October 9 - 15, 2015

Webster-Kirkwood Times

13

Pastor Bob Bickford (center) with family and congregation members.

The Groves: A Church In The

Community For The Community

The Church is called to make a difference, not only in the lives of its members and
attendees, but in the lives of those in the community. According to The Groves Pastor
Bob Bickford, this is one of the core values
that guides the ministry of The Groves.
Church is much more than a building, an
activity or a meeting, he said. The church
is a movement of people who have been rescued by Christ and are in the process of being
restored in their relationships to God and
others.
The Groves mission is simple and clear:
We are a church of broken people, redeemed
by Jesus, empowered by the Spirit, helping
people take their next steps with God.
Sunday worship gatherings are held at 10
a.m. Guests will find a warm and welcoming
atmosphere, contemporary worship. Dress is
casual, and communion is offered each week.
Nursery and childrens programming are
offered for children
through fourth grade during worship.
A key element of
church life is Gospel

Communities. These are small groups of

Groves worshippers who meet together in
area homes on weekends and weeknight evenings. By sharing meals, studying scripture
together, praying and serving together, members form deep, lasting connections.
The Groves believes strongly in opening
its doors to the community whenever possible.
An Arabic worshipping community uses
the building on Saturday evenings. A local
Girl Scout troop, the Classical Conversations
Home School Co-op and an Alcoholics
Anonymous group meet in church rooms.
The Webster Groves United Soccer Club
practices on church grounds, and Clark
Elementary School families use The Groves
parking lot for school drop-off and pick-up.
The church has sponsored an annual community-wide Easter egg hunt and hosts Groves
Moms, a community group for mothers of
young children.
We are a church in the
community, for our community, Bickford said.

9220 Big Bend Blvd Webster Groves 314-962-7330 groveschurch.com

Contemporary worship area called The Wood

features state-of-the-art sound and video.

Lead Pastor David Bennett

Assoc. Pastor Rocky Marlowe

Kirkwood United Methodist Looks

To Future With Capital Campaign

Kirkwood United Methodist Church is

looking to the future of serving the needs of
the community with plans for a capital
campaign.
Our congregation is excited to
announce we are entering a capital campaign to improve our 51-year-old building,
said Kimberly Day, director, communications and worship arts at the church. We
will start with renovations in our main
sanctuary, then move to updating our lobby,
lounge and patio.
The congregation, founded in 1868,
was originally located at the northeast corner of Clay and Adams. In 1964, the current
building was built at 201 W. Adams at Clay.
The renovation of the main sanctuary
will include sound, lighting and technology
upgrades and upgrades to seating to meet
ADA guidelines. A
wheelchair lift will be
installed to allow all to
access the platform during worship, plus fixture
upgrades, shades on the
windows and raising the

platform to create better sight lines.

In April the church completed a renovation of its contemporary worship facility.
Called The Wood, the state-of-the-art
worship arts center is home to two contemporary worship services: Ignite which meets
on Saturdays at 5:05 p.m., and Jubilee
which meets on Sundays at 9:05 a.m. The
facility now features a new stage, floor-toceiling screens for environmental projection, new lights and sound, plus new fixtures throughout the room.
Led by Lead Pastor David Bennett and
Associate Pastor Rocky Marlowe, the
churchs mission is making disciples of
Jesus Christ for the transformation of the
world, with a vision to connect with God
and others, grow in faith and serve in love.
All are invited to worship services held
on Wednesdays at 5:45
p.m.; on Saturdays at
5:05 p.m.; and on
Sundays at 8 a.m., 9:05
a.m., 10:30 a.m. and
11:35 a.m.

Kirkwood United Methodist Church

201 W. Adams Kirkwood MO 63122 www.kirkwoodumc.org

Riverside Church: A Come As

You Are Kind of Place

Riverside Church is a come as you

are kind of place where people who
might not consider themselves particularly
religious find grace and a safe space to
grapple with the life changing reality of
Jesus.
An Evangelical Presbyterian church,
Riverside was founded in 2001 with the
vision of learning life together with Jesus
for the sake of our city and the hope of our
world. The congregation met at Hixson
Middle School until last year when it purchased the vacant Church of the Open
Door at the corner of Big Bend and Grant
Road in Webster Groves.
The congregation is led by Pastor Zack
Eswine, PhD. Jen Hahn joins him as the
childrens ministry director, Katy Martin
as senior high ministry team leader and
Eswines wife Jessica as
junior high ministry team
leader.
Worship service is on
Sundays at 10 a.m.
Numerous weekly events
include Evening Brew:
Asking
Our
Honest

Questions; children, junior, senior high

and college ministries; parenting classes;
mothers mornings; mens and womens
Bible studies; board game night; house
groups; and Alcoholics Anonymous.
The congregation is also active in the
community organizations such as the
Alliance for Interracial Dignity, the Dr.
Martin Luther King annual event, the
Clergy Alliance for Racial Equality and
Webster-Rock Hill Ministries. The church
also supports ministries for orphans in
Honduras and ministry leaders in New
Zealand.
Pastor Eswine, in addition to leading
Riverside, is an author. His latest works
include The Imperfect Pastor (Crossway
2015) and Spurgeons Sorrows: Realistic
Hope for Those Who Suffer from
Depression
(Christian
Focus, 2015).
As pastor of the church,
he longs for a Riverside
environment that fosters a
prayerful, human, truthful
attempt to love and learn
from Jesus.

9440 Big Bend Blvd. Webster Groves 314-918-9922 riversidestl.org