Now that my wife and I have found a home at Branch Creek CC, we are determined to become more connected to our church community. We both have physical limitations so joining the church softball team was not going to happen. Praying first, we asked for God’s guidance to lead us in finding ways to connect. There are so many people here! Where could we start? Here are some ways that we have found extremely helpful in our walk towards connecting at the Creek.
Make a point to meet Jeb Shore (Pastor of Belong). Jeb’s amiable personality and knowledge of what’s available at Branch Creek is a fantastic resource for anyone looking to get involved. We attended the “Getting Connected “workshop. Here you can meet the pastors and key people of our church family. It’s where my wife and I found out about the Peach Festival, which sounded tasty.
The best part about Getting Connected is just realizing how the Holy Spirit is so visible in the smiles and friendly greetings we received here at BranchCreek. Everyone we asked for assistance has exuded grace and a genuine eagerness to help.
We checked out the Kiosks in the church lobby. These are managed by helpful volunteers. They each offer their own unique areas of interest. Here Jeb introduced my wife and me to Eugene and Martha Herold, the Peach Festival team leaders. We prayed with Martha the first night we met her; so I was confident my wife was in good hands. Martha assigned her to a manageable task, and she had a blast working in the festival’s balloon preparation room.
I also volunteered to help at the Peach Festival. This is where Eugene introduced me to Rich Childs, the festival parking team coordinator. As a parking, flag waving guy, I sat in on the logistical meeting with Rich and his team. There were Google satellite maps spread over a table with walkie-talkies and spirited discussion. It was here that Rich invited me to the Men’s Ministry breakfast. I very much enjoyed listening to Eric Holmquist, Men’s Ministry team leader. I highly recommend it to any man in the church community that is looking for some good Christian fellowship and more than decent French toast.
We joined a small group. Our “Simple Life” group leaders are Pastor chuck faber and his lovely wife Joanne. In this class we met twelve brothers and sisters in Christ. Our meetings start with a lunch and continue with Bible based suggestions on how to move closer to Christ in our lives. Rev 12:11 says “We overcome the enemy with the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimonies.” We have been blessed with some awesome testimonies shared by our group.
We joined a ministry. Sally Bishop, Pastor Craig’s wife, spoke with me after the Getting Connected workshop. She referred me to Bet Hambleton and the After Care Prayer Ministry. We have met Kathy Muldoon, Elizabeth Adeyi, and others through this ministry. Here we can offer to pray with and for those requesting it. What a joy it is to assist someone with prayer.
It’s been wonderful to meet all of these brothers and sisters in Christ. If I missed your name, I must apologize, but we have been overwhelmed with help “SIMPLY” by asking and offering the same.
Let me not forget Mike Allebach who gave me the opportunity to tell about our journey to and ways in which we are connecting with our Branch Creek Community Church family.
Gary Burkard
