mybsf.org

AP and Class Staff Bulletin

October 2022

MyBSF
Need to Know
Archive

Strength for Challenges

What has been your greatest challenge this month? What has God been showing you? As you reflect on God’s work, you can trust that He sees you. He knows the struggles that you have faced. He sees your frustration as you shepherd leaders and work through technological difficulties. You have persevered.

As a result, thousands of new BSFers are studying God’s Word for the first time. Countless children and students are being transformed. Returning members are energized and encouraged to remain steadfast for Christ. Your work matters today and into eternity.

Did you know?

  • A women’s class has completely filled their meeting space for the first time since 2020.
  • Another class saw their Student Program triple after months of prayer.
  • In India, a newly formed young adult class had 76 people attend the first night.

God is moving!

One BSF Online Group Leader shared, “I have two ladies who are not Christians in my group. They joined BSF because the Christians around them made them want to know who God is.” God is doing amazing work through the lives of His faithful people. And while we celebrate the transformed hearts, we know that God is changing these lives forever.

In 1 Kings 19, we read about a weary Elijah who is ready to die but is comforted and strengthened by God for the work ahead. The Lesson 5 notes say, “God comes alongside believers when they are weak to give them the strength needed to carry on for his purposes and give him glory.”

God meets you just as he met Elijah. He sees your perseverance. He hears your long conversations. He knows the time you spend preparing. And He watches you care for others in BSF. You are not alone, because the God who is greater than every king and prophet goes with you this year. Thank you for faithfully joining us as we serve the Ultimate King together.

With deep love and gratitude,
Your Headquarters Staff

Happening Soon

Preschool CS/ACS Global Zoom 15 November 2022

Be sure to sign up! There are two identical sessions. Select the session that works best for you:

Online TL, D-OT, and OT Orientation 4-7 December 2022 

  • TL application deadline:
    2 November 2022 
  • D-OT/OT application deadline:
    9 November 2022     

Applications must be approved by the above deadlines for candidates to attend.  

Prayer

Praise God for:

  • A strong start to the PPKD study which is increasing access to God’s Word in classes globally.

Pray for:

  • Class Staff to be encouraged as they witness God’s transforming work in the hearts and lives of the men, women, and children they lead and shepherd.
  • God to use PPKD study to produce wholehearted devotion to Him.
  • Those who God is calling to join Area Personnel and Class Staff teams.
  • God to provide leaders to minimize waitlists.

    MyBSF

    What Is a Meeting ID?

    When BSF satellite meetings are created (SDGs), this generates a meeting ID number. This number is sequentially assigned by MyBSF for tracking purposes and is connected to your class; however, it is mainly for HQ use. Your class number is still the primary number that you need. You can find your class number by selecting Class > Management > Meetings. The class number is at the top of the page.

    When a Parent Adds a Child to Their User Profile

    If a parent goes directly to MyBSF and adds a child to their user profile, the class is not automatically notified. For this reason, it is important to communicate with parents by TL announcement and through GLs that they must communicate directly with the Children’s Supervisor if they want to enroll their child.

    If you hear from a parent in your class that they added a child to their profile and would like the child to be in the class, follow the instructions for Adding an Additional Child from the Child Registration section of the MyBSF Reference Guide for Class Staff, which is found in the Resource Library (Keyword Search: reference).

        Need to Know

        Be sure to click and read for all positions related to your class.

        Cost Per Member

        God has demonstrated His faithfulness to BSF for over 60 years making it possible for people all over the world to study God’s Word at no charge. One way to acknowledge God’s work and our gratefulness is to share with leaders and members the yearly cost per member. This year, the cost per member to participate in BSF is $135.00.

        CP Checklist Maintenance

        Please ensure that your CP Checklist is up to date in MyBSF because AP are validating compliance. Leaders or regular volunteers who serve our children must complete their background screening or recertification based on the requirements for your area.

        The database will show Ineligible for those who are noncompliant and must be updated. If you have class members who no longer volunteer in your Children’s Program, remove them from the CP Checklist by selecting Hide from CP Checklist. The CP Checklist should be free of Ineligible names. Thank you for protecting the children and students in your class.

        Lecture Options 

        The August Bulletin noted the four lecture options: Global Lectures, Sample Lectures, Lecture Transcripts, and Alternate Lectures. Here is the intended audience and purpose for each:

        • Global Lectures – weekly men’s and women’s lectures for BSF Online members and leaders
        • Sample Lectures – weekly teaching resource for TLs and STLs
        • Lecture Transcripts – weekly teaching resource for TLs and STLs and Leaders Meeting preparation resource for OTs and D-OTs
        • Alternate Lectures – weekly lecture option for alternate language groups available in Spanish, Mandarin, and Cantonese

        Note: For PPKD, the Sample Lectures provided for weeks 0 (INT), 11, and 19 should be shared with members in place of TL or STL lectures.

        Lesson Questions in Alternate Languages

        BSF provides lesson questions and other materials in English, Spanish, and Chinese. Volunteer translation teams also translate questions into Arabic, Filipino, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Tamil, Thai, and Vietnamese. We are so grateful for their efforts to make BSF accessible in more languages.

        For access to these questions for your members or leaders, AP and Class Staff can log in to the Resource Library (Keyword Search: alternate) to find the link and password for the folders and download the needed language. Note: This is a different location from last study year.

        See the Alternate Language sections in your manual or the Class Staff Resource for more information about volunteer translators.

        Video Tutorial for Searching the Resource Library

        There are plans to make the Resource Library easier to navigate and more robust in its search capabilities. In the meantime, here are some helps:

        • When Resource Library resources are referenced (for example, in the Bulletin), we include a keyword for you to use in the Keyword Search field in your library.
        • Spaces matter. For example, if you search “toolkit” and don’t get results, try using “tool kit” with a space. Similiarly, if you search “tool kits” (plural) and don’t get results, try searching “tool kit” without the “s” on the end.
        • For a helpful demonstration, log in to the Resource Library and Keyword Search: tutorial to find the Resource Library Video Tutorial.

        Using BSF’s EIN with Slack

        Most businesses and organizations have what is known as an Employer Identification Number (EIN) also known as a Federal Tax Identification Number. BSF’s EIN is known publicly and is primarily used for setting up bank accounts.

        In some cases, a nonprofit’s EIN can be used to get certain benefits from another company. This is something Slack offers for most nonprofits; however, NOT religious nonprofits like BSF. AP and Class Staff must not use BSF’s EIN to obtain nonprofit benefits from Slack. If you have questions about other situations that might use BSF’s EIN, contact your AP.

        Thank You for Launch!

        Thank you to Class Staff for the planning, prayer, and joy you poured into your local or online Launch. Launch provided a space for leaders to be equipped and inspired to serve in their leadership role. We pray that our BSF leaders were prepared through Launch for the People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided study.

        2023 AP and OAP Conference

        The dates and location for the 2023 AP and OAP Conference have been confirmed! We are happy to announce the meeting will be held Tuesday, 16 May 2023, beginning with dinner and will conclude Friday morning, 19 May 2023, at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Plan now to attend!

        Please wait until travel details are announced before purchasing airline tickets.

        International AP and OAP: It is not too early to schedule a visa interview, if required. E-mail events@bsfinternational.org to request a visa invitation letter.

        CP Checklist Validation

        Important note: AP who are currently unable to access and validate the CP Checklist, we are working to restore your validation ability. We will post an alert in MyBSF when functionality is restored. Please validate at that time. For AP who have access to the CP Checklist validation, please review the following:

        • Now is the time for AP to review and validate the compliance of every leader and regular volunteer serving in the Children’s Program. To uphold safety and security in our Children’s Program, all CLs and regular volunteers on the CP Checklist must be up to date with necessary background screenings and recertifications required for your area.
        • Select all names that are marked Eligible and Validate.
        • If anyone on the CP Checklist is marked Ineligible under Eligibility Status, contact the Class Staff and encourage them to complete the necessary update before validating.
        • The CP Checklist should be free of any Ineligible names. Thank you for ensuring the safety of our children and students!
        • If you have difficulty validating the CP Checklist, click here or Keyword Search: validation in the Resource Library.

        You are up-to-date and doing great work!

        Online Giving Clarification

        Checks mailed directly to HQ are not included as part of the Online Giving reflected on MyBSF for your class. Your class will benefit from gifts mailed directly to HQ on which class credit with the class number is indicated. Please note that a report is generated monthly at HQ so that host churches are remunerated for these donations, which might result in an addional check being sent from HQ.

        Class members can send a check directly to HQ that includes “credit class ###” with the class number on the memo line. Please note that BSF Finance will identify the giver and their class to ensure that remuneration is given if the class number is missing.

        Questions about donations to HQ or online may be sent directly to donorcare@bsfinternational.org.

        Preschool CS/ACS Global Zoom

        Join the BSF Children’s Division on Tuesday, 15 November 2022 and meet Julie Chriswell, the new Children’s Director at BSF! In addition, we plan to provide you with vision and practical support for the Preschool Program. Our focus will be on the calling of the CS/ACS with a specific emphasis on your role as an advocate.

        There are two identical sessions. Please sign up for the session that works best for you:

        The Zoom ID is the same for each session. (Zoom ID: 473 057 8522, Password: Puppies)

        You are up-to-date and doing great work!

        Cost Per Member

        God has demonstrated His faithfulness to BSF for over 60 years making it possible for people all over the world to study God’s Word at no charge. One way to acknowledge God’s work and our gratefulness is to share with leaders and members the yearly cost per member. This year, the cost per member to participate in BSF is $135.00.

        Thank you for Launch!

        Thank you to Class Staff for the planning, prayer, and joy you poured into your local or online Launch. Launch provided a space for leaders to be equipped and inspired to serve in their leadership role. We pray that our BSF leaders were prepared through Launch for the People of the Promise: Kingdom Divided study.

        Lecture Options 

        The August Bulletin noted the four lecture options: global lectures, sample lectures, lecture transcripts, and alternate lectures. Here is the intended audience and purpose for each:

        • Global lectures – weekly men’s and women’s lectures for BSF Online members and leaders
        • Sample lectures – weekly teaching resource for TLs and STLs
        • Lecture transcripts – weekly teaching resource for TLs and STLs and Leaders Meeting preparation resource for OTs and D-OTs
        • Alternate lectures – weekly lecture option for alternate language groups available in Spanish, Mandarin, and Cantonese 

        Lesson Questions in Alternate Languages

        BSF provides lesson questions and other materials in English, Spanish, and Chinese. Volunteer translation teams also translate questions into Arabic, Filipino, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Tamil, Thai, and Vietnamese. We are so grateful for their efforts to make BSF accessible in more languages.

        For access to these questions for your members or leaders, AP and Class Staff can follow this link and download the needed language. Note: This is a different link from last study year.

        See the Alternate Language sections in your manual or the Class Staff Resource for more information about volunteer translators.

        Video Tutorial for Searching the Resource Library

        There are plans to make the Resource Library easier to navigate and more robust in its search capabilities. In the meantime, here are some helps:

        • When Resource Library resources are referenced (for example, in the Bulletin), we include a keyword for you to use in the Keyword Search field in your library.
        • Spaces matter. For example, if you search “toolkit” and don’t get results, try using “tool kit” with a space. Similiarly, if you search “tool kits” (plural) and don’t get results, try searching “tool kit” without the “s” on the end.
        • Check out this video for a helpful demonstration.

        2023 AP and OAP Conference

        The dates and location for the 2023 AP and OAP Conference have been confirmed! We are happy to announce the meeting will be held Tuesday, 16 May 2023, beginning with dinner and will conclude Friday morning, 19 May 2023, at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Plan now to attend!

        Please wait until travel parameters are announced before purchasing airline tickets.

        International AP and OAP: It is not too early to schedule a visa interview, if required. E-mail events@bsfinternational.org to request a visa invitation letter.

        Sharing Your Host Zoom Link

        With the transition to BSF Zoom host licenses, sharing the host link with your substitute leader is easier. OGLs copy and share their host link directly from My Calendar or My Group pages when they need a substitute.

        OGLs can ask another OGL to substitute or request help from an unassigned OGL. While OGLs are responsible for leading their groups, OTs/AOTs are informed and can help to facilitate substitutes.

        Archive