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.
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
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