First Baptist Church of New Castle

Today we worshiped at First Baptist Church of New Castle, 984 W. Maitland Lane, New Castle, PA 16105, 724.658.2507, www.fbcnc.org, Mike Willmer, Lead Pastor.

 

Scripture – Matthew 28:16-20 NIV

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

Bob’s thoughts:

It took most of an hour to find the church we set out to visit and after discovering a conflicting name and GPS directions, we arrived at a church that was closed. Later we found it wasn’t the one we were looking for, or at least it wasn’t any more. Sometimes trusting church websites and GPS can make for interesting road trips.

During our search, we had passed this church and noticed cars in the parking lot. The service was outside with seating or in your car drive-in style; since we didn’t bring chairs, we opted to sit in the car. As it was, I got to talk to a delightful woman in the next car who answered my questions about the church, not the least of which was the name of the church to put on our check.

The church service was broadcast on FM, but we found we could hear well without it.

The outreach pastor gave the announcements, including an OK to use the restrooms in the main building and asked everyone to wear masks if we did.

I found some ushers in the parking lot where I could get bulletins and directions where to put our tithe.

The outreach pastor explained that they were completing their involvement in the Philippines and turning that mission over to City Church. Their new evangelical effort will be in Scotland; from what I have read a country where faith has all but disappeared.

The message today was from Matthew, Christ telling the disciples and others to go and make disciples of all mankind. You may not be called to a developing country to witness, but could be a nearby town, your street, the person sitting next to you in church. Evangelism is simply telling your story. Pray about it of course, but no need to rehearse a dialog beforehand. Tell your story…God will fill in the blanks.

I noticed the people trying to hold on to their Bibles and notebooks in the wind, but they were still focused on the message.

I was glad to be able to spend a few minutes with the pastor after the service.

My wife recently replaced her car and we are not as familiar with the range of this one. We ran out of gas somewhere on the turnpike, but with prayer we drove on to Cranberry to fill the tank with more than it’s supposed to hold. God has done things like this too many times for me to be surprised, just grateful.

 

Jan’s thoughts:

God still is in the business of redirecting us. Today we headed north for a church for which we later learned we had an incorrect address. However, we’d noticed this church in our driving around, and the timing was perfect, so we stayed.

This was our first parking lot worship service where we stayed in our car and tuned the radio to listen and it worked just fine. Many people sat in chairs closer to the front platform. The sound was excellent and the weather perfect.

Bob enjoyed a conversation with the woman in the car next to us who was there with her granddaughter, and a young man who was also visiting spoke with us briefly after the service.

Announcements included changes in plans for outreach, and one focuses on 20 Schemes, a Gospel church planting initiative taking place in Scotland where only 2.5% of the population is Christian. It’s an interesting project, and you can learn more by going to 20schemes.com.

Today’s message completed a 60-week series on the Book of Matthew and included the Great Commission. The pastor pointed out that this passage emphasizes three “all’s”: Jesus said ALL authority was given to Him, the apostles (and we) were commanded to go to ALL nations, and that He would be with us ALWAYS in going, baptizing, and teaching.

He addressed a current practice by many churches: events-based evangelism. This is where a church sponsors an event, invites the community, and provides an opportunity to talk about Jesus. He stated this method is not sinful, just misguided, because it lets the members “off the hook” and puts the pressure on the “professionals” to do all the talking. It counts on people coming to the church when Jesus’ command was to go to the people.

Baptizing and teaching are vital parts of the equation and to be included as well. He urged everyone to make disciples, do the necessary follow-up to help new disciples grow in their faith, and remember that Jesus promised to be with His people ALWAYS, even when we’re afraid we are.

 

Our prayer for this church:

Lord, we thank You for being faithful even when we are not. We pray strength for Your church that they may eagerly go forth in the promise of Your Presence. Amen.