Thank you for putting these online. I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to learn from Les’ teachings, even out here on the left coast. Thanks.

John Mitchell

That’s as many funerals as I might perform in a year in a church of our size.  On the one hand, it is sobering to confront dying and death so often in such a short period of time.  Death, the ultimate consequence of sin, is ugly.  On the other hand, I truly appreciate the opportunity it gives to proclaim that Christ has conquered death, and the end of our bodies in this life does not need to be the end of the story.

I believe God has given Beaver Baptist Church the privilege of being involved in his work at Lifeline.  We are called to join God in His mission to take the gospel to a perishing world, and that involves both showing and telling the gospel.  As disciples of Jesus we are to learn from Him by listening to His words and watching his deeds, then to go and imitate Him.  Both physical life and eternal life are gifts from God, and the gospel is meant to address both of these.  Let’s challenge our world to "choose life!"

1. Sunday school.  We could renew our adult Sunday school class.  This would have the advantage of being convenient, since people are going to be in church on Sunday mornings for the worship service. The disadvantage is that we would have to make a decision about children’s Sunday School.  We don’t have enough people to both teach children’s Sunday School and teach children’s church during the worship service.  We could eliminate the children’s church.  There are churches that advocate children remaining in the service with their parents. But the main reason we discontinued Sunday School was for the very purpose of having children’s church.  The idea is that newcomers with children will often expect some kind of childcare for their children.  Also, the sad fact is that often children are not able to sit through a service without fidgeting, talking, etc.
2. Sunday evening service.  We could renew our Sunday evening worship service.  A couple of years ago attendance had dropped and it did not seem a worthwhile use of time to continue.  A number of people indicated that they would attend a service on Sunday evening. Evening services are a tradition in many churches, and some believers see the evening service as an appropriate way spend the Lord’s Day.  Some members pointed out that a Sunday evening service worked when we did not have our church lunch after the morning service.  For many it would seem like going home after lunch, and then turning around to come back to the service. Another shortcoming of a Sunday evening service is that a Bible study is not the best way to introduce newcomers to our church if they visit and expect a typical Sunday evening service.
3. A Study with the Wednesday Prayer Service.  Another possibility is to have some kind of teaching or study at our Wednesday service.   A disadvantage is that since we practice our Sunday service music and have a time of prayer, something would have to be taken away.  But the music practice could be moved to Sunday before the worship service.  And we could still have a time of singing.  An advantage is that we are not adding an activity on another day of the week.  Moreover, the prayer service is simply not well attended.  Apart from the worship team, few people attend regularly.  Having a study along with a time of prayer could make the time more meaningful and profitable and encourage people to attend.
4. A Bible Study on another evening.  We have had Bible studies on Thursday night, and Mondays and Tuesdays would also be possible days.  This would have the advantage of not affecting our services on Sunday and Wednesday. The disadvantage is that we are adding a program to another day of the week, making three days out of seven.  This makes it even harder for members to devote time to outreach.  Our philosophy of ministry is to keep things simple, and avoid multiplying programs.  We would rather have fewer programs, and a greater level of participation in the programs we offer.

All of the options have good and bad points.  And perhaps some people will be disappointed that their preferred option wasn’t chosen.  But we were were never promised that being a disciple of Jesus Christ would be convenient or to our liking.