Handing someone a bottle of water may

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1 Summer 2006 Servant Evangelism: Opening Closed Hearts FEC brings guest speaker Steve Sjogren to Convention to share about showing God s love through acts of kindness. Handing someone a bottle of water may not seem like a big deal, but if that someone is hot and thirsty and the water is cold and free you just may open their eyes to see life in a whole different way. Such is the simple but radical philosophy behind servant evangelism, a movement pioneered by pastor Steve Sjogren of the Vineyard Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. Steve will address attendees during Convention this summer, which takes place from August 3 to 6 at Northwoods Community Church in Peoria, Illinois. Using the servant evangelism approach handing out drinks and food, washing windshields and toilets the Vineyard church founded by Sjogren has grown from 37 people in 1985 to more than 6,000 currently. The goal, however, is not church growth. The objective is to introduce people to God s love, triggering in them a desire to learn more, which leads them to the church. These questions and answers, adapted from offer a taste of what Sjogren will speak about at Convention. Why is servant evangelism so effective? Servant evangelism is effective because it: gives the Holy Spirit an open door allows shy people to launch into effective evangelism lets families do outreach together can be easily picked up by new Christians is friendly and non-pushy is emotionally safe is giving-centered rather than asking-centered provides an open door for the miraculous if God so moves is big fun! Inside Servant evangelism 2 Q&A with Steve Sjogren Convention Gearing up for Vision 2020 FEC Happenings 4 A new face at the Resource Center Women s luncheon with Jennie Dimkoff 5 Spring 2006 quiz-off results Salem Church s 140th anniversary Missions Update 6 FEC Missionaries at a Glance President s Corner 8 Working Together How do you communicate who you are to those you serve? With each project we have a card to leave with those served. On the back side of each card is a map to our location along with our service times and phone number. Or we hand out custom-label water bottles, which simplifies the giving and the communication of what we re doing. Almost everyone will take a free bottle of cold water. Almost everyone at Vineyard Community Church wants a T-shirt printed with this logo but only those who participate in a service project get one! How does servant evangelism fit with other evangelistic approaches? By itself servant evangelism is incomplete as an approach to sharing the gospel. Traditional approaches alone are also incomplete. Connecting and equipping the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches

2 Q&A Continued (continued from page 1) 2 By focusing on the earlier phases of planting and watering, deeds of kindness tenderize hearts so they can later receive the message of God s love. Servant evangelism won t work unless we also use traditional approaches to harvest those accepting Christ. As we serve people, God provides opportunities to explain the gospel message. How do people respond? Steve Sjogren, servant Our service projects often draw inquiries about our church. One of the evangelism pioneer most common questions is, How long do your services last? Others who are looking for a Bible-based fellowship ask, Does your church believe in the Bible? Other responses vary. People in a good mood usually react with surprise and gratefulness. Big-city people, who tend to be more skeptical, wonder what we want from them. Some individuals talk at length with us. When we ve had a chance to openly chat with folks, about 5 percent are open to coming to Christ on the spot! How do you deal with rejection? We realize before we even set foot outside the church parking lot that a certain percentage of our seeds of kindness will be rejected. Some people will say no to almost anything offered to them. Those who do reject our offer are usually mad before we ever talk to them. Even these people are being worked on by the grace of God, but they probably aren t ripe for harvesting. What are the immediate results of servant evangelism? Most important, non-christians begin to open their hearts to God s love. People are a lot like porcupines: they either run to us with their soft, vulnerable side or their prickly, skeptical side that says, I don t want to hear anything about this Jesus you re talking about. A free car wash in New York City prompted one porcupine to turn his soft side to us. The man worked for the sanitation department. When he drove into our car wash, he was angry and disgusted because we had caused a traffic slowdown on his route. This emotionally charged encounter changed instantly when we offered to wash his entire garbage truck for free. Before he could say no, we were eagerly serving him. This stunned man stood there shaking his head, muttering, When I get back to the garage, the other guys aren t gonna believe this happened. A few minutes later, he asked for prayer for a number of issues in his life. Another result is that Christians are built up in their courage to share their faith. Servant evangelism serves as a baby step toward more risky approaches. As fearful Christians meet unbelievers in a safe, non-confrontational setting where they experience success, they gradually grow in their ability to tell others what Jesus has done for them. What are the long-term results of servant evangelism? The church becomes oriented toward action. In America, the church is in an age of great inwardness. We certainly exist to worship God and to grow in wholeness and Christlikeness, but Jesus made it clear that we must also give of ourselves if we hope to keep growing. The Great Commission links God s presence to the action of going into the world. Go therefore and make disciples... and lo, I am with you always (Matthew 28:19-20). God is with us in an immediate sense as we carry his life into the world. Another long-term effect is that the church is redefined. As we begin to do humble acts of service, we restate our identity in the community. Instead of separatists who are constantly judging the world, we extend forgiveness, acceptance, and love from God. We become viable in the eyes of the world as we get beyond ourselves and serve our way into people s hearts. In an age when the church has been judged by the world as irrelevant and out of touch, we prove ourselves worthy of trust. Aren t you really just advertising your church? I can honestly say that we aren t. Our outreach often leads to growth as a side benefit, but we would lose our integrity if growth was our reason for serving. Such an attitude would also rob the service of its power in people s lives. We aren t giving to get anything. Even if we stopped growing altogether, we would continue to serve consistently. We serve for the sake of our own spiritual health. As we go about loving with no strings attached, God seems to attach a string to our actions he creates a tie between the person we serve and himself. Servant evangelists hand out a card such as this one, with the church s location and contact information on the back, during outreach projects.

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4 FEC Happenin Bonnie Swihart Joins Resource Center Team FEC welcomes a new administrative assistant for communications. Early this year, Bonnie Swihart became the FEC Resource Center s newest staffer, taking over as administrative assistant for communications. Bonnie and her husband, Tom, live in Churubusco, Indiana, and are members of Pine Hills Church. Bonnie retired from Fort Wayne Community Schools after 26.5 years of service. I m looking forward to seeing what God has in store for me and how I can serve him at FEC and with my life, Bonnie says. I praise him for opening this door of opportunity for service. I am also looking forward to having some extra time to spend with my retired husband and grandchildren. The Swiharts have two married daughters, Amy Thomas (husband Bryan) and Kim Million (husband Cleve), along with five grandchildren: Audrey, 6; Brianna, 4; Sean, 4; Courtney, 2; and Jackson, 2. FEC Convention Women s Luncheon Saturday, August 5 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Northwoods Community Church God s Woman in Today s W ld Speaker: Jennie Dimkoff A motivational speaker, trainer and author, Jennie is a gifted storyteller known for artfully transforming Bible passages and everyday issues into brilliant living stories that challenge minds and inspire hearts. To the powerful genre of storytelling she brings life-changing insight, spiritual sensitivity and contagious enthusiasm. Jennie s books include Night Whispers: Bedtime Bible Stories for Women and More Night Whispers. New releases include Passionate Faith, Ancient Truth for Contemporary Women and Unexpected Grace. Childcare will be available for infants through age 5 and day camp for kindergartners through sixth-graders. 4 Cost is $12. Register for this event on your convention registration form, through your local church, or by calling Lynette Augsburger at (260) , ext. 312.

5 gs 2006 Spring Quiz-Off Results Top junior high quizzer from each church Archbold: Eric Rupp Berne: Calvin Hirshy Brookside: Adriana Gehman Eureka: Clarissa Leman Grace: Anna Klassen Pathway: Steven Taggart Pine Hills: Mary Moser (tie) Pine Hills: Maelynn Too (tie) Pine Hills: Whitney Webster (tie) Salem: Cody Schwerin Solid Rock: Clay Beasley Upland: Abby Fisher Top ten junior high quizzers 1. Abby Fischer, Upland 2. Calvin Hirshy, Berne 3. Anna Klassen, Grace 4. Hannah Roberts, Grace 5. Adriana Gehman, Brookside 5. Ashley Coon, Grace 5. Mary Moser, Pine Hills 5. Maelynn Too, Pine Hills 5. Whitney Webster, Pine Hills 10. Eric Rupp, Archbold Top three junior high teams 1. Pine Hills 1: Mary Moser, Whitney Webster, Dylan Stillman, Judah Sistrunk, Alesha Lindahl 2. Grace 4: Anna Klassen, Sara Zimmerman, Heidi Schoenbein, Hannah McLean, Dylan Henricks 3. Pine Hills 2: Adam Hughes, Danielle Sistrunk, Maelynn Too, Corrie Gerber, Rachel Powers Top senior high quizzer from each church Archbold: David Rupp Brookside: Cori Stemen Eureka: Kaitlin Pflederer Grace: Theresa Lindell Oak Bend: Graham Hass Oak Grove: Mary Rocke Pine Hills: Daniel Gerber Salem: Austin Martin Solid Rock: Brianna Lloyd Upland: Libby Trudeau Top ten senior high quizzers 1. Theresa Lindell, Grace 2. Libby Trudeau, Upland 3. Kailin Pflederer, Eureka 4. Tricia Leman, Eureka 5. Dave Petersen, Grace 6. Sarah Nace, Upland 7. Daniel Gerber, Pine Hills 8. Ben Getz, Grace 8. Kristi Menold, Grace 10. Dave Getz, Grace Top three senior high teams 1. Upland 1: Seth Bird, Nate White, Libby Trudeau, Edward Meadors 2. Brookside 1: Cori Stemen, Jana Vastbinder, Susan Pearsall, Bethany Gehman 3. Salem: Courtney Schwerin, Samantha Zehr, Austin Martin, John Yuill, Abbey Friend, Lauren Roeschley Salem Church 140th Anniversary You are invited to be a part of celebrating 140 years of God s glory through his ministry at Salem Church, founded in Saturday and Sunday, August 26-27, 2006 Salem Church, 4925 E Road, Gridley, Illinois What s going on A bus tour of the local area showing sites key to the church s history, including old homesteads, Sunday school locations and current ministries. A hog roast and picnic at Salem Ranch. A Sunday school time honoring missionaries who grew up in Salem Church. Sunday morning worship looking at the church s past and future. A potluck fellowship meal with lots of visiting and reminiscing. A presentation and discussion of the power of heritage as a gift from God. To register or find out more, call the church at (309) or (815) , or SteveEstes@maxiis.com.

6 FEC Missionaries at a Glance Read the latest about our international workers across the globe. Ryan Cordell Republic of Korea Ryan is a dorm advisor at the Taejon Christian International School. He enjoys leading work and ministry teams to other parts of the country to assist in ministry projects. In February he led a team to Amadeo, Philippines, where they assisted Habitat for Humanity in the construction of some homes. Jane Diggle England Jane is in the states for summer connecting with family attending concerts and birthday and graduation parties, having a sleepover with a niece, and cleaning an apartment for a soon-to-be married nephew. She plans to visit FEC churches before returning to England mid-august for another three years at the Oakes, an evangelistic youth camp in Sheffield where God continues to allow the gospel to be shared almost weekly to kids ages 8 to 18. Many seeds are being planted and some children have been saved. James and Angela Dryden England Children: Anna, Andrew, Adam and Abigail The Drydens have been at the Oakes since September 2005 helping with camp programming, speaking and discipleship. They live 50 yards behind the Oakes, which makes participating at the camp possible for the whole family. Anna spends most of her free time at the Oakes helping the support team, and Andrew and Anna often participate in the group games. The Oakes runs 40 camps per year with the busiest time of the year, six full weeks of summer camps, in full swing. They are looking forward to the arrival of an FEC summer work team. Jessica Gibson Venezuela Jessica teaches fifth- and sixth-graders at ACIC school for missionary and business children in Caracas. She will be in the U.S. this summer to visit supporters and churches and raise new support to return for a three-year term. Harry and Lynnette Hyde Venezuela The Hydes focus on teaching church leaders and discipling individuals. They will be in the U.S. this summer enjoying visits with family and grandchildren. Jerry and Sandy Lugbill Albania Jerry just finished his third year as interim director of the Albanian Bible Institute. Sandy has been teaching English for two years in the village of Sukth as part of their local church s efforts to plant a church there. They are looking forward to reconnecting with their adult children over the summer. Their oldest daughter, Lisa, plans to spend six weeks with them this summer in Durres. For two weeks she will help with a Child Evangelism Fellowship camp program and encourage young women in their Christian faith. Their daughter Liz will be married in South Carolina on August 19. Their son graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University in April and will be on a two-month mission trip to India this summer. The Lugbills will be on North American assignment in October. Rich and Beck Metcalfe England Children: Jessica, Jenna, Sam, Seth and Drew The older Metcalfe children just completed their school year and are looking forward to summer vacation. Drew, the youngest, is growing rapidly in every way: height, maturity, vocabulary and mischievousness but he keeps the family busy and smiling. Seth is also becoming a little man. He plays with and looks after Drew but also loves to be up to mischief with older brother Sam. Life is very busy at the Oakes with school groups and camps. The Lord continues to lead, provide and bless the staff, who are thankful for the opportunities to serve him. 6

7 Missions Update Brent and Nicole Preston Ukraine Children: Steel, Stone and Katie Brent and Nicole are building a team to establish a church in a region of Odessa called Tairova, a high-rise concrete jungle where more than 350,000 people live on top of each other and less than one percent knows the Lord. The whole family has been delighted with the arrival of Katie Erika on January 23 they can t get enough of kissing her! Steel is attending a Russian kindergarten and growing in his ability to speak the language. His parents are very proud of how he met the challenge of entering a school where he didn t understand the language and learned to like it. Stone is hard at work at home with mom. He is an easy boy with a gentle, loving spirit. He loves sports and wrestling with his daddy. Adam and Allison Roseboom Albania Children: Hudson and Lydia The Rosebooms have been living Durres, Albania, since February Their main task during the past year and a half has been language and culture acquisition. They have made a number of humorous mistakes in their learning and are longing for the day when they feel more at home in the country. Once the language comes, Adam will begin teaching at the Albanian Bible Institute training national church leaders. They are enjoying relationships with students, neighbors and friends at church. Hudson and Lydia have adapted well and are also working on learning the language with their parents. Attila and Tamara Szogedi Hungary This has been a year of celebration and transition for Attila and Tamara. They were engaged in spring 2005 on the shores of Lake Michigan and married in August in Hungary. In addition, they both turned 30 this year, which reminded them how Christ started his ministry at 30 what will God have for them in these next years? They will be in the states after June 6 for a seven-month North American assignment. When they return to Hungary they will move to a small town called Vajta. Attila will study for a year at a small Bible school. Tamara plans to help at the school, teach English, assist in missionary children s education, do administrative work and participate in whatever God has for her. Dan and Kristin Weaver Ecuador Children: Kelsie and Jordan The world of missions continues to change almost on a daily basis. In Ecuador, Missionary Aviation Fellowship continues to experience challenges with government issues and restrictions. Therefore, MAF is changing the way it works in Ecuador, involving fewer American missionaries and more Ecuadorians. For the Weavers, this means they will start their North American assignment in July and will not return to Ecuador. They are unsure where the Lord will lead, but they continue to trust him. Please pray with the Weavers for God s direction for their lives. Doug and Jen Witzig East Asia Children: Zachary, Luke and Joel The Witzigs are learning much about working in East Asia as they continue to help establish an awning factory, now officially registered as Kaiping Soaring Glory Tent Company Ltd. Production got under way at the end of April. Of the 15 employees in the workshop, four are believers. Please remember to pray for them as they share in conversation and break time. All five members of the management team are believers. They have had several good opportunities to interact with registration officers, bankers and suppliers. The Witzigs plan to spend some time in the U.S. with family this summer. Grace Yates Southeast Asia Grace continues to teach deaf children in Southeast Asia. She will be in the U.S. this summer to spend time with family. 7

8 1420 Kerrway Court Fort Wayne, IN President s Corner Working Together In Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Solomon reminds us that there is value in working together: Two are better than one... [and] a cord of three strands is not quickly broken. This message stands in contrast to an American society that asks first, What is in it for me? and measures success in terms of personal accomplishment. Unfortunately, the norms of society often work their way into church life. We, the churches of FEC, find ourselves fitting into this pattern. In 1950 more than half of the local church budget was given to fund the unified ministries of FEC. By 1980, the portion going to fund unified ministries was less than one-third of local church budgets, and today it is less than 10 percent. As we traveled across the Midwest this past spring presenting Vision 2020, FEC s long-range ministry plan, I was asked if this data was correct was it really possible for a church to give more than half its budget to the unified ministries of FEC? What looks impossible to us today seemed right in 1950 when FEC s 17 churches, mostly rural, wanted to make an impact on the world by proclaiming Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. They understood the meaning of Solomon s words and worked together. Their collective efforts sent missionaries, planted churches, purchased Miracle Camp, started the Christian Service Foundation and supported Salem Children s Home. These churches took bold steps of faith, which God honored. This past year I challenged each church to be Christ s witnesses in its Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Twelve of our churches completed this exercise and submitted a report. They found the exercise helpful, and the reports provided direction for FEC s Vision The plan, which reaches to the year 2020, is an opportunity for the churches of FEC to work together to expand the visible body of Christ. It includes input from the churches, establishes church planting beyond the Midwest and beyond our current culture, and extends missions to least reached people groups in Africa, Turkey, Spain and the Middle East. Accomplishing this task will require working together. If all our local churches adopt Vision 2020 and support it generously, we will accomplish more with the sum of our labor than we could with our individual efforts. It does mean that we as individuals and churches must depart from the societal norm of self first. This is an opportunity to take bold steps of faith and start something only God can finish. He parted the Jordan River when the leaders of Israel stepped into the water not before. He waits for us to do the same. The FEC Newsletter is provided by the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches Resource Center for people who are part of member congregations or who are involved in FEC ministries. The editors welcome submissions, suggestions, and questions. To reach us, write: FEC Resource Center, 1420 Kerrway Court, Fort Wayne, IN 46805; send an to FECMinistries@aol.com; call (260) ; or send a fax to (260) Find us on the Web at Copyright 2006 by the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches.