Hello Bethany Bible Church
I am getting ready to give my first official message as the Teaching Pastor at Bethany Bible Church on Sunday July 11 and find myself getting excited about the new adventure. It’s not often that you get to have a “fresh start” somewhere and rethink where you would want to begin. Now that I have that opportunity, I’ve decided that we will start with a four part series on the Church from Ephesians 5. Usually that passage of Scripture is used to teach exclusively about the marriage relationship between a husband and his wife, but if we look closely, the real message behind those instructions is the relationship between Jesus and His bride, the Church.
I consider this study to be foundational for us in so many ways because understanding and appreciating the supernatural relationship between Christ and His Church is fundamental to building any ministry upward and outward. So, I’m looking at this new series as a foundational series which will provide the groundwork for our first book study. On August 8 we will be launching into a verse by verse study of the book of Colossians, which is a gospel-centric letter with a high premium on applicable truth. For that reason, I am calling the series “Truth”, which will be a week to week unpacking of veritable Scriptures about Jesus, salvation, wisdom, forgiveness, legalism, life, etc.
Coinciding with my start at Bethany Bible Church will be a structural change that should provide some convergence and continuity for the church. Starting on July 11, the two chapel services will be combined and moved into the Worship Center, which will enable the Hispanic congregation to move into the Chapel and bring the two English speaking congregations together. The main worship service times will be 9 am and 11 am, with a 45 minute interlude in between for body life and program transition. The 9 am service will be traditional for those who prefer choir and more hymns than praise songs, and the 11 am service will be contemporary for those who connect more with a worship band and high energy praise though the message will be the same in both services.
Those who come will also notice some modifications to the Worship Center that will include maximizing the foyer area by turning it into a cafe and gathering place for people to come together before and after the worship services. Our hope is that this large enclosed space will become a bustling hang out for people to connect relationally with one another on Sundays. We want to make Bethany Bible Church a relationally driven congregation that fosters close knit friendships between families and individuals, and this is just one of the things we hope to do to accomplish that.
If you are presently unconnected to a church family and live anywhere near the Central Corridor, then consider this an invitation to join us for this new season at Bethany Bible Church starting on July 11. BBC is located at 6060 N. 7th Avenue in Phoenix, and the campus is physically located on the west side of 7th Ave. one block north of Bethany Home Road. With its central location proximate to downtown Phoenix between the I-17 and SR-51 freeways, the church is accessible from all parts of the Valley.
As for the ethos of the church, our hope is to become a strategic and integrated part of the urban renewal happening in downtown Phoenix, reaching out to the diverse community of people living around the church and creating innovative ministry that will connect to the increasingly urban culture in the area. At BBC we will be “re-imagining” how to reach out in our ministry context and doing a lot of “forward thinking” about how to best leverage our growing influence in the community.
Our hope is to preserve the rich heritage and reputation of Bethany Bible Church but also renew its relevance and influence in the ever-changing culture of the city. We want to continue the tradition of church planting that has defined BBC over the years but also explore new and unconventional forms that will thrive in these shifting times. We also want to partner more effectively with other churches and ministries locally to regain our voice in the culture and expand God’s kingdom in our city through the ministries of mercy, justice and compassion.
I personally believe that the urban centers in our country like Phoenix are strategic starting places to begin large scale spiritual renewal and that Bethany Bible Church is well positioned for this kind of change in our city. Therefore, I am eager to see who God assembles together for this purpose and anticipate what He is going to do through BBC in the months and years to come. So, hello Bethany Bible Church…and hold on tight!
Kent,
I’m really excited to see how God is going to use you and your family at BBC! I really believe God has orchestrated everything together in such a way that BBC will be in a position of influence to our city unlike ever before. I’m so glad you’re joining the BBC family and I can’t wait to hear the upcoming series (sadly I missed last week’s because I was camping). It’ll be refreshing to do a book study rather than topical study; it’s been a long time since we’ve had one of those! Glad to have you, and know that we’re praying for you and your family.
-Scott
Scott, thank you! I am excited to be at Bethany Bible Church and also believe that we are strategically located to make a big difference in the heart of Phoenix. I’m glad to be here and am thrilled about how enthusiastic people are to get into our first book study. We start Colossians on August 8, and I can’t wait! See you on Sunday!
Hi Kent,
Looking forward to reading about your new adventures at your new church…
I was just wondering if you plan on posting your four part study on the church and your book study on Colossians – on your blog?
kind regards
Helen
Thanks, Helen! I will post some ministry developments soon. As for the teaching series, I didn’t plan on posting my messages on my blog but will likely post some related articles as I teach through the books. If you’d like to download the messages, you can visit http://www.bethanybiblechurch.org and they should be available there.