Hi All,

With a church the size of Buffalo Covenant, we have many, many activities happening here all the time. A fair question one might ask is, "How many of these many activities, is the church expecting me to be involved in?" Obviously, no one can participate in everything we have to offer. There are too many choices. If you tried to be involved in all of them, you would experience 'too much of a good thing' and probably burn out or break down. So then, in which activities should one participate? The perfect answer for you will have to be determined between you and the Lord, but perhaps I can share a couple of guidelines. 

We have a lot of things happening here this Fall and they are provided to enhance your Christian life, not confuse it. So if I was a doctor and had to prescribe for you a prescription for spiritual health it would be this: One Daily + Three Weekly.

One Daily = One Daily Devotional Time 

The most important part of your life is your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Nothing can substitute for that. You must focus on Jesus each and every day for spiritual health. This means reading your Bible and praying. No amount of church attendance or service can ever substitute for a vibrant and growing relationship with Jesus which is re-established each and every day through personal devotions.

The church cannot do this for you; this is totally your responsibility.  The church can help you with the next three however.

Three Weekly = Worship + Group Life + Service

1. WORSHIP:  For maximum spiritual health, I would encourage you to pursue regular weekly worship with other Christians. Your soul needs this chance to gather and worship with other Christians, soul-to-soul in worship.
2. GROUP LIFE: Next you need to be involved in a weekly group. It could be a small group; it could be a ministry team (if you take time to pray for one another). But it needs to be a place where you can connect heart-to-heart with other people. You need someone to care for you, and you need to care for others. That is what small groups are for. I hope that you are in one.
3. SERVICE: For spiritual health, you also need a place to serve Jesus. He has given you spiritual gifts (Romans 12; 1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4:11-12) to use for His glory. I hope you are using them. Service gives you that chance. You cannot do everything, but you can at least do one thing for Jesus. So you need to be shoulder-to-shoulder with other Christians serving Jesus.

So, there it is: Soul-to-soul, heart-to-heart, and shoulder-to-shoulder with other Christians for maximum spiritual health. 

If you pursue these three expectations from God for your life: to worship Him, to love others in His name, and to serve Jesus, you will be on your way to spiritual health.

And so, the way this relates to BCC is that although there are many activities, you need to decide which of them will give you this balanced spiritual life experience outlined above.  If you do your Daily Devotions, then you can avail yourself of the various ministries here to get your weekly dose of Worship, Service, and Group Life.

Yours for a healthy Body of Christ at BCC!

Pastor Bill