This whole move to a new building has gotten some of us here in the office into a state of remembrance of things past. We're planning a special service dedicated to people here at Grace who have walked the road over the last 10 years. Whether they've been a part of Grace for a month, or a part of Grace for 9 years, we want to thank them all for being a part of our history before a building. We've been gathering ancient Grace artifacts in hopes of capturing them on a video presentation during the special service.
The first discovery is our introductory bulletin on Sunday, March 2, 1997. This was about two years before I began attending Grace. The first thing to note is the difference in name. We were known then as "Grace Baptist Church". The name change came later for various reasons (mainly the immediate assumptions many unchurched people draw from the word Baptist.)
When you turn the bulletin over, you can see a note on the back to all who may have attended the inaugural service. It reads "CAUTION: This may be the last bulletin you read before the Rapture". Clever idea, but just wouldn't pass our visitor friendly tests nowadays. Makes the rapture sound like an event to be scared of not to mention the first thought an unchurched person might have of "What is a rapture?" Two years later, under the wise direction of our leadership, we made a change and it read "Rejoice!! This may be the last bulletin you read before the Rapture." Much more pleasing to "rejoice" rather than "beware". But...it still wouldn't pass our unchurched smell test nowadays.
It's fun to have a look back and see how you have grown as an individual and as a church. Our leadership is always looking for the best ways to successfully impact people for Christ. This one sentence change on a bulletin signifies a greater change and risk our pastors took in seeing that vision of outreach become a reality. Thanks all you Grace pastors who were constantly hammered for removing a word from the name of our church, to changing from traditional worship to rock/contemporary worship, from suit wearing to casual "be who you are" dress. You guys took many shots for me with music...thanks guys!
"Grace Baptist Church" 1996-2001. R.I.P.
Recent Comments