September 2023 Fellowship Connections Newsletter
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From the Elders
Dear church,
It is truly an honor and great responsibility to serve as an elder at Faith BFC of York.
As I have been contemplating this new ministry opportunity in our church, I have realized that some of you may not know about my testimony and call to ministry. I was born in 1980 into a Christian home. My parents loved Jesus and His church. These truths were instilled into me at a young age. When I was five, God opened my eyes to His truth and raised me from death to life. As a 16-year-old, I submitted my entire life to His will and realized that Jesus is also my Lord, not just my Savior. This was tested and affirmed when my father died of cancer that same year. This taught me that God is sovereign over all of life and only does what is best for His children.
After high school, I traveled for two years on a singing team that led week-long revival meetings in local churches up and down the East Coast. After traveling with Encounter Revival Ministries, I attended Lancaster Bible College and majored in Bible with a focus on discipleship. LBC is where I met Amy, and we got married after college. Since then God has blessed us with five children. After college I worked in the construction industry.
When I was in my early 30s, God called me to serve the local church in various leadership roles. I have served as a deacon; an elder at a church in Lebanon, PA; a pastor at a church plant; and a men’s ministry leader. I even served as an elder at Faith BFC of York several years ago. Through all of this, God has given me a love for His church and strength to encourage and support others through trials. God has also given me a love for construction and building stuff. Thankfully, serving as an elder gives me the opportunity to serve the church as a layman and also serve the community as a project manager for Kinsley Properties.
This is a brief snapshot of God’s leading over 43 years. If you have any questions about how God orchestrated events in my life or my experiences raccoon hunting in Michigan, spelunking in the Adirondacks, or meeting a lifelong friend in Portugal, please don't hesitate to ask.
For the crown rights of King Jesus,
— Matt Fuhrman
Announcements
Children’s Ministry and Nursery — Beginning on September 10, our optional children’s ministry classes and nursery will once again be available. Children who are not yet ready for a structured classroom can be checked into the nursery at the beginning of the service. Those who are in preschool through elementary school are welcome to attend our children’s ministry classes, which begin immediately after the Scripture reading. If your children will be attending either the nursery or children’s ministry classes, please be sure to sign them in at the kiosk and get their nametags before taking them to class.
Small Group Sign-up — Members should have received an email to sign up for one of the three small groups being offered this fall:
Sunday night (adult Sunday School)
Tuesday night (Christian parenting)
Wednesday night (sermon review)
We are also in need of volunteers to provide child care during our life groups, especially on Tuesday night. Please let us know of your interest as soon as possible so that the leaders can plan the sessions. Thank you very much!
Church Picnic — Our annual church picnic will be held on Sunday, September 24, immediately after the service. Burgers and hot dogs will be provided, and you will be able to sign up to bring a side dish, drinks, or dessert through the link we will send by email. Cakes will also be needed for our traditional cake walk! Plan now to attend this fun family event.
Youth Group — The Youth Group will be meeting on three Fridays this month: September 1, 15, and 29. The meeting on the 15th will involve a trip to Sky Zone. All students in grades 7 through 12 are invited to attend. See Pastor Ricardo to find out more.
Men’s Bible Study — The Men’s Bible Study will meet on Tuesday, September 12, at 6:00 P.M. Please contact Pastor Ricardo if you’d like more information.
Women’s Ministry — On Saturday, September 16, the Ladies’ Bible Study will meet at 10:00 AM. Contact Kasha Vargas to find out more. In addition, the Ladies’ Fellowship Group will continue to meet on September 7 and 21 at 10:00 AM. See Jean Soyke for more information on this group.
Teen Week
During the week of August 16—19, we had over 12 students from our church attend Teen Week at the Lebanon church. There were over 50 teens who participated in Teen Week from three different youth groups. It was a great time of fellowship, getting to know other teens from other youth groups, and learning about what it means to live as a Christian in today's world.
— Ricardo Vargas
Meet the Hurls
Hello, church family! We are Joe and Karen Hurl. Joe is employed as a material handler with AMZ Corporation in York, and Karen has been a part-time in-home care giver for over 30 years. When Karen isn’t working, you can find her in the kitchen or her small garden. Karen loves growing her vegetable/herb garden in the summer months, and the fruits of her labor come later on in the form of cooking delicious recipes for her family and others. She has introduced many to her delicious tomato pies. In our spare time, we love to take long drives searching for covered bridges and waterfalls. When we’re not out exploring, we love spending time with our 13 grandchildren. Joe is a music lover, and Motown is his genre of expertise, so grill him a bit on some Motown trivia, and you’ll have his full attention. We both landed at Faith Bible Fellowship while looking for a new church home. The richness and depth of the Word of God that we experienced here at Faith made our minds up to call FBC home. Together we like to bring life into any room we walk into, and we look forward to getting to know everyone better and seeing what God will do in us and through us here at FBC.
Meet the Bintavahoks
Hi. We’re the Bintavihoks - Anna (Mom), Eddie (16), and Lilly (15). We are a homeschooling family. Anna also works as an office manager in an optometry office. Eddie and Lilly study Jung Sim Do and are second-degree black belts. We have been attending Faith Bible Fellowship Church for three years. Eddie and Lilly enjoy Youth Group and serving in the Children’s Ministry, and Anna enjoys serving on the Welcome Team and working on the weekly prayer email. We are so happy to call Faith Bible Fellowship Church our church home!
Church Extension Ministries
For the past few months, CEM has been sponsoring an initiative called Summer 20. Their goal is to have each BFC member contribute just $20, which would cover the financial needs of our church planters. So far CEM has raised $25,524 toward the goal of $30,000. Even though summer is almost over, it’s not too late to support CEM with your gift! You can send a check to Church Extension Ministries, PO Box 3534, Allentown, PA 18106, or link to Church Extension Ministries to give online.
Missionaries of the Month
You may remember the Rauch family (Josh, Rebekah, Regan, and Sami) who visited with us a few months ago. Praise God, they have moved to North Carolina to serve with JAARS (Jungle Aviation and Relay Service). They are not yet able to purchase a house, so they are living in an RV home. Reagan and Sami have begun school, and Josh is busy in the hangar working on aircraft as a mechanic. Please continue to pray for them as they adjust to their new life and that they would find a church that would be a good fit for them. Please also pray for continued financial support so that they will eventually be able to qualify for a mortgage and purchase a house. For more information on their ministry, check out their page on the Wycliffe Bible Translators website.