This was a return visit to Big Spring. We were last there about 5 years ago. The church has been through a lot in the intervening years, including the tragic death of a young pastor due to cancer. They expressed the love of God to Shane Brue’s family in remarkable ways, exemplifying what it means to be the Body of Christ. (For more on this, see the blog on this page for March 2008.)
Felicia and I greatly enjoyed worshiping with this congregation.
The stories were well received. In the last couple of years we have moved to a total storytelling format that has created a great deal of interest in the churches.
We have seen increased attendance and more people at the altar.
Sharon Wiese is doing a great job as pastor. I don’t know of anyone who has a more loving and gentle spirit than Sharon. We had a great time working with her. She did keep us busy!
In addition to a pretty hefty speaking schedule in the church, she also worked with the public school system who provided open doors to speak in two schools.
Bible Quest was well received. The boys and girls had a blast. We even had a good group on the night the circus came to town.
The church had a bus go out and bring children in for BibleQuest. They even had adults who would “adopt” a visiting child and have them sit with them during the worship after BibleQuest.
This church has really made outreach to the children of Big Spring a priority. Their children’s director, Joyce Willis, is offering leadership in this area that is making a difference.
We caught the excitement of one little girl who won two of the BibleQuest medals. She was a kindergartner who memorized the most verses in her age group and also brought the most friends to BibleQuest.
There were a total of three medals won in BibleQuest this week.
We are looking forward to setting up a return visit to Big Spring in 2013. Until then, we will pray for one another and the work of the Kingdom He calls us all to fulfill.