Three Months in and Easter is HERE!

We are now three months into the merger of Heritage Baptist Church and Grace Baptist Church. Here are some quick thoughts on what we’ve learned:

• Never discount the potential of an ‘older’ congregation. The men and women of Grace have just absolutely gone above and beyond in bringing things together. We’re all still feeling each other out and testing tolerances, but we have seen people working together on everything and anything.
• Leadership in community (i.e. elder ‘rule’) rocks. Having many different perspectives is perhaps not as ‘decisive’ as some pastors like to be, but it is far more thoughtful and when we bring stuff to the church, it has been thought and prayed through by more than one person. I love it.
• Having fun together is still one of the best ‘team building’ activities a church can do. Yesterday, we had lunch with two couples – one from Grace and one from Heritage – and I laughed so hard I almost puked. The best way to get to know people is to spend time with them and just be yourself. They talked; we talked. It was great.
• Easter is something absolutely awesome. We’re getting ready for Easter, and let me tell you, our church is JAZZED. We’re planning on having over 100 folks. We’ve gotten coverage from the Union-Leader and the Telegraph. And even the reporters seemed excited about what is happening.
• Naming a merged congregation is HARD WORK! We’ve been through literally hundreds of suggestions, and it is hard to embody the nature of our congregation. At our next elders’ meeting, we’re going to be making a ‘short list’ for the congregation, and we’ve got a few likely candidates, but wow is this hard.

Here is the logo for one of the suggested name: Faith Walk Fellowship. What do you think?