Being Busy

I always find this time of year to be kind of funny.  Folks are going on vacations, travelling, and enjoying time with family.  The children are playing in the yard and block parties are in full swing.  Porter County Fair reminds us that harvest time is just around the corner, so even the farmers are waiting for the hard work of harvest season.  We, however, always seem to be quite busy this time of year and this year is no exception.

Porter County Fair and LIfe Bridge 2016! Go God!

What a service at the Fair!  We fretted some about the heat and God provided a wonderful breeze!  Awesome worship, a great message that has now been labeled “Porter County Fair Preachin’,” our portable coffee bar, and great activities for the kids!  It was wonderful to worship all together, to see friends we haven’t seen in a while, and to meet some new friends! 

Plan now to join us out at Central Park on Sunday August 7th at 10am!  All are welcome!

In the mean time, we hope to see everyone at Life Bridge this Sunday at 9 and 11am!

Check out some pics:

Operation Christmas Child

Currently Collecting:

Personal Items & School Supplies

Operation Christmas Child has been collecting personal items such as flip flops, tshirts, hair accessories, brushes/combs, etc.  We will continue to collect these items, but we are also watching as school supplies go on sale.  Therefore, if you see those great deals popping up on school supplies, feel free to donate these wonderful items as well!

Please keep in mind that we cannot ship any liquids… so no nail polish, liquid glue, poster paints… you get the idea!

Ongoing Events

Check out what is Happening at Life Bridge this week!

Let’s remember God @ the Porter County Fair

We finished our church service last week with a reminder that God’s world is much bigger than we often remember:

That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the LORD confused the people with different languages. In this way He scattered them all over the world. (Genesis 11:9 NLT)

Service at the Porter County Fair THIS SUNDAY 11AM!

Mark your calendars!

Join Life Bridge at the Porter County Fair on Sunday, July 24th at 11am.

Radio One Tent

Children’s Activities provided.

Plan now to attend and invite your friends!

Admission is free at this time, so come and stay as long as you want.  We look forward to seeing every one at the Fair.

(Regular services will not be held at Life Bridge Christian Church 1705 Laporte Ave.)

#WeRememberGod @Empower1More

As a part of your walk with God, we want to challenge you to remember Him as you are posting on social media.  How?  Simple.  As you post an image comment, or status, stop and reflect on God for a moment… Remember His role… His blessings… Give thanks and add #WeRememberGod.  Share it with Life Bridge by adding @Empower1More.

Turkeypalooza 2016

August 7, 2016

Central Park, Valparaiso

Raising Funds to Feed 1000 Families for Thanksgiving

Please join us for a fun filled, family friendly day to help feed people in need.  Admission To The Park is FREE!

Sunday Service with Life Bridge Christian Church 10:00am

Children’s Ministry Provided.

Operation Christmas Child

Currently Collecting:

Personal Items & School Supplies

Operation Christmas Child has been collecting personal items such as flip flops, tshirts, hair accessories, brushes/combs, etc.  We will continue to collect these items, but we are also watching as school supplies go on sale.  Therefore, if you see those great deals popping up on school supplies, feel free to donate these wonderful items as well!

Please keep in mind that we cannot ship any liquids… so no nail polish, liquid glue, poster paints… you get the idea!

Ongoing Events

Check out what is happening around Life Bridge this week!

#WeRememberGod @Empower1More

I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us. We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD, about His power and His mighty wonders. For He issued His laws to Jacob; He gave His instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them—even the children not yet born—and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting His glorious miracles and obeying His commands.  (Psalms 78:2-7 NLT)

As we go through this series, “Remember,” this passage reflects its heart.  We are looking at the Israelites who have left Egypt and are now wandering in the desert for 40 years because they have failed to trust God in the taking of the Promised Land.  They were preparing their kids to live in a new place without them… surrounded by strangers, even enemies.  What was important to pass along?  We find the answer in the first 5 books of the Bible.
What are you passing along to your kids?  How are you building a faith in Christ and sharing the wonders He has done in the past and the ones that He is doing today?

We want to be an encouragement to one another!  So take a picture when you remember God throughout your days. Post it on your favorite social media with the hashtag: #WeRememberGod.

Share it with Life Bridge by adding @Empower1More if you are on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest. Watch on Sundays for us to share ways that people are remembering God!

Here are some previews:

Christmas in July at Vagabond!

Saturday, July 16th, 2016 10am-2pm

Vagabond Cafe

Start your Christmas shopping early!  Bring a friend, stop in and have a Vagabond special coffee or tea, and browse the items for sale in support of those most in need in our community and around the world.

Service at the Porter County Fair Next Weekend!

Mark your calendars!

Join Life Bridge at the Porter County Fair on Sunday, July 24th at 11am. (Note time change.)

(Regular services will not be held at Life Bridge Christian Church 1705 Laporte Ave.)

Plan now to attend and invite your friends!

Welcome to the Family Kent Hillman & Jasmine Gasaway!!!

This weekend we had the pleasure of welcoming Kent Hillman and Jasmine Gasaway into the Family of God!  Both have been involved with the Student Ministry of Life Bridge, and have benefited from the relationships built there and activities such as MOVE.

Turkeypalooza 2016

August 7, 2016

Central Park, Valparaiso

Raising Funds to Feed 1000 Families for Thanksgiving

Please join us for a fun filled, family friendly day to help feed people in need.  Admission To The Park is FREE!

Sunday Service with Life Bridge Christian Church 10:00am

Children’s Ministry Provided.

#werememberGod

We were meeting this week with the Encounter God team at Life Bridge (that’s the team that plans for the weekend services) when I outlined what the lesson topics would be for the remainder of the series.  The series is entitled “Remember” and will be looking at the first five books of the Bible (The Pentateuch, or The Torah) from a specific perspective: Imagine being an Israelite parent teaching these stories to your children to prepare them for the Promised Land.

We started talking about ways we could encourage one another to remember God and pass our faith on to others, especially from generation to generation.  Frank (our worship minister) asked a question.  “Could we do something with those hashtags that the kids are always using?”  I just laughed inside.  A computer-geek idea came from the least geeky person on the team.  We all just looked at each other and then said, “We could do something like that.”  What a great idea.

So, let’s do it.  Let’s use a hashtag throughout this series to tell one another about times when we remember God.  The hashtag is, big surprise, #werememberGod.  For those of us who are not quite as tech-savvy as Frank, here’s how it works.

A hash-tag is simply the name for the pound # sign on your keyboard.  The pound sign followed by a word is considered a hashtag. Any time you make a post on your favorite social-media site, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest, you can add a hashtag in the comment before you post it.  So, whenever you post about something when you, your friends, your family, or your coworkers are remembering God, just add #werememberGod to the comment or post.  It’s that easy!

You can also tag people in these systems.  In most of them you simply type the @ character, followed by the name of the person you want to tag.  Life Bridge has accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.  Our account name is empower1more.  So, you can tag Life Bridge by typing “@empower1more.”

So, here are a few examples of how this might work:

Maybe you and your family just finished praying together before your meal.  You grab your phone, open Twitter, and tweet:

Me & the fam just prayed b4 eats. Hey @empower1more #werememberGod

Maybe you’re on vacation camping.  You’re on a walking trail when you have to stop and take a picture of the waterfall.  It’s beautiful.  Then, you tag save it to Instagram, tag empower1more, and comment:

Luvin the falls. #werememberGod

You’re surfing the web and find a Christian t-shirt that rocks.  You Pin it with the comment:

I’m gettin this one! @empower1more #werememberGod

You’re at small group Bible study and decide to take a group selfie.  Then you post it on Facebook, tag all your friends and say:

Hanging with my peeps at B-study. @empower1more #werememberGod

You get the idea.  Have fun with it.  Get your tech-savvy friends (like Frank) to help you with it.  More than all that, though…let’s remember God.

Circles Of Grace Dinner TONIGHT!

Friday, July 8th 6pm
Life Bridge Christian Church

Circles of Grace is a ministry out of Kouts Christian Church, which strives to serve the Hilltop community and those blessed by a meal on the second Friday of each month.

Join us as we work together with this ministry to reach out to our community. Come on down to enjoy dinner and build relationships with our neighbors!

What better way to make a difference for Christ… food and new friends!!

Celebrating CIY MOVE!

Seven of us attended CIY MOVE Conference for High School students at Milligan College in Johnson City, TN last week.  There were approximately 800 in attendance.  It was a week loaded with  fun, great teaching, moving worship, and meaningful conversations.

Throughout the week, we learned that Kingdom Workers are loved, rescued, united, changed, and sent.  It is hard to put into words the impact of weeks such as this… the opportunity to step out of everyday struggles, no electronics, connecting with people as we all strive to connect with God, conversations in a safe environment, unconditional love and encouragement… These weeks make an eternal impact.

Christmas in July at Vagabond!

Saturday, July 16th, 2016 10am-2pm

Vagabond Cafe

Start your Christmas shopping early!  Bring a friend, stop in and have a Vagabond special coffee or tea, and browse the items for sale in support of those most in need in our community and around the world.

Vagabond will hosting Lynne Jordan of Living Hope Ministries Today and Stripes for Christmas in July!  Lynne has a heart for encouraging others and helping them to discover (rediscover) their value in Christ through healing and restoration.  Her passion has led to Living Hope Ministries Today and Stripes.

While stopping by and meeting Lynne will certainly be a personal encouragement worth your time, this celebration is largely about reaching out to people in need around the world.  Stripes is a ministry that weaves rugs from upcycled t-shirts and sweaters and sells them for the purpose of supporting those in need around the world, such as She Is Safe and International Justice Mission.

Service at the Porter County Fair!

Mark your calendars!

Join Life Bridge at the Porter County Fair on Sunday, July 24th at 10am.

(Regular services will not be held at Life Bridge Christian Church 1705 Laporte Ave.)

Plan now to attend and invite your friends!

Ongoing Events

New! Vagabond Cafe!

Mondays –Wednesday 10am-6pm;
Thursday 10am-5pm
Friday-Saturday 10am-Midnight
(Some exception apply when Reserved events take place.)

Mondays

• Ministry Mondays 6:30-8pm meets to be purposeful in developing our serving skills and to coordinate ministry efforts. All are welcome.
• dIVe (Intentional Valparaiso) is a small group for post-High School and young adults from all over Northwest Indiana. They meet at Life Bridge Cafe on Mondays from 8:00pm-10ish. **Time Change

MOVE is HAPPENING!

High School Students are at Milligan College in Johnson City, TN this week for the MOVE Conference!

Our 5 students will be among 27,000 students visiting college campuses throughout the US. They are being challenged through intense, interactive worship, dynamic preaching, small group study and community building.  They are learning and worshipping together,  spending quality time together, and discovering ways that God will use them to impact the world.

The focus this year is 3 fold:

• We were designed for Good.
• We were made for a Purpose.
• We were created for Kingdom Work.

Operation Christmas Child

Currently Collecting: Personal Items (Hair brushes/combs, barrettes, flip flops, t-shirts, socks, etc)
Challenge: We have been challenged to add a WOW! element to our shoeboxes.  If you like to shop and scout for deals, maybe this is the thing for you!  Keep your eyes open for special ways to bless these children!
Ideas include: Soccer ball with pump, Stuffed animal, Toys (puppets, trucks, etc.), Doll (baby, Barbie, etc.), Musical instrument, Outfit, Shoes

Christmas in July @ Vagabond!

July 16th, 2016 10am-2pm

Vagabond Cafe

Start your Christmas shopping early!  Bring a friend, stop in and have a Vagabond special coffee or tea, and browse the items for sale in support of those most in need in our community and around the world.

Vagabond Cafe!

M-W 10am-6pm; Th 10am-5pm; Fri & Sat 10am-Midnight

Our coffee and other drinks are “pay-what-you’re-able.” This means when you walk in you will be offered a drink but not from behind a register. If you choose to donate there are recommended amounts but that is not at all an expectation. Donations are greatly appreciated to help cover our operating expenses but whatever we get beyond that is donated to one of our local ministry partners such as New Creation Men’s Shelter, Life Bridge Christian Church, and others who work directly with our local community offering help and care to those in need.

Vagabond is seeking people who have time to serve and desire to give back to the community.  If you would be interested in hosting Vagabond for a couple hours at a time, message them on Facebook or email at vagabondvalpo@gmail.com.

Ongoing Events

New! Vagabond Cafe!

Mondays –Wednesday 10am-6pm;
Thursday 10am-5pm
Friday-Saturday 10am-Midnight
(Some exception apply when Reserved events take place.)

Mondays

• Ministry Mondays 6:30-8pm meets to be purposeful in developing our serving skills and to coordinate ministry efforts. All are welcome.
• dIVe (Intentional Valparaiso) is a small group for post-High School and young adults from all over Northwest Indiana. They meet at Life Bridge Cafe on Mondays from 8:30pm-10ish.

Tuesdays

• Tuesday Midweek Bible Study Potluck Dinner at 6:30 followed by studies for children, students, and adults! Current study: "Remember"

Wednesdays

• Faith-Based Cancer Support Group (regularly meets 2nd & 4th Wednesdays at Life Bridge 6:30-8pm)

Thursdays

• Worship Arts Bible Study and Band Practice Thursdays 6:30-9pm
• Hosting Men’s Shelter 7pm-7am (Friday morning)

Sundays

• Worship Service 9am & 11am New Series Begins: “Remember”
• Encounter Student Worship Sundays 6-8pm 

Ongoing

• OCC is currently collecting Personal Items