Ecclesia: The Church Today
First Baptist Church, Denison
Carol Thornton: Part of the family of God The members of Carol Thornton’s Bible Fellowship Group are more than friends. They know nearly everything about each other. They have walked through trials together. They’ve also laughed through good times. The group has bonded. Many of them are about the same age or have children that are about the same age. Members have developed a network of friends. “We have an amazing group of people that we’ve interconnected our relationships with,” she said. “We’re really like a family.” That idea carries over to the entire church, Thornton said. The congregation is making an intentional effort to develop deep relationships among its members. Christians support each other through good times and bad. No one lives life alone. “This church for me, it’s the family of God.”
Jim Cragg: Together we’re doing more A church ministering to a community is a congregation that prays for that community. And First Baptist Church in Denison is doing just that. The congregation recently walked every street in the city, praying for each house and school. Church members prayed for each family and for opportunities to minister. Jim Cragg, the church’s senior adult minister and director of education, said the congregation is able to serve the community better by working together. People can cooperate to accomplish great tasks. “We can do so much more together than we can individually,” he said. “We try to practice that here at First Baptist.” Cragg believes God will honor the church’s faithfulness in following His command to pray. “We may never see the results in the community, but we’ve already seen results in the lives of those who have done it.”
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