Well had what is probably going to be my family's last service at Living Stones Church in South Bend Indiania today.
We became aware of LSC a couple of years ago as some good friends of ours moved from Cincinnati to South Bend, and they asked me to help them find a church to go to. So I started doing some internet searches and found a few churches that I (and my friends) agree'd with from a doctrinal stand point. I sent some emails and Sam Barrington was the only one to reply. When I first contacted him LSC was actually the Donmoyer Church of Christ.
Sam impressed me by the time he took to talk to a stranger from Cincinnati about his friends moving to his area.
My interaction with LSC and Sam has really shown me how the culture of a city/town can affect what is 'normal' for a church. When they went for a new name, the name "Christian Church" was a bit problematic due to the Disciples of Christ denomination in the area using that name. Not that this was Sam talking down on the DoC's but one of the reasons for their name change was to not be linked to other churches so that people wouldn't stay away due to their preconceived notions of that church name.
But I chose today to be our (probable) last service with LSC due to it being a "Baptism celebration." Saw many teenage children and adults commit their life to Christ today which is always a blessing, and was able to let my children (two of which are well on their way to this point in life) see it in action.
If I'm honest about things, the one thing I fear (and maybe I wouldn't have this fear if I had more time to spend with LSC getting a feel for their inner being) for LSC going forward is staying true to the Bible in regards to the salvation process (believe, confess, repent, be baptized). So I was encouraged to see this as well.
So to my church home in South Bend, GOOD LUCK and GOD BLESS your efforts as you move forward. I leave this post with something I even wrote on their floor one time (we were allowed to write our favorite scriptures on their tile floor because they were laying carpet the following week). This also happens to be my FAVORITE scripture.
1 Timothy 4:16
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.