Update for 6/28/20 services

Before Sunday, be sure to....

1. Register for the 6/28 service, either by clicking here or by calling the church office.  We are still offering the 9:15 service on Facebook Live if you still wish to remain home. 
2. We will need volunteers to help make Sunday a success.  Sign up to volunteer as an usher/greeter by clicking here.
3. Interested in showing support to our brothers and sisters from the Assembly of God church?  Donate to our crisis relief fund here.

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​Reimplementation Updates

1. ​As the state moves into Phase 4 this week, many have asked if that changes our guidelines and protocols.  The simple answer is "no".  We structured our Stage 1 plan to encompass both Phases 3 and 4 of the Restore Illinois plan.   As things progress, we will continue to keep you updated. 
2. Please take note of the letter posted below from our chairman of the elders, Mark Behrends.  His tenure is ending this Thursday and he has taken the opportunity to share with us one last time.  

God is on the Move
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Last week is a week that will remain in my memory for a long time.  On Tuesday we are all aware of the devastating fire that consumed a large portion of the Assembly of God’s church building.  If there is one thing that the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us is that “The Church” is not a building.  While we all know this in our minds our hearts still hold on to the special memories that have happened in a special place.  I would ask that you please keep our brothers and sisters in Christ at the Assembly church in your prayers and if you are able, consider contributing monetarily to the special offering being collected at our church to support them in this difficult time. 

A more positive and exciting thing that happened last week was that we were able to conduct a in person interview with our Lead Minister candidate, we extended an offer and Praise the Lord, he accepted!  I would like nothing more than to be able to tell you all of the details of this person and his family but they have not announced their resignation to their church where they are currently serving and we would hate for their church (that they love) to find out of their departure through a slip from someone here on social media.   

I will tell you that the search committee, the elders and the ministry team is very excited with this candidate.  Through this whole process we have been committed to finding the right man and were willing to wait for God’s leading and God’s timing.  This man has been worth the wait, and as I am sure you have already heard we will need to wait just a little longer.  Our candidate is currently serving a smaller church in western Iowa and desires to set them up well for the work there to continue after his departure.  He has committed to work through that process through the end of this year.  With that said we anticipate that he will have some limited involvement here at FCC through the rest of 2020 and will work with Charlie on a smooth transition.  Our leadership admires and appreciates our candidate’s commitment to his current church and feels it speaks volumes to his character and leadership skills. 

I will tell you that we feel our candidate is the whole package and feel very blessed that God has led him to us.  Our candidate has exceptional academic credentials, good ministry experience, is a strong leader, is energetic, very personable, desires to minister in a midsize midwestern community, and is young enough to be able to serve our church in a long-term ministry.   Selfishly we wish he would begin ministering with us now but truly believe this is our man and we are willing to wait until he is available. 

Through the whole time since Greg and Marla left for Danville God has been very faithful in providing the right people for the right time to lead us.  God knew of our candidate’s availability and has now provided Charlie to us for this next season.  Even just in the past couple of weeks I have been so blessed by Charlie.  I am so thankful for God’s provision and His faithfulness to our church and I truly believe that God is again providing in His perfect timing our next Lead Minister.

We are working on a schedule for all of you to learn more about our candidate and when you will meet him and his family, hear him preach and vote on him, all of that will be announced soon.  Until then please continue to keep all of this as well as our church at large in your prayers.

As we plan on ramping up our ministries again post-coronavirus we are excited to let you know that Charlie Welke will be heading up our student ministries during this interim time.  Charlie has past student ministry experience and is willing to step into this role for us until a time that the next lead minister can recommend a staff member that he is wanting to work with and they can be added to the ministry team. 

The last announcement that I will be making has to do with the Neighborhood Care Center. We are in the initial stages of launching the Care Center from a ministry of FCC to a mission of FCC. The operations and services offered to our neighbors will continue to be opportunities for our members to do kingdom work locally. With this expanded vision we can now allow for additional funding and collaboration opportunities that will enable the Care Center to expand into other underserved rural communities in Central Illinois. We look forward to seeing how FCC will be able to play a significant role in propelling this great mission into unknown territory for God's Kingdom. As we begin to reopen operations at the care center look for ways that you can plug in and serve.

I love that we can once again meet together and worship.  If you are not yet comfortable meeting together, please do not feel pressured to return.  We will continue broadcasting our service on Facebook Live and don’t forget to take advantage of our on-line giving opportunities.  Through this time of meeting at home our offerings have declined.  If you are in a position to make up some of the decline of the past weeks, we would ask for your prayerful consideration of that.  You will be a blessing to your church as we strive to bless others. 
God is good and He is on the Throne!!

Blessings to all,

Mark Behrends                                                                                                                                                                                Chairman of the Congregation