Sunday April 5th, 2015 marked our first Easter at Phoenix Bible Church. It was an amazing day where we saw 260 people come through our doors and 4 people celebrate new life in Jesus through baptism. The celebration continued after church with food trucks, a photo booth, egg hunt, and bounce houses. There are so many stories from the day, but here a few that stuck out:
Servant Hearts
So many people helped make this day happen. The prep started Thursday with band rehearsal, continued Friday night at “First Friday” downtown with our band playing music and volunteers handing out Easter flyers, and then Saturday evening a great crew began setting up for the day. Sunday morning, about 1000 eggs filled with candy showed up from our community groups for the Easter egg hunt. Our huge portable baptism tub was ready with water (only slightly cold!) and production made final tweaks for the service. A day like this, with so many moving parts is only possible because of incredible servant hearts that call PBC “home”. I am so thankful for our leaders, teams, and volunteers who love and serve Jesus and His church so faithfully.
Sense of Family
Anytime we have festivities after the service, the highlight for me is seeing people connect. The bounce houses, egg hunt, photo booth, and food trucks are awesome, but what’s even better is the relationships that are formed and deepened. “Core” people from PBC who have been with us from the beginning, people are who are just starting to connect, and people who joined us for the first time all came together over good food, good conversation, and a great time. Multiple people signed up for our men’s study, made plans to attend community groups, and got info about serving in the church. Our prayer is we continue to grow as a family who knows, loves, and supports one another in Christ.
New Life in Jesus
The best part about the day, without a doubt, was seeing people celebrate new life in Jesus through baptism. We had 3 planned baptisms including one child baptized by his parents, our graphic designer at PBC, and someone who just joined us in January. Every person has an incredible story and I am so thankful for what Jesus in doing in their lives! We also had one person baptized on the spot who was overwhelmed by the amazing, simple truth that Jesus, who went from death to life, brings us from death to life, only by his rich mercy. It was amazing to hear her story and I’m so thankful we got to celebrate this moment with her. So many people who observed the baptisms were incredibly moved by the Spirit at work, and were encouraged to continue declaring the good news of Jesus to our community and city.
Our young church is a picture of the unstoppable mission of Jesus worked out, in and through His people. Our first Easter was no different. I am so excited to see Jesus continue to grow and shape this family, by His grace, for His glory.
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