Is Your Pastor an Outsider?

Tom Garasha, Director of Pastoral Care and Coaching for the EFCA West district asks some interesting questions on his blog as the result of reading, "When the Church was a Family," by Joe Hellerman. What do you think?

• If the church is truly an community then why are pastors often the outsider?


• If the church is a supposed to be the family of brothers and sisters, then how come pastors are the last ones to experience community in their own church?


• How can a pastor preach and encourage people to authentic community and not have a close trusted relationship with anyone in the church.

To visit Tom's blog: http://healthierpastors.blogspot.com/2009/09/oxymoron-pastors-enjoying-community.html

Exploring Berlin Involvement

EFCA ReachGlobal and the Freie evangelische Gemeinde (FeG Church) will host the Berlin Partnership Summit, April 13-16, 2010 in Berlin, Germany. The Summit will be a collaboration of FeG church planters, EFCA ReachGlobal staff, and strategic partners meeting together to build relationships that intentionally further church planting efforts in the Berlin area. The Summit is designed both for existing partners and those exploring the possibility of future involvement. It will be a place to learn, dialog, pray, encourage, and to contribute ideas.
For more information send inquiries to berlin@efca.org

Dropping 10,000 Pounds

Findlay EFC in Findlay, OH is planning to distribute 10,000 pounds of food from their Mobile Food Pantry on Saturday, November 7 from 7:30 am – Noon. Organizing way ahead of the date they're in the process of enlisting volunteers for three key teams:

• Hospitality Team – To greet guests and set things up.


• Distribution Team – To hand out the 10,000 lbs. of food between 9:30 am and noon on Saturday.


• Courtesy Team – To carry the food for their guests and help them to their cars.

Pray for the needed hands and feet to sign up and help!

Embracing the Arts

Embracing the arts, First Evangelical Free Church in Wichita, KS opened its doors in August to the Christian Youth Theater program. CYT offers students after-school theater arts classes, participation in local musical theater productions and summer camps.

CYT's two-fold mission is to develop "character in children through training in the arts" and to produce "wholesome family entertainment," both of which "reflect Judeo-Christian values." Fall classes meet on Thursdays from August through October. Classes are offered for ages 5-7, ages 8-12 and ages 12-18. Bring CYT to your church and city!

Chinese Flock in Italy

Two EFCA field staff members recently visited Italy for two and a half weeks to teach in a Chinese church in Prato. There are 30,000 to 40,000 Chinese residing in that city, (most from mainland China).

In Italy there are 20 Chinese churches, but only three ordained ministers with minimal training. During the classes participants learned Christian Ethics, pastoral care and counseling, both totally new topics to the very attentive students.

What is your strength or gift? Consider using it on a short term missions trip in your own community or assisting EFCA missionaries the globe over. Check out the opportunities!

Pray that God will raise up more workers to tend His Chinese flock in Italy.

Expanding Outreach

Did you know EFCA EQUIP (EFCA's online learning ministry) offers a course to help people make informed decisions about their local and global outreach involvement?

Kingdom Expansion 101 is a high-quality, facilitated, online basic missions course that can be taken anywhere in the world. The curriculum provides a biblical and strategic framework to assist churches, global outreach teams and individuals as they consider their response to God’s plan for all the nations.

Download the flyer to learn more.

Sudan Famine

In an urgent plea from the senior pastor of the EFC of Sudan, he shares the famine is devastating, there is an extreme lack of food and children are suffering most--asking for your prayerful and compassionate response to this crisis situation.

I greet you in the name of Jesus. The famine in Nagishot is devastating, especially among the refugees recently returning to Sudan. There is an extreme lack of food. It is the children who suffer most. Three years ago, people had enough to eat. But food produce dwindled as droughts became more frequent. Since 2007, there has been drought or a long dry spell every single year. This has had a devastating impact on households across the Nagishot Hills. We are appealing with you brothers and sisters to pray for life-saving emergency aid to our people who are in crisis. May God bless your prayers for the suffering masses!

For more information: Sudan Famine

New EFCA TouchGlobal Crisis Response Center

On Sunday, August 30, the four-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the new EFCA TouchGlobal Crisis Response Center was dedicated to the Lord in Louisiana.

At the service, a DVD reminded participants of the first few days after Katrina and how the people of God responded. Mark Lewis of EFCA TouchGlobal Crisis Response and Pastor Michael Sprague of Trinity EFC in Covington recounted stories of life-change and God's intervention. State Representative John Schroder shared his observation about faith-based organizations doing what government cannot do and was not designed to do. John Horst (EFCA TouchGlobal) and Sherman McLain (elder of Trinity EFC) led the dedication prayer. Many guests and friends joined the celebration for the day including Vixie Spencer, Liam Brown, Bill and Kathleen Brown, Terry Sistruck and John Gerhardt (Urban Impact) and four special ambassadors sent from Hershey Evangelical Free Church. Hershey EFC sent 340 volunteers to Louisiana to help over the last four years!

ECDC and Churches Powering the Community

In Kane County, Illinois where there are more social services per capita than any other county in the country, 18 churches including Elgin EFC are partnering with a one-of-a-kind ministry known as the ECDC (Elgin Christian Development Corporation) to reverse the current of the community. Going beyond the government’s role of “sheltering and feeding under-resourced families without providing a plan to move them into their own home,” the partnership is taking under-resourced families to a whole new level, including their relationships with the church.

For the full story:
http://www.efca.org/church-health/reachnational-church-health/ecdc-and-churches-powering-community