Grace Fellowship Church is on a God-directed journey toward the future He has for us, and maybe you’re wondering where we are and how are we doing. We hear a number of questions from time to time including “What’s up with Grace Rising?” and “What is our current financial situation?” or “What is our vision for the future and are we on track?” We would love to address these questions in detail, but we simply don’t have time in our weekend services to adequately do so.

So, you are invited to a progress meeting – you might think of it as a GPS navigational meeting – to ask (and have answered) these and any other questions you may have.

We are so grateful for your partnership in the gospel, and we want to honor that partnership by communicating with you well. These congregational gatherings will be at 7:00 p.m. in the Mini Auditorium at Grace Timonium on July 6, July 7, August 10, and August 11. They will be offered several times to accommodate summer schedules, and we hope that you’ll attend one of these sessions.

If you have an urgent matter, please email info@gfcdev.org. We will do our best to respond in a timely manner.

Listen to the parable.
In the parable is a truth.
The truth is eternal.

“Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
Matthew 13:9

Our simple summer day-dreaming will become pictures of the Kingdom as we seek the priceless truths that Jesus, the Master Story-Teller has hidden within each tale.

Plunge into the Parables as part of your summer reading by joining us for weekend services at Grace.

7.10/11 – Lamps
7.17/18 – Coins
7.24/25 – Travelers
7.31/8.1 – Treasures
8.7/8 – Debts
8.14/15 – TBD

We know that relationships, values, who we are, and how we live are really what define us…and we want to do well with these most significant parts of our lives.

Because of the earthy nature of these topics –relationships, sex, parenting– we want to follow up on our weekend service teaching of these topics by offering a more in-depth and interactive experience.

If you have a question, bring it. If you’ve learned a life lesson, maybe you can share it. And if you want to explore these topics further, then come.

We’ll host a discussion in the Grace Timonium mini-auditorium at 7:00 p.m. on the following dates:

April 29 – Divorce
May 6 – Singleness
May 27 – Sex

Let’s visit the biggies together and possess real LIFE — abundant and overflowing. Hope to see you there!

More information on the LIFE series is also available.

It started in one city with 2,200 leaders from 300 churches in 1995.

In 2010, The Global Leadership Summit will reach 350 cities across 50 countries, challenging more than 120,000 leaders from 10,000+ churches!

Effective leaders are the agents of transformation. They call out what’s wrong, set goals, launch initiatives, motivate, challenge, and move people to get on the solution side of solving our worst problems. Pastors, teachers, business leaders, law enforcement officials, politicians, musicians, athletes, and others are answering the call and choosing to lead where they are to make a lasting difference.

Far more than an annual training event, The Global Leadership Summit has become a galvanizing event in this worldwide leadership movement. Leaders representing an amazing diversity of race, cultures, ethnicities, languages, and denominations are coming together to give themselves to redeem and restore this broken world.

This year’s speakers include Bill Hybels, Jim Collins, T.D. Jakes, Jack Welch, Andy Stanley, Christine Caine, Tony Dungy, Zhao Xiao, Blake Mycoskie, Terri Kelly, Daniel H. Pink, Adam Hamilton, and Jeff Manion.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Mark your calendar for August 5-6, because Leadership Summit 2010 is an event you won’t want to miss!

Any questions you may have can be directed to Kelly Montgomery, kmontgomery@gfcdev.org or 410.561.8424 ext. 224.

He tells a story about a guy who takes everything, but still has nothing. His empty life is destroying him, until…

Interested in a real-life resurrection story? Do you need to come face-to-face with a hope that reminds you new life is not only possible, but also real?

Meet Luke. He’ll change your mind if you’re on the fence about this kind of change.

The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I come that they may have and enjoy LIFE, and have it in abundance, ’til it overflows. ~John 10:10

Remember the game?

Every player gets a little plastic car and off you go on a road of possibilities. To get a job, pluck a “Career Card” from the deck. Need a bank loan? No problemo! And if you want to get married, don’t wait around wondering whether you’ll meet Mr. or Ms. Right. Simply stop at the “Get Married” space, throw your mate into the car, and away you go, driving together into the adventure of your shared destiny. Whichever player has the most money at the end of the game wins!

If only it were that easy, right? There are plenty of times we may wish LIFE was easier, but more than anything, we want it to matter.

Relationships, values, who we are, how we live…these are the biggies, the real stuff that defines us.

Let’s visit the biggies together and possess real LIFE — abundant and overflowing.

Singleness and Marriage

4.10/11 – Made For Each Other

4.17/18 – We’re Not In Eden Anymore

4.24/25 – Divorce: A  Fork In The Road*

5.1/2 – Singleness: It’s A Wonderful Life*

5.8/9 – Marriage: From This Day Forward

Sexuality

5.15/16 – Sex: The Gift

5.22/23 – Sex: The Wreckage*

5.29/30 – Sex: The Remedy

Empowering the Next Generation

6.5/6 – Kids: The Heart Of The Matter

6.12/13 – Kids: The Art Of Paying Attention

6.19/20 – Kids: What’s Church Got To Do With It?

6.26/27 – Kids: A Call To Action

7.3/4 – LIFE Together (with Communion)

*For further discussion on these topics, check out our LIFE Sessions.

Prepare
Experience the season of Lent more meaningfully by participating in the Lenten seminar “The Last Days of Jesus: The Greatest Story Never Told” March 12-13. More information on the seminar is available online.

Prepare your heart for Easter weekend by participating in Grace’s Maundy Thursday experience. On Thursday, April 1 in the Mini-Auditorium at Grace Timonium you can guide yourself through a reflective experience on the final events of Jesus’ life. The experience is available 7:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. and is appropriate for elementary-aged children through adults. Parents, please plan to accompany young children.

Attend
Complimentary tickets are provided for Good Friday and Easter services. Tickets are available in the Gallery during weekend services, at the Welcome Desk during the week, or anytime online.

Invite
Consider someone in your life you would like to invite to attend an Easter Weekend service with you. As you get complimentary tickets for yourself, take a leap of faith and grab an extra one to invite someone new!

Serve
Be a part of serving more than 6,000 people who will remember Good Friday and celebrate Easter at Grace. Throughout March, you can sign up for a serving opportunity either in the Great Room during the weekend services or online.

Join us for this comprehensive six-hour seminar presented by Doug Greenwold. The seminar will change the way you read the Scriptures as you learn about the culture, context, and geography of Jesus’ time.

Doug Greenwold is the Executive Director of Preserving Bible Times. PBT is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and presenting Biblical truth. For more information about PBT, click here.

You can download the brochure or register online.

The gates.
The hill.
The tomb.

A king rides in. A lover dies. A stone moves.

God’s passion expressed.
Majesty * Mourning * Miracle
I John 4:10

Find out more about expanding your Easter experience, get ticketing information, or sign up to serve Easter weekend.

Sunday, February 14

All campuses operating on a normal schedule.

More information is available at www.gfcdev.org/services.

Monday, February 15 – President’s Day

All GFC facilities are closed and there are no events scheduled.

Everything you might want to know is posted under each campus. Here are the shortcuts:

• www.gfcdev.org/timonium/weather for the Timonium Campus
• www.gfcdev.org/shrewsbury/weather for the Shrewsbury Campus
• www.gfcdev.org/gracecity/weather for the City Campus

Whenever there are cancellations due to weather, we will post the information on the main news page (www.gfcdev.org/news).

As far back into my childhood as I can remember, my family would gather around the Christmas tree on Christmas morning with great excitement. Someone would be designated “Santa’s helper” and would begin to sort out the gifts under the tree, delivering them to waiting and anxious arms throughout the room.

But no gift opening could begin until a very important mission was completed. That was the reading of Luke chapter 2. You will likely recognize it as the story of Jesus’ brith.

This was quite a few years ago, so our reading was generally from the King James version, and I can still remember the beginning of it.

“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Ceasar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.”  Luke 2:1 KJV

Now, maybe half a century later, I have my own family and we have made our own traditions. But this is one we have kept and have, hopefully, passed on even to the third generation. Every Christmas we still gather around the tree and someone reads the story… the same story that’s been told for many hundreds of years. It’s a wonderful story about how ”love came down” … a Savior named Jesus.

If you’d like to start a similar tradition, you’ll find the account of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2:1-20.

Have a very blessed Christmas Day!

For many, it’s a kind of last-minute tax planning. If that applies to you, then we want to make sure you know what the IRS policy is for gifts to be counted in 2009.

Year-end contributions can be mailed or dropped off at the Welcome Desk, but must be received by Grace or postmarked no later than December 31 in order to qualify for tax purposes in the current year. The Grace offices in Timonium will be open until 5:00 p.m. on December 31.

Gifts made at services in the month of December will be counted in 2009, but gifts made at the first services in January will be receipted in 2010.

If you are planning to make a gift of securities, you will need this information. Gifts through mutual funds or other gifts of property can be more complex. In this case, please contact the Financial Ministries Department as soon as possible in order to ensure that your gift can be processed before the end of the year. You can call Stacie Porter at 410-561-8424 x238 or email sporter@gfcdev.org.

Much more information about giving at Grace is available at http://www.gfcdev.org/giving.

GraceCity Campus

Our service is on Christmas Eve at 5:00 p.m. at the church on Warren. We’d love to meet your family!

Shrewsbury Campus

We have space at all three of our Christmas Eve services, 4:00, 6:00, and 8:00 p.m. Pick one that works for you and come along!

Timonium Campus

Our Christmas services are at the following times:
Wednesday, 12/23, 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, 12/24, 3:30, 5:00, 6:30, 8:00, and 11:00 p.m.

While complimentary tickets are required, there are plenty of seats available at the 7:00 p.m. (Wednesday),  8:00 p.m. (Thursday) , and 11:00 p.m (Thursday) services. For these services, feel free to just come on out. Check here for ticket availability at other services.

May this Christmas season be one where you experience the miracle of the One whose Love Came Down.

Christmas at our Campuses

We have had a terrific response to our Christmas services – we’re nearing 6,000 tickets distributed! Pray for these families who will be attending.

Timonium Campus
The response at just our Timonium Campus has been so great that we are adding a service at 8:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve. (There are still tickets available for all of the services except 5:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve, but many of the services have limited availability, which is why we are adding the service.)  We expect to distribute another 1,500 – 1,800 tickets this weekend.  We do not want to turn anyone away.  It would be a bummer for someone to come to a Christmas service only to find that there’s no room at the inn!

We still have opportunities for those willing to serve – especially at the 8:00 p.m. service. We have a few slots open for people who want to enjoy the privilege of serving as a “buddy” for a special needs child during one of the services. You can even sign up online!

Shrewsbury Campus
Our Shrewsbury Campus has Christmas Eve services at 4:00, 6:00, and 8:00 p.m. in the new facility – our first Christmas in our new home! We are offering children’s ministry at the first two service times.

GraceCity Campus
GraceCity is also having a first Christmas, at 5:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve. This is a great time to bring your urban friends!

There probably isn’t another time of year when people are more open to an invitation to church. I ask that all of us take a moment and consider who in our sphere of friendships might be open to an invitation this year. There are many people whose entire lives and futures have been eternally changed because someone cared enough to extend a simple invitation. 

We are planning and praying with great expectation for God to pour out His Spirit during all of our Christmas Services.  We can’t wait to celebrate His birth with you.  We hope and pray that your Christmas preparations are filled with the love, joy and peace of Christ.

Merry Christmas!

Danny