Welcome in the Name of above all names, that of our Savior, Christ Jesus! Our community continues its more than 20 year history of worshiping Jesus by celebrating Fourth Days made possible by 72-hours of renewal...or as we say in the Great Banquet: To know Jesus as Savior and Lord and to make Him known!

Who are you sponsoring?

For a Guest Application, click here.
For Men's #92 Team Roster, click here.
For Women's #93 Team Roster, click here.

» Brown's Picnic and Community Gathering on August 28, 2010. All the details here.

» Asbury Theological Seminary wants to survey YOU! For the details, click here.

» Interested In a Reunion Group but having trouble finding one? For some suggestions, click here.

» July 2010 Newsletter is available here. Prior (as well as the current) newsletters are here.

» We have a new address of PO Box 707, Bloomington, IL 61702-0707. Please make a note of it.

» February 2010 Newsletter is available here. Prior (as well as the current) newsletters are here.

» Opportunities to serve at Lincoln and Logan exist despite the challenges that clearance changes pose. Details here.

» Registration is underway for The Great Banquet National Conference this Septemer. Details are here.

»»» Additional FYI is available here. «««

Please use the scroll bar on the right to access future dates.

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Community Gathering (Brown's Picnic!)

Our annual BNGB Community Gathering and Picnic at the home of Norman and Carolyn Brown (approximently 1/10 of a mile east of the intersection of Towanda Avenue and Shelbourne Drive in Normal) on Saturday, August 28, 2010. Planned activities include:

• 5:30PM Fellowship
• 6:00PM Potluck Meal
• 7:30PM Worship

This is a great opportunity to bring family members or friends who have never attended a 4th Day weekend but are curious as to what the BNGB Community is all about. Plus, it's an old fashioned potluck just like you remember, so please bring:

• At least one [1] (or two [2]) covered dish(es) to share (Drinks will be provided)
• Place setting for your family, friends, and guests
• Frisbees, footballs, or anything else to play outside

Make plans to be there and reconnect with all of your Great Banquet friends, meet the Fall Weekend teams, and praise God from Whom all blessings flow! Be sure to save the date: Saturday, Augst 28. We'll see you and your family (and guests) there!

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Asbury Theological Seminary Survey

How meaningful was your 4th Day experience (Great Banquet, Cursillo, Walk to Emmaus, or similar weekend)? Or, maybe you have not had a 4th Day experience. Either way, Asbury Theological Seminary wants to survey you (if you are a layperson 13 or older) to help determine what has impacted your walk with Christ. For the survey, click here but please note that you'll need to answer all the questions at one time (allow about 25 minutes) for your survey to count -- and your responses will be kept confidential. This research will be shared with churches of all demominations. So, take the survey now -- you only have until September 15, 2010. Thanks for your participation!

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“Could I Get In A Reunion Group, Please?”

Since the first of the year, we have received several requests for Reuunion Group information from folks who are interested in a joining one. We don't keep a list of existing Reunion Groups and who to contact, but it is an important topic for our community. After all, even our Savior and Lord, Christ Jesus, knew the importance of support when He sent out His disciples two by two and Solomon in Ecclesiastes reminds us of the importance of support.

Reunion Groups take effort: to start, to join, and to just keep going...and, if the group you are in is not working for you — well, it all starts again. Yet, the fellowship and blessing from a Reunion Group make the efforts all worth it! So, if you are not currently in a Reunion Group, what can you do to get into one? Here are some suggestions:

• Support the Community and the Banquets: Attend community gatherings and events. During Banquet weekends attend Thursday Night Send-Off, Candlelight Worship, and Closing on the East Bay weekends. Attend the Fourth Day meeting after the Women's weekend.
• Support our Prison Ministry: Just like the weekend Banquets, our prison ministry at Logan and Lincoln Correctional facilities need your presence, too.
• Give of Yourself: Volunteer to serve meals on Banquet weekends. Organize a group to make pillow or meal agape, banners, or snacks for the guests. During prison weekends, organize others to write agape notes to our guests.

What do all of these have in common? Fellowship. Fellowship with others so you can find out who is in a Reunion Group or who is interested in starting one. Take advanatage of these fellowship opportunities to get connected to, or start a new, Reunion Group.

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Opportunities to serve in Logan and Lincoln

Over 150 guests (residents) attended our Logan and Lincoln Banquet weekends in 2009 — which is more than attended our East Bay weekends! Many thanks to all of you, who sent agape, attended candlelight and closing, served on teams and participated in the Third Saturday Reunions. The full impact of your ministry efforts may never be known, but be assured the work you do has an eternal impact!
 
This past year (like many times before) we encountered challenges and changes in the facilities' clearance of volunteers. Currently, temporary volunteers (those of us that just attend only candlelight and closing) may only visit one facility per year. Meaning, if you get clearance for Logan in the spring you cannot attend Lincoln in the fall. As you can imagine, this new policy has diminished the amount of community support, especially for the women’s weekend (it was reported only 10 to 15 people attended the candlelight and fewer people attended the closing at Lincoln).
 
As your BNGB board discussed these new challenges we came to a few conclusions:

1. We NEED our BNGB Fourth Day Community to be physically present at Logan and Lincoln for candlelight and closing (sharing your light of Christ with others).
2. Folks in our BNGB Fourth Day Community WANT to support the Logan and Lincoln weekends.
3. The new clearance guidelines and “hoops to jump through” make it difficult for our BNGB Fourth Day Community to participate.

With these thoughts in mind…starting in January the board will begin collecting names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of people interested in physically supporting the Logan and Lincoln weekends. Once you are on these lists, you will be contacted by the weekend Board Advisor when it is time to fill out the proper paperwork for clearance at each institution.
 
We do ask that once you have filled out paperwork you make attending the weekend events a priority on your calendar. The Logan and Lincoln staffs spend extra time and energy gaining special clearance for our weekend participation. Plus, our Heavenly Father is counting on you to share Christ’s love with these special guests.
 
If you have any questions, please contact Shelly Hanover (shanover@normal.org) at 309-724-8800 or Marty Thornton (marty.thornton@verizon.net) at 309-662-4600.

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2010 Great Banquet National Conference

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