#1: Curse or Blessing?
I was struck by these words from two simple verses in my reading this week from the book of Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 17:5 – “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind”
Jeremiah 17:7 – “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord”
The nation of Israel had become infamous for abandoning their God. Because of this they experienced the curses of the Lord instead of His blessing, as God had promised them in Deuteronomy 28. But even as Christians we often struggle with ignoring God and instead putting our trust in other people or even ourselves. So I appreciate reminders such as these, from Jeremiah 17, to constantly place my trust in the Lord and enjoy His blessing.
Challenge: As you think about your own life, would you be willing to email me your answer to these questions? What is one way in which you are tempted to trust in mankind AND one way in which you are attempting to trust in the Lord. (my email: randy@bridgebible.church)
#2: Staff Highlight: Tammy Werth
Have you ever met a person who LOVES numbers? Have you ever met a person who loves numbers and LOVES Jesus too? Tammy Werth is such a person.
She is the Business Manager of The Bridge, and without her our church would be in a lot of trouble. Almost every number that is used to make sure that The Bridge operates with integrity and efficiency was determined by, or calculated by, or recorded by… Tammy. And she loves it!
But Tammy also loves Jesus. She is always using her gifts to serve others in various ministries at The Bridge. From Children’s Ministry to Youth Ministry to College and Young Adult Ministry to Women’s Ministry to Life Groups and even to World Missions – Tammy just cannot stop serving the Body of Christ.
Some of you know about our very own mission agency, Shepherding the Nations. Tammy has been an integral part of that ministry since its inception in 2007 – traveling on mission trips to India and even teaching the ladies there, whom she also loves! Why does Tammy serve in all these ways? Because She loves Jesus!
So… the next time you see Tammy at church, give her a big hug and thank her for all she does to make this place a better place for us to gather together and Worship Jesus! Especially if you don’t love numbers.
#3: Not Enough Numbers?
Speaking of loving numbers, some of you (who also love numbers) may have wished that we had presented more numbers to describe the financial position of The Bridge at our recent Annual Meeting during the worship service. If you’re one of those people (we know you’re out there), then I have some good news for you. Tammy Werth has some very detailed financial reports that we can make available to any member of The Bridge. (If you don’t know who Tammy is, then you should go back and read #2)
If you would like a copy of these more detailed reports, please feel free to request them from Tammy via email (tammy@bridgebible.church). And if after reading those reports you have questions about any of the details in them, please feel free to come and speak to me.
#4: Vietnamese Alliance Church of San Fernando Valley
On September 28th, Lord willing, we will no longer own the building and the home located at 18558 Gault Street, sometimes referred to as the Amigo Annex (on the Southwest corner of Amigo & Gault). A local Vietnamese church has purchased this property from us and escrow is due to close on that date. The Bridge will happily receive approximately $1.7 million from the proceeds of this sale.
The elders are praising the Lord for these funds and for what they will allow us to do to maintain and upgrade our main campus at 18644 Sherman Way. We are also praising God for allowing us to sell the property to a like-minded evangelical church that is committed to reaching the Vietnamese people in our valley.
#5: Aarhus Bibelkirke
No, that is not a typo! That is the Danish name of our newest church plant located in the city of Aarhus, in the country of Denmark, led by our very own Mika Kaltoft. Susan and I will have the amazing privilege of going in person to visit the Kaltofts and this “baby church” next month. After flying to Copenhagen on Oct 17th, and arriving in Aarhus by train the following day, we will stay with the Kaltofts for about a week. Susan will be teaching the ladies on Saturday, Oct 22nd, and I will have the honor of preaching in their church on Sunday!
We will take lots of pictures and can’t wait to share our stories (which may involve local pastries) with you when we return home. Please pray for us and for this wonderful new church in the city of Aarhus. They need Jesus!
#6: Bad Guys Beware!
In Matt 10:16, Jesus told his disciples “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.” The elders believe there is a principle in these words for us as shepherds of all who come to worship the Lord on our campus. We know that there are people out there who may seek to do us harm as we meet on this campus. We have all seen such things happen around the world in recent days.
For this reason, we have a security team led by Tim Leinen that serves to guard against such attacks. To better help our security team, we are installing a new security video camera system with more than 60 cameras positioned all over the campus. These cameras will allow the team to be better prepared to identify and respond to any potential threats to our people, to you, and your family.
We always trust God in these things. And we ask that you please pray that God will continue to allow us to worship Him on this campus in safety. And pray that He will use Tim and the whole security team to help keep our campus safe and secure.
If you would like to help serve on the security team please contact Tim at tleinen52@gmail.com.
#7: Pastor/Elder Retreat
Last Friday and Saturday the Elder and Pastoral Staff went to Oxnard for a short time of retreat. Our goal was to seek the Lord together, asking Him to unite us in mission and purpose as we serve the Body of Christ at The Bridge.
After dinner together on Friday, we had a wonderful time of prayer and worship. On Saturday, we started with a “Bible Binge” – a time of filling our minds with scripture. For the next 6+ hours Pastor Tom led us through an exercise he calls S.W.O.T. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). This was a great time of evaluation and discussion about the ministry of The Bridge. Interspersed with the all-day discussion, we had a number of other times of prayer and singing – Pastor Jeff on his guitar, and Pastor Steve keeping us in tune.
All in all, it was a refreshing time for us to seek the Lord’s face as one. It reminded me of the special words we see from our parking lot every Sunday, painted at the top of the Worship Center – “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!” God is so good to us!
Want to know more about our discussion? In the near future we will be sharing more details with you about all of this.
#8: Food Pantry Closing
After over a year and a half of fruitful ministry, we have decided to close our pantry ministry. Susan and the pantry volunteers are so grateful for the support of our body in giving, working and ministering to those in need. As part of God’s ministry here at The Bridge, we were so blessed to see many people served through the pantry, both our church families and our missionaries. However, a number of factors have led us to this decision:
- The usage of the pantry has waned dramatically over the last 6 months. We are so grateful that our TBBF families are not in need.
- The families that have had needs in their food budgets have been better served through grocery gift cards.
- The pantry room will be needed for another ministry very soon.
Our transition: We have used the rest of the funds that we have left in our account to purchase grocery gift cards. These will continue to be available to our TBBF families and missionaries through the benevolence team.
We appreciate the pantry staff and feel that the Lord has enriched our church through this ministry. The Lord is pleased when we begin to learn the compassionate heart of Jesus and show it to our brothers and sisters by meeting their needs. Thank you again to those of you who supported this ministry!
#9: Why Check-in?
Every Sunday we ask and remind each person to either check-in to the Church Center App, or to fill out the Connection Card located in the seat pockets. On average, 50% of you do this. Our desire and goal is that 100% of you would do this each Sunday. Why is this important you may ask? There are a number of reasons, but please consider this.
If we have learned anything from the pandemic, it was this. It’s very hard to know who is coming to the church and who is not. Why is this important for us to know? Because, as elders and pastors we are told in Heb. 13:17 that we are going to give an account someday, to the Lord, for the souls of those who are under our care – those who are part of The Bridge.
This is why it is critically important for us to know, at a minimum, who is here and who is not. And when you check-in using the Church Center App, or fill out the Connection Card, you are simply letting us know that you are here. Then we have a team of people who are able to follow up with anyone who has been missing for four weeks or more. Why do we follow up? Because we care! And because Jesus wants us to!
So please, follow the Lord’s instruction in Hebrews 13:17 and make our jobs easier as we seek to love, care for, and protect you and your family in the Lord. Please let us know each week that you are here.
If you need help with the Church Center App, or the connection card, please let me know. Thank you!
#10: Seasons of Sorrow
I still remember reading this blog article written by one of my favorite Christian authors, Tim Challies, on November 3rd 2020. I was shocked, saddened and grieved by what he wrote. Ultimately, Tim Challies turned his story into a book that was recently published called “Seasons of Sorrow.” Yesterday, Pastor Paul referred to this book at the Memorial Service for Steven Brightwell (son of Mark and Sylvia Brightwell). While I have not yet read the book, I am really looking forward to reading it. I expect that it will become a great encouragement for those who grieve.
Here is how Tim Challies describes his book:
“Seasons of Sorrow” is an honest look at grief and fears, faith and hope. Combining personal narrative, sound theology, and the best writing I am capable of, this is a book for anyone who has loved and lost.
On November 3, 2020, Aileen and I received the shocking news that our son Nick had died. A twenty-year-old student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, he had been participating in a school activity with his fiancée, sister, and friends, when he fell unconscious and collapsed to the ground.
Neither students nor a passing doctor nor paramedics were able to revive him. We received the news at our home in Toronto and immediately departed for Louisville to be together as a family. While on the plane, I began to process my loss through writing. In “Seasons of Sorrow,” I share real-time reflections from the first year of grief—through the seasons from fall to summer—introducing readers to what I describe as the “ministry of sorrow.”
It is my sincere hope that “Seasons of Sorrow” will benefit both those that are working through sorrow or those comforting others:
- See how God is sovereign over loss and that he is good in loss
- Discover how you can pass through times of grief while keeping your faith
- Learn how biblical doctrine can work itself out even in life’s most difficult situations
- Understand how it is possible to love God more after loss than you loved him before”
May the Lord use this book to bring comfort to many who grieve in this life while holding onto the sure hope of the next.
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That’s all for the September 2022 edition of “Pastor Randy’s Top 10 Things You May Not Know.” Please let me know if you ever have any questions about The Bridge, or if there is anything you would like me to include in my monthly article.
Have a GREAT Month!
Pastor Randy