2012
By Pat Harrison, Founder & President
 Fear has no place in a believer’s life because perfect love casts out fear. God is perfect (complete) love. And when we accept God’s love, fear cannot stay in our lives.
The devil will bring thoughts of fear, but we should not allow any fearful thought or insecurity to take root in our lives and become a stronghold that hinders us from the abundant life promised by Jesus.
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By Buddy Harrison, Co-Founder
 Third John 2 says, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
The blessings of financial prosperity come to us as our soul—our mind, will, and emotions—prosper.
To come into the fullness of what God has for us, our minds must be renewed to the Word of God on a daily basis. (See 1 Cor. 2:6-16 and Phil. 2:5.) With minds renewed, we are able to move into God’s plan and understand His way and His purposes.
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By Lonnie Hilton, National Director and International Vice President
 We live in an individualistic, consumer-based culture where the customer is always right and “It's all about me!” A tragic issue arises when the church is viewed through the same eye of consumerism. Too often, too many people view the church as a place to go on Sunday where their needs will be met in a building designed to please them aesthetically, with programs and music they like, and preaching centered on seeing that they have a comfortable life.
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By Jon Coats, Youth Coordinator
 Have you ever felt stuck or frustrated because it seems as if your youth ministry isn’t going anywhere or producing any fruit? After all, you spend all week working hard at your secular job, caring for your family, and handling all your business. You not only committed to being a faithful church member, you also committed to overseeing the youth ministry. You may be blessed with a volunteer or two who, if he or she shows up on time, will help you with the youth. You go out of your way to plan special meetings, activities and trips that will engage and encourage the youth. But it seems as if the youth couldn’t care less about your “sacrifice.” Sometimes they show up, and sometimes they don’t. You begin to ask yourself, “Why can’t people be responsible and communicate? Why is everything up to me?” Maybe you’ve never faced these situations, but for the rest of us it can be a weekly struggle.
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By Arden C. Autry, PhD
 “Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”
Luke 18:1 (NIV)
It’s unusual to be told the meaning of a parable before the parable itself. But that’s not the only unusual feature of the parable known as “The Unjust Judge” or “The Persistent Widow” (Luke 18:1-8). The description of the unjust judge as a man who “neither feared God nor cared about men” (18:2) is a jolting contrast to God. Then, at the end of the parable, Jesus’ question turns our minds in a surprising direction.
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By Gail Buse, International Ambassador
 Since the summer of 1975, I have been traveling overseas in missions. I still experience the same challenge, regardless of how many trips I have taken: summarizing a trip so that others can see its divine impact and value.
The world thinks in terms of numbers and dollars. It measures success by a numerical standard. But how do we measure the success of a ministry trip? How can one measure the lives that are changed and transformed by the power of God and His Word? It can’t be just about numbers, for we are talking about fruit that is eternal and that remains.
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By Pat Harrison, Founder & President
 People are afraid of all kinds of things: flying, terrorists’ attacks, job loss, drowning, death, snakes, spiders, and so on. Since there is so much fear running rampant in the world, Christians have tremendous opportunities to show people the way to escape fear’s grip: a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We show the way by walking victoriously with Jesus in faith and love and giving no place to fear in our lives.
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By Buddy Harrison, Co-Founder
 Material goods (money, wealth, possessions) don’t have any personality or moral value. They take on the personality or morality of their users. We can use money, wealth and possessions to bless others as God intends, or we can pervert their use.
Unsaved people and carnal (or immature) Christians often try to use material goods to gain stature, prestige, power, peace, joy and so on. However, only God can properly provide for those things. Using money, wealth, or possessions to obtain what only God can properly provide merely frustrates people and could eventually destroy them.
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By Lonnie Hilton, National Director & International Vice President
 Men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. – Acts 15:26 NIV
The status quo requires no risk. Nothing ventured; nothing gained. But excellence, by its very nature, requires that you break out of the pack and pull away from the common and ordinary, shaking off the dull and mediocre.
The only thing in the middle of the road is yellow stripes and dead skunks!
It has been said many times, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” This means, then, that if you want something that you’ve never had before, you must be willing to do something that you’ve never done before. And that is where RISK comes into the equation.
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By Jon Coats, Youth Coordinator
 Is going to the dentist on anyone’s top ten list of great experiences? The drilling, the picking, and the stretching of one’s mouth are reasons for generally avoiding the dentist’s chair. If the experience isn’t bad enough, the cost of having your teeth worked on is pretty pricy.
I remember the time my dentist was working on filling my #2 molar (Which one is that?), when he informed me that more work was needed. I would need to make another appointment to finish the treatment.
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By Arden C. Autry, PhD
“He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” – John 7:38 KJV
In John 7:37-39, Jesus promises “rivers of living water” to those who believe in Him. John explains this figurative language in the next verse: “this He spoke concerning the Spirit” (vs. 39 NKJV). At the time no one understood what Jesus meant, because “the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (vs. 39 NIV).
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By Gail Buse, International Ambassador
 “The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become.” — Henry Martyn, missionary to India and Persia
When we see people, what do we see? Do we see the opportunity to make a significant impact in their lives? Or do we see the “cost” of time, energy, and dirty work? It is not always easy when you are in the middle of the masses to see clearly.
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By Pat Harrison, Founder & President
 Colleges and universities have courses labeled as “Something” 101, such as English 101 or Psychology 101. These are basic, introductory courses that all incoming freshmen (unless they test out) are required to take. Students must pass these courses before they can go to the next level.
That is a Biblical principle. Growth, natural and spiritual, is a process. Babies don’t learn to run until they have learned to walk. They don’t talk sense until they have first talked nonsense.
This article is about a basic principle, a required “course,” that we Christians must learn if we’re going to mature in our walk with the Lord. My late husband, Buddy, used to call this kind of message “Pastor’s Talk 101.”
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By Buddy Harrison, Co-Founder
 Certain religions believe that poverty produces a state of spiritual blessedness or keeps a person holy. You can look at poverty-stricken communities and see that doesn’t make any sense. Being poor doesn’t make you more holy than someone who is wealthy, and vice versa.
When I hear someone say, “Poverty is God’s will for me,” or “Being poor keeps me humble,” I know that he isn’t reading his Bible. God is interested in blessing His people. You can’t read the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal truth to you, and come up with any other conclusion.
The Bible, both Old and New Testaments, has a great deal to say about money, wealth, and possessions. Of the thirty-five parables that Jesus told, one-third of them deal with money, wealth, or possessions. As I have studied the Bible, I have found six reasons for Godly prosperity. In this article, I will focus on the second reason why God wants His people to prosper: stewardship.
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By Lonnie Hilton, National Director and International Vice President
 Faith Christian Fellowship International Church, Inc. is a team effort. We have a great team here in the International Headquarters, and we have an awesome team family around the world.
I am pleased to work and minister with Deborah Brubaker, our Managing Editor. Deborah recently shared the impact FCF is having through our websites. I am sure you will be blessed you as you read her article.
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By Jon Coats, Youth Coordinator
 Last month we started looking at the cost of change, and I used Nehemiah’s process as an example.
The change Nehemiah was to lead had numerous risks. The first risk was re-establishing the Jewish culture under the rule of a pagan king. Unlike Moses, Nehemiah had no staff or plagues in his arsenal when he shared God’s plan with the king. Instead of delivering the children of Israel from the pagan king, Nehemiah was going to set up shop right in the middle of the pagan kingdom. And if that weren’t enough, he was going to do it as an employee of the pagan kingdom.
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By Arden C. Autry, PhD
“Therefore I urge you, imitate me.” –1 Corinthians 4:16 (New King James Version)
Writing to the Spirit-filled but somewhat undisciplined church at Corinth, Paul urges them, “Imitate me” (1 Cor. 4:16, NKJV). Viewed in context, this is encouragement to imitate his attitudes and values. If we follow Paul’s lead in attitudes and values, we will act appropriately in our personal relationships and in ministry.
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By Gail Buse, International Ambassador
 As we continued with the strategy God gave us—Start, Send, Sustain—in 2011 our FCF family has grown globally and produced much fruit.
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Pat Harrison, President & Founder
 Whenever I share on love, someone usually points out that Jesus called the Pharisees and scribes “whited sepulchers” (Matt. 23:27) and that He used a whip to drive the money changers and vendors from the temple. How can that be love?
Others will cite examples from the Old Testament of God’s disciplining the Israelites or His instructions to destroy completely their enemies as proof that God isn’t all love. They can’t equate those actions with love. To them love is a feeling accompanied by goose bumps and starry-eyed looks, and it means you never have to say “I’m sorry” (the line from the 1970 movie Love Story). Unfortunately, they don’t understand God or His nature because they haven’t developed a relationship with Him. They haven’t prayerfully and carefully studied His Word and asked the Holy Spirit for revelation of what they have read.
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By Buddy Harrison, Co-Founder
 When you use the word “prosperity,” people automatically think “money.” But Biblical prosperity is more than money, wealth or possessions. Now those things are certainly a part of Biblical prosperity, but that is not all that Biblical prosperity encompasses.
Also, we Western Christians must remember that prosperity is relative. By that I mean, what is prosperity to someone in the U.S.A. isn’t necessarily the same for someone in another nation, particularly what we call Third World nations. For example, $100,000 doesn’t buy you that much anymore in America, but it sure can buy you a bunch of stuff in any African nation. I know some national pastors in Africa who could reach more people if they had that much money.
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“Fall back, spring forward,” adjust the clock, adjust the body—it’s all part of the yearly ritual. But as I age, the time between the events seems shorter and shorter. I had just gotten used to “falling back” when I had to “spring forward,” or I have sprung back and it’s now time to fall forward? Either way, we have to deal with time and seasons.
Durante nuestros campamentos de verano, nosotros siempre dividimos las personas en grupos. Los miembros del grupo limpian juntos y compiten en varios juegos y actividades a través de la semana para ganar puntos. Al final de la semana, nosotros premiamos al equipo que tiene más puntos. Cada equipo ganador tiene una cosa en común. Nunca es el equipo más atlético como algunos piensan, no el equipo ganador siempre tendrá líderes que están involucrados, animados, y emocionados en trabajar juntos. Un equipo ganador siempre tendrá un gran liderazgo.