Becoming the Church Again

Becoming the Church Again
May Sermon Series
Rev. Dr. Wade Powell

Saturdays, 5:00 PM - Cornerstone
Sundays, 9:00 & 11:00 AM - Worship Center

What do you do when the world changes faster than your tools can keep up?

Becoming the Church Again is a sermon series about following God into a new and unfamiliar landscape. Drawing from the story of Lewis & Clark and the biblical journey of Israel and the early church, this series explores what happens when the “map runs out”—when what used to work no longer works, and faith requires something deeper than familiarity.

For generations, churches like Bethany have faithfully followed the “river”—clear patterns of church life, cultural alignment, and predictable growth. But today, the terrain has changed. The river has shifted. And like Lewis & Clark at the Rockies, we find ourselves needing to adapt—not by abandoning faith, but by reimagining how we live it out. This series is not about going back; it is about discerning how God is leading us forward.

Across four weeks, we will journey from confusion to clarity, from wilderness to promise, from old methods to renewed mission, and ultimately to the empowering movement of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

• MAY 2 & 3: When the Map Runs Out | Joshua 3:1–5
• MAY 9 & 10: The Wilderness Is Not Failure | Exodus 16:1–4
• MAY 16 & 17: Letting Go of the Canoe | Mark 2:21–22
• MAY 23 & 24 (Pentecost): When the Spirit Blows the Map Away | Acts 2:1–21

The central conviction of the series is simple but profound: We are not on the river anymore—but we are still with the God who makes a way forward.