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Only God Can Build a Church

When I began my education to prepare for the ministry, I went to a Baptist college that was very much immersed in what came to be called the “church growth movement.” The term “mega-church” hadn’t been coined yet, but there were many churches in our fellowship that gathered thousands of people every week, with a few having ten thousand or more in attendance. The pastors of those churches were revered, and their explanations of “how to build a church” were eagerly heard and followed. These pastors were in high demand as conference speakers, and their churches were written about in books by “church growth experts.”

I grew up in one of those large churches, and accepted and absorbed these ideas about church growth without question. But there were lots of churches in our fellowship that were much smaller, numbering in the hundreds, and many more that has a hundred people or less in their weekly attendance. Somehow the unspoken thought was that their smaller churches and their pastors weren’t doing it right, somehow falling short or not measuring up. Because if they were doing things the right, and if the pastors were dedicated enough, committed enough, loved Jesus enough, and worked hard enough (often at the expense of their families), then, of course, the church would grow. And if a church wasn’t growing, well, that was a pretty good indicator of the disappointing lack in these churches and these pastors. The unfortunate result of all this stuff was that lots of churches and pastors felt like failures. Some pastors even attempted to commit suicide because their churches weren’t growing.

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Weekly Update for Sunday, February 2, 2025

Bible Explorers (3’s-5th) Join us Wednesdays from 6:15-7:30 for our midweek children’s discipleship program. We’d love to have you with us for engaging Bible lessons, Scripture memory time, and fun games.

Youth Group (6th–12th) Join us Sunday evenings from 6:00-7:00! Come spend time with friends as we have fun and explore the Christian faith. We are doing a study of Colossians.

Operation Christmas Child OCC collection items for February are hats, gloves, and scarves. Drop your items in one of the boxes in the Narthex!

Treehouse Volunteers Meeting There will be a brief meeting today following the morning service for those currently serving or interested in serving in the Treehouse.

Little Sprouts Volunteers Meeting There will be a brief meeting next Sunday, February 9 following the morning service for those currently serving or interested in serving in Little Sprouts.

Official Board Meeting There will be an Official Board Meeting next Sunday, February 9, at 4:30 in the library.

2024 Giving Statements Giving statements for 2024 have either been placed in your church mailbox or mailed to your home address. If you have not received a statement and expect one, please call the church office.

First Sunday Offerings We are thankful for those who partner with us financially through their offerings. As a reminder, any loose cash given on the first Sunday of each month is designated for the church’s benevolence fund

Weekly Update for Sunday, January 26, 2025

Bible Explorers (3’s-5th) Join us Wednesdays from 6:15-7:30 for our midweek children’s discipleship program. We’d love to have you with us for engaging Bible lessons, Scripture memory time, and fun games.

Youth Group (6th–12th) Join us Sunday evenings from 6:00-7:00! Come spend time with friends as we have fun and explore the Christian faith. We are doing a study of Colossians.

Operation Christmas Child OCC collection items for January are stuffed animals and games. Drop your items in one of the boxes in the Narthex!

Nursery Volunteers Meeting There will be a brief meeting today following the morning service for those currently serving or interested in serving in the nursery.

Treehouse Volunteers Meeting There will be a brief meeting following the morning service on February 2 for those currently serving or interested in serving in the Treehouse.

2024 Giving Statements Giving statements for 2024 have either been placed in your church mailbox or mailed to your home address. If you have not received a statement and expect one, please call the church office

Weekly Update for Sunday, January 19, 2025

Bible Explorers (3’s-5th) Join us Wednesdays from 6:15-7:30 for our midweek children’s discipleship program. We’d love to have you with us for engaging Bible lessons, Scripture memory time, and fun games.

Youth Group (6th–12th) Join us Sunday evenings from 6:00-7:00! Come spend time with friends as we have fun and explore the Christian faith. We are doing a study of Colossians.

Operation Christmas Child OCC collection items for January are stuffed animals and games. Drop your items in one of the boxes in the Narthex!

Nursery Volunteers Meeting There will be a brief meeting following the morning service on January 26 for those currently serving or interested in serving in the nursery.

Treehouse Volunteers Meeting There will be a brief meeting following the morning service on February 2 for those currently serving or interested in serving in the Treehouse.

Church Office The church office will be closed on Monday.

2024 Giving Statements Giving statements for 2024 have either been placed in your church mailbox or mailed to your home address. If you do not receive a statement and expect one, please call the church office

Weekly Update for Sunday, January 12, 2025

Bible Explorers (3’s-5th) Join us Wednesdays from 6:15-7:30 for our midweek children’s discipleship program. We’d love to have you with us for engaging Bible lessons, Scripture memory time, and fun games.

Youth Group (6th–12th) Join us Sunday evenings from 6:00-7:00! Come spend time with friends as we have fun and explore the Christian faith. We are starting a study of Colossians.

Operation Christmas Child OCC items for January are stuffed animals and games.

1BC Kids Opportunities As we head into the new year, there are a number of ways that you can get involved in serving our families and their children. See Pastor Bobby if you are interested in learning more about joining a team.

Nursery Volunteers Meeting There will be a brief meeting following the morning service on January 26 for those currently serving or interested in serving in the nursery.

Trustee Meeting There will be a trustee meeting today after the morning service.

Weekly Update for Sunday, January 5, 2025

Evening Service Canceled The service tonight has been canceled due to the ongoing snow storm.

Bible Explorers (3’s-5th) Bible Explorers is back! Join us this Wednesday from 6:15-7:30. We’d love to have you with us for engaging Bible lessons, Scripture memory time, and fun games.

Youth Group (6th–12th) There is no Youth Group tonight. We will be back together next Sunday.

Operation Christmas Child OCC items for January are stuffed animals and games.

1BC Kids Opportunities As we head into the new year, there are a number of ways that you can get involved in serving our families and their children. See Pastor Bobby if you are interested in learning more about joining a team.

Trustee Meeting There will be a trustee meeting today after the morning service.

First Sunday Offerings We are thankful for those who partner with us financially through their offerings. As a reminder, any loose cash given on the first Sunday of each month is designated for the church’s benevolence fund

Weekly Update for Sunday, December 29, 2024

Bible Explorers (3’s-5th) Bible Explorers is taking a break! We’ll be back together on January 8.

Youth Group (6th–12th) Youth Group is taking a break! We’ll be back together on January 12.

1BC Kids Opportunities As we head into the new year, there are a number of ways that you can get involved in serving our families and their children. See Pastor Bobby if you are interested in learning more about joining a team.

Church Office The church office will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Wednesday Night There will be no Adult Prayer Meeting and Bible Study this Wednesday.

Happy New Year As we come to the end of another year, may we never forget what God has done and will continue to do for us. Glory to his name

Weekly Update for Sunday, December 22, 2024

Bible Explorers (3’s-5th) Bible Explorers is taking a break! We’ll be back together on January 8.

Youth Group (6th–12th) Youth Group is taking a break! We’ll be back together on January 12.

1BC Kids Opportunities As we head into the new year, there are a number of ways that you can get involved in serving our families and their children. See Pastor Bobby if you are interested in learning more about joining a team.

Lottie Moon Offering Envelopes for the annual Lottie Moon Christmas offering for foreign missions are available at the Welcome Center.

Candlelight Christmas Service Tonight is our special Candlelight Christmas! We’ll start by enjoying a hot chocolate bar at 5:30. Then at 6:00, we’ll gather in the sanctuary. The lights will be dimmed, all the Christmas carols will be accompanied by classical guitar, and Pastor Dave will tell the real story of Saint Nicholas. This will be a time for your whole family to enjoy! The kids may even get a few goodies.

Christmas Ornaments Stop by the tall Christmas tree in the narthex to grab an ornament made by our 1BC Kids for our church families to add to their tree at home.

Church Office The church office will be closed Tuesday through Thursday.

Wednesday Night There will be no Adult Prayer Meeting and Bible Study this Wednesday or next Wednesday.

Merry Christmas We pray that you will have a wonderful time celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with friends and family this week.