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“We Are the Church,” Says West Pines Baptist

By February 25, 2015No Comments
"We don't need a building to be the church," says West Pines Baptist.

“We don’t need a building to be the church,” says West Pines Baptist.

LAKE WORTH, Fla.—West Pines Baptist Church is learning the importance of serving others. Pastor Paul Sorber is preaching through the book of Acts, and he and the congregation are “learning what worked in the success of the early church,” he says. “Why were thousands converted in one setting? So we decided that instead of ‘doing church,’ we would ‘be the church.'”

The next Sunday, Sorber decided not to hold a service. Instead, everyone met outdoors for worship at 10:00 a.m., when the service would normally start, then went to 15 locations to serve people. They called the day “We Are the Church Sunday.” Throughout the community, members picked up trash, handed out water at the beach, distributed light bulbs while starting conversations about Jesus being the light of the world, washed police cars, painted at a halfway house for released prisoners, served at a homeless shelter, cleaned up parks, did clerical work, and more.

Following their acts of service, everyone regrouped at a park for more worship and to share how God used the church in their community.

“We are seeing the culture shift at West Pines from a museum for saints to a hospital for sinners,” Sorber says. “I praise God for moving our people to really caring for the lost and our community and being willing to make needed changes to be more like the church 2,000 years ago.”