December 2023 Fellowship Connections Newsletter
/From the Elders
Proactive Shepherding
“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.” Those are the words of the Apostle Peter from 1 Peter 5:1—3. We see in this passage that elders are to shepherd the flock of God, and they are to do it willingly.
One of the ways the elders at Faith Bible Fellowship Church of York are going to try to shepherd the flock of God here willingly is by touching base with each family unit personally every two to three months. In short, each elder has been assigned roughly 12 family units, and the expectation is for that elder to call, email, or to meet in person with each family throughout the year. The goal is to check in and to see how we can be praying for you, caring for you, and loving you, and to see if there is anything specifically you need.
Overall, the elders here at Faith Bible Fellowship Church of York are trying to be proactive in shepherding the flock of God well and not just be reactive to struggles, concerns, or heartaches as they arise. Therefore, if you have not received a call yet from an elder or been taken aside and chatted with personally yet, don’t worry— the time will come.
Please know, we are doing all this to try to shepherd you all well. However, we can’t do that if we do not know our flock, aren’t staying in consistent touch with our flock, or do not know what our flock is going through.
Press on.
— Pastor Wes Bunting
Announcements
Heart and Hands — The FBFC Women’s Ministry is wrapping up its service project by gathering the baby blankets that have been knitted and crocheted for Hearts and Hands. On Saturday, December 2, at 1:30 p.m., please plan on joining us to help pray over the blankets and prepare them for delivery. If you still have a blanket to donate, please contact Karla Armstrong or Carolyn Kocman to make sure it isn’t missed.
Youth Babysitting Night — Calling all parents! Do you want a romantic evening out or a chance to do some Christmas shopping? The youth are providing babysitting at the church on Saturday, December 2, from 3—7 p.m. Donations received will be used to help the youth meet the expenses of their upcoming Sno Glo retreat this winter. Take advantage of this opportunity to bless our youth and enjoy some couple time.
Christmas Services — This year we have two opportunities to celebrate the birth of our Savior! December 24 is on a Sunday, so we meet for corporate worship at 10:30 a.m. and also have an evening candlelight service at 7:00 p.m. Please plan on joining us and inviting your friends and family.
December Fellowship Meal — Due to the Christmas holiday, there will be no Fellowship Meal in December.
Sno Glo
While the month of December is always exciting, our teens are looking forward just as much to January and the annual Sno Glo retreat. This year our youth will be heading to Pinebrook Bible Conference on January 26 – 28 for a weekend of Biblical teaching, worship, and activities that will encourage them to grow in their walk with the Lord and connect with other youth across the Bible Fellowship denomination.
Please begin praying that God will help them arrange schedules and finances to be able to attend and that, even now, He will be preparing their hearts for the weekend. We look forward to seeing how He will meet them during this time.
Blessing Our Unseen Members
Last spring we introduced you to Dolores Lieberknect (left) and Elizabeth Sams (right) in our April 2023 edition of Fellowship Connections. Although we do not see them regularly on Sunday mornings due to physical limitations, they have both been members of Faith Bible Fellowship Church for years.
This holiday season, as you are preparing your Christmas cards, would you consider adding Dolores and Elizabeth to your list? This would be a wonderful opportunity to introduce your family (especially if you use photo greeting cards), and your children can also learn the blessing of serving others by providing homemade cards and drawings. You can bring your cards to the church for collection on December 2, 9, and 16, or you can mail them to the ladies directly at these addresses:
Dolores Lieberknect: 27 Cedar Street, Manchester, PA 17345
Elizabeth Sams: Pleasant Acres Nursing Home, 118 Pleasant Acres Drive, Room 510A, York, PA 17402
Let’s spread the joy of the season to our fellow church members!
Meet the Bossermans
We are the Bossermans, Larry and Eleanor. In 2024, Eleanor will have been a member of this church for 50 years. Her parents, Ken and Thelma Gemmill (yes, she’s Helen’s sister) were married at Faith Bible Fellowship in 1960. Her dad thought, at that time, that this would be a better church in which to raise children, rather than the church he grew up in. He was right. We were blessed with good teachers in Sunday School, Children's Church, Wednesday evening, Pioneer Girls, and youth group. These were people who loved us, cared about us, and helped us grow in our walk with the Lord.
Larry had moved to York from Dillsburg and had not found a church home. He worked with a gentleman who knew the Gemmill family. Long story short, we just celebrated 30 blessed years of the covenant of marriage.
Our faces may not be familiar. In 2004, we were commissioned as a Priscilla and Aquilla team to the Adams County church plant in Gettysburg. The church in Gettysburg is scheduled to become a particular church in April at the BFC Conference. This means we are released from our obligation. We have started the process of transitioning back to York by joining Ken Good’s Sunday evening group and helping with VBS. We are not sure how to move forward on Sunday mornings, as we dearly love the church family in Gettysburg and will miss being part of the body there. However, we are excited to see how the Lord is working in this congregation. This is an answer to many years of prayer, seeking the Lord and asking Him for make this church everything He would have it to be. We have met some people and look forward to getting to know more in the future.
CEM Update
For Church Extension Ministries, it’s Christmas Gift Month, which is very significant in its mission of reaching people with the Gospel and planting new churches. Christmas Gift Month helps BFC church planters who have support deficits, which was approximately $50,000 this year. Giving by BFC members helps CEM make certain the planters receive what has been committed to them. Christmas Gift Month also helps church plants with their facility needs and with emergency needs that arise, like helping with professional counseling services, necessary equipment, and family needs.
Church Extension Ministries does not take a percentage of planters' support for administrative and staff costs. Christmas Gift Month helps meet those needs in conjunction with undesignated giving, the Summer20 fundraiser, and some of the staff raising personal support.
These items and others are assisted by the funds that come in through Christmas Gift Month. Please pray for this year’s Christmas Gift Month:
· Pray that CEM will reach its goal of $200,000.00.
· Pray that CEM will be blessed with 100 matching gift donors, giving $500 each to match the $50,000.00 that has been pledged.
· Pray that CEM will be able to continue its full support for BFC church planters.
IF you would like to participate in Christmas Gift Month, you can give online or by check to Church Extension Ministries, P. O. Box 3534, Allentown, PA 18106. You may designate your gift towards the General Fund or towards a particular church planter. Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated.