|
|
The following is provided courtesy of the Charleston Daily Mail |
|
Church's sermons to be available online
Those who wish to hear live Sunday sermons have lots of options. Attend church. Tune into the radio. Turn on the television. Click on the Internet. Beginning Sunday, the early morning sermon at Charleston's Bible Center Church can be heard live on the Internet. This will make the message immediately available to everyone -- from college students to those who have moved away to missionaries throughout the world, said the Rev. Shawn Thornton, the church's senior pastor. The church provides partial support to 58 missionaries. "At 9:30 a.m. we will be live on WCHS," Thornton said. "People can link to the Internet to our live service from anywhere in the world. "We will notify all of our missionaries by e-mail, college students, and folks who have moved away. They may be interested in tapping in and listening." Those in the Charleston area can tune into WCHS talk radio 58. Those who want to listen via computer will need a copy of the latest RealPlayer. A free player is available for download from Real Networks. The Web site is realplayer.com. From the Bible Center Church Web site, click on the radio link. The site is biblecenterchurch.com. "That is quite unusual and innovative on their part," said Sally Blessing, director of Christian Internet Service, which serves more than 40 churches in West Virginia. Gregg Murray, advertising director for WCHS, said listeners also can hear the 11 a.m. service at First Presbyterian Church by going to 58wchs.com and clicking on broadcastmusic.com. "Anytime, people can hear WCHS radio online," he said. Bible Center Church, located at 1111 Oakhurst Drive in Charleston, has a Web page designed and regularly updated by the Rev. Jesse Waggoner, the church's pastor of adult ministries. The site offers information about the church, programs and staff. Since the Web page is done in house, it's a simple matter to keep it updated, Thornton said. Bible Center Church, visible from buzzing Corridor G, has been growing by leaps and bounds. Part of that is due to its visibility as well as brief cable television spots. But Thornton said the growth is also due to a straightforward, Bible-based teaching philosophy. "We share the good news of Jesus Christ," Thornton said. "People are looking for a simple, clear understanding of the Bible. I don't talk about politics, culture and society except when the Bible hits on it." The approximately 40,000-square-foot church has classrooms, offices, a gymnasium, a fellowship hall, and an auditorium that seats 700. Last Sunday, 1,013 people attended the two morning worship services. Parking has been a problem for the church, which added 92 spaces over the last two months. The church has a daycare center as well as a school for grades kindergarten through sixth. Classrooms double as Sunday school rooms on weekends. On Wednesday nights, about 450 people attend classes for children, teens and adults. More space is needed for parking and the auditorium, as well as classrooms and offices. "All are equally pressing," said Thornton, who sees the church's growth as a tremendous blessing. In such a large facility, efforts are made to organize small group classes so that people feel connected, he said. And he believes the new link on the Web will be a definite plus. "It gives us the opportunity to share Jesus Christ with a lot more people," he said. His sermon this Sunday, based on Nehemiah chapter four, is
entitled "In the Thick of Things." |