Adult Bible Fellowship: Is Fellowship the Goal?

We need more Bible study. We need more in depth focus. We need the meat of the Word. So goes the pleas  for Bible study. I would argue that I do not need more knowledge or greater understanding of deep truths, but rather greater obedience to the truths I know already. It is not an [...]

6 Questions for Intentional ABF’s

Great ABF’s don’t just happen, but are created by godly, praying, caring, authentic members. I read this quote recently and thought I’d throw a few questions for you all to think about. Hopefully some thought-provoking questions: Who have you intentionally sought to encourage this week? Are you praying for individuals in your ABF? More importantly, [...]

5 Ideas to Connect Your ABF Class

We make a BIG DEAL about our ADULT BIBLE FELLOWSHIPS. One of the ways to cultivate a “family feel” to your ABF is to connect outside of Sunday mornings. Here are five ways to encourage someone in your ABF: Ask someone if they have a prayer request that you can pray for them over the [...]

How to Prepare for a Sermon

God’s Word is powerful. The world was formed by the word of God (Heb 11:3). Souls are saved by the word of the Gospel (Rom 10:17). One day, Christ–the Word Himself–will judge the nations and establish His everlasting rule by the “sword” that comes out of his mouth (Rev 19:13-15). I’m thankful that our pastor [...]

Using Facebook for Ministry

An online virtual explosion has taken place since 2004. It’s called Facebook. It started for college students and then quickly included working professionals. It seems as if everybody has a Facebook account, including businesses, non-profits and even churches. Some criticize the waste of time that Facebook occupies, some enjoy connecting with old acquaintances, teens (and [...]

Adult Bible Fellowship & Discipleship

In a recent message Pastor Campbell mentioned four considerations on discipleship. These are thought-provoking and sobering statements about how we intend to disciple via our Adult Bible Fellowships.One other thought, just because we have decided that Adult Bible Fellowship is the tool that does not mean it automatically happens. ABF is the tool, but discipleship [...]

Philippians Memorization Project

Last Sunday night, I observed that we may be yielding less-than-awesome results from our efforts to teach kids the Bible, in part because we grown-ups aren’t taking the initiative to internalize the Word of God ourselves. In an effort to curtail this tendency, a few AWANA leaders and I are attempting to memorize the book [...]

Vegetables Are for Eating

“Eat your vegetables!” Most of us grew up hearing this command repeated multiple times throughout the course of an evening meal. Our parents ingrained in us the reality that vegetables are part of a healthy diet. If you’ve raised children in the last 10-15 years, however, you may have set your children down in front [...]

What Did You Learn at Church Today?

Each Sunday afternoon, thousands of kids across America blink nervously as they try to concoct an answer to this seemingly simple question. “Well, weren’t you listening?” Not that your kids usually have trouble finding things to say. You’re typically looking for ways to keep them quiet. But ask them what they’ve learned in Sunday School, [...]

Can Blogging Have a Spiritual Purpose?

I am writing to bring to you the purpose of Bethel Life. Six months ago I was not even thinking about posting an article on a blog or that we would even have a site like this. Now, here we are getting in sync with today’s communication. How did we get here and why are we doing this? I am being totally honest when I say that I have argued in my mind whether this is the best use of my time or if I am merely part of a fleeting, trendy fad. As our pastoral staff has discussed blogs and twittering I cannot escape the reality of how our communications have amazingly progressed over time. When I first began as a youth pastor…