What Are We About?

We’re in the business of doing the Lord’s work at East Brainerd. We strive in every way possible to let Christ work through us so our Lord can be glorified. The Lord taught that every member is a minister of Christ and has a function specifically suited for the body. The church is a priesthood of believers working together to serve wherever and whenever the Lord wants.

The body of Christ is growing at East Brainerd. And growing together is our aim. Thus each member is encouraged to declare where one is willing to assume a responsibility and prioritize those areas of ministry to serve the Lord.

The ministries of this body are lead by deacons and groups of men and women who are committed to assist the body in its spiritual journey to maturity. They strive to involve everyone who is interested in their particular ministry.

The following descriptions of ministries are not yet complete. They are growing in number as we grow in number. This is as it should be. Ministries and people change to accommodate growth.

We are committed to finding a place for every person who wants to be involved in the work that the Lord is doing through the members of this body.

Adult Education
We are committed to teaching Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior as we find Him revealed in the inspired Word of God. Thus, this ministry develops spiritual supportive units, coordinates adult class programs, develops fellowships and retreats for the class, formulates small group Bible study units, and disseminates information which encourages, enriches, and educates the members of the body.

Children’s Ministry
We love children and want to work with the parents in developing faith in God by training the children in Bible facts and spiritual application for life situations. Over 100 people are ready to assist the parents in maturing their child into a Christian servant. We work through the nursery, early childhood, primary, elementary; the resource room, library, and summer VBS programs; and we assist in the training of the young children in Children’s Worship.

Care
Even though you may not hear much about the work of this ministry, it is none the less active and working to take care of the needs of members and non-members. Much of our ministry goes on "behind the scenes." We seek to demonstrate to the members the commitment of love we have for each other and to insure that we have no one who lacks in any way. This ministry extends to other areas of concern which includes Care to the Poor, Toy Drives, Coin Can Fund Drive, Food Drives, and proper operation of the Benevolent Resource Room.

College
This ministry seeks to provide the college students with a place to belong, a place to have fun, a place to worship God, a place to grow spiritually, and a place to serve. We minister through small groups, retreats, trips, classes and fellowship areas, and service projects. It is a great place to establish a spiritual growth pattern for life.

Communications
We try to keep the church and the community informed as to what we do, what we believe, and how we can help them as individuals. Our communications ministry works hard in accomplishing this task. Do you want to know what’s going on in this body? Ask this ministry. Do you want a tape of sermons preached?

Family
We believe that God wants individuals in a family to be united as one, to work together as a family. Therefore we provide assistance in helping them find direction and solutions to today’s challenges. Seminars and retreats as well as special classes are held throughout the year. Guidance can be obtained through mentoring families trained to assist other couples or families with difficulties, and counsel can be received from the staff or elders at any time.

Family Life Center
Commonly known as the FLC, this facility is used constantly throughout the week by the congregation, community, and individuals for a place of gathering. But we do not leave the building to do all the work. We have a ministry that is helpful in promoting interaction of the church, and to supply avenues of contact and encouragement to non-church members.

Fellowship
This church loves to fellowship, and what church doesn’t. We will have numerous fellowships throughout the year. These fellowships will have a number of purposes, and will be held by classes, individuals, the church as a body, or special groups within the church. But no matter who is having the fellowship, anyone is welcome. Keep your eyes and ears open for these special occasions. They happen often.

Finance
We want everyone to be aware of the ministries they are supporting with their gifts and offerings. Therefore, any individual can ask for and receive an accounting of how the Lord’s money is being used. We are generous with our giving and prudent to honor God with the use of His money. All our ministries are responsible for the preparation of their budget, and have the discretion of its distribution as trustworthy stewards.

Foreign Evangelism
We love sharing the gospel with others! That is demonstrated over and over again as we send out mission teams to a world in need. We work at developing and coordinating the spreading of the gospel to areas outside the United States. Right now we are working in Jamaica, Cuba, Honduras, Ukraine, and Africa. Several times a year we take evangelism and medical groups to Jamaica, Cuba, and Honduras. As we grow, the number of groups, and the countries we enter will increase. We feel that this encourages the members of the East Brainerd church as well as those whom we serve. Our primary aim in all our missions is to share the love of God and the gospel of the grace of God.

Greeting and Ushering
We want people who come into our assembly to know that they are important. Therefore, when a person comes into our building, they will be greeted by smiling faces, a warm greeting, and a hearty hand-shake. This ministry exists to provide the first contact with visitors and members to the assemblies. If you need directions for any class or worship, these saints are there to assist. Most of the time our assemblies and classes are full and seats are hard to find. Ushers are stationed in the foyer and auditorium to assist visitors in finding seats in worship, and show them to Bible classes.

Grounds
Our "grounds" reflect the use this campus receives during the week. People are constantly using the building and it keeps the grounds ministry active. This ministry provides for the upkeep, beautification, and safety of the grounds around the building, parking lot, park, and recreational area. This includes mowing, raking, care of shrubs and flowers, weeding, etc. They want the grounds to reflect that we are thankful to God for the land which we use.

Growth and Planning
The growth of the body of Christ certainly belongs to God, but He uses us to those ends. It is the work of this ministry to gather and analyze information and statistical data which will assist the congregation to grow numerically and spiritually. We believe that growth numerically will take place as we, His people, grow spiritually.

Hispanic Ministry
This ministry worships off-campus, and many of our members are involved with their worship by assisting them when they can. The Hispanic congregation has their own ministers and work, and is growing both numerically and spiritually. At times they attend our fellowship or worship.

Inner City Outreach
Members from this congregation also work with those in the Inner city through assisting in Bible studies, driving the buses, recruiting and training leaders, work with Hispanic ministry, and publicize their efforts. We also assist in the annual events (Easter egg hunt for the children, fish fry to raise needed funds, and paint camp) which promote the ministry.

Involvement
We believe strongly in the "priesthood of believers," and that each Christian should be using their gifts for the glory of God. To this end, we have periodic seminars and classes to assist the member in finding their particular gifts, talents, and passions for ministry. There are a number of ministries in which a person may work and we will help new members as well as saints who have been members for a long time find a ministry where they can serve.

Local Evangelism
Our Lord has given us the commission to "preach the gospel" to the entire world. Such a commission is not to the few, but to the entire body of believers. Evangelism is one of the major purposes (or the major purpose) for the church. Therefore, most of those being brought to Christ and salvation will be those taught and baptized by one of the members of this body. If someone does not know how to share the gospel of Christ, they can be coached and mentored.

Ladies Ministry
Our ladies are a special force in the work at East Brainerd. They work in every ministry area with enthusiasm and wisdom to accomplish what needs to be done for Christ. But they also have things that are particularly important to them. This ministry exists to build Christ's expected relationship between us and Him and to each other by internally making sure we love each other and build each other up. This ministry includes retreats, small groups, Ladies Days, Bible classes, prayer groups, showers, and fellowship groups.

Prayer
Prayer is an important part of every work by this body. We believe that all decisions, all ministry, all activity should be clothed with the veil of prayer. Therefore this body engages in cooperate prayer at every gathering, meeting, worship, or study. At times we will have special times of prayer and fasting, and we encourage each member to pray at all times.

Senior Saints
One of the most influential groups of this body is the "senior saints." These are those sixty and older who have been through the battles and are still fighting. They are active in serving others and brighten the way with their smiles. They go on trips together, have small groups for prayer and Bible study, and are active in fellowship. They participate in the service at Martin-Boyd, and have special luncheons for the widows and widowers.

Small Groups
We are a large congregation and are growing in number. As this happens, it becomes more and more difficult to know everyone or to develop a relationship with others in the body. Therefore we have encouraged our members to become involved in "small groups." These groups exist for the members to develop that spiritual relationship with each other.

Visitation
As we grow larger it is difficult to know or even see everyone coming to worship and Bible classes. This ministry seeks to visit members of East Brainerd and to let them know that they are not "lost in the crowd." Most of the visitation is done through our Bible classes, but there are special times we visit as well. This includes hospital visitation, telephone visitations, follow-up of Christians who visit the assembly and a special treat to those who place membership with us, the "Hello Baskets." It is filled with "goodies" which are meant to express "Welcome to our congregation!"

Visitation of Non-members
There are those who come into our congregation who are not part of the body of Christ. Some of them will not have attended church before. They have many questions, and just need to be assured that they are welcome. Our purpose is to make sure that these individuals feel welcomed by the church, and will set the ground work for those who do can answer their question. Therefore we will visit each non-Christian who attends the worship assembly, Bible classes, fellowships or other functions of this church.

Youth
We have a large and active youth program with excited and exciting leaders. The youth are active in a number of areas: planned devotionals, functions, classes, retreats, mission trips (even outside the U.S.), and fellowship activities. But more than the physical this ministry works in training and developing young Christians to live in this postmodern world, to be prepared for mature decisions, to grow spiritually into the image of Christ, and will reach out to others for Christ.

Widows and Shut-ins
Another area which we do not want to neglect is that of the "widows (widowers) and shut-ins" from the congregation. Certainly they need visits, but they also need to know that they are still useful and productive even in these latter years. We do this through our serving them, and their serving others. Many of the seniors are actively involved.