News and Events at Believers Fellowship

Thank you for visiting our News and Events page, where we keep you up-to-date on the happenings at Believers Fellowship.  Also, the latest edition of our newsletter, The Epistle, can be found here (PDF).

Welcome Heidi to Summer Staff!

We welcome Heidi Kempston to the Children’s Ministry staff for the summer. Her experience with pre-school classes, curriculum & her computer skills make her a valuable and welcome addition. There are 80 volunteer spots in the pre-school classes alone this summer! We’re grateful to have her to share the responsibility of caring for so many volunteers, kids and classes.

Give her a smile and a ‘thank you’ when you see her.

 

 

Pizza at the Pleau's!

There is an old proverb dating back to the 14th century...
"All good things must come to an end - there is an end to everything, to good things as well."

These are hard things to hear...but are true in our present circumstance of our year of High School Connections.

Yes, we are done with our mid-week meetings at Believers Fellowship. We ended with a night of tradition. Every year the Pleau's have opened their home to Believers Fellowship Youth Group and hosted a night of "Pizza at the Pleau's". The kids look forward to it so much as the finale of fun, fellowship, and jumping in the cold, cold waters of the Sound.

We ended our year looking back on the growth we have made in loving God and loving others (Luke 10:27). I see our group growing in leaps and bounds in love for God and love for others. If someone wants to be here...they usually feel pretty accepted into the community. Of course it takes time to develop friendships, but the relationship is started. When someone wants to love God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength; community can't help but follow.

I can't wait to continue to learn about God throughout our busy summer! We have some awesome events planned...so be sure to check the calendar regularly, and check back here for updates on how they went!

Thanks for the awesome year!

Summer is Here!

Summer has finally arrived in Gig Harbor and we are going to our new summer schedule. Sunday services will be held at 9:00 and 10:30am. The nursery is available for both services, as are classes for the pre-school through 5th grade classes. The middle school will continue to offer teaching time upstairs during the 2nd service time in July. The high school group will remain in the main worship room during July and August. Join us this summer as we journey through the Parables of Jesus.

Our only exception for these summer hours is July 5th. There will only be one service that Sunday at 10:30am.

Baptismal Service on June 21

Graduation season is upon us, and people all over the county will be celebrating commencement. Have you ever thought about the difference between the two terms “graduation” and “commencement”? Graduation looks back at a program completed. Commencement looks forward to the next chapter that is commencing now that one is a “graduate.” Christianity has its own form of a “commencement celebration”—the ordinance of baptism. One’s conversion to Christianity is often a private thing—it happens in one’s heart as one makes peace with God in response to the Gospel of Jesus. But this conversion is marked by a radical change in one’s being, values, and lifestyle, and such a change deserves its own “commencement.” That is where baptism comes in. Baptism is a celebration of new life in Christ Jesus.

Like the Lord’s Supper, baptism is a significant way we express our union with Christ. In Romans 6:4–5, Paul writes, “Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too many live a new life. For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection.” (NET) Baptism is a picture of our union with Christ’s death and resurrection, and a proclamation of our hope that we, too, will be resurrected. It’s a way of publicly proclaiming that we are united with Christ—that we are a Christian.

Baptismal services are always a special week here at Believers Fellowship. You may have noticed that we don’t have a baptismal in the worship space. That is because we prefer to baptize people in the Puget Sound. (Just kidding!) Actually, we have a portable baptismal that we bring out for our special baptismal services. Each person will be asked to write down beforehand a bit about his or her faith story, and Gary will share this story with the congregation during the service.

Our next baptismal service is going to be on Sunday, June 21st, during both services. If you’ve already been baptized, I encourage you to be there on June 21st to celebrate with us those who are proclaiming their faith. It’s a special day, and we invite you to be a part of it. If you haven’t been baptized, I encourage you to consider taking this opportunity. Baptism historically has been an important part of Christian devotion, and the practice goes back to the Lord’s own baptism by John. If you would like to be baptized, contact Gary Albert at galbert@harbornet.com. Parents of children can contact Joan Albert at jalbert@harbornet.com, and students can contact Johnny Pearson at jpearson@harbornet.com.

By Matt Edwards

30 Hour Famine

The weekend of April 24th was a nationwide 30 hour famine. Our church partnered with other churches in the area to raise money for World Vision, and raise our awareness to how hard some people have it in the world.

We raised our awareness in many different ways, but keeping the focus on kids in developing countries. We did this through fasting for 30 hours. This was the obvious hard part, but every hunger pang that we felt was an opportunity to remember what children go through everyday, thus giving us a reminder to pray for them.

We had activities throughout the weekend to keep us focused. We watched a documentary called "Invisible Children" to give us a glimpse of what life is like for children in Sudan. We set up a "fam cam" in a cardboard booth to share with each other through video about what we are learning and how it will affect our lives. We wrote prayers and scripture on pieces of cardboard to put in our rooms to remind us of the kids. And that night (Friday) we built a cardboard city and slept in the "shacks" to give us a glimpse of sleeping with out a proper shelter.

After tearing down our box city the next morning, we all built 300 little crosses out of popsicle sticks. We spent some time in prayer, and then pushed our crosses into the dirt. After looking at all of them for a moment we learned that in the 15 minutes it took for us build 300 crosses and push them in the ground, 300 children had died. A cross for each child...We spent all of Saturday doing service projects...on an empty stomach. We helped move the NW Furniture Bank into a new warehouse, then split off half way through the day to help elderly people with yard work.

We finally made it back to Chapel Hill to break our fast with Communion and dinner.
We raised money $630.00 for World Vision. I can tell you...I am so proud of all the kids at Believers who came out to show that they care about more than just themselves.

 

We are the Class of 2016!

The 5th grade class heads for the beach again to close out the year and kick off their move up to youth group! Along with all the usual fun that comes with 24 hours of sand and sun, they’ll consider what it would look like to follow Paul’s directions in Ephesians chapter 4 and be people that really ‘GROW UP’, ‘SPEAK UP’, & ‘BUILD UP’. What a great way to start out as the CLASS OF 2016!

 

 

Women’s Evening of Faith Stories

An event for all women 18 years and older is coming Tuesday, June 2nd, at 7:00pm at Believers Fellowship!

Each year the women of Believers Fellowship come together for one very special night of listening to a few of our own women share about their lives as women who have faith in Christ.  Once again, three new women have been going through the prayerful process of pulling together a summary of the experiences that have and are currently shaping their lives, forming them to be the women they are today.  Key to each story, is tracing the marks of God’s love and moving in their lives.  This year’s theme is “Run the Race,” taken from a passage in Hebrew 12:1, 2. Though our own lives tend to be pretty fast paced, it doesn’t seem to be speed that is the author’s main interest in the passage, but rather the way in which the runner executes her journey.  
 
As with any good mystery, we keep the names of those who will be sharing under wraps, just for the sake of building suspense!  Secret though the names of these precious three may be, we hope you will be praying for them as they prepare.  Getting up in front of a group to talk is hard for almost all of us.  Add to that, sharing about the things that have meaningfully and often emotionally had the greatest impact on a life for both good and bad can be a real step of faith!   But it has consistently been a privilege over the years to get to know the wonderful women of our church on a more intimate basis and in a more casual setting than on Sunday mornings.  When that age old, time tested form of a life publicly shared takes place, beautiful and valuable things happen.  It tends to build us together as a community of women of greater compassion, growing faith, hope, reasons and strengthening to persevere through hard times, and a knowing that we are not alone.

Plan on some great time of worship, fellowship and some great snacks.  Invite a friend!  Questions?  Call Bo @ 253-858-7497 or Bo@Believersfellowship.net

Gig Harbor Church Softball League

Since its creation in 1995, the local church softball league has been a summer tradition for Believers Fellowship.  Although the roster has changed since the early days, the focus remains the same:  good exercise, lots of fun, and an opportunity to extend our fellowship outside of the church building.  People have come to know the Lord through this ministry.

The 2009 season is shaping up to be another great one, with growth of the league as a key contributor.  Around 20 teams will take the field this summer, with 4 of those coming from Believers Fellowship!   This will be a record number of teams from our church.  The league will consist of two co-ed divisions playing in June and July, and wraps up with a double-elimination tournament in early August.  The Believers Fellowship Halos took the title in 2006, but the past two seasons have belonged to Harbor Covenant.

Interested players can still join a team through the middle of June, and more information can be found at the league website:  http://ghcsl.org.  Be sure to come out and support your teams this summer!

By Rob Floberg

Saying Memory Verses Earns ‘Skittles’ Party!

First and second graders at Believers Fellowship earned a party – and not just ANY party! No, a SKITTLES party! They got together Thursday, April 16th from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. for Skittle games, spaghetti dinner, and root beer floats. Good job kids! Way to hide God’s word in your hearts!

 

 

 

Home Group Leaders Honored with Appreciation Banquet

Tod Bolsinger wrote that “Christian community is the only truly life-transforming environment.” I couldn’t agree more. The proliferation of media technology and the internet has made access to Christian resources easier than ever. There are online Bible studies, sermons-for-download, and DRM-free worship songs on mp3. But none of these technological developments is a substitute for genuine, face-to-face Christian community. It remains the only true environment for spiritual transformation.

That’s why I love our home group leaders so much.

I want to thank everyone who led or co-led a home group this past year. The groups were great! It seems that every week I hear a new story of someone who has been blessed by the ministry of their home group. Connections are made, life is shared, and devotion is modeled. Great leaders make this a great church.

On Sunday, April 26th, Ken and Barbie Hollingsworth prepared a magnificent banquet in appreciation of the home group leaders at Believers Fellowship. Barbie dazzled us with her culinary expertise and Ken led a five-star service team.

I would like to thank Ken and Barbie, along with Sidney and Stephanie Ramsey, Aundi Ragan, Stefan Siqueland, Will Owen and Luke Kilcup for making this year’s home group leader appreciation banquet a huge success. The evening was beautiful and the food was fantastic!

By Matt Edwards

Middle School Mission Trip

In the beginning of April, the Middle School youth went on their first mission trip to Vancouver, BC. This was an exciting opportunity for the kids to learn how to talk with people living on the streets, as well as learn about issues surrounding homelessness. For many of them, their stereotypes of poverty changed because of these conversations with people that were struggling to make ends meet. Also, the youth were able to serve dinner at a park and hear more stories from the people that we were serving.

The students also participated in temple tours which gave them a background of different religions and learned how to have respectful conversations about other’s beliefs. We were able to have a wonderful meal at the Sikh Gurdwara which served amazing Indian food. This meal was evidence of their unconditional hospitality and acceptance to any visitors, which is a primary tenet of Sikhism. Part of this process was learning how to understand different cultures through food, conversations and customs. Our students were challenged with how to live our unconditional hospitality in their own lives as Christians.

We ended the week talking about a very difficult issue. The painful topic is human trafficking. Human trafficking is the recruitment and transportation of people for the purpose of exploitation, in this case profiting from sex. This was difficult for the students because of the traumatic pain that is associated with this issue. Without even realizing it, the students had conversations with victims of human trafficking. Our students gained valuable knowledge about a problem that needs to change. It truly starts with awareness.

Through this week we saw our students grow from being completely afraid to share their lunch with someone living on the streets to being able to be advocates for the people that they were surrounded by. Their perspective on homelessness and their heart for the city has grown tremendously. Now the mission begins at home for these kids. This was truly an amazing event for the students to be apart of.

You can read more about my reflections on the trip on our blog at http://cwsmblog.blogspot.com/

Good Friday and Easter Morning Services

When you enter our sanctuary, you notice candles flickering in the windows and music playing softly in the background. The lights are dimmed and people are quietly conversing. Others have their head bowed in prayer and reverence. It is Good Friday and Christians are gathered to honor the day that Jesus Christ was arrested, tried, condemned, beaten, crucified, and died to cover our multitude of sins. It was the day His body was nailed to the cross, lowered from that cross, wrapped in linens, and laid in a borrowed tomb. It was the day His disciples feared for Him, fled from Him, denied Him. Good Friday…..the day the earth trembled, turned dark in the midst of the day, and the temple veil ripped from top to bottom. It was the day God took His eyes off Christ.

But then……… what a marvelous change occurred on Sunday, Easter Sunday. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, arose from the grave and broke the bonds of death. On that event all our hopes are based. Our sanctuary is filled with flowers, light shines in, and upbeat music permeates the air. Our Lord lives forever and ever. Let us celebrate His glorious victory!

Join us for Good Friday service April 10, at 7:00pm.

Easter Sunday services April 12, at 9:20 and 11:00am.

Generations Series and Outreach Project

By Matt Edwards

Psalm 71:17–18 NET says, “O God, you have taught me since I was young, and I am still declaring your amazing deeds. Even when I am old and gray, O God, do not abandon me, until I tell the next generation about your strength, and those coming after me about your power.” God is amazing, and He has left us with the responsibility of teaching the next generation about His great works. Indeed, God has been good to Believers Fellowship over the past 30 years, and we are blessed with a rare muli-generational congregation. We embrace this diversity!

Multi-generational churches are not common. Disputes over worship styles, décor, preaching fashions, and budgeting often pit the old against the young and prevent congregations from benefitting from generational diversity. Because we are blessed with this diversity, Gary and I will be teaching a series called Generations. We are going to investigate the role that generational diversity plays in the ministry of Believers Fellowship. We are going to discover the older generation’s responsibility toward the young folks, and what the younger generation can do to honor those who have gone before.

In coordination with the series, there will be a Generations outreach construction project on April 4th. We will revisit the YFC project in Tillicum as well as partner with Need-a-Break to minister to our community together, young and old.

Men’s Prayer Group

By Matt Thomson

While women’s and children’s ministries seem to be quite healthy in most American churches, men’s groups tend to be struggling. Here at Believer’s Fellowship, we recognize that providing avenues for our men to get together and strengthen each other is vital to keeping our families strong. While we often put up an iron front, acting as though nothing can harm us, men are just as vulnerable to Satan’s attacks as women and children, and we need accountability and support just as much as anyone else.

Every other Tuesday morning at 6am, a group of men meet in the BF Fellowship room to enjoy some conversation, discuss issues relevant to the church (usually led by a book we read together), and to check in and support each other, provide accountability to each other, and pray with and for each other. It’s a small group ranging from 8-15 men, open to guys of any age group. While we do have a book that we read together, our time is structured so that anybody can join on any day and be a contributing part of the discussion…having the book and being caught up in the reading isn’t necessary to join.

Yes, 6am is early, but it’s only once every two weeks! We’re out the door by 7:30am so those who need to get to work can make it.

Back to Top