The eggs fit in the basket, but the basket has a hole

(posted by Paul Zilmer)

Our BEC is operated by the very small ecclesia in Champaign County (Illinois), with some crucial help from the Bloomington ecclesia down the road. From the outset, I've been working close to full time at it, and Jane has made major contributions as well. This has been working...up until lately.

I'm now mostly incapacitated with pain caused by bone spurs in my neck. I'm trying to finish up the class I'm currently teaching, an iffy proposition. And right after that I'm scheduled for surgery (since non-surgical options have all failed). My being out of it also impacts Jane, since her main job now is taking care of me. We'll be canceling one class, and possibly cutting back on the hours we are open.

The problem is that we have no "bench" — no one who isn't already utilized to capacity. The eggs in my personal basket initially fit, but now there's a hole, and it can't hold them any more. At least for awhile.

I record this as a lesson learned for others thinking about starting a Bible Education Center. (Or Centre, if you live outside the US!) We'd already been running into issues due to having no slack. Jane and I would like to be able to contribute in other ways and other places, both to keep ourselves fresh and to fulfill our original intentions when we took early retirement. The lesson is: you can't run at the limit of your capacity forever. Short term yes, but it's not a viable long term strategy.

The solution is more people. For us, that means volunteers from outside the immediate area. We've made this plea before, and we are grateful to those who have helped us out with shorter term stints. To be viable, though, we need a succession of longer term volunteers.

Have you ever thought about working in the mission field?
.

Volunteers urge others to volunteer

(posted by Joanie and Bruce Parker)

The Christadelphians of Champaign County (IL) are operating a BEC (Bible Education Center) offering Bible studies, Bibles and related materials to their community, from a store-front in a shopping mall. BEC’s have been successful in other parts of the world, but this may be the first in North America. It's among the few run by such a small ecclesia, which brings us to the need for volunteers.

We, Joanie and Bruce Parker, have helped out a little in the past, but this September we got an opportunity to do more. Bruce had a series of Bible Exploration classes based in 2 Kings that seemed to match requests the BEC had received for a little more in-depth studies, so we committed to teaching on 4 successive Wednesday evenings, and also to helping out 3 times with staffing the BEC.

An average of 6+ people attended each evening class… some were Brethren there to support the effort. Eight local folks signed up, and 6 attended at least once; 3 of them completed all 4 classes. (More wished to attend but work conflicts prevented them.) We would read about one chapter an evening, and follow a format of questions which prompted us to dig deeper. The discussions were lively and thought-filled. The warmth among all was evident. All had fun together, around God’s word.

Was it worth the hours of preparation, driving, staying overnight, staffing the BEC though few walked in? Bruce and Joanie say a definite “Yes”!

You can help too, and the folks operating the BEC could use the help. To learn more, contact Paul Zilmer: urbanabec@gmail.com. 

Thank you, Bruce & Joanie!

(posted by Paul Zilmer)

We've just concluded the first class of the Fall Term – a series of studies in 2 Kings, led by Bro Bruce Parker from the Chicago area.

Bruce and his wife, Sis Joanie, came down to Urbana each week through September. For all but one of those, they took a shift manning the shop, as well as presenting the class. Bruce and Joanie are the first out-of-town volunteers to make a month-long commitment to help us out. (We would love to talk to any others who are interested!)

Feedback from our students in the Spring and Summer indicated a desire for some more in-depth studies. In response, we scheduled Bruce's class, and a class on 2 Timothy which begins next week. It appears that the students like the idea of deeper classes, more than the reality. Enrollment for these classes wasn't high (which wasn't really unexpected.)  For the 2 Kings class, 8 registered and 6 attended at least once. Three ended up completing – they are shown in the picture below.

As always, interaction with the students is key, something that Joanie is particularly adept at. She engaged during the social times before & after class, as well as during the shop hours. More than the classes, the relationships are formed in the informal interactions, and relationships are critical to our mission.

Thank you, Bruce and Joanie, for the time, the caring, the instruction, and the fellowship we were privileged to share with you while you were here!