Week 25 - Laurelwood Baptist Church

www.laurelwoodbc.com

Our visit this week took us both back to our Baptist roots having grown up in Southern and Conservative Baptist traditions. Laurelwood Baptist Church was comfortably familiar due to our upbringings, but the reality is except for the "Baptist" identifier in the name a visitor wouldn't notice much difference (if any) between LBC and the many "Community" churches in the area. We have noticed a trend for several years where some denominational churches have dropped the specific denomination from their name; our former church did so, unceremoniously, many years back.

LBC is in the middle of a major structural renovation of their main meeting space so they are temporarily using the foyer area. The space is large enough to handle seating for around 350 comfortably and this week was about 3/4 capacity. The main auditorium was closed off so we don't know what it is like. However, the temporary space was comfortable and well lit with plenty of natural light. We were surprised with how well the sound system was balanced for the space; the five member band's understated performance was a nice complement to the voices of the congregants. 

Attendance this week was made up of a broad cross section of ages. We were greeted by and engaged in conversation with a couple of older couples and we heard about active ministries with children and youth. During the announcement time several young people were brought forward and given an opportunity to share their recent experiences working with Christian Youth in Action, a ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship. 

The pastor was away with family to participate in a grandbaby dedication so the Children's Ministry Director shared the message. The passage he taught from was Psalm 8:3-8 and the topic was entitled Discovering Your Purpose in Life. He first reminded, and challenged, us to create space in our lives for reflection. This reflective space creates the opportunity to contemplate who God is and who we are as part of his creation (vs. 3-4). With that reflection we are better able to understand the position of "glory and honor" we have been given in his creation (v. 5). With this realization of our position we should begin to understand our greater purpose to "represent God's reign" (vs. 6-8).

After attending this week we were talking with some long-time friends about our visit only to discover that they had both grown up in the church and could attest to LBC's long and vibrant ministry in the community. We were warmly welcomed by several people and definitely felt a heart of service both within and without their community.