It came and went without too much fanfare. Sunday, July 11 was the 74th Anniversary of James Island Baptist Church. For almost ¾ of a century our Father has allowed James Island Baptist to exist on this corner seeking to be a light in darkness, a place of welcome for those seeking answers, a hospital for the spiritually sick as well as those, who by God’s grace, are spiritually healthy. It has been our charge to make disciples who make disciples that make our community and our world a better place to live.
I love the idea that on our “Anniversary Sunday” we had a good attendance; we observed the Lord’s Supper; we had a strong worship service; we were into God’s Word; we had dozens of guests and former members in attendance; and we baptized three students! Then for those who did not get enough, later that night we had Celebrate Recovery, a ministry not afraid to tackle the toughest challenges of our day. All in all, it was a great way to celebrate an anniversary: Worship, fellowship, discipleship, baptisms and missions. That sounds like we were doing that ON PURPOSE.
Now, next year…we celebrate our 75th year. I am looking forward to how we can pull out all the stops for that day. I am hoping we can be back at the County Park enjoying a church wide picnic with our entire church family. It will be a grand celebration and I am already looking forward to it. Hey, if you have any ideas, send me an email or text. I am starting a file already of great ideas.
ANOTHER INSPIRING WORSHIP OPPORTUNITY
Starting Sunday, August 1, Celebrate Recovery will begin worship at 6:30. This is a slight change from the 6:15 time we have been using. I would love for you to come and join us for the Sunday night praise time. You don’t have to be a part of Celebrate Recovery to enjoy the worship time. Our worship time will run from 6:30 until around 6:45 or so. We continue the Celebration with the reading of the 12 Steps and giving out the “chips”. It is pretty cool to see. And then we have a lesson. By 7:00 or 7:10, the entire group is dismissed to go to small groups. You could leave then or you could leave just before the lesson begins. Either way, you will enjoy the worship celebration. After the lesson, we usually dismiss to small groups by 7:00 or so. You could join us from 6:30 to 7:00 for an inspiring time of worship and a very helpful lesson. Hope you will consider visiting or joining us. Casual dress of course! A few weeks ago, we were blessed with Stephanie and David Jr. as our featured singers. Pastor David, I loved that idea!
Be blessed and be a blessing!
Pastor Tom
