Philadelphia’s Worst Ten List
Was listening on the radio which is always accurate in reporting the facts, and I heard that Philadelphia has been placed on many lists that most major cities would not want to be on. The lists cover such things as: commute times, corruption, pro sports teams, Superfund sites, taxes (both income and sales), unemployment, violent crime and weather. So far Philadelphia is in the top ten or in the top five on 5 lists…2 of them sadly we are number 1. Still looking for facts to back this up on the other most reliable source, the Internet.
- Philadelphia ranked #1 as the fattest city in the U.S.
- One of the most bitter and angry cities to live in due to our sports teams.
- One of the most miserable cities in the U.S. to live in.
- One of the most dangerous cities in the U.S to live in.
- Philadelphia ranked #1 as the ugliest cities in the U.S. to live in.
With all that being said, it is no coincidence that God has placed Fellowship Church right outside of Philly to reach and connect those who are far from God with Him. Those lists may be true but our God is bigger than all of those lists. Share with people your story and the story that God loves them…it just may make a difference.
East To West
Building and maintaining healthy relationships is one of the greatest challenges we face in life. It’s a struggle. Getting along with people is a huge struggle! Sometimes we may even wonder if healthy relationships are possible. There is one key that helps in this process of having “happy relationships” and that key is forgiveness. This series will investigate the depths of forgiveness, and how we can have a clean, new start with the people we hurt and the people who hurt us. Our journey will help us know how to give forgiveness, seek forgiveness, and guard against refusing forgiveness.
East To West Series from Fellowship Today on Vimeo.
100 Day Prayer Challenge
Eric on Sunday challenged the church to 100 days of prayer. I thought why not challenge everybody who reads this blog to jump on board and pray as well. You pray for my church and I’ll pray for your church if you list your church below. The only way we will see God move throughout is if people humble themselves and pray for His will and not ours. Below is what our church [Fellowship Church] is praying for and I believe it to be universal.
- Be unified and motivated to serve
- Grow as a community who love and accept each other and new people wherever they’re at
- Develop a heart for our local community, our schools, our neighbors, in demonstrating our love for them and meeting their needs, expecting nothing in return
- Become people who invest in our community and invite them into our church family
So how about it? Can you commit the next 100 days to lift your church and mine up in prayer to God?
Discover God’s Heart from Fellowship Today on Vimeo.
25 Days Of Christmas_Day 20
I love the clip from the Elf where Buddy starts shouting Santa, I know him. Made me think with church be canceled today there is a lot of anticipation for Wednesday and Thursday as Eric takes the reign as lead pastor of Fellowship Church. Can’t help but think when I hear that clip, that instead of Santa, I know him, it’s Eric is coming, I know him. Looking forward to Christmas as I hope you are. Who have you invited who needs to hear about Jesus?
25 Days Of Christmas_Day 18
I was thinking about how everybody followed the star of Bethlehem to see Jesus and how weird it must have been to be directed that way. After all it’s not a common practice to follow stars to your location, I tried to follow one to the Outback the other night only to realize the star I was following was actually a glare on my windshield from my iphone…so no luck there. The star led them to place they needed to be, to be a part of something extraordinary.
That is sort of like the staff of Fellowship. Although I am not attempting to compare our journey together as the weight of the Savior of the world being born…however think about this for a second and how God has orchestrated His plan.
- Gus was from the Delaware Valley.
- Kristi by default was from the Delaware Valley.
- Ben was from either Georgia or Florida. I think it was both if that is possible.
- Jeff is from Iowa.
- Dan is from Boston.
- Shari is from Alaska.
- Nancy is from Illinois.
- Eric is from Illinois.
- I am from California/Washington State
And yet God orchestrated His plan to bring all of us together to redefine church in the Delaware Valley. Each of us has different gifts and talents that we bring to the table. We each come from a different perspective. We each have baggage and we are all imperfect and yet God uses us to shape His Kingdom. If God can use this bunch, He can use you.
Are you ready to be used by God? What is the story that is God is writing through you? During the Holiday season, has God called you to do something extraordinary? Are you exactly where God wants you?
25 Days Of Christmas_Day 10
Some people wonder what in the world does a staff do during preparation for our Christmas services? That is a valid question. Below is just a clip of what a day in the life of some staff members of Fellowship Church look like.
Staff Elves from Ryan Geiger on Vimeo.
25 Days Of Christmas_Day 5
Tomorrow morning we launch our series called “That Night” that walks through the story of Christmas. That Night changed everything from the meaning of life to relationships. Join us at 10:30am at the Garnet Valley Middle School as we begin our series “That Night” that will go through December 27th.
That Night_Intro from Ryan Geiger on Vimeo.
Weekend Wrap Up
If you missed this weekend you missed out on one of the most exciting weekends at Fellowship Church in a long time.
Friday Night- Kid Kollage, Dan & Kristi do and incredible job reaching kids and their families. A lot of fun for the whole family. You must check this out on the first Friday of each month.
Saturday Morning- Men of Ice, Lee White does a great job of helping men get deeper together.
Saturday Night- UNITED and we had a good turnout. Lots of guests and we had 9 students received Christ. Great energy from the band and we did a black light drama that was very powerful. I challenged the students to be Purple People Leaders.
Sunday- we got to hear from Eric Koehler and hear his heart on the local church and how it is the hope of the world. Eric is a gifted communicator who we believe God has brought to us to lead Fellowship into the next generation. Excited about what God is doing here and where we are headed. Below are both videos of Eric introducing his family as well as his talk on Sunday Morning.
Introducing Eric Koehler from Fellowship Today on Vimeo.
Eric Koehler from Fellowship Today on Vimeo.
Those Moments
I talked today in our wrap up of “So, Your Dead…Now What?” about those moments in life that you’ll remember but also those moment that pale in comparison to a moment with God in Heaven. 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, no ear has heard, no eye has seen what God has in store for those who love Him. The fact is we can’t even imagine what Heaven will be like but we know that it will be better to be in God’s presence for one moment than to spend a thousand years here on earth.
What we know is that God will do away with death, mourning and pain and God will dwell with us. The lie the devil wants us to believe is that Heaven can wait…the reality is Heaven can’t wait and we need to live today with a sense of urgency and share with others the realness of a relationship with Christ and engage them with Heaven verses scaring them out of Hell. A relationship will win over religion every time.
So as great as it was with my boys today, Heaven will be indescribably better than anything I could share with you. Study and beg God to reveal to you His nature and our eternal destiny.
So, Your Dead…Now What? Week 2
Sunday, November 1st – So You’re Dead…Now What” – Heaven from Fellowship Today on Vimeo.
