Finding Faith ... in watching our youth strive toward an important goal

By Pastor Devlyn Brooks

Dear Faith Family …

In this new year, may the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Happy New Year everyone! … I hope that you were able to take some sabbath time over the holidays, and that you were surrounded by your friends and loved ones! 

And now as we turn the corner in the new year, buckle up! … There’s a lot to tackle in 2024!

So, let’s cover a few items …

Rural Revival program

Since Pastor Melissa Pickering from the Northwestern Minnesota Synod’s “Rural “Revival” program spoke at our December annual meeting, she has been busy having one-on-one conversations with many in our congregation, as well as gathering more facts about our congregation as well.

That work will continue this month, in addition to Pastor Melissa joining our Music & Worship Committee this month as well.

Prior to visiting with us at our annual meeting, Pastor Pickering also reviewed a bunch of statistical information about our congregation in preparation for her conversations with congregation members.

All of this will continue to play out over the next couple of months, with the goal of eventually determining what next steps, if any, we should be thinking about for the future of our church.

I say this again because it is important: This is a holy process that we are entering into with our synod partners, and I continue to pray that the Holy Spirit guides us toward whatever our next chapter as church will look like! 

If you have any questions about this process, or would like to set up a conversation with Pastor Melissa, do not hesitate to reach out! Thank you! 

LYO fundraising

Our LYO team continues to work very hard at their fundraising goal for their 2024 trip to New Orleans for the National Youth Gathering.

In case you missed the last fundraising event, the LYO hosted their "Waffles with Santa" event on Dec. 16 at Crooked Lane Farm to a rousing success!

The youth group offered a waffle bar with toppings, a baked goods sale, rides on the hay wagon and photos with Santa during a very busy morning. There was a steady stream of visitors all through the first three hours, which helped the students raise funds for their trip to the National Youth Gathering next summer.

Here's a big shout out to the LYO parents that put a lot of hours of preparation into such a big event! Thank you for all your hard work!

Presenting an FLC LYO Dinner Night at the church!

Now, the LYO is busy preparing for its next big fundraising opportunity!

On Friday, Feb. 9, the youth group will be hosting a professional mystery murder dinner at our church. The LYO team will be the actors and your hosts for the evening. And there will be tickets available for purchase for singles and couples.

This will be a fun-filled night for our church, as well as the community! Anyone can purchase tickets to this night filled with dinner, entertainment and a little competitiveness in that there will be a prize for those who solve the mystery! 

There will be more information to come on this event! But please plan to join us for a great night out at Faith Lutheran! 

LYO MobilePack at the Fargodome

Finally, the LYO will be participating in a mission opportunity on Wednesday, Jan. 10, at the Fargodome. We will be participating in the F-M MobilePack which aims to pack 10 million meals in 10 days at the dome! 

We are signed up for 20 volunteer positions during our two hour shift on Jan. 10. However, this event isn’t limited to our LYO youth and their families. If you’d be interested in helping out and hanging out with our amazing youth that night, just drop me a line! I’ll tell you how!

Thanks again for your continued support of our youth program! What a blessing!

Amen!