Our BCM/D Family, February 23
February is almost over, and spring is around the corner. Do you have unique Easter/Resurrection Day outreaches and ministries? Send us your news, events and photos. Email [email protected].
A New Way to Do Youth Group
First Baptist Church of Thurmont did not have a youth group until 2021, interestingly, when Covid cases were just beginning to decline. So they started a group on Wednesdays, and Carissa Beard, Jay’s wife, led the group. Jay said, “It was on Wednesdays during our adult Bible study, and for a while, that was fine. But then, for a multitude of reasons, it began to get hard to get attendees on Wednesdays. We lost momentum, and other things came up, preventing the youth from coming. So, my wife and I began praying and thinking.
“We took a different angle. Instead of saying, ‘We’ve got a youth ministry, send your kids,’ we got to a place where we started asking, ‘How can we best minister to your youth?’ Instead of saying, ‘Come to us,’ we started saying, ‘We come to you.’ So, we switched it up.”
Jay said, “When we were in youth group years ago, you came on Wednesday nights. If you were a church kid, that‘s just what you did. But today, there are so many activities. Life is busy.” Through a series of discussions and putting out a few “feelers,” Jay said they decided to try meeting every other week after the church service on Sundays.
“They have lunch together, followed by a time of Bible study and other activities. It‘s working well. Less is more. Even though it‘s twice a month, students are there, and we can minister to them. It‘s just a little different,” Jay said. The new time opened the door for new youth to attend on Sundays and for kids who had not been attending for a while to return.
Carissa said, “Our youth group doubled our regular attendance the first Sunday, and this Sunday (February 18), we tripled our attendance from what Wednesday nights had been. I’m thrilled!”
Good Shepherd Ministries Anniversary
March will be a busy time at Good Shepherd Ministries, Capitol Heights. The congregation will celebrate its 23rd church anniversary on March 13-15 and Pastor Mark Roy, Sr.’s 12th pastoral anniversary on March 17.
Larry Hentz, the pastor of Freedom Way Baptist Church, will share on March 13; Byron Day, the pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church, on March 14; and Kenneth Thomas, the pastor of Johnson Memorial Baptist Church, Washington, DC, on March 15. All services start at 7 p.m.
The pastoral anniversary celebration will be at 10 a.m. on March 17, with guest preacher Barry N. Wade, Sr., the pastor of The Body of Christ Christian Church. The theme is “Just Wait!!”
Embrace Grace
LifeHouse Church, MOT, Townsend, DE, has kicked off a new program called “Embrace Grace,” a 12-week Bible study for single women who find themselves unexpectedly pregnant. The church emphasizes this is for all women, non-believers, and believers. The goal is to help the women understand they are not defined by sin but rather by their creator, who loves them and extends grace. It’s an opportunity to get to know them, pray for them, and connect them to Biblical principles through their pregnancy. The first session begins on March 6, from 6:30 – 8 p.m. Visit Embrace Grace for more information or email [email protected].
The Garden Church
ONE HOPE, a ministry of The Garden Church, Baltimore, will have its bi-annual ONE HOPE Conference on March 2. The Garden Church Pastor Joel Kurz said, “The ONE HOPE conference is focused on theology with urban ministry application.” The website describes the conference as striving for theological depth yet keeping it simple and accessible so that it is for theologians and lay people, church members and pastors, church planters and nonprofit workers, missionaries, mothers, youth, and neighbors.
This year’s theme is “In Christ Alone.” There is a $10 fee to cover the cost of lunch. Register online
Feature photo: First Baptist Church of Thurmont at ReBoot Camp at Skycroft. (Facebook photo used with permission)
