Submitted by: Nancy Brookhardt

At Broadway Christian Church in Council Bluffs, IA we have a potluck meal, available to any and all every Wednesday night. It began in 2004 with 20-30 in attendance and we just served soup and crackers, but we got tired of making soup, so now there’s a great variety of foods. Some are made by our members, some by folks who were our guests and have become an integral part of our church. Some is pre-made foods from the local food bank or grocery stores.

The meal is advertised by setting a wooden sign on the church lawn. Folks from all walks of life come. Some are employed, some are not. Some have homes, some do not. Some have much, some do not. Some need a meal. Some enjoy good health, some have permanent physical and mental restrictions that require them to have full-time caregivers. Some need company. Some need a place to belong and a way to serve others. Of the 80-100 people who come each Wednesday, only about 15-20 are the folks who also come to Sunday morning worship.

This past month we have baptized two people who attend on Wednesday night and will be baptizing two more in the near future.

What we discovered is that this is not “Soup Supper”, but rather this is Wednesday Night Church. We pray, we gather around the table for fellowship, we break bread together. We have a Bible study following the meal. We began kid’s activities last fall.

The other amazing thing is that no matter how many people come, we always seem to have enough food. God provides and there is enough (the parable of the fish and loaves)!