Stories around the Bonfire
After several fake springs our fellow Iowegians have become accustomed to, you’re probably ready for the real thing. I sure am! I love the warmth that spring brings and the beauty and freshness of seeing trees and flowers starting to blossom. But spring is equally important in my mind because it ushers in the start of another season, the bonfire season. Those early bonfires of spring are the best as the warmth of the fire guards against the coolness of the night. And with bonfires always come great stories… and great story tellers.
Bonfires bring out the best of conversation, deep discussions, and stories. Some of those stories are funny and some are serious. All stories have the possibility of making an impact on those listening.
The same is true of our testimonies of faith. Each faith story is powerful and has the possibility of impacting others. But when I was younger, I didn’t believe that. I grew up in the church and never had a “powerful” testimony. To be honest, my story felt somewhat boring from the perspective of a “church kid.” I had a good friend in High School, who had what I thought at the time was a powerful story. My friend’s story was filled with traumatic events, and his profession of faith led to serious life change throughout High School.
After working with students for 25 years, I clearly see that I was wrong in thinking that my faith story was not compelling. It’s powerful because in His perfect timing, God intersected my life. Every testimony matters, and every faith story that has helped shape who you’ve become as a disciple of Jesus matters.
This past January, at our annual meeting, we unanimously passed an exciting goal to collect and share 150 stories of faith from those connected to SRBC.
We have been very encouraged by those who have shared and will share their stories on Sunday mornings. But we also want to collect your stories via writing as well. The parameters for sharing a story are pretty wide open, but here are a few different ideas you may find helpful:
Story Idea #1 - Your testimony of becoming a Christ follower. This doesn't have to necessarily be tied to SRBC, but just a chance to share your story of becoming a Christian.
Story Idea #2 - A story (stories) of a person, ministry, or specific experience (mission trips, volunteer opportunity, etc.) that you had at SRBC AND how that person, ministry, or experience impacted your faith development.
Story Idea #3 - A short story, in general, of how SRBC has impacted your faith formation (whether you've been a part of SRBC for a year or your entire life).
We hope that each person (students and adults) connected to our church will consider sharing at least one story, no matter the length, and include how that story played a part in your salvation or faith formation.
The simplest way to share your story is to go to www.steamboatbaptist.org and click on the button on the homepage that says, "Share Your Story." This will take you directly to the Google form. A direct link to the Google Form can be found here: https://forms.gle/kGBsw7NygkGLBhht9
We would also ask if you would pass this information along to those who were connected to SRBC in the past but have since moved away. These stories will no doubt bring great encouragement for the people of SRBC and help us celebrate God's faithfulness over 150 years!
Blessings,
Pastor Bryce
