Why?
Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make THE Block Party a huge success! We're leaving up the content below in case anyone wonders why we would do something like this.
Why on earth is First Baptist Church Richmond Hill (FBCRH) having a Halloween party? I thought that kind of stuff was anti-Christian.
THE Block Party is not a Halloween party, but yes, we are purposely putting it near Halloween. Honestly, we would have put it on Halloween again, except this year it falls on a Friday, when families go to high school football games. This is a time when our community is interested in special events of this nature, so this is when we are doing it.
The missions statement of FBCRH says that we exist to love God and love people through lifestyle development and demonstration. We do that by providing environments where people can Encounter God, Experience Community, and Express the Christ Life. Not everything we do will hit all of the 3 E's, but everything we do will hit at least one of them. THE Block Party is an enviroment where FBCRH gets to show our personality (i.e. Express the Christ Life) and demonstrate in a non-threatening environment (Experience Community) how much fun it is to be part of God's family.
Okay, WWJD - What would Jesus do? Are we honoring God with a party in a parking lot?
We think so, or we wouldn't be doing it. Yes, it's clear in the Bible that Jesus was about making disciples, but he did that by investing himself in people, and he didn't seem to do that simply as a means to an end. ("One more in the Book of Life. Check. Moving on ... ") No! His relationships were with real people - flawed people just like us - in whom he saw innate value. And he went to where they were. Weddings, tax collector's houses, wells. Today maybe even a parking lot.
Being who we are.
It's no shock that church or "organized religion" is not always painted in a good light - often with good reason, but know this; we're not trying to be something we're not with THE Block Party. We want to show who we are. We believe that Jesus was and is the Savior of the world and that it is only through him that we can know God. (We can know God!) We also believe the life he demonstrated was the best way to live - full of grace and full of truth all at the same time. We believe that though we are not going to hit that mark perfectly this side of heaven, we want to share that relationship with other people. We want them to know our Jesus, because he is truly remarkable.
THE Block Party is simply an avenue to show who we are in Christ.
No gimicks. No bait and switch. God doesn't need them. We think the Holy Spirit is powerful and attractive enough to draw people to himself when we simply get out of the way and let him. When Jesus does that, we will be ready to love, nurture, and guide to the best of our abilities, but we're letting the Holy Spirit drive.
That's why.
Questions?
Call the church at (912) 756-2196 or
to email, click here.