WHAT BRIDGES ARE WE BUILDING?

HOW IS THE BODY OF CHRIST COMING TOGETHER?

COMM-UNITY WORSHIP AND PRAYER 

All summer, every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday a denominationally and ethnically diverse group of folks has been gathering at Anderson Japanese Gardens for morning worship and prayer.  Every Tuesday at 7am, the Salvation Army has hosted a worship service, calling on a wide variety of speakers and musicians.  On Thursday, at 7am, Pilgrim Baptist Church did the same.  And every Wednesday at the same time, Bridge Ministries hosted a time for prayer.  While the worship services end the last week of September, the prayer continues, moving back to it's original site at the YMCA log lodge, still meeting 7- 8:30am. 

WEST MIDDLE SCHOOL

The Rockford Partners for Excellence continue to meet Tuesdays at West Middle school.  We are moving a bit slower so as to give our new principal a chance to get to know us and what we do.  Volunteers are needed.  We are still hoping for the formation of a prayer team specifically for West...  Lots of other initiatives as welll

YMCA

Lots of change in the YMCA these days as new CEO Mike Brown takes charge.  The major change for us is that he wants more of our time devoted to lifting up the "C" in the YMCA.  A job description is in place, and strategic plans being formulated.  We have presented Mike with a list of possible courses that could be offered at the Y that would nurture people's faith and better equip them for life and service.

CCDA

Tiffany will be joining the Rockford contingent at the CCDA conference in Indianapolis, October 12-16.  We continue to pursue the principles of Christian  community development locally with other like minded people.

RLR

September 30 is the next gathering for the Leadership roundtable.  We will again access where we are and what God is saying to us about our community.

MENTORING

Continuing with formal and informal ministry mentoring and disciple forming.  It is a real privilege to get to work with such great young leaders.

A WORD ON FINANCES

Is the glass half full or half empty?  We are doing better this year in monthly giving- it is up, almost doubled.  And we have received some major gifts recently that have allowed us to pay bills and some back salary.  However, we are still way behind in salary payments (though all other bills are caught up).  We knew expanding staff would be challenging.  It is.  It is also a great blessing, and we believe, obedient to God's plan for us.  Long range this will make us much more effective.  We just need some help right now, and are trusting that God is moving those who can help to do so- individuals, congregations, businesses.  How about you?

Understand, our vision goes beyond paying our bills.  We want to help other ministries flourish financially and otherwise.  We believe that one of the bridges we must build is between resources and needs.  Can you help? 

HELP NEEDED

To help us keep our expenses even lower, we could use volunteer help (calling, data entry, web site managing, etc.) If you can help, call 815-637-1754, or email us at bridmin@aol.com and let us know!

PRAYER EVENTS 

Here are several prayer activities we find ourselves engaged in as a mission:

- On site prayer is a way of praying for key community locations on a regular basis by a small group of people who have a particular burden for that place. It could be a school, a seat of government, a hospital. We are looking for those who can be part of a team, or even head one up, at one of these important sites. What if you or your congregation adopted such a site that is near to your location? What if you adopted for prayer the alderman that serves your location?

-  Every Wednesday community prayer is held at the Log Lodge of the YMCA from 7 to 8:30am

- Prayer walking, biking or driving the community. We continue to encourage those who would to weekly pray for the neighborhood they live in and or work in, the office where they work, the school they attend, etc., until every bit of our community is covered in prayer in an on-going basis.

- House of Prayer- We support the efforts of the Rock River House of Prayer, and others attempting to ensure 24-7 prayer coverage for our area

- Concerts of prayer- these happen three times a year, augmented by gatherings known as Greater Rockford in Prayer and Praise in the other months of the year.

For information on any of these, call our office or email us.

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IDEAS?

Maybe you have an idea for a ministry to meet a real need. Want to share it? Chances are, there are others to whom God has given the same vision. We would love to try and help you flesh out your vision, and put you in touch with these others that share it. Let us know.

MINISTRY SUMMARY

Some of our supporters want a brief summary of what we are doing in hard copy. Should you be interested, just let us know. We try to fly under the radar, but we are happy to let people know what we are up to.