Each year, we have the privilege to gather as a FACT family to review the previous ministry year. More than just a time to share facts and info, this is a time for us to celebrate. Our Annual Celebration Gathering is an important marker in the life of FACT each year. This year we focused on remembering God’s presence over the 2019-2020 Ministry year (which has been a bit crazy) and looking toward God’s continued leading for 2020-2021.

We began with a time of remembering God ‘s presence. We started with scriptures including Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 139:5-12, and Isaiah 42:5-9 to remind us of God’s goodness, greatness, and glory before signing Great Things and To God Be the Glory. We then shared around tables how we have seen God’s presence and faithfulness over the past year both personally and as a church family throughout change, COVID, struggles, and the normal things of life, concluding with a prayer of thanksgiving.

The Pastoral Staff shared an overview of ministry from 2019-2020 focusing on the categories of Connect to Christ, Grow with Others, Engage the World, Financial Stewardship, and concluding with a few additional highlights. The information shared can be seen in the Annual Review handout (click here). We are thankful for God’s faithfulness to and among us in so many ways throughout this season and thankful for the ongoing faithfulness of the FACT family in serving, giving, and being biblical, loving, Spirit-filled disciples together.

Pastor Chris then shared a five brief information ministry updates:

The new role of the Deaconesses moving forward will be more spiritual ministry focused.
The social/hospitality functions of church life are now the responsibility of a Hospitality Coordinator (Ryun and Debbie Forsman).
We continue to enhance our safety and security procedures. We now have a child check in procedures and increased safety measures in the Children’s Wing.
We continue to exercise care and concern as we continue in the time of COVID. As long as the state health emergency is in place, we will continue in Phase Yellow with spaced seating and limited size groups. Good wellness practices are encouraged.
Online ministry as part of live-streaming continues to be a ministry in development.

To view the full comments on these ministry updates (about 3.5 minutes), watch the video below.

Pastor Brian then turned out attention to what’s next for FACT as we look ahead to God’s leading. We saw a video from Terry Smith, VP of Church Ministries for the Christian & Missionary Alliance about where the Alliance is going. Pastor Brian then talked about the ongoing role and importance of Discipling Community, how we are looking to increase our Gospel impact as disciples, and our commitment to investing in interns in the years to come. Take a moment to view Pastor Brian’s full comments (which includes a lot more info).

We concluded with a time of prayer around tables in family groups for the future, where God is leading us, our desire to follow Him, and the fact that we don’t necessarily know where it will all end, but we trust the goodness and presence of the Lord. We sang Goodness of God and had a prayer of blessing and commitment before blessing one another with Ephesians 3:20-21 and then enjoying some tasty homemade desserts.

We’re thankful for each person who has played a role in the life of First Alliance throughout the 2019-2020 ministry year, and are looking forward as we move through 2020-2021.

If you weren’t able to participate on campus or online, the entire service is viewable below. The first 15 minutes is a slideshow of images of FACT life over 2019-2020.

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us as we move forward together in our community, regions, and world as biblical, loving, Spirit-filed disciples of Jesus.

FACT Family,

This is the second update in connection with the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. The dynamics of this situation are changing daily. We are in regular communication as FACT leadership to prayerfully and prudently make decisions for the well-being of the FACT family and our local community in light of Kingdom living as biblical, loving, Spirit-filled disciples.

We affirm that the Lord Almighty is clearly in control, that nothing that is happening has caught Him by surprise, and that He is above all and over all. We affirm that our hope and trust is in the risen Jesus Christ as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King. We affirm that we live in a spirit of love and power, and not fear, because we live in the power of the Holy Spirit.

We also acknowledge that we have freedoms in regards to spiritual practices that we have had the privilege to exercise in this county, while at the same time recognizing our responsibility to heed the admonitions of the Apostle Paul in Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Timothy 2:1-4 to cooperate with and pray for those in authority.

With those dynamics in mind, at this time our Sunday morning schedule for this Sunday, March 15 will include adult Discipling Communities and children/youth Sunday School at 9am and the worship service at 10:30am. There will be no Coffee & Connection.

That being said, a few things to know:

If you are feeling unwell, or have recently been sick, we strongly encourage you to stay home, even if you think it is nothing more than a common cold. If you are scheduled to serve as part of a ministry team, please let your team leader know.
If you are in a high-risk category (weaker immune system, high blood pressure, respiratory issues, heart condition) or increasingly above the age of 60, we recommend that you honestly evaluate your own health situation, follow your doctor’s recommendations, and potentially choose to stay home.
As is our regular practice, we remind parents of our Wellness Policy that kids and teens who are, or appear, sick (runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat, fever, etc.) should also stay home. This includes fever free for 24 hours and, if on antibiotics, to have been on them for 48 hours.
We strongly discourage shaking hands and hugging. Our greeting team will be refraining from these methods of greeting. Feel free to politely decline an offered hand and instead choose to wave or bump elbows.
When you come and need to cough or sneeze, consider others around you and keep it covered, preferably into the bend of your elbow.
We will receive tithes & offerings at the end of the service as you leave. Ushers will be stationed at the doors. We also remind you of our safe and secure online giving options found at FACToccoa.com/give
We will also be seeking to sanitize common surfaces at various points during the morning. We have a plan in place. If you would like to help Eric Brubaker fulfill this plan, please contact him.
In addition, please disinfect personal belongings you may bring with you like diaper bags, blankets, or other items that may be touched by other people before you come.
We will not be showing Episode 11 of the 2020 Vision series as was previously communicated. We anticipate a number of people not coming, and we want to wait until we are back together again.
The message from Sunday will be posted to the website and the mobile app on Monday.

And of course, please continue to thoroughly and often wash hands with soap and water in addition to using a minimum 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

After this Sunday, we will continue to evaluate and communicate changes and potential cancellations through various sources including email, Facebook, and our website. We will also be setting up a page on our website that will begin to list regular meetings and events that are cancelled and that we aware of.

In closing, we want to offer these 4 encouragements, shared by another church with their congregation:

Be thankful to God for his sovereign goodness.
Pray for our earthly leaders that they would be wise and strong. Pray for our healthcare workers that they would stay healthy and compassionate to care for the many who are sick and scared. 1 Timothy 2:1-4
Continue to be faithful and generous in your tithes and offerings. Our financial stewardship to the Great Commission Fund and local ministries remain the same. 2 Corinthians 9:11-12
Pray for opportunities to share the hope and peace that you have knowing that you are secure in Christ and that you know beyond any doubt that this life isn’t all there is. 1 Peter 3:15

We walk together in the strength of Christ in these days for God’s glory,

FACT Pastoral Staff and Elders

Remembering God's Presence. Looking to God's Leading.

FACT Family Coronavirus Update for March 15

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