Fellowship Bible Church, Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia

Who doesn't love potlucks? They're an all-American tradition, but theoretically even Communists would be pro-potluck because they're about sharing resources. (Some people do have potluck pet peeves. Some people get annoyed when they see Jell-O placed in the salad section. There are regional disputes about whether certain entrees should be called "casseroles" or "hot dishes."  And Mindy, as a pastor's kid, has traumatic childhood memories of being told to wait until everyone else had a turn, so she never got any Kentucky Fried Chicken.) So it shouldn't be too surprising that when we asked our friend Danita about cherished memories of growing up at Concord Bible Church, she mentioned, "Potlucks. And Vacation Bible School." She added, "Times we'd all be eating, not the church services, but when we'd all be together."

We met Danita when I worked at Concord Bible Church as a youth pastor. When we came to the church she was about three years old (her older brothers were eventually in the youth group while I served there, but I left before she was old enough). Danita also attended the kindergarten through 8th grade school on the property. "Since I was there all the time, I felt like I owned the place." It was the only church she ever attended before going off to college at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

A big draw in moving to West Virginia was to be with her cousin, Robin, who had moved to the state from California a few years before. Danita had visited Robin most summers while she was in high school, and she'd always felt drawn to the place. Six months after Danita moved to West Virginia, her cousin moved away. Her blood relation was gone.

Turns out though, Danita was not without family. Whenever Danita came to West Virginia she'd attended Robin's church. After her cousin moved away, people from the church kept checking in on Danita, and they'd come to visit her. One family in particular adopted Danita, inviting her to spend weekends away from the dorm into their home. Carrie and Kevin and their small children made Danita a part of the family. I met Carrie. Though Danita suggested Carrie was a second mother to her, Carrie insisted she was a sister.

Others at Fellowship Bible Church acted as family as well. When Danita moved out of the dorm, other women at college who also attended Fellowship Bible Church became her roommates. When those roommates moved on, an older woman in the church asked Danita to move into her farmhouse. Danita lived in Margaret's house for four years, helping her out in lieu of rent. Danita had graduated and become a school teacher, and she was able to save money to buy a house.

I asked Danita what she liked about Fellowship Bible Church when she moved out here a little over a decade ago. She said she liked that it wasn't drastically different than Concord Bible Church, though it was bigger. When she started attending, there were about 200 people in the single worship service, which seemed huge to her. (The church now has three services, each service with more in attendance than Concord Bible Church back in the day.) But there were still gatherings with food. "At the picnics there was so much food!" she said.

She also appreciated the spiritual feeding she received at Fellowship. The church motto is "Touching Lives With Scripture." From the beginning, Danita appreciated the teaching of Senior Pastor Van Marsceau and his expositional preaching.*

This past Sunday, we attended the third service of the morning, Pastor Van was preaching on Matthew 14 and the feeding of the 5,000 (plus women and children, as he noted). He also cited the telling of the story in the other Gospels.  It was a good sermon with helpful application. Danita had expressed appreciation for Pastor Van sticking to close to Scripture while still making things practical.

During the prayer time early in the service, there was mention of famine in Malawi. Pastor Van said he had taken five trips to Malawi and was saddened by the news. But he said he was sure there was still worship in the church that day and celebration of the hope of Heaven.

We appreciated the mini-orchestra which accompanied the hymns. Apparently, since there are three services, there is a different assortment in every service. Sometimes more violins and less flutes or vice versa, depending on who shows up. I did love having the opportunity to meet Jared (Jarrod? I didn't ask) with his electronic standup bass, which was very cool.

A surrogate family wasn't all that Danita gained at Fellowship Bible Church. Several years ago, she noticed a young man at church, JaRon Puller. She hoped for opportunities to talk with him, but he didn't seem interested. Until he was.

Danita and JaRon were married last year, and they are expecting a child late this summer. Danita found a surrogate family with her brothers and sisters in Christ at Fellowship Bible Church, and through that fellowship, she also found her literal family there.

Statistics

Service Length: 1 hour 23 minutes

Sermon Length: 33 minutes

Visitor Treatment: Danita introduced us to many people; visitors were encouraged in the bulletin and during the announcements to fill out a visitors' card (which also had space for prayer requests and other information) and put it in the offering basket.

Followup by Tuesday Morning: none

Our Rough Count: 180 people

Probable Ushers' Count: 200

Snacks: coffee, decaf, hot water for teaMusicians: keyboards (man), piano (woman), flutes (3 women), trombone (man), electric upright bass (man), upright bass (man), violins (man and woman), percussion (man), cello (man)

Songs: "A Mighty Fortress is our God" (orchestra)

"Victory in Jesus"

"How Deep the Father's Love for us"

"Beneath the Cross of Jesus" (orchestra)

"When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" (orchestra)

"And can it be"

Miles to church: 15

Miles from start: 12,821

Total 2016 Miles: 12,564

Church website: http://www.fellowshipwv.org/

*Expositional preaching is the practice of working through a book of Scripture rather than a topical or liturgical sermon schedule.

Bayside Covenant Church, Blue Oaks Campus (Roseville)

"When you enter the building you will see a large tree.  Let's meet there." That was the Facebook message from Allie, one of my former youth group students at Concord Bible Church. I assumed, it being December and all, that the large tree would be a Christmas tree. But it was an oak. A fake oak, but an oak. And kind of cool.

The morning was rainy and blustery, so we were happy to get inside the Blue Oaks Campus of Bayside Church. They meet in a warehouse, which we heard is a temporary facility, but it has been made into a very warm and inviting space. Christmas music was playing ("Silver Bells", "Caroling, Caroling," and other bell songs on a relatively short loop, but in fairness we arrived about an hour early) The oak was the center of The Park near the ping pong table and children's play structure. The area is open during the week for people to enjoy this part of the facility and the cafe.

Bay Oaks is one of four Sacramento area campuses of Bayside Church. The first campus was the Granite Bay, founded by Ray Johnston twenty years ago. The impetus of the church's founding was a number of teenagers' suicides in the area. There was a concern that churches weren't reaching young people, so a number of parents got together and prayed for a ministry that would make a difference.

Now 14,000 people attend weekend services at the four campuses (with six services at Granite Bay, four at Midtown, two services at Folsom and two services at Blue Oaks). Youth and children's ministries continue to be priority for Bayside, with the intention of reaching the community by reaching the youth.

We met Allie, her husband, their three kids and Allie's parents (who had worked with youth at Concord Bible Church when we were all there) by the oak tree before in the service. I went with Allie to check her kids into Sunday School. The attendant asked for Allie's last name or the last four digits of her phone number. Allie's younger son and her daughter went into the K - 3rd area, a large outdoor adventure-themed room with tents for the children's small group time. Her older  son was checked into the 4th & 5th grade class. Allie told me it was the children's ministry of the church that drew her and her husband, Kevin, to Bayside. Their kids have made good friends in their Sunday School classes.

The middle school students also have a class during the service, but high school students meet in small groups before or after the service and worship with the adults. There were announcements during the service for Unleashed (the name of the high school and middle school programs) activities, a camp and a Mexico missions trip in the spring.

The main announcement was for the upcoming Christmas Eve services. Free tickets were available for the 8:30 pm service, though the 4:00 pm service had already 'sold out' (tickets are free).  Ray Johnston came to the service to encourage people to bring guests to one of the two services at Blue Oaks or one of the fifteen services at Granite Bay. (Each campus has their own pastoral staff and worship team. Lincoln Brewster, a prominent Christian performer, serves as the Minister of Music at the Granite Bay campus.) Johnston said that last year, hundreds of people made commitments to Christ at Christmas Eve services, and that many people become a part of the church after first being introduced through this service.

There was also an announcement about the need for volunteers to care for children during the Christmas Eve services at Blue Oaks. They needed twenty people, we were told, but not just anyone. Tthey needed twenty qualified people. They hoped to be able to allow parents to enjoy worship without worry.

During the worship there was a cool fog effect along with an effective use of lighting. The worship leaders were talented, but their leadership wasn't just a performance. People were urged to join in the singing ("Come on, church, clap your hands" "Come on Blue Oaks, let's hear you" "Come on, Bayside, let's worship"). And people were singing along. (Though most of the songs were not particularly Christmasy, the close was "Hark the Herald" which was rightly noted to pack more theology in one place than most any sermon.)

The sermon was part of a series on Luke 1 & 2 titled "All I Want for Christmas." This Sunday the text was Luke 2: 1 - 15 (you know, the Linus passage) on Christmas joy. There was an exhortation not to aim for happiness at Christmas, but rather joy.

We felt that Bayside Church is doing its part in the Kingdom of introducing many in the Sacramento area to joy of the Lord.

-- Dean

Statistics

Service Length: 1 hour 23 minutes

Sermon Length: 41minutes

Visitor Treatment: When Mindy went to the welcome center about an hour before worship began, they were still setting up. During the service, we filled out an attendance card included i the bulletin along with a lot of other enclosures. During the announcements before the offering, visitors were invited to take that card to the welcome center after the service. Dean did and received a tote bag with various materials including a coupon for Chick-fil-A. There were several opportunities during the service to interact with others seated around us.

Followup by Tuesday Morning: none  an email on Wednesday morning 

Our Rough Count: 1,200 

Probable Ushers' Count: 1,400

Snacks: coffee, decaf, and water available outside the worship center (free), with a variety of selections of drinks and pastries for sale in the cafe

Musicians: two bass players (male), two acoustic guitars (male, also singing) one keyboard player (male), one drums (male), two singers (female)

Songs: "Young and Free"

"We'll walk in grace as you call us to glory" (not the title; I couldn't find it from a lyrics search)

"Our God"

"Oceans"

"Hark, the Herald Angels Sing"

Miles to place: 127

Total California Miles: 17,666

Church website: http://blueoaks.baysideonline.com/

Concord Bible Church

Free. Initially, they weren't thinking free, they were thinking a nominal charge, but Pastor Jeremy Cook felt God was telling them it should be free.

Five years ago Concord Bible Church wanted to do an eight week summer program for neighborhood children. The inspiration for the program was a desire to imitate the ministry of Jesus -- He responded to felt needs: giving sight to the blind, strength to the lame, food for the hungry, etc. CBC believed the people of the neighborhood needed child care in the summer, but after looking at church finances, it didn't look like something the church could do without charging for it. But Pastor Cook (or "Pastor Jer") believed God would provide. God did, of course. This ministry has proved of benefit to people of the community. And it has led to families being introduced to the Church.

I served as a youth pastor at Concord Bible Church a couple of decades ago. At that time the church was also serving children in the community. Mindy used to load up carloads (amazing how many kids a nine-seat station wagon will hold) of kids and take them to the church's weekly children's programs (and Vacation Bible School as well). Weekly children's ministry continues at CBC in many ways, including AWANA.  

We noticed something else that's continuing: old friends who are still active in leading and serving the church Pastor Jeremy's was not one of those faces, though he's been at CBC for almost ten years. But Jean Peters was not there. Jean and her husband Rawley were pillars in the church for the four years we served there. Rawley passed away a few years ago, and Jean passed away unexpectedly a couple of days before we visited. Many folks were visibly shaken by the loss. Jeremy dedicated the morning's sermon to "Saint Jean". The sermon was about a worthy walk in Christ -- not a perfect walk, but a worthy walk.

There are a number of other "worthy walkers" still there from back in the day. The "Egyptian contingent" continues to grow. Years ago (before our time!) a number of families and individuals from Egypt gathered to study the Bible together. Someone in the group (Philip and Magda Bedros?) discovered Concord Bible Church and invited others to come. The group still has Bible Study together regularly at the church (in Arabic).

During the announcements Jeremy mentioned that he had been invited by the Evangelical Free Church (of which Concord Bible Church is a member) to be a speaker at a conference focused on multicultural ministry. I'm sure the Egyptian contingent were part of the reason he was invited, but not the whole reason. Looking around during the worship service, Mindy and I noticed a variety of ethnicities, reflecting the community.

To highlight that diversity, Jeremy asked all who would be classified by the U. S. government as "non-whites" to say, "Amen". (A good number responded.) "Would all those who would be classified as 'white' say, 'Amen'?" (Again, a good response.) "Would all who are part of the Kingdom of God, say 'Amen'?" (The best response of all.)

Along that theme, the time of prayer (focused on the loss of Jean Peters) was led by an Egyptian American, a European American, and a Mexican American, each in his own first language.

Something that was different from our time at CBC was the lack of children in the room. My memory is that kids were in the first part of the service and then dismissed to children's church. (Mindy was no help at all with this because she remembers always being in the nursery.) All the children this morning were in Sunday School for the entire time of worship.  This was only the second week of Sunday School after a summer break. There had been a longer break in Sunday School. Jeremy told us that for a time during his tenure he had to cut Sunday School classes because there weren't the kids there and the leadership was stretched. But they were back at a place where there were plenty of young families with young children and enough adult leadership to meet their needs.

Another project the church is working on, particularly for kids and youth, is building a sports center. In the bulletin,  a graphic showed a little hoop that almost, but not quite, had reached the backboard. I would assume the school that shares the property, Ygnacio Valley Christian School, would also benefit from the project. The church is already involved with sports in the community, hosting AYSO (the American Youth Soccer Organization).

A different aspect of the church's concern for children is in the promotion of a banquet for the local Crisis Pregnancy Centers. In his announcement regarding the banquet, Jeremy said that the church needs to step up and care for women with unwanted pregnancies.

Frankly, the most exciting thing about visiting Concord Bible Church was seeing some of my youth group students all growed up. Some of those former spitball shooters are still at CBC, now providing leadership in the church and bringing children of their own to the place. The words "blessed" and "cool" would both apply.

-- Dean

Statistics:

Service Length: 1 hour 19 minutes

Sermon Length:17 minutes

Visitor Treatment: A staffed welcome kiosk just outside the sanctuary entrance has information and bulletins (programs), and we were offered name tags. Guests were encouraged to fill out attendance cards and leave them in a designated box near the door.

Followup by Tuesday Morning: none (we did have a long conversation with Jeremy and Jeanine Cook after church)

Our Rough Count: 90

Probable Ushers' Count: 110

Snacks: donuts and coffee cake, coffee, tea, water

Musicians: acoustic guitar (male), drums (male), keyboard (female)

Songs: Blessed be the Name

            My Hope is Built on Nothing Less/Cornerstone

            In Christ Alone

            Blessed Assurance

Miles to place: 75

Total California Miles: 12,712

Four Things I Remember about Concord

1. We loved living in Kenwal Apartments. The patios had short little fences that all faced the pool so people would come by and chat; at least half of the apartments were families with kids; the manager and her husband had grown up in the next town over from where I went to college; and when I looked out the windows at the palm trees by the pool or up at Mt Diablo covered with snow, I felt like I was on vacation.

 

2. The Solano Drive In was a great place to watch movies with youth group kids (I remember sitting in the bed of a pickup truck to watch "Speed" with a bunch of youth group kids when I was about seven months pregnant. Not exactly comfortable at the time, but such a happy memory) and with our own kids. I even sold homemade foam lizards at the flea market one time.

3. I remember feeling sad and a little desperate a lot of the time due to lack of space, lack of sleep, and lack of money. I also remember mostly happy experiences with church and community friends. Kindness is a very important memory of Concord. I don't know if we've had as much support from any other church.

4. We lived about a mile from church, and the easiest way for me to walk there with Bret and Paige (who were babies or preschoolers) was through what I called the wasteland...a dirt path along one side of a creek (which I don't remember ever noticing). It was always dusty, never really a pretty place to walk, but walking through took just enough time to tell a story about Moses with God's people in the wilderness. When I looked at the wilderness this week, it's quite a pretty place.

-- Mindy

Visits with Old Youth Group Students -- Heather

One of my favorite parenting bits came from Bruce MacLeod, father of Heather and Allison. Heather and Allison are not just Bruce's daughters but were also members of the youth group when I was a youth pastor at Concord Bible Church. Back in the day, Bruce used to say to Heather, "Heather, you're my favorite daughter. Now you know I'll have to say the same thing to Allison because I don't want to hurt her feelings. But you're really my favorite." He'd say the same thing to Allison (switching names, of course).

So let me say right off that Heather was my favorite student in youth group. There are others I've told this to, but I really mean it with Heather. She always brought energy and joy to the group along with earnestness about her walk with Christ.

This month Mindy and I are going to churches with former youth group students. We asked Heather what she appreciated about Concord Bible Church growing up. She said she appreciated that CBC was a multigenerational. There were a number of women that took her under her wing (talking about you Magda Bedros, and you Nancy Walter, and you Val Gallaher) and helped Heather to feel safe. So safe that she often wore pajama bottoms to youth group (which I remembered as a charmingly quirky).

I asked Heather why she thought she had remained consistent in her walk with Christ and her churchgoing through the years. Many kids, especially during their college years, drop out of churchgoing for a time, some more permanently than others. Heather thinks that part of the reason may be that she became a Christian a little later in life, in the eighth grade, and everything about church and faith was new and exciting to her. She appreciated that kids were a part of the church and not shoved to the side at CBC. Through the years, Heather has continued to want to be a part of things in church and church ministry.

Heather met Matt, her husband, on their first day as freshmen at Berean Christian High School -- not that they were a couple during those years. After they married and came to Fresno, the Bridge was the second church they visited. There were a number of young people in the church, which at the time was called Fresno Evangelical Free Church (The church is still Evangelical Free; the name was changed to help the baffled).

When their first kid became involved with the children's ministry, Heather was concerned about aspects of the ministry and she made her opinions known. She sent letters voicing those concerns, and during discussions about those issues she was asked if she was interested in being a part of the staff and helping to revamp the ministry. She took the offer several years later after being part of a group of volunteers.

Heather was on staff for two and a half years but quit at the end of the summer last year, when the time commitment proved too taxing for family time. But even after she resigned, she maintained a good relationship with the staff and volunteers.

She and Matt appreciate the church's concern for and outreach to the neighborhood around the church. I'm sure that on staff or off, Heather will continue to be a blessing for The Bridge, as she always was at Concord Bible Church.

-- Dean

Visits with Old Youth Group Students - Beth

I don't want anyone thinking that I'm resorting to unrestrained flattery when I say Beth Jensen was an attractive and delightful and unfailingly cheerful presence in the youth group during my years at Concord Bible Church. Because that is quite restrained praise.

So I'm happy to report that Beth has continued in her walk with Christ for the the couple of decades since Mindy and I served at CBC. And it was good to get together with her Sunday before evening worship at Shelter Covenant Church in Concord (we'll report about the service right here tomorrow).

We asked first about what Beth remembered and appreciated about growing up in Concord Bible Church. Beth said she appreciated the youth leaders that came alongside her, such as Nancy Walter (who faithfully served as a youth volunteer with her husband, Brad). She remembers that in those years her parents were active in the church, her mother in worship and that her father was kept involved. She said that the church provided balance for her life in public school ("like a support group, but not").

 

I asked her what might be some less positive memories of church life from those years. She did that on occasion she felt like she didn't live up to expectations of some the leadership. In hindsight, she said she appreciated the opportunities for mission work, social activities, and Bible study. She also felt free during those years to invite friends to church and youth group, including friends from the swim team ("all my funky crew"). She said she "really appreciated that part of my childhood."

Though Beth remained in the area, she eventually changed churches. She felt she she needed to make some faith choices on her own. One of those choices was to become a part of YWAM (Youth with a Mission). She received ministry training and was involved in ministries in Hollywood and Africa (two quite foreign mission fields).

As for church, a friend from CBC invited her to attend a new church. This church, Shelter, was founded by InterVarsity leaders (IV is an outreach ministry to college students). People in the church were also involved in Wild Life and Young Life (ministries to Jr. High and High School students). Beth spent some time involved with both of those ministries.

Beth has attended Shelter for the last 17 years. But she got married last year (to a great guy, Matthew Warner, who we also were able to spend time with yesterday). Beth and Matthew believe God is calling them to find a church they can share. From experience, I know such searches can be difficult. But I'm sure God will direct them, just as He's been quite obviously directing Beth in the past.

-- Dean