Blog | Ballard Church

May

New Teacher at All Star Kids Company!

By admin

Attention Seattle pre-school parents! Check out our newest addition to our staff at All Star Kids Company! Meet Ashelyn Ross a 2012 graduate from Whitworth University in Spokane, WA.

Our pre-school kids and parents are going to love Ashelyn! She graduated with academic honors, achieving nearly a 4.0 cumulative GPA and obtaining a BA in Elementary Education with minors in Reading Instruction and Psychology. She already has three years of experience working at a preschool, tutoring privately, and many practicums in public schools, including an Intercultural Exchange to Hawaii in January 2012. She is very passionate about kids and education, especially at the preschool level during these crucial developmental years. Her goal is to impact students on the path of discovery and help them build a strong foundation for learning.

Our brand new Seattle pre-school is growing! All Star Kids Company is gearing up for the fall of 2012 and currently has open enrollment for at least two classes – our 4-5 year old Big Dipper class that meets M/W/F and our 3-4 year old Lil Dipper class on T/T. Plus we are expanding and may be opening up some brand new kids classrooms downstairs in the fall! If you don’t know anything about All-Star Kids Company, we are probably the newest pre-school in Seattle and we have a great space for education. Located at Ballard Church on NW 73rd St. we offer great programs and awesome staff, in a fun and safe building that kids and parents are sure to love. Ballard Church is home to “Funland” – a huge indoor playground with tubes, slides, castles, and more (so we got the exercise covered ). We are dedicated to providing highly qualified teachers, fun, social and stimulating academic programs, and a creative, artistic environment to help each child develop to his or her maximum potential.

For more info check out www.allstarkidscompany.com or e-mail info@ballardchurch.com

Categories : Ballard Kids

May

21 Days John Challenge!

By admin

Last Sunday at Ballard Church we launched a 21 day challenge to read through the book of John. There are 21 chapters in the book so our goal is to read through 1 chapter a day for 21 days straight!

We believe that the Bible is God’s Word to us and we are committed to teaching it at Ballard Church. The book of John is an eyewitness account of the life and work of Jesus and so we believe that as we read through it, it will help inform and shape our view of Jesus – who He was, what He did, and why that matters for our life.

FOR INFO ABOUT THE 21 DAY CHALLENGE click here!

There is a place on that page where you can post comments, questions, or stories. Take a visit. And of course if you ever have any questions about Jesus or the Bible we would love to help answer them or point you in the right direction. Just e-mail us at info@ballardchurch.com

Categories : Sermon Series

May

Young Life at Ballard Church

By admin

Young Life, Ballard Church, Ballard, Seattle, Seattle YL, NWSYL, BC, Blake Raney, Ballard High School, BHS, Ingraham High School, Whitman Middle School, Whitman Wyldlife, Ballard YL Club

Young Life Area Director Blake Raney

Ballard Church loves Young Life. We are proud of the partnership that has been developing between NWSYL (NW Seattle Young Life) and BC. We are doing whatever we can do support this organization as they impact kids in Seattle!

Blake Raney is the NW Seattle Young Life Director. He and his wife Chanda and their 3 kids attend Ballard Church and have offices there as well. They moved to the Ballard neighborhood in the spring of 2011 and have been working with a committed YL team to impact the community. So far they have been hosting team leadership events at BC and also are doing their weekly outreach club for Ballard High School on Monday nights in the BC coffee shop. In addition to Ballard High School they have leaders at both Ingraham High School and Whitman Middle School.

We love their vision of reaching out to teens in the neighborhood and especially their focus on “unchurched” kids. Just like Young Life, we are passionate at Ballard Church about seeing people who are far away from God come to know Him using whatever means possible. We truly want to engage the community and reach out to those who don’t know about Jesus. And that’s what Young Life is all about – they have a vision for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with every teenager in NW Seattle. And we want to help them in their mission.

Recently Young Life hosted their Dessert Auction Benefit at Ballard Church and they raised over $5,000 to help send kids to summer camp this year. It was a great event that we hope to host again in the future. We love to partner with like-minded organizations and we believe that all of these partnerships help further the gospel and make BC a better place. For info on NWSYL e-mail blakeraney@gmail.com

Categories : Uncategorized

Apr

Plastic Jesus

By admin

JESUS ON A BOBBLEHEAD might seem sacrilegious to you. Or maybe just weird. But in a world of fake cheese, replica purses, counterfeit money, and imitation leather it’s no surprise that even Jesus seems a little bit “plastic.”

WHO IS JESUS REALLY? Throughout the ages Jesus has been fairly popular but also somewhat controversial. In Seattle, some people love Jesus and some people hate Jesus. But the sad reality is that most people don’t even know Jesus. Or the Jesus that they know is actually a “made-up” Jesus or a fake, phony, pretender Jesus.

AN IDENTIY CRISIS? It seems like Jesus has been confused, labeled, and put in a box. Everyone seems to know about Him but no one seems to think much about Him. To some He is a celebrity icon, a superstar, best friend, or homeboy. To others He is just a cool piece of jewelry, a good luck charm, or a designer head on a t-shirt like Bob Marley . . . but is that really Him? Or is there so much more?

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Is the Jesus you know real or plastic? Genuine or fake? Lord or imposter?

JESUS IS . . . It’s common to hear people say “my Jesus is this” or “my Jesus is that.” But does that mean that Jesus changes depending on who you talk to? That seems a little bit fake – like a cheap, imitation, plastic Jesus. And although plastic is quick and easy it doesn’t hold up well under pressure – or last over time.

At Ballard Church we believe that the real Jesus is worth checking into.

CHECK IT OUT: Over the next 4 weeks we are going to take a look at the “real” Jesus – who He was, what He did, and what He wants for our lives. We want to be known in Seattle as a church that is all about Jesus – his life and his mission.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE: If you know nothing aboutJesus or very little about Jesus this series is certainly worth checking out. Join us the next 4 weeks and bring friends who may want to hear more about the real, authentic, personal Jesus.

As always if you have questions about the series feel free to e-mail us at info@ballardchurch.com. We’d love to hear from you!

Categories : Sermon Series

Apr

BC Easter Invitation

By admin

Inviting someone to church can be a scary thing. But also it can be a rewarding thing. A lot of people are open to the idea of coming to church, especially on Easter. In fact people are more likely to come to church on Easter than any other day in the entire year.

We want to encourage you to invite anyone you know in the Seattle area to come to Ballard Church for our Easter Service at 10am April 8th. As you know BC is a pretty chill place. We like to say “casual atmosphere, serious faith, and no weird stuff!’ This Easter we have special stuff planned for kids including an easter egg hunt and candy baskets for all the kids who come. As always we will have a great spread of coffee, donuts, bagels, and free espresso.

If you want to know more about what Easter at BC will be like or if you have some friends who want more info click here

A few people have signed up to get baptized this Easter and there is still room for a few more. For more info or if you want to get baptized click here

If you haven’t “liked” us on Facebook that’s a great way to share info about the church. In fact you can share any of the blog posts by clicking on the icons below. You can even “pin” us if you want.

If you need some fliers with directions we have a bunch at the church. E-mail us at info@ballardchurch.com or just stop by the office someday to pick some up.

Hope to see you AND your friends this Easter!

Categories : Sermon Series

Apr

Easter in Seattle!

By admin

Hey Seattle! April 8th @ 10am! Invite your friends to the first ever Easter service at the new Ballard Church. You don’t want to miss it! Everything is free and there will be fun for the whole family.

What to expect? Great times, good friends, candy baskets, egg hunt, rockin music, an inspirational message, an incredible life changing video, and some powerful baptisms. We try to keep it pretty chill at BC. Casual Atmosphere, Serious Faith, and No Weird Stuff. For more on what to expect read this blog: http://www.ballardchurch.com/2012/03/395/

Help us get the word out! Tell your neighbors, co-workers, friends, and relatives. We’d love to hang out with you on Easter Sunday. We’ll get the coffee cranked up and the donut and bagels ready for snacking!

Looking to get involved? We need extra help serving so e-mail info@ballardchurch.com to find out how you can plug in. And all this week we are trying to get flyers out into the community. If you want to help with that e-mail projects@ballardchurch.com and let us know!

Categories : Sermon Series

Mar

Easter in Seattle

By admin

You are invited to join Ballard Church at our first ever Easter Service! This should be a great time for the whole family. We will have high energy music, an inspiring message, coffee, snacks, and tons of candy and fun!

EASTER SERVICE IS SUNDAY APRIL 8TH AT 10AM

This is our first Easter service at the new Ballard Church and so we really want to make it a big deal. Invite your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and random people that you meet around Seattle! The kids will have a great time playing in Funland and having a massive Easter egg hunt as part of the extra special activities in our Ballard Kidz area. And the band is putting together some rockin music for the adult service.

If you’ve never been to church what should you expect?

RELAXED ENVIRONMENT: First of all: come as you are. Dress is casual and you can wear whatever you want – don’t feel the need to dress up (unless you want to). The main entrance is off 73rd ave. You can park on the street or in the parking lot out back.

NORMAL PEOPLE: Friendly people will greet you at the door and someone will hand you a program and help you find your way around or answer any questions you may have. Coffee, bagels, donuts, espresso are all FREE so grab some snacks and feel free to bring food and drinks into the service.

KIDS PROGRAM: If you have kids we offer a free kids program for birth through 5th grade. It’s safe and fun and the kids will have a great time. All of the volunteers in the kids ministry have been approved by our Kids Director and have had a background check and interview so no worries!

LOUD MUSIC: You should know that “this ain’t your grandmas church!” No pipe organ here. Just loud rock and roll with drums, guitars, and amps. Bright orange ear plugs are in the back by the entry doors if you need them!

INSPIRING MESSAGE: Our goal is to inspire you with the hope that is in Jesus Christ. We aren’t going to yell at you or make you feel bad about yourself. Instead we are going to present to you that there is a God who loves you, who made the ultimate sacrifice on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins and mine, and to give you and awesome hope and a future. No matter who you are, what you have done, where you have been, or how “far off” from God you think you are . . . GOD LOVES YOU and SO DO WE!

BAPTISMS: One more thing . . . on Easter during the service we are planning to have a few baptisms. Nothing weird. No strange robes, no long speeches. Just people who have decided to follow Jesus and want to go public with their faith. If you or someone you know wants to get baptized or wants more info about it click here:http://www.ballardchurch.com/baptisms/

INVITE SOME PEOPLE! Let Seattle know about the new Ballard Church on Easter. Invite your friends, and come expecting great things! For any other questions please e-mail info@ballardchurch.com

Categories : Uncategorized

Mar

Moves Like Jagger

By admin

At Ballard Church we want to impact Seattle by serving others “no strings attached.” Our goal is not just to say we love Jesus but to show it with our actions. Last Sunday we got that opportunity…

HELP! We received an urgent e-mail referral from the Seattle Mayors Office for Senior Citizens. A 65 year old disabled lady was being evicted from her apartment and the Sheriff’s Office had given her a limited time to get out. She was in serious trouble! She is having financial problems, going through personal bankruptcy, recently lost her house, is in stage three kidney failure, suffers from insomnia, has an infected tooth, and extreme back pain! In addition to all that she was buried in all the years of stuff accumulated in her small apartment that needed to get moved!

GET ER DONE! On Sunday at our church service we announced the need and after service we rallied 7 people to go help out. It only took us a few hours to rent a truck, load up a bunch of heavy items from her place, and move them down to storage but it was well worth it.

THE VISION: We want to be a church that is serving on the margins with people that truly need it and who could never hope to repay us. Because for BC it’s not about being thanked, or getting something back in return. For us it’s about being the “hands and feet” of Christ as we serve this lost, hurting, and needy world. Whether it’s moving, cleaning, organizing, building, or giving of our time, we want others (even strangers) to know that we care. Ballard Church is a young church with lots of energy and we truly want to make a difference in Seattle through serving our community.

GET INVOLVED: We hope to have many more opportunities like this in the weeks, months, and years to come as we reach out to our neighborhood with the hope in Jesus. If you know of anyone who has a need of any kind give us a chance to help. E-mail us at projects@ballardchurch.com Or click on this link to find out more: http://www.ballardchurch.com/serve/

Categories : Volunteers

Mar

Your Bucket List

By admin

BRAND NEW MESSAGE SERIES AT BALLARD CHURCH! BC just launched “Your Bucket List” a 5 week campaign that will cause us to examine how short life really is and how we need to live every moment as if it could be our last.

DON’T MISS IT! “Your Bucket List” sermon series will only last until Easter Sunday April 8th!

LIVE LIKE YOU’RE DYING: What would it mean for you to life your life as if you were dying? It may sound a bit morbid, but in reality it’s true. Our time on earth is limited and each of our days are numbered. We all have only one life to live and each day is a special gift from God. Sometimes we know this but we still act like our time on earth will be forever. Instead the Bible says our life on earth is not only temporary but really really short in light of eternity. James says “our life is a mist, it appears for a short time and then vanishes.” And Psalm 90 says our life “quickly passes and we fly away.” So the real question is how can we prepare ourselves for when our time on earth is no more?

EXAMINE YOUR PRIORITIES: Each week during “Your Bucket List” we will ask the question, “what if our life on earth was suddenly cut short?” Are we ready? Or are there things we still need to do? Are there people we need to talk to? Conversations we need to have? Relationships we need to mend? Apologies spoken? Forgiveness to seek? When Jesus was headed to the cross He knew that his time on earth was very short. And so he didn’t leave anything unfinished. He Lived passionately, loved completely, learned humbly, and left boldy! He was our perfect example as we ought to live everyday and prepare for when our time on earth is no more.

THE BUCKET LIST WALL: We created a huge wall in the auditorium where we are encouraging people each week to post items from their bucket list: things we need to do, people we need to talk to, or things God is calling us to take care of before we “kick the bucket.” We encourage you to come and check out Ballard Church during this exciting new series. Bring a friend! We will have powerful messages, videos, testimonies and special music as we look at what it means to live every moment as if it could be our last!

Categories : Sermon Series

Feb

Baptism at Ballard Church!

By admin

FEBRUARY 19TH BAPTISMS WERE AMAZING!

We teach that baptism is an “outward sign” of an “inward change.” It’s a way of declaring to the world that you belong to Jesus Christ and that you want to follow Him! At BC we don’t teach that baptism actually “saves” you but that it’s a step of obedience after you have already ”been saved.” It’s an announcement to the world! (or just a few hundred people plus facebook) We try to keep it simple and straightforward at BC: no embarassing moments, no long speeches, no meetings with the pastor for 10 weeks, and no white t-shirts! Just a few questions, a dip under water, and lots of applause aftewards. We are so excited when people decide that they want to get baptized because it’s a great step of obedience in their relationship with God. It means that they want others to know that they are serious about their faith and commitment to Christ!

Overall, the baptisms were a huge success and our plan is to do it again real soon. We’ll probably have baptisms every other month so if you are interested e-mail info@ballardchurch.com

To check out pics from this last baptism check out right here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.288067381259097.67608.135802326485604&type=1

To watch a video of the last baptism click here: http://vimeo.com/37452374

For more info on what we believe and teach about baptism read our last blog post about it: http://www.ballardchurch.com/2012/02/baptism-at-ballard-church/

Categories : Worship

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