We go to church down south

Bethel Community Church, Washougal, Washington
Why do people say “things are going south” like that’s a bad thing? We spent October to going to the furthest east, west, north, and south churches we could find in Washington state. Sunday we went south, and we thought it was a pretty good thing.

On Saturday night we crossed the border into Oregon. Because I work at a hotel in Seattle, we were able to get a free night’s stay at a sister hotel in Portland. After a good night’s sleep and a continental breakfast, we made the short drive back over the border to Washougal, Washington. (Mindy’s internet research turned up a town further south in the state, but she couldn’t find a church there. We could have gone to the other church on the same east-west street, but Bethel Community Church won our virtual coin flip.

When we pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car, we heard an amplified voice. We were curious if the church sound system was that loud, but pretty soon figured out it wasn’t coming from the church. The community’s Halloween 5K run was just finishing up a couple of blocks away, so we walked down and saw some of the costumes and heard some of the winners announced. 

Then we headed back to church for the 10:45 am worship service. The gentleman who shook my hand at the door said, “Have a good day! God’s Word!”

A large area just outside the sanctuary served as a meeting place. People chatted as they got cookies cookies and water at a table or at the counter where coffee and tea was available. Mindy had gone to find a restroom, and so I stood by myself for a bit. No one approached me but, to be fair, I had a cold and was blowing my nose. I wouldn’t have wanted to approach me either. When I saw Mindy next, she introduced me to Penny, who had introduced herself when she saw Mindy at the cookie table. It was time to go in the sanctuary, so we found seats toward the back and watched the announcements on the screens up front (along with a presentation of the church’s core values).

Pastor Rich Blum walked the central aisle greeting people. He greeted us, and, in fact, had already gotten our business card from Penny. But now it was really time for the service to start. Pastor Rich pointed at his mike and the tech crew gave him sound. He directed all of us to look to the screen for video announcements (children’s and adult Christmas choirs were starting that day; there would be a Harvest Festival at the church on October 31st and candy was needed). Pastor Rich said the planned video promoting Samaritan’s Purse wasn’t working, so he just reminded people to pick up a box, fill it, and bring it back the Sunday before Thanksgiving. This was part of the church’s annual “Christmas in October,” which is a way they focus on missions. Pastor Rich then announced the greeting time.

I spent most of the greeting time talking with Darrin, who happens to be the chair of the elder board (he was sitting right in front of me). I asked him what led him to this church and what he appreciated about it. He said he and his wife had both grown up in (different) small towns, going to small churches. Before they came to Bethel, they’d gone to a large church of 3000 people. B, but Darrin said he knew more people in this smaller church than he had at the larger church. He noted that the greeting time this morning, with many people chatting for a prolonged time, was something that happened every Sunday. He also appreciated the expository preaching in the church and mix of hymns and choruses that appealed to young and old.

(Mindy and I particularly appreciated the lyrics of one of the morning’s choruses: “Shout to the north and the south, sing to the east and the west.” It seemed quite appropriate for our quest for the month.)

After singing and an offering, we stood as the morning’s Scripture was read. Pastor Rich said, “We stand to honor God as our only audience.”

Pastor Rich introduced Dennis Fuqua, the guest speaker for the morning and director of International Renewal Ministries. During the day’s “Christmas in October” celebration, the church has a missionary speaker during the worship service and another during a potluck following the second service.

Dennis’ message that morning was “Shalom Should Shape Your Prayers.” Shalom is the Hebrew word for peace, but it has a broader meaning: not just the absence of conflict, but also prosperity, health, harmony, favor, and security. Dennis talked to other people about what the word means and heard definitions such as “Nothing missing, nothing broken” and “The way things should be.” Perhaps the best definition is one Jesus used in John 10:10 -- “Abundant life.”

Dennis talked about a trip he and his wife had taken during the summer. They drove the perimeter of the state of Washington, praying that the towns they visited would have God’s Shalom. We could relate to that kind of travel (especially when he mentioned two of the communities we visited during October, Clarkston and Neah Bay).

After church, Mindy and I were debating whether to attend the potluck. Though visitors as a group had been encouraged to attend, no one had personally invited us, but then someone did, so we went. (We didn’t see that person at the potluck, though!) We sat at a table with Marge, who had served many years with Wycliffe, particularly in Brazil. She said the church supported her through her years of ministry, and when she retired, she was able to move into the church’s former parsonage. She’d been born a few houses away, and she’s lived in the parsonage for the last ten years. We enjoyed meeting her and the others who welcomed us to their table.

We headed back north that afternoon happy to see that God is still at work at all points of the compass in Washington (and throughout the world).

Dean goes to a missions conference

Valley Bible Church, Clovis, California

Mindy loves missionary slide shows. When she was growing up and missionaries came to her church (as they often did), she enjoyed hearing their stories from the farthest parts of the earth, from Africa or Asia or South America.

Sadly, she had to work the night I went to the opening event for the Valley Bible Church’s missions. She could have heard from a missionary all the way from San Francisco, California.

The church holds a mission conference every year, and the Friday evening event I attended was billed as a family night. Guest speaker (and missionary) Alan Bond of Jews for Jesus, a parachurch ministry, spoke about the Gospel in the Feasts of Israel. The next night, his topic was “The Yeshua Message,” preceded by a dinner for junior high through college students. The conference would continue during the Sunday morning worship service with “The Messiah and the Jewish People” as the topic, and the entire event would culminate with a potluck meal after the worship service.

Friday evening's portion of the conference began with a dessert potluck. Mindy had made some chocolate cookies for the event, which was held in the church’s fellowship hall.

One wall of the room displayed the different missionaries the church supports. Some of those ministries were in distant locations, like Africa and Europe, but there also were displays of local ministries such as Valley Mission Jail Ministry. One table was full of pamphlets from Jews for Jesus’ ministry.

Jews for Jesus was founded in 1973 by Moishe Rosen to introduce Jewish people to Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah. The ministry began in San Francisco but now does work throughout North America and in Australia, England, Russia, and other parts of the world, including Israel. But -- as I mentioned earlier -- the conference’s speaker works more locally, from the original San Francisco office.

While enjoying dessert at one of the round tables in the fellowship hall before the lecture, I chatted with folks. I learned that Valley Bible Church was now a combined ministry of three local churches that had merged over the last decade. As one man put it, “Our building had outgrown the congregation.” At first, the three pastors of the three churches served together, but that proved impractical over the long run, and the church now has one head pastor, Del Foote. People around the table spoke admiringly of Pastor Foote, and a couple of people said he was the reason they attended the church.

Richard said he’d grown up Catholic. “They have Jesus, but the Scripture isn’t as important to them. They don’t bring a Bible to church.” I mentioned that Catholic churches do have four scripture readings as part of the mass, but he said, “They don’t have a fifty-minute sermon like we have here.” He lamented the lack of young people in the church (I’d guess that besides the younger Pastor Foote, attendees that evening seemed to be in their sixties and older).

Pastor Foote introduced Alan Bond, whose message focussed on the feasts of Leviticus 23. He drew parallels to the life of Jesus from the seven festivals in that passage, including Passover with its images of sacrifice. He connected Paul’s discussion of Jesus as the First Fruit of new life (in First Corinthians 15) with the Feast of the Firstfruits in the Leviticus passage.

At the conclusion of his talk, Bond invited questions. I asked whether the many secular Jews of the Bay Area still celebrated the feasts. He said many Jews only go to Temple for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the equivalent of “Christmas and Easter Christians.” Pastor Foote closed the evening in prayer and urged all of us to leave a love offering for Bond’s ministry at the door as we left.

As I stepped outside, I noticed a woman arranging herself in her wheelchair and pulling out a flashlight for her journey home. She said she didn’t need assistance; it was only a few blocks from her home. I was impressed with the efforts she made to be at this event and wondered how many missions conferences she had attended over the years. Sometimes the most difficult, and essential, mission we have is local.

Mindy Goes to a Missionary Meeting

Women’s Missionary Service at The Bridge Church, Fresno, California

I’m not much of a “women’s gatherings” kind of person. If I can avoid a women’s gathering, I will -- unless it involves missionaries. I’m all in for missionaries. So when a day off from work coincided with the monthly meeting of WMS at The Bridge, I made a salad, packed my scissors, and grabbed a cotton sheet...more about that in a minute.

The meeting room was full of activity when I arrived a few minutes after 9:00 am. At least ten women were already at work on various projects; others were getting coffee, and hot water (and ice water) ready. I put my salad on a table next to a box of home-grown grapes before going to a woman standing between a sign in sheet and an offering basket.

“Hi,” I said. “I’m new.”

She welcomed me and had me write my name, email address, and birthday at the bottom of the attendance sheet. I forgot to ask about the offering basket, but when I asked what the different projects were, she pointed to a table where women were working on items for Samaritan’s Purse (I think for Operation Christmas Child, but I’m not sure); another where cotton sheets would be torn into strips, then sewed and rolled into bandages for a hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. One table was covered with card stock, colored pictures, decorative doodads, glue, and scripture passages for making cards. In one corner, a woman was tying a quilt stretched on a rack in preparation for binding. One long table held several sewing machines, where the bandage strips were sewed. Another table held fabric donated for quilt-making, and women were choosing fabric for the quilts they’d sew at home.

I left my sheet for the workers at the bandage table, and asked if I could help tie off the quilt. Another woman joined us and helped me find the right needle and a threader. When we sat down, they asked if I’d ever tied a quilt before. I said I had, but I noticed that this quilt was tied differently than the one I’d worked on with my sister thirty years earlier. They showed me what to do, and with someone on each of the four sides of the crib-sized quilt, we had three quilts tied in about an hour.

By then, donuts and coffee were out, and when a newcomer asked if she could join the quilt-tying group, I was happy for an opportunity to try another project. After getting a cup of coffee, I found an empty chair at the card-making table, where one of the projects was making scripture cards for students in an area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with little infrastructure and few possessions. These cards, with their scripture passage in Lingala and artwork cut from pretty greeting cards, are treasured by many of the students. After about half an hour, we’d made all the cards we could, and I moved back to the table where two women were making bandages.

One woman wanted to help set up for lunch, so she showed me how to use the bandage roller (yay!). The other woman at the table was also visiting WMS for the first time; her neighbor, a regular part of the group, had invited her to come. While I tried to keep my bandage rolled neatly, she and another woman chatted as they put away fabric to be torn and rolled at the next meeting.

Long before I finished rolling my bandage, the speaker and her husband had arrived and wandered back to our table as they looked at the various projects. Rachel’s been a missionary in the Congo for years; her husband, Gilbert, is Congolese. I wanted to ask her about the Evangelical Free Church’s child sponsorship program, and in the course of our conversation, she mentioned that she’d been in language school with Dean’s sister and brother-in-law, and that when Daryl and Carol were in the Congo last year, they’d stayed with Rachel and Gilbert. (I later learned that one of our nieces was named for Rachel). While we talked, the bandage roll was finished and all around the room, tables were being readied for lunch.

After some group photos and a prayer around the tables full of salads, we sat down to eat, and several women joined the group for the meal and to hear what Rachel had to tell us about her work.

Rachel is a missionary with ReachGlobal, serving in the Democratic Republic of the Congo near Tandala Hospital (where she was a nurse prior to the Second Congo War at the end of the 20th century. Now, she’s the contact for White Cross Ministry, a service branch of the Evangelical Free Church that provides cotton bandages and other hospital supplies to Tandala Hospital, along with supporting health and education work in an area with dirt roads that flood easily, less than spotty phone coverage, huge obstacles to education, and deep needs. Rachel is a liaison in country for the Global Fingerprints child sponsorship program.

I’ve always loved a good missionary slide show, and though brief, Rachel’s was compelling. Her husband, Gilbert, drives the truck that brings supplies to the hospital. Through the work of White Cross, people in the hospital and its clinics have access to the materials they need. Global Fingerprints provides a pathway for children and teenagers (and their families) to have needed medical care, food, hygiene supplies, and educational opportunities that otherwise don’t exist.

I get pretty excited about people helping each other. I get very excited about concrete, practical, simple projects that help and also bring people together. When those things also provide a way to show people the love of Christ, I start losing the words to talk about it.

Earlier this week, we shared Paige’s post about church gatherings that are scheduled in such a way that many women can’t attend. This was one of those gatherings...in the group of nearly 50 women, I saw one or two in their 30s or 40s as we worked on projects, and a couple more came just for the lunch and Rachel’s talk.

Church, there’s no need for missions to be just for women. Certainly, it’s not something only older women care about. How can we do better?

Terrill Road Bible Chapel, Fanwood, New Jersey

A few weeks ago, I asked a woman in a bar what would make for a good church. She replied, "No priest, no minister, no pastor!" Well good news, Jeanie of Delaware, I've got a church for you!

Terrill Road Bible Chapel was built in Fanwood, New Jersey in 1957, but the Brethren Assembly that worships there has more than a century's worth of roots in the area. The assembly (the preferred term for what we grew up calling the "church" or the "congregation") is associated with the Plymouth Brethren, but Brethren don't seem big on formal ecclesiastical ties of any kind.

We attended the Wednesday night Bible study, where the group is working their way through the book of Hebrews. After a bit of a spirited discussion about whether Hebrews 6:4-6 taught that believers could "lose their salvation," Steve, the study leader, approached the issue with a clear stance of "eternal security." A couple of people respectfully challenged his position, and I was impressed by the biblical knowledge of many in the group of 20.

Also in that same meeting, there was sheet of paper filled with prayer requests. One side was chiefly requests by members of the Assembly, while the other was missionary and ministry requests. After about fifteen minutes of sharing prayer request information, the group spent another fifteen minutes to pray for those requests. (During the Thursday morning men's prayer meeting, we also prayed through that list.)

We were happy to be allowed to join in on the Saturday morning Chapel work day. Thirty people, about a third of the Assembly, showed up to work on the house and grounds. Mindy wiped down kitchen counters while I got to work on the street sign. Officially, the start time was 8:00 am, but some of the window washers arrived closer to 6:00 am. Before noon, everything was in good shape for the afternoon "Ping Pong por Pequenos."

For the past five years, the table tennis tourney has been an annual event, raising money to send Ecuadorean kids to a summer camp. Anyone can compete as a self-proclaimed professional or Forrest Gump (which, from what I remember of the film, should be the pro level, but never mind). Neither Mindy nor I wond the championship belt, but the event raised more than two thousand dollars, so we're okay with that. (If you would like to help Ecuadorean or low-income New Jersey kids with the cost of camp, contact the good folks at the Chapel.)

You may have noticed on the church sign that the names of the worship services are different than at many other churches. The 9:15 am worship is called "The Breaking of the Bread," while the 11:00 am is called "Family Bible Hour." Every week, the first service is a celebration of the Lord's Supper. It is a time of songs and scripture readings, the bread and the cup...but no sermon. Men in the assembly suggest hymns, which are sung without instrumental accompaniment. Other men stand and read Scripture, briefly commenting on it. There are many stretches of silence between the hymns and readings. After about 45 minutes, the bread and cups of juice and wine are passed among the seated assembly, and the service is concluded with a hymn, prayer, and announcements. Some people leave after this service, but many go downstairs for coffee and refreshments.

The Family Bible Hour is when the sermon is preached. First there are hymns and songs with instrumental accompaniment, then announcements again, then the sermon. This morning an itinerant preacher, Ken, concluded a two week sermon series, "Discerning the Will of God."

Not on the sign (but on the calendar on the website) is a third service, "Second Session." Most, but not all, Sundays the assembly goes to the fellowship room in the basement for sack lunches. After a brief lunchtime, the morning preacher continues his teaching, either with more preaching or with a question and answer time.

During the snack time after the breaking of bread, I was able to talk to people about what they appreciated about TRBC. Ben is a homeschool student between his junior and senior years of high school. I asked what he liked about the church, and he said he likes the variety of preaching. Since there is no pastoral staff, there's a rotation of preachers,  usually one of the elders in the assembly. There is no paid staff in most Brethren churches, and only men preach. The Brethren try to replicate New Testament worship, including Paul's instruction in 1 Corinthians 14:34 that women should remain silent in church.

Ben could have attended the high school Sunday school class, but though he likes the people who teach the class, he prefers to hear the adult teaching. Something else he likes about TRBC? Lots of food.

I also spoke with Ken Barrett, the morning's speaker, before the Family Bible Hour. During the week, he works fulltime as a high school history teacher, while on the weekends, he preaches at various churches.  I asked what he appreciated about Brethren Assemblies in general. He said one of the best things about the Brethren is, "they're not trendy." Brethren churches are consistent.

Two things, he said, have always been values in Brethren assemblies that are hot trends in other churches. One would be a high regard of for the Lord's Supper. In this regard, the Brethren are similar to Roman Catholics in the central place Communion plays in the life of the Church. The other value is the priesthood of all believers. In this way, the Brethren are quite different from Roman Catholics. Individual assemblies have no denominational authority over them, and a board of elders rather than a paid clergyperson leads the group.

Ken said this assembly does well at following tradition without letting it become rote and lifeless.

I should mention how we came to TRBC, especially since it was a topic of conversation throughout our time together. Friends we stayed with in Florida contacted friends who suggested the church and their friends who worship there. We contacted the church, their friends contacted us...so strangers welcomed us into their home and into their church. You might wonder what prompts people to that kind of hospitality.

Well, our host, Allan Wilks, decided in 2013 to walk from Scotch Plains, NJ, to his former home town of Toronto, Canada. Along the way, a number of people welcomed him into their home and he wanted to imitate that hospitality. The Wilkses also remember Hebrews 13:2 "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers." In fact, the whole assembly of TRBC values the Word of God and visibly seeks to honor and obey it.

Statistics
The Lord's Supper assembly

Service Length: 1 hour 12 minutes

Visitor Treatment: we were greeted at the door and introduced during the service by our hosts. Mindy also found a guest book and signed it. Many people chatted with us during the snack time.

Followup by Tuesday Morning: none

Our Rough Count: 75

Probable Ushers' Count: 80

Snacks: coffee, hot water for tea or hot chocolate, gold fish crackers, water, coffee cake, watermelon, bagels, tangerines, other pastries and fruit.

Musicians: none

Songs: "Jesus Lord, We Know Thee Present"

"Praise the Savior"

"Holy, Holy, Holy"

"Everlasting Glory be"

"I've Found a Friend"

Distance to church: 2 miles

Miles from start: 14,987

Total 2016 Miles: 14,690

Church website: trbc.us

Family Bible Hour

Service Length: 58 minutes

Sermon Length: 38 minutes

Visitor Treatment: Dean was asked to share briefly about what we're doing this year. A number of people talked to us during the lunch time.

Followup by Tuesday Morning: none

Our Rough Count: 63

Probable Ushers' Count: 75

Snacks: people brought sack lunches and food to share (either with the table where they were eating or on a table meant for all). Coffee, tea, hot chocolate and water were available as well.

Musicians: acoustic guitar (man), bongos (man)

Songs: "Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise"

"My Savior and my God"