Christians have always been a “people of the book.” And yet, we live in a culture that encourages mindless scrolling through social media feeds, skimming news headlines, and passively binge-watching shows for days on end. More than ever, Christians need to cultivate the discipline of reading to know what the Bible says and how think biblically in our secular age. To that end, we are launching a new bookstall ministry in our main church lobby that will highlight particular books the leadership of ECC would like our congregation to read. This bookstall will serve as a discipleship tool for helping our church better understand the Christian faith and develop a well-rounded Christian worldview. And best of all, these books will be available for FREE.
While we are blessed to live at time with more books on more topics than we can count, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and wonder where to begin. To make matters worse, many of the books labeled as “Christian” by bookstores today don’t even come close to being biblically sound and should be relocated to the “New Age” or “Self-Help” sections. The resources in our bookstall, however, have been carefully selected by our elders and are written by solid and trusted authors who fall within the bounds of orthodoxy as expressed in the historic creeds and confessions of the church. They cover topics such as Bible Study, Theology, Christian Living, New Believers, Marriage, Parenting, and more. Our prayer is that these resources will kick-start a passion for reading in our congregation and a greater love for and understanding of Scripture.
To help offset the cost of the books, we will have a donation box set up for those who wish to support this ministry. If you would like to take a book, there will also be a card to fill out that will help us keep track of inventory. We only ask that, if you take a book, you fill out the card and that you commit to reading it! If you don’t see a book on a topic you’re interested in, remember that we have a more comprehensive reading list available on our website.
You can browse the bookstall either before/after our Lord’s Day worship services or during normal weekday office hours (8:30am – 2:30pm).
Mitch Bedzyk serves as a pastor Emmanuel Community Church, overseeing music and Sunday Classes. He received his Master of Theological Studies from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and works in IT for the NY Office of Mental Health. He and his wife, Sarah, have five children: Kya, Khalli, Oliver, Amelia, and Micah. In his spare time he enjoys reading, coffee, guitar, being an MLS fanatic and playing fantasy soccer.
