Elder's Perspective Fresh Start
By the end of last year your leadership team was exhausted as were many members of Berean Christian Church, so after a lot of prayer, a lot of input and study the Elders decided that a new plan of action was needed. We began a two-pronged approach that met both the physical needs of the church facility, but also and more importantly addressed the spiritual needs of the congregation. Our ultimate hope is that by working on both the physical needs and spiritual needs together, we would find new inspiration and excitement.
The physical needs of the church were addressed by the Fresh Start initiative. The Elders listened to anyone and everyone about what the current needs of Berean’s physical structure were and we established a plan to address those needs. As funds are raised through pledged giving, above the regular tithe or offering, we will, and are, tackling the physical needs of the church.
To date we have made significant progress and so far have carpeted the education wing, provided free wireless access anywhere in the building and addressed the storage issue that we have been battling for years. Also, although not installed yet we have contracted for exterior surveillance cameras to be put into place as a safety precaution for church employees and volunteers. Over $13,000 has been raised for these projects and we will continue to upgrade our facility as funds become available. We appreciate the congregation’s commitment to Fresh Start.
The projects that still need to be completed include a new church van, an update to the auditorium, kitchen improvements, updated entrances, new heating and air conditioning units and new exterior signage. This list seems long and it is a significant amount of money but we know God can see us through and provide for our needs so we can minister to our community.
More importantly, the Elders felt that a church wide curriculum would help us address the spiritual needs of our congregation and after consulting other churches, doing research and praying we began The Story. It is a 31 week study through the entire Bible that allows families to be studying the same material in Sunday Connect, through the week in small groups and during Sunday morning worship.
So far it has been a huge success and helped lay a strong biblical foundation in those not familiar with the Bible and has given older Christians the opportunity to re-examine the stories they remember but have not studied in quite some time. The Story has been extremely fruitful as it has reignited our adult Sunday School and turned it into Sunday Connect. It has been years since so many adults have met on Sunday morning to grow in the knowledge of our Lord.
We are hoping that as The Story continues to unfold before us over the next 20 weeks that we see even more growth spiritually and that we continue to connect with God, connect with each other, and connect with the world to spread his Good News.
