News 2020

Rougin' It Habitually 

By Mike Austin

As I sit at my desk tonight putting together this article, I referenced back to an article Troy placed in the Fall 2018 Connect called, “The Habitual Life of the Believer.”  In it, Troy told us that, “habits never truly disappear; they are just overpowered by other habits.”  It also states that,” it takes an average of 66 days before a new habit takes root in our brain.” Tonight is day 74 since the Humphrey family left Berean for Oklahoma; it has given us enough time to create new habits.  It seems now might be an appropriate time to revisit a book that we all studied together called, “I Am a Church Member” by Thom S. Rainer. 

Click here to get the results of the study we had together as a church. Click! 

God Wants Communication

By Russ Ward

When you come to think of it, prayer is quite an odd thing to do. We either mentally or verbally speak to God.

I work in marketing so communication is crucial.  One of my clients at Speiro Communications is Modular Elevator Manufacturing. Usually speak for them to the public. We get some feedback but usually not much. Prayer is totally different.  It is not man’s idea that prayer take place, but it is God’s desire to hear from us and He allows us to speak to Him, not the other way around. But it is not a one-way communication. Click here to find out more.  

Journey of Joy - EKG 

By Laura Duncan - -Full disclosure.  When Shelly asked if I was interested in writing an article for this issue, I hesitated for a few seconds then replied, “Okay”, thinking, “I can come up with SOMEthing.”  I asked her to remind me of the purpose of this segment of the newsletter. When she stated she had been addressing the subject of joy, I inwardly groaned. 

A string of thoughts bolted through my monkey-brain that went something like this:  “Oh brother. I got nothin’ to share on this topic." Click for the the whole story. 

News 2018

An Evening with Barry Hinson

Murphysboro, IL / August 30, 2018 – Southern Illinois University, men’s basketball coach Barry Hinson is scheduled to speak at an Evening with Barry Hinson, Sunday October 14, 2018 at Berean Christian Church in Murphysboro at 7:00pm.

With a career that has spanned 2 decades and as a Division 1 coach, Hinson has first-hand knowledge into current issues faced by youth and parents especially when it comes to youth sports and life rules that will help them succeed. During the discussion he will not shy away from difficult subjects and will take questions from the attendees, in this rare opportunity.  Click for the whole article.

Berean Supports the Food Pantry

Murphysboro, IL / May 7, 2018 - Berean Christian Church is working with the Murphysboro Food Pantry to help provide nutritious meals to those in need by having monthly food drives that focus on specific types of foods.


For the month of April the congregation was asked to bring in donations of canned soup. Cases of soup were delivered and minister Troy Humphrey was excited by the response. Humphrey said, “Usually we think about the Food Pantry in the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, but the need is year around, so we are glad that so many brought in soup.” He went on to say that the month of May will be Meat May. Click for the details!

Night Under the Stars

Murphysboro, IL / April 27, 2018 - Berean Christian Church will be hosting a movie under the stars! The outdoor movie night is scheduled for June 8, 2018. The event will begin at 8:00PM with the movie starting at 8:30PM. The event will take place on the lawn of Berean Christian Church - 1530 Illinois Avenue at the intersection of Illinois and North 16th Streets in Murphysboro. Please bring blankets or lawn chairs.  Click for the rest.

News 2017

The Value of Trophies

My son came out to the house the other day and while there, I mentioned taking the dark green military style footlocker sitting out on our front porch home with him when he left. We use it to put things on or used it as an extra seat when needed. It has been sitting there, in the same spot since 2009 when Scott graduated from college. He asked what was in it and I said generally, “Some stuff from college, but it has been a while since I looked inside.”

As hinges creaked, he slowly opened the lid and to his surprise and to mine as well, it was chalked full of awards and trophies he had acquired over his college career.

Scott was a baseball player and not just any baseball player at that. He was one of the best in the area while in high school and moved on to garner All-Conference accolades while at Blackburn College. Not only that, but he amassed four all-time records for the Battling Beavers that still stand today. Read the rest! 



Berean Prays for First Responders

This month as an ongoing effort to pray for our community, Berean Christian Church is praying for our first responders, EMTs and firemen. More often than not, the closest most of us will come to first responders or firemen in our community is at the Apple Festival Parade. The firemen lead the way with the colors and it is followed by every manner of firetruck, ambulance and emergency vehicle. But for many the day will come when they are in an emergency and it is good to know that we have a great team of professionals that are out there ready to come to our aid.

This is why it is so important to keep these great community members in your prayers. Pray for their strength, thank God for them choosing such an important career and pray that they are confident and make great decisions when under the stress of the moment. Click to read the rest!




Big Ask - Big Give for Emily Wingo

Mark, Kelley and Emily Wingo were and still are in many ways a big part of our lives at Berean Christian Church and the community of Murphysboro.  They ministered here, impacted lives here and were there for us while at Berean. Now we have the chance to give back in a couple ways. 

Emily is now a junior in high school and has recently been diagnosed with a genetic kidney disease that requires her to have dialysis. However doctors have recommended a transplant as soon as possible. The result and bottom line is that she needs our prayers but, also she needs you to consider being a living kidney donor.  This is not something that should be undertaken lightly, but with prayer and compassion please give this every consideration. 

The details are in the flier below. Click on the link, read over the request and pray for Emily, Mark and Kelley. If you are led to be a donor follow the instructions in the flier.   Click for Emily


Berean Prays for Local Businesses

This month as an ongoing effort to pray for our community, Berean Christian Church is praying for our local businesses. At Berean our goal is to connect with God, connect with each other and connect with our community. We have done this by praying for those in the medical field in February and city leadership in March. Now in April we turn our prayers and attention to the businesses in Murphysboro and surrounding area. 


Businesses are the backbone of the economy in our community employing us, providing goods and services and making purchases themselves. This economic engine of Murphysboro needs our prayers of support. We know that running a business is tough so we will focus not only on continued growth, but also peace and understanding through the difficult decisions that many businesses and business owners must face. Click Here for the whole story!


Praying for City Officials at Berean

At Berean Christian Church our goal is to connect with God, connect with each other and connect with our community. We know that through prayer we can connect with God, but connecting with community can sometimes be difficult. Yes, we attend various civic events and sponsor the school supply giveaway and other events, but how do we incorporate a more spiritual connection?

Pastor Troy, through some prayer of his own, has come up with a great idea that the whole church has embraced. We will be praying for a different segment of our community every month for 2017. Click to find out who we are praying for this month

New Year New Perspective

Berean Christian Church welcomes every new year with a congregational meeting that gives an accounting of the previous year. It goes over the books, talks about the numbers and the various ministry teams, goes over their accomplishments of the previous year. Those are fine things to do and we need to look back in some respects. It is good to see the positive to get encouragement and look closely at what we need to fix for the future.

However, if we dwell too much on past success we may miss the bigger point about being Christians at Berean or Christians anywhere. We are to look to the future, not just the past. Read the rest here!


You can now donate online

The time has come for Berean to move into the current era when it comes to accepting tithes, offerings and other donations. Beginning immediately if you go to the "Giving" page on the Berean Connect website you will see a change. It now has a "Donate" button on the right hand side. The button is a link to PayPal, a secure and trusted electronic commerce (e-commerce) company that facilitates payments between parties through online funds transfers.

If you have a PayPal account it is as simple as filling out two blanks on a form. It asks for a description (tithe, offering, BASH or Margaret Russell Scholarship) and item price (amount you wish to contribute). Once you complete the form you need to log into your PayPal account to complete the transaction. 

If you do not have a PayPal account you can still donate through the donate button. It just takes filling in a few more blanks. 

This new way of accepting donations will accomplish several goals. First, it will allow members to tithe or to make donations to specific funds including Fresh Start, Margaret Russell Scholarship or BASH without writing checks or carrying cash. It will also be a way that those that are not attenders can also donate if they so choose. Lastly, it will be a convenient way to give. Too often we make it too difficult.

Keep in mind that this does not mean we will stop passing the plates at our Sunday service. It just means that we are giving more people a way to contribute to the growth of God's Kingdom.