Church profile: Abundant Life Christian Center

It has been a privilege to interview several dozen pastors from my county this past year to write a series of stories for the Bluffton News-Banner newspaper about their churches. This is one story that is unusual-- the pastor preaches in 2 churches in different places each Sunday a.m.! His wife is an evangelist also.... Continue Reading →

Liberty Center Baptist Church: From Surviving to Thriving

In a change from my regular format of posting a devo each Sunday I’m posting a story about a local church in my area that I wrote for the Bluffton News-Banner with permission of the editor. Each week for the past year I’ve been blessed to interview a different pastor in my county. The stories... Continue Reading →

Steven Curtis Chapman, Chris Tomlin, Twila Paris Share Views of Contemporary Christian Music

  “Contemporary Christian music lacks depth. The words repeat too many times.”   “I don’t like contemporary Christian music at all. It’s too fast and too loud.”   “Contemporary Christian music is all I listen to and I listen to a lot of different artists.”   ** If there is one subject the evangelistic Church... Continue Reading →

Small Churches Offer Opportunities to Love Jesus

    Climbing big steps to enter a brick building through heavy wooden doors may not sound like something a five-year-old would enjoy, but I couldn’t wait to go inside!   My Sunday school teacher, Miss Winnie, had big teeth, lots of white hair, and a funny voice that sounded like she spoke through a... Continue Reading →

Appearance Isn’t Everything in God’s Eyes

I work in a public middle school library. We begin classes tomorrow. I wanted to promote a devo here that had something to do with school/reading. This devo about the origins of a famous book /author seemed appropriate. Besides the message of the devo think about this – God inspired this author to create beauty... Continue Reading →

Forgiveness Is Possible

    I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness. Zechariah 8:8 When Peggy’s missionary husband was killed by a Philippine jeepney, she grieved. In the Philippines the person who causes a death... Continue Reading →

Wake Up with Hope

Awake, my glory!Awake, harp and lyre!I will awaken the dawn.Psalm 57:8 Photo by Dave Reusser. Do you feel full of gratitude upon awaking in the morning or do you wonder how you will get through the day? My friend, Shirley, didn’t like hearing the birds sing in the morning. She knew if birds were singing, she had gotten drunk... Continue Reading →

Are You Bold Enough to Reach Out for God?

‘Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.’ (Philippians 2:4, New American Standard Bible) Paul gripped the jail cell’s window bars and looked outside despairingly. He hadn’t meant to get caught selling cocaine. Now he was in prison for who knows how long. He had been... Continue Reading →

What Heavenly Ramparts Are in Your Life?

“Consider her ramparts; go through her palaces that you may tell it to the next generation.” Ps. 48:13 In biblical times the best cities were built on hills for protection. The city’s inhabitants strengthened their defenses by building a wall, or rampart, around the city. Marauders would have to ascend the steep hillside and pass... Continue Reading →

Pastor Lenny Stringer Preaches While Working Full-Time

“This church has a big heart to see people come to know Christ,” said Lenny Stringer, pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Bluffton. “As a congregation, we want to care for people and build them as believers in God.” Stringer grew up in Seville, Ohio, near Cleveland. With training at Baptist Bible College in Springfield,... Continue Reading →

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