IT  HAS  BEEN  AN  exciting few weeks at Riverbend, hasn’t it? We have seen most of the finishing touches put on the Worship Center’s massive renovation project. The exclamation point will be the arrival of new chairs, which should happen by mid-October.

The graded choirs have all resumed rehearsals after the summer break, and  TAG (Truth & Grace Club) for our children is in full swing. Let me say “thanks” to all of you who are working with our children.  You are making a great investment in many lives, helping mold a future generation of godly men and women.

The 9/11...Not Forgotten presentations (photos on page 3) were a stern reminder of what happens when a nation strays from God.  May every anniversary of that 2001 attack be a beckoning back toward the Lord.

It was a great honor for me to be able to preach the sermon for Jeff Eckert’s ordination into the gospel ministry.  Pray for Pastor Jeff as he takes over the college ministry and attempts to develop a gospel outreach on area college campuses. 

Some other events are also exciting—the upcoming Men’s Cookout, the new Foot-care Ministry, the addition of R-mail, the Creation seminar in October.

Exciting days!  Praise the Lord! 

THANK YOU for your patience and flexibility over the last several months while our Worship Center has been undergoing a make-over. It has been a lengthy ordeal. But, praise the Lord, we are nearing completion.

The new floor has been one of the more time-consuming aspects of the process. The benefits ahead should make us even more grateful that the Lord provided the means for us to have the new surface.

Our staff spent several months researching the floor situation and visiting sites with different types of surfaces. We believe the one being installed is best for our situation.

Riverbend Academy will notice an immediate benefit. The Warriors' basketball team will be able to practice on an approved surface and hopefully will be able in the 2011-12 season to play its home games on it. Having played a lot of basketball myself, I can say that it is a great benefit to play and practice on the same floor.

A few other tidbits remain to be done in the Worship Center for all the plans to be complete. But it is taking shape, thanks to a lot of volunteering Riverbend members being involved and making it happen.

The improved sound, the enhanced lighting, the acoustical curtains, the new floor and more—Praise the Lord!

TECHNOLOGY is advancing faster than most people can handle, and we at Riverbend want to keep pace with it as best we can.

Therefore, we are planning to send this publication, the Riverbend Connection, to most of our members via e-mail. Some 319 of us have received the Connection by e-mail for several months. It has worked well on the sending and the receiving ends and saved considerable expense in the church budget. Recipients have been receiving it five to seven days faster than regular mail.

So, if you have e-mail access, be certain the church office has your e-mail address so that you can be included on the speedy mailing list-—and get news/info more timely.