Hello, BRN family. It’s good to be with you today.

BARRY WHITWORTH: I’m here in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with Riverbend Community Church, and this is Pastor Joe Velarde of the church. And I’ve been working with Riverbend going through the Next Level Journey, something we’re excited about that’s helping their growing church to become even more vibrant and just more enthusiastic about serving Jesus in the Valley and the location that God has put them now, in Bethlehem.

BARRY WHITWORTH: But also, I’m here to share with you, Joe, as he leads Riverbend Community Church, is also involved in Serve Lehigh Valley. So, tell them about your involvement and what you’re looking forward to in Serve Lehigh Valley.

JOE VELARDE: Well, we’re so excited. First of all, grateful for the BRN, grateful for Dr. Barry Whitworth. Such a gift to be in relationship and just benefiting so much from our relationship with the BRN.

JOE VELARDE: We are so ecstatic about Serve Lehigh Valley. Specifically, we’re one of the hub churches, and so what that means is we have projects that are specifically going to enhance the work that we’re doing here. And I’m so grateful how they’re putting fuel on the fire of what God’s already doing here.

JOE VELARDE: But Serve Lehigh Valley is one of those ways in which it’s going to continue to catalyze forward. And we have all kinds of people coming out to serve and to be a part of this. In fact, I got a phone call last week from a church in Smyrna, Georgia, where I’m from originally, and they’re bringing up a team. And so it’s going to be such an exciting time for us to serve together in the name of Jesus to show a unified front about what it means to serve and share who this Jesus is with those that we come into contact with.

BARRY WHITWORTH: Amen. And we’re excited that you have the possibility to join the Serve Lehigh Valley Serve Tour. And I want to encourage you to go to our website, servepasj.com, and sign up. There are over 50 projects on there. Some of them have already closed because we’ve had some people already sign up. But there’s so much more out there for you to get involved with on June 26th and 27th. Come and be a part of this two-day event. You can work one day or two days. That’s up to you.

BARRY WHITWORTH: But our heart at the BRN is to come alongside of churches like Riverbend and serve through the local church as well as other churches here in the Lehigh Valley. So if you haven’t signed up, please do so. And also, here’s a special note for you.

BARRY WHITWORTH: If you want a T-shirt, Joe …

JOE VELARDE: Oh, yeah!

BARRY WHITWORTH: … that says, “Serve Lehigh Valley,” you need to sign up by May 15th, midnight, May 15th. After that, you’ll still get a T-shirt by signing up, but it will say Serve Pennsylvania/South Jersey, I believe. It’s more generic of a T-shirt. So, we want to see you there. It’s going to be an exciting time, and we have a ball just elevating Jesus, showing the love of Jesus, and making a difference wherever he sends us as part of the Serve tour. And we are blessed to come to Lehigh Valley, Pastor Joe.

JOE VELARDE: We can’t wait.

BARRY WHITWORTH: Well, thanks for listening in today, and may God bless you.