Where we stand

Last week I shared a report to the congregation about our current financial situation (video below) please pray that God will enable us to meet the challange his blessing of growth has produced.

The Wise Foundation

As I mentioned in today's sermon, here are the lyrics to the Sunday School song about having the right foundation. Click the link at the bottom of the lyrics to listen to a midi music file of the song.


The wise man built his house upon the rock

The wise man built his house upon the rock,
The wise man built his house upon the rock,
The wise man built his house upon the rock,
And the rains came tumbling down!

The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
And the house on the rock stood firm.

The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
And the rains came tumbling down!

The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
And the house on the sand went SPLAT!

So build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ,
So build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ,
Build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ
and the Blessings will come down.

The blessings will come down as your prayers go up,
The blessings will come down as your prayers go up,
The blessings will come down as your prayers go up,
So build your house on the Lord!

the-wiseman-built-his-house.mid

To Our Neighbors and The Nations

The new Southridge Campus has given us wonderful new tools to reach out to the Greater Kanawha Valley with the Good News of Jesus Christ. We pray that God will use His people to share the hope of Christ with our neighbors throughout the area. As we invite folks to join us for worship services, Bible studies, and community events, we want God to use us to reach our neighbors.

This expansion in ministry will also enhance our position to reach the nations for Christ. Over the last several years, we have increased our giving to world missions to nearly half a million dollars. Some would suggest reaching your neighbors and the nations cannot be done at the same time.

Jesus told us to do both. We are commanded by our Savior in Acts 1:8 to start with our own Jerusalem of Charleston and then focus on the nations which spread to the ends of the earth. Bible Center is committed to reaching its neighbors and the nations with the Good News of the Risen Savior!

Behind the Scenes

Much work has been done by our staff to get everything ready for the new building. Pastors, administrators, office staff, custodians and volunteers have worked tirelessly to get it all done. Thank you to all!!

One of the advances in the building has to do with technology. The audio, video, and lighting system will keep us on the forefront of using modern tools to communicate the ancient message of hope found in Jesus.

Please be patient as our network administrator, service production coordinator, sound, lighting and video staff work to get all the wrinkles out. Our architects, consultants, and installers all told us that we had one of, if not, the most error-free first Sundays they had seen. We had a list of dozens of things to work on after the first and second Sundays in the building, but they did commend us for our efforts.

We want the technology to compliment and communicate the message. We do not want the methodology to distract from the message.

I am so thankful to all who work behind the scenes to get everything working efficiently so we can communicate the Truth of God's Word effectively in this generation!

Nearly 2,800! Twice!

On Easter Sunday 2008, just 14 people fewer than the week before attended Bible Center's morning services. Both weeks were right around 2,800 in attendance. These are unique weeks. It is hard to make a lot of judgments about attendance trends.

As a matter of fact, this next Sunday, March 30th, does not help much either. Two Sundays ago was a first Sunday in the new building. We had friends and family members of the Bible Center congregation join us who do not even live in Charleston. We had folks who came just to see our new building and will return to their local church. Easter is always our largest Sunday in terms of attendance. It is no wonder that each of these weeks fell just shy of 2,800 people.

This next Sunday will throw any evaluation of attendance trends as well. Just as Easter Sunday is the largest crowd of the year, the following Sunday is always the lowest attended Sunday. The timing of Spring Break and everybody going to church for Easter causes the Sunday after Easter to be the weakest Sunday in terms of attendance. Last year we had about 2,200 on Easter and not quite 1600 the following Sunday. This is normal for us and for most churches. But, it further complicates our attempts to see attendance patterns emerging.

So what do numbers mean anyway? First and foremost, they represent lives of real people. Numbers help with future planning, but that is secondary to people themselves. Numbers are people with whom we have the opportunity to share the Gospel and show the love of Jesus. Thank God for that opportunity over the last few weeks!

Kids!

Well after two weeks in the new building, kids seem very excited. They love the new children's area - designed and themed just for them. Having these two big Sundays (move in day and Easter) back to back caused some slow down in checking kids in to the Children's ministry, but the kids love it.

As pastor and as a parent, I am thrilled that children want to come to church. They look forward to the fun, the singing, the puppets, and the lesson. Seeing kids excited about the Bible and learning more about Jesus should bring fresh hope to all adults in a world where kids are bombarded with images and sounds that are far too often less than God honoring.

My prayer has been that the youngest of our congregation have a safe, clean, warm, caring, fun environment to learn about Jesus and grow in Him. Praise the Lord! He has provided!

What About Tomorrow?

Today I stopped by a funeral home to express my sympathies to one of our church members whose father stepped into eternity this week. After that, I stopped by the hospital to visit some hurting people, made a stop at a gas station, and ran in to Kroger for a few things. Each place I went, Bible Center folks asked me "So, what about tomorrow? How big do you think it will be - it is Easter?"

While tomorrow is Easter Sunday (normally our biggest Sunday of the year), my guess is that it won't be quite as big as last week. We had many out of town guests last week. Family members joined our church family for this special day. So, while tomorrow will probably be well attended, I doubt it will be as large as last Sunday.

We will however have a great opportunity to share the wonderful news of the resurrected Savior with many guests. We will also be able as God's children to be refocussed in the hope that is ours in the Risen Christ!

What about tomorrow? Undoubtedly, it will be a great day in Jesus!!