Fee Fee Baptist Church

Author: Tara Smith

  • A Word From Pastor Zach – Vol. 62, No. 11

    Church Family,

    “Renovation in progress” should be a sign that we permanently hang up around our church. From the youth area we updated recently, to our Welcome Center, to our Media Center update, to the lighting in the parking lot, there always seems to be something that is being updated around our campus.

    Don’t get me wrong, these renovations are good things, and necessary. We constantly want to improve and update our campus, so we make a great first impression to visitors and our community.

    These physical renovations are important (and it makes me so thankful that we have Mike Bayles working his magic!). However, we also need to allow God to renovate us, the body of Christ. We want to be molded and shaped into authentic Christians that reflect the love of Jesus to the world. What does the word “authentic” mean to you? Merriam-Webster defines it as “real or genuine: not copied or false.” I would argue that in our day and age, our country needs authentic Christians now more than ever.

    Scripture challenges us to not be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Allowing God to renovate us means that we allow him to give us a biblical perspective on our world today. We look at things from a Christ-exalting lens and we willingly die to self. It isn’t easy, but we set aside our own desires and live to magnify Christ’s Kingdom here on earth.

    It is my prayer that as we continue walking through the parables of Jesus together as a church family, we will all truly know what it means to live as Christ’s ambassadors in this fallen world. I pray that our understanding of God’s Kingdom will grow, and we will allow the Spirt to work in our lives and we will undergo renovations in our hearts!

    Let’s commit, as a church family, to see through the physical renovations on our church building and the spiritual renovations that our hearts all need as we continue our study on the parables of Jesus. These spiritual renovations are how we can truly build our lives on Jesus.

    Also, let’s make sure to take time this week to pray for our student ministry. They are currently pursuing the good of our nation’s capital as they are on their summer mission trip in D.C. Let’s pray that God is working in and through them this week!

    I can’t wait to hear stories of how God is moving, both here at Fee Fee and through our missions team in D.C. I know God is going to be on the move this summer!

    In Him,

    Pastor Zach Crook

  • Bible Study Corner – Vol. 62, No. 11

    As COVID subsides, I would like to encourage those of you in T-groups who have been meeting on Marco Polo, to start meeting in person again. There is something so special about meeting together – a connection that cannot be made using a screen. I currently have a new group of 3 women looking for 2 more women to join. I would love to get flooded with so many requests from new members that we have to have multiple groups!

    For those who may not know, T-groups are groups of 3-5 men or 3-5 women who meet together weekly, to talk about what God is showing them in Scripture, encourage one another, hold each other accountable, and pray for one another. Your group chooses a time and place to meet weekly. Get creative!

    I would also like to encourage formation of new small groups or the resurrection of old ones. Again, we need the support of in-person interaction with other Christians, and if you meet in homes, it’s a great place to invite your neighbors. Let me know where you are planning to meet with your group: gloria@feefeebc.org.

  • Music Musings – Vol. 62, No. 11

    Honoring Our Fathers – Heavenly and Earthly – Here is a play list of beautiful music to honor our Heavenly Father and earthly fathers. You will notice that much of the music parallels attributes of our Heavenly Father and earthly father. Enjoy this tribute as we approach Father’s Day when we honor Fathers.

    Good, Good Father

    Casting Crowns

     

    Cinderella

    Steven Curtis Chapman

     

    Goodness of God

    CeCe Winans

    Faith of Our Fathers

    Fountainview Academy

     

    Look Up Child

    Lauren Daigle

     

    What He’s Done

    Martha Munizzi

     

    How Deep the Father’s Love For Us 

    Celtic Worship

     

    Child of The King

    Gaither Vocal Band

     

    Abba Father

    The Acappella Company

     

    You Raise Me Up

    BYU Vocal Point

     

    I See a Hero

    Shawna Edwards

     

    Father’s Eyes

    Amy Grant

    Please enjoy this beautiful music as you get set to celebrate Father’s Day. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3MyUW0N

    Happy Father’s Day to all you dads!

  • Chi Alpha News – Vol. 62, No. 11

    Washington D.C. Trip

    Thank you, church, for all your prayers this week while we were in Washington DC! Trips like this are not possible without a church family supporting us from back home. I consider myself blessed every day to get the opportunity to lead these students, and I am even more thankful to be a part of a church that supports local, domestic, and international missions the way Fee Fee does. If you see one of our students or leaders who had the opportunity to go this year, I hope you will stop and ask them about their experience! I also hope that their stories and experiences will encourage and challenge you to serve in your local community. There is a lot of work to be done here in Bridgeton, and God is calling YOU to do it! So don’t hesitate to His calling!

    Youth Family & Friends Cardinals Game

    We still have tickets left for our trip to the Cardinals game coming up on June 29! Tickets are just $10/person, but you will need to provide your own transportation to the stadium. You can purchase tickets on the Microsoft Form that was emailed out at the beginning of the month. If you cannot find that, or need it resent to you, email kyle@feefeebc.org. Invite your friends and family members for this super fun night at the ballpark!

    Notable Summer Dates:
    • July 6: IKEA Scavenger Hunt
    • July 12: Middle School Mini Golf Night
    • July 30: International Food Pantry
    • August 6: Trip to Six Flags
    • August 21: Youth & Family BBQ

  • Devotional Corner – Vol. 62, No. 11

    From Billy Graham’s Daily Devotion Archive

    “. . . I was hungry, [and] you gave me food…” (Matthew 25:35 NEB).

    During the war a church in Strasburg, Germany, was totally destroyed; but a statue of Christ which stood by the altar was almost unharmed. Only the hands of the statue were missing. When the church was rebuilt, a famous sculptor offered to make new hands; but, after considering the matter, the members decided to let it stand as it was—without hands. “For,” they said, “Christ has no hands but our hands to do His work on earth. If we don’t feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, entertain the stranger, visit the imprisoned, and clothe the naked, who will?” Christ is depending on us to do the very things which He did while upon earth. My friend, if the gospel we preach does not have a social application, if it will not work effectively in the work-a-day world, then it is not the Gospel of Christ.

    Prayer for the day: I look at my hands, Lord Jesus, and ask You to use them this day. Make me conscious of the needs of those who hurt.

  • Prime Time – Vol. 62, No. 11

    Don’t forget to sign up in the Connection Center for Josephine’s Tea Room in Godfrey, Illinois.  We will leave church at 10:00 a.m., eat lunch, and then do a little shopping. Gentlemen are welcome to come and hold our bags!  Lunch will be approximately $12-$17, plus an additional $3 per person for the gas for the bus. Hope to see you on Monday, June 27.

    The Prime Time council meets next week to plan the next quarter. If you have ideas or would like to serve on this advisory council, please let me know. We always welcome new ideas and new faces.

    We are not planning any activities for the month of July but will start fun activities again in August. Adult VBS will be in August, and I will let you know the dates in the next Forerunner. As always, this is an excellent way to continue to build our lives on Jesus. Stay cool and keep on serving!

  • Announcements – Vol. 62, No. 11

    Sympathy

    Our love through Christian sympathy is extended to

    … Family and friends on the passing of Billie Jean Phelps, on May 21.

    … Mary Lou Townsend and family on the passing of her aunt, Joyce Moore Smith, on May 31.

    … John (Thelma) Hopkins on the passing of his sister, Linda Winkelman, on June 5.

    … Don (Terry) Jack on the passing of his mother, Barbara Jack, on June 6.

    Mobile Market

    We love partnering with the St. Louis Area Food Bank to get free groceries into the hands of families in need in our community. Anyone is welcome to come get groceries on the second Monday of each month, at 10:00 a.m. (until the food runs out).

    Our upcoming 2022 dates will be:

    • July 11
    • August 8
    • September 12
    • October 10
    • November 14
    • December 12
    Men’s Softball Schedule

    The FFBC Men’s Softball team will be playing the following dates/times at BMAC:

    Friday, June 17 – 8:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m

    DR Mission Trip

    Our mission team will be heading out on July 9 for their much anticipated trip to the Dominican Republic.

    As they prepare over the next month, we ask for your help. They are collecting supplies for use during a kids VBS they will be hosting while there. Some of the supplies they are requiring are:

    • Flip Flops of all sizes/colors
    • Colored Sharpies (for crafts)
    • Suitcases with wheels

    These items may be dropped off in the Donation Center across from the Connection Center, in the DR Mission Trip collection box.

    Scholarship Applications

    Fee Fee Scholarships applications for the 2022-2023 academic year are available online or in the Connection Center.

    All Fee Fee member’s that are going to be enrolled in college in the fall, make sure to fill out a Scholarship Application and get 2 letters of reference.  Scholarship applications and all required documents are due by Sunday, July 3. Contact Gloria if you have any questions: gloria@feefeebc.org.

     

  • College & Outreach – Vol. 62, No. 11

    “Others are like seed sown among thorns; these are the ones who hear the word, but the worries of this age, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful,” (Mark 4:18-19 CSB).

    Mortgages. Car payments. Credit card debt. Kids’ sports schedules. Vacations. Overtime hours. Holiday spending. Saving for college… The worries of this age are innumerable. The deceitfulness of wealth is tricky. We think that having just a little bit more money, working a little bit longer, or charging a little bit more to our cards, will bring us satisfaction. Sadly, we know this is not true. I know that I have been guilty of this. With my lips I proclaim that God is in control, but in my heart, I seek to understand the circumstances of life and anticipate what is coming around the corner. I think many of you can relate.

    Guard your heart, brother! Analyze your thoughts and desires, sister! The worries of the world choke the word and prevent you from fulfilling the Great Commission. Fret not the concerns of the world, for your Heavenly Father knows your needs and will meet those needs. “Consider the birds of the sky: they don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than the? Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying?” (Matthew 6:26-27). Though we know this to be true, it is a challenge to live in this truth daily. My prayer for you today is that you fix your eyes on Jesus, knowing that He sees you and cares for you. Trust our God and King! He knows your worries and will always provide. Do not allow the worries of the age choke the power of the Gospel in your life today.

  • Family Front – Vol. 62, No. 11

    Mother/Daughter Spa Day Recap

    Thank you Children’s Committee and other volunteers that helped with the Mother/Daughter Spa Day on June 4. Moms and daughters had a great time with various crafts, hair chalk and nail polish, and just spending some time together. It made for a special day!

    VBS 2022 & Soccer Camp – July 18-22, “MOMUMENTAL – Celebrating God’s Greatness”

    Registration is open for VBS and Soccer Camp for kids that have completed Kindergarten through 5th grade. Sports camp registration is full, but we are taking a waiting list. Please register online: www.feefeebc.org/free-vbs-fee-fee Registration forms for preschoolers of workers can be turned into the church office. The cost for this week of fun is FREE for VBS and $55 for Soccer Camp.

    VBS Volunteers

    Set aside time now to help with VBS! Please see Kathy to volunteer! There are lots of ways to be involved! We need you! Please save your empty food boxes for VBS. Boxes like cereal, mac-n-cheese, cake mixes, etc. Pray with us for leadership for our Soccer Camp. Thank you!

    “Praise the Lord for his glory and strength.  Praise the Lord for the glory that belongs to him. Worship the Lord because of his beauty and holiness…The Lord gives strength to his people. The Lord blesses his people with peace,” (Psalm 29: 1b-2,11).

  • A Word From Pastor Zach – Vol. 62, No. 10

    Church Family,

    As I am writing this, it is the first day of summer for my three kids. I can’t believe the school year is already over…time has flown by! With summer now here, I wanted to share with you some exciting things happening in the life of our church.

    First, we are going to spend the summer diving into different parables that Jesus taught. What is the main reason behind Jesus telling parables? I can distinctly remember being taught that parables were stories about how we should live. That we are supposed to be good, moral people.

    However, we make a mistake when we equate parables with fables, stories that are just giving us a good moral lesson. Jared Wilson, in Storytelling God, writes, “The parables function in Jesus’s ministry as representative stories about Kingdom of God.” He later adds that they are “postcards from heaven” and that the stories “contained the mystery of eternal life.”

    I love parables being described that way. Stories that give us a glimpse of how God’s Kingdom is supposed to operate. It’s time for us to move past our preconceived ideas of the parables just being good stories, and instead, seeing them as stories about the Kingdom of God.

    Our summer sermon series will be all about the parables. It’s going to be called “True Fiction,” because these are fictional stories that Jesus shared in order to communicate deep biblical truth. It is my prayer that it will help shed new light on this stories that we all have heard before.

    These parables were told by Jesus not to direct us to be good and moral, but to drive us to worship him as he exposes how his will should be done on earth as it is in heaven.

    When it comes to knowing his will, we all know of God’s desire for all people and all nations to come to know Him. Missions really is God’s heartbeat! Throughout the summer, you are going to get the chance to pray for and to participate in local, national, and international mission opportunities.

    Internationally, we are going to be taking a team back to the Dominican Republic in July. To help this team, we are going to be collecting different colors of sharpies (not just black!) and flip flops to take with us as we go and serve in San Pedro de Macoris. Please pray for this team, and also bring some supplies as we go to bless this community that we have partnered with for 5 years now!

    Nationally, our youth are heading out to Washington, D.C. in June. Please be praying for them as they go to share the Gospel and serve in our nation’s capital.

    Locally, we have the most important outreach opportunity of the year coming up in July. It is the most effective local missions event that we do every year. Do you know what it is? Vacation Bible School! More decisions are made for Christ at VBS than any other outreach event. We can change lives for eternity at VBS! Please be praying for our VBS, and pray about how you can serve that week!

    I can’t wait to see how God moves over the next few months. Please join me in praying that our church continues to build our lives on Jesus and pursues the good of our community for God’s glory this summer!

    In Him,

    Pastor Zach Crook