Thank you for your continued prayers and support for the building project! This past month we shared the completion of the transformer move along with a video highlighting some of the needs surrounding our building project. This video can be seen on the building webpage.

Financially, we have raised nearly $3.25 million with another $450,000 committed, bringing our total left to raise to roughly $700,000. As a reminder, we have been approved with the Pella Rolscreen Foundation for matching gifts from Pella Corporation employees and retirees. More details on how to complete this can be found on our building webpage or by contacting Pastor Sean or Phil Stravers.

Progress continues on our building project, and we are grateful for your prayers and support! The parking lot expansion is complete and we are preparing this month for the move of the transformer as one of our first steps in preparing for the building expansion.

God continues to provide as we continue to raise money for the project to complete the building debt-free. We have raised nearly $3.25 million with another $450,000 committed, bringing our total left to raise to roughly $700,000. We are asking you to join us in prayer that God might provide the remaining amounts through the end of this year, giving us the opportunity to break ground in the Spring of 2026.

We have also been approved with the Pella Rolscreen Foundation for matching gifts from Pella Corporation employees and retirees. More details on how to complete this can be found on our building webpage. Please reach out to Pastor Sean or Phil Stravers with questions.

We are excited to share that progress continues on the parking lot expansion with some initial pours of concrete started on the north end and dirt work beginning on the east side. We will have our second reading before the city council on June 3, with the hope that we will be approved and waived from the third reading (SPOILER ALERT: It passed!).

We are so grateful for the gracious gifts that were given during our special offering for the building, which raised just over $100,000. With our recent pricing update, we have a little over $1.2 million left to raise.  

Please continue to join us in prayer for the project and our contractors who are already at work in some areas. As always, reach out to any of the team members or staff with questions or concerns.

In April, we saw the approval of our rezoning request and site plan from the city. Pending final reading before the city council this month, we will be ready to complete the parking lot portion of our project. Additionally, our architects completed final construction drawings so that our general contractor could give us a pricing update.

We have raised approximately $3.1 million towards our goal of $4.8 million. On Sunday, May 18th, we will take a special offering for the building project and share the updated pricing along with some new renderings of the building. We are so grateful for the support that members across our church continue to show as the project progresses.

Please continue to join us in praying for the project. Pray for the safety of contractors who will begin work this month. Thank you again for your continued support and encouragement of the ministry at Federated!

- The FFC Building Project Team

Servant – Mark 10:45; Philippians 2:5-8

In Mark chapter 10, the disciples James and John request of Jesus to sit at his side in glory and Jesus rebukes them. The other disciples become angry with them, and so Jesus addresses all of the disciples about their need for humility. He flips the cultural norms saying that to be great you must be a servant, and then brings Himself into the mix with these important words, especially on this Good Friday, in verse 45, that “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” We see Christ model this in a culturally profound way as he washes the disciples’ feet in John 13 and encourages his disciples to model the same thing. And we see in the verses from Philippians 2 that Christ’s ultimate service was in taking on the form of man and walking in obedience, even to the point of death on a cross.

What does Jesus model for us about how to be a servant? Apart from the work of a servant, which is implied in the name, I think there are three things He models in developing the heart of a servant. First, a servant demonstrates humility. Humility is a right understanding of ourselves before God that leads to complete submission and obedience to His will. Christ, who was fully God, humbly took on the form of man in obedience to the Father’s plan even when the cup of suffering seemed unbearable. Second, a servant operates under authority. In John 12 Jesus says that he doesn’t speak or act on his own authority but under the authority of the Father who sent him. The final thing is that a servant sees the need. How often do we miss seeing needs because we are so focused on our own agenda that we can’t be interrupted, or we miss needs because of our heart towards the people in need? Jesus served the societal outcasts during His ministry and was immensely interruptible.

What makes being a servant so hard? When we look at these three things, we remember that in our flesh, we are quicker to think selfishly rather than selflessly. So let us pray together for humble hearts that are submissive to the will and authority of God. And let us ask God to help us see the needs that He is equipping us to meet and then challenge ourselves to be interruptible and obedient in serving Christ in the same way He has served us, His church!

The picture of a Savior originated in the garden of Eden with the offspring of the woman bruising the head of the serpent and simultaneously getting his heel bruised by the serpent (Gen. 3:15). This follows the first sin in history and is the hope for God's people throughout their history in the Old Testament. God continuously gave the people leaders to help them through trying times such as oppression from opposing nations or slavery in Egypt. But Israel struggled with a short-term memory of sorts as they often ran back to their fleshly wants and desires of the opposing nations and then complained to these leaders that God had left them.

Fast forward to the triumphal entry narrative recorded in all 4 gospels. With slight differences in each, the theme is the same. The Jews looked at this man Jesus, the prophet, seated on a donkey as the Savior they had been waiting for. They looked upon Him, quoting Psalm 118 "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord", signifying the coming of the messianic kingdom, while remembering Israel's liberation from Egyptian slavery. However, many weren't looking at Him as the spiritual savior they needed or that this Psalm was pointing to, but rather as a commander to overthrow their current oppression of Rome.

Jesus as Savior has a much greater result than just an in-the-moment earthly deliverance. Jesus came to save sinners from the root of our problems not just merely the effects of it. The root of our problem is sin. Everything else in our fallen world stems from it. Our tensions with others, conflicts at work, troubles at home, heartbreak over lost loved ones are because of this root problem of sin.

Jesus is a much better Savior than just one who helps with our trivial day-by-day issues. He came to save mankind from their sin. This included Jesus' own mother Mary, who acknowledged that while chosen by God to bring the Savior into the world by birth, had no exemption from her own need of His saving in her life too (Luke 1:47). Jesus came to "save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21) Jesus is the embodiment of God's great love expressed to sinners to save us because He gave up His life for sinners who didn’t deserve it. The picture of Jesus as our Savior reminds us that Jesus is the only one who could and did save sinners. If even the mother of Jesus couldn’t save herself from her sins, then neither can we.

The things in this world that we encounter, like back in the day with Rome or Egypt, can be tough to endure. But Jesus our great Savior, looked upon our sin, and the great stain it left and washed it white as snow. Jesus is our great Savior from our great enemy of Satan and sin (bruising the head of the serpent) as He gave up His life on the cross (the bruise on his heel).

Today we get two names of Jesus for the price of one. And they serve as bookends to the first chapter of John. The gospel opens with, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." In referring to Jesus as the Word, John is explicitly telling us three things about Him:
 

1. Jesus is co-eternal with God
2. Jesus is in relationship with God
3. Jesus is God

 
But John is also implicitly telling us a fourth thing. By using the Greek term logos (the Word), he is also making it clear to his audience that Jesus is God's embodied revelation to us. He is the sum total of all that God had previously communicated about Himself in the Old Testament. These are lofty things to wrap our heads around, but John brings them into beautiful relief as we fast forward to the end of the chapter…
 
Here we find the account of Nathanael's calling:
  
⁴⁵ Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote -Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."  ⁴⁶ Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."  ⁴⁷ Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!"  ⁴⁸ Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."  ⁴⁹ Nathanael answered Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God..."
 
There are a few noteworthy things about this account. First, Nathanael is nobody's fool. He is not ready to buy Philip's claim that he's found the Messiah just because he says so.  Plus, there's the small matter of the Messiah having been prophesied to come from Bethlehem. This character named Jesus is apparently from Nazareth (though not by birth), the wrong town, and a backwater one at that. But while Nathanael was critical, he was not closed-minded. He goes with Philip anyway. In doing so he encounters a Man who not only knows his character, but who knows his every step. Nathanael ends up having the same experience that anyone can have who openly and honestly approaches Jesus. Whether it's encountering the embodied Word in the flesh or reading the Word in the pages of scripture, something supernatural happens; the Word begins to read us (Hebrews 4:12). And when it does we can't help but declare another name of Jesus: the Son of God.

March was an active month for our building project! We completed the purchase of a strip of land that allows us to expand our existing parking lot an additional 65 parking spaces. Our site plans have been submitted to the city’s planning & zoning committee for their April meeting. We have also connected with contractors about site preparation and concrete bids for the parking lot. Lastly, our final construction drawings by Rains Architecture are being completed so that we can get a pricing update from Septagon Construction, which we expect to receive this month. As a result, we plan to put more updates on the building webpage to include renderings of the building and other details as they become available.

God has been so gracious to our church through the fundraising process, and we are continuing to see progress as we seek to complete this project debt-free. We have raised roughly $3.1 million towards our goal of $4.8 million. This month we shared an example of a donor giving pyramid reflecting the importance and impact of every gift. We continue to recognize that a project like this requires the unity of our body whether in giving, praying, or serving. On May 18th, we will take a special offering for the building project. We are so grateful for the support that members across our church continue to show as the project progresses.

We also shared updated areas where you can pray for our project. We ask that you join us in praying for the following:
-        Pray for unity in our body throughout the project.
-        Pray for God’s wisdom in project decisions.
-        Pray for future volunteers and ministries that will take place in the expanded space.
-        Pray for the contractors who will work on our project.
-        Pray for God to provide.

Thank you again for your continued support and encouragement of the ministry at Federated!
- The FFC Building Project Team

Bread of Life: John 6:35, 48

This claim by Jesus was one of great significance for the listeners during Jesus' time and to us today. Let's set the scene and see what leads to this statement about Himself.

First, Jesus had begun His ministry and is fresh off well-documented healings of the official’s son (John 4:46-54) and the sick man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-5:17). Crowds had begun to take notice and appreciate, marvel, and desire to see firsthand the work, teachings, and miracles of Jesus (John 6:2). These crowds continued to follow Him, reaching five thousand men. With just five barley loaves and two fish, Jesus distributed the food around to all and they ate until they were full and satisfied. This miracle was indeed staggering, especially since there were 12 baskets full afterward (John 6:13), unfortunately, many present were blind to its greatness and instead were just thankful to have a free meal.

Second, this statement the bread of life starts with the statement "I AM." This is the first of seven "I AM" statements that Jesus used to explain His mission and character. This term “I AM” would cause the Jews to know just who Jesus is claiming to be. "I AM" was first used by God to Moses at the burning bush to tell the people of Israel who had sent him to lead them out of Egypt. "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14), indicates that the ever-eternal, powerful God, Yahweh, is unmatched, unrivaled and there is none that compares to Him.

Third, bread plays an important role in history leading up to this time. When Israel was led out of Egypt by Moses, the people were very quick to complain to Moses and forget about God's goodness that He had just displayed (Exodus 16:3). The LORD exemplifies great compassion and care for the Israelites by giving them bread from above to take care of their temporary need for hunger.

All this leads up to our name for Jesus today, the Bread of Life. This claim comes from Jesus after the crowds caught up to Him the day after the feeding of the 5,000 miracle and walking on water. Jesus warns the spiritually blinded crowds, "do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you (John 6:27)." But the people continued to ponder and question and became restless in desiring right then and there what Jesus was revealing to them. Jesus follows up their desire for this "bread of God" (John 6:33) with "I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst (John 6:35)." The crowds are shocked. Who does this guy think he is (John 6:42)? They felt as if they had been bamboozled like Ralphie and the "crummy (Ovaltine) commercial." The crowds had not been Houdinied but rather were missing the point! The Savior of the Jews and sinners they had long waited for, had come! He didn't come just to give them physical bread for their earthly needs. He came to give them the Bread of Life, spiritual bread i.e. eternal life! Their stomachs would hunger again as they probably were that day after the filling meal the night before. But Jesus was trying to show them there's something so much better available for them to take. He is the Bread of Life because He has come "down from heaven and gives life to the world (John 6:33).” No food or drink on this earth could satisfy them forever, nonetheless for a few hours or days. But taking this Bread would supply them with all they could ever want or need, a Savior who came to die for their sin and bring them into fellowship with the I AM.

The Bread that Jesus offers leads to a satisfaction and peace that man can never know outside of Him.  While reading this story, we may find it laughable that the crowds were blind to the point of Jesus’ miracles. Yet, the world around us is the same way. They are blind to their sin and need of a Savior. May we be encouraged by Jesus’ words today and be spurred on to share the news about the Bread of Life with those around us. He truly is all that we need!

Our team is so grateful for your continued prayers for our building project. We had a great meeting with our project partners; Septagon Construction, Rains Architecture, and Garden & Associates in December. We have begun moving forward with construction drawings and began finalizing the purchase of land from Titan Machinery to allow us to begin parking expansion as soon as possible in the spring.

Financially, we continue to be encouraged by the gracious giving from the church. We currently have around $2.2 million in the bank along with another $550,000-600,000 committed. This brings our total raised to approximately $2.75-$2.8 million toward our total goal of $4.8 million. As you consider giving, please reach out to us if you have any questions about how to give specifically to the project. 

Please continue to pray for wisdom and direction in God's timing for the project. Pray with thanksgiving for all God has done as He continues to lead our ministry. Thank you again for your prayers and encouragement!

We are so thankful for the prayers and support as God has been leading our building project. As many of you are aware, we voted on November 10th for the approval to move forward with our building expansion project. The vote was unanimous in support of raising funds and moving forward. With that vote, we now begin the process of fundraising to complete the first phase of our project, which includes classrooms, a mid-sized meeting space, and additional parking.

As a reminder, the building team and leadership in our church have felt compelled by God from the beginning to complete this project debt-free. The total cost of the project is estimated at $4.8 million. Over the past several years, God has been very gracious to our ministry and as a result, we have saved just over $1 million toward the project. In addition, after the vote results were announced, we were approached by a couple of donors who gave another $1.5 million to the project. This brings our current fundraising total to $2.5 million, over halfway to our need for the first phase!

Please join us in praying for how God might lead you to contribute to this project. We are reminded of God’s words to the nation of Israel in Exodus 25:2 when He tells Moses to “Tell the people of Israel to bring me their sacred offerings. Accept the contributions from all whose hearts are moved to offer them.” As you join us in prayer for this project, if God moves you to give, no matter how small or large the gift, we simply want to encourage you to be faithful and obedient as we seek to do the same.

Going forward, on the first Sunday of each month we will give an update that will be followed with an email for those who are unable to attend that Sunday. We will also be developing a page on our website where you can see updates on what God is doing, along with how you can support. Thank you again for praying along with us throughout this project.