Hi friends. You may recall where I left off in the last newsletter, remembering the BCM journey when Bethany Baptist set up BCM as a local sent missionary. I hope to bring us up to today in this writing.
Senior Pastor, Kevin Sauder of New Castle Bible Church, who previously was an Associate Pastor at Bethany Baptist, gave me my first opportunity to experience what it is like to be on staff. In 2017 BCM began serving as an intern of Biblical counseling. It was such a joy and privilege to see what it is to work inside a Church. At the end of 2017 I was also offered the position of part time Office Manager, for a short window of a few years to help a transition with a retiring Executive Pastor. The position required that Cara and I move membership to New Castle. This was a difficult move, but we knew it made sense. Today BCM serves as the part time Director of Biblical Counseling.
Pastor Kevin introduced me to Pastor Chad Nightingale, the Senior Pastor at Pekin Bible Church. Pastor Chad is also a certified Biblical Counselor and we immediately had a wonderful and exciting connection considering what God may have planned for Pekin Bible and other like-minded Churches ministering in the region. Pastor Chad then introduced me to Liberty Bible Church. Pastor Tom Zobrist and Pastor Tim Chally expressed much interest even in our first meeting. This was something they had already planned on doing, but a building expansion postponed the timing.
Harvest Bible Chapel-Monmouth was the next Church BCM began to serve. With Senior Pastor AJ Reynolds encouragement, one of their members went to the ACBC web site to find a Biblical Counselor. By our Lord’s divine providence even though there are a handful of certified counselors in the area, this counselee contacted me. I described to him that I only do counseling through the local Church and asked for permission to talk with Pastor AJ, and we scheduled a lunch together. We both praised God when we celebrated that the Church had been praying that the Lord would bring someone to help them bring to life Biblical counseling at the Church, Since they already had made a commitment to it as part of how they fulfill their mission to glorify God by making disciples who make disciples, God was at work again.
Next month BCM will host a dinner with about 50 people from the five Churches BCM all currently serves all going to Faith Church in Indiana. God is truly doing a great work and worthy of praise!
Mike Hanson
