Camp week - one of the best each year!

One of my great life blessings - every summer since 1992 - has been the opportunity to serve in some capacity at a week of camp at Little Galilee Christian Camp. For the past 21 years, I have served with Junior Main camp, and this year, we are blessed to have 100 5th and 6th graders. Our own Allison Hitchings is the Dean and she does such a great job putting together the week. Several from our staff are part of the faculty this week - Cassandra, Ben and Samuel! And many more from Clinton FCC are serving at camp this session.

My good friend Mike Mallick and I have the blessing of preaching each day - I bring the word during morning worship and Mike preaches each evening. This year, our theme is Heroes of the Faith, and we are looking at women and men like Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua and Rahab, Esther, Jesus, and the Disciples. Will you pray for all who are part of this week of camp? Will you pray that many will make a decision to follow Jesus? And will you pray that Friday afternoon brings many baptisms? 

And don't forget - FCC will pay a 50% scholarship for one session of camp for your children and grandchildren to experience LGCC! Take advantage of this opportunity - your children and grandchildren will be blessed!

On Sunday, we announced several blessings from the Lord - evidence that God is already providing for our church! First, we announced the hiring of an Interim Minister - Pete Cocco from Bloomington-Normal. Pete served Encounter campus ministry at ISU for 23 years and is no stranger to Clinton FCC. We are so excited that Pete has agreed to serve as Interim Lead Minister through December!

We also announced the hiring of Dr. Dinelle Frankland from Lincoln Christian University. Dinelle will be assuming the part time position held by Ruth Davidson - planning the 8:15am service, serving as the primary instrumentalist, leading the adult choir and leading the chimes choir. While everyone will miss Ruth and we are thankful for her many years of service, we couldn't be more excited about what Dinelle will bring to our church! Dinelle has committed to this role at least through next May and will begin on September 1.

Can I encourage you to welcome Pete and Dinelle and thank them for serving our church? God is truly already providing for Clinton FCC! God is good - all the time!

Sunday began the first of five final sermons I will share with our church leading up to my final Sunday on July 28. My hope and prayer during these five weeks is to share from my heart about what really matters most and where Clinton FCC should go from here. Yesterday's message - "Change is Good, even when it seems otherwise" - was intended to help all of us understand God HAS this!

During my sermon yesterday, I shared four ways YOU can be a blessing to your church:

#1 - Unconditional LOVE for Clinton FCC in word and deed!

#2 - FAITHFULNESS to Clinton FCC is attendance and stewardship - especially during the transition!

#3 - Ministry INVOLVEMENT - the work of the Lord must go on!

#4 - Passionate PRAYER partnership!

You can do this! You SHOULD do this! Will you LOVE, be FAITHFUL, SERVE and PRAY?

Several upcoming days to be aware of:

* Sunday June 30 - David Upchurch from Lincoln Christian University will be preaching in both services, and sharing at 9:30am in the Family Life Center for anyone interested on change and transition. David met w/ our faculty back in late May and we were so thankful and blessed, we asked if he could come back on a Sunday and share with the church. David is no stranger to FCC - he has been a guest preacher before - and you will be blessed by his words of advice and encouragement.

* Sunday July 14 - Little Galilee day at Clinton FCC - come and meet Rob Shoaff, the new Executive Director at camp and hear an update from Bob Phillips on the 2020 Vision Project and all that God is doing at camp. Rob will be introduced during both morning services and then at 9:30am am in the Family Life Center, Rob and Bob will share. Don't miss it!

* Sunday July 28 - my final Sunday at Clinton FCC will be a one service Sunday at 9:30am. Marla and I have been so blessed by our almost 13 years serving at FCC, and there is so much and so many we will miss! My final message will be entitled "The Church is bigger than ME . . . and YOU" and shares my heart for Clinton FCC!

Have a great week - see you Sunday!

​GT