Fee Fee Baptist Church

Category: A Word From… Forerunner Front Page News

All front page Forerunner articles.

  • A Word From Pastor Zach – Vol. 61, No. 25

    Church Family,

    Do you ever read a headline that makes you do a double take? I’ll be honest, when I first saw the headline “Empty Pews are an American Health Crisis,” I thought it was clickbait. And yet, as I dug into the article, I was absolutely shocked with its contents. Two Harvard professors – one a professor of Epidemiology in the School of Public Health and the other the associate director of research of the Human Flourishing Program – have done extensive quantitative research that shows the incredible benefit to our physical health when we regularly attend church.

    The statistics are astonishing. When comparing regular attenders of religious services to non-attenders, there are:

    • 33% reduced risk of death
    • 84% reduced risk of suicide
    • 29% reduced risk of depression
    • 50% reduced risk of divorce
    • 68% reduced risk of “deaths of despair” for women
    • 33% reduced risk of “deaths of despair” for men
    • 33% reduced risk of adolescent illegal drug use
    • 12% reduced risk of adolescent depression1

    There is something incredibly powerful about gathering together as a local body of believers. There is a benefit not just for your spiritual health, but your physical and mental health as well! I want to encourage you to stay engaged, or reengage, with the church in 2022. God designed us to flourish when we are in community with one another!

    These researchers, Vanderweele and Case, argue that attending religious services help provide a network of social support, offer clear moral guidance, and create relationships of accountability to reinforce positive behaviors. These are all factors that help improve a person’s mental and physical well-being.

    This article was a powerful reminder to me that we need to be in community with one another. Many times, people set goals for the new year about how they want to be healthier. Consider this article and share with friends and family how one legitimate way to get healthier is to go to church!

    We have some great opportunities to invite people in the next few weeks. Our NOEL Christmas Performance or our Christmas Eve service are ideal opportunities. People are more likely to attend a religious service around Christmas than almost any other time. Invite someone to come with you!

    I can’t wait to celebrate Christmas with you, church family! Let’s pray God moves in a big way!

    In Him,

    Pastor Zach

     

    1https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/november/church-empty-pews-are-american-public-health-crisis.html

  • A Word From Pastor Zach – Vol. 61, No. 24

    Church Family,

    Isn’t it great having something to look forward to? As a kid, it was always exciting when your birthday started getting closer. You loved growing older and having a party with friends. Now that I am creeping ever closer to forty, I don’t quite look forward to birthdays in the same way! However, now that I am a little more “seasoned,” one thing that I always look forward to are family getaways. Isn’t it fun to anticipate getting out of the normal grind and doing something exciting?

    Or maybe, you look forward to a weekly lunch with a friend. Or that phone call when you get to catch up with someone you love. Maybe you look forward to a certain holiday because you know that family will be coming into town, and you get to celebrate together. Whatever it is that you look forward to, the anticipation can be a lot of fun. But more than the anticipation, it is the payoff when the occasion actually takes place.

    Now, imagine the anticipation for Simeon in Luke 2. He had been promised by God that he would see the Messiah before he died. We don’t know how long he had been waiting, but imagine what must have been going through his mind when Jesus was brought into the temple by Mary and Joseph. Simeon was elated and took the Christ child in his arms and declared that his eyes had seen salvation!

    As Christmas is approaching, what would happen if we had that same type of joy that Simeon had when he saw Jesus for the first time? Let’s remember that the gift of Jesus is the gift of salvation for all who believe!

    Let’s make sure that we are intentional about sharing that truth with others this Christmas. We can do that through our actions, like by supporting the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and Angel Tree. We can also do it through our words, by sharing the truth of the Gospel with our friends and family. Who do we need to tell the story of Christmas to this year?

    We can also share the story of Christmas by inviting others to our Christmas performance this year, NOEL: Night of Everlasting Love. On December 18 and 19, we are going to have a special performance reminding people of the incredible gift that God gave us at Christmas. Be praying now about who you can invite to come and watch the performance with you. Or you can invite someone to our Christmas Eve service to hear the Gospel as well.

    The wait is over. Jesus has come. Let’s be sure to share that truth as Christmas draws near! Join me in praying that our church makes an eternal impact as we share about the gift of Jesus this Christmas season.

    In Him,

    Pastor Zach

  • A Word From Pastor Zach – Vol. 61, No. 23

    Church Family,

    I just recently finished a novel (I can actually read books for fun now that my dissertation is finished!) called The Midnight Library. Basically, the protagonist of the story, Nora Seed, is given the opportunity to look through a “book of regrets” and then she can choose to go back and try to live her life by changing those decisions that she had regrets over. Now, I don’t want to give away the ending of the book, but what was interesting was how she got to live multiple lives and still couldn’t seem to find the perfect one. She was caught up in regrets and wasn’t appreciative of the life she had.

    In a similar vein, I think we can fall into that same habit. We focus on what we don’t have and long for more, rather than being content and thankful for everything God has given us. The past 21 months of the pandemic have been hard. However, I know that God has been working even in the midst of these hard times. God is still on His throne, and He is still in the business of healing people and changing lives!

    That is why Thanksgiving is such an important holiday. We need to take stock and count our blessings and be thankful for everything God has given us. It is so important for us to give praise and glory to God!

    We have a couple of opportunities for our church to focus on God’s blessings to us during difficult circumstances. First, on November 21, we are going to have a special testimony Sunday. Rather than our normal worship services, we are going to have multiple members of our congregation sharing stories of how God has been faithful and good to them. I believe it is going to be an inspiring and encouraging Sunday as we get to hear different ways that God has been at work in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ!

    Second, our deacon body will be holding their annual Thanksgiving Day service on that holiday morning at 8:00 a.m., November 25. Start off your holiday morning by coming to our chapel and being led in worship by our deacons. It is going to be a great way to get our hearts focused on what is most important on Thanksgiving.

    It can be too easy to focus on the negatives. To think about regrets and missed opportunities rather than to count our blessings. Let’s pray that God will allow us to see how blessed we are. We were enemies of God, but now, through the cross, we are redeemed! Our lives may be difficult, but we have so much to be thankful for!

    I look forward to worshipping with you and recounting God’s many blessings to our church family in the weeks ahead!

    In Him,

    Pastor Zach

  • A Word From Pastor Zach – Vol. 61, No. 22

    Church Family,

    I wanted to take the opportunity to share with you a few events that we have coming up in the month of November. Prayerfully, you can be a part of some of these events as we look to build our lives on Jesus and pursue the good of our community.

    First of all, we will be having our annual Trivia Night Fundraiser for our Youth Ministry on Saturday, November 6. This is a major way that our students raise support for their annual mission trip. In the summer of 2022, our students are going to be serving in our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. I want to encourage you to be a part of this Trivia Night. There will also be a silent auction in conjunction to trivia. It is a great way to have a lot of fun and support missions at the same time!

    Second, Wednesday, November 17, we have a great opportunity to enjoy some good food and fellowship as we will have our annual Wednesday night Family Thanksgiving Dinner. Before our Wednesday night activities take place, we will have a dinner from 5:00-6:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome, but we do need you to sign up in the Connection Center by November 10. The meal does not have a set cost, but donations will be accepted. We are excited to enjoy a meal together as we celebrate Thanksgiving! Sign up for a good meal, and then stick around for our Men’s or Women’s Bible Studies, or AWANA or youth for our kids and students!

    Then, on Sunday, November 21, we are going to have our first Starting Point event. Right after our 11:00 a.m. service, we are going to have a class for new and prospective members in the Dining Room. We will provide lunch and then share a lot of good information about what our church is about for those who are interested in becoming members and getting more involved. I want to encourage you to consider coming to the event if you want to understand what meaningful membership looks like here at Fee Fee. Even if you have been attending for a while, I think it would be great to get connected and learn more about the mission and vision of our church. We want everyone who attends our church to get connected as we serve the Lord together. Sign up in the Connection Center!

    In November, we are often intentional about thanking God for his many blessings. I’m so thankful for this church and the ways that God is working in and through Fee Fee. Please join me in praying for these different events this month. Pray that God will use them to bring us together into deeper fellowship with Him and with one another!

    In Him,

    Pastor Zach

  • A Word From Pastor Zach – Vol. 61, No. 21

    Church Family,

    Here at Fee Fee, we want to make sure that we are taking the Gospel to both our local neighborhoods and to the nations. We try to ensure that we have a missional impact in our local community and also that we are part of global missions as well. In the next few weeks, we have opportunities to participate in both local and global missions.

    First, globally, we are about to start our Operation Christmas Child initiative. This global missions project is pretty simple: pick up a shoe box from our church and then pack it with toys and Christmas presents for a child who lives in an under-resourced country overseas. You can pick up your box starting on October 20. The deadline to bring back your box so it can get shipped overseas in time for Christmas is November 17.

    I love OCC because it is a great way to make connections with children and their families and get opportunities to share the Gospel with them. I want to encourage you to pray about filling up a box and then praying for the child who is receiving it to be open to receiving the greatest gift of all this Christmas: salvation through faith in Christ!

    Locally, I want to share with you about an incredible outreach opportunity we will have on October 31.  After a one-year hiatus because of the pandemic, we are going to have our Trunk or Treat again! This is a huge outreach event to our local community. We had close to a thousand people walk through our church parking lot two years ago. I want to encourage you to sign up to volunteer in some way.

    I want to challenge each person in our church to do three things as we prepare for this event:

    1. Pray – Pray that God will bless this outreach event and that many people in our community would come and be exposed to the Gospel.

    2. Invite – Personally extend an invitation to a few different people in your circle of influence.

    3. Serve – From buying (LOTS OF) candy, to setting up your car as a trunk, to running a game, to greeting, to helping set up or tear down, there are so many different ways to volunteer. Would you be willing to serve and help make this event a success?

    Join me in praying that we have both a local and global impact for the Gospel. We want to make much of Jesus from our neighborhoods to the nations! Let’s pray that both Operation Christmas Child and Trunk or Treat open up avenues for Gospel conversations.

    In Him,

    Pastor Zach

  • A Word From Pastor Zach – Vol. 61, No. 20

    Church Family,

    Imagine what God would do if we prayed for our neighbors – by name. These past few Sundays, you have heard about a new initiative, Bless Every Home, our church is undertaking where we can be in united prayer for our neighbors.

    Why pray for neighbors? According to the organization Pray for Every Home, in a typical community–with 100 average neighbors—here’s reality:

    • 7 struggle with depression and thoughts of suicide
    • 7 more abuse or are addicted to drugs or alcohol
    • 14 are crippled with fear and anxiety
    • 60 don’t know Jesus Christ as Savior

    My challenge to you is to get involved! Sign up to be a “Light” in your neighborhood. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in darkness but have the light of life.”

    The Lord planted our church where we are to help our neighbors discover the light of life. So, we are asking each member of our church to consider becoming a Light to their neighbors and living intentional pray-care-share lifestyles.

    Becoming a Light is free and confidential. You’ll receive a map and list of your closest neighbors, along with emails at the frequency of your choice to pray for your next five neighbors that day. When you get a chance, walk or drive by those homes as you pray for them.

    To learn more about this opportunity visit the following link and watch the brief informational video: https://blesseveryhome.com/light/?cust=12106

    When you are ready to get started, you can sign up on the bottom of that page. Or, if you need help, call up to the office and we can help you sign up.

    E.M. Bounds said, “God shapes the world by prayer. The more prayer there is in the world the better the world will be, the mightier the forces against evil.”

    Let’s pray for our neighbors. Eternity is at stake!

    In Him,

    Pastor Zach

  • A Word From Pastor Zach – Vol. 61, No. 19

    Church Family,

    We have a couple of things to celebrate for this issue of the Forerunner. First of all, thank you so much for serving our community during our third annual Impact Week. From September 12-18, our church gave 458.5 hours of volunteer service to our community!

    Our church served at places like the St. Louis County Area Food Bank, Loaves and Fishes, Room at the Inn, the Sonshine Place, New Beginnings Missionary Baptist Church, Bridgeton City Hall, our public parks, and more. We had people write cards and bake cookies. People prepared and delivered meals. We did yard work and painted a home and did basic repairs. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. I am so incredibly thankful for the way our church stepped up and served our community!

    Also, I wanted you to know that, at least in one circumstance, our church having new shirts to wear specifically for our local missions projects during Impact Week paid dividends. While serving at the Food Bank with our staff, I got to strike up a conversation with a couple who were pleasantly surprised to see a bunch of us in our Fee Fee shirts serving. In fact, after talking with them about Impact Week and what our church was doing, they asked for more information so they could come and visit sometime soon. That was pretty exciting! It reminded me about the passage we examined in Matthew 5, where Jesus says that when we are a light in our community, the world sees our good deeds and glorifies our Father in Heaven. And that is just one example of how our Impact Week made a positive impression on those in our community.

    In addition to a successful Impact Week, I also want to take a moment to celebrate the fact that this month marks the 25th anniversary of Mike Bayles’ employment here at FFBC! Mike, who is our Maintenance Supervisor, is an incredible hard worker who has served our church so well for the past quarter-century. The Bible tells us to give honor where honor is due, so we are going to be recognizing Mike in our worship services on September 26. In addition to that recognition, we want to invite you to bring cards to show appreciation for Mike that Sunday.

    Let’s thank God for a great Impact Week, and let’s thank Him for Mike Bayles and his 25 years of service here!

    In Him,

    Pastor Zach

  • A Word From Pastor Zach – Vol. 61, No. 18

    Church Family,

    In our last issue of the Forerunner, I wrote about our major local missions initiative, Impact Week. During the week of September 12-18, Fee Fee Baptist Church is having this local missions push for the third consecutive year. Over the course of this one week, our church is going to give hundreds of volunteer hours to different non-profit organizations and the city of Bridgeton. Our church has been serving this community faithfully for over 200 years, and I am praying that Impact Week will help us continue that tradition and let us be exposed to, and meet, many different needs around us. I want to encourage you to sign up to serve if you haven’t already.

    In addition to Impact Week, I wanted to take a moment to share with you something exciting that we are going to be doing to celebrate the conclusion of our week of local missions. We are going to have an off-site worship service and church picnic at Redemption Ranch on Sunday, September 19! Redemption Ranch is a Christian camp/retreat center about 40 minutes from our church in Winfield, MO.

    This retreat center has a great amphitheater where we will have a worship service, and then a covered pavilion where we will have lunch. There is a lake to swim in, hiking trails to walk on, a sand volleyball court, a disc golf course, gaga ball, a playground, and more! Our Athletics Committee and Children’s Committee are going to have different activities set up as well. We will also have the option of board and table games and cards in the shade.

    As we have been studying Acts 2 and the early church, we see that they devoted themselves to fellowship and breaking of bread. These last 18 months have been a trying time for all of us. After talking and praying with our staff and our deacon body, we all decided that doing a worship service and church picnic/fellowship at Redemption Ranch could be a great way to promote fellowship within our church family. I know that it is definitely abnormal to not have our worship service on our church campus, but we felt it was worth trying something different to really press into the idea of sharing a meal and sharing our lives with one another. I just want to encourage you to remember that the church is not a building. We can be the church and gather for worship and glorify God whether it is in our sanctuary or out at Redemption Ranch!

    I want to encourage you to do a few things leading up to this celebration Sunday. First, please be in prayer for our Impact Week and our celebration service at Redemption Ranch. We want to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community and then we want to have true biblical fellowship with one another! Second, I want to encourage you to sign up, either in the Connection Center or online, to tell us you are coming out to Redemption Ranch. We definitely don’t want to run out of food, so please sign up by September 12 so we can make sure we have enough for everyone!

    Third, on our app and website is a list of “What to Bring” and other important info about our celebration service, or there are handouts in the Connection Center. Please make sure to get that information so you can be prepared for our special Sunday.

    For those of you who are unable to make it out to the ranch, we will have a special service online that will be available to view at both 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. on September 19.

    In Him,

    Pastor Zach

  • A Word From Pastor Zach – Vol. 61, No. 17

    Church Family,

    One major component of our mission statement here at Fee Fee is to “pursue the good of our community.” This idea comes from Jeremiah 29:7, which says, “Purse the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.”

    God is giving us a command of how to live in a culture and society that doesn’t have the same worldview that we do as Christians. He is challenging us to do our part to make the city we live in a better, safer, community. The idea of pursuing the well-being of St. Louis, in general, and Bridgeton, specifically, is something we must continue with persistence.

    In Matthew 5, Jesus talks about how we, as the church, should be salt and light in the world. Verse 16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

    It is remarkable that the good deeds that we do will actually lead to the world giving glory to God! As we selflessly serve our community, people are going to take notice. For example, I was just asked by our Mayor, Terry Briggs, to serve on our city’s Police Commission. He mentioned that he knew our church wanted to be involved in the community. It is great that our city’s leaders are noticing how our church wants to serve in our community!

    Why am I sharing all of this about pursuing the good of our community? Well, we have our third annual Impact Week coming up right around the corner. September 12-18, we are going to do our best to give hundreds of volunteer hours to our community. We have a lot of great projects lined up for our church to participate in: Loaves and Fishes, Room at the Inn, Mobile Market, Meals on Wheels, St. Louis County Food Bank, and many others. We are committed to making a major impact on our community.

    I want to encourage you to sign up for one of these projects. Also, don’t just sign up by yourself. Sign up with your Bible Study class and/or your family. It is so much more fun when we get to serve alongside our fellow members. Also, for everyone who signs up to serve, we are going to provide a Fee Fee Baptist t-shirt. We want to make a statement while we are out in the community that we are committed to building our lives on Jesus and pursuing the good of our community.

    These last 18 months and counting have been hard on everybody. That is why it is so important for us to go out and be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community. Please join me in praying for our community. But let’s not only pray. Let’s also pursue the good of our community. When it prospers, we are going to prosper!

    In Him,

    Pastor Zach

  • A Word From Pastor Zach – Vol. 61, No. 16

    Church Family,

    If you haven’t heard, we have some big things happening in the lives of a some of our ministry team who serve here at Fee Fee. First, Kyle Baldwin, our Director of Student Ministries, is going to be ordained by our church on Sunday evening, August 15.

    Second, our ministry interns, Kyle and Scarlet Kalkbrenner, have accepted a call to Freeport, IL. Kyle will be the Senior Pastor of Bible Community Church up there.

    I think it is pretty remarkable what God is doing in and through our church. Here are two young men, one who was raised in the church and the other who got plugged in while here at college, who have been discipled and trained in our church and are living out the calling that God has placed on them.

    Kyle Baldwin has been serving as the interim and then Director of our Student Ministries for three years now. He is getting to pour into our kids and disciple them. This ordination service is our church affirming the call that God has placed on his life and saying that we see how God is working in and through him and Alaina.

    I want to encourage you to be praying for Kyle and Alaina. Be praying as they lead our students to follow Jesus in this post-Christian, post-truth culture that we live in. Pray that Kyle continues to stand firm on God’s Word and boldly shares the Gospel and equips our students to whole-heartedly serve the Lord.

    Kyle and Scarlet have been serving as our ministry interns for the past year. We have been discipling Kyle and equipping him to step into a pastoral role. When we started our ministry residency program, our goal was to disciple college students who were called into ministry and equip them to be able to serve in ministry roles in churches once they graduated. It is exciting to see the fruit of this ministry residency already. It is so encouraging to see God calling Kyle and Scarlet back home to help with a church revitalization in Freeport.

    I want to encourage you to be praying for Kyle and Scarlet. Pray for their family, as they have a baby boy coming in November. Pray for their ministry, as Kyle steps into his first pastorate. Also, pray for Kyle as he is finishing up his degree online through Missouri Baptist University.

    Also, I wanted to take a second to just say thank you to our church. Thank you for investing in the Baldwins and the Kalkbrenners. Thank you for praying for them and encouraging them. I’m so thankful to serve at a place that is committed to investing in the future of the church. Let’s pray that God sends more Kyles our way!

    In Him,

    Pastor Zach