Big Thanks

One of my weeknesses as a leader is that I don't compliment folks near as much as I should. So I thought I'd take this opportunity to brag on some of the staff and volunteers at FFC.

Jeff Pfohl is our Pastor of Outreach. Jeff and his wife Mindy were fantastic volunteers in our church before we hired him. I can remember the day that Jeff came into my office as a volunteer at the church and handed me a 3 page paper outlining different ways we could reach our community. We knew we had to Jeff on board to help us keep pushing our congregation to get outside the walls of the church.

Marggy Hensley is our Pastor of Administration and she does a fantastic job of keeping stuff organized. She really is my right hand many days. She lightened my load by half; not so much my work load but my stress load. It is so awesome having a pastor who will focus on the details of administration – I’m truly blessed.

Bryan Vickery has been a fantastic volunteer with the Youth Group for many years and not long ago accepted the position as full-time Youth Pastor. Recently Bryan has decided to not pursue youth ministry full-time; “Heavy B” will continue to be on the youth team and lead the group in the interim of finding the full-time Youth Pastor that God will send our way. I am going to miss hanging out with “B” in the office but I am thankful that he will still be on the team as a volunteer.

Jill Cunningham is the most awesome administrative assistant I’ve ever seen. Jill looks out for me like no one else. She will keep me straight with names, appointments, and is always looking 2/3 steps ahead for me. She has been the church secretary even before I came on board. I can remember when it was just Jill and I working in the office trying to get everything done ourselves. I don’t think we could function without her.

Jenny Lee has been a God-send. Jenny is our Office Administrator/bookkeeper. Jenny has one full plate I would just be touching the tip of the iceberg if I listed 10 things that she does in the office and she does everything great. We would be in a world of hurt without Jenny’s expertise. We stole her from our county courthouse and her knowledge has benefited our church numerous times.

Dennis Patty is our part-time Media Minister. Dennis keeps the gears running in our media ministry. I would have to say Dennis and his team of volunteers are the best I’ve ever seen, they do an awesome job week in and week out. Dennis is also an electrician (which has come in very handy). Dennis is so much fun to spend time with and he has a great servant’s heart.

Debi Howell was recently hired as our part-time Congregational Care Pastor. Debi served for many years as our Youth Pastor and has a huge heart of compassion and mercy. She is doing a fantastic job of reaching out and ministering to individuals and serving our S.A.M group (senior adult ministry). It encourages me to see Debi using her gifts to touch people’s lives in our church.

Connie Akers isn’t a paid staff member but she has been serving our congregation for many years now as a minister to our children. She has grown our KidZone and blesses our children every week. She has so much energy and so much knowledge about children’s ministry it amazes me. Connie will be retiring from her position this summer but I’m sure she will be finding some other way to serve the Lord within our congregation.

I’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg. I’ve not said anything about our part-time treasurer, Bill Harshman; volunteers like Marcia Flanagan (nursery), Neva Chalfant (Lil’ KidZone), Elizabeth McAllister (Higher Ground Coffee Shop), Ryan McAllister, Bruce Grimes, JD Akers (worship leaders), Stephen Price, Cari Lott, Randy Roberts, Jamie Vickery, not to mention all the awesome greeters, all the fantastic worship teams, all the great children’s ministry volunteers, the way cool coffee shop barista’s, the office volunteers… and I could go on and on...

I am so blessed to be working with so many people who love the Lord and love Farmland Friends Church. Thank you to each and every person who serves at FFC, I love you.