South Bend City Church

Becky Ykema - On the shortest day, or "longest night", of the year, our local and long-distance community joined together on Zoom for a guided time of reflection, song and prayer as we held space for grief and longing, in a season often marked by joy and celebration. This liturgy was also pre-recorded for those that couldn't join us and for those that want to revisit it throughout the year.

You can find the digital liturgy guide in...

Jason Miller - As we begin our Advent path, walking together toward Christmas, we’re celebrating the good news that God’s love isn’t love in the abstract; it’s love in the neighborhood. This last week of Advent, we're looking at a subtle feature in Luke's story of Christmas, one with powerful implications for where and when we expect to meet God. 

What's Happening

• Join us on Christmas Eve at 4p or 11p.
• Give to our Christmas Of...

Jason Miler and Dave Armstrong - As we pursue a vision of love in the neighborhood, we've been continually inspired by a kindred community in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The people of Redeemer Central Church are following Jesus and stewarding a sacred space in the heart of their city, and as we've taken on the call to reactivate the Tribune as a place for the people of South Bend, their story is encouraging us in ours. Our lead past...

Mark Waltz, Grace Baker, Pam Blair, and Marty McIntosh - As we begin our Advent path, walking together toward Christmas, we’re celebrating the good news that God’s love isn’t love in the abstract; it’s love in the neighborhood. This week, we're hearing from members of SBCC's American South delegation who recently traveled to New Orleans, Selma, and Montgomery to learn more about our complicated and often unjust history, and to be c...

Beth Graybill, TaKisha Jacobs, and Corrie Commisso - As we begin our Advent path, walking together toward Christmas, we’re celebrating the good news that God’s love isn’t love in the abstract; it’s love in the neighborhood. This week, as we light the Advent candle for peace, we're sharing the story of TaKisha Jacobs and her work to intervene in the face of gun violence in South Bend, and the way that Corrie Commisso came alongside ...

Jason Miller - As we begin our Advent path, walking together toward Christmas, we're celebrating the good news that God's love isn't love in the abstract; it's love in the neighborhood.

What's Happening

• Give to our Christmas Offering.
• View our Advent Art Guide online, or stop by in person for a physical copy.
• Find our Holiday schedule on our website!
• Support the ongoing work of SBCC by giving to the general fund. South Bend Ci...

Jason Miller - To celebrate Thanksgiving, we took a few minutes to consider the reasons it’s good to give thanks, and then members of our community shared some of the things they’re thankful for. 

What's Happening

• View our Advent Art Guide online, or stop by in person for a physical copy.
• Find our Holiday schedule on our website!
• Reach out to Karen Grant if you need more information about Kids Sing.
• Give to our Christmas Offer...

Michael Hidalgo - Many of us struggle with the faith we were handed earlier in life. We find it too narrow or exclusionary or harmful. But how to do we pass on something better.

Michael is a trusted friend of SBCC, was the pastor of Denver Community Church for 18 years, and joined us this week to share a teaching on how we can give something better to the world. 

What's Happening

• Join our Discord! If you need help getting your...

Jason Miller - Jesus chooses to enter Samaria and meet with a Samaritan woman in an act of cultural subversion. While there, his strange conversation with the woman illuminates the surprising ways God might be speaking to us as we seek the beautiful life to which God calls us. 

What's Happening

• View our Quarterly Financial Report (Q1)
• Check out our conversation with Becky Ykema, our new full-time staff member with a focus on w...

Sean Palmer - John the Baptist is confronted with the growth of Jesus' ministry and baptisms, raising questions about John's significance and our relationship to humility. 

Sean Palmer is the author of Speaking by the Numbers: Enneagram Wisdom for Teachers, Pastors, and Communicators (IVP 2022) and 40 Days on Being a Three (Enneagram Daily Reflections). He is also the Teaching Pastor at Ecclesia Houston, one of America’s most innov...

Jason Miller - A religious leader whose world has just been threatened by Jesus' cleansing in the temple comes to Jesus in the night in curiosity and confusion. Jesus has a lot to say to Nicodemus, including that he must be "born again". What might Jesus have meant, and what does it mean for us today? 

What’s Happening

• RSVP to the next New to SBCC Table, happening on November 9th at 12:15p.
• Get tickets for INKSTORIES at Stockr...

Becky Ykema - We are continuing the sermon series looking at the life of Jesus through the gospel of John. Today's teaching is from John 2:13-25 where Jesus turns tables and opens doors. 

What's Happening

• Get tickets for INKSTORIES at Stockroom East on November 8th at 7p or submit your storyteller application
• RSVP to Student Friendsgiving on November 2nd at 5:30p (for students in grades 6-12 and their families)
• Join our Discor...

Jason Miller - In what the gospel writer calls the first sign of Jesus' glory, Jesus responds to a shortage of wine at a wedding. It's a beautiful story with plenty of meaning at the basic level, but what happens when we also understand its symbolic levels of meaning? 

This week's gatherings also featured an interview of Prashan De Visser, founder and president of Global Unites. To learn more, visit globalunites.org. 

What’s Happen...

Becky Ykema, Beth Graybill, and team - This Sunday, we took an intentional pause from diving into one particular passage in the book of John and hosted a DTR or “define the relationship” with Jesus. The sermon includes three reflection points: noting when we first encountered Jesus in our own lives, when it got complicated, and finally what what we are seeking after in our relationship with Jesus now.

We used 3 songs in our reflect...

Jason Miller - Our journey through the Gospel of John continues with the question of John the Baptist and the calling of the first disciples. 

What’s Happening

• RSVP to our upcoming New to SBCC Table on Sunday, October 5 at 12:15p.
• Join us for our Fall Picnic at Leeper Park on October 12 from 11a-1p.
• Register for the South Bend Pilgrimage happening October 31-November 1.
• Support the ongoing work of SBCC by giving to the general...

Jason Miller - As we enter the fall season, we’re also beginning a new project together: following Jesus through the gospel of John. We begin with the prologue to the gospel, where the writer re-tells the creation story and includes within it a vision of the Word of God that calls us forward to our own best selves. 

What’s Happening

• Register for the South Bend Pilgrimage happening October 31-November 1.
• Join us for our Fall Pi...

Jason Miller - As we enter the fall season, we're also beginning a new project together: following Jesus through the gospel of John. Before we begin in earnest, we took a week to explain why this text might be important for our community right now. 

What's Happening

• Find more information about, or register for, our two Fall Workshops: Recovery from Distorted Images of God, Self and Others with Dale and Juanita Ryan and Raising...

Kierre Bjorn Lindsay and Karen Grant - On Sunday, August 31st our community took some intentional time to pray for the start of the school year.  This is a two-fold community prayer that begins with praying over students of every age and stage as they begin their studies.  It concludes with an intentional prayer over all educators, administrators and other support staff within the education system as they enter into a new year of t...