ENCOURAGER

Recommendations

Info

Keep Paddling Until You Reach the Other Shore By Keith Helms - Battalion Fire Chief (retired) Charlotte Fire Department Many years ago, I served under a Battalion Chief who told me that he planned to stay actively engaged as a fire service officer until the very end of his last day on the job. He said that he wanted to keep paddling until he got to the other shore. Too many firefighters take a different approach. They feel that their many years of service have earned them the right to “take it easy” or “coast” in the latter years of their service. T h e y s t o p t r a i n i n g o r t h e y reluctantly take part if they are given a direct order. These coasters become less and less effective in doing their job. As officers, they tend to seek the easy answers as opposed to the right answers. They w o u l d r a t h e r a v o i d conflict than to strongly lead their crews. When their last day finally a r r i v e s , t h e o t h e r fi r e fi g h t e r s g l a d l y w e l c o m e departure. t h e As an older firefighter who is retired, I realize that I need to be aware of the same problem in our Christian service. Many believers reach retirement age for their careers and they begin to withdraw from active ministry. They slowly begin to take their oars out of the water and they become content to sit on the sidelines and watch others do the work. As Christians who are serving Christ in the fire service, we need to purposely take a different approach. We should continue to serve in whatever opportunities that the Lord provides. Also, we should continue to train through the consistent study of God’s Word. The need to grow spiritually does not stop, no matter how many years we live in this world. While it is ok to be called a retiree as a firefighter, we should never retire from our service for Christ to a lost world. I have had the privilege of seeing someone keep their oars in the spiritual waters. Wayne Detzler has shown me how a believer can and should keep working until the end of this “tour of duty”. I have never witnessed Wayne ceasing to hunger for a deeper understanding of God’s truth and wisdom. His passion to disciple believers (especially firefighters) has never wavered. Just like the Battalion Chief who inspired me to keep paddling in the fire service, Wayne continues to inspire me to stay engaged in ministering to the fire service. My hope is that you and I will never be accused of coasting in our service for Christ. If you have been coasting, then put your oars back in t h e w a t e r. Yo u haven’t reached the other side yet. P h i l i p p i a n s 3:12-16 N o t that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
CraigDuck - President/Missionary Report from the field Finish The Mission - Every believer in Jesus Christ has been given an assignment from our Incident Commander (Almighty God) that needs to be completed. The assignment is found in the Gospel of Mark chapter 16 verse 15; “And He (Jesus) said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. “ So the question begs, how are you doing in fulfilling that commandment? The fire service is filled with approximately 1.2 million firefighters in America alone. There is no telling how many more exist around the world serving their local communities, but I am confident the number is far greater than we think. I often ponder how many regularly attend a local church service and how many have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Sadly, I fear, that not many do and not very many Christian firefighters are actively involved in reaching them for Christ. The vision of the Fellowship of Christian Firefighters International is to glorify God in the fire service by building relationships that turn first responders hearts and minds toward Christ (Philippians 2:11), equipping International Office 249 Rochichi Drive Boynton, VA 23917 443-336-9859 FCFIHQ@aol.com them to serve Him (Ephesians 4:12). I am so thankful that many of you are actively engaged in fulfilling this vision. Without your time and effort we would not be able to effect real and positive change in the fire service. But we need many more folks actively working in the ministry if we are going to finish the vision and reach our fellow firefighters for Christ. Please take time and actively pray that God would supply more Christian firefighters for the task. As we look to the future of our ministry we are working hard to establish a local group in every state in order to ensure the Word of God is regularly preached. If you are not involved in a local group what prevents you from starting one? The original members picked out Hebrews 10:24-25 as the key verse for our ministry; “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Let’s fulfill that desire and finish the mission. Fellowship of Christian Firefighters International A multi denominational ministry who have been ministering to First Responders since 1977. FCFInternational/Encourager/Page 3
Page 1: summer 2016 ENCOURAGER MINISTERING
Page 5 and 6: FCFInternational Annual 3D Summit -
Page 7 and 8: Table Top Discussions Bible Studies
Page 9 and 10: Encourage One Another Daily Devotio
Page 11 and 12: Everyone Goes Home By Andrew Starne
Page 13 and 14: What Does the Word Say? by Dwayne C
Page 15 and 16: Genuine Joy by Wayne Detzler - Inte

ENCOURAGER

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?