FCMC News: Worship

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Pastor Jesse

Your prayers for us means so much!   When we pray, our eyes are opened to see God at work all around us. This week, I wanted to share a bit about what’s going on with our church in terms of our Board of Stewards, Mission, Discipleship, and Worship.  Yesterday, we reported on the Mission.  Today it’s….

Worship

God is at work and we have much to celebrate.  Many times, as Second Saturdays roll around, I begin to worry if anyone will show, and if we’re just going to go through the motions.  I am wondering if all that worry is spiritual warfare.  But what I will tell you is that our worship services have been very sweet, the Spirit of God has been present, and I have left our gatherings very encouraged.

At our next service, Richard Ramsey will be with us to speak about what God is doing through the Great Banquet. Our focus for study will be from II Corinthians 1:3-10 – that what God does for us, God delights to do through us. Faith Community Church continues to graciously and generously offer their facilities to us at no charge. We’ll be meeting there again in the newly renovated St. Johns Room on August 8 at 6:30 (1350 SR 13, 32259). Hope you can join us!

Thank you again for praying and supporting FCMC.   What we do flows from who we are – we are God’s children.  When we worship, we rehearse for eternity and reorient our lives toward the Creator who made us for relationship with Himself.  Worship connects us with followers of Jesus down through the ages and all around the world.

So thank you for helping us on the journey! Your encouragement and prayers mean so much! And thank you for reading and for supporting God’s work at First Coast Missional Communities!

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FCMC NEWS: Discipleship

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Pastor Jesse

Your prayers for us means so much!   When we pray, our eyes are opened to see God at work all around us. This week, I wanted to share a bit about what’s going on with our church in terms of our Board of Stewards, Mission, Discipleship, and Worship.  Yesterday, we reported on the Mission.  Today it’s….

Discipleship

Yesterday, I wrote that mission is the fruit of discipleship and promised to send out news on our discipleship ministry.  Good things are happening in discipleship as you can read below.

Discipleship is God’s plan of action for transforming the world, so it’s a big deal when new folks get involved in discipleship. In recent months, God has brought four new folks have into our discipleship gatherings – two at the lunch huddle and two in the evening.  One aspect of discipleship helping people discover and prepare for their personal ministries. Much of what unfolded in terms of mission this summer can be understood as the fruit of discipleship, of “spurring one another on to love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:25b). So please pray for God’s continued work in our Huddles and join us as we pray for open doors for new work in discipleship!

Thank you again for praying and supporting FCMC.   What we do flows from who we are – we are God’s children.  Discipleship is very much about discovering and living into our identity in Christ.  It keeps us from falling back too much into old habbits.  For in Christ, we are new creations.  The old is gone.  The new has come.   (Seen II Cor 5:17)

Thank you for helping us on the journey! Your encouragement and prayers mean so much! And thank you for reading and for supporting God’s work at First Coast Missional Communities!

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FCMC News: Mission

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Pastor Jesse

Thank you again for supporting FCMC through your prayers. This week, I wanted to share a bit about what’s going on with our church in terms of our Board of Stewards, Mission, Discipleship, and Worship.  Yesterday, we reported on the Board of Stewards.  Today it’s….

Mission:

We are developing a seasonal rhythm.  From mid-June to mid-August, we rest from our organized mission activity.  From mid-August to Thanksgiving, we work.  So mission picks back up later this month.

Mission is the fruit of discipleship.  Tomorrow, I’ll send out some news on our discipleship ministry.  Suffice it to say that good things are happening in discipleship and that fuels what you read below.

That said, FCMCers have been involved in a fair amount of mission on their own this summer.  Several of us got to work in project through a ministry called “Both Hands: One for the Widow, One for the Orphan” that helped raise funds for our friends the Libby’s to adopt two orphans while working to fix up the home of Mrs. Corrin, a widow in St. Augustine. Several took time to reach out to neighbors or to pray with people in need. And last week, a number of us went down town to strap car seats onto a bus, pray, and send off 16 teen moms, their babies, and Young Lives leaders to Young Lives camp! Looking ahead, please pray for those who are volunteering with Young Lives again this fall.

As you might expect, mission charges us up!

So, thank you again for praying and supporting FCMC.   What we do flows from who we are – we are God’s children, saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, created anew for good works which God had in mind before hand.  (Seen Ephesians 2:8-10)

Thank you for helping us on the journey! Your encouragement and prayers mean so much! And thank you for reading and for supporting God’s work at First Coast Missional Communities!

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FCMC News: Stewards

Posted on August 2, 2015 by Pastor Jesse

Thank you again for supporting FCMC through your prayers. As I write this, it is now August 1! Seven months have passed in 2015, and God continues to be at work around the First Coast and through First Coast Missional Communities. What a privilege! This week, I wanted to share a bit about what’s going on with our church in terms of our Board of Stewards, Mission, Discipleship, and Worship.

Up first: Stewards:

At the last Stewards meeting, we talked about how the change in my schedule (becoming bi-vocational and taking an engineering job back in March) has impacted FCMC. While engagement in mission, discipleship, and worship continue to go well, we identified two areas are needing attention: general administration (meetings, schedules, and such) and communication. We’ll be talking more about that when the Stewards meet again later in the month, exploring ways to share that part of the work. Financially, we are maintaining a steady balance and celebrate being able to offer encouragement and some support to some of the ministries with whom we’ve partnered.  So overall, good news for FCMC and with five months of experience with a bi-vocation pastor, it is clear that this kind of ministry can be sustained and grow.  That’s exciting!

Finally, thank you again for praying and supporting FCMC. As Henry Blackaby pointed out in Experiencing God, “God is at work all around us and invites us to join Him.” Thank you for helping us to do just that! Your encouragement and prayers mean so much! And thank you for reading and for supporting God’s work at First Coast Missional Communities!

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Update on the Libbys

Posted on July 25, 2015 by Pastor Jesse
In May, Darren and Crystal Libby shared with FCMC the story of how God was leading them to grow their family through adoption.  The attached video is an update and reports on a really cool part of that effort.
Take a few minutes and watch by clicking on the link below!  And there’s still an opportunity for you to help bring Olevia home  – and you may recognize some folks in the video.  (Feel free to forward this to anyone you think may be interested.)
If you see God at work, don’t miss the opportunity to join in!
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