Connect19: President’s Address Experiences from My First Year


by Kevin Stone, President


• If you’ve ever had to find out that a grid road is actually just a gravel road, you might work for the FEBC.


• If you’ve ever had a border agent look at you really skeptically when you say that you’ll be staying in host homes for the duration of your visit — you might work for the FEBC.


• If you’ve driven over 22,000 miles for work in the past year, and a significant percentage of that was in the snow — you might work for the FEBC.


• If you know that Randville, Mich., is one spot where cell phones never work — it is likely you work for the FEBC.


• If you’ve ever sat in a restaurant in Canada wondering if “bacon” is actually “Canadian bacon” or just plain bacon — you might work for the FEBC.


• If you understand that the Lustre EMB Church has an address in Frazer, but the church is actually north of Lustre, which is north of Frazer — you probably work for the FEBC.


• If you walk into the rental car office and the person at the counter says: “Hey, Kevin, going to Canada?” — you definitely work for the FEBC.


• If you’ve had a border agent say (and I quote): “How’d you find this crossing, eh?” — you might work for the FEBC.


But here’s the thing:


• If you find yourself surrounded by wonderful, generous, God-loving people who are eager to serve and incredibly hospitable — I suspect you work for the FEBC.


I have learned a lot about the FEBC — about our history, the


people of our Fellowship, our member churches, our leadership. I have visited churches that were planted by the FEBC many years ago and churches that joined recently.


I have met with men who have been pastoring for over 40


years, and with others who are just starting. Troughout all of those varied connections across two coun-


tries, I have come away with an overwhelming sense that we’re all in this together. We share the same passions, the same interests, the same concerns, the same hurdles.


We are one body, separated only by geography. As I’ve shared oſten as I travel to churches — that’s exactly


what God intended. He wants us to be connected to him and to the church. He wants churches to be connected to one another. He wants us to share our needs and our resources.


Tis Fellowship has so much potential! We can truly help one another do ministry as we care enough to connect.


10 Tings I see that need to be addressed:


• We’re disconnected in too many ways. We become apathetic to our need for connectedness. Some churches don’t actively participate in the Fellowship at all, and we will continue to encourage increased participation.


• We have worked hard as a team to increase our level of communication, both within the Fellowship and from the Fellowship leaders to the local churches… but we still have a lot of room to grow.


• We need to do a better job of leveraging electronic media, such as our website, Facebook and other forms of social media.


• We need to improve our effectiveness at communicating the value of fellowship and the value of our Fellowship to members and churches.


Aſter a year on the job, I understand that communicating


this value is made more difficult by the need for privacy when a sensitive issue is addressed. Te FEBC assists with many sensitive issues with churches and pastors that we cannot (and should not) share. Tis means there are times that FEBC money and time is being invested wisely, but our members won’t know about it. I am so proud of the work that our staff and volunteers do to assist churches and pastors on a daily basis!


Areas in which I want to challenge our leadership:


• We need to improve communication within our organi- zation and with member churches.


• We need to seek out areas of efficiency where we can maximize our precious resources. Tat said, there is an important balance to maintain… we must be cautious, but not afraid to use the resources we’ve been blessed with.


• We need to strive for renewed passion for ministry and attentiveness to our roles. We should strive for excellence.


• We, as leaders, need to pray. We must pray for our min- istries and for our Fellowship on an ongoing basis.


Areas in which I want to challenge our churches:


• We must reconnect. Attend FEBC events, send delegates to Connect, nominate leaders for volunteer positions, reply to requests for information or advice. Be connected to what is happening within the Fellowship.


• We must understand that connection is healthy. Te Continued on next page (bottom)


Fellowship Focus, September/October 2019


FellowshipForward.org


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