Let me start by apologizing if you were expecting my Top 10 article last month. When I was due to deliver the article, I was busy riding a train from Copenhagen to Aarhus, Denmark! Susan and I were en route to a visit with our very own Kaltoft family, and their new church family, Aarhus Bibelkierke. More about that at the bottom!
This month’s Top 10 is going to focus on the amazing campus that the Lord has provided to all of us at The Bridge.
- Investment – As the year comes to an end, I’m sure that, like me, you will receive endless emails and other types of solicitations to give towards this charity or that one – “Giving Tuesday?” But as you consider how to make year-end investments for the Lord, I am going to suggest that you consider giving to the upcoming development projects that, Lord willing, are going to be happening on our campus here at The Bridge!
- Around the Corner – At the annual church meeting we had a few months ago, you may remember that Pastor Paul showed some powerpoint slides indicating various options that the elders are considering for dramatic property improvement. While we are not quite ready to show you the plan for moving forward with such improvements, we are working hard to finalize such plans. And we are hoping to have something very exciting to communicate, in much more detail, just “around the corner” in early 2023.
- Geoff Beckwith – Some of you may know him. For many years, Geoff Beckwith was the Executive Pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Santa Clarita. He has recently retired and has been looking for opportunities to use his extensive experience in managing church property development projects in order to help other churches. If you have ever visited the campus at Grace Baptist you have seen and experienced their beautiful facility, and Geoff was largely responsible for overseeing their vision and implementation. In recent months, we have been meeting with Geoff and he has agreed to GIFT us with his time and expertise in order to assist us with, what we believe, is the Lord’s vision for our campus! What an amazing blessing!
- 70 Years Ago – Most who attended The Bridge 70 years ago are now in heaven, enjoying pleasures unimagined. These blessed saints invested in the property and buildings that we enjoy every week. God used them to pursue a vision that allowed this local body to impact countless people for Christ here in the San Fernando Valley. And now they are experiencing eternal fruit from their labor and sacrifice.
- 70 Years From Now – What will this place look like in the year 2090? Only the Lord knows. Hopefully, He will have returned by then and we will all be enjoying worshiping Him in the Millennial Kingdom. But even if He has not yet come back, most of us will not be here! We will join those saints from 70 years ago! Wouldn’t it be great if the people who are here in 2090 are able to appreciate what we, in our generation, have left for them? It is our hope that we would leave them a beautiful place for people to come and learn about Jesus. We want to continue the legacy where our campus is recognized as a place where the light of the Gospel is lived out by all who meet there. And that legacy, of course, is all by His grace and for the glory of Jesus Christ!!
- Millions – To improve the effectiveness of our campus, which as we know is very old and not always the most efficient at accomplishing our task of making disciples, is going to cost millions of dollars. How many millions? We’re not sure yet. This is part of what Geoff is going to help us determine. And unfortunately in the past couple of years the costs of construction, like everything else, have risen considerably. While the term “millions” may conjure fears that such a project is a mountain too high to climb, we believe that if the Lord is in this, it certainly is not! We have and will continue to seek the Lord for His will and trust in His provisions for all these things. And we are excited to pursue such lofty goals as ONE congregation, working together, which leads to the next item…
- Gratitude – I speak for the elders when I say to all of you who have contributed your resources to the Lord for the functioning of His church, we are grateful to YOU! Over the years, especially the recent years, in spite of many people moving away, in spite of so many graduations to heaven, in spite of all the financial challenges of the pandemic, The Bridge has consistently been able to meet its significant financial obligations, and continue full speed ahead with pursuing the mission! This is largely due to the faithfulness of so many of you in your sacrificial giving as the Lord has directed you. Because of this we have also had the means to purchase the last home on our block…
- 7141 Amigo Ave – Not only does The Bridge now own this home, but the previous owner has now moved out and is in the process of clearing all of his possessions off of the property. The house has some work that needs to be done, such as electrical wiring and a new roof, but it is actually in pretty good shape. There is a large garage/work room on the back side. In the weeks ahead, Geoff Beckwith will also be helping us to determine how we are able to use this home as part of our master plan. Praise the Lord for allowing us to expand our property with such a great additional place of residence!
- Vietnamese Church – There is a new like-minded church that has purchased and is now meeting in the old Amigo Building. We are excited about the opportunities they will have to reach the Vietnamese people of the Valley for Christ! We are also looking forward to developing a great relationship with them so that we are able to help one another in our community. Please pray for them to flourish in their new location!
- Land of Bicycles – Finally, I want to tell you a little bit about our trip to Denmark, and our visit to our most recent church plant. We flew from LAX to Copenhagen, which we soon learned has the 2nd largest population of “bicycles” in the world. They even have traffic lights specifically for the bikes! Some estimate that more than 60% of the people in Copenhagen commute to work on bikes! Anyway, what does this have to do with our new church plant? Nothing. It was just fascinating for Susan and I to experience.
We took a 3-hour train ride from Copenhagen to Aarhus, which is where Mika and Fabi live and where the church is located. It is the 2nd largest city in Denmark. They are meeting in a small, rented, facility in downtown Aarhus. This baby congregation, which first met in August, already has 20+ adults (all under 40) and 27+ kids (all under 12). Susan and I were able to meet and spend significant time getting to know almost all of them. I cannot tell you how blessed we felt to experience the love of Christ and the connection we instantly had with all of them, simply because we all love Jesus! I would write a lot more about these people, this new church, and the opportunity they have in Aarhus, but I will save that for our Missions Sunday in January, where Susan and I will make a little presentation during our Worship Service. But let me just conclude by saying thank you to the Missions Team at The Bridge, and to our new friends at Biblical Ministry Worldwide (the Kaltoft’s missions organization), for allowing Susan and I to go and for God’s new work in Denmark.
That’s all for November! I’m thankful to be home and thankful for all of you!
All because of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Pastor Randy