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Church-wide “Entrance Exam” Results
9/28/2009 8:01:53 AM
Here is a brief look at the results of our recent Bible knowledge/spiritual practices test:
The average of wrong answers per test: 4.5
The average of people who know the books of the Bible: 46%
The average of people who read the Bible less than 1 time per week: 49%
The average of people who read the Bible 4-7 times per week: 20%
The average of people who pray 5 minutes per week or less: 36%
The average of people who pray 30-60 minutes per day: 10%
The average of people who commit to a Bible reading plan: 77%!
 
   Now, there are some things that show we have our work cut out for us. The lack of current Bible reading and knowledge underscores why we are doing our Know the Story, Live the Story! sermon series. I am very excited, then, that nearly 80% of you are willing to commit to a Bible reading plan! That’s awesome! Let me encourage you as you get going in your reading not to get discouraged if you miss a day or if you run across a boring section of Scripture. I give you permission to skip over those parts that have lots of numbers and (what initially feels like) boring details. It is OK. The key goal is to keep reading! As you develop the habit of reading, listen to the Sunday messages, and discuss in your Care Groups (coming up later this fall) the implications of the Sunday messages, you will begin to “get it.” It will start to sink in, and I believe you will grow hungrier and hungrier for God’s word!
   Another area of needed growth is our prayer lives. I want to encourage you to begin to develop your own prayer life this year. I believe that Bible reading and prayer go hand in hand. In fact, our Bible reading times should be prefaced by asking God to speak to us and give us understanding. Our Bible reading will help guide and inform our prayer lives. As we speak to God in prayer, we get to listen to Him in His word.
   Clearly this exam shows us where we need some growth. But I believe it also shows that we have many new believers and seekers who are hungry to grow! At the end of our series, we will once again take this exam and gauge how far we’ve come. I can’t wait to see where we will be a year from now as we look back on how we’ve grown in Bible knowledge and the habits of Bible reading and prayer.
 
 
 
The Year of the Bible: Know the Story, Live the Story!
A year long journey that will take you from Genesis to Revelation
 
   I am so excited about this year’s theme and sermon series! The Year of the Bible: Know the Story, Live the Story! This series excites me for two key reasons. Number one, most people in our churches, not to mention our culture, do not have a strong grasp of what the story of the Bible is all about. Many don’t realize that Moses and Jesus weren’t neighbors. Worse yet, many don’t even know who Moses or Jesus is! For this reason, I feel strongly that we need to become well-grounded in the Bible, God’s word… God’s story.  
   My hope in this series is to help the beginner, as well as the veteran, come to a deeper knowledge of God’s word and how the story flows from Genesis to Revelation. Along the way we will also come to a deeper love of our God. More important than knowing facts and details about the Bible is knowing the author! We don’t go to the Bible to know facts, or to win in a debate. We go to the Bible to meet God.
   The second reason I am thrilled about where this series will take us is that it will help us to read the Bible as story. Now when I say story, I do not mean made up, like, Once upon a time… What I mean is that the Bible is the story of a loving, eternal God who created the universe and humanity so that we could enjoy deep fellowship with Him. When that fellowship was disrupted and broken by Adam’s sin and death entered into the plot, the story took a turn. 
   Now God in His grace and mercy turns His attention to redeeming and restoring humanity to a right fellowship with Him. This, of course, would take many years, and many new characters would be added to the story (Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, etc.). But eventually the story would come to a new and far more critical turning point in which God not only allows His Son to come in the form of a little child, but would eventually offer that child up as His sacrifice for us all, so that through His dying we might have life!
   The Bible is story, and when you come to learn the story, it becomes far more powerful. The more you study the major characters in this salvation story, the more you will see yourself. You will come to realize that the “heroes” of faith from the past were broken and sinful as well, yet God loved and used them. More importantly, though, my hope is that you will come to see that God’s great desire is that your story begins to meld into THE story, HIS story. When you finally begin to see yourself as part of God’s grand story of redeeming the world, your life will begin to take on new and richer meaning. That is why this series is not simply titled, Know the Story because until you and I learn to Live the Story, it does us no good. And this story is too good to miss!
 
 What you will learn-
·      The books of the Bible
·      How the books are organized and what their different purposes are
·      The difference between the Old Testament and New Testament and why it matters
·      How the story and characters connect from Genesis to Revelation, from Creation to Fall, to Redemption, and to Final Restoration
 
What you will be able to do-
·      To tell someone the story of the WHOLE Bible in a few minutes!
·      To know your way around your own Bible
·      To develop a reading/prayer habit that will carry on beyond this series
·      To have a deeper walk with Jesus Christ
·      To have a passion for telling others His story of salvation!
 
How we will accomplish this-
·      We hope to incorporate some creative elements in our service that will help to cement the story in your mind.
·      We will use periodic “backtracks” that we will all do together in the service to bring us through the story up to the point we are at. This repetition will help with memory.
·      We will provide reading plan options that will help you choose a method that works best for you to begin a Bible reading habit.
1.     New Believer Method- Start by reading Mark (the story of Jesus), one chapter per day. After Mark is finished, go to Acts and then on through the rest of the New Testament all the way to Revelation, reading one chapter at a time (about ¾ of the year to finish)
2.     Sermon Series Method- Read the passages during the week before sermon (possibly reading it several times per week) 
3.     Whole Bible Method (slower pace)- Begin reading in Genesis and read 1 chapter at a time per day (a little over 3 years to read whole Bible)
4.     Whole Bible Method (1 year)- Begin reading in Genesis and read 3.5 chapters per day (1 year, reading every day)
5.     Whole Bible Method (1 year)- Begin reading in Genesis and read 4.5 chapters per day (1 year, reading only 5 days a week)
6.     Whole Bible Method (hyper fast!)- Begin reading in Genesis and read 13 chapters per day (about 90 days!)

              Begin your time with prayer, asking God’s Spirit to teach you and give you understading. Ttake time to just talk with God and share your heart with him.
New direction for the Called to Grow building plans!
9/23/2009 11:44:55 AM
New direction for the Called to Grow building plans!
Yesterday during the congregational meeting the leadership unveiled what has been an ongoing dialogue for the past few months among the elders and staff. We are excited about this change and what it means for further ministry here at BCC. Our original vision for the building was to renovate the gym so that, rather than looking like a gym we used for worship, it would have the look of a worship center we use as a gym. A new stage, a ramp for handicap access (as well as casket access for funerals) and a large entrance space for a welcome center were part of this plan. However, we would still be setting up and tearing down the chairs and having to use this one space for many multiple purposes. 
This summer we began rethinking this plan and looked once again at the concept of a new worship center vs. renovating the gym. As some of you are aware this was part of our earlier discussions concerning the building plans.   However, our earliest drawings of this concept were in the $3 million dollar range (this also included other renovations to the existing building) and seemed way out of range. As we reconsidered this option this summer in discussions with another church in Stanton that was in a similar situation to ours (i.e., setting up/tearing down in their gym for 7+ years) and had just built a sanctuary, we realized that maybe a new worship center was possible and need not be as expensive as we first thought.
We considered the added benefits of a new multi-use worship space:
·        No more weekly set up and tear down of the gym (thus, freeing people up to minister in other areas)
·        The gym gets to be used as a gym (sports, youth ministry, receptions, etc.)
·        Less wear and tear on equipment
·        A new nursery would be part of this first phase (it was not part of the first phase in the other plan)
·        No need to move the kitchen
·        Weddings/funerals and a reception/fellowship meal could be done much more conveniently in this new model. 
Needless to say, we are thrilled about this new possibility! In the coming days we will be presenting a detailed look at this new worship space so you can comment on it and help us sharpen the focus.
As I mentioned one of the key factors initially holding us back from this concept was cost. But after reconsidering this, we feel we can actually keep our cost to the same initial bottom line. One way we will be able to keep costs down significantly is that we will be doing our own general contracting. Jim Tibbe, who did the general contracting for our gym, will be helping to oversee the project and feels confident we can do much of what needs to be done in-house.
So, let me reiterate where we have come in the past year and a half:
1.    We have paid off the $100,000+ debt.
2.    We have $100,000+ on hand.
3.    Commitments have been keeping a pretty good pace, and thus we have shown through our giving that we are ready to move forward!
4.    Plans are still on to break ground this spring.
5.    As God grows us, we will look beyond these “four walls” to other communities to start new churches. This new church building will, thus, be a sort of spiritual “birthing room” from which new life can spring!
Thank you for your prayers, your giving and your encouragement to the leadership through this process. Keep it up! We are in this together, and we believe God has been in this process guiding and providing. And we trust that where He guides, He will also provide!
P.S.- Some asked Sunday about the renovations to the children’s area that are planned. Those are still part of the overall vision but are part of the second phase of building.
Church Volunteer Central
9/2/2009 9:35:42 AM
This article is from Church Volunteer Central.  As we come to the fall and think ministry, here's a great encouragement as to why serving others is such a good idea!  Be sure to find a place to get plugged in this fall!
Happy Teenagers
Brian Proffit
We talk a lot about the importance of being true disciples fulfilling our calling to spend time in service to others. But did you know studies indicate that living externally focused lives actually increases our happiness? Many studies back this up, but I'll just mention a couple that relate to two groups of people that can be especially susceptible to times of unhappiness or despair: seniors and teens.
A study published by Aging and Mental Health in 2003 showed that seniors who volunteered were significantly more likely than those who didn't to report having high energy, concentration, and engagement. Altruism and Later Life reports that a significant increase in happiness was attributable to volunteering. As reported in Gross National Happiness, "The researchers found that volunteering for just six months significantly increased the seniors' morale, self-esteem, and sense of social integration. In general, the researchers found that volunteering for nonprofit organizations was even better for senior citizens' happiness than helping out their families or their neighbors." Sounds like important news for churches to me!
As a parent, I've had intimate experience with "surly teenager" syndrome. The good news is this also gives us a way to improve their attitudes about themselves and their lives. A study published in The Science of Altruism and Health followed 1,000 teenagers over a five year period, tracking their attitudes and behaviors. Those who spent the most time in various community service efforts were least likely to be involved in violence and pregnancy. They also were least likely to express negative feelings(!) or describe themselves as feeling stressed. As described in Gross National Happiness , "Provocatively, the investigators found that charity and faith tended to interact for extra benefit. Religious, giving teens had higher self-esteem, confidence, and optimism than nonreligious, giving teens."
We have always emphasized that you should not be recruiting volunteers for what they can do for you. The goal is to help every believer find his or her true fulfillment and joy in life by spending their time in the areas of loving ministry that God created them for. But research indicates there are some significant extra benefits. We've all heard someone describe their experience by saying, "I get much more out of it than I give." Science backs them up.
Perhaps you don't have any people in your church whose lives could use an injection of happiness, optimism, and energy. If so, please drop the rest of us an e-mail...we'd like to come visit your church! For the rest of us, we now have yet another reason to continue our call for all believers to live externally focused lives.
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