MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF FAITH CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP. Our Rally Cry! Our Redeemer Lives!

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1 news MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF FAITH CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP Our Rally Cry! Our Redeemer Lives! I don t like to be pitied. Few do. Don t misunderstand, a compassionate response at moments of despair and great loss or disappointment are desirable. None of us can really do without it. But pity is altogether different. It is a disposition that says the difficult challenges I am experiencing are overblown, fictitious, or borne out of ignorance. No one likes to be pitied. The apostle Paul faced the issue head-on with the 1st century, Corinthian church. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. (1 Cor. 15:19) There it is. Pity. On the basis of one thing Christ s resurrection from the dead! Paul is willing to stake the difference between divine hope and human pity. That s another way of saying all in, burn the ships, or make or break. Paul is either that foolish, or that convinced. If you can believe it, things are even worse. Pity is the least of our problems without the resurrection. Paul says our faith is also vain, we are false witnesses of God, and we are still in [our] sins. Is it any wonder that Easter Sunday, year after year, should be the Church s banner celebration? Everything is riding on it. When any of us is faced with the onslaught of doubt from those who resist the truth of the Gospel, the resurrection a prophecy fulfilled with an empty tomb and more than sufficient evidence of its validity is our rally cry. My Redeemer Lives! Happy Easter, Pastor Gordon

2 God has hard-wired us for relationships! We are each part of God s plan to disciple one another. YOU are part of God s plan to disciple me and I am part of God s plan to disciple you. When we are isolated, our faith becomes weak Romans 15. The remedy for this is simple. The author of Hebrews encourages us: Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the Day drawing hear. We encourage you to join a Home Group here at FCF. Home groups are designed to give you an opportunity to pour into others and allow others to pour into you. We will pray together, study scripture together, serve together and spur one another on towards love and good deeds. For more information about Home Groups or to sign up to receive more information about open FCF Home Groups, visit

3 Join the ladies for coffee, worship, a chance to meet Robin Meek hear her testimony, and catch up with the ladies. We will provide the coffee and other morning beverages and you bring a bite to share. Hope you can come! It won t be the same without you! March 6 Skyzone Junior High Activity 12:30pm- 3:30pm Cost is $10 and includes lunch. March 20 Last Breakfast - 9am Donations will be needed from parents of breakfast items. Watch the weekly newsletter for the sign-up list. March 27 Easter Sunday Family Worship Sunday Students will worship together with their families. Classes will not meet at 9am. Join us the third Wednesday of each month at 6:30pm in the Classroom Annex for a time of prayer for our church and community. Good Friday Services will be held on The Switchback Student Missions will be hosting their annual Spring Yard Sale on May 13 & 14. If you are doing spring cleaning, we would greatly appreciate donations of items (no clothing or old TV s). We will begin accepting donations for the yard sale the last week of April. Watch the bulletin for more information! Friday, March 25 Please watch the weekly bulletin and website for more information. Some of the teens who served at the Great Night Out and God s Love Amazes Me Valentine s Party.

4 The Kuyasa Kids are heading our way again! We are thrilled to be a part of their itinerary!! If you attended FCF when they were here a few years ago, you'll recall the energy and fun they bring as they perform, and the awareness they seek to show of the plight of children in Africa who have been orphaned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. As before, we will need homes to host the children and their chaperones while they are in the area. We need host homes for 18 children with the Kuyasa Kids, 3 adult leaders from Africa, 4 men from the U.S, and 2 women from the U.S. That's a lot of homes! It's a great chance to experience another culture and build bridges while never having to leave the U.S. If you would be willing to open your home and hearts to these bright, beautiful children and adults April 8-12, please contact David Glaze via at missions@explorefcf.com.we will get the host family guidelines and application to you. February marked the completion of FCF's first Global Impact trip of the year with a 4-man team traveling to Nicaragua to reach children for Christ through the feeding center in Managua that FCF sponsors and continue the pastoral training at ACIBEN. The curriculum they used helped the pastors to understand biblical principles for marriage and child-rearing that often are lacking in male Latino attitudes. Please pray that God will use the time they spent there to strengthen the homes, marriages, and families of the pastors in attendance. Stephen Walker was a part of the Nicaragua team as the photographer. He captured many photographs that documented their time and the lives they touched. He has done an excellent job of refreshing the Global Impact web page on the explorefcf website with photos, trip details, downloads with impact trip information, and even countdown calendars for each trip. The downloadable documents on the website include: The application to participate in a short term trip Support letter suggestions A packing list The link to the site is If you are interested in going on a short term trip,, fill out the application and turn it into Pastor David Glaze. Thank you so much, Steve, for all the time you have invested! There is a discovery trip planned to go to a mountain village in Haiti where the team will have to hike for several hours to reach the church. They will be spending the night there in the church to learn of needs in the village and connect more closely with the work that our ministry partner, Luc St. Felix, is doing in remote areas of Haiti. It will also be an opportunity for our new lead pastor to be introduced to Luc and the ministry he has in his native country. Please pray for Pastor Gordon, Pastor David, Carl Brindley, and Stephen Walker, as they embark on this exciting but physically challenging trip March The next general Global Impact meeting will be held on March 3rd at 7:00 p.m. Please attend if you are participating in or would like information on participating in an impact trip this year.

5 The stove in Pastor Carmello s home Basket in the market The kitchen in Pastor Carmello s home The team at the feeding center Drying coffee beans The Pastor s Home Overlooking Matagalpa Inside the ACIBEN Church Life in Jadder s neighborhood. Photographs captured by Steve Walker during the trip to Nicaragua in February. Please be in prayer for the men who attended the pastoral training at ACIBEN and the feeding center that FCF supports. FCF began serving in Nicaragua in 2004 and has been building relationships with the families and churches since that time.

6 News for those 50 years of age and older... As I write this article for the March Faith News, the snow and ice of winter are still very much a part of our daily concern. By the time you read it, I m hoping that we will be seeing the first blossoms of spring! In the meantime, please be alert to any winter weather cancellation which may affect our Wednesday time. To remind us an will go out from either Georgia or me. A text message will be sent out by FCF. There will be an from FCF Notices. A cancellation or delay of time notice will be aired on WCRH, 90.5 FM radio. Some, who we know do not have computer / access, will receive a call. If in doubt, please call Dianne at , or Georgia at Our next potluck will be on Wednesday, March 23, at 12:15PM, immediately following. On Wednesday, May 4th, Y@H will be traveling by FCF bus, van, and other vehicles to Lancaster, PA for the new Sight & Sound show, Samson. Following the show we will enjoy the lunch smorgasbord at Yoder s Restaurant & Buffet. Cost for the day, including show, lunch, and transportation, will be $65. Watch for sign-up information in late March / early April. One of our annual mission opportunities each spring is the support of the CMA (Christian Motorcycle Association) Run for the Son. The event is held the first Saturday in May, and the group raises money to share the gospel through Bible outreach, the Jesus film, helping the needy, as well as support of several ministries and missions. We become involved by sponsoring Russ Wingerd as he participates in this event. Watch for more information. Russ will soon have fliers to share with those who would like to support his participation in this event. Y@H continues to meet every Wednesday morning beginning at 10 AM and finishing at 12 Noon. We hope all will be able to join us for this wonderful weekly time of teaching, singing, and sharing our joys and concerns. If you cannot make it to, and would like to stay connected to Y@H, you re invited to contact me Dianne Birl, / jdbirl@comcast.net for more information and to be added to our list. Be warm, stay healthy, and look to Jesus as we look forward to the promise of spring. Dianne Birl Baptism Sunday, March 13 Contact the church office if you are interested in being baptized.

7 Awana will NOT meet on March 23. Bring gently used, clean clothing to the church on Sunday, March 13. possible, please sort your donations by style (girls, boys, men s, women's). You will receive 1 token for each piece of clothing you donate to the Swap. Come on Monday, March 14 from 5-7pm to shop for clothing. 1 token = 1 item from the Swap. Contact the church office ( ) if you have any questions. Staff//Contact Information Gordon McDaniel, Lead Pastor pastor@explorefcf.com Mike McNamee, Care & Admin. Pastor admin@explorefcf.com Brian Kelley, Generations Discipleship Pastor youth@explorefcf.com Kyle Brenon, Communities Discipleship Pastor communities@explorefcf.com David Glaze, Missions Pastor missions@explorefcf.com Doug Nigh, Worship Director worship@explorefcf.com Robin Meek, FK Discipleship Director faithkids@explorefcf.com Carol McNamee, Secretary secretary@explorefcf.com If We are entering the final stretch of the Awana year. The last night of Awana classes is May 4 and the closing celebration is May 11. Please continue to work with your child to help them hide God s word in their hearts! Faith Christian Fellowship Lappans Road Williamsport, MD Office Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-4pm FaithNews is a monthly publication dedicated to celebrating the life of the church and its ministries, as well as informing the community about church-sponsored events. Deadline for submissions for the April issue: March 25 Submit news/information/photos to: communications@explorefcf.com

8 March 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Prayer and Fasting 7pm Global Mission Meeting 7pm Dinner and Service at the Mission pm Junior High Activity Don t forget to change your clocks forward one hour! Clothing Swap Drop Off 9am-11am 5pm-7pm Clothing Swap FCF Offices Closed No Awana Good Friday Services Time TBA 27 Easter Family Worship Sunday