Embracing Diversity Without Hesitation

If you are looking for an intercultural bilingual community . . . we are the community you will want to consider joining.  We are a diverse community made up of differing cultures, languages, backgrounds, gifting, skin color, ages, and achievements and opportunities. It is a remarkable mix, and it can only take place with the cross of Jesus Christ as our central meeting place.


Dr. Ronald Manahan, president of Grace College and Seminary wrote:

 "God intentionally chooses diversity of believers to express unity in the midst of diversity.  Our diversity is designed  with the intent of reaching the far corners of the earth expressing the Good News to the earth's increasingly diverse people.  God is in the business of forming a global team for carrying a global message." 

"God scatters His people, asking them to live fully for Him in a multiplicity of places, careers, circumstances, communities and neighborhoods. In these diverse places, as a diverse community we are intentional meant to be "Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us" (2 Cor. 5:20)."  The message of the Good News is meant to be herald in 'deed and word'.  

As an intercultural bilingual community we are to live for His glory by the way we do our work, by the way we speak, by the way we live in families, by the way we live in neighborhoods, by the way we 'do church' . . . doing everything for the glory of God.  God wants all of us all of the time in every relationship and every place to live, act, and speak for His glory. 


One of the most visible means to do this is to live in an intercultural bilingual community.  Perhaps there is no better place where compassion, integrity, service, and love can be manifested than in the diversity of an intercultural bilingual community. If you are looking for a place to worship where ethnicity and diversity are embraced, then Bensenville Bible Church is the place for you. 

As Dr. Manahan wrote: God asks us to live fully, passionately, humbly and persistently for His glory without hesitation.  This we strive to do in the midst of a diverse intercultural bilingual community.

Come and see diversity in action. 

Join Our Intercultural Bilingual Community

For those of you who might be looking for a place to worship this Easter season, consider visiting The Bridge of Bensenville Bible Church.   We are an intercultural bilingual community.  Our service is in both English and Spanish.  


Our Sunday gathering begins at 10am for a time of coffee and snacks, or you may sit in the auditorium in meditation as the Praise Team prepares for the time of 'praise and worship'.  Our service begins at 10:30 with a selected scripture, followed by an opening song and prayer. During the  'praise time' we sing in English and Spanish, with words to the songs on the screen in such a way, that whether you prefer English or Spanish, you know at all times what song and what you are singing to our God.  During the 'praise time' we make room for a welcome time, giving you opportunity to meet those around you.  'Walk-ins' are always welcome.  Following our praise time, we divide up for 'age and language appropriate instruction' without translation. Families with young children may sit together during the service, or if they prefer, we provide child care and nursery care.  


The Pastoral Team is diverse, both as to age and ethnicity, reflecting the diversity of the local community.   Our music is contemporary, and our messages are taken from the Word of God.


Again, we are an intercultural bilingual community.  People of all 'nationalities, ethnicities, and backgrounds are welcome.  We see ourselves a 'bridge' for all people to come to God for spiritual refreshment.  


We are located at 280 S. York [corner of Memorial and York, two blocks north of 3rd Ave/Jefferson and York], in Bensenville, Illinois.  We have easy access to the main road arteries such as Hwy 83, Interstate 290, Toll-road 294, and O'Hare International Airport.


You can also find us on Facebook--The Bridge_BBC.  Let this be your invitation to come and worship with us this Sunday.

UpComing Events at The Bridge [Bensenville Bible Church]

You might be interested in knowing . . . 


1) we are sponsoring a Rummage Sale this coming week end--March 3-4.  All proceeds go to help are Youth Group attend Break-Away, the night of March 24 in Chicago.  If you have things you would like to donate, drop by Wednesday, Feb 29.
2) we are offering ESL classes.  Call the church for 'class times'.  

 We are following Blackaby's book on Experiencing God. Last Sunday we noted that 'experiencing God' leads to knowing God's Name'. We found that God has many names, but they usually come to us during hard times. 


Take Hagar, a personal 'slave' of Sarah, Abraham's wife.  She got caught up in the 'no children' debate between Sarah and Abraham.  Sarah, determined to have a child, 'loaned' Hagar to Abraham . . . she got pregnant.  But her carrying a baby heighten the tension.  Now there were three arguing, rather than two, and Hagar found that she had an edge over Sarah.  After all, she was pregnant, and Sarah wasn't. 


Things got out of hand, so in the middle of the night Hagar packs her bags and runs . . . when the sun came up, she was tired and thirsty . . . alone and pregnant. In a moment of despair God meets her, giving her a new perspective and insight into Abraham's God. Perhaps for the first time she learned that there was a 'real God' who cared for her. She learned that she was not alone, God was watching over her . . . here she met El Roi, the God who sees. She was instructed to go back to Sarah and Abraham, but from this moment on, she was not alone. El Roi was always there. 


It was probably a 'bitter/sweet' moment as she walked into camp . . . Sarah fuming, Abraham frustrated by it all. Surely she shared with them what had happened in the desert  . . . El Roi was watching out for her. But the story doesn't end there . . . following her fresh understanding that she was a very significant person in the eyes of God, comes Abraham's fresh insight . . . El Shaddai, God who is more than sufficient. El Shaddai would not allow his and Sarah's age stand in the way . . . imagine that . . . God not only sees all things, He is more than sufficient to see to it that His promises are kept . . . despite apparent barriers.


More often than not I need to know that El Roi is watching out for me.  How about you?

Here at the Bridge, we're launching a new Sermon Series entitled Experiencing God starting Sunday, February 12. To join us in this series you will want to pick up a copy of Henry & Richard Blackaby's workbook with the same title--Experiencing God. This promises to be a great study over the next 12 months. Let's 'experience God' together.

Our new Adventure . . . learning to be a 'bridge person'.

We believe being a bridge, to the best of our ability, is what Christ has called us to - and so we lean on his grace, in the confidence that he sees the integrity of our hearts.

Here is the question for us today, “How will people know about Jesus and the bridge He has provided for them to get to heaven?” People need a bridge! They need somebody to be a bridge, so they can get to the Bridge - Jesus Christ.