Thoughts on Kingdom Stuff
I was reflecting on what God is doing in our midst for the Kingdom and frankly, I was finding myself being thankful and a little overwhelmed! If you are paying attention, God has been doing some amazing things...
- Just recently a small group went down to FBC, Chalmette, to work on some finishing details on the building. We've had groups go down every year (as well as many from around the country) and they are finally in their building and reaching out to a community devatsted by Katrina. They have been reaching and baptizing folks for the Kingdom! What a privilege to be a part of helping rebuild that lighthouse!
- This week, Sean, Katie, Grant, Camden, and Seth Benesh left for Vancouver...it was a privilege to commission them as a church last Sunday!! Even though we hadn't budgeted for Vancouver, our church and invididuals gave $1300 for their Cobra Insurance, and $2093 for their moving expenses! Wow! Lord willing, I will be going up to a vision trip to Vancouver, January 18-20. It will be exciting to see how God is going to use FCC and other churches for the Kingdom work in Vancouver!
- El Salvador...there is a group of 10 or so in El Salvador this week working with FBC, Millersville's partner church and doing training with the Pastors! We are a part of that! In June we will be sending a team to do work with our church partnerships and training of the pastors! What a privilege.
- Thanksgiving Basket Give-away this coming Saturday, November 21...we will be giving out meat, canned goods, fruit, bread, and gospels of John to 120 families!! This is our annual Thanksgiving outreach that we do together with the Cowboy Church. If you would like to participate, we need volunteers at FCC from 10 am to 12:30 or so to pack and deliver Thanksgiving boxes. How fun!
- Operation Christmas Child boxes are coming in (deadline November 22) and World Hunger Banks are filling up (deadline November 29).
These are some 'official partnerships' and projects with our church, but I am just as excited about what God is doing with individuals and groups within our church. Just this week I learned of the FCC College group's plans to give away 500 cups of chili on the Southeast campus and the BSU's outreach effort for finals' week (details will be in the bulletin). Another young person talked about planning an ethnic dinner at church and a time of prayer for the International students on campus. Another asked if he could have Thanksgiving Dinner in his home for folks who are not going to be with family this Thanksgiving.
It is amazing that God is giving us increasing corporate projects and partnerships, but it is just as amazing to watch individuals respond to the prompting on God's Spirit to reach out beyond themselves.
What has God put on your heart?
2009 Fall Blitz
Wow...Saturday was fun! There were over 40 volunteers that gathered for 6 service projects in the community. Here is a brief report:
- 15 volunteers helped with Red Star's Food Pantry that gave out food to 140 plus families! That's approximately 600 people!
- 6 volunteers cleaned a neighbors fence line and repaired a portion of her fence. It looks great!
- 5 volunteers prepared (2 additional families donated food) and served a brunch for 29 firefighters and their families. We gave out firefighter's New Testaments. They want us to come back!
- There were 15 or so volunteers who did a beautification project for North Elementary. The results looked great!
- We gave away 9 volt batteries for smoke detectors at Mulberry Acres. We are still trying to determine how many were given out.
You can view some of the pictures of the project at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/fruitlandcommunitychurch/2009FallBlitz#
It was fun and the projects were very well received! Plans are already in the works for our 2010 Spring Blitz! Let's continue to show Christ's love to our community.
Pastor Mike
FBC, Chalmette
It's amazing to read about the story of First Baptist Church, FBC. Shortly after Katrina, we entered into a partnership with this church that had it's building destroyed in the storm. We have taken several mission trips to Chalmette...they have had a long, hard journey! But they are coming upon a very important milestone. Four years after Katrina, they are moving back into their rebuilt building. The dedication of the new building is Sunday, September 20 at 10 am. That is one Sunday after FCC's 10 year anniversary. I am so excited for them!!! If you would like to read more about the church you can go to their website at:
http://www.fbcchalmette.org/templates/System/default.asp?id=21979
If you are a Facebook user, you can become a fan of First Baptist Church of Chalmette and get daily updates.
We are taking a mission trip to Chalmette, October 11-17, with others from the Cape Girardeau Baptist Association. It will be fun to see the progress of the building and to see what has been finished...the building is not finished however. Workers are needed for electrical work, painting, sheet rock, general clean-up, and food preparation. The cost is $130 plus transportation and meals enroute. Deadline for signing up is October 2. If you are interested in going please call (450-4134) or e-mail (pastormike@fruitlandcommunity.com).
Blessings on First Baptist Chalmette. To God be the glory!!
For the Kingdom!
Thoughts on our June 2009 Trip--Pastors
First--I apologize for not blogging daily in El Salvador. We just didn't have as easy access to computers/internet, and we arrived home late each night. So...here are some reflections on this past trip. I will organize my entries in this order: Pastors, Antiguo Cuscatlan, Cuidad Obrera, Tori's Sports Crusader Experiences and plans for our next trip. So check back...this is just my first entry of five in the next week or so:
One of the main purposes of my trip was to help Rolando encourage pastors. We did a 2 and 1/2 hour conference for pastors. There were 23 or so pastors who came and we looked at the book, "Ordering Your Private World." The pastors were very receptive and we ended with 45 minutes of questions about family and maintaining a pastor's spiritual life! I was amazed at the number of questions and the eagerness of the pastors. It was a good experience all around!
The pastors are in a Bible Institute class this week for credit. Individuals in our church helped pay for this week's Institute (THANK YOU!!). Several churches have expressed interest in helping support future Institute classes for the pastors. We hope to formalize an agreement in the next few weeks. This is very exciting!!
Tori and I had the opportunity to travel to different parts of the country and meet and pray with pastors. Here are some of the pastors I met and their prayer requests:
- Ricardo Basan, pastor of FBC, Cajutepeque. This is an amazing church that has 700 members, 60 cell groups, 9 satellite churches and an awesome Christian school. This November 14 they will be 40 years old and they will be doing a huge outreach to the community called Savout (it is based on a Jewish festival). Last time they did this, they had between 3 and 6 thousand came!! The pastor has asked that we pray for this event and that many will be drawn to the love of Christ!
- David Ayala, pastor of FBC, San Vanciente. This church is partnered with Concord BC in Jefferson City. Pastor David is sick--he is having trouble with his kidney stones and cholesterol. He is asking for prayers for his health, construction on addition to the church, and for the church to continue growing.
- Hector Garcia, pastor of FBC Zacatecoluca. He has asked that we pray that he stay strong physically and spiritually and that his church can hook up with a potential Missouri partner church in Missouri.
- Jesus Angel Martinez pastors a church on top of a mountain. It took us hours to get there. His church's name is Mount Moriah in El Coco. The church has a beautiful building and 270 members. He makes $45 a month as pastor. He is asking for prayer for a partner church from Missouri, for the spiritual growth of the church, a planting of a new church, a crusade in august, and for personal strength.
- Eliseo Linares, pastor of Mount of Olives, Baptist Church in Tanque. This church is 3 KM from Pastor Jesus' church...Pastor Eliseo walks that 3 KM everyday from his home to the church and back (it's not an easy walk). It is a new church that has 75 members. They are praying for a partnership from Missouri and growth of the church. Pray for his physical strength as well!
- We visited two churches that currently don't have pastors: Mount Sinai and Mount Olivet. They are on the same mountain as the previous two churches, but I forgot to write down the name of the villages. Pray that God would send them a pastor!
It was inspirational to spend time with all these pastors in El Salvador. Thanks for reading...thanks for praying!!
For the Kingdom!!
El Salvador 2008 Trip Comments (0)
El Salvador 2008 Trip
Dear FCC Mission Partners,
Tuesday, June 9, Tori (my daughter) and I are leaving for El Salvador. We are both very excited! We will both be in our partner churches in Santa Tecla, Antiguo Cuscatlan, and Cuidad Obrera. It will be awesome to see each of these churches again. Santa Tecla is the mother church of Antiguo Cuscatlan, and Antiguo Cuscatlan is the mother church of Cuidad Obrera. Three generation of churches!!! Originally, I was going to do a one day retreat for the pastors...now I will be doing four different meetings for pastors in different regions. I'm excited, because this could mean meeting and encouraging more pastors!!
Tori will be joining a Sports Crusader Basketball Team leading a clinic for kids. What a great way to share Jesus! And she's excited about seeing her El Salvador friends!!
Please pray for us as we travel. I return on the 15th, and Tori on the 19th.
We will try and update this blog regularly if you want to check back on how our week is going! Thanks for praying!
For the Kingdom!
El Salvador 2008 Trip Comments (0)
Leaving for El Salvador!!
Dear FCC Mission Partners,
Tuesday, June 9, Tori (my daughter) and I are leaving for El Salvador. We are both very excited! We will both be in our partner churches in Santa Tecla, Antiguo Cuscatlan, and Cuidad Obrera. It will be awesome to see each of these churches again. Santa Tecla is the mother church of Antiguo Cuscatlan, and Antiguo Cuscatlan is the mother church of Cuidad Obrera. Three generation of churches!!! Originally, I was going to do a one day retreat for the pastors...now I will be doing four different meetings for pastors in different regions. I'm excited, because this could mean meeting and encouraging more pastors!!
Tori will be joining a Sports Crusader Basketball Team leading a clinic for kids. What a great way to share Jesus! And she's excited about seeing her El Salvador friends!!
Please pray for us as we travel. I return on the 15th, and Tori on the 19th.
We will try and update this blog regularly if you want to check back on how our week is going! Thanks for praying!
For the Kingdom!
El Salvador 2008 Trip Comments (0)
Sermons from Joshua/Champ Callahan
Hey FCC,
Here are a couple of sermons from Joshua that I preached in 2003...
Taking Possession.doc (43.00 kb)
The Battle is the Lord's - public.doc (46.50 kb)
I am so excited that Champ Callahan and his family are returning to FCC in a couple of weeks! He will be in a concert on Saturday night, June 20 at 7 pm, at FCC, and then will lead worship on Sunday morning, June 21. Would you mark you calendars? Pray? Invite someone--especially for Saturday night? I'm looking forward to it!!
May the Lord continue to bless our church as we lift up His name in worship!!
David in His Story
Our next sermon series will be "David in His Story." For those who like to read ahead, here is our preaching schedule (Lord willing!!):
May 31 - "After His Heart" 1 Samuel 13-16
June 7 - "Goliath" - 1 Samuel 17
June 14 - "Patience" - 1 Samuel 22-24
June 21 - "Bathsheba" - 2 Samuel 11-12
June 28 - "Serving in Our Generation" - Acts 13: 36
I really struggled with jumping from Exodus to 1 Samuel. We are skipping some really good stuff found in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy--but especially in Joshua, Judges, and Ruth! I'm grateful for the adult Sunday School class that has been studying Joshua and Ruth. In 2006 we experienced The Old Testament Challenge and preached through the Old Testament. For those of you who are interested, I've posted my sermons from Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy:
Number Your Days.doc (46.50 kb)
Loving God's Word.doc (41.00 kb)
Next week, I will post my 3 sermons from Joshua and Judges. Please don't feel obligated to read these, I just wanted to help fill in the gaps. You are obligated to report any typos! I haven't proofed these...just posted them...no telling what mistakes were there in 2006!
Mark your calendars for June 19-20! Champ Callahan will be in concert at FCC on Saturday night and then lead worship on Sunday morning! I'm excited about this time of worship that the Lord is preparing!!
Have a great week!
Mike
Small Groups--Beginning with CR
This summer I will be sharing (Lord willing) testimonies from our small groups. It is my prayer that these testimonies from our church family will inspire you to join a small group...this story is submitted by Amy Elfrink about what God is doing in Celebrate Recovery. At the bottom of this post you will find a recent article about CR in the Southeast Missourian! Thanks Amy!!
At Celebrate Recovery a testimony is given every other week as a part of our large group time. The format that those preparing a testimony are asked to follow is simple - "Tell us who you were before you came to know Christ and how you have changed as a result of following Jesus. What part has Celebrate Recovery played in helping you find victory." Testimonies can be life changing for those giving them and for those listening.
I recently got the blessing of encouraging someone who had been putting off giving her testimony for months. Celebrate Recovery had played a significant role in healing her family, but the thought of having to talk about her "stuff" in front of people was overwhelming. She struggled to write it down, struggled with the right words, struggled with what to share, struggled to follow through, and choked back tears as she gave a wonderful testimony. After it was all over, she realize what a blessing it was. The joy and peace God blessed her with were overwhelming. I believe giving a CR testimony brings a person to a fullness of faith that they would not have otherwise experienced. The process of reviewing what God has done in our lives seems to refresh and strengthen our faith.
Testimonies are often life changing for those listening. When a person in the midst of a struggle hears about another persons victory, it can provide much needed hope. The realization that they are not alone and that others have successfully walked before them is so important. Revelation 12:11 says, "They overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony." This verse speaks of the power of testimonies to overcome Satan and live victorious lives.
Testimonies tend to deepen our respect for those around us and tie us together as brothers and sisters in Christ. They bring us to a deeper understanding of who the other person is and a greater appreciation for who they have become. Maybe most freeing of all, is that testimonies challenge us to live transparent lives free of the hypocrisy of pretending to be someone we are not. They are powerful and are key to Celebrate Recovery's success in helping its participants find victory.
http://www.semissourian.com/story/1541896.html
Please pray for this important ministry in the life of our church!!
Turkey, 30 Day Famine, and Tori
That's an interesting title for this blog entry! Hey FCC, I wanted to let you know about three mission opportunities that our folks are involved in:
- Turkey - Kim Roberts, one of our recent college graduates, is leaving for a mission trip to Turkey this Sunday and will be gone for two weeks. Many of you have donated for her trip. THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Now would you please pray for her and her team as they travel to Turkey and minister in Jesus' name!
- 30 Day Famine - Next weekend, May 22-23, the youth are fasting for 30 hours for world hunger!! This is a huge spiritual step for our youth and they need our prayers and support! You can support them through donating juice and water bottles at the church. Also you can give money to the youth or to the church on behalf of the 30 hour famine. All proceeds raised for this event will go to World Vision.
- Tori - My daughter has an interesting missions opportunity! She and I will be traveling to El Salvador to visit our mission points and to work with the pastors, June 9-15...I will come home the 15th and she will stay for 5 extra days to help with a Sports Crusaders Basketball Camp with Dan Hale from Millersville, and several other senior high girls! The cost is more than originally budgeted for, so if you would like to give to Tori Parry's trip you can do so through the church...make sure you put "El Salvador Sports Crusaders" on the memo of your check.
It is amazing to me how God continues to use the young people of our church around the world...
For the Kingdom!
Mike
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