“Come, Follow Me.”

It is an invitation Jesus extends to each of us, and a calling we’re meant to live into each day.

At the same time, there are moments in our lives, in our journey of faith, where the Spirit of God is particularly nudging us to take another step; to consciously move deeper in some aspect of our lives with God.  The prompt might be a question which keeps bugging us; a sense that something needs to change in our lives, or the feeling that there is something more that God wants for us, or for us to be a part of. 

Maybe it is a sense that our lives have been aligning with God’s and it’s time to make a commitment to trust the God revealed in Jesus.

Maybe it is a sense of wanting a renewal in faith, of coming back to a journey that once felt stronger and more vibrant. 

Maybe it is a nudge or calling to find a way to use the gifts, passion for the world or even discontent with the way things are to follow Jesus into making a difference in the world. 

Maybe it is a question you feel led to pursue; of deconstructing parts of faith that don’t hold up in the light of Jesus, or how to rebuild a living and growing faith in God.

Whatever those next steps are for you, we are here to encourage and help each other grow in faith and to grow closer to Christ and one another in the process. 

Ways to take a next step:

• Pray about that next step. Whether it is a prayer of trust and surrender to God, a declaration of trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior, or a prayer for guidance; pray on it. 
• Let someone know: any leader or believer in the church will be honored to pray with you in that decision. Come up at the end of worship or in response to an invitation, or contact Pastor Brian through the week. 
• Explore Baptism: If you’re sensing now is the time to make a faith decision to trust in and follow the God who is revealed in Jesus, and/or to make that decision public; contact Pastor Brian and a baptism class will be set up.
• Explore a calling: If you sense a call to get involved, whether at the church or in the community or just figuring out what that might look like, Pastor Brian, our staff, and our board would love to explore that with you.

On December 30, 1837 our church was organized by 20 individuals. They
gathered together in the upper rooms of the Presbyterian Church, electing Rev. Isaac D. Newell as pastor and W.G. Thompson as Church Clerk. Peter Withers and Samuel Lander were elected deacons. They adopted Articles of Faith and built a house of worship at 307 W. North (now Monroe) Street near the city square. 1848 saw the church move into a larger building on South Madison Street. Our 3^rd house of worship was begun in September 1856 and located at the corner of Jefferson and Madison Streets. In November 1888 the fourth house of worship located at Jefferson and Gridley Streets was dedicated and we stayed there until 1994 when we moved into our current building, our 5^th house of worship.

Over the years, we have had 29 pastors (remember one served twice), membership surged during the post-war era of the 40s and 50s, our choirs were and still are noted for excellent performances, many worship services and special events were broadcast live on WJBC and now can be seen on YouTube via the world wide web. Our education program was started in 1843 and continues today utilizing many styles and resources to keep children, youth and adults engaged in studying scripture and how to apply it to their lives today.

Youth has always been important whether it was with church league sport teams, Boy and Girl Scouts, BYPU or BYF or SNYF or LOGOS. Giving teens a safe place to share their thoughts and develop relationships with caring adults in intergenerational programs is one of our mission foundations.

All church pot-lucks, chicken or spaghetti dinners or chili cook-offs to raise money, cookie sales, gathering time with coffee and doughnuts. What FBC member doesn’t like to break bread together?

Our Vision Portrait adopted in 1999 says, “We are called to Worship as a
Christ-centered People; We are called to be a Nurturing People; We are called to be a Witnessing People; and We are called to be a people of Hope in a Changing World”.  Worship. Nurture. Witness, Hope. FBC continues to bring the light of Christ into the world in many ways, offering opportunities for everyone to show the love and grace of God.

Thank YOU for continuing to be a part of this vision.

On behalf of the FBC community, we are very excited to announce that Dr. Sharon (Sharie) Huff will be officially joining our staff. 

Sharie is well known to the FBC family with her long history of participation in the life of the church and leadership in music.  Music is a deeply held value of hers, not only as a historically important expression of worship, but as a focal point that brings people together in community. 

She received her bachelors’ degree at ISU, and a Masters Degree in Music and Doctorate in Musical Arts from the University of Illinois, Urbana.  She has taught and led music throughout her career in many different contexts and working with people of all ages.  Likewise, she has extensive experience in the leading and administration of organizations promoting music and education and continues to serve as the Director of the Brass Band of Central Illinois and as the Treasurer of the International Women’s Brass Conference.

Dr. Sharon Huff brings deep experience and giftedness to the ministry of the church, and we are excited to welcome her into the new role of Church Choir Director, effective as of December 14. 

On behalf of the church board, we also want to express our gratitude to her and to Gretchen Clemmons who led the choir with excellence on a temporary basis this fall.

“…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? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌