Bridgetown Church of Christ

Just as the word says, we are asking all of you to relent, or, give-in to God this Easter – BUT THE SACRIFICE IS VERY SPECIFIC! We know and believe that God has been tugging on your hearts about people in your lives who do not have Christ; but have yet to invite them to a place where they can hear the gospel. Therefore, this Easter, re-Lent to God. Give up your insecurities. Make the invitation(s) – AND THEN TRUST GOD TO DO THE REST!

Let’s take these last weeks before Easter and begin praying for God to create the opportunities we need to invite these people to a place where they can experience God – maybe for the 1 st time!

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Get out your calendar… Easter will be on Sunday March 23 this year. We are planning to have two identical services at 9:00am and 11:30am here at BCC. In between services, from 10:15 to 11:15, we will be serving a pancake brunch for everyone! Please bring a breakfast casserole, Danish, rolls, bagels, or donuts to contribute to the meal.

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Prayer in everyday life can be strange to our culture. Prayer can also be uncomfortable for us as believers even though we know it shouldn’t. We have many questions like, “When and how should I do it?”, “How do I know if I’m doing it right?”, “What is okay to pray for and what’s not?”, “Do I pray out loud or to myself, do I bow my head, do I fold my hands, sit or stand?”

Scripture teaches us that prayer can and should be a vital part of life, a life that seeks intimacy and wisdom from a perfect father. Prayer is an ongoing conversation with God to discover his great plan for your life and our world. Prayer focused on the will of God takes us out of the center of the universe and places God there, where he deserves to be.

Starting Sunday, February 17, we will have a prayer room open; until Easter Sunday . We desperately want to offer ourselves and our church before God, to let him know we are serious about our connection with him and his heart. We have one hour time slots for which you can sign up on Sundays or by calling or visiting the church office throughout the week. An hour sounds like a lot to some people but each person will have over a dozen different ways to lift their prayers to him (That’s only 5 minutes each – everyone can do that). First time prayers as well as veterans are welcome to enjoy this private time with God.

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SEEK

At 8:00pm, the church will be open the first Monday night of each month for a very informal time of prayer training and prayer time. You don’t have to commit to every meeting. You can come as you can and as you are to pray or receive prayer. The focus will simply be on going before God with the concerns of his heart and with the concerns of our heart.

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Save the Date! Mark your Calendar or you will miss… The next Life@Bridgetown is Sunday, March 30. If you’re new to BCC or just have questions, this is an informal discussion time with Q&A. Lunch and childcare are provided. Please sign up if you plan to attend by calling the church office.

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With Andy Grimes recently coming on as our part-time Student Ministry Intern, and myself (Nick Parker) recently being hired fulltime to direct K-Zone and oversee Andy and the Student Ministry, it seems like a good time to readdress the reason these two ministries really exist. Recently there was a meeting for the parents of High School and Middle School parents in which Andy did a fantastic job of explaining the direction the Student Ministry will be heading. Parents seem excited to see what is already happening in the Student Ministry and what will in the future. During that meeting, I also spoke briefly on the philosophy of K-Zone and Student Ministry, but the response has not been as positive. This is completely understandable. I realized after the fact (as I often do) that my words, though true, were harsh and unkind and were misunderstood for these and a number of other reasons as well. Whether you attended the meeting or not, this article will hopefully clearly and lovingly, describe the philosophy of Children’s & Student Ministry here at Bridgetown Church of Christ so please read on.

Scripture makes clear two things when it comes to the role of the family and the church with regard to a child’s spiritual life. These are:

1. The parents are primarily responsible for leading their children to know and love God.

2. The church is primarily responsible for equipping parents to lead their children to know and love God.

Historically these two ideas were understood and practiced within the home and the church. It wasn’t until the early 1800’s that a shift began to slowly occur. This shift began with the advent of the Sunday school movement. Originally Sunday school was offered to children from non-Christian families. They were taught the tenants and beliefs of the Christian faith with the hope that they would become Christ-followers. Christian children did not originally attend Sunday school as their parents and families still understood that it was their responsibility to teach their children the faith. Over time, Christian parents saw Sunday school as an opportunity for their children to learn more about the faith and it was soon offered to Christian children as well.

It is here that the most tragic shift in belief and practice takes place. Unfortunately as Sunday school continued both families and the church started to see it as a replacement for what was done at home rather than a supplement. The church proclaimed itself the expert in religious education and so, like the school system today, parents sent their kids to church to be taught about Jesus by “experts.” Now this change within families was not because of laziness or rebellion to Scripture. Rather, I believe it stems primarily from insecurity. You see, I can say now that I have my own child, that insecurity is a general trait of all parents. It’s those chronic, nagging questions that keep you up at night, “Am I doing this right?” “What should I do differently?” “Can I do this?” It’s these that so often lead parents to believe they can’t do it. And unfortunately rather than supporting parents and helping them lead their children spiritually, the church embraced the “expert” role.

When parents are asking themselves questions like those above and the church answers, “No, you’re not doing this right. No you can’t do this—but we can. Give your kids to us and we’ll teach them about God, Jesus, etc.” it’s understandable that families responded with “OK.” Parents believed they were doing the right thing, that they were fulfilling God’s command by sending their children to church. And the church, rather than challenging these false beliefs, embraced them and thus failed at its calling to equip parents.

This general practice continued for a number of years until some parents and some church leaders started looking at Scripture and saw that the whole exercise of Sunday school as it was currently being practiced had no basis whatsoever in Scripture. They studied and began to see again that Scripture makes clear two things when it comes to the role of the family and the church with regard to a child’s spiritual life. These are:

1. The parents are primarily responsible for leading their children to know and love God.

2. The church is primarily responsible for equipping parents to lead their children to know and love God.

This is where BCC comes in. You see Andy and myself realize that in many ways, the church has been failing parents and families. We have continued to believe, “We are the specialists so let us teach your kids about Jesus.” And while it may be true that we are specialists as most of the staff hold specialized degrees in their area of ministry, this doesn’t mean that we ought to operate from this mentality. We want to redeem Sunday school (a.k.a. K-Zone, Refuge, and RSM) and get back to what it was originally intended to be, a supplement and not a replacement. That is what Andy and I are trying to do. We want to be first and foremost an equipping ministry. We want to equip and help you, the parent, accomplish the difficult task of raising your children to know and love the Lord. We also recognize that we are experts and we will use our expertise to offer your children the best that we can in the way of spiritual guidance and leadership.

Let me say this, parents don’t need to be experts to lead your children spiritually. What you need is a partner and that’s where we want to come in. But hear this; even as experts we cannot lead your children spiritually. We need you; we need a partner too. Neither of us can do this by ourselves. We absolutely need each other. You need us to provide you with the tools, resources, guidance, encouragement, and expertise that you need to raise your children in the faith . . . and we are committed to this. But in reality, we need you desperately more. We need you to take an active, up front role in the spiritual lives of your children. We need you to reclaim the rightful place that God has put you in as your child’s spiritual leader. Our goal in K-Zone and Student Ministry is to do everything we can to support you in your role. Yes, we will certainly offer great programming for kids 0-18 that will take the form of events, outings, youth group, teaching, etc. But all that is secondary to what we are really called to do—equip parents to pass the baton of faith onto their kids.

I hope that this has cleared the waters I muddied the other day. Please, if you have any further questions or comments about the previous meeting or this article, don’t hesitate to call, email, or stop me in the hall. Andy expressed the sentiment of both of us when he said, “I love your kids.” Now, allow me to express the sentiment of both of us when I say, “We love you, the parent, too.” We want to be partners with you in this sometimes messy thing called the church. God is full of grace and he will help us reach this new generation for Christ. Let’s partner together with him.

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Arizona Reservation Ministries is asking us to help them raise funds by donating our old cell phones. A.R.M. exists to make disciples of the Native American people, empowering them to meet the physical and spiritual needs of their community. They partner with Apache churches to minister to the tribe’s children, teens, and families. You can help by placing your old cell phones in the box in the lobby. Don’t let this opportunity to bless A.R.M.’s ministry pass you by!

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Lifeline Christian Mission is an international mission organization that began working in Haiti in 1980. Due to the hunger, illiteracy, and poverty in Haiti , Lifeline began many programs: Christian schools, churches, health care clinics, an orphanage, food/clothing pantries, vocational training, and much more. In 1996, Lifeline began a nutrition program after seeing hundreds of malnourished children and adults in the clinics.

Last year over 40,000 jars of peanut butter were collected for Lifeline’s Nutrition Programs in Haiti . Many malnourished children and adults have been reaping the nutritious benefits of the generous donations from thousands of people. And yet there are still many, many more children and adults who are seen in Lifeline’s clinics each day who are malnourished.

We will be collecting peanut butter for Lifeline over the next few weeks through the end of March. Any size jar, any brand, and any variety will be used (creamy is preferred). There will be a box for donations of jars of peanut butter at the information table. The goal for 2008 is 75,000 jars of peanut butter. Our goal for Bridgetown is 300 jars. Currently over 1,000 jars are distributed weekly.

High in protein and calories. One large tablespoon is equal to a small pork chop in protein. (Protein is lacking in the diet of most Haitians).
Peanut butter is rich in vitamins and minerals, like vitamins B and E.
Most every American adult or child can afford to contribute at least one jar of peanut butter.
A fun and easy project for all ages.

500 toddlers receive a weekly supply of peanut butter. Raisins, canned meats, and/or other nutritious foods high in iron and protein are given when available.
500+ malnourished, pregnant, and anemic women receive peanut butter and grains each week at the clinics. Canned meat and sun-dried raisins are also given when available.
50+ infants (old enough to eat it) receive peanut butter each week.
75 jars are given to the Lovelink Children’s Home each month.
250+ families receive peanut butter each week in the Family Nutrition Programs.
Several hundred jars are given out quarterly to very needy children in Lifeline’s schools.
Lifeline shares peanut butter with other missions.

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…to Kyle and Traci Klaserner on the birth of their son; Colin was born at a healthy 7 lbs 15 oz, 20.25 inches on Tuesday January 29 at 1:48 pm.

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Volunteers are needed in the Nursery and Walker room. This is an important need if we are to offer childcare for children while the parents attend service. If you can help once a month, please e-mail Sue Ernst at sernst24@yahoo.com or call 513.467.0139.

February 24
1st Service: Juanita Hammond, we need one more volunteer
2nd Service: Rosie Parian, Doris Foster

March 2
1st Service: Sue Ernst , we need one more volunteer
2nd Service: Mike Oyakawa, Jen Burch

March 9
1st Service: we need two more volunteers
2nd Service: Jan Stewart, Karen Thomas

March 16
1st Service: Shirley Shepard, Karen Thomas
2nd Service: Jamie Matsey , need one more volunteer

March 23
1st Service: Doris Foster , we need one more volunteer
2nd Service: Rosie Parian, Juanita Hammond

March 30
1st Service: we need two volunteers
2nd Service: Bette Anderson, Karen Hahn