 The Family Church Women's Ministry Will Be the Host September 15th SAVE THE DATE! |
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Newborn Arrivals Congratulations to these parents :
Chris & Lori Porter
(boy) Matthew Aaron born June 11th
David & Michelle Massias
(girl) Hannah
born June 14th
ReAnne Burgess
(boy) Caden Andrew born June 20th
David & Jenn Arnold
(girl) Evelyn born June 25th
Davey & Wendy Padot
(girl) Lillian Reese born June 28th
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July 2012
The Family Church
'Family Connections' Newsletter
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A Word from Max
Pastor John Maxwell is fond of saying "Everything rises and falls on leadership." I believe that is true. It certainly is true in the workings of God in the Bible. God never sets out to do anything without first raising up a leader. Ordinary men and women...people like Moses and Ruth, like Jeremiah and Deborah, like Timothy and Phoebe... these are people whose names still resonate with us today because the stepped into God's leadership moment in their lives. And God is still building into the lives of men and women today who will step up and step into their leadership moments.
I am so excited that The Family Church has been selected to be a Premier Host Site for the 2012 Global Leadership Summit. As you probably are already aware, the Leadership Summit is the ultimate faith based leadership experience. In the past two decades United States presidents, Fortune 500 CEOs, and some of the great spiritual voices of our era have all participated in this amazing two day event. Last year over 200,000 people in Chicago and around the world attended the Summit. This year, for the first time ever, the Leadership Summit not only comes to North Central Florida, but to our own church! I think this is the single most important event taking place at The Family Church this summer. I want you to be a part.
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Whispers in the Dark
Scripture - I Samuel 6:13 - "Now the people of Beth-Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley. When they looked up and saw the Ark, they went with rejoicing to meet it."
Observation - It was harvest time, an incredibly busy and task oriented time in an agrarian society. There is a limited amount of time in which to gather the crop. Not only the completion of all the work of the previous months rests on doing it well, but the future of the community and its resources are also at stake. It is into this harvest focused time that the Ark of the Covenant comes to the people of Beth-Shemesh. Their reaction is wonderful. The scripture says they looked up, saw the Ark, dropped what they were doing and went to meet it. The Ark was the symbol of the presence of the Living God among them. The reaction to its coming was very appropriate. This was no ordinary interruption. God was interrupting, and that takes precedence over everything. It is interesting to note that verse 19 says that the people of Jeconiah did not rejoice with the people of Beth-Shemesh. As a result, God was displeased to the point of killing them. We don't know why the descendants of Jeconiah did not rejoice. Maybe they didn't recognize the Ark. Maybe they were so busy they never looked up. Maybe they figured the importance of their task outweighed their desire to celebrate. Maybe they were annoyed at the interruption.
Whatever the reason, the scripture makes it clear that the people of Beth-Shemesh chose the better way.
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Come Join Us for our
19th Anniversary Celebration Service
Sunday, August 12th beginning 10:30am
at The Family Church.
Don't miss this special occasion!
There will be the usual
lunch on the grounds after the service,
games for the kids and
the young at heart.
More info will be out as it gets closer.
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Worship and Arts Ministry
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Larry Carpenter
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Hi everyone, as you've probably noticed from previous worship and arts newsletters, we are blessed with talented people. Phil Olivier heads up our lighting for our weekend services and I've asked him to share his story leading to Gainsville and The Family Church...I think you will find it interesting...
Phil and Marge's Biography
Phil and Marge Olivier have attended The Family Church for three years. Phil is quite active in the church and received the Giant Killer award. They have been married 47 years and have a daughter, Michelle, who lives near Atlanta with her family.
Phil was a navy avionics technician before attendiing college. His training helped him get an aerospace engineering job building the Gemini spacecraft guidance system which paid college expenses. Marge and Phil attended St.Petersburg JC and UF together majoring in science and mathematics. . . .
CLICK HERE FOR MORE
Phil and Marge, thanks for sharing! We are glad you came back to Gainesville, family and your horses...not to mention making The Family Church your home.
You too can be part of the good thing God is doing here at The Family Church. Please don't hesitate to contact me at your convenience.
Come Join Us As We Grow,
Larry
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Missions Ministry
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Jeff West
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More Global Outreach - The Short Term Mission (STM) teams are continuing to globetrot during the month of July. The Ghana Team had a highly successful trip and is back safely. On July 17th, our Brazil Team will continue ministry with our partners at New Horizons Youth Ranch to impact at risk street boys via rehabilitation, socialization, and actualization... based on the Bible. Please pray for this team AND make preparation, now, so that you might have the joy of ministering there next year!
Everything is also on track for another STM team to minister in Honduras for a week at the end of July through the beginning of August. The team will minister to kids at the orphanage. Our team's presence will contribute to the overall goals of our ministry partners there, so that churches can be planted by students (orphans who are now grown) coming out of the Bible College.
Apply NOW for other STM Trips -
- Coming soon, Elder Mark Messersmith, will organize a trip to Cuba, October 6-13, 2012, in partnership with our missionaries, Paul & Dori Pittman.
- Sherry Meurer has been in contact with our partners in India about the initial planning for a Fall STM (probably October/November).
- I have been in communication with our missionaries in Ghana about a trip immediately after Christmas 2012 through the beginning of the New Year.
- Sue Greishaw is the contact person for two opportunities to ministry via STMs to Albania March 2-7, 2013 and again in the summer of 2013.
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Small Does Not Mean Simple
Stephen F. Larner, PhD
Among living things, do not look down on small creatures. They can pack incredible design features in a small space that defy evolutionary explanations. Here are examples of some incredible miniatures1.
Migratory mini-champ: The Northern Wheateater (Oenanthe oenanthe) is an unassuming little bird that flies 18,000 miles from the Arctic to Africa on its annual migration. It does so even though it weighs less than an ounce (0.9 ounce). Scientists who tracked them with geolocators were stunned at their endurance. "They are incredible migratory journeys, particularly for a bird this size," reported PhysOrg.2 "Scaled for body size, this is one of the longest round-trip migratory journeys of any bird in the world and raises questions about how a bird of this size is able to successfully undertake such physically demanding journeys twice a year, particularly for inexperienced juveniles migrating on their own." These are questions evolutionists continually having to ask themselves about highly designed creatures. Let us look at a couple of others.
Micro-frogs: While sifting through leaf litter on the New Guinea jungle floor trying to find what was making a high-pitched clicking noise, Chris Austin and team (video on LiveScience3) discovered the world's tiniest vertebrate, a frog named Paedophryne amauensis. This little croaker makes a dime look like a large lily pad (photo NewScientist4).
CLICK HERE TO READ ON
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Orphan Care Ministry
by Mandy Moseley
At the beginning of May, a group of 2,000 adoptive parents, foster parents, pastors, orphan advocates, and other Christian leaders gathered at Saddleback Church in California for the Summit. The Summit is an annual conference coordinated by the Christian Alliance for Orphans and it has been in existence for the last eight years.
(www.christianalliancefororphans.org )
This year was the first time sessions could be viewed through a live web stream, and I was one of many who listened in as Rick Warren, Francis Chan, Steven Curtis Chapman and several others shared their passion for orphan care. It was life changing.
The global orphan crisis encompasses 168 million children in our world today. In many ways this seems like an impossible problem to solve. Thankfully, our God specializes in the impossible because Luke 1:37 says Nothing is impossible with God!
CLICK HERE FOR TO READ ON
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Discipleship Ministry
 | | Aaron Read |
Making Authentic Disciples Locally and Globally is the vision the staff and elders discussed at our recent Immersion 2 training. If we are going to be a church that makes disciples in obedience to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), then we need to maximize those opportunities where we can disciple others. One of those opportunities is in Family Groups where the leader is encouraged to identify and select an apprentice in order to disciple him into a future leader.
Josh Thompson and Jeff West met after Josh initiated with him following the Global Impact Celebration in 2011. At this point, Jeff wasn't leading a Family Group but a relationship between Jeff and Josh developed over a mutual interest in reaching those in other faiths with the gospel. With a desire to make disciples, Jeff would challenge Josh to meet with him weekly for a discipleship time which Josh accepted because no one had ever personally discipled him since he came to Christ at age 9.
CLICK HERE TO READ ON
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Men's Ministry
 The M.O.B. (Men of Brotherhood) Don't forget our FISH FRY KICKOFF August 30th Bob Welch Men's Council Point Man |
Women's Ministry
A big thank you to Gloria Parker, Kate Robinson, Sherry Meurer, Betty Anderson and Terri Straughn for making the first annual Mother/Daughter Tea a huge success! The tables were stunningly decorated by Kate Robinson along with her helpers, Gwen Howard and Gay Robinson (also, thanks G.W. for the "man power").
Our guest speakers, Ruth Green, Dr. Michele Massias, Ann Williamson and Lauren Young, shared individual thoughts of motherhood memories and insightful challenges to both mothers and daughters. Horace Sawyer, our photographer not only took great individual pictures of the mothers and daughters but provided them free of charge. Everyone attending, without question, felt this should become an annual event. Thanks again, ladies, for a job well done.
Upcoming Events:
July 20th - Popcorn and Movie Night
Summer Siesta Book Club - watch bulletin for time and place
September 15th - Beth Moore Simulcast
If you are interested in serving on a committee for any event, or helping the Women's Ministry in any way, please contact Vivian Sawyer - viviansawyer@yahoo.com or 352-514-2845. WE NEED YOU!
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