New Wine in New Wineskins
Every year when the clock strikes 12:01 AM, we welcome the New Year with celebration and festivities. With glaring eyes and big smiles, we have some magical hope that all the old things we want to disappear will and all new things will begin to happen. However, we realize that even with all the hoopla of ringing in 1999 doesn’t necessarily end one life completely to begin a new one. Life goes on. All of us will be taking with us the good things in life from our past to enrich meaning into the new year.
When Jesus was questioned about why his disciples didn’t keep some traditions, his reply was “No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.” (Mk. 5:37-38) 1999 will be a very important time in the history of FCBC. We will have “new wine” that will need “fresh wineskins” to hold. Some of “old wineskins” just won’t do.
The New Wine of Retrofitting and Renovating will challenge us to envision new spaces and walls that we may not easily see as possible. While construction is underway, displacement will cause us to worship and study in new locations that may not be immediately familiar. And we will be discarding some “old wine” such as obsolete things that won’t be needed in our newly retrofitted and renovated church home.
The New Wine of Reclaiming Our Mission in Chinatown will call for us to build new partnerships with other community-serving organizations that share our core beliefs and commitment to minister in the city. Many of us may need to become better equipped to identify new groups of neighbors with concerns different from us. While we are reaching new persons for Christ, we will also need to remain vitally strong in discipleship and leader development programs in order to nurture new members.
The New Wine of Celebrating the Maturity of Our Sunset Ministry will create in us a host of emotions that will reflect how wonderful God has blessed and grown this new church and at the same time the natural sadness of sending off old friends. As sister churches, we will continue to pray for one another and sponsor events that would bring brothers and sisters together for fellowship.
For a little while, if you are like me, you will be catching yourself writing ‘1998’ rather than ‘1999.’ It’s a reminder that 1998 wasn’t so bad after all. All of the miracles that we have been blessed with in 1998 (And we had plenty!) will be added to the many more that will come our way in 1999. Jesus also said, “And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, ‘The old is good.’” (Mk. 5:39)
Pastor Don Ng
Family News
Sixteen New Members
On December 13, we welcome one of the largest groups into church membership—16 persons! By Baptism, we received: Vincent W. Chan, Bing M. Chin, Brenda Chu, Allen Yee Lau, Damon Li, Ben Man, Viking Teng, Victor Teng, Alvin Tong, Paloma Y. Yang, and Linda Wai Y. Yeung. By Statement of Christian Experience, we received Shui Sau Lee and Wai Fong Lee. And by Transfer of Membership, we received Don Ng, Joy Shih Ng, and Keith Russell. A special reception and luncheon followed the ceremony of the Right Hand of Christian Fellowship. We invite you to become acquainted with all our new friends in Christ.
Our Sympathy
Condolences to Pauline Chin on the passing of her mother, Yick Wong Chin on November 29. Our sympathy to Eddie Ng whose aunt died on . (Check with Richard.) Our prayers for the family and friends of our former member, Richard Wong who passed on December 6. Jesus said, “Truly I tell you today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Lk.23:43) We give thanks to God for the blessings these lives have shared with their families and in the world.
“Continue the Legacy” Stewardship Campaign Updates
We are almost there! When the campaign committee set our Faith Goal of $1,350,000 based on what we knew as basic needs to retrofit to remain in Chinatown, to renovate for more effective programming and accessibility, and to support the Sunset Ministry new church plant, we believed that if this is what we need, God will certainly provide. And we are seeing this happening right before our eyes. As of December 13th, we have received over $1,283,400 in pledges. We are only $64,500 away from reaching our Faith Goal! Praise God for the miracles that are happening to us. If you haven’t made your pledge, we need you to reach our goal. We hope that you will join us in this exciting adventure in faith!
Retrofit TF
(Add Nelson’s article.)
1999 Building on The Foundation Canvass
Response to sustaining the effective ministries and missions of the church in 1999 has been enthusiastically strong! As of December 13th, we have received $ based on # of pledges toward the goal of $485,839. If you have allowed this opportunity to be overlooked, we invite you to make your pledge today. 1999 is a very important year for us to continue offering Christian witness to new neighbors and to nurture our church members with practical programs at a time of major transitions. With faith and confidence, the Membership on December 6th voted unanimously to proceed with the Proposed Budget as our 1999 Operating Budget. This is tremendously good news! We hope you will actively participate in the ministries of the church in the new year.
The final amount of the World Mission Offering received for support of American Baptist International Ministries’ missionaries working in partnership overseas is $ . Thank you for your generous gifts. As of December 13,th we have received $ toward the goal of $3500 in support of this year’s Retired Ministers and Missionaries Offering. There is still time for you to make a gift to say, “Thank You” to those who have blessed us with their lifetime commitments to Christian service. Please send in your gift and marking it for: “RMMO.”
One Year Anniversary
The phenomenal growth and response to the Sunset Ministry new church plant can only be attributed to God’s amazing blessings. Since the church opened its doors for morning worship on January 4, 1998, many have come to know Christ. Neighbors in the community are coming out to discover for themselves what the excitement is all about and finding that they have a new church home to which to belong. On Christmas Sunday, December 20th, the Sunset Ministry started their second service on Sunday mornings to accommodate the worshippers. Kudos to the church planting members and Pastor Larry Jay for their leadership, gratefulness to the sisters and brothers at the FCBC sponsoring church in Chinatown for their prayers and gifts, and praises to God whose blessings made this all possible. To celebrate Sunset Ministry’s first year, we will be having our January 3, 1999 Church Membership meeting at Sunset, Noriega and 37th Avenue. We will meet new candidates for baptism, dedicate our new 1999 church officers and board members and have a party! You are all invited.
Church Annual Meeting
Mark your calendars to attend the church’s annual meeting on Sunday, February 7 at 2:00 in Chinatown. Highlights will include Presentation of the Mrs. J.S. Chu Christian Education Award, the “State of the Church” report from our senior pastor, adoption of the Annual Reports, and distribution of the new church directory. Plan to participate in thanking God for his blessings in 1998 and capturing the vision of our church’s daring ministry in the future!