Dare2Serve 2018

Sign-ups and information for our 2018 Summer Dare2Serve Trips are now available! Check-out our Dare2Serve Trips page to read up on what we will be doing this summer. Don't miss out! 

High School Winter Retreat - January 19-21

What is the High School Winter Retreat @ The Castle?
One weekend of fun, friends, and Jesus from 5:30pm, January 19 to 4:00pm on Sunday, January 21.

Why Should I go?

It is one of THE BEST ways to build relationships with other students and especially your small group and leaders! It is a great time to get away from the regular rhythms of life to have fun and seek Jesus together! AND THERE IS NOTHING LIKE THE CASTLE!

Where is the High School Winter Retreat?

The Castle. A retreat center in Franklin, PA. Check out their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/lifeministriesinc/).

How much does it cost?

$65. But scholarships are available! 

How do we get there?

We will be taking a Coach Bus this year! Be prepared to ride in style. There may be a late van coming up Saturday if you have a conflict on Friday night!

What should I bring?

Definitely a sleeping bag or bedding, your Bible, and warm clothing as well of a few other things. Full packing list is available on the registration form!

I have some more questions...

Contact Stacey at scasey@bereanfamily.com or Pastor Phil at pastorphil@bereanfamily.com

How to I sign-up?

• Fill-out and hand-in a Registration Form with payment (Click Here to Print Form)
• Fill-out and hand-in a Consent and Release From (Click Here)

*Forms and payment can be turned in in-person or mailed to:

Berean Baptist Church
ATTN: Stacey Casey
2145 Middle Bellville Rd
Mansfield, OH 44904

#SURGEisBack Competition

#SURGEisBack Competition Instructions

1.Post a creative picture/video on Facebook or Instagram that shows your excitement about SURGE starting up again!

2.“#SURGEisBack” must be part of post

3.Tag @WeBeSURGE for bonus points

*Winner of $50 Gift Card will be announced Sep 6 @ SURGE Kickoff

Haiti Thoughts - Katie

Some devotional thoughts of reflection from one of the students on our Haiti mission trip.

The everyday mission is a concept that I've really become passionate about. Reaching out into my community of friends, family, and others with whom I already have a relationship and sharing Jesus is my definition of everyday mission. 

        The past few months I've been working to find a way to do this well. I think it's slightly funny that God has chosen to teach me how to serve at home on an international mission trip. In Haiti God has been teaching me to love him in everyday life. The issue is when I allow my everyday life to become mundane. I get caught in the routine of things and forget that I can glorify God with the "unimportant" things. God wants me to be filled with passion. I can receive this passion through a growing relationship with him. God has been teaching me to seek this.

   Lastly God has been teaching me that He is the leader. This is a simple truth, but I struggle to remember. I often get ahead of things by thinking "what if I screw up God's plan?" Or " what can I do to be more like Christ?". The issue with these thoughts are that they are about me. I lose sight of who God is. God is mighty, loving, and big. When I let God lead and place my absolute trust in him He uses that in ways I could never believe. He turns the boring things of life into opportunities to serve, glorify, and exalt His name. 

    God wants me to serve and seek Him now. Whether I'm in Haiti or Mansfield the call is the same. When we are in Christ, we are to run hard after God in his strength.  

Haiti Thoughts - Isaac

A Brief devotional thought from one of the students on our Haiti mission trip. 

I'm tired. We're all tired. That's just what happens in Haiti. You get tired. You spend your whole morning and most of your afternoon, almost 5 hours, working on either construction, which is physically taxing, or teaching, which is mentally taxing. I've done both, and they are equally difficult, in different ways. 

This year, I am on construction, and God is teaching me one of the more difficult lessons to learn: I can't do it on my own. How did he teach me this? Well, my first two days, my job was to scrape the building. It's concrete, so the paint won't go on very well unless we scrape the bumps off of the building. It was me and my Haitian friend, Leekou. He took the ladder and went up high with the scraper. I went low, but we only had one scraper. So I used a pickaxe head. 

We spent hours scraping away on the walls, and we finally finished. I was so happy to be done. But then, I realized that we hadn't done the inside. In total, we spent 10 hours scraping the walls, and when we were done, my arms were dead. But all the way through, I just kept praying "Lord, let me finish this strong. Let me work to the best of my ability." And it worked. I could've never done that on my own. And when we were done, I thought "finally, I can relax." Except for one tiny detail: VBS. We still had to run the camp. 

So I prayed again. Time and time again this week the Lord has given me energy. I've been exhausted. But through my exhaustion, the Lord has been strong. 

This reminds me of second Corinthians 12:9, where Jesus tells us "'my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect through your weakness.'" 

So trust in him, because if you trust in yourself, it all falls apart. But if you trust in Jesus, it all falls into place.