By Bob Buse
International Director

"You [LORD] are a helper of the fatherless."—Psalm 10:14

The latest statistics published by UNICEF indicate that there are 132.7 million orphaned children in the world. Most of these are found in regions affected by war, famine and disease. Some have been abandoned by parents who don’t have the wherewithal to care for their children. The AIDS pandemic has created the largest number of orphans.

Tags: God | missions | orphans

By Arden C. Autry, PhD

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.”—2 Corinthians 1:3 NKJV

Why does Paul begin this letter with an emphasis on mercy and comfort? That becomes clear in verses eight and following, as the apostle refers to some terrible experience he had just endured. Mercy and comfort were on his mind, as deliverance from a life-threatening danger (which he does not name) was still fresh in his memory. But Paul is doing more than sharing his praise and testimony. As he indicates in the verses we want to examine more closely (vv. 3-7), Paul wants to communicate important, life-giving encouragement to the Corinthians and to us.

Tags: benefit | comfort | encouragement | its greek to me

Introduction By Lonnie Hilton
National Director & International Vice President

Too often in our Christian walk, we focus on what we can’t do. You fill in the blank: “We can’t do this because ______.” However, when we choose to love, obey, and pursue God, and be where He wants us to be; then we can hear His voice and be in the center of His will. When we focus on God, He takes our “little” and sets in motion that which will make an impact for His kingdom.

The size of your church doesn’t determine its influence or impact upon your community. Your obedience does. The article by Kim Saylor demonstrates this principle.   

By Rev. Kim Saylor
FCF Minister, Ottumwa, Iowa

On October 5, 2007, our church received the Iowa Governor’s award for volunteerism. No, we do not have hundreds of people in our church doing lots of volunteer activities around the state. Our church, Jubilee Bible Church, has about 70 committed members.

We pioneered our church in 2000, and for the first five years we did little community outreach. We were busy building the infrastructure of the church and teaching the body. Honestly, we were missing God concerning outreach.

Tags: church | God | missions | passion | vision