Scripture of the Week

Proverbs 31:30

Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

Christian Family Fellowship Ministry (CFFM)
Fellowlaborers
Program

The Fellowlaborers Program is a one year mentoring experience, focused on the training of Christian servant-leaders in their walk with God, through scriptural foundations, spiritual power and selfless service. 

• It is a training program in the sense that it provides a system of routines and activities organized toward building understanding, skills and habits of servant-leadership.
• It is a mentoring experience in the sense that it affords active opportunities to be exposed to ministry mentors who have differing giftings, with a view to growing in a life-style of Christian servant-leadership.

Who:  Primarily targeted toward young adults who desire to invest a one-year commitment to learning how to better understand the Word of God, how to operate the power of God, and how to serve people.  

And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
II Timothy 2:2

When:  Begins the first Thursday after Labor Day (September) and runs through the CFFM Family Reunion (first weekend in August).

Where:  Participants live in the Tipp City/Troy, Ohio area, with others in the program of the same sex.

Coordination: The teaching, training and mentoring is directed by the Staff of the Christian Family Fellowship Ministry. 

Among the categories in which participants will receive teaching and training:

• A lifestyle of worship and an attitude of service.
• The foundational doctrines of Scripture.
• The importance and power of prayer.
• How to live with and get along with believers.
• How to walk in faith, hope and love.
• How to testify of (be a witness of) what God has done for you.
• How to both preach and teach the Scriptures effectively.
• How to lead a home fellowship (including hospitality principles), as well as larger gatherings.
• How to operate each of the nine manifestations of the spirit.
• The value of Scripture memorization.
• Basic financial budgeting & stewardship.
• How to organize and carry out ministry events.
• The experience of keeping God first while balancing work, recreation, relationships & ministry.
• How to better identify your own unique giftings, abilities and ministries.
• How to clarify God’s vision, mission and direction for your individual life.

Activities that Fellowlaborers are involved in:

• Weekly Sunday Morning Fellowships
• Fellowlaborer home fellowship
• Weekly Study Night
• Young Adult Advances and YES! Teen Camp
• National Planning Meetings
• Visiting Ohio & regional cities for weekly fellowships, Days in the Word, Weekends in the Word, etc. (teaching opportunities, etc.)
• Family Camp & Family Reunion

As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever.  I Peter 4:10-11

Foundational ministry reference:

• The foundational instructional text for the year will be Living in God’s Power, the foundational class of the Christian Family Fellowship Ministry. 

Other key reference classes will be:

• Growing in God’s Power
• Led by God’s Power
• Ministering With God’s Power

Among prerequisites:

• Believe in the work of CFF Ministry.
• Listen to Living in God’s Power and Growing in God’s Power.
• Memorize the books of the Bible.
• Have a driver’s license and (preferably) a car.
• Have a high school diploma or equivalent.
• Have $1000 minimum set aside as buffer and relocation funds.

What about AFTER the year of training?

• We are confident that God opens doors of meaningful and satisfying service in the Body of Christ for all those actively seeking to serve from a heart of love.  Opportunities within the Christian Family Fellowship Ministry may be available, either in Tipp City or in coordination with outlying fellowship areas. 

Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee…   II Timothy 1:6a

Here’s an exciting perspective from Mitzi Holdren, 2006-2007 Fellowlaborer:

“Are you wondering what to do with the next year of your life?  Are you looking for purpose?  Are you looking for answers?  I have just the thing for you.  The Fellowlaborer program is a singular way to discover who your God is and exactly what He has in store for your life.  My year as a Fellowlaborer changed my life. 

I grew closer to God and discovered more about myself in one year
than I had in the previous twenty something.

I learned right away what kind of family God had called me to and what wonderful people He had blessed me with.  There were five of us and we came from the most diverse backgrounds you could imagine, but we all had one thing in common: we wanted to become the best we could for God and His people.

So, what did we do in this Fellowlaborer program?  In our day to day lives we worked at our secular jobs in order to meet people and get to know the community.  We girls lived together; and the guys lived together. 

On Sundays we helped out at the CFFM Family Fellowship Center by serving in various areas to put on the Sunday morning service.  We served as coffee makers, ushers, greeters, valets, audio/visual assistants and children’s fellowship teachers as well as getting the opportunity to lead the meeting and teach.  On some weekends we were able to travel to various parts of the country and fellowship with the believers in that area.  On Tuesdays we held a fellowship in our home where we took turns leading the meeting and teaching.  This was a wonderful environment to develop our teaching skills as well as learn how to work together to meet needs and minister to people. 

On Thursdays we had our Fellowlaborer meetings, which were our main instructional meetings where we were taught many wonderful topics, both doctrinal and practical, in great detail.  We were taught how to read and understand the Bible and how to use research tools to deepen our understanding, study topics of interest for our own enrichment or as part of putting together a teaching.  We were taught the basics of preparing a teaching, the process of putting it all together, as well as fundamentals of speaking in front of people.  We also did some studies from biblical research books on various topics. 

Throughout our experience, we learned how to minister to people and to make sure needs were met.  We learned how wonderfully this Body of Christ works together and how it takes all of us, growing as a family.  We learned how wonderful it is to be able to serve.  We learned how God always meets all of our needs.

I would recommend this to anyone seeking exponential spiritual growth in their lives.