Can you remember a time in your life when you were the new person? The new kid in school, the new employee on the job? One of the hardest moments on that first day is the lunch hour. Who will you sit with? Will there a place for you there? The place you’re anxious about isn’t an empty chair. It’s a relational place - where you feel you can belong and make a meaningful contribution, a place where you are accepted for who you are.

Jesus is building his church to be this kind of place. Not a physical space, but a place for relationship. The church is not a building or a location. It consists of the network of friendships that are growing within it.  

What makes a house a home is not its location or size. It’s the caring relationships that happen there. In this sense, a small cottage where we find loving acceptance is more of a home than a mansion full of broken relationships.

Serving others with our energies and abilities is one of the most rewarding opportunities we can experience. Jesus said, “It’s more blessed to give than to receive.” And this is true for the time and energy we give to serve others.
 
We want everyone at FFC, wherever they are on their journey, to find this kind of opportunity, a place of serving. There are so many avenues to help others at FFC. Whatever your time, ability, experience, or expertise, we will help you find your place in what God is doing here. We have different gifts, but as we work together, we can become one body.

The religious leaders were horrified! There was the Rabbi Jesus, greeting tax collectors and “sinners” at the door of the house. He smiled at them with warmth and welcome, and invited them in. Didn’t he know who and what they were? Then it got worse. He showed them their seats at the dinner table and began eating with them. This was just too much. “A drunkard and a glutton” they said of him, “a friend of ‘sinners’ and tax collectors.”
 
Jesus, a friend of sinners. They didn’t know how true their statement was. 

F.F. BRUCE
Hard Sayings of the Bible

When Jesus shared a meal with them, he gave them a sense of belonging, even before they decided to follow him.
 
What if this were a paradigm for the (our) church? If Jesus is a friend of sinners, shouldn’t the church he leads also be the same?
 
F.O.S. Church
We want FFC to be a “Friend of Sinners” congregation that says to people who aren’t yet following Christ, “There’s a place for you here. We want you to feel at home with us.” A group of Christ followers that has the grace and patience to accept people on their spiritual journey for as long as it takes for them to believe.  

A church where people can belong before they believe.
 
Belong before you believe. For some, this seems backwards. Shouldn’t believing come before belonging? In many cases, yes. But often it doesn’t happen in this order. By eating with people who weren’t yet his followers, Jesus was saying to them “There’s a place for you.” He made room for them, made them feel at home with him before they believed.  
 
We see this pattern elsewhere in scripture.
- Foreigners lived among God’s people and offered sacrifices to the God of Israel. (Numbers 15:14-15)
- Gentile “God fearers” regularly participated in synagogue meetings. They weren’t Jewish. But they were curious. (Luke 7:4-5)
- There was a “place for inquirers” in the early church that made room for spiritually curious to have a sense of belonging. (1 Cor. 14:17)
 
A church that is a “friend of sinners” makes room for people to belong before they believe. That sense of welcome, of being at home, is one way God can guide people in their spiritual journey toward Jesus. 

At Faith Family Church, we want everyone to find a place, and to understand their next steps toward that place. With that in mind, we have created a new role on our team: Next Step Coordinator.  

This leader will help us find the place God has for us at FFC – whether that’s a Connect Group or an opportunity to serve; whether that’s introductory classes (gatherings, groups) or pastoral care.  

Debt Reduction

Children and young people are a top priority at FFC. That’s why we invested in a beautiful facility just for them. Every week, Main Street (our children’s area) and the Zone (youth area) are filled with young people getting to know each other and learning about Jesus. It’s our goal to pay off the mortgage on that facility as soon as we can.  
 
Through Heart for the House giving, God has enabled us to reduce the principal on that loan by over $1.2 million.

We are trusting God to enable us to pay it all the way off, as each of us prays and hears from the Lord what he wants to do through us to meet that goal. Your giving makes a difference.

Compassion Focus 

This year we are going to focus on the hurting in our own community through Partnering with Restore Network. This ministry helps foster families with the unique challenges they face. We believe that foster parents are fulfilling God’s instruction to care for the “orphans” in our community, and we want to be part of that vital work.

:: Providing school Back Packs through Kids for Christ.

Here are three steps to determine your faith commitment.

Ask God to show you what part he wants you to play in this vision. This is the first and most important step in preparing your hearts. Ask God what he wants you to give. Ask him to show you creative ways to give the amount he is indicating.

Let God move you beyond what is easy or comfortable. Let him stretch your faith. We can’t all give the same amount, but we can all make an equal sacrifice. Have an open heart to hear what sacrifice God wants you to make.

We serve an awesome God. So trust that he will provide what he tells you to give, even if it’s greater than the resources you can readily identify or expect. Leave room for God to move powerfully for you this year.

Let us know that you're "in" by filling out your commitment card at myffc.info.

We're excited to celebrate what God has done in 2021 and share the vision for 2022.

JAN 30
CELEBRATION SUNDAY

We'll spend time during both services celebrating how God showed up in 2021! You'll get to hear some amazing stories of ways that your giving has impacted the lives of others.

FEB 06
VISION SUNDAY

Pastor Rick will share his vision for what is ahead for FFC in 2022. 

FEB 13
COMMITMENT SUNDAY

This is when we each get to say, "I'm in!" on what God has for us in the year ahead.