Vici United Methodist Church: Youth Sunday

    


     A few weeks ago, I received a call from an old friend from the Vici United Methodist Church in the small but dear town of Vici, Oklahoma. While I didn't recognize the number, I immediately recognized the voice that graciously invited me to visit their church on October 11th and present the message during their annual Youth Sunday. I quickly agreed to do so and was thrilled to be returning to this church that is so dear to my heart.


     I cannot remember a time when the Vici Church (as we often refer to it) wasn't a part of my life. This small town church has been a dual parish (meaning we share pastors and financial obligations) with my little home church of Lenora for well....at least 35 years or so.  I began to become familiar with the people of the Vici Church as a little girl during church meetings and when my mom would fill the pulpit at their church and bring me along to sing a special. From the beginning, they always made me feel so welcomed and loved. Little did I know at the time, that my own true love was being raised right there in that church with those same beautiful, loving people as a little boy sitting in the pews right there between his mom and grandma.  Years later (well not that many years actually, since we were only 20 years old), we walked down the aisle of their newly completed sanctuary to say our vows before God and our joint church family and friends.  Then this very same church continued to bless us as they provided me with both college scholarships and my very first ministry opportunity as an extremely young and foolish youth pastor with a desire to serve. This church has been such a huge part of our lives, so of course when they asked us to return, I said yes (even though we'd actually been saving Vici church until Christmas.)

     As time grew closer, we received another call requesting that our daughters provide some special music for the service as well, and I also discovered that the youth and their leader were hoping that I could provide a message having something to do with bullying, which honestly made my job just a little harder as I attempted to tackle a very difficult subject and ask God what He would have me say about it.  I thought and prayed and read and thought and prayed and read and by Oh, approximately 7:30 that morning, I had put together what I thought was an acceptable message to present.

     We spent the night before with my husband's family there in Vici after celebrating his grandfather's 90th birthday, so we only had a few blocks to travel to get to church on time.  The Vici service begins at 11:00 which gives the current pastor, Rev. Don Whitman time to drive from his 9:30 service at Lenora to Vici each Sunday morning. We were greeted warmly as always from all our congregational friends and even met a few new faces as well.  The youth members were busy with last minute preparations, and it was fun to hear their nervous laughter as they got ready to lead each and every part of the service that morning (minus the message and special music, of course.)

      I have to admit that my heart saddened a bit as I took note of the absence of long-time members and leaders in the church Chub and Joy Shaw who have both passed away in the past few years, and I truly missed seeing Joy in her usual position as song leader and Chub grinning at me from the sound booth. Oh how fabulous it will be to someday reunite with them in glory! 



Preparing for the service to begin. The youth are early and at the front!

     The beautiful sanctuary began to fill up, and the service started with a hymn and a prayer. I loved he prayer of the brave young man who prayed, "Dear God, I just hope this goes okay." I fully understood his sentiments! Other young ladies and gentlemen led announcements and prayer requests, announced hymns and took up the tithes and offerings. My daughters sang their version of I'll Fly Away, and before I knew it, it was my turn at the pulpit. 

Children's Message led by the youth.

 

     The message God laid on my heart went something like this: Steeple Chasing is an amazing learning experience, the churches have been very welcoming, the world is NOT welcoming, there Will be Bullies, there have always been bullies, Satan is a bully, Satan has dominion over Earth. I love the church, Paul loved the church, Paul was a bully, Paul got saved, Paul was bullied! We can learn from Paul. Don't be a victim, grow in spiritual maturity, realize that not everything is worth being offended by. Be anti- Bullying,  don't be anti- Bully. God loves the bully and we need to also. We have to work as a church to find ways to love the bully through their bullying ways. And the church must stop being a bully itself. We must love everyone and find a way to keep our youth in church past graduation. It will take openness and honesty and a willingness to work at relationships and accept change.  It won't always be easy but it will be worth it and it is what we've been called to be! (Read Colossians Chapters 2 and 3, The Message version if you want to know the rest.) It took me quite a bit longer to get all that out, but that's the basic message in a nutshell.

    Afterwards, my girls sang again. This time it was a song that our 9 year old wrote herself and we all worked together to make adjustments to and fit it into a vocal trio.  I was very proud of her work for the Lord and all of them for sharing it with the Vici Church that morning.  Her song is entitled Runnin', and she explained to me that it was about running away from God but never being able to get away because He never let's us go and is always running beside us. Sometimes the spiritual insight of our middle daughter is a very humbling thing. Praise be to Jesus!

Selfie taken by Middle Daughter in the new fellowship hall.

 

    The service ended with some final words from Pastor Don, a time to give our tithes and offerings, and a final hymn and prayer. The entire service was a blessing to me, and I am so very happy that we were able to take part in this inspiring Youth Sunday with a church family we love and feel so much at home with.  There was nothing intimidating or scary or out of our element in our Steeple Chase this week. Instead it was very much like coming home. Thank you all so much for having us! Be blessed!


(P.S. Please forgive my lack of good pictures of this beautiful church. I sent my phone with my younger two girls to take pictures and got home with 500 selfies of them against unrecognizable backgrounds. Insert eye-roll here!)

Cross wall in the gorgeous new fellowship hall.

  

Beautiful Conference at Victory Church

  

     The blogs are getting backed up once again, so I, the oldest daughter, am going to write about the Beautiful Conference. It was a Wednesday  evening when my mother said that we would be going to Beautiful on Friday. I had heard her talk about how fun it was before, so I was  very exited, especially when she told me that my best friend Cati, who I met about 11 and a half years ago, would also be going with her mother and friend.


    We left at about 2:30pm ( I was happy to get out of school early) and stopped at the house to grab our belongings. We then headed to Enid to get Jordan (the bonus daughter as mom likes to call her) and then head to OKC for the Conference. After being in the car a while, we all decided that we were very (and I mean very) hungry. We stopped at McDonald's to grab a bite to eat (I got a 10 piece chicken nuggets, thinking I couldn't eat it all and could share, but I devoured them in 5 minutes flat) and got on the road again.


    After our very long (almost 3hr. ) drive we finally arrived at Beautiful! We went inside and saw some very fun decorations(including which was a dress made out of news paper, which I could definitely wear to prom!) and booths with clothes, jewelry, and a coffee bar (which Jordan took advantage of, she loves coffee). We went inside the sanctuary and found our seats next to our friends (thank goodness).

 

   Then the music started, it was quite amazing, with flashing lights, a full band, and amazing singers. To make it better there were dancers of all ages ,starting with the youngest and ending with the oldest. Then a few speakers spoke. The speakers this year were Laura Story, Wendy Treat, Jon Chasteen, and Barb Swanson. They were really, really good. After a couple speakers, we went with everyone else outside to get our free bracelets (which were BEAUTIFUL) and eat snacks and have a party( which we didn't stay for, I was a little disappointed ).We then went to my mom's friends house to stay the night (we stayed up late talking) and got up early the next morning to head for Beautiful once again.

    When we arrived I forgot my lanyard in the car ( I ran back and got it ) and then we went inside again.We sat down and the music started(it was amazing as always) and the speakers spoke. They played a few videos (Pinterest parody, and You're Beautiful parody, I recommend watching them on youtube) and then it was time to eat lunch. We ate at  Charleston's with the whole crew, and it was very good. We headed back and I forgot my lanyard once a-gin ( as my youngest sis would say ) and had to run and get it a-gin! We sang a little more music, heard a few more speakers and headed home.

    It was a really great experience. I hope I get to go back next year, and I think it was a great place to Steeple Chase with my mom.

 

 

 

 

Willow View UMC- Enid, OK

       On September 27th, we loaded up the family vehicle and headed back to Enid to visit Willow View United Methodist Church. We picked up our bonus daughter, who is 20 and lives in Enid, and arrived in time for the 11:00 service which is known as Oasis. According to the church's excellently informational website, the early service at 9:00 is known as the Blend and is a bit more traditional than the later service. We decided to check out the praise band and more "high-energy" experience because.....well, because we live 45 minutes away and didn't want to get up early enough to be there by 9:00. (Sorry if you were hoping for some deeper, more spiritual reason.)

     This beautiful church is located on the north end of Enid in what appears to the casual observer as a rather affluent part of the city. The building is fairly knew, the sanctuary having been completed in 2004, but the church body itself is more than 110 years old and has a long and interesting history. According to their website, the congregation began in 1902 with 30 members who met in the Garfield County Court Room as charter members of The Enid United Brethren Church. Through the years, they continued to meet together as a church family to worship, learn, serve, and love, even as they underwent denomination changes, new church homes, and even devastating fires. And the gorgeous church building and wonderful welcome we walked into Sunday speaks of a church who will continue to serve Christ for generations to come. (For more information on the history of this congregation, go to http://willowview.org/?page_id=35.)



This double-sided fireplace made for a very cozy entry.
 

      The pastor of this fellowship is Reverend Lesley Broadbent who grew up just down the road from both my husband and I  in the small Dewey County town of Leedey, Oklahoma. His church members say he often references his years growing up and playing ball as a Leedey Bison in his sermons.  He made no such references on this particular Sunday; however, his message was very interesting and enlightening. He speaks in a conversational teaching manner that is very engaging, and even my children were tuned in and able to discuss the message on the drive home. We were all especially intrigued by the extensiveness of the Jewish laws and how caught up in following them to the letter the Pharisees were.

I think perhaps we were a surprise!

     The service started with worship music lead by a talented praise band which helped sooth away the worries of the world and help me focus on giving glory to God. I loved how the service was divided up among a variety of congregation members who took part by praying, reading scripture, doing the children's message, etc. It's always good to see a congregation willing to serve, and a church willing to allow them to take part. We were so fortunate to be there on a very special Sunday and witness the baptism/dedication of a sweet baby girl named Eliana. This was especially enjoyable to our youngest whose middle name is also Ellyana, just with a different spelling. In addition, there were several new members joining the church that morning, and it was such a joy to be there as the congregation welcomed them into their family.

The kids loved the Frozen reference during the kid's message.

   


     While the church has been in existence for a number of years, and Pastor Broadbent has been in ministry there for the past eleven, the church has the feeling of one that is young and up and coming. The majority of those worshiping at the Oasis service appeared to be young couples, many with children. They have wonderful challenges like outgrowing their children's Sunday School space and the need for plenty of volunteers for the variety of ministries taking place. There are several Sunday School opportunities provided for people of all ages, mid-week activities, and several ministry and service opportunities in the church as well as the community. The people were welcoming and made us feel right at home, and I'm sure if you have the desire to Steeple Chase at Willow View one Sunday or make this lovely congregation your permanent church family, they'll welcome you with open arms as well.


    Our God is so good, and He loves His church so much. May we strive to love Him and his Bride just as beautifully in return!

    

 

Fairview Missionary Baptist: A life-changing experience!

       Oh my goodness! Wow! I can hardly get over the experience we had at church this morning. It was truly like no experience I've ever had before, and I'm pretty sure I'll never look at welcoming church visitors the same again.

      We got up this morning and prepared to leave Fairview for Fairview; Fairview Missionary Baptist Church, that is.  FMBC is located just off of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in OKC and  is a predominantly African American congregation with lovely connections to our town of Fairview. I'm not entirely certain how it all got started, but a few years back, our own FMBC (Fairview Mennonite Brethren Church) began to journey once a year with their youth group to share in Sunday worship with the people of Fairview Missionary Baptist, and a reputation began to take form in the town of Fairview. Rumors got around about this amazing church in the city where the people are friendlier than you can imagine and the Lord is worshiped and the Word is taught in a way that makes you want to return again and again.

     We heard the rumors and we wanted to go! But to be honest, we were a little nervous. It's one thing to try something new with a crowd of friends around you, but something else entirely to strike out and walk in on your own, so when my friend Amanda, who has attended FMBC before, said she wanted to meet us there, we jumped at a chance to have an ally by our sides. You see, my husband and I both grew up in tiny little Northwest, Oklahoma towns where the African American populations consist of approximately one percent, and we have never in all of our 36 years been the minority race in a room full of people. I have to admit the thought was a little bit intimidating, but let me tell you, the actual experience was phenomenal!

     We have NEVER felt so welcomed to any place in our entire lives! This congregation embraced us (Literally! Again and Again! Jason said he'd never had so many hugs!) into their fold as if we were long lost friends or family or celebrities who had finally come back home. 

    As we walked through the parking lot towards the building with nervousness trailing closely on our heels, we encountered what would be the first of so, so many people who would put our minds at ease and place a soft spot in our hearts for the people of this congregation. A lady stopped right there in the rain to shake our hands and welcome us to church. She spoke to our children and with love and delight in her voice and her radiant smile made us immediately feel that everything was going to be just fine. As we passed through the doors and into the foyer, this same scenario was repeated again and again as both men and women welcomed us with hugs and handshakes and sincere joy in their eyes and voices as they exclaimed their pleasure at having us in the House of God with them this morning.  I felt like the Grinch whose heart grew three sizes that day. Love and thanksgiving just continued to swell within me at the beautiful welcome we received. 

     We entered the sanctuary as the choir, clothed in beautiful purple robes, began to sing praises to the Lord! This too was far different than the majority of churches we've attended. The lead singer belted out phrases in a gorgeous, soulful, powerful voice as the choir backed her up, and we stumbled around finding our own rhythm and where and when and how to sing. There was no holding back here, however. For one thing the music, with drums and organ, piano, guitar and tamberines galore was so loud it covered our voices entirely and made us feel like we could shriek to the rafters with no fear that anyone but God would hear. The entire service was so loud, in fact, that our children often covered their ears and said they wished they had brought ear plugs. I'll have to admit, there were a few times that the volume was actually physically painful, but what we heard was JUST SO GOOD, that it just didn't matter one bit, as we clapped and sang and worshipped our God with the good people of this great church. There were two special music numbers by members of the church with the choir and a saxophone joining in, and I loved every single moment as they sang the words to songs entitled, "I got it!" and "I need you Lord". What an absolute pleasure to have been there to experience this talent being used to glorify the Lord!

     The pastor of the FMBC is Dr. J. A. Reed, Jr.  He has been senior pastor of this church since 1969, and it is easy to see why.  He is a man who obviously loves and cares for his people and a leader who isn't afraid to tell it like it is.  His message was powerful both in volume and content and there wasn't a moment in the three hour service (which we were assured is not the norm) that I felt myself drifting or bored or uncomfortable. He was funny and encouraging and motivating, and he brought the TRUTH! Being in the midst of a month dedicated to families, the message was on Why Society is Out of Order and the scripture taken from Genesis chapter 2, and I literally have 10 pages of notes!  From the responsibilities of men to be the leaders of their homes, for women to submit to their husbands, and for young men to be in the Word, find Work, and develop some Wealth before they even think about a Woman, Pastor Reed held absolutely nothing back. He told the TRUTH and he told it AGAIN, and even my quiet husband was clapping his hands and standing in agreement.  He showed us how when the Genesis principles are broken, you end up with a broken society, and the only way to return to order in society is to return to God's perfect plan in the Word.  I could seriously go on and on about all I learned today, and I wish every one of you could have heard the sermon we were blessed with this Sunday.  God is such an awesome God, and the Fairview Missionary Baptist Church is a church truly blessed by God!

     Towards the end of the service, Pastor Reed called all the young people down front so he could have a special talk with them.  We discovered that sometime in the past few days they had lost one of their youth to a terrible tragedy, and the pastor took the time to talk with these grieving young people as a father to his children.  He encouraged them not to ask Why? but to realize the answer is Why Not?, and he encouraged them to praise God for the life of their friend, no matter how short. In addition, he called them out, urging the entire congregation to reevaluate their lives and see that they are living day by day in a Godly manner. He asked for children who were in Sunday School to raise their hands and then pointed out those whose hands weren't raised and asked them why they weren't there. He explained the purpose and importance of learning and understanding God's word in order to live Godly lives.  It was a poignant and meaningful moment, and even though it caused the service to go well over it's regular ending time, the Holy Spirit was moving and it was well worth the wait. 
   

   When the service finally came to a close, we were once again enveloped in the arms of this incredible congregation as we made our way out the door and back to our own Fairview again.  I truly believe we will never forget this experience and will be forever changed by it.  If God sent us out on this Steeple Chase for no other reason than to have us in church worshiping with the body of Christ at Fairview Missionary Baptist on this particular Sunday in September, then it has all been worthwhile. Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord! What a blessing! Praise the Lord!

My oldest is just sure that her Grandmother SueEllen will look just like the lady in pink in a few years! I sure hope so!

Worshiping with Women: Beth Moore @ Wichita

     Last weekend, I attended worship with some 8,500 women from all walks of life, and IT WAS AMAZING!

I bought the book. Loving it so far!

     Sometime in the spring, a sweet friend of mine asked me and another friend if we would be interested in going with her to Wichita, Kansas in September to a Beth Moore Conference, and being a huge fan of Beth Moore's bible studies, I immediately said yes; however, months later when the time arrived, and I found myself exhausted from a week of teaching school and chasing kids and just life in general, I have to admit, I teetered on the edge of backing out and spending the weekend at home. I'm SO glad I didn't.

     The conference was a full day event on Saturday, so we drove up Friday night and stayed in a hotel. I had originally planned to bunk with my friends, but after a week of waking up to my husband glaring at me with a pillow held menacingly near my face due to a bad case of allergy induced snoring, I decided to maintain my friendships and obtain my own room. I enjoyed a fabulous night's rest with no fear of being murdered in my sleep, and woke up refreshed and ready to get into God's Word.


    We arrived at the downtown arena and with a wave of other women, and found our way to our seats.  Now let me just say, if you have never attended a large conference of Christian women, you really absolutely MUST sometime before you die. (Unless of course you are a man, and then you really might feel a little bit out of place, so I recommend you attend a large men's conference. Although having never been to one, I'm really not sure what that's like, so you need to attend one and report back to me, Mr. President. (Which for those of you who are not familiar is an FFA Opening Ceremonies reference, and it's suddenly becoming apparent that perhaps I should not be writing this at 12:53 am as I seem to be falling a bit away from my original topic.)) ANYWAY, there is just nothing quite like thousands of like minded women meeting in one place to worship and learn about Jesus.  Yes it is crowded, but there is so much kindness, so much love. Yes it is long, but you find yourself just wanting more. 

Schedule: Full and Fabulous!

    The musical worship alone would be enough to justify the drive.  I can hardly describe the connection with Christ that I encountered there in the midst of all those women as we sang praises to the Lord.  I think that being one of so many somehow allows you to be even more yourself and alone with God.  The songs were old and new, joyous and solemn, fast and slow, touching and heartfelt. There was something for everyone and everything for me.  I laughed and cried and praised with all that I had and felt God pour blessing after blessing upon me as I gave my all simply to pour my love out to Him. 

    I thought that it couldn't get any better and then my best friend Beth came out on the stage. (Now, just to clarify, we've never actually met, but she's lead me in so many biblical discoveries and personal reflections and repentances throughout the years, that I've been calling her my best friend for years, and whenever I consider that question about if you could spend one day with anyone in the world who would it be, I'm pretty sure it would be Beth....we're that close.)  Anyway, friends, if you've never done any of her bible studies or read any of her books, I highly recommend you do so. Here is a woman who has given her absolute all to Jesus, and because of her faith and obedience and LOVE of Christ, He has blessed her with the ability to abundantly bless the world. And what a blessing she brought to us in Wichita!

     The theme of the conference was Audacious, and Beth spent the day (broken into 3 sessions) teaching us about what it means to live audaciously for Jesus. She reminded us that these crazy times we live in are not the days for wimps, but that we must live with audacity, and have the guts to give God the glory! We are called to be MIGHTY women of God and it is time to Wake Up! In a world where fear is bound to go viral and manifest itself in a variety of ways, including violence, anger, insecurities, and doubt, we Christians must show ourselves to be different with courage, calmness, love, and peace in order to bring those in need of our Savior to the Jesus who loves them. She challenged us with these 6 Mighty Makers:
                           
                       1.  Have the audacity to make an unseen Savior the supreme romance of your life.
                       2.  Have the audacity to live in the tension that comes with loving in TRUTH.
                       3.  Have the audacity to pray for astonishing works of the Holy Spirit.
                       4.  Have the audacity to forgive and live forgiven.
                       5.  Have the audacity to hold tight with all your might to Romans 8:18. (Look it up!)
                       6.  Have the audacity to walk in humility.


     By the time the conference was over, I was wrung out, filled up, renewed, and revived.  I had been touched by the Lord and once again ready to face the world with God on my side. In a world that seems so scary sometimes, I can find true joy because I know that I was made for such a time and place as this and that I was not made to live in a spirit of fear. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to experience once again the teachings of Beth Moore, and I'm so thankful that she doesn't sugar-coat or back down from touchy topics but challenges me to be who God created me to be and to truly KNOW the one I worship.

     What a trip!  I'm so thankful for the invitation from my friend and that God didn't let me back out when I wanted to.  This is definitely one Steeple Chase I will forever be blessed by.
 
    

Couldn't resist sharing:
This is what happens when an arena fills with women. The unused men's restrooms get converted. LOL!

5 Ways to Ensure that You Actually End Up in a Church on Sunday Morning.

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.
    

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!

This wall symbolizes the general feeling of a church who embraces their members and reaches out in service to others.