benefits, full membership will also help be build stronger relationships with other pastors in the association. At the end of October, I grabbed lunch with Jamie Wellman from Piqua Baptist Church and Seth Cusson from Gospel Baptist Church of Greenville. We had a good time of fellowship and discussion about pastoral ministry.
As we look forward to November, the big events to keep in mind are the Thanksgiving dinner and annual business meeting on November 9. During that business meeting, we will approve new deacons and trustees, approve the 2026 budget, and I will share some of my vision for next year. If you can attend the meeting, please plan on doing so. Having a unified vision going into the upcoming year will help us get off to a good start.
Thank you church family! I look forward to my family’s first Thanksgiving with you all and our upcoming Christmas season. I am thankful for your generosity and kindness to us, and to God’s provision for us all over my first year at Union Baptist.
Pastor Nathan Justice
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