Pews And Poll Table For Donation

There is a donation of 26 12'pews and 4 smaller ones, and 1 pool table available for donation to any FMC church. If your church is in need of some extra seating or maybe your youth group wants to have fun playing pool, let us know by sending an e-mail to doc@midatlanticfmc.org To have a better view click on the picture.

Church Plant News - Milton FMC – Milton, PA

We have Free Methodist connections with a house church that is meeting in Milton, PA. A number of our pastors (Fernando Gonzalez and Al Sones) have met with this group. We are moving toward appointing a Free Methodist pastor.

Church Plant News - Virginia Beach FMC – Virginia

Virginia Beach FMC – Virginia
Pastor Virgil Fowler has gathered a visionary group of young adults who are re-settled in Virginia Beach, VA and building relationships with non-believers. This is a very non-traditional model f or a new church in a community that is teeming with people. If God is particularly drawing your heart to support this work in prayer, contact Pastor Virgil at Vuv3@live.com

Chuches in the News

Some of our churches were on the paper on the month of November.
Mountainview Community FMC and Abington FMC made the news on the article written by Amanda Christman for the Standard Speaker Newspaper. The article was about Youth Movement and the reaching of young people for the Kingdom of God. The meeting gathered many churches and denominations of the Hazleton area. There is a free piece of the article on the Standard Speaker Website. To access it, click here

The Myrtle Beach Brazilian FMC, also, had a great display on the weekly paper called Surge. On the article about the Brazilian Community in Myrtle Beach, one full page of the paper was dedicated to an interview of the pastors Arimateia and Ismenia Pereira. In the interview, pastor Pereira talked about the church and his ministry. The Surge has the whole article on their website. To read it, click here

Church Plant News - Hope Center, Hazleton, PA

Still in a “pre-launch” phase, the Hope Center, under Pastor Dave Latham’s leadership has gathered a group of over 20 people with a vision for launching a robust, community-focused church in downtown Hazleton. Pastor Dave is developing a team of supporters who will pray for this effort. He is also asking God to provide 23 financials supporters who will donate $25 a week for the next year to this fledging work. Do you want to join this team? Contact Pastor Dave - DJLatham@verizon.net

Front-lines at Ft. Hood – See “Light and Life Magazine”

Jim Souza, one of the pastoral members of our Mid-Atlantic Region team is an Army chaplain. Captain Souza was on the scene of the tragedy at Ft. Hood several weeks ago. Read the January/February issue of “Light and Life Magazine” for an account of Captain Souza’s involvement. This issue is not yet published, but we’ll let you know when it comes out. Also, check out Captain Souza’s blog for an account of his leading a young soldier to a personal faith in Jesus. Find his blog at http://pjimmy.blogspot.com/

And speaking of “Light and Life Magazine”, this fine print publication going on-line. Check out the Nov/Dec 2009 issue of this award winning magazine at http://www.freemethodistchurch.org/Magazine/
Each Free Methodist Church in the US will still have an allotted number of free print magazines for your members. Each church is encouraged to keep your mailing list updated at www.fmdata.org

Free Methodists are Swarming to the “Overflow Conference”

As the early registration deadline for the April 22-24, 2009 “Overflow Conference in Orlando has just passed, we have exciting numbers to report. More than 650 people are already registered for this event. This promises to be a powerful, culture-changing experience for the Free Methodist Church in the East Region of the United States. Registration is still open, with just a modest increase in cost during this standard registration period. Anyone can come to this resourcing event during which God’s Spirit will breathe on us with power from on high. Click here for more information and to register.

Multiplication Training Event – Save the date!

On May 13, 2010 the Mid-Atlantic FMC will host a training event featuring Brandon Hatmaker.

Hatmaker is the pastor of Austin New Church and a church planter. God had called him to expand the kingdom and his ministry has experienced great multiplication.

You can’t miss this day. Surely, God will give you great insights and tools for your ministry.

Church Plant Projects - Dundalk Spanish Church

Great News for the Baltimore Area!

Pastor Fernando Gonzalez will start a church plant project in the Baltimore area. He and his family will be moving to the area on the first week of December. The project initially will be concentrated in Dundalk MD, but the plan is to have Spanish speaking churches planted all over Maryland, Washington DC, Northern Virginia, and even Delaware.

Pastor Fernando is a FMC church planter originally from Dominican Republic. He has planted many churches and raised many leaders in the Allentown PA area.

Pray for Pastor Fernando and his new task to expand the Kingdom of God.

Overflow Conference Super Early Bird deadline postponed

Due to the high volume of registrations in the last 48 hours, some people were not able get into the system. Because of this the deadline was extended the super early bird registration through Nov 22.

If you did not register for the conference, please register as soon as possible to get the discount.

To access the website for registration click here

Birthday Celebration for Pastor Beahm

The Family of Charles Earnest Beahm
Would like to Invite You to Help Celebrate his 80th Birthday
Date: Saturday, December 19th, 2009
Time: 12:00 Noon until 4:00pm
Place: Madison Fire Department Hall, Madison, Virginia

This will be a causal event, meant to give you the time to talk to Charles and have light refreshments. Time of note, we will be having a formal cake cutting at 1:00pm, but you can attend whenever you can. We realize that this is a busy season and hope that you are available to make this celebration.

This is open to all that know Charles and that would like to attend, so if we have missed anyone that you are aware of, please make sure that you make them aware of this event.



Thank you,

David Beahm



Birthday Cards can be sent to:

5672 S. Seminole Trail
Rochelle, VA 22738-9715

Symposium on "The Next Generation"

Many young Americans share an impression that Christians are “hypocritical,” “insensitive” and “judgmental.” This does not provide a good basis for Christians to share the good news of Jesus with this generation.

David Kinnaman wrote a thought-provoking book on groundbreaking research into the perceptions of sixteen- to twenty-nine-year-olds toward Christians. See http://www.unchristian.com/book.asp .

Kinnaman is one of the keynote speakers at a one-day symposium at Messiah College entitled “Next Generation: Understanding its faith practices and impact upon faith communities”.

This event is on January 28, 2010 from 8:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. For only $15 you get to interact with David Kinnaman and other speakers. Register by January 15th in order to get the $15 rate. Check this out on-line at http://www.messiah.edu/church_relations/symposium_for_leaders/keynote.html .

The price is good. It looks like the speakers will be thought-provoking (and sometimes irritating). And lunch is included. Could be a good day.

Good News Church, pastored by Al Sones is close to Messiah College. Contact him if you have questions: alsones@aol.com .

J-Term 2010

You can register now for the 2010 J-Term. The J-Term offers credit courses required for ordination in the Free Methodist Church.

Term One goes from 01/04/10 to 01/09/10 and the courses taught are:
--FM History and Polity (Rev. Gerald Coates)
--Romans (Rev. Brian Buterbaugh)
--Leadership (Dr. Matt whitehead, Rev. Eric Spangler)
--Introduction to Christian Doctrine (Dr. David Nicholson)

Term 2 starts 01/11/10 an ends on 01/16/10 and the courses taught are:
--Wesleyan Theology (Dr. C. Wesley King)
--Homiletics (Dr. Donald Demaray)
--Gospel of John (Rev. Jerome Van Kuiken)
--Spiritual Formation (Rev. Martha Kirkpatrick)

Tuition cost is $50.00 per credit if registered by December 1st, 2009. After that date tuition will be $65.00 per credit hour. Full tuition and housing must be paid in advance.

If you don't have a copy of the registration form please click here.
The form should be mailed to Ministerial Credentialing PO Box 535002 Indianapolis, IN 46253-5002

For more info, you can call 1-800-342-5531 ext. 308

The Amazing Race

Have you heard about The Amazing Race? No. I'm not talking about the TV show, but about the Dickinson's project! Dick and Sheila Dickinson are in Belgium and they have been there for about 5 months now. They are learning Nederlands, language spoken in Belgium, and Serving the Lord by reaching people and helping to plant churches.
They have a website where you can find more information about their ministry, see pictures and videos and even donate to their ministry. So, take take few minutes and check their website and don't forget to pray for them.

Fall Kick-off at Storehouse Church

On Sunday, September 27^th, Storehouse Church, our Free Methodist congregation in Plymouth Meeting, PA launched into the Fall with their Fall Kick-off Sunday. They had 458 people in attendance.

Here are some notes from Pastor JR Rushik’s blog. These are his pastoral reflections for the people of Storehouse Church:

I love the verse in 1 Thes. 5:24, “The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.” Well, God DID IT! I’m writing to declare that God did something special among us today!

Several people raised their hands indicating a decision for Jesus today. YAAHOOO! ALWAYS POWERFUL!

Our church was flooded with first-time guests. One person brought a friend who had NEVER been to church - any church - in his entire life. He loved the service and promised to return to Storehouse next week!

The shuttle bus worked perfectly. Our main parking lot only had 9 cars in it at 10:10am – creating a very welcoming first impression for our guest. Without your willingness to park in the shuttle lot we would not have been able to accommodate the more than 450 people who were among us today!

Our kids ministry was bursting at the seams. Big High-Five to all the kids workers. You folks did an amazing job. The lobby teams were awesome – creating a warm, welcoming environment. And our celebration service teams knocked it out of the park – on all fronts.

God showed up in a powerful way this morning. It was exciting. It gave us a glimpse of our future. BUT let me assure you – no matter how exciting today was – this is just the beginning of the journey God has for us. The BEST is yet to come!

New Pastor at Solid Rock Community Church

We are pleased announce the appointment of Pastor Mike Brown to Solid Rock Community Church, our Free Methodist congregation in Schnecksville, PA.

Mike began his ministry at Solid Rock Church on Sunday, October 1^st. Mike and his wife, Ellen, are a highly experienced pastoral couple. Serving most recently at Emmanuel Free Methodist Church in Janesville, Wisconsin, Mike and Ellen plan to move their household to the Lehigh Valley in November.

Please pray for Mike and Ellen and the Solid Rock Church as they form the bonds of partnership for the sake of the gospel. Pray also for the Browns as they work through all the details of selling their home in Janesville and moving to Pennsylvania.

Article about Al Barnes

I've heard David Harvey say many times, "God has always a good plan." Sometimes, when life hit us bad, it is hard to see the good plan of God.
But God always gives us stories that remind us of his faithfulness in providing a good plan.
Al Barnes, pastor of Kingdom Roadhouse Biker Church, is a great example of that. After going through a serious accident, that the "doctors wouldn't predict his chances of making it to sunrise", Al has recovered well.
The Morning Call, a newspaper from Allentown PA, published an article about Al that brings glory to God and pictures perfectly the good plan of God in Al's life.
Click here to read the article

Overflow Conference

Well,
We have only a little more than a month to register to the Overflow Conference and get the Super Early Bird discount. If you are going, why not to register now and get a better price? Nov 15 is the deadline for the Super Early Bird price.
To register go to the Overflow Conference Website .

Rapid Expansion Podcast

Now you can Download sermons by David Harvey about Rapid Expansion of the kingdom and listen on your car, home, gym, etc. Every month you will find a new podcast to encourage you on your ministry.
You have the option to listen the sermons online or you can subscribe to your Itunes.
You can listen online and subscribe for the feed by clicking here or to subscribe to Itunes podcast click on the button.

Al Barns updates

For those who know and have been praying for Al Barns, great news have come!
Al has left the hospital it's been a while(Aug 27th) and he is recovering well. You can have more updates on his recovery e leave him a message at http://pastoralbarnesprayer.blogspot.com/. He said he wants to meet all of those who left a message and have been praying for him.

Overflow Conference Registration

The Overflow Conference 2010(April 22-24) has opened registration for pastors and delegates. There are Super Early Bird discount if you make your registration until Nov.15 and Early Bird discount if you make your registration until Jan 31. All registrations made after Jan 31 will be at the regular price.

Visit the Overflow Conference Website for registration and all detailed information about location and prices.

Catalist One Day in Maryland

Catalyst One Day is coming to Fulton, MD on Monday, November 16.
If you lead anything, you'll want to attend this event. It is specifically geared towards church leaders but the principles would apply to any leadership context. Craig Groeschel and Andy Stanley will be speaking about Momentum.

There are Early Bird discounts for groups and individual registrations. Click here to prices and registration.

See you there!

Resources for Church leaders

To have great tools for your ministry is not expensive and hard to obtain. Internet and generous ministries have made it easy and free. That is right! Free. Here is a list of ministries that give that give their resources to your ministry. The only thing you need is internet to download them.

ReelFM: http://reelfm.tv/ (Resources from FMC)

Inside North Point: http://www.insidenorthpoint.org

Elevation Church: http://resources.elevationchurch.org/

LifeChurch.tv has provided so much that they get a list:
http://open.lifechurch.tv/ (church resources)
http://www.churchmetrics.com/ (church statistics tracking)
http://www.youversion.com/ - (online Bible w/journal)
http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/2009/09/01/youversionlive/ (YouVersion Live coming in Oct)
http://www.videoteaching.com/ (free message videos for churches)
http://www.babelwith.me/ (group chat with translation for 45 languages)


Thank God for generous ministries that make available their resources.

Mortgage Burning Service at White Haven Mountainview

On Sunday, August 9, 2009 Pastor Joe Shimko led the Mountainview congregation in a day of celebration of being debt-free which concluded with a burning of the mortgage. Pastor Joe preached in a service in the morning, then the church hosted an outdoor catered dinner for members and guests. After dinner a second service was held in which Superintendent David Harvey preached. At the end of that service Superintendent Harvey and Pastor Joe burned the mortgage.

Grant Writing Seminar

Every year Not—For—Profit organizations receive millions of dollars from both the government and the private sector to carry out vital areas of hands on service to their community. Many grants are available to churches and faith-based organizations. To tap into these available resources, it is necessary to know and understand the dynamics of how the system works, how to prepare a grant that fulfills the necessary requirements, and how to find the sources of this income. This practical, easy to understand, one day seminar is designed to give you all the tools necessary to find and receive funding to help the Ministry of your local church.

On Saturday, September 26, 2009, there will be a practical, easy to understand, one day seminar designed to give the attendee all the tools necessary to find and receive funding to help fulfill their dreams. The seminar will be start at 10 AM at First Free Methodist Church, 16260 St. Clair Ave in East Liverpool, Ohio. Some of the areas you can find grant money to fund include Buildings, Youth Programs, Computer Skills, Counseling, Rehabilitation, Job Training, Education, Day Care, and many others.

The cost of this transformational seminar is $45 per person. Group rates of $35 per person are available to groups of 3 or more from the same organization. This includes registration, workbook, and on-going support services. Those registering before September 15th will receive free the resource “Submitting Winning Grants.” Registration can be made on-line at FirstMatrixMinistries.com, by phone at (330)382-1086, or by mailing your payment and information to First Matrix Ministries, PO Box 795, East Liverpool, Ohio 43920.

Taiwan Disaster

In the beginning of this week we received an e-mail by Matthew Thomas about the disaster in Taiwan. The disaster affected many FMC Churches in the country. Here is the history in Bishop Thomas words,

Dear Friends:

I have been in regular contact with the superintendent of the Taiwan Annual Conference, Frank Yin, discussing the damage upon our churches and the lives of our FM brothers and sisters since the typhoon swept through last week. The devastation in several areas is severe. About 15 churches are damaged. Our churches in Ta Wu, Taitung, Ali, and Chu Nu are destroyed. These are rural churches in the mountains of Taiwan. In many places we need to get assistance to dig out. Fortunately there has been no loss of life identified at this point. However, a full assessment has not been completed.

We ask you to pray, give and go. Please pray for those who are dealing with the devastation. Also, please give to Bishops Famine and Relief Fund for the immediate needs. Also, Superintendent Yin told me that they are very interested in any short term teams who might be willing to come and help them recover and rebuild. If you are interested, please contact VISA in World Missions.

Thank you for being an active part in the solution to the crisis in the world.

Matthew A. Thomas

Earl Sones - New Resident of Heaven

Last Sunday, Earl Sones (Al Sones' dad) passed away. Pray so God comforts Al and his family.
Al wrote a note that we are publishing here:

Dear Friends,

My father, Earl Sones,went to be with Jesus yesterday morning.
He got up on Sunday morning. put on his best suit and had the sermon he was planning to preach tucked in his Bible. He sat down at the dining room table to wait for mom to be ready to leave for their church, put his head down on the table and went to church in heaven. Just like that. Peaceful.

Should you wish to send condolences to my mother:
Edith Sones
1747 Adams Avenue, Apt. 108
Tyrone, PA 16686

There will be a viewing on Wednesday, July 29th from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at:
Feller Memorial Home
817 W. 15th Street
Tyrone, PA 16686.

I will be officiating at his funeral on Thursday, July 30th at 11:00 a.m. at:
Rock of Ages Church
(formerly Tyrone Free Methodist Churc)
1701 Columbia Avenua
Tyrone, PA 16686.

Interment will follow the service at Willams Cemetery, Martha's Furnace, PA. All are invited to a meal afterwards.

Pray for Pastor Al Barnes

On July 13, 2009 Al Barnes - pastor of Kingdom Roadhouse Church -was involved in a very serious motorcycle accident and suffered head injury.
Pray for him. Visit http://pastoralbarnesprayer.blogspot.com/ for updates.

Liberty NY Church says Goodbye to the McCarthy's

Liberty NY church had a day of celebration on July 12 to give thanks for the eighteen years that Dave McCarthy was their pastor. During both morning services church leaders and other individuals paid tribute to Pastor Dave, his wife Sherry, and daughter Christina. The morning services were followed by a picnic in a town park. Dave is moving to the Gerry NY Free Methodist Church. The services were marked by great joy in thanking God for Pastor Dave's ministry, and the sadness of saying goodbye to a beloved pastor and his family.

Stewardship & Small Groups Seminar Combo (Poconos Area/Eastern PA)

Increase your stewardship and small groups systems' effectiveness in one full day of training!

The two seminars are being offered in the Pocono's area by Kerrick Thomas, executive pastor at the NY Journey. It is an event that would be good for any pastor who is interested in the Kingdom growth. One is on Stewardship, which is very timely as well as helpful and the other is on Small Groups. It will be held on July 30th at Pocono Community Church. A discount if offered for groups of 5 or more.

For directions, registration and what to expect from the Seminars click here

Paterson, NJ CPP began public Sunday services on 06/07/09

There were 50 people in attendance (30 were local residents) as they met in an employee room on the ground floor of one of the 4 buildings known as Presidential Towers (a population of about 3,000). The regular meeting place will be located in a community room on the ground floor of one of the other buildings, which will be ready for occupancy of up to 200 people next week. The keynote speaker was Pastor Hector Fernandez. Pastor Esteban Lora is serving as interim Pastor.

The El Remanente Church in the Bronx began a cell group in these buildings 1 year ago after about 20 of their brethren moved there, many of them were working or got jobs as maintenance crew. During the year, at least 10 converts were received. They celebrated the first year anniversary with a worship service on a Tuesday night on 05/19/09 with 75 in attendance. There are at least 50 more people they are reaching and ministering to regularly, who have not yet attended these two public services.

Praise the Lord for the church planters that are investing time at Paterson, NJ CPP.

Annual Mid-Atlantic FMC Conference

The annual Conference coming up. In less than a month pastors and delegates from the Mid-Atlantic Region will meet at Sandy Cove Ministries. If you did not send your registration, please send it ASAP. The conference will be from June 14 to 16 We're looking forward to seeing you there!

For directions and more info about Sandy Cove Ministries go to http://www.sandycove.org/

Merging of MD/VA and NY Conferences approved by MD/VA leaders

The adjourned held at Layhill FMC dealt with the motion for merging the Conferences of MD/VA and NY. The motion was approved by the leaders of the Free Methodist Church from Maryland/Virginia Conference by 17 votes in favor to the merging to 10 against. The same motion was approved by the NY Conference before.
The goal of the merging is to spread Rapid Expansion of the kingdom. We have great expectations for what God is going to do in our Conference on the next years!
Keep the Mid-Atlantic Region of the Free Methodist Church in your prayers.

MD-VA Conference Adjournment

The Maryland-Virginia Conference will hold an adjourned sittting on May 9, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. at Layhill Community Church. The purpose of the adjourned sitting will be to consider the motion for the merging of Maryland-Virginia Conference with the New York Conference, and that the Conference Merger Task Force be authorized to continue their work creating and implementing the new conference structure.

Rev Herbert Olver passed way

Rev. Herbert Olver, a long-time pastor and past superintendent of the New York Conference passed away on April 17, 2009 at Heritage Village where he had been living since his retirement. Herbert and his wife Grace, who proceeded him in death served the New York Conference well in many different capacities. Much of the conference's multi-cultural distinctiveness was formed in the years that Herbert Olver was the superintendent. Two of his sons, Howard and Paul, and his daughter in law Delia, have also pastored in the New York Conference. Funeral arrangements are pending. Keep the family in your prayers.

Last Call to register for MINE 2009

MINE 2009 will happen from 04/21 to 04/23. If you did not register yet, you can click here.
MINE 2009 brings from California Denny and Cheryl Wayman as our guest speakers
We hope to see you there!

Multiplication Training Event CDs

On Thursday, March 26th, the Mid-Atlantic Region hosted Glenn Smith of New Church Initiatives for a dynamic, day long training event. We are making CD recordings of this seminar available to leaders in the Mid-Atlantic Region at cost. If you were at the event, the CDs are available to you at the cost of $8.00. Folks who did not attend the event can receive the CD's for $10. To order e-mail alsones@aol.com with your name and mailing address. The CD's will be mailed to you. Send your check made payable to New York Conference Office, PO Box 96, Belcamp, MD 21017.

MULTIPLICATION TRAINING EVENT

A one-day training event for Free Methodist pastors and other church leaders of the Mid-Atlantic Region. Featuring Glenn Smith of New Church Initiatives providing:
1. Inspiration to take specific steps to start new groups and churches
2. An experience path that makes multiplication doable
3. Identify the next step you can personally take to start a new group or a new church in your ministry
This event is provided without charge to pastors and leaders of the Free Methodist Churches in the Maryland-Virginia and the New York Conferences. There will be a mid-day break for participants to get lunch nearby.
The trainnig will be Thursday, March 26, 2009 from 10:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. at the Wingate Inn, 1326 Policy Drive, Belcamp, MD 21017
So now, save the date on your agenda and let us know that you are coming as soon as possible by calling the Conference Office at 410-297-8017 or by e-mail: marfmc@aol.com

2008 Annual Reports Due

The annual reports are due soon. By now, each pastor should have recieved instructions on filling out their Annual Reports online at www.fmdata.org. If you have not recieved this information, please contact the Conference Office at 410-297-8017. The final due date to submit your church's Annual Report is January 31, 2009.

Haven Community Church gathers 187 for its first Christmas Eve Service

Haven Community Church gathers 187 on Christmas Eve service. Because this is the first year of the church plant on the leadership of pastor Jack Cohen the attendance number was great.
Haven Community Church is located at North East Middle School 200 East Cecil Ave., North East, MD 21901
You can know more about their ministry visiting their website at: http://www.havencc.org/

NCD coaching Webinar available

Here is an E-mail I received from Al Wachter regarding an NCD coaching webinar. If you are using NCD in your church, check this out.

Dave,
Coaching net is providing a free webinar concerning NCD tomorrow night. Didn't know if any of the churches might be interested in this. I know its short notice but maybe some of your churches might be interested.
https://coachnetevents.webex.com/mw0305l/mywebex/default.do?nomenu=true&siteurl=coachnetevents&service=6&main_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcoachnetevents.webex.com%2Fec0600l%2Feventcenter%2Fevent%2FeventAction.do%3FtheAction%3Ddetail%26confViewID%3D278195793%26siteurl%3Dcoachnetevents%26%26%26

-- Dr. Allen Wachter DVM
CMAssociate Professor SUNY DelhiDepartment of Veterinary Sciences
Senior Pastor- Horton Brook Free Methodist Church

A Prayer for the New Year

The great joy in life is being able to serve Jesus with the few years He has given to each of us to be on this earth. I pray that God will continue to lavish His grace on each of you, on your families, and on your ministry. The two great things that advance the Kingdom are God's grace and our submission to Him. May God teach us more about both in the coming year.