|
Valley Grande Baptist Church 48 County Road 16 Valley Grande, AL 36701
Phone:334-874-6657 Fax:334-874-6658
Welcome to Valley Grande Baptist Church online!
Greetings in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ! We are located in the beautiful new town of Valley Grande, Alabama at the corner of Highway 22 East and County Road 16. We appreciate your visit to our website and hope you will find it to be informative. Hopefully you will catch a glimpse of the heart of VGBC and the vision we have to reach our community with the love of our Savior. If you have questions about anything you see here, or have suggestions for improving our site please drop us a line at valleygrandebc@valleygrande.org
Schedule of Services
Sundays
9:00 am Morning Worship
10:15 am Sunday School
11:00 am Radio Broadcast WDXX-FM100
2:00 pm Outreach Visitation
5:00 pm Evening Worship & Prayer Time
Wednesdays
10:00 am Morning Prayer Service
5:00 pm Wednesday Night Supper (By reservations only)
5:30 pm Children's Choir
6:15 pm Children's Activities
6:00 pm Youth Bible Study
6:00 pm Adult Choir Rehearsal
6:00 pm Adult Discipleship
The Basic Tasks of God's Church
Valley Grande Baptist Church has several basic tasks that we are supposed to accomplish because we are a community of followers of Jesus Christ. Every follower of Christ is called not only to follow Christ but also to serve Christ through a group of others who share our commitment Christ. That is what the church is. In Matthew 16, Jesus asked an important question, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter spoke up and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus affirmed that Peter had not discovered who he was but that God had revealed it to him. Then Jesus said that he would build his "church" on the basis of Peter's confession of who he believed that Jesus was.
This is one of the few instances in the New Testament that Jesus used the word "church" for those who were follow him. What did Jesus mean by his "church?"
First, the word that we translate "church" comes from a Greek word that literally means "the called out ones." Jesus has called each of us out of the world and called us to learn from him so that we can become like him. The church consists of those who have felt the call of God to leave their old life and its perspective and let him give us a new life that looks at life from God's perspectives.
Churches usually have a lot of different activities but there are six things that every church must do to remain true to our calling to be a community of faith for those who have been called to follow Jesus. Every church is called to worship God, to study God's Word, to teach (disciple) those who follow Christ, to serve (minister to) people in Christ's name, to fellowship (share our lives) with other followers of Christ, and to spread the good news of God's love in Christ to people in our community and around the world. Any community of faith that does not attempt to do all of these tasks that Christ committed to his followers is not a complete church.
Worship happens when God's people experience the presence of God in their lives and respond to God's presence with gratitude and obedience. Worship is the responsibility of every Christian. Although every Christian is called to have a time of personal worship each day, our most important task is to worship God together as God's people. That experience binds us to God and to one another and gives us the strength to accomplish the other tasks that God gives to us.
The second task of Christ's church is Bible study. of course, god expects us to study the Bible on our own but as important as individual Bible study is for our spiritual growth, corporate Bible study with God's people is even more important. It is more important because God speaks to us not only through his written Word, the Bible, but also as we support and encourage each other as a community of faith. Understanding God's will for our lives comes through studying God's Word, through getting wise counsel from trusted Christian friends, and through prayer. When we join together with Christian brothers and sisters to study God's Word, we have two of the three ingredients that are necessary to understand and do God's will.
The third task that Christ gives his church is teaching or discipling those who are followers of Christ. Once we become followers of Christ, God's purpose for our lives is that we become like Jesus. Although we can never completely be like Jesus while we live in this world, becoming like Jesus is God's goal for our lives. Living like Christ is a difficult task. Bible study gives us the general principles that we need to understand God and his will. Making disciples requires churches to apply the principles of God's Word to the culture in which we live so that we can better know what choices we need to make to remain faithful to Christ.
The fourth task of a church is to minister or serve people in the name of Jesus. God expects that our faith will affect not only our relationship with him but also our relationship with others. When we follow Christ, we must serve others because that is what Jesus said that he came to do. Ministry or service to others, both those in the church and those outside the church, is essential to becoming like Jesus. Jesus was a servant to all those he met. On the night before he was crucified, he washed his disciples feet to demonstrate to them that he was a king who came to serve. If we want to follow him, we too, must find ways to serve others in his name.
Another task of a church is fellowshipping with other believers. Many people have different ideas about what fellowship is. However, the word for fellowship in the New Testament is koinonia. This word literally means "sharing together." Fellowship in a church is much more than being friendly with other believers. It is also more than just sharing a meal together. Fellowship means praying for one another and standing with one another through the good and bad of life. Fellowship means that we not only share time together but also that we share our resources together as needs arise.
A final task that God gives to every church is spreading the good news of God's love at home and around the world. Jesus said, "Go and make disciples of all nations..." Making disciples requires telling those who are not yet followers of Christ about God's love that was seen most clearly in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. A church accomplishes this task at home by sharing Christ with those who live around us. A church accomplishes this task around the world by praying, giving and going so that God's good news can be heard by people all over the world. Sharing the good news gives hope to those who are living with out any real hope.
Only as we worship, study God's Word, teach others to become like Jesus, minister to others, fellowship with each other and share the good news of God's love can VGBC become the church that god wants us to be and the north Dallas County needs. How are we doing? How are you helping or hindering VGBC to accomplish the tasks that Christ has given to us?
The Selma Baptist Association
presents
Worshipfest 2012
Sunday, January 29
6:00 p.m.
Our host church this year is
Freedom Baptist Church
1910 Summerfield Rd
Make plans now to join us!
We are looking forward to worshiping together.
10th Open Buddy Bass Tournament
Saturday, April 28
First Safe Light until 3:00 p.m.
Pre-Tournament Safety Meeting
Friday, April 27
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Guest Speaker: Jay Wolf
For more information, contact the church office, 334-874-6657
|
|
