PASTOR'S UPDATE APRIL 21, 2023
Happy Friday, Friendship Family!
It has been a while since I have done a weekly update! I miss you all, and I miss this. I pray this week’s update finds each of you well! You know our weeks are often filled with highs and lows.
I want to share with you my highs and lows for this week. The HIGH of my week came on Saturday, April 15th, when I had the pleasure of attending the Changing of Command Ceremony for our member and brother, Brother Kenneth Kirkpatrick. Brother Kirkpatick is a reserve officer in the United States Air Force with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. So I attended the 729th Airlift Squadron Change of Command Ceremony, where Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth M. Kirkpatrick assumed the squadron’s command. The ceremony was a fantastic event at March Air Reserve Base. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth M. Kirkpatrick again! So that was the high and highlight of my week.
The LOW of my week came on Tuesday when I learned of the passing of Dr. Charles Stanley! He passed away Tuesday morning, April 18th, at 90. Dr. Charles Stanley was an influential pastor at the First Baptist Church of Atlanta. His organization, In Touch Ministries, reached millions across the world. He led the First Baptist Church of Atlanta church for 51 years. Over his career, he has written more than 70 books, most recently published in 2023. I’ve read about 12-15 of his books. Dr. Stanley was also noted for his photography, and the In Touch Ministries Headquarters walls in Atlanta were filled with images from his travels. We pray for his family, including his son, Andy Stanley, founder and senior pastor of North Point Ministries; his daughter Becky Stanley Broderson; six grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and sister Susie Cox.
It has been a while since I have done a weekly update! I miss you all, and I miss this. I pray this week’s update finds each of you well! You know our weeks are often filled with highs and lows.
I want to share with you my highs and lows for this week. The HIGH of my week came on Saturday, April 15th, when I had the pleasure of attending the Changing of Command Ceremony for our member and brother, Brother Kenneth Kirkpatrick. Brother Kirkpatick is a reserve officer in the United States Air Force with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. So I attended the 729th Airlift Squadron Change of Command Ceremony, where Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth M. Kirkpatrick assumed the squadron’s command. The ceremony was a fantastic event at March Air Reserve Base. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth M. Kirkpatrick again! So that was the high and highlight of my week.
The LOW of my week came on Tuesday when I learned of the passing of Dr. Charles Stanley! He passed away Tuesday morning, April 18th, at 90. Dr. Charles Stanley was an influential pastor at the First Baptist Church of Atlanta. His organization, In Touch Ministries, reached millions across the world. He led the First Baptist Church of Atlanta church for 51 years. Over his career, he has written more than 70 books, most recently published in 2023. I’ve read about 12-15 of his books. Dr. Stanley was also noted for his photography, and the In Touch Ministries Headquarters walls in Atlanta were filled with images from his travels. We pray for his family, including his son, Andy Stanley, founder and senior pastor of North Point Ministries; his daughter Becky Stanley Broderson; six grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and sister Susie Cox.
We must praise God in the highs and the lows! So many people see praising God as something that only happens on Sunday mornings inside a church building as people sing praises of worship to the Lord and hear the pastor give a sermon. Many people fail to realize that God is always doing things in our lives that are so worthy of His praise. He is constantly at work, regardless of whether you think about it. He always knows what is going to happen. Remember, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” -Romans 8:28
Even if you don’t realize it right now, God is using the negative in your life for a positive purpose. So, with that being said, praise Him. Praise Him just as much through the storms as you do through the rainbows. Praise Him for the good and the bad. Praise Him for the things that you wanted to come about happening, and praise Him for the things that you wanted that you did not receive.
Look, there are a few things we need to update you on this week. So please patiently read what is here, use the information to your benefit, and share it with others!
Here are this week’s announcements…
WOMEN’S MONTHLY FELLOWSHIP
Kingdom Women Join the Women’s Ministry tonight, Friday, April 21st, at 7:00 pm for the FBC Women’s Ministry virtual monthly fellowship. The guest speakers, Rev. Kathy Scott, and Rev. Keturah Washington will speak on Saying So Long Home based on the book So Long, Normal: Living And Loving The Free Fall Of Faith by Author Laura Story. Laura writes, “Just because we answer God’s nudge to move out from our comfort zones - the familiar town, the community in which we raised our kids, whatever our idea of “home” is – doesn’t mean the journey will be easy.
It’s easy to think that if I move forward in obedience, I’ll be showered with blessings every step of the journey. Yet, leaving is rarely painless, even if it’s the right thing. And as I’ve always sung more times than I can remember, the blessings God gives us aren’t always the ones we anticipate!” So, ladies, attend this event and learn, so you can get ready to say – So Long, Home!
More information is HERE.
LEADERSHIP MEETING
Leaders, I look forward to seeing you in person on campus tomorrow, April 22nd, for our quarterly Leadership Meeting. It begins promptly at 10am in the Sanctuary.
LEAD ACADEMY
We are excited to announce the start of our 2023 Leadership Excellence and Development Academy (also known as LEAD), which kicked off Thursday, April 20th, and it's NOT too late to JOIN.
Remember, LEAD Academy is for all existing and aspiring leaders. Of note: We especially desire and welcome young adults to participate. Holding a current leadership role or title within the church is not required for you to participate in this educational offering. Our desire and goal is to develop existing and future church leaders. This course will offer meaningful discussion, readings, training videos, mentorship, etc., and will be approximately 50% in-person and 50% online. Should you have questions regarding the program, please contact our Christian Education Leadership team, Le Shon Archer (here) or Lady Karima Curry (here). Register HERE.
LOVE YORBA LINDA
Love Yorba Linda is coming on Saturday, April 29th, and will start with a kick-off rally at 8:00 a.m. at Hurless Barton Park with food, music and entertainment. At 9:30a everyone will be excused to go to their project site. Volunteer service starts on site at 10:00a -12:00p. Love Yorba Linda is a community-wide service day where residents, businesses, city government, faith groups, service groups, schools, and sports organizations unite to make our city a better place.
There are many ways to participate! Friendship, this is our “home” city, and we want to show up and show out. Let’s be good neighbors and show we love our city! Sign up for one of the many short service projects. Go to HERE or contact Rev. Patrick Christian (714) 579-7066 for details.
NEW PREACHING SERIES
Join us on Sundays for the new preaching series Keep the Faith: The Road of Resilience.
MEN’S DAY 2023
Brothers, Men’s Day 2023 is coming, and we are excited! Men’s Day 2023 occurs on Sunday, April 30th, at our 8am and 11:30am services.
The Wrecking Crew will be in the house under the direction of our guest director, Brother Greg Jones. Brother Jones will also lead in Praise & Worship on that Sunday!
Our speaker for Men’s Day will be Pastor Michael Ealey, Senior Pastor of the Prevailing in Christ Ministries of Carson, CA. Pastor Michael J. Ealey is an anointed man of God, an awesome spiritual educator, motivator, and dedicated Champion for Christ. He presents the Word of God in a practical, humorous, thought-provoking way and encourages growth from people from all walks of life. He is the founder and Senior Pastor of Prevailing In Christ Ministries.
MEN’S SUMMIT
The RHEMA MEN’S SUMMIT 2023 is Saturday, May 6th, 9:00am-2:00pm. The Theme is Worship over Worry - Building men of resilient faith (Matthew 6:25-34). We will offer general sessions, breakout sessions, lunch, and giveaways. Admission is FREE! With all that is going on currently and has gone on over the past three years (pandemic, politics, social injustices, civil unrest, all types of losses, or fill in your own blank), worry tends to creep in when we don’t have answers to the problems we’re facing. Matthew 6:33 tells us we must seek God’s kingdom and righteousness first, and God will cause all these things to be added to us. That’s WORSHIP over WORRY. Amid all our issues, we need to learn to WORSHIP over our worries. It’s not easy; however, it is doable. The Summit is the ideal place to come out for encouragement and tools to put a Worship over Worry mindset into practice in our quest to be men of resilient faith. Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Marcus Goodloe of Flourishing Church, Los Angeles.
Please register HERE for this event so you can be accounted for.
BIBLE READING GROUPS
Is it your goal to read God’s Word this year? If so, we invite and welcome you to join a Bible Reading Small Group. Starting next month, we will once again offer several Bible Reading Small Groups. These groups are designed to promote reading a Bible plan in community with others and accountability. As you may recall, we offered Bible Reading Small Groups last year-over 100 members of Friendship informed us they completed at least one of the reading plans. To God be the glory! Bible Reading Groups will begin on May 1, 2023. We will offer seven reading plans over 90 days. If you are interested in facilitating a small group, please contact Sis. Le Shon Archer HERE.
Even if you don’t realize it right now, God is using the negative in your life for a positive purpose. So, with that being said, praise Him. Praise Him just as much through the storms as you do through the rainbows. Praise Him for the good and the bad. Praise Him for the things that you wanted to come about happening, and praise Him for the things that you wanted that you did not receive.
Look, there are a few things we need to update you on this week. So please patiently read what is here, use the information to your benefit, and share it with others!
Here are this week’s announcements…
WOMEN’S MONTHLY FELLOWSHIP
Kingdom Women Join the Women’s Ministry tonight, Friday, April 21st, at 7:00 pm for the FBC Women’s Ministry virtual monthly fellowship. The guest speakers, Rev. Kathy Scott, and Rev. Keturah Washington will speak on Saying So Long Home based on the book So Long, Normal: Living And Loving The Free Fall Of Faith by Author Laura Story. Laura writes, “Just because we answer God’s nudge to move out from our comfort zones - the familiar town, the community in which we raised our kids, whatever our idea of “home” is – doesn’t mean the journey will be easy.
It’s easy to think that if I move forward in obedience, I’ll be showered with blessings every step of the journey. Yet, leaving is rarely painless, even if it’s the right thing. And as I’ve always sung more times than I can remember, the blessings God gives us aren’t always the ones we anticipate!” So, ladies, attend this event and learn, so you can get ready to say – So Long, Home!
More information is HERE.
LEADERSHIP MEETING
Leaders, I look forward to seeing you in person on campus tomorrow, April 22nd, for our quarterly Leadership Meeting. It begins promptly at 10am in the Sanctuary.
LEAD ACADEMY
We are excited to announce the start of our 2023 Leadership Excellence and Development Academy (also known as LEAD), which kicked off Thursday, April 20th, and it's NOT too late to JOIN.
Remember, LEAD Academy is for all existing and aspiring leaders. Of note: We especially desire and welcome young adults to participate. Holding a current leadership role or title within the church is not required for you to participate in this educational offering. Our desire and goal is to develop existing and future church leaders. This course will offer meaningful discussion, readings, training videos, mentorship, etc., and will be approximately 50% in-person and 50% online. Should you have questions regarding the program, please contact our Christian Education Leadership team, Le Shon Archer (here) or Lady Karima Curry (here). Register HERE.
LOVE YORBA LINDA
Love Yorba Linda is coming on Saturday, April 29th, and will start with a kick-off rally at 8:00 a.m. at Hurless Barton Park with food, music and entertainment. At 9:30a everyone will be excused to go to their project site. Volunteer service starts on site at 10:00a -12:00p. Love Yorba Linda is a community-wide service day where residents, businesses, city government, faith groups, service groups, schools, and sports organizations unite to make our city a better place.
There are many ways to participate! Friendship, this is our “home” city, and we want to show up and show out. Let’s be good neighbors and show we love our city! Sign up for one of the many short service projects. Go to HERE or contact Rev. Patrick Christian (714) 579-7066 for details.
NEW PREACHING SERIES
Join us on Sundays for the new preaching series Keep the Faith: The Road of Resilience.
MEN’S DAY 2023
Brothers, Men’s Day 2023 is coming, and we are excited! Men’s Day 2023 occurs on Sunday, April 30th, at our 8am and 11:30am services.
The Wrecking Crew will be in the house under the direction of our guest director, Brother Greg Jones. Brother Jones will also lead in Praise & Worship on that Sunday!
Our speaker for Men’s Day will be Pastor Michael Ealey, Senior Pastor of the Prevailing in Christ Ministries of Carson, CA. Pastor Michael J. Ealey is an anointed man of God, an awesome spiritual educator, motivator, and dedicated Champion for Christ. He presents the Word of God in a practical, humorous, thought-provoking way and encourages growth from people from all walks of life. He is the founder and Senior Pastor of Prevailing In Christ Ministries.
MEN’S SUMMIT
The RHEMA MEN’S SUMMIT 2023 is Saturday, May 6th, 9:00am-2:00pm. The Theme is Worship over Worry - Building men of resilient faith (Matthew 6:25-34). We will offer general sessions, breakout sessions, lunch, and giveaways. Admission is FREE! With all that is going on currently and has gone on over the past three years (pandemic, politics, social injustices, civil unrest, all types of losses, or fill in your own blank), worry tends to creep in when we don’t have answers to the problems we’re facing. Matthew 6:33 tells us we must seek God’s kingdom and righteousness first, and God will cause all these things to be added to us. That’s WORSHIP over WORRY. Amid all our issues, we need to learn to WORSHIP over our worries. It’s not easy; however, it is doable. The Summit is the ideal place to come out for encouragement and tools to put a Worship over Worry mindset into practice in our quest to be men of resilient faith. Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Marcus Goodloe of Flourishing Church, Los Angeles.
Please register HERE for this event so you can be accounted for.
BIBLE READING GROUPS
Is it your goal to read God’s Word this year? If so, we invite and welcome you to join a Bible Reading Small Group. Starting next month, we will once again offer several Bible Reading Small Groups. These groups are designed to promote reading a Bible plan in community with others and accountability. As you may recall, we offered Bible Reading Small Groups last year-over 100 members of Friendship informed us they completed at least one of the reading plans. To God be the glory! Bible Reading Groups will begin on May 1, 2023. We will offer seven reading plans over 90 days. If you are interested in facilitating a small group, please contact Sis. Le Shon Archer HERE.
FUTURE NOW INITIATIVE
We also want to thank those who have already started to give for our FUTURE NOW INITIATIVE. This month (March), we request that you submit your PLEDGE FORM and begin making your pledges.
On the pledge form, please indicate your planned pledge amount and your frequency of giving. Again, if you have the printed form, please put your total pledge amount on the KICK STARTER LINE. Then tell us, on that form, whether you will give your pledge over 12 months or 15 months. Lastly, please tell us the frequency of your giving, whether you will give weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly (as a one-time gift). Also, the form is available online HERE.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Make sure to follow us on our social media pages for upcoming content. For Facebook, that’s Friendship Baptist Church. For Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, it’s @wearefriendshipchurch.
We also want to thank those who have already started to give for our FUTURE NOW INITIATIVE. This month (March), we request that you submit your PLEDGE FORM and begin making your pledges.
On the pledge form, please indicate your planned pledge amount and your frequency of giving. Again, if you have the printed form, please put your total pledge amount on the KICK STARTER LINE. Then tell us, on that form, whether you will give your pledge over 12 months or 15 months. Lastly, please tell us the frequency of your giving, whether you will give weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly (as a one-time gift). Also, the form is available online HERE.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Make sure to follow us on our social media pages for upcoming content. For Facebook, that’s Friendship Baptist Church. For Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, it’s @wearefriendshipchurch.
General Church things to remember:
Ephesians 6:10-18 ESV
John 11:23-26: Luke: 24:6-7; 1 Thess 4:14; Matt 28:5-6; 1 Peter 1:3: 1 Cor 15:3-4
✔️ The entire Bible,
✔️ The Pentateuch (or the first five books of the Old Testament),
✔️ The entire Old Testament,
✔️ The Gospels (or the first four books of the New Testament),
✔️ The entire New Testament, and
✔️ Psalms and Proverbs (3 times)
Continue to Stay Safe, Stay Healthy, and Stay Connected!
God loves you, and so do I!
In His Service,
Rev. Kenneth C. Curry, Jr.
Your Pastor
- 2023 CHURCH THEME:
Ephesians 6:10-18 ESV
- APRIL PRAYER FOCUS:
John 11:23-26: Luke: 24:6-7; 1 Thess 4:14; Matt 28:5-6; 1 Peter 1:3: 1 Cor 15:3-4
- BIBLE READING
✔️ The entire Bible,
✔️ The Pentateuch (or the first five books of the Old Testament),
✔️ The entire Old Testament,
✔️ The Gospels (or the first four books of the New Testament),
✔️ The entire New Testament, and
✔️ Psalms and Proverbs (3 times)
- WEEKLY HEALTH WALK
- IN-PERSON EX-HOUR: We invite you to stay after the first service or come earlier for the second service to attend Ex-Hour in person. Remember, we have two adult classes meeting in person on campus and a Young Adult Class. They meet as follows:
- Adult Class One (Sanctuary): The team teaching in the Sanctuary includes Lady Karima Curry, Pamela Jones, Deacon Demetrius Linebarger, Melanie Porter, Vivian Randolph, & Deacon James Shelby
- Adult Class Two (Carrington Building Room 217): The team teaching in the Carrington Building Room 217 includes Le Shon Archer, Deacon Rick Archer, Karen Ammons, Gwen Matthews, and Rev. Phil Yoder
- Young Adults Class (Carrington Building Rooms 207-208): This class is designed for those aged 18-35.
- EX HOUR: Virtual Ex-Hour meets weekly on Sundays via ZOOM. Join us for class at 10am via this link HERE.
- YOUTH EX HOUR: Our in-person youth Ex Hour takes place during our designated EX Hour time in the Multipurpose Building. Parents, please encourage your students to join youth teachers for this biblically fun opportunity to learn God’s Word, connect with others, and grow.
- CHILDREN’S EX-HOUR: As stated in previous weeks, our Children’s ExHour is back and meets on Sundays at 10am in the Multipurpose Building. Parents, please note you must check in and check out your children weekly for Ex-hour.
- MOMMIES WITH BABIES: We have our Mommies with Babies class simultaneously during EX-Hour in the Multipurpose Building. Mommies with two years old and younger children are invited to this EX-HOUR class and are encouraged to bring their children with them! Come for encouragement, community, and growth! Amen!
- WEDNESDAY Prayer Day: Join us each Wednesday for Prayer. We pray at 6:30am, 12pm, and 6:30pm. To connect with our prayer services, please follow this link HERE or dial in at +1 (413) 418-4274 and use the PIN 287683504#.
- FBC FOOD BANK OPEN: The FBC Food Bank is OPEN with a new drive-thru system where our clients will receive a pre-packaged food box and a bag of groceries. The Food Bank’s hours of operation are Tuesday - Thursday, 2:30pm-4:30pm.
Continue to Stay Safe, Stay Healthy, and Stay Connected!
God loves you, and so do I!
In His Service,
Rev. Kenneth C. Curry, Jr.
Your Pastor