“…speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.”                                                                                                                     –  Ephesians 4:15-16 

As part of honoring how God we each have a voice and place in building up the church, the Pastor and Church Board will be hosting multiple opportunities in October to gather and share our experiences, vision and perspective for ministry with one another. 

Listening Session Dates: 

• • • October 16 @ 12:00 – 1:30 pm at Church – meal provided 
    • October 16 @ 7:00 – 8:30 pm on Zoom 
    • October 20 @ 7:00 – 8:30 pm at Church – light refreshments provided  

RSVP required for in-person gatherings, as there is a limit of 10 people: sign up in the narthex or by contacting the church office at 309-662-4253. 

In each gathering we’ll be asking: 

• • • What do you see the church engaged in that you are excited about? What are some things that you have been positively impacted by at FBC in the past year?
    • What needs do you see which we need to give more attention or support to?
    • What opportunities for ministry do you feel God has positioned us to respond to in this current moment?

The Board will also share some of the goals they identified at their visioning retreat this year, and how they are acting on them.  There will be time for further feedback and questions afterward, and notes from the meeting will be used by the Board and Pastor as we continue to plan and refine our ministries through the year.   

We hope to see you at one of these gatherings, and will schedule additional times as needed! 

In September, you have the opportunity to support ABC International Ministries. You can pray for the Global Servants FBC supports, Jon and Amanda Good, Katie and Taku Longkumer and Sue Hegarty. You can reflect daily on the messages offered in the eLINK each week. You can give financial support.

Why support International Ministries? Gifts to the General Fund are needed for resources like the website, awareness-building, mission education, WMO resources, finance and donor services, and home office support. It covers expenses for the work of mobilizing the next generation of global servants, building relationships between global servants, international partners and mission supporters. Even when personalized support falls behind, IM’s General Fund helps keep global servants in ministry.

How are gifts used?

85% Program expenses
10% Administrative support and fees
5% Development and fundraising

Offering envelopes will be available on the table in the back of sanctuary as well on the table in hallway underneath the Missions bulletin board. Thank you for considering this special offering.

Click Here for Daily Prayer Statement Access

Molly is one of those special kids that leaves an indelible imprint on your heart. Born premature, Molly has faced severe setbacks throughout her childhood. But you wouldn’t know it. When we ask her about Hope Packs, she sits up tall and says: “I love them. I have so many things to choose from at home. The raisins are my favorite!” Molly goes through her Hope Pack while we are talking and starts pulling out food. She turns to us and says with the seriousness of someone three times her age; “I mean inflation, COVID-19, war, the world is crazy! We need these Hope Packs at home because…what are we gonna do?!” And as adorable as it is, Molly is right. Click on the video to learn why!

                                         

Right now in the United States 1 in 7 children are facing food insecurity. $50 sponsors a student just like Molly who is living in your community and needs to know that someone cares. To support MFB’s Hope Packs program visit Midwestfoodbank.org/backtoschool

This past Sunday, we celebrated the ministry that Evan Greenfield shared with FBC as our Media Intern over the past two years before heading off to Ball State University in Indiana.  While we lifted up how important Evan has been to our ability to pivot online during Covid, it may not be as widely known just what that involved, or the other things Evan was a part of during this time.   

During lockdown in 2020, and in a matter of days, Evan set up the livestream and coordinated the video from all our worship participants to be able to share our worship service online to YouTube.  For months, that meant Saturday evenings devoted to rehearsing and testing the process before going live on Sunday.  Evan also recorded and created videos for use in worship and on our church’s YouTube channel, from special musical elements to celebrating teachers, to the LOGOS puppet shows.  He created “commercials” for events like the 2021 Trunk or Treat, and edited daily videos for online devotional series that ran through Lent and Advent.  He created graphics for our videos, he helped run wires and cables for the equipment.  He looked through the archives of our videos for the creation of special services like the 2020 Christmas Eve musical.  He trained Logan  on the use of the video camera for worship and recording ministry videos, as well as helping train others on the new soundboard.  Evan also lent his talent on the drums (when able) to worship services on Sunday and on Wednesday evenings.   

Evan was there for setup and running the livestream every Sunday for two years, aside from less than a handful of times where the family was out of town.  Once, even while out of town on vacation, Evan remotely coordinated the livestream from Wisconsin.   

It’s an amazing record.  And I’m profoundly grateful to Evan for his faithful ministry at FBC over the past years, using his gifts behind the scenes to make possible the ministry we share.   

At the same time, I want to point out that Evan is not alone – there are lots of people who work behind the scenes every Sunday, every week, to carry out the work of the church; from supporting worship to reaching out to one another in care, to fixing the coffee on Sunday morning (something which I think qualifies as a corporal act of mercy)…   

So with gratitude to Evan for his ministry, and wanting the scope of what he’s done behind the scenes to be more widely known; I also want to invite us to look around, notice and encourage the many, many others beside him who work behind the scenes to serve God in a multitude of ways.   

-Pastor Brian  

Learn how  FBC BLM and FBC of El Paso are helping with their ministries below: 

Who would have imagined that in Hungary, in 2022, there would be an opportunity to serve people fleeing war? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Elementary LEGOS Small Group
Everything is AWESOME … when you are having Bible Study with LEGOS!! There will be a new Summer Elementary Small group for youth in 1^st – 5^th Grade that teach on Jesus’ parables using LEGOS! This class will be Sundays from 11:15-Noon starting on July 10th. Please email michelle@fbcblm.org to be put on email list to receive updates.

Junior & Senior High Small Group
Jesus commissioned us saying “Go therefore and make disciples…” This small group will be for the summer for youth in Junior and Senior High where they will go out on different outings every other week. Some of these outings will be to going out to hike or out to the lake while others will be mission trips like helping at Midwest Food Bank or visiting people in Nursing Homes. Each outing will have correlating Bible Study/Devotional! Please contact Michelle if interested. Outing Times to be announced!

Summer Reading Program!
On Tuesdays in July and August, FBC will be hosting a summer reading program for youth ages 3 through 5th grade from 6-7pm. We would like to be able to break up the youth into small groups with adults, if not one-to-one so need volunteers. Please sign up on the sheet in the Narthex, or email the church office at secretary@fbcblm.org You can volunteer for all the Tuesdays or just specific ones.

Calling all kayaking or other paddling enthusiasts!
A summer fun group for adults (18 years and older) is being coordinated for outdoor adventures at Dawson Lake, Moraine View State Park. Boats are available for rent at the park. If you have your own kayak, canoe or paddle boat, you can launch it there also. Depending on how long you’d like to be on the lake, you can begin paddling at 1 or 2 p.m. The group will break for a guided conversation and refreshments at 3 p.m. This season’s topic will be Finding Peace In Trying Times with guidance from Max Lucado’s book Anxious for Nothing. No homework required! Dates scheduled include the Saturdays of July 2, 9, 30, and Aug. 6. If you are interested in joining this small group, contact Jennifer Devine, Gabrielle Hastings or email secretary@fbcblm.org for more information.

As FBC and many churches have responded to the deep need of the church as a whole to pursue racial reconciliation and racial justice, we are excited to share information about ongoing efforts from the E-Free Church in Bloomington to bring multiple churches together in this work.  

This summer, they have started a reading group on the book: Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison, and three members of FBC attended the initial meeting this past Tuesday.  The readings and conversation afterward was powerful, honest and grace filled, an invitation for the church to embrace the work of doing a better job than the world around us of reflecting God’s vision of community.  

 Each session will begin with a 5-minute summary of the chapter, an hour of small group discussion, and a 20-minute large group time of sharing. 

Key Details:

• • • Has just started, but new participants welcome.  
    • Tuesday Nights: 7-8:30PM at E-Free Church
      2910 E Lincoln St, Bloomington, IL 61704
    • Purchase the book (Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison) on your own (no cost to attend event)
    • Advance registration requested to help with planning
    • 8-week session

We’d love to see you there! Click the event link for more details & to register.