Sunday's Secret

For the 2 of you that read this blog I am revealing a day earlier what the big news is for Sunday.

Last week we had a video about what the church is – it is the people that claim the name of Christ.  You are the church if you call yourself Christian. It is the job of the church to pay its way and reach out to the community. The Bridge is completely funded by the donations of the people in the seats.  All of our operations costs are covered by those donations – this includes rent, utilities, insurance, maintenance, salaries, books, videos, equipment, etc.  When we started 2 years ago we were able to raise $50,000 to cover start up costs – rent, chairs, sound equipment, utilities, books, advertising, etc.  That money has long been gone, but there have been a couple donations made to boost certain ministries or to help pay for renovations.  Other than that we operate on our giving by the people that consider this their spiritual home. 

Due to the efforts of Bob Ellery and his connections we were able to present to several investors, that wish to remain anonymous, our plans for future ministries here at The Bridge.  What we presented that we want to see occur over the next 1-3 years came to $498,000.  This starts with expanding our facility, particularly for the kids in the community, but also for the whole community.  The expansion we desire to do is purchasing the north end of Carman Plaza, 33,000 sq ft of empty space, and converting it to our uses. 

For the children we want to have an area for the kids in the community to come to in the summer for different activities, from summer tutoring to games to leadership training to outings.  We also want to offer classes for better parenting to help change the home life for kids and help parents find work or improve their work skills to find better work.  There will be year round resources and activities for children and families at risk. 

For the community we want to offer Life Coaching – this is a method of helping people find the next best step in their life.  We have a Christian Counselor, Margaret Cullen, that will be heading this up and we have a licensed therapist we consult with.  There are several people that will be receiving training and certification in Life Coaching this year as we establish this ministry for the community. 

We will be working on establishing transitional housing for people that have found themselves without a place to live or need a change in life.  This will be focused on teaching job skills, interpersonal skills, budgeting and life planning.  The classes offered through this ministry will be available to all, but we will also have a limited amount of beds for temporary housing for those that have no other place to stay until they can get back on their feet.  This will be different than a shelter – very focused on transitioning people, which will require people that are hungry and motivated to change their life.  Homeless shelters in the area we already support and will continue to support. 

All of this becomes possible by purchasing the building we are in with the adjacent 23,000 sq ft of empty space.  The landlord has thrown a price at us of $320,000.  We know it will take $40,000 to renovate the spaces.  The donors that we presented this to have committed to us $300,000.  We are not interested in taking this money and spending it all on the building so we are trusting God to come through again by getting the landlords to accept an offer of half that price.  Lets pray that God intervene and show the people that own this building the benefits of letting this building go for cheap.  This money will be going to expand our facility and kick off new ministries.  The purchase of the property will save us $2000 per month on rent which will offset the increase in utilities and maintenance.  There will be increased costs to cover the ministries we are starting, but as we have grown we have also seen increases in your giving.  All of this is possible due to your telling others about what you have experienced here and your faithfulness in giving.  There are many people that have experienced tremendous life change because of you.  Thank you for your support.  

Wasted life

A friend of mine just passed away - actually a couple of them did.  The friend that stands out is the one that was preventable.  Julie was a young woman with a future before her.  She struggled with addictions, but had gotten clean at times.  She suffered under the consequences of her actions while under the influence, but she was growing and stopping those actions.  At some point recently she decided to go out and use again.  Now she is dead.  I miss her and am angry at the waste of a great gift of life that God has given.  I know she was connected to her Creator through Jesus Christ and walks with Him now with a healed body, mind and soul.  A friend of mine says often "We have met the enemy and the enemy is us!" referring to our self destructive habits.  I believe that completely and hate the consequences of it.  I love Julie and look forward to one day walking with her again.  My other friend died of natural causes at an older age and it does not hurt as much - the gift of life God gave Rick was not cut short nor wasted.

I am not stupid!

New series for the next 3 weeks is about our financial intelligence.  Most of us are not stupid, but when it comes to money we make some very stupid choices.  If we are not that stupid then why are we broke, in debt and buy stuff we don't need or even want.  Using biblical principles we will be addressing these questions for the next 3 weeks.  Side note: Morning band is back for the 11am service!

Communion

What does communion mean to you?  Jesus did this ritual only once shortly before being crucified and told His disciples to do it in remembrance of Him.  Many make a big deal about the type of bread and if it was wine or juice, but it appears Jesus' point was that His body and blood was life sustenance for us.  He did not seem to concerned about what holiday they were observing or what type of bread or drink was available - Jesus seemed focused on the point that His body would be broken and blood shed for us and we needed to remember what He was going to do.

Later in scripture we find some more instructions regarding communion.  One in particular was to not participate in the ceremony in an unworthy manner - that it was not to be taken lightly, rather as a serious time of reflection about what Jesus had done for you.  It is clear that part of participating was a real relationship with God through Christ.  At The Bridge we take communion seriously as a time of remembrance of what Jesus did for us.  Because it is meant for the believer we do not offer communion during service times, but set up a special time each month for communion.  This way the first time attenders at The Bridge that may not have a current relationship with Christ will not feel excluded during the ceremony.

When we remember what Jesus did we most often gather in a circle, share in the bread and juice and then share what Jesus did and is doing in our lives.  It is a great time of bonding and fellowship.  Our current schedule for communion is at 12:30 and 6:30 pm after the services the week after the Dinner at The Bridge each month.  Hope you can join us some time.  Let me know what Jesus did for you!

God is Bigger

We continue with our theme of God is Bigger in all that we do.  He surpasses all of our problems, provides beyond our asking and is greater than any dream we might have!  Our new service times are Saturday at 6 pm, Sundays at 11 am and 5 pm.  Continuing in our growth.  God is Bigger!

Chain Reaction

New name for the new church being started on the East side of Flint is Chain Reaction!  Chain refers to the connection or link to our Creator made possible by Christ and the Reaction is about the movement starting in Genesee county.  It is starting with a small group of people, but the Chain Reaction will explode into the community and change lives radically because of God working through His people.  Tony and Traci will be great as the planting couple.  It is the very beginning - the launch team is still to be found, but the word is getting out.  I am excited about this next church launch and what is going to happen on the East side!  We have a potential planter in the wings for the future also - more on that at a later date.

Road trip

Heading out with the family for some R&R and some coaching from my church planting coach.  I love the time I get to spend with leaders that have done what I am attempting.  It is great to soak up some wisdom, get challenged on my thinking and grow because of it!  8 hours in the car with the family is a great bonding time as well.