Dealing Great Commissioners

This past Sunday @ BPC was great! We welcomed 2 second time guests & 1 first time guest to our service. We are grateful & so excited that God has chosen to send to BPC REAL people every week for the past 16 weeks to check us out!

Before the message we all played a game. Remember Monty Hall? He used to play a game with the audience (who was usually dressed in attention getting costumes) at the end of “Let’s Make a Deal” Monty would ask them to show him…a penny, book of matches, band-aid, etc. The person who produced that item 1st won $$. Well BPCers were not dressed in attention costumes but did receive a candy bar if they had the item asked for. The purpose of that…everyone should “Get in the Game.”

The last message in our “Get in the Game” series was entitled “Great Commissioners”. Great Commissioners understand that…it’s all about Jesus, know that eternity is at stake & are to be people magnets, not stone throwers. They share Christ through their God given personalities, know that when we die it’s either going to be 1 of 2 places & meet REAL people the way Jesus did, right where they are with Grace then Truth. I love this quote from Andy Stanley’s book “Communicating for a Change”. “People who were nothing like Jesus…liked Jesus.”

At the end of the service I invited everyone forward into their Great Commissioner destiny & challenged them to “Get in the Game” both personally & through our Outreach event in August called “CityReach.”

BTW: Let’s make a deal. Does anyone have on them a buffalo head nickel?

still more BPC Outdr Svc & Picnic pics

even more BPC Outdr Svc & Picnic pics

more BPC Outdr Svc & Pincic pics

BPC Outdr Svc & Picnic pics

BPC 1st Annual Outdoor Service & Picnic

Yesterday BPC held its first annual outdoor service & picnic @ Riverview Park along the Allegheny River in Tarentum! God was all over our service & blessed us with 12 first time guests plus a perfectly sunny and cool day. It was fantastic worshipping Him outside among the blue sky, water, grass & trees.

After worship I introduced BPC & myself to our neighborhood guests inviting everyone to join us on Sunday mornings at the James 5:16 Center. P. Cal & I then team taught a message Psalm 139:1-12. I explained God knows us intimately, surrounds us, keeps His righteous right hand on us & never lets us go no matter where we are. In other words…He’s got our number…in a very special way.
P. Cal then told one of his famous stories. It seems he was once was asked the following question by a child. “If Jesus is holding onto us with His right hand, what’s He doing with his left?” Holding onto the Father? Wow! It all comes back to the cross, doesn’t it? I then gave an invitation to receive Christ & 3 people came forward! As P. Cal awarded the object bag prize I talked to & prayed with those accepting Christ. (I told you God was all over our service).

Then the feasting began and what a feast it was! Thanks so much to everyone who brought something to share, to Debbie & Kathy for putting it all together and to all the guys who helped set up. It was all worth it! (more pics to come)

BPC Outdoor Service & Picnic

This Sunday, June 22nd @ 11am, BPC will be having an outdoor service & picnic at Riverview Park. The park is located on 1st Ave. in Tarentum. (directions: drive towards the Tarentum bridge, take the 1st Ave. exit, drive along 1st Ave., the park is on the right. Look for the stage)

We’re very excited out this event! Everyone & anyone is invited to join us for fabulous music, insight into God’s word and…an incredible story from Pastor Cal. That’s right… P. Cal & I will be team teaching the message. At the end of the service there will be an awesome object bag prize!

Then the feasting begins! BPC will provide the main meal & drinks. If you can, please bring a side dish or a salad & a desert to share. If you can’t or have just run out of time to go get something…no sweat! Please come anyway & come hungry, there will be plenty of food. Riverview Park has picnic benches, a playground area as well as a kiddie pool.

Weather.com is predicting for Sunday a high of 74 with an isolated thunderstorm, 30% chance of rain. So it’s a GO! (If by chance…I hate to even say it…it’s raining really hard, we’ll have the service & picnic at 10AM @ our usual every Sunday morning meeting place, the James 5:16 Center located @ 301 W. 7th Ave.) Call 412.596.5599 for info.

It’s gonna B a Gr8 morning. CU in the park!

Big News - Francie "411"

For my first announcement…
I’m so excited to tell you that my beautiful, wonderful wife and partner in life & ministry France, has started her very own blog; http://www.franciekrowitz.blogspot.com/ Francie titled her blog “411” - for an explanation read her first entry.

Now for my second announcement…
Francie is also on Facebook! If you’re into Facebook add her as one of your friends.

I’m sure there will always be something interesting to read & see on either sight.

Congratulations & welcome to the blogging & Facebook world. I love You!

"Professor Kelp, Mike Brady & Father's Day @ BPC

BPC’s Father's Day service was just great! We opened with kickin' praise & worship. (last weeks message in our "Get in the Game" series was on P & W so everyone had a fresh understanding & participated. BTW: our drummer Ron was with us…did I mention he played drums for the 70’s band “Wild Cherry”. Type that into Youtube & you’ll see Ron on the drums…Big Hair! Their song, “Play that Funky Music White Boy” will be featured in the up coming Mike Myer movie “The Love Guru”. According to Ron, the song lives on.)

During the service we welcomed 2 guests & honored 20 Dads giving each one a useful gift (a small utility knife) just to say “thanks” for being Dad. We continued our series "GITG" with a message on Leadership. (leading as a Dad, in life & in the Kingdom). I challenged each guy to “Stay Sharp & Be a Cut Above” by following God, influencing others for God, staying connected to God & guarding themselves against drifting away from God. At the end of the service we prayed a blessing over all the Dads & every guy who came forward.

We also hosted Pastor Cullen & Shelly Allen. Cullen is the Youth Director @ APC & shared with us the vision of the MCM Ministry School that’s starting there in the fall. The school is for anyone passionate about the future God has for them in ministry and reaching a city for Christ. For more info go to http://www.mcmministryschool.com/

But what does “Professor Kelp & Mike Brady” have to do with anything I’ve written so far? Well, it was great to have Cullen & Shelly in our service. Francie & I have known them since they became the youth pastors @ APC in 1996. Our kids went through their youth ministry & we’re greatful for their investment in their lives as well as ours. I flashed on the screen the pic below of Cullen & myself from 10 years ago.

Before you “laugh so hard you're crying” here’s what up with this. Back in March of 98 while I was the JV 220 pastor, the Senior High & Jr. High ministries held an outreach. The theme for the Sr High svc was “The Brady Bunch” so P. Cullen dressed as Mike Brady. (don’t you just love the hair!!) The theme for the JR. High svc was “Nerd Night” so…the coolest Nerd I could think of was Jerry Lewis’s character Julius Kelp from his classic movie from 1963 “The Nutty Professor” so I dressed as Professor Kelp. Before the services, that night Francie took our picture. Was it all worth it? You bet it was! As I remember, combined we had over 350 students in attendance & many kids received Christ that night.

So, thanks Cullen & Shelly for coming to BPC Sunday & I hope you enjoyed our little trip down memory lane.

more pics of Community Care Day

An amazing Comm. Care Day and A/C Sunday @ BPC!

Community Care Day was amazing on Saturday! As a matter of fact I got an amazing email from a Tarentum resident…

Hi!
I can't tell you how wonderful it was to see people caring about our community! I just wanted to say thanks and how nice it is to see more worship of The Lord each Sunday!

Thanks again 2 everyone who made Comm. Care Day happen! It’s great to B part of a network of churches that cares and its great 2 know BPC is making an impact in Tarentum, especially since we’ve only been open for 13 weeks!

We hit the ground running on Sunday AM. Big news flash!!! We have air conditioning!!! A/C for the adults & for the Nursery/Preschool. (Jr. Church is already cool thanks 2 Pastor Cal & Donata) Many thanks to Jim & Larry for installing the A/C units on Friday & connecting them on Saturday. Everyone attending the service commented on the A/C & how comfortable it was.

We welcomed 5 first times guests & had a great time of Praise & Worship – the primary type of music/singing in church. We continued our series “Get in the Game” with a message entitled, “Why so much singing & music in Church?” After answering 3 questions about Praise & Worship; What is P&W, Why is P&W important & How do we engage in P&W, we practiced P&W & then I challenged each person to make Praise & Worship part of their daily lifestyle. Many felt a new refreshing & some even went a little deeper in P&W sensing the Holy Spirit in an exciting way. Thanks so much for the great comments regarding the message. After the service we all basked in the A/C, ahhh!!

This coming Sunday is Father Day and we have a gift 4 each Dad attending just 2 say thanks 4 being Dad. So, encourage Dad 2 come out for an hour & ½ on Sunday AM. He won't regret it.

Community Care Day

Thanks so much to everyone who came out to BridgePoint for Community Care Day on Saturday. APC's choir members, a men's group as well as BPCers teamed up braving the hot sun to make the James 5:16 Center & the area surrounding it look amazing. After painting, clearing the sidewalk & empty lots of weeds & brush we all went down to the pavilion on 6th St for a cookout.

When U do good - U feel good! When U feel good - U do good! Thanks 2 everyone 4 a great job!

Saturday June 7th 11am

Meet @ The James 5:16 Center @ 11am

Teams win championships!

We welcomed three 1st time guests this past Sunday @ BPC & the Holy Spirit was on the move! All we have to do is invite Him, be sensitive & listen to what He’s telling us.

During the first 2 songs as I was leading the praise & worship I felt an excitement radiating from the people. They were clapping together, singing & speaking out words of praise to God. Then we moved from praise into worship & that’s when we began to sing “a new song” to the Lord. (Some for the very first time!) There was no denying the Holy Spirit was in the gym!

During the song "Rescuer" I invited everyone to worship at the front. The seats emptied as people began lifting their hands singing, “You’re mighty and strong to save”! Tears were flowing from many faces. I then felt lead to give an invitation to receive Christ and after a few minutes we all prayed together. Following that I asked if there was anyone needing prayer for anything, particularly a physical touch. One person stepped up as did another & the entire congregation laid hands on each one as we cried out to God for them. We then ended by again speaking out words of praise to God. It was an amazing intimate time in God’s presence.

Then…during our announcements Jim B. gave an encouraging word from the Lord regarding “not to worry” & living out each day for the Lord as it comes. After that a young lady came to me crying & felt lead to testify. After being in an abusive relationship she decided to get out. She then fell into a time of deep depression & loneliness. It was during that time she felt God telling her that He was there & had not forgotten about her. The she said, “I know God is real. He was there for me & He’ll be there for you!” It’s about Connecting Real People to the Real God.

By that time I looked at the clock noticing that there was only 25 minutes remaining in the service & decided I’d better talk fast. We continued our series “Get in the Game” with a message entitled, “What is ministry?” Ministry; created, saved, called & commanded Christ followers working together to achieve God’s objective...to grow & advance the body of Christ. As John Maxwell says, Individuals play the game but teams win championships! And being on a team makes advancing the kingdom that much sweeter.

We ended the service by singing “God of this City” & challenging each person to “Get in the Game” by deciding on where to serve in ministry @ BPC and by coming out for Community Care Day this Saturday June 7th. It was just a great all around service!

Please pray for no rain on Saturday as we share the love of Jesus with Tarentum.