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One of the major goals of our youth ministry at BCC is to help encourage and equip parents as they build into their kids. This is very important to us as we believe parents, rather than the youth ministry, are the ones given, equipped, and called by God to be the instruments of growth and discipleship in the lives of the kids in our church. We also believe the chief way anyone is grown in the Lord after their salvation is through the regular input of God's Word into their life and heart. All that said, if you are a parent, grandparent, neighbor to kids, or even wanting to just help grow yourself in a better understanding of God and His Word, here are a few resources I would recommend you looking into… The Bible Project's "Read Scripture" Plan The Bible Project has gone through and created a reading plan to take you through the whole Bible. Along with the plan, they've made easy to follow videos outlining each book of the Bible and some of the major themes...

I’d like for you to give some thought to what the Bible has to say to you about discipleship. I know you’re busy, so I’ll make this brief and to the point so that when you have some quiet time in the next few days, you can come back to this and think thru these points with Bible in hand to consider the magnitude and practical nature of this subject. 1.     Discipleship is not an option, this was his last command to His followers. If you say you are a Christian, your responsibility is to be involved in making disciples. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  (Matt. 28:18-20) The Greek word mathetes, (to be a learner...

Images like the one above of Hurricane Irma are overwhelming. Add to it images of the wildfires in Montana, Harvey damage in Texas, and more and it causes us to ponder: What is God up to? The following post is from John Piper from 2012 and resonates with my soul as I ponder the circumstances above, the tornadoes of 2013 in central Illinois and the many other hard things of life. I hope it blesses you like it blessed me this week: www.desiringgod.org/articles/fierce-tornadoes-and-the-fingers-of-god Pastor Ben

There’s nothing novel about feeling pensive—to use the word a friend used to describe my reflections—as you turn 40. In fact, not only does writing this article feel like a cliché, it also feels a little bit too “Daniel-centric.” The word “I” is used too frequently, but hopefully that’s not a distraction. Those who are older than 40 and read this article might say, “How cute! It’s fun to see kids engage in introspection.” Those who are younger might say, “How cute! It’s fun to see old people engage in introspection.” Whatever stage of life you’re at, hopefully you’ll find this encouraging as you seek to pursue Christ and change by His grace. Several weeks ago, as I was praying about how I want God to change me this next decade, I wrote the following statement: I want my forties to be characterized by gentleness, thankfulness, and greater holiness as I seek to love God and others through my union with Christ. Here’s what I mean by that statement:      1.  ...