Local Church Has Two Reasons to Celebrate this Holiday Season

Reverend Bob Sanders                                                Brent James, M.Div

Senior Pastor                                                                        Minister of Community Life

Lake Grove Presbyterian Church                                    Lake Grove Presbyterian Church

bob@lakegrovepres.org                                                brent@lakegrovepres.org

503-636-5656                                                                        503-636-5656           

LOCAL CHURCH HAS TWO REASONS

TO CELEBRATE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

Lake Grove Presbyterian Church Knows the Nativity Stories

A Little Better this Christmas

December 7, 2009 – With Advent season in full swing, members of Lake Grove Presbyterian Church have another reason to celebrate.  On Sunday, December 13 they will hold a finish line celebration for completing The Bible In 90 Days program.  BIND, as the congregation fondly refers to it, is a guided reading course whereby participants read 12 pages of the Bible each day over a three-month period.

What began on September 13 as an opportunity for the congregation to engage in collective experience and become more biblically literate turned into more than anyone expected.  According to Brent James, Minister of Community Life, “we originally thought the program would be successful if we had 50 to 150 people participate.”  Since launching BIND, over 1,070 people have registered for the program, more than 100% of the average attendance on a given week.

The BIND program is designed for participants to experience reading the Bible like one would read a novel, rather than reading single stories in isolation or the entirety over a full year.  The program also includes weekly group meetings for review and discussion of each week’s reading. 

A commitment and challenge for anyone, BIND became a 60-day feat for RB and Amy Brandvold.  Despite expecting their second child in early November, they decided to start the program with the goal of finishing before the baby arrived.  “To accomplish our goal we have committed most evenings to sitting down together and reading aloud to one another to stay focused, which has shown us how much time we really do have in the evenings that is often spent on trivial things!  We have been truly amazed at how much we have learned and grown together in our faith in such a short time,” RB says.  The arrival of their newborn – and keeping up with their older child – undoubtedly places new

responsibilities and time restrictions on the couple, but they are hopeful that they will maintain their focus on learning and growing in their faith beyond finishing the reading.

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The program comes full circle for another participant, Gary Lunsford, who developed the desire to read the Bible last Christmas.  “I wanted to read all the stories and ideas in context and order.  Previous to this, I may have read only a couple of Bible pages my whole life on my own.”  He describes the program as a challenge but an even greater experience.  “Unexpectedly, I have started conversing with some friends about the stories, something that would have never happened otherwise.  The church community is great.”

Many others echo his sentiment, citing the community experience as an integral factor for the program’s success.  What has invigorated conversations between spouses and families has extended to soccer games, blood drives, the gym, and in one case, a prison.

“I am very pleased at the way this has helped the folks in this church read the Bible and the way that we’ve accomplished this as a community,” says Bob Sanders, Senior Pastor at Lake Grove.  James anticipates that over 900 people will finish the reading.  That’s going to be a pretty big celebration!

About The Bible In 90 Days

The Bible In 90 Daysä is a non-denominational curriculum structured around a simple, straightforward mission for its participants: “To read, attentively, every word of the Bible in 90 days” (www.biblein90days.org).  Founded in 2002 by Ted Cooper Jr., the nonprofit organization is based in Houston, Texas.  In 2008, the first two community-wide readings were launched in Albany, Texas and Waterville, Ohio.

About Lake Grove Presbyterian Church

Lake Grove Presbyterian Church is located at 4040 Sunset Drive in Lake Oswego.  The church has operated at this site for more than 80 years.  Sunday morning services are at 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00 with church school at that the later two services.  Additional information about Lake Grove Presbyterian Church may be found at www.lakegrovepres.org.

Additional Contacts

Reverend Graig Flach                                                            Vince Tylman

Associate Pastor Adult Education                                    Parishioner

graig@lakegrovepres.org                                                tylmanvin@comcast.net

503-636-5656                                                                        503-636-4656

R.B. Brandvold                                                            Gary Lunsford

Parishioner                                                                        gary@lunsford.to

rbrandvold@hotmail.com