Official Free Methodist ministry was launched in Guinea (often called Guinea-Conakry for its capital, Conakry) on Sunday, February 24. The launching culminated a time of teaching and planning, led by Africa Area Director Mike Reynen and FM Togo leader, Rev. Dosseh.In September 2012, Mike Reynen and Rev. Dosseh met with Belley Messa, a Free Methodist Congolese evangelist, along with Belley’s two Guinean friends, Frederick [...]
Healing of the Land
BY LINDA ADAMS, ICCM DIRECTOR International Child Care Ministries (ICCM) is deeply invested in Haiti. Almost 40 percent of the children we sponsor around the world are in this one tiny country. That means 40 percent of our sponsors pay special attention to the recurring news of devastating floods in Haiti. Those who pay close [...]
Something Really Important
BY JULIE YERGER, RWANDA Have you ever imagined loosing something that is important to you? My name is Daniel. I’m 8 years old, and just a few months ago the doctors told me I would probably lose my leg. I have to admit, at first I was afraid of Dr. Tim who would come to [...]
Stand for Children
BY JOHN FRANKLIN HAY Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Isaiah 58:6 In February 2012, International Child Care Ministries (ICCM) challenged Free Methodists in the United States to stand [...]
2013 IF Missions Resources | February – Compassion/Community Transformation
Video and stories focusing on Compassion and Community Transformation The Way the Family of God Works Sheila Etherington, Rwanda Twenty-seven-year-old John was admitted to a hospital after falling from a large tree. Medical staff found he had broken his back, lost control of all lower abdominal muscles and had no chance of walking again. He was [...]
Modern Day Slavery: An Overview
In Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy, Kevin Bales, a nationally recognized expert on modern-day slavery, estimates there are approximately 27 million slaves worldwide today, a number that eclipses the total amount of slaves bought and sold during the transatlantic slave trade (2000). The Polaris Project, a leading nongovernmental organization (NGO) working on [...]
Betty Ellen Cox
February 10, 1918-December 29, 2012 Elizabeth Ellen, better known as Betty Ellen, was born on February 10, 1918, and died on December 29, 2012. Funeral services were held on January 7, 2013, at the Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church, Spring Arbor, MI. Betty Ellen was a third-generation Free Methodist. The Christian character of her parents greatly influenced Betty [...]
The Four Boxes
BY RICK IRELAND, HAITI “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” Acts 1:8. When faced with a large issue, I tend to divide it up into smaller boxes. I [...]
2013 IF Missions Resources | January – International Child Care Ministries
Video and stories focusing on International Child Care Ministries The Last Stop Phyllis Sortor, Nigeria I traveled with several pastors to Cross River State where we have sponsored children but, at present, no ICCM schools. Our plan was to visit all five churches in one day. The last stop was a village accessible only by [...]
How Do We Measure Progress? Especially When It Comes to Mission …
BY PASTOR ALLISON COVENTRY I’ve always liked doing things like mowing the lawn (when I’ve had one) or painting a room of the house or cleaning a window. The reason: progress. It is easy to measure what I have done and what I have left to do. I can see where I missed a spot…or [...]
In the Mouth of a Lion – A Story of the Displaced in the DRC
BY LINDA STRYKER In early November, Destiny, a beautiful Congolese woman, proudly showed her newborn baby to her neighbors at the makeshift camp for displaced people at the Free Methodist Church and school grounds in Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The doctors who took care of Destiny said it [...]
Complete | December – Servant Partnerships
Those Who Died for You Larry and Katie Winckles, Hungary October 23 is the day on which the failed 1956 uprising is commemorated in Hungary. This year the organizers of the commemoration have chosen to place large posters at almost every tram stop, emblazoned with the slogan “Kik érted haltak … ,” which means “Those [...]
Tribute to Mildred (Millie) Davenport, Former Missionary
June 25, 1926 – October 15, 2012 Mildred (Millie) Davenport, former missionary, passed away October 15. Services were held Fri., Oct. 19, at the Spring Arbor, MI, Free Methodist Church. Millie and her husband of 65 years, Bruce, served in South Africa as career missionaries from 1982 to 1986. Mildred Louise, born to David and [...]
New Members of the FMWM Team
FMWM Missions Mobilizer Brad Button, lead pastor of the Davison, MI, FMC, has accepted the position of FMWM Missions Mobilizer. Brad will be responsible for the development and implementation of effective strategies for engagement of the U.S. church with its missional task. He will work on behalf of the bishops and in connection with the [...]
Free Methodist Membership Passes 1 Million
BY JEFF FINLEY More than 1 million people are now members of the Free Methodist Church, Bishop Matthew Thomas announced Oct. 18. “The Free Methodist Church is growing substantially in some places around the world,” Thomas told the Free Methodist Church – USA Board of Administration (BOA). “I would like to note that since 1995, [...]
Arab Spring – Our Invitation to Prayer
BY PASTOR D.W. The level of despair Mohamed Bouazizi reached on December 19, 2010, was not unlike the despair many in developing nations experience. As the sole breadwinner of his family, the young Tunisian was anguished when police officers beat him and confiscated his simple vegetable cart because he lacked a permit. With this action, [...]
