Hello Church Family,
I wanted to send you an update with information about our celebration of the resurrection this coming Sunday. Instead of just having our 10AM Sunday Morning Livestream, we are going to have 10AM livestreams every morning starting tomorrow through Sunday.
For the sake of convenience we are going to stream these livestreams on Facebook and YouTube. You can watch them stream live every morning at 10AM. They’ll be available to watch “on-demand” afterwards if you can’t make it then. Here are the devotionals.
10AM Thursday – Arrested & Tried
Student Pastor Jospeh Tobias will kick it off with a devotional over the arrest and trial of Jesus out of Luke 22:63-23:25.
Watch it on Facebook.
Watch it on YouTube.
10AM Friday – Condemned & Crucified
On Friday Pastor Emeritus David Cason will lead in a devotional over the condemnation and crucifixion of Jesus out of Luke 23:26-43.
Watch it on Facebook.
Watch it on YouTube.
10AM Saturday – The Death of Death
Music Pastor Taylor Miller will close out Luke 23 with a devotional on the death of Jesus and the death of death out of Luke 23:44-56.
Watch it on Facebook.
Watch it on YouTube.
Broadview West
Our Broadview West Facebook page will also have devotionals posted over the next three days. I don’t yet have the links for those videos but you can just check their page each day and you’ll see the videos show up.
These devotionals cover the six miracles that happened through the death and resurrection of Jesus. They will culminate with a Sunday morning message on the resurrection.
Remember, you can view these Facebook videos without having a Facebook account. So you should be able to view them just by clicking the links in this email.
Celebrate Recovery
Our Broadview Freedom Ministries is also posting weekly livestreams every Tuesday at 6:30 You can watch them on the Celebrate Recovery Facebook page every week. Starting at 6:30PM Anna-Kate and Travis lead in some worship. Following the worship Jeff, Howard and Tammy lead in a devotional or testimony time. They also post daily devotionals every morning. I would encourage you to check out each of these online resources during this time.
Family Discipleship Resources
In addition to these devotional livestreams, we also have some family discipleship resources for those with kiddos. The blog posted a resource on Monday that includes some really cool activities.
In that article they mention the creation of some Resurrection Eggs that help children understand the story of Christ’s death and resurrection using tangible items placed inside each egg. It’s a really cool idea. You’ll need to be a member of the Preschool or Children’s Facebook Groups to see the videos that explain how the eggs work, though.
These are private groups since they minister to our kids so you’ll need to have a Facebook account to watch them. You can contact Tiffany or Ora if you don’t have Facebook but would like to see the videos.
Also, be sure you gather your kids together for the special kids service after the Sunday livestream. It’ll be a stand-alone livestream after the large group livestream to make it easier for parents to find. It is during this livestream that your preparation of the Resurrection Eggs will come into play.
Besides that resource, there is also a children’s lesson for the service this Sunday.
Prayer Card Project
In our last update I mentioned our prayer card “Bless The City” initiative. It was a project to send personalized cards of prayer and encouragement to every respiratory therapist working in Abilene hospitals.
EVERY SINGLE PERSON was accounted for within the first few days of posting the project. Our church family is so awesome. Because of the amazing buy-in, we are going to be able to send even more cards to more people. You can continue to sign up if you or your family would like to participate.
We are looking to expand the project to even more people as opportunities present themselves. Bonnie can give you more details and ideas if you need some. You can also reach out to her if you have ways to bless people on the front lines.
Crisis Relief Fund
The second initiative I mentioned last week was our Crisis Relief Fund. This was a church-wide effort to provide financial relief to people in our church who weren’t eligible for the relief provided in the CARES Act. (Internationals with student visas, refugees, etc) Already we’ve raised right over $3,000.
This is going to be a game changer for those receiving assistance through this fund. While we have a goal of $7,000 I’m confident that we will reach it before or soon after Easter Sunday. You can give today if you are so led by the Lord. We also have our regular church family crisis fund that is assisting people who have needs during this time.
Payroll Protection Program
My last update is concerning the Payroll Protection Program. Our church affirmed moving forward on this opportunity and the application has been submitted. We don’t yet have confirmation as to whether or not we’ve been approved. If we are approved it will empower us to keep our Blest Beginnings employees paid throughout the rest of their Spring Semester even though the school has been closed indefinitely.
No matter what happens, we are trusting the Lord and believe that each and every source of provision ultimately comes from his hand. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. We are confident he will meet our every need during these days. Not just for our life together, but for each individual as well.
Moving Forward
Because of your continued generosity, we are able to keep moving forward in our mission and vision as a church. I’m so thankful for those who continue to give whether it’s online, text2give, or mailing in/walking in checks. Even though we’ve had to shift in our approach to ministry, your faithful giving empowers us to use these new channels for Kingdom impact.
Doing church “online” is certainly different. We don’t have it fully figured out and I wouldn’t say it’s the “ideal.” Honestly, I can’t wait for us to be able to meet together again “in person.” That day can’t get here fast enough. That said, this season gives our church a tremendous opportunity to reach and minister to people in a unique way.
In this crisis we can focus on the problems or the opportunities, the challenges or the blessings. Will we only complain over what we’ve lost or will we instead explore what this crisis has made possible? I’m choosing to stay positive and I want to challenge you to do the same!
As an example, we’ve seen our online engagement increase over 1,000% in the past 30 days. We are reaching people we’ve never been able to reach before. People also seem to have a greater openness and sensitivity to spiritual things in this season.
As usual, the Lord knows what he’s doing and he’s empowering his Church to accomplish his purposes. He’s doing a new thing in this season and he has chosen each of us to play a part. What a privilege to join God in doing a new thing. Will you join me in looking to Him and focusing on what HE is doing so we can together play a part?
I will continue to do my best in keeping us informed and engaged in furthering HIS plan in and through OUR church. I hope you have a great weekend! If there’s anyway I can pray for you please let me know.
Sincerely,
Pastor Wes