The Northwest Voice

All > Having Faith
Building a bridge
Topics:
Posted by nwv_admin Mon Jun 6, 2005 11:17:00 PDT
Viewed 697 times
0 responses 0 comments Building a bridge
The Bridge Bible Church seeks to provide a connection between men and God

At some churches, members might be disconcerted to see their lead pastor and worship pastor yelling and screaming, arms outstretched and cheeks flapping in the wind, feet not-so-firmly planted on the ground.

But if you belong to The Bridge Bible Church, you probably took the sight of Rev. Jeff Gowling and Worship Pastor Ryan MacDiarmid skydiving at the recent spring carnival in stride.

"We think out of the box here," said Gowling. "Our motto is ‘Innovating with excellence.'" Skydiving, explains Gowling, was just a way to illustrate the theme of the event -- Next Step: Really Living -- and to emphasize the exhiliration that awaits if one takes "the next step" with God.

The Bridge Bible Church, which currently meets out of Bakersfield Christian High School on the corner of Allen Road and Stockdale Highway, is designed to offer a cutting-edge feel and appeal to young families in nearby communities through the use of a contemporary worship style, the latest marketing techniques and a heavy emphasis on multimedia. And it appears to be working. Though The Bridge only held its first service in September of 2003, it now boasts 600 members.

"We're creative. Very little about us is typical or traditional," said Gowling.

That's certainly true of the church's beginnings. When Laurelglen Bible Church paid $375,000 for the 25 acres next to the future site of Bakersfield Christian High seven years ago, its leaders didn't have a clear plan for the property. One option was to move Laurelglen, situated on under five acres, to the new site. Another was to do a reverse church plant, and move the Laurelglen congregation to the new site and start a new church at its old location.

In the end, said Gowling, the leaders decided that God was calling them to plant a new church in the area, and The Bridge was started with 75 willing Laurelglen transplants.

The hunt for a lead pastor resulted in the discovery of Gowling, who at the time was an associate pastor in Manhattan. Gowling and his wife had started having children and were happy to take up residence in a more family-friendly city. His oldest just graduated from kindergarten at Independence Elementary School.
From the beginning, heavy promotion was crucial to the former marketing major. For its grand opening in 2004, The Bridge handed out 2,000 informational DVDs, 10,000 glossy postcards and water bottles with customized labels that read "Never Thirst! If you think this is refreshing you should try attending church at The Bridge."

Since then, service attendance has never dropped below 300, even during last summer, when parishioners had to move from Bakersfield Christian's multipurpose room to a tent on the campus.

Gowling describes the Sunday services, which are now held in the school's gymnasium and include worship music from MacDiarmid's band, as "loud."
"Although we welcome all generations, you won't see a lot of gray-heads there," said Gowling.

The church's building team has visited 25 churches across the country as part of their research for the new church, on which construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in spring of 2007. Gowling said the vision for the church campus is a marketplace, park-like feel that would be something of an extension of RiverWalk across the street. Ideally, it would include a 2,200- to 3,500-seat sanctuary, a lake and running path, a fitness center and large youth complex.

"We want it to be a seven-day-a-week campus where people can interact and hang out. Why spend $50 million on something that would be used only on Sundays?" said Gowling.

In addition to church being a bridge to God, the church was named after the bridge on Stockdale Highway. It will fit even more, said Gowling, when the Allen Road Northwest connection bridge is built.

For now, The Bridge continues to draw residents from both the Northwest and Southwest as new houses and new businesses spring up around it.

"We joke that God is building the city around our campus," said Gowling.

For more information, go to www.thebridgebiblechurch.com.

The Bridge Bible Camp
The Bridge Bible Camp will be hosting the Ramblin' Road Trip this summer. As they ramble across the country on Route 254, kids will discover how the daily choices they make impact their journeys. Camp will be held July 18 to 22 from 8:30 to 11:45 a.m. at the Bakersfield Christian High School campus. The $15 cost includes snacks, crafts, a T-shirt and CD. For more information call 587-2010.

Send to a Friend

Report a Violation