107 Coldren Street, Johnstown, Pennsylvania 15904, United States
Pastor's Corner
To Our Dear Belmont Family,
Once you have been to the Cross, you will never be the same. - Billy Graham
Most of you know I can be an emotional person. I wasn’t always as bad as I am now, but as Billy Graham often said, I’ve been to the Cross and I’ll never be the same. On top of a mountain in Benezette there is a place simply known as the Cross. It is a local church’s mission project. The path to the Cross is paved with bricks that people have bought, placed in the form of a Cross, that leads to the Cross. Along the path is the story of Jesus done in laser cut beautiful black metal. From birth to Pentecost the Jesus story is told in an amazing way. It is an emotional experience.
I’ve often thought of the truth of Billy Graham’s quote, and how the Cross has changed my life. Truly, I’ll never be the same. Many of you have shared with me how the Cross has changed you. No matter the ups and downs of life the Cross is solid ground. The Jesus story is defined by the Cross. My story has been defined by Jesus because I’ve been to the Cross.
The cost that Jesus paid on the Cross is a debt we will never be able to repay. The Good News is it is a gift freely given in love to us by Jesus. Because the church is the people, if the people come to the Cross, the church will never be the same. Are you feeling the Jesus change in our church? I feel the presence of the Holy Ghost each time I walk through her doors. Because once you have been to the Cross, you will never be the same.
In 1864 Robert Browning wrote a poem that said “The best is yet to be”. I believe that. The story of Belmont Community Church is far from over. Those who went before us and those who will come after us will go to the Cross and will never be the same. The church will not just be a building but a salvation station where sinners will encounter Jesus and never be the same. My friends, the best is yet to be.
Been to the Cross and will never be the same,
Pastor Tom and Sherri
