A Little About Us

Dear friend,

Hello and Praise the Lord! My name is Tom. By the grace of God, I have a wonderful wife and two wonderful twin sons. In 1997 I came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. He changed my life!

What can I tell you about my past? I led somewhat of a tough life, and I had a lot of problems. I've seen or done many bad things. As a teenager I was constantly in trouble: at home, at school, in the neighborhood, and everywhere else. I was a heavy drinker and a frequent drug user. I can think of three distinct occasions where by all rights I should have been dead. As I grew older, I was a terrible husband and father too - selfish, angry and emotionally abusive to my dear wife. I won't bore you with all the details. There were so many times when I should have lost my life, or my liberty, or my family, but looking back now I can see that God had a purpose for me and preserved me through all those bad times. I can't tell you enough how grateful I am to God for His constant care and mercy toward me! I truly didn't deserve it, but He saved me nonetheless.

Grace, grace, God's grace! Grace that will pardon and cleanse within.
Grace, grace. God's grace. Grace that is greater than all our sin!

What things have you done in your past? What problems do you have today? Don't you want to be free from all that baggage? Are you secure in the knowledge that God forgives, through faith and trust in His dear Son? Where does your eternal future lie?

In 1997, various problems in our life came to a head, and led us both to begin searching for a deeper meaning to life (as is so often the case). We began earnestly studying the Bible and came to understand the truth of God's plan of salvation shortly after that. Our lives have been truly blessed ever since! In the summer of 1999, both of our sons came to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ ,through the ministry of the brothers and sisters at summer camp at Camp Li-Lo-Li, a wonderful Christian camp in the Allegany foothills.

The local asembly where we fellowship is Blasdell Gospel Chapel . Often, people will ask us, "What denomination are you?", or "What type of church do you go to?". The answers to these questions are hard for some to understand, while others may receive the truth gladly.

When we study the New Testament, it is clearly evident that the idea of a "denomination" or "sect" is foreign to Scripture.. There is no such thing as one religious organization or another being the "one true Church", or any such thing. The true Church is not a building, or a name of a group of religious people with a common creed. The true Church is a living organism instituted by the Lord in this age of grace and governed by Him and Him alone. We own no other name than that of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we gather unto Him for worship, fellowship, and the ministry of the Gospel. The only name we find in the New Testament for believers gathered as such is brethren (note the small "b"). All believers in this Church age are brethren, on equal footing one with another in Christ, and each man or woman is given spiritual gifts in different measure according to the working of the Holy Spirit by the will of God.

The New Testament uniformly and clearly teaches the equality in standing of each and every believer in Christ before God. We are kings and priests unto our God (Revelation 1:6; 5:10). We are a chosen generation and a holy and royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:5, 9). We see therefore that the separation of a clerical and lay class of believers is also foreign to Scripture. Every one of us is a priest unto God, and our great High Priest is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, our Lord Himself condemns the separation of the laity from the clergy, for he hates the deeds and doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which are the clergy ruling over the laity (Revelation 2:6, 2:15). The Lord Jesus Christ is the only head of His Church.

When we first came to a local assembly it was at the Sunday morning worship meeting, also known as the Lord's Supper. I was very confused at first, because I could not see a pattern or organization to this simple gathering of believers. One brother would request a hymn, and another would perhaps offer a reading from Scripture, while another might simply offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God for His marvellous work of salvation. Then another brother might request a different hymn. Sometimes there would be noticeable moments of silence. Finally, a loaf of bread would be passed around and then the wine (or grape juice for those that prefer it). A closing prayer, then a time of fellowship, and finally a time of Bible study led by one of the brothers.

I just couldn't figure it out! But there was something absolutely wonderful about the simplicity and the earnest tone of humble devotion and worship at those meetings, so I returned again and again for several weeks. Finally, I brought my wife Annette (she didn't get it at first either), and we've been gathering in the same manner ever since.

Being raised in the Roman Catholic denomination most of our lives, I could not understand how the weekly breaking of bread meeting could function without a recognized leader and a set order to things. But the Holy Spirit truly leads these humble gatherings. What a blessing it is when we see that all the songs, Scripture readings, and prayers bear out a common theme throughout the meeting!

Today, there are hundreds and perhaps thousands of "denominations" around the world, but in the early Church at the close of the apostolic age we find no such thing. Rather, we see the simple gathering of believers in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And to this day, on the first day of the week there are literally thousands of such small and simple gatherings around the world. Some assemble in houses or storefronts, or modest chapels like ours. We are not united by a title or a hierarchy of governmental authority, but simply by the blood of Christ, who died for us that we might live in Him.

My friend, if you are in an empty religious system, come out of that dead system of rituals and repetitive "prayers" and see what it is like to worship God in Spirit and in truth, according to His pattern! I tell you, you'll never regret it. Everything on this site has been put here with the desire to share the wonderful truth of the Gospel of salvation through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to provide sound Biblical doctrine for believers everywhere. I hope and pray that these things will be a benefit to you.

"It's a good thing God chose me before I was born,because he surely would not have afterwards." (C.H. Spurgeon)