You may ask yourself What is the purpose of Central Bearden’s Blog? Well, we asked ourselves the same question!

In my opinion, the best explanation for our blog came from Nick Campbell. In a brainstorming session with church staff, he shared he saw the Informer, our weekly email newsletter, as the “nuts and bolts of Central Bearden – calendar quick-view, weekly giving and attendance, hospital, birth, and death announcements, etc. But the blog will be like our 10 o’clock news – showing the community how we are Christ-Centered and Community Focused.”

Our Vision

I took some time to check our ideas for the blog against our Vision Game Plan for the church. Here’s an overview of what you can look forward to on this blog and how it relates to our church’s vision!

Encountering God Through Worship

Central Bearden worships God individually and corporately. In and through worship, our community encounters the living Christ as Savior and Lord and is transformed by grace. Look for:

• Worship highlights and song stories for the multigenerational church
• Thoughts on the importance of sharing God’s Story in worship
• Prayer Guides
• Opportunities for sermon dialogue through letters from Wade as well as Q&A posts

Empowering Disciples to Deepen Their Relationship with God

Central Bearden empowers its members to develop a deepening, authentic relationship with God. Through its disciple-making culture and activities, our relationships with God lead to a natural and intentional expression of Christ’s command to go and make disciples. Look for:

• Devotionals
• Answering your questions – maybe you’re struggling with something in your faith, as a parent, or in a relationship; or maybe you’re just curious about something in scripture! We want to talk about those questions as a community.
• Sharing resources to empower and encourage all to live out, strengthen, and share their faith

Engaging Non-Believers Through Evangelism

Central Bearden lives out and shares faith in Jesus Christ by connecting with non-believers where they are, both within the church body and throughout the community. Recognizing that evangelism is personal to each member and unique to each setting and opportunity, all members learn how to engage their faith in everyday living. Look for:

• Our church speaking to events happening in the world
• Current Christians sharing stories of their faith

Energizing the Community Through Missions

Central Bearden exists to help build a great city for all people through a movement of the gospel that brings personal conversion, community formation, social justice, and cultural renewal to Knoxville and the world. This is best accomplished by working together as a church and with the larger body of Christ locally, nationally, and internationally. Look for:

• Sharing stories of mission projects
• Missionaries sharing their stories
• Celebrating community outreach events through photos and stories

We hope you are as excited as we are about the future of this blog. Have other ideas? Let us know below in the comments!