Published: October 16, 2009 10:14 am      

Churches combine in joint effort

Sunday marks a special time for two Johnson County churches as they come together in a joint venture for worship, ministry and outreach for the next three months.

Henderson Street Baptist Church has been in Cleburne for the past 112 years, and Southwest Family Church has been in existence for three and a half years.

Both congregations are beginning to explore blending together for mutual opportunities in sharing the gospel and serving people in Cleburne and the surrounding area.

Staff positions include pastor Eddie Freeman, who has served the Henderson church for 17 and a half years; John Stewart, minister of music and education at Henderson Church for six years; Steve Dill, who started at Southwest church as pastor and now takes on the role of minister of missions and outreach; Jon Rodgers, minister to students; and Tim Tucker, associate minister of worship.

Henderson church also has an additional staff of secretary, financial secretary and custodian.

The church shared a joint worship time and lunch in August and from that experience and the ongoing work of their two exploratory teams, have come to the place of temporarily working together.

Sunday’s services include Sunday school at 9:30 a.m. and morning worship at 10:50 a.m., with the pastor bringing a message on “The God of New Things.” Sunday evening services are at 6 p.m., and John Stewart will preach in that worship time.

Two other events are scheduled at the church, 919 E. Henderson St. in Cleburne. The first is a fifth-quarter, after-game fellowship on Oct. 23 in the Family Life Center. A Christian band will perform, a guest speaker will talk and there will be plenty of free food for junior high and high school students.

The second is a One Day Revival on Nov. 1. Guest preacher will be David Hampton of Joshua and guest musician will be Keith Longbotham of Nashville. Worship times are 8 and 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. All events are free.