all n

ew Gilead Friends Good News!

for
! “Remember His marvelous works which He has done…” 1 Chronicles 16:12a
2010
January 2010 Volume 1 Issue 1

GOOD COMMUNICATION — Celebratory Highlights

A Renewed GOAL Here at
GILEAD FRIENDS CHURCH!
If you’ve been with us at GFC awhile you might well remem-
ber the Gilead Friends News letter mailed to
your home every month, then eventually every 2 months—for
10 years! And as you remember with the rising costs of post-
age, new postal regulations, and the growing capabilities of
internet access, we decided to change things up in 2008! We
started utilizing both the Sunday Morning Bulletin and the
new church web site as our means of church wide communi-
cation. These publications keep you informed on upcoming
church events, prayer requests, and needs! Please be diligent
to stay informed by reading this provided information!
In addition to those 2 forms of communication…
Welcome to the first edition of Gilead Friends Good News!
The purpose of this brand new
publication is three fold:
#1— to highlight and celebrate some of the Good things that
are happening here with the Gilead Friends Church Body
#2—to be intentional about the “heartbeat” of our mission
here at GFC...making things as clear as we possibly can
#3— to exhort, spur on, and encourage the Gilead Body to
increased faith, Good works, and deeper commitment in 2010! and regular attendee is heartily encour-
Please utilize this publication—if you have ideas to add—
or Good Gilead Friends News to share call Darla Ellyson at strong devotion for Jesus and His Bride.
419-947-8496
On all the holiday Eves—
Thanksgiving Eve, Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve— we many souls to be won, hearts and minds
took time as the Gilead Family to look back and remember
some of the Good things God had done for us in days past.
After some rejoicing in song, scriptural charges, and sharing tempted to delay. Please check out the
these memories, we took time to remember something else.
“...do this in remembrance of Me.” (I Corinthians 11:4) to one of the pastors, or call the church
We took of the bread and the cup to remember what Jesus
has done for us on the cross and to identify with His
sacrifice and to renew our devotion to Him.
from the Dec. 2009
congregational meeting:
Salvation and Discipleship—
That is the refocused church emphasis
for 2010!
For the past 20 years
“Winning Morrow County for Christ”
has been the heartthrob of Gilead Friends
Church. “To be active disciples of Christ
in Morrow County and Beyond” is the
very byline of our mission here. Reach-
ing people’s hearts with the powerful
Truth of Jesus Christ and walking along-
side them into spiritual maturity and vic-
tory...that is our intention. Every ministry
here is to continually reflect that pur-
pose—from the Gilead Christian School
& Preschool to GFC Missions Camp to
the monthly Community Meal to Hoops
for Him!
All ministries here are avenues to connect
people with the hope of Salvation in
Jesus and God’s specific plan for each
life.
Every Gilead Friends church member
aged to become active this year—serving
here at GFC with intentional fervor and
The intense love of our Savior flows
through His Church to the surrounding
world. There is much work to be done,
to be set, growing needs to be met!
Are you motivated to serve? Don’t be
ministry rack on the wall in the foyer, talk
office 419-946-1100 to get plugged in
now. You are needed. Every single one
is needed!! CONTINUED ON BACK
Celebratory Highlights CONTINUED…
Another Good highlight from the Dec.
2009 congregational meeting is that by
God’s faithfulness, and through the daily
hard work, diligence, and sacrificial efforts
of so many faculty, parents, and commu-
nity folks, the Gilead Christian School
ended its fiscal year in the black! Admin-
istrator Jim McMillan also reported that
both adults and student souls were led to
Jesus Christ this year by faculty. Let’s
continue to rejoice over this outreach and
celebrate what the Lord has done and con-
tinues to do through this ministry! Pray
earnestly for the school...the fruit re-
mains. Though we will never be able to
fully measure the
impact GCS has
had for Christ
over the years,
God continues to
remind us of the
many lives that
have been
eternally reached
for Him by the
steadfastness of
this educational establishment.
Pray specifically for enrollment and
increased favor for 2010!
Hey GFC Body, Let’s Celebrate!
Read the following testimony
written by Shelly Linder:
Years ago Earl and I found ourselves in a tough financial situation
that could have forced us to lose everything we had worked for includ-
ing our integrity. Those were desperate moments for us. But as al-
ways, God’s mercy came through and we were able to find hope in the
midst of desperation.
We both believed, after this experience, that we were probably not
alone. That is when Earl discovered Dave Ramsey, a radio and TV
host, who educates young and old about financial planning, organiza-
tion, and debt reduction with a biblical perspective. Dave’s 13 week
course offers individuals “financial peace” as he calls it. Statistically,
the average family pays off $5300 of debt, saves $2700 in the first 91
days after beginning the class, and is debt free in 24 months (with the
exception of a home mortgage).
We have found truth to these claims after facilitating only one class
here at Gilead Friends Church in 2009! There were 12 couples and 2
singles that attended our first class and many have testified to reducing
their debt, implementing financial discipline, and not only that but,
coming together as couples after being at odds over finances.
(financial discord is a major marriage stressor!)
This class is not just for those that are struggling financially, but also
for those who desire a biblical approach to dealing with money and for
those who desire to avoid the financial traps that many fall into.
The 2009 Class held so many blessings! Missy Bower offered cou-
poning advice, Jeff and Brenda Thompson helped facilitate discus-
sions, Jenny See provided child care, and one of the attendees paid off
her car! Scott and Lucy Jones and Chad Bower often stayed after class
to help clean up, many brought food or just simply offered encourage-
ment to others!
Our next class starts January 10, 2010 and will be every Sunday eve-
ning 5pm-7pm for 13 weeks in the church Fellowship Hall. Earl will
facilitate as Dave Ramsey teaches via DVD. Ron and Sue Criswell
have kindly offered to provide child care! See Earl or visit the Wel-
come Center if you want more info! —Earl & Shelly Linder

REMEMBER: to call to mind with effort or determination; to keep carefully in

memory. (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2000)
The Israelites were challenged to remember the Good things that the Lord had done in their midst. It took effort.
Constant effort. They sang songs about what God had done for them at the Red Sea. They rehearsed that story
over and again all down through the years so that their children’s children would remember. We, too, are respon-
sible for the next generation of belief! We dare not be passive, or slack. (Exodus 14&15,Nehemiah 9:9-11,Psalm
119:55, Philippians 4:8-9,Colossians 3:2, 5-16)

It does indeed take effort to see and to carefully keep the things of God in our memory. It does take effort and determi-
nation to call to mind the ways God is moving in our midst. Remembering is an act of the will. Thinking upon
God and reflecting His ways is a discipline. Speaking to one another in order to spur on, build faith, and spark
courage is vital for Good church health. Let’s all work together in 2010 to remember and verbally encour-
age each other with the unchanging TRUTH of God, His mighty deeds, and His loving hand in our
midst!