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Family Groups
If you would like to be in one of our
Family Groups,
go to our website to view
all of our locations:
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 The Family Church Women's Ministry Will Be the Host September 15th SAVE THE DATE! |
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May 2012
The Family Church
'Family Connections' Newsletter
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Word from Max
I hope you got to be a part of our Easter Sunday celebrations of the resurrection of our Lord. What an amazing time that was. I want to say a special word of thanks to all of the many volunteers and ministry teams who worked so hard to make those services possible. The music was amazing. The tech teams pulled off miracles as usual. The dancers' hard work was evident to all. Our fantastic ushers and greeters and welcome center volunteers helped make the day special for everyone. I am so blessed to be able to work with such a wonderful team.
As we move past Easter, we are beginning a new series entitled "Family Matters." No, I will NOT be dressing up as Steve Urkel! Instead, we will be taking a serious look at God's plan for family life and how we can strengthen our own families by following that plan. I am very excited about this series. There will be something for everyone. And, although the focus will not be specifically on marriage, the series will compliment nicely the upcoming Couple's Retreat on Memorial Day weekend. I hope you can make your plans to be with us for the "Family Matters" series, and, if you are married, also join us for the Couple's Retreat. God wants to do wonderful things in our homes, and I don't want anyone to miss these blessings.
Speaking of worship, our services have continued to grow each weekend. You may not be aware, but our 2011 average weekend worship attendance was up 10% over 2010. . . .
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Whispers in the Dark
Scripture - "Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies." (Psalm 141:3-4, NIV)
Observation - David writes this psalm during a season of intense pressure and hardship. Yet his focus is on his own self-leadership. He knows the external pressures are real. He writes about them but he also knows that tending to his own soul is essential. Here he prays a remarkable self-leadership prayer. He asks God to control and guard his lips as well as his will. He does not want to drift into evil.
Application - Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. It is significant to me that when Paul speaks of the fruit of the Spirit, self-control is at the end of the list. Significant because it often seems to me that self-control is longer in coming to many of us who start this journey with Jesus.
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Marriage Retreat 2012
Memorial Day Weekend
May 25-28, 2012
We are excited!
- Brand new venue at the Sawgrass Resort in Ponte Vedra Beach.
- Pastor Frank Friedman of Grace Life Fellowship in Baton Rouge Louisiana and Exchanged Life Ministries will exhort us to live the Abundant Life in our Marriages.
- Marriage Retreat Committee has been actively planning since February to facilitate God's best for your weekend.
- Buffet breakfast included in your $430 conference rate
- Beach Club a short walk or shuttle ride included in the conference rate
- Active partnership with new local businesses
- Third largest Jazz Festival in the Country nearby for a date opportunity
- Rich teaching, lots of free time to enjoy your spouse, the beach and copious shopping and dining venues.
Make a commitment to seek God's very bestfor you and your marriage.
Don't settle for Good when Abundance is God's gift to
each of us!
There's a VERY Limited time left to sign up at
a guaranteed and drastically reduced conference rate.
Contact Patrick pastorpat@thefamilychurch.net
or Terri at 332-6459 to sign up
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VBS IS COMING UP !
What:
Incrediworld VBS will take kids on a thrill ride
through God's creation! Each day there will be
excitement galore as they travel through the World of
Wonders (WOW) Zone, Craft Cove, Concession
Stand, and Midway Games, in addition to attending
high-energy main assemblies each morning and
afternoon. They won't want to miss this unforgettable
ride as they discover God's truth which counters
misinformation about the Bible and science that they
encounter daily.
When:
June 11th-15th from 9:00AM-12:30PM
Ages:
4 year olds to completed 5th Grade
Cost:
$15 - includes Drawstring bag, water bottles,
Wrist band, souvenir guides, Crafts, and Snacks.
CLICK HERE FOR CHILDREN'S MINISTRY NEWS
CLICK HERE FOR YOUTH MINISTRY NEWS
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Worship and Arts Ministry
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Larry Carpenter
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Hi everyone...we continue to add new talented members to the worship and arts teams and we are grateful. But I wanted to feature one of our very talented drummers, Keith Whitesel, this month who has been with us a while. I'll let Keith take it from here...
"I was raised in a family where music, arts, ministry and entertainment was always a very large part of who we were. I started singing on stage with the family at around two years old. Shortly after that I began teaching myself to play the drums, which eventually became my personal musical passion. I toured with the family all over the United States in a music/arts ministry and stage entertainment for around fifteen years before finally settling in Gainesville.
I initially started going to The Family Church about thirteen years ago with my family and soon began helping in the worship ministry. I initially started by playing the bass during worship but eventually moved to the drums. I was pretty heavily involved with the music ministry for about four years when I felt that God was leading me another direction for a time. I was gone for about six years, but through that entire period I always thought of The Family Church as my home. I eventually missed being here enough that about two years ago I decided to come back and get involved once again. Being a part of The Family Church and playing with Larry and the worship teams has been a real blessing for me. And having the chance to regularly work with such an incredible group of talented players and singers is something I look forward to each time that I play.
-Keith W.
Thank you Keith for sharing part of your story with us...and what makes this ministry so fun is that we have a place for you too! Please let me know how I can get you connected into one of our many teams.
Come join us as we grow, Larry
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Missions Ministry
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Jeff West
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Domestic Summer Project Opportunity:
It does not cost anything! It only lasts one day. It is less than an hour away... but you can have an eternal impact. Does that sound interesting to you? On Saturday, June 23rd, our brothers and sisters in Christ at Grace at Fort Clarke UMC are organizing a mission opportunity to migrant workers in Ocala. This will be a medical mission with other opportunities to serve. Please contact Sue Greishaw for more information at bandsgreishaw@bellsouth.net.
Missions 101 Class:
It is just around the corner... Missions 101. This class is required if you plan to go on a TFC organized short-term missions (STM) trip. The next class is scheduled for Saturday, May 19th from 9:00 - 12:00 noon.
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Are There Really Different Races?
May 2012
Stephen F. Larner, PhD
Before Charles Darwin published his book in 1859, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, most people when they talked about "races," they would be referring the "English race," "Irish race," etc. As Darwinian evolution became popularized, people started thinking of "races," within the context of evolutionary philosophy. This resulted in many, consciously or unconsciously, having ingrained prejudices against other groups of people.(1)
Darwinian evolution is an inherently racist philosophy.(2) It teaches different people groups evolved at different times and rates, so some "races" are more like their apelike ancestors than others. Leading evolutionist Dr. Stephen Jay Gould claimed, "Biological arguments for racism may have been common before 1859, but they increased by orders of magnitude following the acceptance of evolutionary theory."(3) The Australian Aborigines, for instance, were considered the missing link between the apelike ancestor and the rest of mankind.(4) This resulted in terrible prejudices and injustices (including mass murder) towards them.(5)
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Women's Ministry
 Apples of Gold Luncheon: A Note of Appreciation from Connie Reid My thanks to the sweet women who put together a wonderful celebration of my time serving as the director of Apples of Gold at The Family Church. I was humbled that these wonderful women of God wanted to honor me in this way. The tables were stunningly appointed and set with the finest by Joanne Young, Renee Cloutier, Debbie Woolfe , Ann Williamson, Karen Arola, and Sue Greishaw. No detail was left out including creatively made name tags by Debbie Woolfe and centerpieces of beautiful bowls of golden apples prepared and presented by Vivian Sawyer and Sara Welch. Many people contributed pictures and hand written notes to a scrap book that Sherry Meurer put together which I will treasure forever. Finally a special thanks to Sue Greishaw who coordinated this gathering and Ann Williamson who provided a lot of the historical information. Ann has served as mentor in every Apples of Gold class and generously shared her linens and dishes along with Sara Welch for all the Celebration Dinners. Also a big shout out to Tim Ten Broeck and crew for cheerfully delivering and picking up tables and chairs for the Celebration Dinners. As I listened to the testimonies from both mentors and younger women, I was blessed by the impact this program has had on the lives of those who participated. I am so thankful we had women of merit who were willing to share their time, faith and experience with the younger women. Some continued mentoring well past the seven week program's conclusion, continuing to provide spiritual and practical advice/help on an individual basis. Sara Welch, Bob Welch , and Joanne Young gave generously of their time in this manner as well as others. I will miss serving with you in this manner as I find God's next assignment in Sarasota but the memories and impact of what we sowed together will be eternal. Thank you for the new cookware. Guess you thought I had just plum wore out my old set! With a heart full of love for you all, Connie Reid |
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Orphan Care Ministry
This past Sunday I seriously thought my heart was going to burst with joy as our family joined the Jones and Nugent families in dedicating our 'babies' to the Lord. Why were these dedications so moving for me? Because over the past few years, I've been able to watch as our Savior God moved in mighty and amazing ways to bring these three girls into their forever families. One family waited three and a half years for God to bring to fruition their desire to follow Him in adoption. Another family thought for a season that they would lose their daughter after parenting her for the better part of her life, and many joined in praying for their child. And another watched in awe as God moved mountains to provide what seemed impossible in order to bring their daughter home from China.
 | | Nugent Family |
 | | The Jones Family |
Seeing Sara Jones, Vivian Nugent and our little Mei up there literally filled my heart to overflowing with worship. Why worship? Because every adoption I witness now helps me understand that much more what it means that God has adopted us. And also because these faith-testing journeys of adoption always reveal this:
CLICK HERE TO READ ON
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Discipleship Ministry
 | | Aaron Read |
In 5th grade, I remember kneeling with my dad beside his bed and asking Jesus to be my Savior. The next day I walked the aisle and made a public profession at my church. The following week I had an appointment with my pastor at which we discussed the decision that I had made and baptism. Then I was pretty much on my own in my walk with the Lord after I was baptized. Unfortunately, this is a very common story that could be told by numerous Christians.
Jesus prays to the Father that He has completed the work that the Father had given me before he went to the cross (John 17:4). That explains why Jesus chose 12 men and spent three years pouring His life into theirs. Discipleship was the work the Father had given Jesus. Therefore, it makes sense that Jesus would commission his disciples and us (Matthew 28:18-20) to do the same.
CLICK HERE TO READ ON
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Men's Ministry
The M.O.B. (Men of Brotherhood) The purpose of the Men's Ministry, a.k.a. the M.O.B., is to provide opportunities for the men of The Family Church to grow stronger as leaders; whether fathers, husbands, or simply followers of Christ. At a time when the enemy is working hard to destroy the marriages that God has ordained, this is critical. Add to that, our culture does little or nothing to encourage married couples to stay committed to each other. We, as men of God, must be able to discern the truth that God has given us from the lies of the deceiver. Through seminars, discussion groups, retreats, and other programs, we hope that we can give men (single or married, younger or older) the means to build on their commitments and develop into even better men and better husbands and fathers (actual or future). We encourage men to get into accountability groups which can give men constructive feedback into what they are doing that might hinder their marriages and positive feedback into what they are doing that can lead to deeper, more loving relationships. The Bible makes it clear that we as men are to be the leaders of the family. This means in all areas that effect families, but certainly in the spiritual realm. We simply cannot abrogate the responsibility. Please start watching for events, in the bulletin and on The Family Church Web site, sponsored by the M.O.B. Some events will help to develop us as disciples, some to provide service to those who need help, and some for fellowship. You will be welcomed at these occasions. Hope to see you there. Bob Welch Men's Council Point Man |
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