CRBA Update July 1, 2026

Upcoming Opportunities 5 FREE Community Block Parties Save the Date Golf Tournament Upcoming Opportunities 5 FREE Community Block Parties Save the Date Golf Tournament – Resource of the Week

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August 2026

September 2026 Events

August 2026

October 2026


Photo from Enon Baptist June 28 PM Service. From Michael…We are continually amazed at how God is moving among the churches of the CRBA! On Sunday, June 28, we had the privilege of worshipping alongside the church family at East Valdese Baptist Church. Chip Stallings is walking through the Big Stories of the Bible during the summer months. On Sunday, he took on the challenge of preaching through 14 chapters of Exodus! Great job Chip!! On Sunday evening, we attended the evening service at Enon Baptist. Randall Frantz is teaching through the Book of Revelation. It was a great interactive discussion, anchored in Scripture reading and participation. What a great group of people at Enon!	From the Desk of your AMS (Associational Mission Strategist) July 1 – We Want to Listen When our kids were young, Amanda and I often found ourselves saying, “Look this way for just a minute.” Their little minds were racing in a dozen different directions, and even though we were speaking, they were not always hearing us. So, we would ask them to look our direction. It was not because we simply needed their eyes on us, but because we wanted their attention. When they focused on us, there was a greater chance they were listening. And when they were truly listening, we could speak in a way that would actually help them. That picture has been on my mind as I think about the work of our association. We want to listen. We want you to know you are being heard. We want to give focused attention to your church, your community, your challenges, your opportunities, and the work God has called you to do. So here is the question we want to keep asking: How can the association best serve you and your church? Our desire is not to add more to your already full plate. Our desire is to faithfully and consistently encourage and equip you in your unique ministry context. But we cannot do that well if we are only guessing what would be helpful. We could make plenty of pitches for the value of associational work — and there is great value in churches working together. But if we are not careful, that can feel a little like telling you what you want to order at a restaurant before we have taken time to hear what you are hungry for. So, we want to listen. What training would strengthen your church? What collaborative events would bless your people? What evangelistic or missional efforts has God placed on your heart? What needs are you seeing in your community? What kind of encouragement would help you keep going? This is your association. We are here to serve and support the churches and leaders of the Catawba River Baptist Association. We are looking your direction. We are listening. And we would love to talk soon. Michael R. Hodge ams@crbanc.org


This is the NEW logo that we will use with all of our LoveBurke promo materials. Step 1 Sign up to feed your nearby school. Step 2 Get creative on how you can introduce your church and upcoming activites/ministries. Include the LoveBurke logo above. Step 3 Prayerfully consider how your will take a NEXT step – continuing this school partnership in 2026-2027.	Let’s Start Thinking About LoveBurke Our LoveBurke Back-to-School initiative is a simple way to show and share the love of Christ by supporting our local schools through a generous lunchtime meal. The simple strategy: Provide a Chick-Fil-A meal for our local school faculty and staff – kicking off a new school year with a generous display of our support. Will your church participate in this August 2026 ServeNC project? Click this link to reserve your spot in this serve project. Let us know the nearest school your church will bless with this meal. Note: Schools for LoveBurke will be available on a first come first serve basis. Challenge to Take a NEXT Step What’s the “rethinking” part of this project? One of the priorities we have is for every church to make a connection with the local school – to let them know you support them and are praying for them. How can we do that? Action Steps for 2026 LoveBurke Initiative1. Visible Communication – We want every lunch served to include a postcard-size quick info for your church. We will even help you create it! The NEW logo on the left is a part of that – we want this to be a visible connection to our CRBA churches. Include this with your promo materials – and find a fun way to encourage them to carry it with them. Watch for creative ways to include your communication card in the lunches in future newsletters. 2. Tangible Next Step – We invite every church to treat this as your first step in serving and loving your local school this upcoming school year. Rather than treating this as an isolated event – consider it an introduction of your church/people to the school. Now it’s time to pray about what your church will do in the upcoming months to build on this opportunity!
If you would like to sponsor a school for LoveBurke please claim your school h ere. Schools for LoveBurke will be available on a first come first serve basis.


Excerpt from “The Pastors’ Center” – Chuck Lawless – June 29, 2026 From Hershael York, writing about the importance of our being willing to grow as preachers: “Frankly, very few students I teach fail to get the meaning of the text. They often demonstrate an exegetical and hermeneutical sophistication that astounds me. They are serious about the Word. But, they make the mistake of thinking that if they just feel that way, and if they just say the words, the preaching will take care of itself. And if they keep thinking that, if they insist on ‘data dump’ sermons that just concentrate on the content and not also on the delivery, there’s not much I can do for them. They will be the kind of preachers they want to be. But, if someone has a burning calling, a teachable spirit, a passionate heart, and a reckless abandon to pay the price to preach well, then not even the limitation of their own background, personality or natural talents will keep them from preaching the Word of God with power.” To receive Chuck Lawless emails – go to https://www.pastorscenter.org.

	The CRBA offices are closed this Thursday so we will not hold our weekly Pastor’s luncheon this week. Please plan to join us next week, July 9th, as Grace Baptist Church will lead our time together.

	Support our CRBA Armenia Mission Team Our CRBA is currently in a multi-year partnership with Armenia. We have several pastors going on the trip in late September. Would you consider helping sponsor this trip? All funds will assist with the overall cost of the trip. Contact Veronica Klapp in the office to discuss your support of the CRBA Armenia Team. 828-437-0137

Vacation Bible School
VBS at CRBA Churches
Burkemont- July 5-9
Hopewell– July 12-16	Zion– July 12-15
Mount Olive- July 13-17	Abee’s Grove- July 16-18
Mull’s Grove- July 19-22 5:30-8:00PM Nightly meal provided	Brown Mountain- July 20-22
Cross Memorial- July 20-22 from 5:30-7:30pm Ages 3 years old to 8th grade.	Amherst- July 26-30
Bridge 42- July 27-31	Enon- August 2-5 from 6:00-8:30pm Ages 3 and up
Summit Community- August 3-6	Icard’s Grove- August 15 from 9am-3pm
Lakeview- August 10-13

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