Upper Merion Sunday
On Sunday, Jeff spent the day with the Upper Merion Baptist Church, just up the hill from our ABC Mission Center in Valley Forge. During the Sunday School hour, Jeff met with the congregation to talk about vision and direction of the congregation.
Pastor Alan Selig, the church's interim, served as the worship leader.
Florence Li, a member of the church and Director of Asian Ministries for the ABC Home Mission Societies, did the moment of missions focused on the World Mission Offering.
The choir provided special music. Jeff preached. Following an invitation at the end of the service where many in the church came forward to pray, light refreshments including a cake were served to show appreciation to Pastor Alan for his pastoral leadership of the church during their period of transition.
After the appreciation time, Jeff met with the search committee to talk further and more fully about vision and direction and its impact on their search for a new seated pastor.
All around the church, everywhere you look, there are 6:49 slips of paper. They indicate the double daily time of prayer for the church by the church wherever they might be, a prayer practice Jeff has taught many churches to use.
6:49 was chosen because it represents the church's founding date (1849) in military time, as seen in the cornerstone of their original building when they were located in the nearby downtown area of Bridgeport before moving to their present location in the 1960's bringing the cornerstone with them and embedding it into the foundation of the new building.
During the appreciation time after worship, Jeff met Sherry. She is a real big prayer warrior. So much so, she goes regularly to the Valley Forge Casino, down the road from the church, and makes her way around the gambling floor, wearing a big, visible badge offering to pray with anyone about anything. Many people take her up on the offer.
Categories: General, Region Life ~ Date: 11/3/2016