November

5th
!

COMMUNITY
FREE
CHURCH

WEEKLY

Wednesday 11/5
Student Ministry 6:00pm
6th grade through High School
The Book of John

Community Group 7:00pm

Eichstedt Home
Everyone is Welcome!

Thursday 11/6
Worship Practice 7:00pm
Saturday 11/8
Mens Breakfast 7:00am
Jim Woods Move 8:30-12:00pm
Meet at church - Lunch served!

Sunday
11/9
Christian Education 9:30am
..and he is coming soon!
We are having a baby shower for Christy Proctor,
Sunday, November 9th at 2:00pm in the foyer of
Community Evangelical Free Church of Mahomet. This
is an open invitation to ALL the women and friends of
We are having a baby shower for
CEFCM.
Christy
Proctor
on Sunday,
9th
Christy is registered
at Amazon.com
and Nov.
Wal-Mart.

at 2:00 p.m. at Community Evangelical

Free Church of Mahomet.
So
They
far, the
are
Rochester
registered
Adoption
at Amazon.com and
Fund has raised over $5,620.
Praise
Walmart.

God for His glory! This is such a

practical grace that will work to
cover the costs of the adoption, but
there is more happening in this than just money raised.
It has given us a place to hear and answer Gods call. It
has also allowed us (and others) the honor to pray and
watch the spectacular work of God unfolding!
Also here is a reply from their attorney....
That is truly unbelievable. I received your $1000 today and I
know that was a gi" #om your church, but an additional
$5000?? How wonderful and rich a blessing! It makes me
think we can get this adoption accomplished. Thank your
church for their generosity. I am rea&y happy for the girls and
for your family. Of course, as an attorney, I'm happy to be
paid, but mostly I'm just happy for the girls and relieved for
your family.
God
! is strengthening and encouraging many through
this !

Womens Study Group

Jeremiah Study
Jr and Sr High School

Childrens Church 10:45am

Worship Gathering 10:45am
Brent Ressler, Small World Ministry
Dont forget your Devotional Guide

Proctor Baby Shower 2:00pm

AWANA! 6:00pm
Monday 11/10
Womens Bible Study 9:00am
1&2 Thessalonians

Martial Arts 6:00pm

Free - See Bob Tompkins!

BSF Mens Group 6:45pm

Tuesday 11/11
BSF Womens Group 9:10am

First Christian Church, Staley Road

Community Group 7:00pm

Wright Home: Studying Luke

Schifo Home: Studying the Exodus
Everyone is Welcome!

Israel
Trip 2014
!
On Thursday morning, November 6th, at 5:45am
Pastor Jason and Mark Burns will be leaving Mahomet
with 22 pilgrims for Israel. The group would appreciate
prayers for safe passage, no distractions, and deep
times of encounter with the Lord. Also, please pray
against the desire to be tourists, and instead, may the
group see itself as pilgrims pursuing Jesus for His glory
and their joy. The trip will be November 6th-15th.
Pastor Jason will return Sunday, November 16th where
he will share with us out of Hebrews 12 The Great
Cloud of Witness.

Thanksgiving Dinner!

November 23rd - 12:30pm

Its that time! Thanksgiving dinner! June Sanders is

looking for those who want to be a part of making a
great meal great! There are 2 opportunities to serve
in this meal. First, this Sunday sign up to bring an
item to share. Second, invite 1-5 friends to come that
weekend to hear about the Gift of Life and enjoy a
great meal with us.

Glenwood Estates 11/16

On Sunday, November 16th Pastor Jason will be back
sharing with us a message out of Hebrews 12 The
Great Cloud of Witness. Afterwards we ALL have an
opportunity to go to Glenwood Estates and honor our
senior saints with your support. We will also be
bringing them flowers to brighten their day and lift
their spirits! Your smile can be an infectious reflection
of the love of Jesus to those who have come before us.
Please plan on joining us!
Need lunch? We will have chips and sandwiches at the
Schifo home from 12:00-1:45pm - ALL are invited!

The Woods Are Moving!

Can you help the Woods move Saturday morning?
8:30am-12:00 noon. Lunch will be provided. Come to
!
!
!
!
Mens Breakfast
at 7:00am, and then
head over to help
!
!
!
!
!
with the
move!

Turkey (sliced and ready to serve)

!
1.
!
2.
!
3.
!
4.
Ham (cooked and sliced)
!
1.
!
2.
Dressing/Stuffing (9x13)
!
1.
!
2.
!
3.
Gravy for the Turkey and Stuffing
$
1. Penny Thompson
Mashed Potatoes
!
1. Kay Elmer
!
2. Tasha Schifo
!
3.
!
4.
!
5.
Sweet Potatoes
!
1. Mindy Rife
!
2. Kay Elmer
Green Bean Casserole
!
1.
!
2.
Hot Rolls (5) 150 total
Desserts (Lots!)
Misc sides and salads (8)
We also need folks to help cleanup.

from Liberia
We received this update from our friend, William K.
Koffa, the Pastor of Oldest Congo Town First Baptist
Church via Dean Ekberg.
After arriving home William saw that the Ebola crisis
had spread, and for safety sake it was not possible to
host a clinic within the church, so they partnered with
E.L.W. Hospital. Also, one of the Elders of Oldest
Congo Town FBC contacted Ebola and needs our
prayers.
From William...
On behalf of my family and the First Baptist church of
Oldest Congo, Monrovia, West Africa I extend our
thanks and appreciation to you, Pastor Jason and the
entire Membership of Free Evangelical Church of
Mahomet and all those who contributed medical items
and funds to fight against Ebola.
Most importantly, I am grateful to God for using you all
to buttress the effort of the international community in
fighting against Ebola. The medical items, including
mineral water and crates of juices, were presented
today at the front of the E.L.W. Hospital. Below is the
breakdown.
Other items presented include 10 sacks of mineral
water and 4 crates of extra juices. I was also able to buy
25 bags of rice and that will be distributed on First
Sunday in November by the Grace of God. When that is
done, I will also send you more information
Please remember us in your prayers for total delivering
for the eradication of the deadly Ebola disease, financial
breakthrough, and total delivering for my Daughter,
Williette.


Reverend William K. Koffa
Lets continue to lift up our brother William, his family,
the Elders, and people of Oldest Congo Town First
Baptist Church. Ask for Gods protection, His comfort,
and His guidance in the church.
Also pray for the open doors that will be created to
share the Gospel as William and the church reach out
in love during this difficult time.

You can be a powerful voice of encouragement to

William and the people of FBC Oldest Congo Town by
sending a simple letter or card to:

William K. Koffa, Jr. (Rev.)

Pastor
First Baptist Church
Oldest Congo Town
P.O.Box 4285
Monrovia,Liberia, West Africa

We will love as we have been loved.

Jesus is alive and His love is
living.

has been born of God and knows God ;

We love because he first loved us.

!
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave
his only Son, that whoever believes in
him should not perish but have eternal life.

What is so interesting in 1 John is

that we are told that foundation
of love comes from God, and was
evident prior to the action of it
for us in Jesus.

This is the AWANA and Sunday

School verse that almost everyone
knows. In fact, all my kids that can
speak (Samuel gets o on this one...)
can recite this verse. Thats so
important because it is the heart of
the Gospel.
God so (and his so is so much
bigger than ours) loved the world
(this is not just limited to creation
but also to the creatures, us, and in
particular, you) that He (seeing the
desperation of or sin) sent His Son (a
treasure to behold) that whoever
(again thats you, and your neighbor,
and their neighbors, neighbor)
believes in Him should not perish
(death in sin), but have eternal life
(with Him).
Its glorious, its magnanimous, and
its our mission where others are
concerned.

1 Peter 4:18
Above a&, keep loving one another
earnestly, since love covers a
multitude of sins.
Peter tells us that above all else,
which means above and over all
other motivations, we are to love
each other earnestly. Notice that
he says earnestly, and not out of
obligation. Often, I have heard
people say, pertaining to tough
people, that they have to love
others, because Jesus commands
us to love. This is the wrong
motivation for loving.
1 John 4:7; 4:19
Beloved, let us love one another, for
love is #om God, and whoever loves

Love comes from God. It is

defined by God, and a gift from
Him to us that is most evident in
the person of Jesus Christ. If we
love from anywhere other than
our tenacious pursuit of Him we
will grow weary and love out of a
place of having to rather than
desiring to.
Thankfully, we can never get past
Gods love for us in Christ. While
we were still sinners He was after
us. While we were at our worst
He still desired communion with
us, and our truest response to that
comes from how we love and
commune with each other.
Now, I dont want to act like
everything is unicorns and
rainbows, because we have tough
people in our lives whom we are
called to love.
So years ago when I read that
verse in 1 Peter, it frustrated me. I
had always thought the answer to
tough people in my life was grace,
mercy, and ultimately, forgiveness.
But those things, while good,
never drew me back to those
people. It was only after reading 1
Peter that I realized the only way
to get past others faults and my
own sinfulness was love.
Not my own brand of love
though, that is jaded by past hurt
and frustration, but the love
displayed on the cross as the Son
of God asked for the forgiveness

for those who were crucifying

Him. Thats the kind of earnest
love that results from our sincere
and intense conviction that Jesus
is better.
I can write this not because in
arrogance I am claiming
perfection, but because I still fall
into the trap of my own costly
love at times, rather than His
sacrificial love. Thats the love
that Peter is calling us to come
under the power of. I love how
Paul (under that power) describes
that power...
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient and kind; love does
not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or
rude. It does not insist on its own way;
it is not irritable or resentful; it does
not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices
with the truth. Love bears a& things,
believes a& things, hopes a& things,
endures a& things.
How has God been patient with
you this week? How has He not
insisted in His own way even
when its clear His is better? How
has God not rejoiced in your
failure? How has God bore all
things on account of you?
If He has done that for us on a
majestic, grand, and eternal scale,
then why cant we seem to do it
with one another? Well, we can,
but not alone and apart from
Christ. Our lives and love left
alone leads to death, but in Christ
we are made alive and His living
love resurrects and brings forth
life in love!

Friends and Family,

This past weekend at the 10:45am service the Eldership of Community Evangelical Free
Church shared the unique needs that Julie and John Rochester are facing as they fo&ow Gods
leading to adopt Abigail and Savannah. In looking at the journey that brought them to this place,
we believe that God is at work here. We also are encouraged by John and Julies wi&ingness to come beneath the
Elderships authority. They have asked us, the Elders, to walk with them in this because they trust we wi& do so
in love and prayerful wisdom.
In service to Him and you,
The Eldership of Community Evangelical Free Church of Mahomet
Bruce Henrikson (Chair), David Eichstedt, Skip Doval, Mike Piasecki, and Pastor Jason Schifo.
This letter was shared with the congregation on Sunday, October 26th and we wanted to forward it to you for your
celebration and consideration...
Dear Friends and Family,
To say that life never does follow the rules is an understatement.
To say that despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loved us is the truest testimony
of our faith. (Romans 8:37)
One of the hardest parts of having Savannah and Abigail in our lives these last few years, has been learning that victory
doesnt always mean I win, or I get my way. We have gone through many phases of what we felt was a victory,
though many ended up being mere illusions: they were self-focused, instead of God-focused. They brought satisfaction,
but they did not bring joy. Raising someone elses children challenged every part of our definition of love, patience,
doing it for God, and feeling like God was calling me to do this. Any pride of being a great person to take on
someone elses children, is humbling, because behind these children there is a trail of broken people and homes.
As we have progressed through the levels of responsibility, from babysitter to legal guardians, and now pursuing
adoption, I am more and more aware of the pain and heartache that trails behind the limelight of the best interest of
the children. I used to see the girls parents as the enemies I needed to conquer in order to protect them. I have
learned, that it is the sin of this world that is the true enemy, but that (sin) has already been conquered! For every
child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through faith. (I John5:4) The victory has already
been gained, we just need to follow the breadcrumbs to see where God will take us. Everything that we have seen is
directing us to pursue adoption.
There have been so many that have faithfully stood beside us and supported us in prayer to get to this phase, both
physically and spiritually. I am asking again for support. We need a lot of prayers as this is no easy task to accomplish.
We are looking at immense legal fees that, frankly, we do not have. What I do have is complete faith that God will
provide. If He can change hearts and forgive sins, I am sure He can help us pay our court fees. We need $3,000 to file,
and it could go to as much as $20,000. Please pray for us, and if God leads you to support us financially, thank you. No
tangible gift or moment of prayer will go unnoticed. In all things God will receive the glory!
As you pray for us, please remember to keep Mica, their mother, in your prayers as well. Pray that she can find
comfort in knowing that she is a child of God, and by knowing that, she also may defeat the evil world and achieve
this victory through faith (I John 5:4)
Sincere Thankfulness,
!
!
John and Julie Rochester, on behalf of Savannah and Abigail
You can make a donation by dropping a check into the church oering box made out to the Rochester Adoption
Fund.
You can also go online at anytime and make a one time or ongoing donation at:
https://fundly.com/rochester-adoption-fund
A& donations wi& be held in an account at Fisher National Bank. Any donor at anytime can request the record of use of funds #om
the Elders. A& donations are to be used solely for the legal expenses in the adoption of Savannah and Abigail.
Follow the journey on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rochesteradoptionfund