A Family Church conducted its last service on Sunday 12/18/12. We encountered some obstacles in the past year that have made this change necessary. Nothing scandalous or tragic has happened. It's just that the economy created a model of ministry that for us was economically unsustainable.  Sometimes, you have to just start over; a fresh start. Sometimes a coat of paint and other surface improvements just are not enough. To paraphrase business guru Seth Godin’s “The Dip”, sometimes you have to know the difference between a dip and a cul-d-sac. No tears, it has been a good 9 ½ year run! AFC has done a lot of work in the community and I have been honored to be its shepherd. In fact, just in the past 2 years alone, over 50,000 volunteer service hours have been given to the Lord! AFC has been an amazing work and it’s passion for evangelism and community impact led the ministry to an average annual growth rate of 24% over the course of 9 years ,along with numerous recommendations, awards and appointments for its social programs, some of which are listed below:

“There are many people in our society that give of their time and talents, but some are shining examples for us all. Thank you for being one of these…thank you again for your dedication and service to our citizens, our communities and our state”

Jeb Bush, former Governor of the State Florida

“I am pleased to provide this letter of support for A Family Church…I encourage your consideration of this worthy cause”

Bill Nelson, State of Florida, U. S. Senator

“It is my pleasure to write a letter of support for the efforts of A Family Church. Through their efforts, A Family Church has already contributed hundreds of volunteer hours through mentoring at-risk youth in our schools…”

Jean Burroughs, Community and Education Specialist, Volusia County Schools

Although A Family Church will be retired, I have come to believe God is not done with me. There is still more vision – I have not accomplished what God commissioned me to do. I am not alone in my sense that there is still more work to be done. In fact, nearly 60 former members of A Family Church have banded together with me to form a launch team that will bring a new ministry to our area! My team will spend the next nine months in prayer and intensive preparation to birth Thrive Community Church, with a launch date of 9/9/12. In addition, we will spend our preparation time recruiting additional launch team members and fundraising. Our goal is to raise $85,000 by September. This money will go towards outreach, preparation and desperately needed updated equipment.

If you came to this site looking for A Family Church, please visit the Thrive website for updated contact information.

Blessings!

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¹⁸ And we all, who with unveiled faces …are being transformed into His image…

Little did I know how prophetic this verse would be!  You see, the Greek word in the original language for the word “Transformed” is where we get the word “metamorphosis”.  I learned in my High School biology class that metamorphosis does not simply mean change, but a complete break-down.  The caterpillar does not simply add a few wings to his existing body.  The caterpillar’s body breaks down to some type of jellified mess.  Body parts that once formed one part of the caterpillar may break down to form completely different parts on the emerging butterfly.  However, for any of this metamorphosis to take place, there has to be a cocoon (or chrysalis) stage.  So what does this have to do with A Family Church?  Everything!

Pastor Pete, along with a committed team of high quality people, have made a decision that the time to begin a transformation is now.  Our cornerstone verse is about to be fulfilled.   A Family Church, like the caterpillar, is undergoing a metamorphosis.   What does that mean exactly, you might ask?  It means we are entering our cocoon, which for us is a period of prayer, planning and preparation.  As such, our last church service held as “A Family Church” will be 12/18/11.  There will be a brief two week break and then beginning the new year (1/8/12), Pastor Pete and the amazing team (both from within & without A Family Church) will begin the formation of a new ministry, with a new name, new location new…., new….., new……  However, not EVERYTHING will be new!

There is something amazing about the caterpillar to butterfly metamorphosis.  Apparently, research has found that what a caterpillar learns, it remembers as a butterfly. Following the analogy, what will A Family Church “remember” when it emerges from its cocoon?   First of all, AFC has always had a passion for community impact:

• Recipient of  The Governor’s Point’s of Light Award
• Steering Committee Member of the State Wide Governor’s Faith Based Mentoring Initiative
• Board member of the Volusia County Substance Abuse Task Force
• Nominated as the United-Way Volunteer of the Year
• A ministry that gave just over 50,000 volunteer service hours over the past 2 years alone

You can rest assured, as the new ministry develops, it will have social services and community impact as a vital component.  Also, the passion for reaching the lost and their discipleship will definitely be a part of any future ministry.

Going back to our analogy, let me ask you, does the caterpillar die when it enters the cocoon?  The answer of course is “No”. Yet, I guess it really depends on what you are looking for.  If you are looking for a caterpillar only, you may miss the butterfly completely.  Similarly, in the future, if you are looking for “A Family Church” you will have a hard time finding it.  If, however, you are looking for an “out-side the four walls” ministry that focuses on impacting a community, we will be hard to miss!

That’s our story.  For now, what once was A Family Church, is being broken down and reassembled. Enough about us, what about you?  Are you looking to connect with a life-giving church that is passionate about developing thriving families?  Maybe  you're interested in joining the team of volunteers that are diligently working on what the new ministry will look like?  Possibly you believe in church planting and are interested in supporting a new church through prayer or a financial contribution?   Or maybe you just like the drama and want to follow along.  Whichever the case, you can join our mailing list by clicking the icon on the left and watch the metamorphosis unfold! 

Looking forward to hearing from you!