1. Pick a place to worship.
It helps if perhaps you've even made that decision the night before and have a few plans in place to help your morning go more smoothly. Waking up Sunday morning and changing your mind 3 times before you even start getting your kids ready is really just not conducive to actually making it to any worship service.
2. Find out how many miles you'll need to travel and what time the service begins.
If for instance, you decide on a church and head that way only to discover that it actually takes an hour to get there and you've only allowed yourself 35 minutes, it's possible that you may find yourself in another town altogether driving the streets and searching for a church to attend only to find churches with no signs or websites telling when they begin or that you happen to drive up to each and every church about 15 minutes after the starting time, and really, no one wants to enter a church for the first time 15 minutes late.
3. Feed your family first.
If everyone is hungry as you drive around searching for a random church to attend, you're likely to find whining at a maximum and tempers flaring to the less than loving level. Then when you do discover a church that doesn't start for another 15 minutes, you're husband might insist that you run to a quick stop to get some food, and then the first one you stop at might not have a deli and he might insist that you go to another and by the time he's happy with a meat pie in his hand, you might find that you are now late for yet another church.
4. Realize that Car Church is still Church.
When you finally come to the realization that your lack of planning has left you without a church family to worship with, remember that your immediate family is also your church family, and prayer, praise, and the pursuit of biblical knowledge can all be completed right there in the car together. Take some time to drive slowly along a new route and thank God for his amazing creations. Take turns choosing songs and sing to God with the enthusiasm of children. Read bible stories and favorite verses and talk about God's word with one another. Forgive one another the failings from before, and stop Chasing Steeples and simply create your own church...wherever you may be.
5. Try, try again.
If you don't make it to an actual church one Sunday, for whatever reason, don't use that as an excuse not to attend church the next week. God's plan for each of us includes providing a church family to lean on, worship with, learn with, and live life together with. If at first you don't succeed, well....you know the saying, and so do we, so we'll just keep Chasing those Steeples and meet you back here next Sunday with a different kind of experience all together.
Friday, September 18, 2015
North MacArther Church of Christ
Last Saturday evening after a week of school and work and junior high softball games and the county fair, the husband and I decided we needed to get the heck out of Dodge, so we hired a sitter and headed to the city for a night away. Thinking relaxing and low key and knowing we wouldn't encounter a loud band and flashing lights (not that we don't enjoy that as well), we decided to visit the North MacArther Church of Christ. A friend of ours recommended we attend especially to take part in the beautiful acappella worship music, and while we had never been to a Church of Christ before, we were excited for our first experience.
The church building itself is a beautiful structure and the sanctuary is large and lovely. Generations of families filled the pews from grandparents to babies and every age in between. It looked much like any other traditional church we've attended except for the obvious absence of any type of musical instrument. Members of the Church of Christ are firm believers that the use of external instruments, having not been specifically stated in the New Testament as an acceptable form of worship, are therefore, a direct violation of God's Word. So, when we were asked to stand and sing the first hymn, it was with a jovial warning from the song leader for the bases and tenors to stay on beat, which sent a jolt of fear through me and made me suddenly fearful of hitting a wrong note and making a fool of myself. Anyone who's ever sat near me in a singing situation can tell you that my voice is by no means dainty, so it was with purposeful effort that I quieted my voice and worked painfully to read the music notes broken into four parts on the large screens at the front of the sanctuary. Being unfamiliar with two of the four songs, and an utter failure at ever learning to harmonize, I found listening to the beautiful hymns being sung much more satisfying than singing along. I found myself saddened that I lacked the skills to sing along with confidence and honestly, wishing for a piano to keep me on key and cover up my mistakes.
Throughout the offering and communion, I began to notice the joyful, and sometimes fretful, sounds of an abundance of babies in the church and I realized that in so many churches we attend, their sounds are few and muffled as most spend the service in the nursery or have their cries drowned out by the musical instruments generally played during that time. The coos and cries were a beautiful reminder of a church that is training future generations to love and worship the Lord.
The church has a congregational body with elders in leadership positions, and it soon became apparent that the various elders were dispersed throughout the sanctuary in order to see to the needs of the people and welcome those of us who were new or visiting. We felt very welcomed and met not only the lady in the seat next to us but three name-tag bearing elders who made a point to come to our pew and shake our hands and get to know us a bit. The overall atmosphere of the church was very warm and welcoming.
I very much appreciated the fact that several congregational members took part in the service through prayers, announcements, and reading of scripture. The sermon was biblically sound and well prepared, and the pastor was warm and sincere.
We closed with a hymn I knew quite well, and I was excited to let my pipes loose and sing praises to the Lord. The choir all about us was simply beautiful and must surely bring joy to the Lord.
It was certainly a different type of worship service for us, and although not using instruments during service does not align with my personal beliefs, I can't help but admire members of this denomination for their determination to do what they believe to be right and pleasing to God despite a great amount of pressure to change. Their love of Jesus and of one another was most certainly apparent and after all, nothing else is greater!
Thank you so much for joining us once again on our Steeple Chase. God bless you!
Throughout the offering and communion, I began to notice the joyful, and sometimes fretful, sounds of an abundance of babies in the church and I realized that in so many churches we attend, their sounds are few and muffled as most spend the service in the nursery or have their cries drowned out by the musical instruments generally played during that time. The coos and cries were a beautiful reminder of a church that is training future generations to love and worship the Lord.
The church has a congregational body with elders in leadership positions, and it soon became apparent that the various elders were dispersed throughout the sanctuary in order to see to the needs of the people and welcome those of us who were new or visiting. We felt very welcomed and met not only the lady in the seat next to us but three name-tag bearing elders who made a point to come to our pew and shake our hands and get to know us a bit. The overall atmosphere of the church was very warm and welcoming.
I very much appreciated the fact that several congregational members took part in the service through prayers, announcements, and reading of scripture. The sermon was biblically sound and well prepared, and the pastor was warm and sincere.
We closed with a hymn I knew quite well, and I was excited to let my pipes loose and sing praises to the Lord. The choir all about us was simply beautiful and must surely bring joy to the Lord.
It was certainly a different type of worship service for us, and although not using instruments during service does not align with my personal beliefs, I can't help but admire members of this denomination for their determination to do what they believe to be right and pleasing to God despite a great amount of pressure to change. Their love of Jesus and of one another was most certainly apparent and after all, nothing else is greater!
Thank you so much for joining us once again on our Steeple Chase. God bless you!
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| This wall symbolizes the general feeling of a church who embraces their members and reaches out in service to others. |
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Camp Creek Church of the Nazarene
In all honesty, we left the house thinking we were on our way to Leedey, Oklahoma to attend church at Harvest Fellowship (which we plan to attempt again sometime), but after following a giant snail-paced oversized load most of the way to Chester, we realized we were never going to make it on time, so we had to adjust our plans, and since Camp Creek was on our list of places to attend and landed us between our various family members to visit, we decided it was the morning to head that way, and I'm so glad we did.
We passed through Lenora where my family was worshiping, and stopped my brother's house to drop our puppy off for a visit, and still had some time to drive past the church, wonder aimlessly for several miles, and turn back around and return in time for service to begin. It's pretty exciting to be greeted by squeals of delight from friends who have been following your blog and hoping you would stop by some day. And getting to sit in front of your childhood vocal teacher and her husband just makes for an even more special worship experience.
The rest of the service went pretty much as expected. There was a fantastic sharing of joys and concerns as members shared in the miracles of healing and protection in their lives and lifted up friends and family in need. We took part in the giving of our tithes and offerings and shared in Holy Communion as it was passed from person to person down the pews.
The pastor, Reverend Ron Berkley, was very personable with an easy going preaching style that drew me in and made me want to know more. The sermon was enlightening and thought provoking, and my husband and I had much to discuss as we drove away.
All in all, our experience at Camp Creek Church of the Nazarene was very enjoyable. It's a fantastic little country church with wonderful people, wonderful music, and a wonderful message. Praise God for opportunities like this on our Steeple Chase this year! Thanks for having us, Friends! Until we meet again!
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
World Harvest Church
Our middle daughter found out I was WAY behind on blogging and offered to help me out. I decided it would be a good experience for her, and you might enjoy the change (and I figured without some help I might never get caught up. Beginning of school and going back to teaching is eating my lunch right now!) I thought about fixing all her spelling mistakes but it was just too cute to mess with. I hope you enjoy her "speshal edicen" of Chasing Steeples 2015.
This is a speshal edicen by the middle child. My family and I went to World Harvest Church in Enid. It was right next to leanardoes. The church is in a very small bilding, so they are bilding a new one. When we got there, there was no place to sit, so they brought us hard chairs. Nest time I want to get there early.
The music was very loud,we sang lots of songs, too. I liked the music. When we were singing, a lady fell down and some people helped her get up and took her out. It was nice that they helped but not that she fell down. It was kind of like she couldn't get up. (That's what my little sister said.) Maybe she fainted because the music was so loud. It kind of made me dizzy too.
It was back to school Sunday. They intervud the super intendet and the coach. They were on a big screen. The paster prayed over all of the children and the teachers. My sisters and I and my mom went to the front to be prayed for. Then it was over.
It was a nice church. I want to go back when they have children's church.
Point of fact, it is a VERY NICE church. The people were extremely welcoming, the music was fantastic (if perhaps a bit on the loud side), and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit there. I loved that there was such a variety of people- ages, races, and types. I've heard really great things about their children's programs and I'm sure if we return when they have children's church, my middle child especially will love it! I sincerely hope no one takes offense to her childlike point of view because well, she IS a child. As her mom, this may be my favorite blog post on this Steeple Chase of ours. Enjoy!
This is a speshal edicen by the middle child. My family and I went to World Harvest Church in Enid. It was right next to leanardoes. The church is in a very small bilding, so they are bilding a new one. When we got there, there was no place to sit, so they brought us hard chairs. Nest time I want to get there early.
The music was very loud,we sang lots of songs, too. I liked the music. When we were singing, a lady fell down and some people helped her get up and took her out. It was nice that they helped but not that she fell down. It was kind of like she couldn't get up. (That's what my little sister said.) Maybe she fainted because the music was so loud. It kind of made me dizzy too.
It was back to school Sunday. They intervud the super intendet and the coach. They were on a big screen. The paster prayed over all of the children and the teachers. My sisters and I and my mom went to the front to be prayed for. Then it was over.
Point of fact, it is a VERY NICE church. The people were extremely welcoming, the music was fantastic (if perhaps a bit on the loud side), and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit there. I loved that there was such a variety of people- ages, races, and types. I've heard really great things about their children's programs and I'm sure if we return when they have children's church, my middle child especially will love it! I sincerely hope no one takes offense to her childlike point of view because well, she IS a child. As her mom, this may be my favorite blog post on this Steeple Chase of ours. Enjoy!
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Few but Faithful: Church of God 7th Day
If you really want to confuse your children during Saturday morning cartoons, tell them to get ready for church. First they'll be confused (Wait! What day is it?), then they'll argue. (But, MOM, it's Saturday!), and finally after you've reminded them that their friends will be there, they'll reluctantly concede (Fine! But I'm not wearing a dress!). This is exactly what happened at our house a couple Saturday's ago when I told the girls we were going to go to the Church of God (Seventh day) in Fairview, Oklahoma.
When I finally got them on board, and after the husband had to back out at the last minute because of calls from work, we made our way to this tiny little church on the corner of 7th and Ash. The building is so unobtrusive that even though we've driven past it a million times, my girls claimed never to have noticed it's existence. In fact, as we walked in to join the less than dozen faithful members in attendance, we couldn't help but wonder if perhaps the rest of the community had forgotten it's existence as well. (Which, with it's long and rich history of consistence faithfulness to faith would be an absolute shame.)
The Fairview Church of God (Seventh Day) was started way back in 1894 and is one of the oldest continually worshiping churches of this denomination in the United States. The denomination itself only started in mid-1800's with the General Conference being incorporate Missouri in 1899, 5 years after the little church in Fairview began. The denomination has some very specific beliefs about maintaining a Saturday Sabbath (which Jews and early Christians maintained until the 4th Century A.D. when the Roman emperor Constantine declared it such in order to please recent pagan converts who were used to worshiping their sun god on that day.) , as well as, adhering to laws written in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 regarding clean and unclean animals, and denying the celebration of Christmas and Easter. In addition, they continue to observe many of the feast days of the Jewish faith and take Holy Communion only during the Passover Feast, and they have been compared in doctrine to Messianic Jews. However, for the most part the beliefs of this congregation closely mirror those of most protestant denominations. They believe in the Holy Trinity, in salvation through the grace of God through Jesus Christ, and in the Bible as the divine Word of God.
Therefore, as Pastor Tytus Burrell shared the word of God with this fellowship of believers and hymns were sung in worship to the Lord, we could have been in any church on a Sunday morning learning about God's word and singing praises to our King. It was a privilege to be able to share this experience in this particular church, with these particular believers, on this particular Saturday morning, and I as thought of Jesus worshiping on the Sabbath so many years ago, I felt privileged to share this day with him as well. And I couldn't help but feel admiration for a congregation of believers that have held on to their faith generation after generation despite a world which must constantly make it difficult to do so.
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| Youngest child kept herself busy (for the most part) taking apart and putting away this puzzle. (And spilling it with a loud crash onto the floor during the sermon. Sorry about that!) |
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| The faithful few in fellowship! |
Therefore, as Pastor Tytus Burrell shared the word of God with this fellowship of believers and hymns were sung in worship to the Lord, we could have been in any church on a Sunday morning learning about God's word and singing praises to our King. It was a privilege to be able to share this experience in this particular church, with these particular believers, on this particular Saturday morning, and I as thought of Jesus worshiping on the Sabbath so many years ago, I felt privileged to share this day with him as well. And I couldn't help but feel admiration for a congregation of believers that have held on to their faith generation after generation despite a world which must constantly make it difficult to do so.
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| Fellowship Hall. |
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| Foyer |
Monday, August 3, 2015
At the Movies: Lifechurch OKC
I'm going to admit something that you may or may not believe, but sometimes....I don't want to go to church. Sometimes when we've been away from home all weekend at a family reunion where we discovered that our family of five has outgrown a two-bed hotel room, and no one has slept well, and I've spent the weekend catering to my children instead of hanging out with my cousins like I wanted to do and have developed a little chip-on-the-shoulder resentment towards them and well, basically everyone on the planet, I really just don't want to get up and get everyone ready and go to another new church and be all nice and chummy and open-minded and Christian on a Sunday morning.
However, I also hate to fail, and I hate to say I'll do something and not follow through, and I hate for all my Facebook friends and blog readers to realize that I'm human and I'm not always that great at sticktoitiveness and no longer trust me to complete what I say I'll do. So I went to sleep Saturday night muttering about never going to church again and woke up Sunday morning determined not to fail but to take the easiest path possible and get it over with.
So I asked myself," Where are we going to go to church today?"
And I answered, "LifeChurch. No one cares if you show up there anyway." (Did I mention I was cranky?)
But to be honest, I've had a little bit of a preconceived notion about LifeChurch from the beginning. It just seems a little too entertaining and convenient and maybe not such a sacrifice to attend because it's....well, fun, and you can go pretty much anytime you want instead of just early Sunday morning when you just want to sleep, and really, if church isn't just a little bit boring and undesirable then how can I turn it into a sacrifice and show God how much I'm willing to give up for Him just by showing up. I mean really? And besides that, how is anyone ever supposed to really connect when you can come at anytime, and the preacher is on a tv screen and doesn't know who you are anyway? It just seems like an easy way to get your weekly church obligation in without messing up the rest of your schedule. And no one's going to notice one more family there anyway, so easy-peasy, we can go to church and I won't have to be civil to anyone. Perfect!
Oh, God! Aren't you the funny one?!
So we decided to attend the LifeChurch in Oklahoma City on Northwest Expressway because it was right beside Gattitown (which is like a Chuckie Cheese on steroids where we'd spent a years worth of time the day before) and we knew exactly where to find it. (Once again path of least resistance was the order of the day.) We got there as a flood of people were leaving and a new flood was pouring in, and after making my youngest daughter change clothes in the parking lot because.....well, because, I was in a bad mood and everything seemed wrong at the time, we entered the building, and BAM! The whole morning transformed in a snap!
LifeChurch is in the midst of their yearly At the Movies series where head Pastor Craig Groeschel uses popular movies as a catalyst to the biblical principles and messages he's teaching that week. During this series each July, each of the LifeChurch locations decorate their churches in a different movie theme. I knew this was happening, but I didn't KNOW. I couldn't KNOW. Oh, my goodness! Absolute awesomeness! There was just no way to maintain a cranky attitude when faced with a giant rotating spaghetti and meatball tornado. The lobby of the church was absolutely incredible!
We were greeted at the door and asked if we had attended before, and when we responded to the negative, our greeter turned into an on the spot tour guide and directed us to the children's check-in area, and the coffee and tea bar, and reminded us to pick up popcorn on our way to the sanctuary. I didn't feel like a nobody or like no one cared. I felt included and welcome and finally a little bit excited about church that morning.
We let the girls take the time to go through the spaghetti maze and down the ice cream slide before checking them in at the information station and dropping them off in a large room with a giant movie screen on one wall and a rock climbing wall on the other. We discovered that the kids get their very own version of At the Movies with children's movies and messages on their level. (They watched and discussed pieces of Maleficent, and my girls were excited to tell me all they learned on the way home.)
Jason and I and our oldest grabbed some iced tea and popcorn and headed to the sanctuary (or auditorium), and soon after the music began. As I'd expected, it was rock concert loud with flashing lights and repetitive choruses and I have to admit, I had a hard time getting into it and connecting with God through the music that morning. Perhaps it was my residual moodiness or exhaustion, but I found myself just standing and watching and wishing they would stop singing the same thing over and over so I could just sit down. I don't always feel this way about this style of worship, but this particular morning I was very disconnected from it, so I was glad when it was time for the message.
And what a message!
The movie base was About Time, a time travel movie where a 21 year old son learns from his father that the men in their family have the ability to travel back in time within their own lifetimes. I hadn't seen the movie, but I definitely want to now. Comparing scenes from the movie with Ecclesiastes 3: A Time for Every Season, the pastor wove a beautiful story with a life-altering message. A message about time. A message to remind us to make the most of the time we're given. A message to give God our time. A message that for us came just in the nick of time.
The next day my husband came home from work, looked me in the eyes, and said, "I had a really good day." I was glad to hear that and asked what had happened because for some time, things hadn't been quite so positive. He hesitated and then responded in his typical quiet way, "That sermon yesterday.....it was really good."
And that's all he needed to say.
I've been constantly amazed during our Steeple Chase journey this year how God keeps placing us in positions to hear or see or do exactly what we seem to need each Sunday. I thought I was taking my family to Lifechurch because it was the easy, non-threatening thing to do, but in reality it was just right where we needed to be to change our perspective not just on LifeChurch but on life itself.
***(This week is the final week of At the Movies, and I highly recommend taking advantage of one of the many opportunities to watch online at lifechurch.tv, I promise you won't be disappointed.)
However, I also hate to fail, and I hate to say I'll do something and not follow through, and I hate for all my Facebook friends and blog readers to realize that I'm human and I'm not always that great at sticktoitiveness and no longer trust me to complete what I say I'll do. So I went to sleep Saturday night muttering about never going to church again and woke up Sunday morning determined not to fail but to take the easiest path possible and get it over with.
So I asked myself," Where are we going to go to church today?"
And I answered, "LifeChurch. No one cares if you show up there anyway." (Did I mention I was cranky?)
But to be honest, I've had a little bit of a preconceived notion about LifeChurch from the beginning. It just seems a little too entertaining and convenient and maybe not such a sacrifice to attend because it's....well, fun, and you can go pretty much anytime you want instead of just early Sunday morning when you just want to sleep, and really, if church isn't just a little bit boring and undesirable then how can I turn it into a sacrifice and show God how much I'm willing to give up for Him just by showing up. I mean really? And besides that, how is anyone ever supposed to really connect when you can come at anytime, and the preacher is on a tv screen and doesn't know who you are anyway? It just seems like an easy way to get your weekly church obligation in without messing up the rest of your schedule. And no one's going to notice one more family there anyway, so easy-peasy, we can go to church and I won't have to be civil to anyone. Perfect!
Oh, God! Aren't you the funny one?!
So we decided to attend the LifeChurch in Oklahoma City on Northwest Expressway because it was right beside Gattitown (which is like a Chuckie Cheese on steroids where we'd spent a years worth of time the day before) and we knew exactly where to find it. (Once again path of least resistance was the order of the day.) We got there as a flood of people were leaving and a new flood was pouring in, and after making my youngest daughter change clothes in the parking lot because.....well, because, I was in a bad mood and everything seemed wrong at the time, we entered the building, and BAM! The whole morning transformed in a snap!
LifeChurch is in the midst of their yearly At the Movies series where head Pastor Craig Groeschel uses popular movies as a catalyst to the biblical principles and messages he's teaching that week. During this series each July, each of the LifeChurch locations decorate their churches in a different movie theme. I knew this was happening, but I didn't KNOW. I couldn't KNOW. Oh, my goodness! Absolute awesomeness! There was just no way to maintain a cranky attitude when faced with a giant rotating spaghetti and meatball tornado. The lobby of the church was absolutely incredible!
We were greeted at the door and asked if we had attended before, and when we responded to the negative, our greeter turned into an on the spot tour guide and directed us to the children's check-in area, and the coffee and tea bar, and reminded us to pick up popcorn on our way to the sanctuary. I didn't feel like a nobody or like no one cared. I felt included and welcome and finally a little bit excited about church that morning.
We let the girls take the time to go through the spaghetti maze and down the ice cream slide before checking them in at the information station and dropping them off in a large room with a giant movie screen on one wall and a rock climbing wall on the other. We discovered that the kids get their very own version of At the Movies with children's movies and messages on their level. (They watched and discussed pieces of Maleficent, and my girls were excited to tell me all they learned on the way home.)
Jason and I and our oldest grabbed some iced tea and popcorn and headed to the sanctuary (or auditorium), and soon after the music began. As I'd expected, it was rock concert loud with flashing lights and repetitive choruses and I have to admit, I had a hard time getting into it and connecting with God through the music that morning. Perhaps it was my residual moodiness or exhaustion, but I found myself just standing and watching and wishing they would stop singing the same thing over and over so I could just sit down. I don't always feel this way about this style of worship, but this particular morning I was very disconnected from it, so I was glad when it was time for the message.
And what a message!
The movie base was About Time, a time travel movie where a 21 year old son learns from his father that the men in their family have the ability to travel back in time within their own lifetimes. I hadn't seen the movie, but I definitely want to now. Comparing scenes from the movie with Ecclesiastes 3: A Time for Every Season, the pastor wove a beautiful story with a life-altering message. A message about time. A message to remind us to make the most of the time we're given. A message to give God our time. A message that for us came just in the nick of time.
The next day my husband came home from work, looked me in the eyes, and said, "I had a really good day." I was glad to hear that and asked what had happened because for some time, things hadn't been quite so positive. He hesitated and then responded in his typical quiet way, "That sermon yesterday.....it was really good."
And that's all he needed to say.
I've been constantly amazed during our Steeple Chase journey this year how God keeps placing us in positions to hear or see or do exactly what we seem to need each Sunday. I thought I was taking my family to Lifechurch because it was the easy, non-threatening thing to do, but in reality it was just right where we needed to be to change our perspective not just on LifeChurch but on life itself.
***(This week is the final week of At the Movies, and I highly recommend taking advantage of one of the many opportunities to watch online at lifechurch.tv, I promise you won't be disappointed.)
A Forever Faith: Jenks FBC
Sometimes you walk into a church and you can just feel it's life-blood pumping. Excitement crackles in the air, people greet one another in love, and all around is a true feeling of holy encouragement. This is how it felt as we entered First Baptist Church Jenks.
We arrived in time for the second service of the day, but instead of encountering a mass exodus, we were surprised to find more of a fruit basket upset environment as those who attended the early service made their way to service positions throughout the church. Many were rushing to the nursery and children's areas or to greet those of us entering for the second service. The sidewalk out front was completely empty, but the foyer within was a bustling metropolis. We were greeted by a friendly gentleman at the door who handed us a large tri-fold "worship guide" and directed us to the children's check in area up-stairs.
We were surprised that despite the organized chaos taking place, our friends in the church located us very quickly after our arrival. First, my sweet friend, Mandy, who shares my hometown and alma mater, made it a point to find us in the children's area and show us around. She explained that due to the large number of young families in the church, they are busting out of their children's department and in the process of adding on. The hallway was certainly busy and crowded, but the delight and excitement of the kids was a tangible thing, and my two youngest got caught right up in the fever.
Our six year old was shown to a smaller classroom setting for Kindergarteners (of which there were at least three), and was quickly welcomed into the group and engaged in play time and preparation for a lesson. Our middle daughter found her long lost friends waiting in the hallway to enter the children's sanctuary (I'm not sure that's what they called it, but that's what I'm calling it.) and with squeals and hugs joined them in line.
Once the younger girls were in their correct spots, Mandy escorted us to the sanctuary, and we took our places near the front and center with moments to spare. The praise band did a combo of contemporary and traditional and the music was fantastic. We soon discovered that First Baptist Jenks is celebrating their 100th year of service, and in honor of that amazing achievement, we were blessed to be attending when guest speaker, Dr. Anthony Jordan was providing the sermon. Wow! A more timely and passionate message I'm not sure I've ever heard. Wow! Such a message of perseverance and encouragement to continue in the Word and in teaching of the Truth in a world that appears to have turned topsy-turvy. I mean, Wow! We left feeling renewed and purposeful and determined to be who God would have us to be. It was exactly the message we needed at exactly the time we needed it. Praise God for His magnificent ways!
The service ended, we gathered our children, and met up with friends for lunch, but I spent much of the ride home reading through the Worship Guide which displays just how alive this church truly is. The number of opportunities available to the congregation just within one weeks time was astonishing, and I can hardly imagine the amount of volunteer help it requires to accomplish all they do in service for the Lord. So many opportunities to connect with other members of the church, to learn more about God's Word, to be a servant to others, to spread the love of God. FBC Jenks is certainly a church with a vital presence and a faith-filled future, and we feel so grateful God led us to journey here on our Steeple Chase this year.
We arrived in time for the second service of the day, but instead of encountering a mass exodus, we were surprised to find more of a fruit basket upset environment as those who attended the early service made their way to service positions throughout the church. Many were rushing to the nursery and children's areas or to greet those of us entering for the second service. The sidewalk out front was completely empty, but the foyer within was a bustling metropolis. We were greeted by a friendly gentleman at the door who handed us a large tri-fold "worship guide" and directed us to the children's check in area up-stairs.
We were surprised that despite the organized chaos taking place, our friends in the church located us very quickly after our arrival. First, my sweet friend, Mandy, who shares my hometown and alma mater, made it a point to find us in the children's area and show us around. She explained that due to the large number of young families in the church, they are busting out of their children's department and in the process of adding on. The hallway was certainly busy and crowded, but the delight and excitement of the kids was a tangible thing, and my two youngest got caught right up in the fever.
Our six year old was shown to a smaller classroom setting for Kindergarteners (of which there were at least three), and was quickly welcomed into the group and engaged in play time and preparation for a lesson. Our middle daughter found her long lost friends waiting in the hallway to enter the children's sanctuary (I'm not sure that's what they called it, but that's what I'm calling it.) and with squeals and hugs joined them in line.
Once the younger girls were in their correct spots, Mandy escorted us to the sanctuary, and we took our places near the front and center with moments to spare. The praise band did a combo of contemporary and traditional and the music was fantastic. We soon discovered that First Baptist Jenks is celebrating their 100th year of service, and in honor of that amazing achievement, we were blessed to be attending when guest speaker, Dr. Anthony Jordan was providing the sermon. Wow! A more timely and passionate message I'm not sure I've ever heard. Wow! Such a message of perseverance and encouragement to continue in the Word and in teaching of the Truth in a world that appears to have turned topsy-turvy. I mean, Wow! We left feeling renewed and purposeful and determined to be who God would have us to be. It was exactly the message we needed at exactly the time we needed it. Praise God for His magnificent ways!
The service ended, we gathered our children, and met up with friends for lunch, but I spent much of the ride home reading through the Worship Guide which displays just how alive this church truly is. The number of opportunities available to the congregation just within one weeks time was astonishing, and I can hardly imagine the amount of volunteer help it requires to accomplish all they do in service for the Lord. So many opportunities to connect with other members of the church, to learn more about God's Word, to be a servant to others, to spread the love of God. FBC Jenks is certainly a church with a vital presence and a faith-filled future, and we feel so grateful God led us to journey here on our Steeple Chase this year.
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