“Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us.” 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Joint worship service
Grace Baptist Church of Sunset Beach in Pasadena, Maryland, will have an online joint worship service with Uplift Through The Word Ministries at 10:30 a.m. on June 7, broadcasting from Grace Baptist. Pastor Gordon Fox explained that Uplift Through the Word is a predominantly African-American church that has been sharing facilities with the primarily Anglo congregation at Grace for the past few months.
“The themes for the service will be love and reconciliation and will encourage Christians to be extenders of the love and reconciliation shown to us through Christ,” Fox shared.
Both pastors will share greetings, musicians from each church will lead songs of worship and there will be a time of joint prayer for peace and reconciliation — all done, Fox said, as a show of solidarity and love.
Maurice Cornwell, the pastor of Uplift Through the Word, and Fox will both share a short message.
Community outreach
College Parkway Baptist Church in Arnold, Maryland, offers online Bible bedtime stories every Sunday night featuring “Rufus,” a fun-loving puppet who shares the lessons, as well as some laughs.
The church also has “Coffee Hour” on Zoom at 9 a.m. on Saturdays. It’s a chance to enjoy coffee together and just chat a bit.
Members of Pleasant Valley Baptist Church, in Rohrersville, Maryland, were busy during quarantine making sock masks. They distributed the masks throughout several locations along with information about the church and encouragement that “God loves you.”
The church also has an active food bank.
Covenant Church in Shepherdstown,West Virginia, had been serving pre-packaged meals on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at the church and at two local apartment complexes. They also had a blood drive on May 11.
History highlights
In 1797, Second Baptist Church of Baltimore began a Sunday School, reported to be one of the first to use the Bible as its only textbook and with all volunteer teachers (BCM/D history highlights).
Children at First Church, Easton, collected nine-volt batteries and donated them to the Easton fire company to give to needy families in Talbot County (BaptistLife, 2008, Association life).
In 2009, The North American Mission Board’s Strategic Focus City “Embrace Baltimore” ended, and “Embrace Wilmington”, led by Mitch Dowell, began.
Quotable quotes
“In prayer, it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart,” John Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress.
“To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here,” Johnathan Edwards.
“Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened,” Billy Graham.