What to expect at Broken Bread Church, Prince George
We do things a little different here.
Broken Bread meets on Tuesday evenings at 5:30pm in Prince George, BC. Because most churches hold services Sunday morning, it is our intention to do something different. This is a deliberate choice that follows from our values; it is not merely because of practical considerations such as finding a facility. We want to shake things up a bit!
Each church service starts by featuring a family meal together. Exactly what this looks like will change over time. We might do potlucks or the church might have a specific team of volunteers that cook the food. We plan to experiment to find what works. Right now we are starting with potlucks as that seems like it should be the easiest logistically.
If you are able to bring food to share that is very much appreciated. Feel free to bring whatever suits you (appetizer, entree, dessert, beverage): this is a true potluck. If you aren't able to bring anything please come on out anyway there will be lots of food, we promise!
After everyone has started eating and while we continue to eat, we’ll start the service at approximately 6:00pm. It is a bit of semi-organized chaos (kids, getting seconds, spills etc.) most times and we are okay with that. This is real life.
One of the most powerful teaching tools is music. We have about 1/2 an hour of corporate worship through song. We will be intentional in choosing songs that are easy for the congregation to sing and at the same time teach us powerful, life-changing, true things about God and about us. The sermon length is on the shorter side coming in at about 20 to 25 minutes. We recognize that we have kids as well as people without a church background in the service.
We want the whole family to be a part of the whole church experience. We want our children to eat with us, learn with us, worship with us, and serve with us. Having a full-on childcare program is great for tired parents. When Elaine and I visit family at churches with such programs it is wonderful, almost like a date! However, we think it is better for the family, for the children, and for the church that everyone is included in what the church is doing.
We finish each week by taking the Lords Supper together. We believe that we need to be continually reminded of the person and work of Jesus Christ in history and in our lives each day.
The "formal" church service ends at about 7:00pm so that families are able to get their children in bed at a reasonable hour and everyone else can help clean up.
Broken Bread encourages you to include others from the church in your lives during the week. If you are playing sports, invite someone from church. If you are having a BBQ, invite someone. If you are helping a friend put on a new roof, then on Friday night rope a group of people from the church into helping out. Although our weekly gatherings are a great start to building community it can’t end there. The church exists all week.
Outside of our services we serve our community together. Over time we will partner with other churches and para-church organizations that are already doing great work in Prince George.
Beyond our church and our city, there is a whole world out there who needs to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.