First Fellowship Ministry

First Fellowship truly exhibits the dynamic, Spirit-filled nature of First Church. Classrooms are filled with more than 300 children, youth, and adults eager to learn more about God's Word and His direction for their lives.

On Wednesday evenings from September to May, First Fellowship begins at 5:00 P.M. with a delicious meal prepared by dedicated volunteers. Following the meal, long- and short-term study opportunities abound for all ages and interests. The First Fellowship supper is a delicious, well-balanced variety of foods prepared by our volunteer host/hostess committee. The menu is posted weekly in the church newsletter, the Tidings of Joy. Reservations are not required. Food is served from 5:00-6:00. Cost for adults is $5.00, children $2.00. Maximum cost per family is $14.00. Please invite a friend!

The nursery is fully staffed on Wednesday nights to allow young families to participate in First Fellowship programs. Pagers are available to parents to allow for immediate response to infant needs. Following the conclusion of the children’s programming at 6:45 P.M., childcare is provided for those children whose parents are involved in classes ending later.

First Fellowship/Midweek Ministry Schedule Winter 2008

Children's Activities

• Pathfinders (5th grade) – 6:00-7:00 p.m. will be studying a curriculum put out by Upper Room Ministries called “The Way of the Child."
• Methodist Children’s Fellowship (MCF), a fellowship activity for 3rd - 4th graders, meets on First Fellowship Wednesday nights from 6:00-7:00 following the meal.
• Jr. Holy Club (K – 2nd grades) The children eat together at 5:00 in the Fellowship Hall then go to their room for a fun Bible study and crafts. The class ends at 6:15 when choir begins.
• Children’s Choirs - The children’s choirs meet during the school year. They perform during the worship services periodically and also offer special performances such as a Christmas drama.

  • Celebration Choir, (3rd - 5th graders): Wed. Evenings from 5 - 5:40.
  • Wee Worship Choir, (4 yrs. - 2nd graders): Wed. Evenings from 6:15 - 7:00.
    The children learn how to worship God through song and hand movements.
• Adventure Club (3 year olds) is a Wednesday night program from 6:00 - 7:00 following the First Fellowship meal. They have a lesson with fun crafts.
• Nursery / Childcare - The nursery (Infants to 2 year olds) is fully staffed on Wednesday nights to allow young families to participate in First Fellowship programs. The nursery opens at 5:00 p.m. and closes when the last Bible Study is over. Pagers are available to parents to allow for immediate response to infant needs. Following the conclusion of children’s programming, childcare is provided for those children whose parents are involved in a class ending later.
• Youth
  • Senior High Bible Study for 9 - 12th graders meets on the 3rd floor from 6:00 – 7:00.
  • Junior High Bible Study for 6 - 8th graders meets on the 3rd Floor from 6:00 to 7:00.

Adult Activities

• A Hop, Skip, and Jump Through the Bible - a 13-week study taught by Senior Pastor Terry Greer based on the book by popular author J. Ellsworth Kalas. Kalas presents the grand story of the Bible in thirteen brief chapters. Kalas highlights the wonders of the Bible for readers both familiar and unfamiliar with them, and shows how the Bible isn’t just a collection of stories of the past, but rather it is our own continuing story of God and God’s relationship with the human race.
• Renovare’ (a Latin word meaning renewal) is a small group spiritual formation experience designed by Richard Foster. This group will be lead by Donna McAnnally and will be taught on Wednesday nights from 6:00-7:30. Foster has written many excellent books: Celebration of Discipline, The Heart of Prayer, Simplicity, Streams of Living Water, and others. This eight week Renovare’ group will look at the six traditions of the church, do the related disciplines, hold each other accountable, and encourage one another. This is disciple making. There is no reading outside of the small group-just disciplined living. Donna will honor Foster’s recommended group size of eight.
  THIS CLASS IS NOW FULL. YOU MAY SIGN UP FOR THE WAITING LIST.
• Pastor’s Bible Study - The Gospel of John: In the Pastor's Bible Study, you will experience firsthand the Gospel of John...Scripture that still has profound meaning for the world over two thousand years later. Please join our Rev. Ian Butler as each week he conducts a verse-by-verse, chapter-by-chapter journey through John's Gospel. We are aided in our study by THE VIDEO BIBLE production of the Gospel. We watch the chapters for the evening lesson and the Gospel is literally brought to life.
  The year is A. D. 95, and John, the one whom Jesus called "beloved," is the last of the twelve apostles still alive. Now nearing ninety, John is still committed to spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. John is called by God to write a Gospel to show that Jesus was in fact the Son of God. Recalling his time with Jesus, John brings to life the miracles and messages of the Man who would change the course of history, John is there when Jesus turns the water into wine at the wedding of Cana, when He heals the sick, enables the blind to see, raises Lazarus from the dead. And as John recounts the miracles the Messiah performed during His transformative time on earth, we too are transported to these glorious events. John experienced betrayal, persecution, torture, and exile-but never falters in his belief and commitment. The Gospel of John is a thrilling account of the life of the Man Jesus who came to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament and to save all humankind, and the disciple who was the last eyewitness to Jesus' glory.
• Small Group Study; A Gentle Thunder: Hearing God Through the Storm by Max Lucado -The woman at the well in Samaria. The blind man from Jerusalem. That day at Calvary. With moving narrative and insight, Lucado explores John's Gospel and Epistles to show you that the gentle thunder you read about in Scripture and hear in your own life is the means God uses to capture your attention and bring you into a closer communion with Christ. Filled with illustrations and parables from everyday life, Lucado calls you to trust in tough times. God's goal is to get you home safely; He'll do whatever it takes to save you, His child.
• Adult Choir - Jimmy Cantrell is the Choir Director. Join this music ministry which performs for the 11:00 worship service! Practice is every Wednesday night from 6:00—7:30.
• Young Adult Bible Study - This Bible study is for young adults in their 20’s and early 30’s, both single and married. It is a discussion oriented Bible study focused on the practical application of scripture to our daily lives.
• The Sheppard Women’s Prayer Circle : Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World - The life of a woman today isn't really all that different from that of Mary and Martha in the New Testament. Like Mary, you long to sit at the Lord's feet...but the daily demands of a busy world just won't leave you alone. Like Martha, you love Jesus and really want to serve him...yet you struggle with weariness, resentment, and feelings of inadequacy. How can you make that choice? Weaver shows how all of us---Marys and Marthas alike---can draw closer to our Lord, deepening our devotion, strengthening our service - doing both with less stress and greater joy.
• Preparation for the Toddler Years covers Five to Fifteen months and is part of the Growing Kids God’s Way series. It builds on the eating and sleeping issues covered in Preparation for Parenting and adds the establishment of right learning patterns to your baby’s day. This training helps you develop three life-serving skills- sitting, focusing, and concentrating. The class will be taught from 6:00 -7:00 on Wednesday evenings.
• Growing Kids God’s Way is a biblically based parenting program taught by Stefanie Underwood from 6:00-7:00 p.m. This curriculum (for parents of children fifteen months to preteen) lays the groundwork for your parenting no matter where you are in the process. The nineteen-session series presents a comprehensive, inductive approach to biblical parenting that provides parents with a vehicle to train their child’s heart and not simply outward behavior.

Coming in Spring 2008!

• In the spring, we will be offering Couples Enrichment classes taught by Dr. Stewart Jackson. Watch for details
  to follow!