Assembly Required

I recently came across a blog that reminded me again of the need for us to be connected relationally to each other. Here is a portion of that blog by Steve Cordle...

There are many today who would say “My spirituality is private, I have my own beliefs, and I don’t need to be part of a church to believe in God, and I can pray anywhere I am.”

And that is partially true: we can indeed (and should) pray in all sorts of places, and church membership is not required in order to believe in God.

However, God’s intent for us is much more than to believe he exists or to pray from time to time. God’s intent for us is to become spiritually mature, and in order to do that we need to be connected to other people.

Ephesians 4:13 describes God’s goal for us: “…we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

The passage mentions many other people who are involved in our maturing process. In verses 4 and 12 Jesus followers are called “the body of Christ”. That tells us we are not isolated spiritual free-agents, but connected parts of a whole.

If our only connection with other believers is in a corporate worship service, we will not have as much opportunity as we need in order to mature spiritually. The connection we require is both ”shoulder to shoulder” and “face to face”.
I want to encourage you to get some “face to face” time this week with other believers. A great way to do this is in one of our five small groups!

Blessings,

Jeff Powell

Rejoicing...

Here sits a man who is tired and worn down. Physically he is drained. He has been to what we call “hell and back.” Those he once trusted have abandoned him. He is alone. On the one hand he is ready to give up. On the other, he is ready to press on. You could say, he is at times conflicted.

His accommodations offer him little relief. He has no climate controlled environment. He can’t choose his diet. His freedoms are severely limited. His resting place offers no reprieve. He is in jail.

And yet, rather than complaining, he is actually rejoicing! On the outside as we look in we may be tempted to conclude that this poor soul has entered a disillusioned and delirious state mentally due to what he has experienced. Surprisingly however, that is not what is going on. No, this man has tapped into a source of joy that physical discomfort cannot drain.

The man I am talking about is Paul. And while Paul faced these difficult circumstances, he wrote a beautiful book in the Bible called Philippians. It is four chapters long and has been nicknamed the book of joy - written while Paul was himself in a dark, deadly prison.

No matter what you face today and tomorrow and the next, I want to encourage you to read the little book of Philippians this week. You too can discover the source of joy that no amount of discomfort or uncertainty can drain!

Rejoicing,

Jeff Powell

Believing That It Should Be!

Vision is direction concerning what could be fueled by the belief that it should be! Here is what could be at Fellowship Church fueled by the belief that it should be...

April 16: Big Serve - we will gather to pray together and then serve our community together in tangible ways to express the love of Jesus to others. If you are aware of local needs that we could possibly help meet, please let us know.

April 24: Easter Sunday and Bring Your Best Offering - we will give God our best in the form of a financial offering. We hope to collect in either cash or pledges $25,000. This will support facilities, children’s ministries, Big Serve, orphans in India, and One Story Live from Bethlehem dramatic presentation in December.

Weekly: Small Groups - currently we have 5 small groups that are meeting. If you are not yet connected to one of these groups, I encourage you to visit one soon. Our goal this year is to see these 5 groups grow into 8 groups.

Please pray that God will lead us to Big Serve projects that would glorify Him on April 16. Pray that God will provide $25,000 through the Bring Your Best offering on April 24. And pray that our 5 small groups will grow into 8 small groups during 2011.

This is what could be at Fellowship Church fueled by the belief that it should be! Together, let’s pray it through!

Praying,

Jeff Powell

Missions Update from Pakistan

We are blessed as a church to be connected to God’s work all over the world. I recently received an update from Pastor Imran Sadiq in Pakistan.

“We are thankful for you and Pastor Charles. With funds we purchased the Laptop for our Bible School & God's works. And on 7 to 8 December we held Evangelistic service & Church leadership seminar in our Church. More than 200 people attended. People received blessings, salvation, healing, restoration, the Holy Spirit touched lives and the Lord brought breakthrough.

My brother I am also thankful to you, family and Fellowship Church for your best wishes & love for 2011 and monthly financial support for spreading the gospel through Cable TV channel. My Church is growing day by day. Souls are coming to Christ, the Spirit of God is moving and the Lord is adding to the brothers & sisters in our Church. Sunday school is growing and we are praying for more teachers.
In 2011 we will start Youth group and Bible Study and Women cell group meeting and more evangelistic services and leadership seminars to reach the unreached areas.
Say our greetings & love to your family, church and all brothers & sisters. God richly bless you. Imran Sadiq”Thank you for supporting God’s work through

Fellowship Church - your giving makes a difference!

Loving and Leading,

Jeff Powell