November 18, 2016

“Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.”

1 Timothy 5:17

      It is my hope that each of our LCA families is blessed with a true man of God as their spiritual shepherd.  Here at the ministry of Latham Bible Baptist Church and Latham Christian Academy, Rev. Dean Walter serves as senior pastor, and we are indeed blessed to have him.  We honor him today on his birthday.

Pastor Walter was born in the small town of Byron, Michigan, where he grew up in a Christian home and attended a small Baptist church.  At the age of 8, Pastor Walter accepted Christ as his personal Savior.  He was baptized in a nearby river by his pastor a few years later.

Pastor Walter sensed God’s calling into the pastoral ministry while attending Camp CoBeAc as a teenager.  At his home church, he was licensed to preach, began leading singing, and filled the pulpit of a nearby church.  Pastor Walter took his formal training for the ministry at Bible colleges in Minnesota and Wisconsin, earning his undergraduate degree from Maranatha Baptist Bible College.

After his graduation, Pastor Walter married the lady we now know as Mrs. Walter, LCA’s high school science teacher.  The young couple accepted a ministry as youth pastor in Atlanta, Georgia.  Pastor Walter then attended seminary in Tennessee and worked as a youth pastor during his graduate training there.

After earning his seminary degree and being ordained to the Gospel ministry, Pastor Walter moved to Brantford, Ontario, with their one-month-old daughter to begin working as a youth pastor there.  God directed in the Walters’ lives through 12 years of ministry in East Lansing, Michigan; 4 years in Kalamazoo, Michigan; and 11 years in Zephyrhills, Florida.

In the fall of 2007, God directed Pastor and Mrs. Walter to accept the call here at Latham Bible Baptist Church as our senior pastor, where they have served ever since.

Pastor Walter’s life verse comes from II Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”  Our church and Christian academy are blessed to be led by a man who has been called by God, prepared for service, and dedicated to the Lord.

If you happen to see Pastor Walter in his office or in a hallway around the school, please take a minute to wish him a very happy birthday today and to thank him for his leadership and service here.

LCA will be closed next Wednesday, November 23, through Friday, November 25, for Thanksgiving Break.  We hope many of our families will be able to spend some quality time with family and friends as we celebrate God’s goodness to us and to our country.

On Thursday, December 1, LCA is excited to welcome a representative from Appalachian Bible College to our elementary and secondary chapel services.  Two LCA alumni are current students at this Bible college in West Virginia, Sam Mansfield and Cheyenne Parker, and we are privileged to be able to present the full ministry of this college to our students.

Parents are always welcome to attend any of our chapel services.  Secondary chapel begins at 8:30, and this special elementary chapel starts at 9:30.

Our boys’ basketball team will begin their season on December 2 with a tournament hosted by Wilton Christian Academy.  We have about ten young men from sixth through twelfth grade participating this year under Coach Mike Henry.

Each LCA family is welcomed and encouraged to attend each home game.  We do not charge an admission fee, and these games can be a good family activity as our students cheer on their classmates as they compete with other area Christian schools.

Our first home game will be held on Tuesday, December 6, at 4:00, when our boys will take on the team from Grace Christian in Bennington.  Keep an eye on the upcoming events section of our newsletter and on our online calendar for a full schedule of games.  We hope to see you and your family at many of these games!

This nice weather we have been enjoying lately can’t last forever!  LCA will occasionally close or delay opening when the roads are unusually dangerous in the morning.  LCA may also take the unusual step of dismissing early if an unexpected storm comes in and the roads appear to be getting worse in the afternoon.

Our school will generally follow the schedule of the North Colonie School District since they have more information available to them than we do.  From time to time, however, we may do something different.  We encourage you to monitor local media for our school specifically.  When we need to change our schedule, we will send an email to all families and notify local media.  Most area TV stations will carry this information on the air and online.  One site we recommend is WNYT Channel 13: http://wnyt.com/article/10535/.  You can even download their app to your phone and receive notifications whenever LCA posts a schedule change.

LCA also provides a voice phone call for school closings and major schedule changes.  You will need to sign up for this service, even if you have received these notifications in the past.  To help make this service affordable, we do limit this to one phone number per family.  Most phone calls are generated early in the morning (generally between 5 AM and 6:15 AM.)  If you would like to receive this phone call, please complete the form here: http://s.lcany.org/snow.

I trust you will make plans even now to be here yourself and invite friends and family to be here for our Christmas programs coming up in December.  The children are already working very hard to prepare music and drama, and they love seeing those familiar and friendly faces in the auditorium.

K3 and K5 Christmas Program: Thursday, December 8

Elementary Christmas Program: Thursday, December 15

If you have any questions about these programs, please feel free to contact your child’s teacher.  Both programs will begin at 7:00 PM and be held in our church auditorium.

Nov. 21 – Basketball Pictures

Nov. 23-25 – No School – Thanksgiving

Dec. 1 – Appalachian Bible College in Chapels

Dec. 1 – Senior Lunch – Macaroni and Cheese

Dec. 5 – Hour of Code STEM Program

Dec. 5 – 4:00 – Home Basketball vs. Grace

Dec. 7 – Progress Reports Sent Home (Grades 7-12)

Dec. 8 – Senior Lunch – Nachos

Dec. 8 – 7:00 PM – K3/K5 Christmas Program