OneChurch

Just a reminder that we begin 11 weeks of One-Campus worship this weekend (June6-7)!

Join your church family at the West Campus for one of our four weekend services!

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5:00 p.m. Saturday Evening Worship
Intimate setting of blended worship
8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship
Hymns with organ and sanctuary choir
9:45 a.m. Blended Worship
Elements of both traditional and contemporary
11:00 a.m. Contemporary Worship
Worship band

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It's Not About the Economy!

Two weeks ago I received a call from an FBCGer that almost shocked me. I say almost because I have been doing this long enough that nothing really shocks me anymore! But when the person on the other end of the call said, "God has blessed our family and we want to give a financial gift
to the church," I wasn't shocked, but I was definitely surprised!

When the caller mentioned the amount of the gift, I have to admit that something in me wanted to say, "Are you sure? You know this might not be a best time to be giving away that kind of money - with the economy and all! Maybe you should consider putting that money somewhere safe - like your mattress - for a couple of years until things get better!"

But, of course, I didn't say those things! Instead, I expressed my appreciation to the caller and helped facilitate the process of giving the gift. Over the next few days I kept thinking about that call - and the more I thought about it - the more I sensed God trying to tell me something.

We all know the economy is rough right now. Most of us have seen the value of our homes, our investments and our college funds (ouch!) decline dramatically in the past year or so. Some of us have lost income and even jobs.

We have seen our collective giving as a church family drop about 7% from last year. Back in November of '08, our leadership cut our operating budget
by 10% just to be wise and prudent with our resources. Since that time, due to the collective generosity of our church family, we have not had to make any further cuts.

And here's the point - here's what God started to show me after that phone call -- it's not about the economy! If it was, no one would be giving anything - or at least very little - because it makes no sense whatsoever to give money away if it's really about the economy. But if it's about
something else - say, God, and if God is bigger than the economy, then it makes perfect sense!

The people who are this church - that means you - continue to be generous not because they can afford to be - but because they
want to be! We give because God has blessed us. We give because God tells us to give. We give because we believe God is bigger than the economy!

Should we exercise wisdom and discernment when it comes to our personal finances? Absolutely! Will FBCG leadership continue to monitor our collective
financial health carefully? Yes, indeed! Will we stand ready to help those among and around us who are struggling through our Benevolent Fund and Food Pantry? Yes, we will! But do we need to fear the economy? The answer is a resounding "No" - we do not, because God is not limited by the economy in
the least. He has not lost anything in the market. His net worth has not declined by even a penny. He is still the great and good and generous God who created us, saved us, and calls us to be his church in the world!

And as long as that is true, I believe I will continue to get those almost shocking phone calls!

Listen to Next at FBCG: Our Vision for His
Church
New Sunday Schedules!

Family Reunion

Every three years or so Lorene and I pack up our boys and drive 800 miles or so to Mandan, North Dakota for a reunion of her side of the family. This
July we will be making the trek for what will likely be the last time as her parents will be moving to Oregon to be closer to one of her brothers.
It's a long trip but we wouldn't miss it for the world because, first, it's just so much fun; and second, because it's what families do!

We will be celebrating a "family reunion" of sorts as a church this summer! For 11 weeks, beginning on June 6-7, we will move all of our worship
services to the West Campus in an expression of our unity and fellowship as ONE church
family. While we
are doing everything we can to make the 11 weeks as enjoyable as possible for our whole church family - including -

• Renting an electronic organ for the traditional service


• Re-shaping the West Campus "connection space" to encourage more conversation and fellowship

- we do understand that changing the worship location and times for 11 weeks does create a certain amount of inconvenience and adjustment. But we
also believe that the sense of unity and fellowship that will result will be well worth the effort! We appreciate so much the understanding and
flexibility of so many who are willing to participate in our great FBCG "family reunion" this summer - because it's just what families do!

June 6/7 to August 15/16

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5:00 p.m. Saturday Evening Worship
Intimate setting of blended worship
8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship
Hymns with organ and sanctuary choir

9:45 a.m. Blended Worship
Elements of both traditional and contemporary

11:00 a.m. Contemporary Worship
Worship band

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Look here for more
information and Sunday Class schedules

It's Not About the Coffee!

Many of us enjoy a good cup of coffee in the morning. Maybe you like your coffee straight black (like my Dad); maybe you like it with a little cream and sugar; or maybe you prefer a "tall decaf mocha" (like me); or perhaps even a "venti half-caf latte with skim extra hot and no foam." Or maybe you just like tea!

Whatever your beverage-of-choice, the truth is that quite often that cup is the conduit through which relationships are built or maintained. Maybe it's a few minutes at the breakfast table with spouse before heading off to work; maybe it's a mid-morning staff or business meeting; maybe you wind down after a long day with a cup of decaf on the couch; or maybe it is connecting with old and new friends at church!

The Bible teaches us that the church is built on relationships; first and foremost a relationship with Christ; and then relationships with each other. While FBCG has always valued this sense of "fellowship," we believe that the time has come for a renewed focus on the relational life of our church family.

In the survey we conducted last fall, our congregation rated FBCG as being well below average in comparison with other churches when it came to issues like "social connections" and "caring relationships." FBCG scored in the 27th and 26th percentile respectively in these categories - meaning that ¾ of all churches surveyed were rated higher than FBCG in these areas! These results, along with focus group comments like, "In a church this size, it's hard to get to know people," and, "I leave every week as a very lonely person," have led our leadership to take a hard look at the "connectivity" of our church.

While this is a complicated issue which requires attention on many levels, the first thing we noticed was that neither of our facilities (East or West Campus) is very "fellowship friendly." We have adequate worship space; we have educational space; but our "connection space" is largely undeveloped. There is very little space on either campus that says, "We want you to stay for a while; we want you to spend some time visiting with each other here before you head to the parking lot!" We believe that if we want to be a fellowshipping church, a church built on relationships - we must start with our facilities!




By the time we come together as a congregation for our summer of one campus worship (June 6-7) you will begin to see some of the changes planned for the West Campus lobby. Among these changes will be a kind of "coffee bar" area and a number of "seating pods" where people can gather before, during and after services. While this will be just the first step in strengthening and deepening our fellowship - we believe it is an extremely important step - and we want you to remember that it's NOT just about the coffee - it's about the church Jesus imagined!

Summer One Campus

Summer "One Campus" Worship

Beginning June 6-7 FBCG will celebrate worship together at the West Campus in the following schedule:

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8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship
Hymns and sanctuary choir

9:45 a.m. Blended Worship
Elements of both traditional and contemporary

11:00 a.m. Contemporary Worship
Worship band

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By now you know that our leadership is focused on CONNECTING and EQUIPPING at FBCG! "Connecting" refers to the sense of feeling connected to others in fellowship and to the mission of the church in general. "Equipping" refers to an intentional process of spiritual growth that leads to maturity and service. Our congregation identified these two areas as needing attention through the survey conducted last fall. After several months of study we are ready to take the first steps forward!

Our focus this summer is CONNECTING! Not only will we share the same campus for worship (through August 16) but we will be making
some improvements at the West Campus that we believe will create an environment more conducive to fellowship.

While the "move west" does require our East Campus worshipers to be flexible - and does require a change in service times - we believe it is well
worth the effort to be TOGETHER for 11 weeks this summer!

Thanks for being part of this church family and for your support as we seek to become the church our Lord has called us to become!

National Day of Prayer

Today, May 7, has been designated the National Day of Prayer. While we all pray in different ways and for different purposes - this is an opportunity to join our hearts and minds with brothers and sisters in
Christ all over our nation. Just as the recent outbreak of the H1N1 influenza reminded us of the importance of working together as communities, so
also this day designated for prayer reminds us of both our privilege and responsibility as believers to pray!

I simply want to encourage you to take time today to pray.

• You can join folks from many local churches at the Tri-City National Day of Prayer observance at 12 noon at the Old Court house on 3rd Street in
  Geneva.


• You can pray for our nation and our cities as you travel to or from work.


• You can take a walk around your neighborhood and pray for the family that lives in each home as you pass by.


• You can extend your family meal-time or bed-time prayers to include our nation, our community, our church and our leaders.


• You can pray silently for the world as you watch the news tonight on T.V.

May this message serve as a reminder and an encouragement to participate in the great mystery, power and gift of prayer!

What in the World is the Church

What in the World is the Church?

At first it seems like a dumb question! A no-brainer! The church is a place with a steeple on top where you go to worship, pray, and listen to a
(hopefully interesting) sermon. And, of course, this definition is both true and very incomplete!

First of all, a church is not a building at all, but a community of people bound together by love for Christ and love for each other. So in this
sense, no one goes to church - rather we are the church!

Second, the church is far more than an hour of worship and preaching once a week. While the worship of God and the preaching of his word are of
absolute importance - and never to be neglected - of equal importance are things like service, fellowship, evangelism, missions, and spiritual
growth.

Our leadership at FBCG is doing a lot of thinking about what it means to be the church these days. We want to be a community of faith devoted to
worship and preaching - but also to

REACHING - the people and families of our local community


CONNECTING - them to Christ, to FBCG and to each other


EQUIPPING - believers for spiritual maturity and ministry


SERVING - others in the name of Christ

This weekend Pastor Jeff and I will begin a 6-week series of messages entitled, What in the World is the Church: Understanding and becoming
the Body of Christ. We will be looking into God's Word (Acts 2 and Ephesians 4) to learn what the Lord expects of us as his people - and
looking forward to where he is leading FBCG as a church family.

I hope you will join us for the journey!