Entries by Chris

IF:Gathering

Friday, February 5: 7pm-10pm, Doors open at 6:30pm Saturday, February 6: 8:30am-6pm, Doors open at 8am The world around us feels like it is crumbling and almost nothing seems certain, until we look to Jesus and see that our Hope is very clear and certain. He didn’t just give us salvation—Jesus is our salvation and […]

James: faith here and now

Faith isn’t just about the future.  It’s not something we have in order to punch a ticket to heaven.  In fact, Jesus is clear: faith is about the here and now – a gift meant to impact every aspect of today. With that in mind, we turn to James — an ancient and relevant book with deep insight about how […]

Christmas Eve – 5pm

Tonight we celebrate the unlikely story of God coming to dwell with us from 5-6pm.  Together we’ll mark this unending, unconquerable gift of Light through song and candle lighting.  Our kids are also leading the way in giving their gifts through drama, choir, and dance.  Bring the family — bring your neighbor — bring the kids. […]

For the Love of Lola: Online and Silent Auction

Information about both auctions can be found here: www.fortheloveoflola.net Silent Auction A silent auction art gala is being held November 12th from 6-9pm at Lifestyle Kitchen Studio at 222 E. Fulton in Grand Rapids.  Over 20 pieces of art will be up for auction.  Pieces can be previewed at the website above. Volunteers are also still […]

Anti-Fragile: Reimagining race and religion

Elliot challenges us to live into God’s vision for humanity where people of all races and ethnicities work together toward unity. Videos referenced in the message: Immaculate Perception Racism by the Numbers Implicit Bias Test: Implicit Bias’ Test   Want to receive weekly-ish emails that will share different articles and videos that will continue to help you […]

Family on Mission (UP)

Andy’s final series at the Branch draws from the things God has been doing in his family over the last few years, and on sabbatical.  Join us for this three week series.

The Church has left the building

This Sunday — October 5 — the Branch will not be having worship at the building on 28th St.; instead, we’ll be up north on a retreat at CranHill Ranch. If you’re not able to go on the retreat with us…

Have we moved?

The sign may look different — but we haven’t moved!  For a couple of months, Alas Conexion is using the lower portion of the sign in order to let drivers on 28th St. know they have officially started meeting for worship (they had a great launch on Easter morning!).  Later this summer we’ll add a permanent […]

God? Is that you? (part 4)

If you’re just joining us, we’ve been considering some practical steps we can take to get better and better at hearing God’s voice.  To see what’s been covered so far (each post is fairly short), start here.  Today I want to offer a final ‘filter’ in the process.  To recap: Get away to listen. Then, […]

God? Is that you? (part 3)

I’ve been writing over the last couple of weeks about how we can grow in our ability to discern God’s voice.  I’m convinced that this is an absolutely critical skill if we are to follow Jesus, because I’m convinced that following Jesus revolves around these two questions: “What is God saying to me?” “What am […]

God? Is that you? (part 2)

Last week, I wrote a post that began looking at how we can grow in our ability to discern whether or not God is speaking to us.  I suggested that it begins with stepping away from the noise — which you can read about here. So let’s say we do that — we step away , […]

God? Is that you? (part 1)

This Sunday, after worship, I found myself in one of those conversations I absolutely love. It had started out simple enough: how was your week?, how’s work?, etc.  But then the friend I was talking with dropped this: “The message today was a tough one for me.” I had just preached on John 2:1-12 – […]

Vision (part 2)

Yesterday, we looked at how the first half of our vision statement is connected to the biblical theme of covenant.  Today – let’s look at how the second half is rooted in Kingdom. in the renewal of all things through Christ = kingdom As we embrace the covenant God has made with us, and the […]

Vision (part 1)

Vision: A community united with God in the renewal of all things through Christ. This past Sunday (10/20) we began a three week series about our vision, strategy and values.  And while we hope that these messages are super-duper-amazing, we know that we can’t cover it all in 30 minutes.  That’s why we’re writing this […]

2014 budget

Our process for forming our budget begins with your input and prayer. Here’s how you can join us.

connect + grow (small groups)

Starting the week of October 20 we’ll be launching a number of short-term small groups. The idea is simple: four households meeting for four consecutive weeks in order to connect and grow.  These groups are for everyone – new to the Branch or ol’-timer, adult or child, and are centered around a meal and a […]