Unsung

At BP, we have a clear vision that we would be Christ-Followers that demonstrate compassion to others. We dream of average ordinary soccer moms, store owners, department managers, carpenters, neighbors, and students would be used by God to help others is ways they never thought possible. It is indeed a staggering thought the God of the universe uses everyday people like us, in everyday situations, to reveal his compassion through us.

In May we will direct our attention towards “others” by hosting a Sunday we call “Unsung”. Our goal to is to inspire our church family to make their lives count by living out the eternal value of helping others. The Bible reminds us to “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do.” (Ephesians 6:7-8)

One of the things we will do that morning is to publically thank a hand full of people in our community who are giving themselves away to help others. We will need your help to do this. There are thousands of people in this community who are “unsung” in their efforts. We want to simply encourage them and send a clear message that their help in this community is important to us at BP and reflects the heart of God, whether they are Christians or not. So we encourage you to nominate someone you know, outside of our church, who makes a difference in our community, in any way, in any capacity, big or small, helping others. Please turn in a brief, one-page summary, of who the person is, what they do, and how we can contact them. Please e-mail all nominations to Monica Brown by April 28, Sunday.

monbrowne@hotmail.com

Thanks for your help! You are helping us create a culture of compassion at BP, one “unsung hero” at a time.

Why lightning strikes before thunder

OK-  so we have had enough rain!  But let's learn something about it. Thunder is the product of lightning. Lightning is a huge discharge of electricity. Lightning heats and expands the air as it discharges. So when it shoots through the air, it starts vibrating and results in the sound of thunder, like a sonic wave or sonic boom. We see the lightning before we hear the thunder because light travels faster than sound. The light from the lightning travels to our eyes much quicker than the sound from the lightning so we hear it later than we see it.

We are feeling some lightning of our own at BP. We had an exciting Easter Sunday last week as nearly 500 walked our campus. It was especially exciting as the worship center only holds a little over 200 seats comfortably. This was our largest attendance since moving into the new facility. What a privilege it was for us as you came with your friends and family as guests. Best yet, we had first time decisions made to begin new relationships with Christ! That’s what its all about, right? The Lead Team is praying for the entire guest list to return for the new series we start this Sunday called, jesusmatch.com.

We also were proud to drop off the largest canned/dry supply to the local food pantry collected on Easter at BP. Papa’s Pantry is one of our local partners in the community. On top of the mountain of food brought on Easter, an extra $250 was donated at the new giving station that allowed additional groceries to be purchased. Way to go, BP! We are now gearing up for The Spring Cleaning Clothes Drive on April 28^th.  Clothes will go to another of our community partners, Forever Fed. We know you won’t disappoint!

Additionally, this March the BP family gave the highest amount of offering since making the move to this facility. As we press on to greater heights, your faithful support allows us to do more to reach more people. Thanks so much for investing in our vision to draw people close to God. Our new Giving Station in the lobby is designed to make it more convenient to give using your debit card. We hope it is helpful!

All this “lightning” is preparing us for the “thunder” coming to BP! As we recently shared, the facility owner has offered to build a new and larger Worship Center for us near the Foundry, in the upper parking lots. We know this challenge and opportunity will require the type of teamwork that we are seeing right now at BP. We are mounting a new vision in which the leadership hopes to communicate more about this month, starting at the Pulse meeting for BP volunteers, on April 21st. 

There’s always lightning before the thunder …. and you guys are proving it!