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Current missions and ministry news and up-dates. Up-dates may also be found on the Forum. For information on Washington community services and resources visit The S.A.F.E. Coalition of Washington County Circles of Support This ministry supports Beyond Welfare's program Circles of Support. Circles of Support builds stronger communities by making friends on purpose and builds supportive, reciprocal relationships. Some of Circles of Supports Guiding Principals are everyone is welcome and everyone is accepted. Circles of Support provides any disciple of Christ an opportunity to show God's love toward others and share the good news. Local meetings in Washington take place on the 4th Monday evening of the month at the United Methodist church Fellowship Hall at 5:30pm. There is a free dinner provided and anyone is welcome. Free child care is also provided. More information on Beyond Welfare and it's program Circles of Support can be found on its website http://www.beyondwelfare.org/ Recommended Readings "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan. God put His Spirit in us so we could be known for our power. Sadly, most believers and churches are known for talent and intellect rather than supernatural power. What’s worse is that we’re okay with it. In Forgotten God, breakthrough author Francis Chan returns us to the Holy Spirit as the Bible describes Him and invites us to understand, embrace and follow the Holy Spirit’s direction in our lives.http://www.forgottengod.com/ "The Hole In Our Gospel" by Richard Stearns. "We are the carriers of the gospel-the good news that was meant to change the world. Belief is not enough. Worship is not enough. Personal morality is not enough. And Christian community is not enough. God has always demanded more. When we committed ourselves to following Christ, we also committed to living our lives in such a way that a watching world would catch a glimpse of God's character-His love, justice, and mercy-through our words, actions, and behavior. God chose us to be His representatives. He called us to go out, to proclaim the "good news"-to be the "good news"-and to change the world." http://www.theholeinourgospel.com/ Check out an article found on the Christian Post website (http://www.christianpost.com/) entitled, "Missional Church Movement-The Next Big Thing?". One way this movement is defined in the article states, "To think and to live missionally means seeing all life as a way to be engaged with the mission of God in the world." The mission of the FOC is similar to this movement. You can find the article on the Christian Post website under the Church tab, then click on General and scroll to find the article dated 3/12/09. July-August 2010 In response to two Iowa teen deaths in June from unsupervised access to firearms the Family of Christ Brandon Bunnell Gun Safety Ministry contacted the Washington County Sheriff's Office to form a partnership in the free distribution of gun locks. The Sheriff's Office was openly receptive toward this partnership and with their assistance 500 gun locks have been acquired through the Child Safe program. The Sheriff's Office as well as the Washington County Safety Center are now distributing the free gun locks as well as the Brandon Bunnell Gun Safety brochure. In addition, the ministry has given free gun locks and safety brochures to the Washington County Conservation Education Center for their hunter safety course in July and will be giving free gun locks to the 4H Family Shoot Day in August. The Family of Christ Home Repair Ministry received a referral from HACAP to replace a disabled persons front steps and porch. This request was sent out and the local Faith Baptist church responded by taking this project on as one of their mission projects for their Faith in Action mission project in Washington. May 2010 The Family of Christ Brandon Bunnell Gun Safety ministry partnered with Ace Hardware in Washington to provide free gun locks at Ace Harware. A total of 25 locks, all that the ministry could budget for, were distributed within the first two weeks of May. Those who acquired the free gun locks were very appreciative. On May 28th the FOC coordinated with the Washington Public Safety Center at Kids Fest to pass out free gun locks and to inform the public of free gun locks at the Safety Center. The Washington Public Safety Center provides free gun locks when available through the Kids Safe program. April 16, 2010 Response to Westboro Baptist Church The mission of the Family of Christ (FOC) is to unite disciples in showing God's love and in building God's kingdom on earth. As such, there comes a time when the Family of Christ or body of Christ, needs to speak out when there is injustice and the misrepresentation of God's message and mission in the world, injustice and misrepresentation of God's love and His kingdom. Such an injustice and misrepresentation has been demonstrated by Fred Phelps followers of the Westboro Baptist Church in Toppeka, Kansas. A church that has no affiliation with traditional Baptist conventions and has been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. As reported in the Des Moines Sunday Register for April 11, 2010, the followers of Fred Phelps were in Des Moines to picket Drake University for hosting a symposium on same-sex marriage. Phelps followers were carrying sings that read, “God hates fags” Fred Phelps followers equate God to a murderer, have God denying Himself, and blaspheme against the Holy Spirit (1 John 3:15).
God doesn't like some of our behavior, but the FOC believes God's message and mission in the world is to love people, not hate them, and for His people, citizens of His kingdom, to do the same (John 3:16, 1 John 4:7-8, Galatians 5:13, Romans 13:8, 2 John 1:6, John 15:12, 1 Peter 4:8, Ephesians 5:2). In addition, rather then condemn we are called to comfort one another (2 Corinthians 1:4). Instead of being mean and hurtful we are called to be kind (Colossians 3:12). And, living in harmony rather then instigating discord is characteristic of God's people (Romans 12:16).Of course, God's people are not to be like the people of this world or lay down in the face of injustice and unrighteousness, but we are to follow Christ's example of confronting injustice and unrighteousness. Nowhere in scripture do we see Christ being hateful. Christ related in a kind and loving manner to sinners. Rather then condemning and being hateful, Christ showed his living light in a loving way to a sinful world. Christ's followers are to do the same.
Most important to living a godly life is to know Christ, ( 2 Peter 1:3) rather then being harassed and mistreated by others who think they are right and want to grab attention. Plus, it is through God's Holy Spirit, available to followers of Christ, that gives us a new birth and new life to live a godly life (Titus 3:5). Followers of Christ share God's love in the world around them so people of the world can know Christ. By knowing Christ a person is reborn through the Holy Spirit. Knowing Christ and being born again through the Holy Spirit leads a person to godly living, characterized by the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Godly living is characteristic of God's kingdom and the more who live a godly life the more God's kingdom grows. What fuels this growth is God's love, not God's hate. April 2010 The Family of Christ ministry is sponsoring an ecumenical bible study beginning April 15th at the Washington YMCA. The study is being lead by Charles Logan and meets every Thursday evening at 7:00pm. The study is on building stronger, loving relationships in our families, churches, and community. This is an open group and new members are always welcome. Currently, this group is on hold. If interested, please contact the administrator through the Contact tab on the website menu.
March 23, 2010 The Family of Christ ministry invited area churches to participate in an Act of Random Kindness Project (ARK) in Washington during Lent. The ARK Project asked congregations to pair up with one another to perform an ARK in the community. On Tuesday March 23rd members from the Faith Baptist, United Presbyterian, St. James Catholic, and United Methodist congregations joined together for an Act of Random Kindness at the Moore BP and Casey's General Store gas stations. The free service project involved servicing cars by filling up windshield fluid, checking oil and tire pressure, and washing windshields. Acts of Random Kindness are done to show God's love in practical ways. For more information, please refer to the Ministries and Missions Section. October 2009 The Family of Christ ministry asked area churches to participate in a Food Bank Challenge to see how many food boxes could be collected for the local HACAP Food Bank in the month of October. The Food Bank Challenge also asked for money to go toward food vouchers. The idea of the challenge came about due to local donations not meeting the need for food boxes and money vouchers.
Three local churches participated in this challenge, St. James Catholic, United Presbyterian, and United Methodist. A total of 35 food boxes and $1180 for food vouchers was donated to our local HACAP food bank. September 18-20th 2009
Members of the Oskaloosa United Methodist church joined with members of the Washington United Methodist church to roof a home in Oskaloosa. August 16th 2009 Members of the United Methodist Church joined with the congregation of the St. James Catholic Church in Washington to worship together. It was a great experience for all. This is an example of the FOC eliciting more loving Christian fellowship among followers to encourage followers to do more in the area of walking hand in hand with one another shinning the living light of Christ in the world.
June 14th 2009 Efforts with the Home Repair Ministry continue. Referrals are being made and work continues on uniting people together to meet this need. Ace Hardware in Washington is participating in the Brandon Bunnell Gun Safety Ministry. Ace Hardware is the only business in Washington that sells firearms. Also, the Faith Baptist church in Washington supports this ministry. Efforts are being made to engage other organizations in this ministry.
May 13th 2009 Referrals are being met for the Home Repair Ministry. Efforts continue to engage other congregations in this ministry. Some churches in Washington made available the Brandon Bunnell Gun Safety Ministry brochure to their members. In addition, the Washington County ISU Extension Office and 4H Club are participating in this ministry by passing out the brochure. Efforts continue to engage more organizations in this ministry. April 13th 2009 The Family of Christ ecumenical ministry has begun a new social justice ministry. The Brandon Bunnell Gun Safety Ministry. This ministry is named after Brandon Michael Bunnell who was killed from a bullet fired from an assault rifle used by another youth. For more information please refer to the Ministries and Missions section. Also, in the Ministries and Missions section is more information on the FOC Home Repair and Acts of Random Kindness ministries.
February 18th 2009
One Washington congregation has begun performing acts of kindness following Steve Sjogren's work in the Washington community. Acts of kindness have included offering free Christmas gift wrapping, handing out free gift bags at local health centers and retirement homes, and giving out quarters at the local laundromat. Efforts are still underway to have this be an ecumenical outreach ministry. The Washington United Methodist congregation is teaming up with the Kalona Methodist congregation and the Washington County Enrichment Foundation to do home repair work in Kalona. The Washington United Methodist congregation is also teaming up with the Oskaloosa Methodist congregation to do home repair work in Oskaloosa. September 28th 2008
Steve Sjogren's book, "Conspiracy of Kindness" is an excellent example of showing God's love through simple acts of serving others, and sowing seeds that can lead people to Christ. The message of the FOC ecumenical ministry is similar to his work. You may find out more about his work at the following web sites; Conspiracy of Kindness; Servant Evangelism; and Kindness.com. Preliminary efforts are underway to combine Mr. Sjogren's work with the mission of the FOC ministry to broaden ecumenical outreach in the Washington area. More information will be given as these efforts develop. Flood Buckets June 2008 Four congregations came together and assembled 145 Flood Buckets in response to the flooding in the summer of 2008. Attica Tornado Clean Up May 31st 2008 A group of 12 individuals from two congregations from Washington, Iowa went to Attica to help with the tornado clean up. Several homes were destroyed and many were damaged. |
