First Christian Church - Bedford, Indiana

First Christian Church

First hristian Church
1101- 15th Street
Bedford, IN 47421
812-275-4497
firstccbedford@gmail.com

Deepening Our Roots Extending Our Reach

Belief in Jesus Christ Service to others

Belonging to the kingdom of God Focus on children, families, senior adults

Spiritual growth

From the Senior Minister... Monthly Calendar Prayer Requests

SUNDAY MORNING
Sunday School 9:30AM
Worship 10:30AM

Scripture Reading

Acts 1:6-14

         So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
         He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Sama'ria and to the end of the earth."
         And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
         Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away; and when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

FROM THE SENIOR MINISTER...

I want to stress the importance of inviting your friends, neighbors and anyone with whom you get involved in conversation to come and see what it’s like to be part of the life of this congregation. This is an important element in our efforts to grow as a church. All kinds of research indicate that the invitation of a friend is one of the most significant factors in someone’s decision to come to a church for the first time. The only problem with this is that most everyone we may invite to our church isn’t looking for a church; they are looking for God. They aren’t looking for an opportunity to help a church grow; they’re looking for a relationship with God that gives their life deeper meaning and a greater sense of purpose.

In every church I’ve served as pastor, it’s been difficult to motivate people to invite others to church. It’s one of those things that most people feel awkward doing – perhaps out of fear that they’ll not be successful, or that they’ll appear to be pushy or overly religious. Sometimes we try to make it fun by having a special “Invite a Friend Sunday,” usually accompanied by a meal or some other special event. We try to pressure people into inviting others, stressing that the church’s survival may be at stake, and usually only succeed in making them feel worse about the situation. Maybe it’s time we quit focusing so much on our standard answer to the question of how to get more people to come to church and listen to the original keynote question that Jesus asked those first disciples – “What are you looking for?”

Unless we are seeking to know Jesus Christ in deeper and more powerful ways, we can’t expect to have much to share with the other people in our lives. Unless we’re finding a deeper relationship with God and a greater sense of purpose in our lives, we’re not likely to make an enthusiastic invitation to others to come and see the Christ that we have come to know. Unless we are intentional about staying in Christ’s presence in order to know who he is and how he is influencing and enriching our lives, we won’t be able to be convincing witnesses to those we invite to share in our experience. (adapted from an article by J. Lynn White in Biblical Preaching Journal, Winter 08)

With Christian Love, Leila and Bob Dailey