A Family Tradition  

Most of us will spend at least part of the Christmas season celebrating with our families. We will share laughter and love – as well lots of good food – and we will recall the many ways God has blessed us over the past year. I hope that will be true for you and your family!

The same should be true for our FBCG family! We will gather for weekend worship throughout the Advent season – culminating in our celebration of Christ’s birth in our Christmas Eve services (West Campus 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm; East Campus 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm). I hope you will make worship part of your family Christmas celebration!

But we also should celebrate what God has done in and through FBCG over the past year! From the dozens and dozens of stories I have heard in recent months, I’ve chosen to share just three stories of God’s work in the lives of three people/families who are part of the FBCG family. I hope these stories will encourage you and remind you of why Jesus has called his church to reach, connect, equip and serve!

I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I do! And I hope you know that, as part of the FBCG family, you area also part of each one of these stories! What a privilege to see God at work in and through FBCG!

Have a blessed and joyous Christmas season!

Alberto and Sarah Principe began attending FBCG’s East Campus in 2007.
Alberto had been raised in the home of a Pentecostal pastor in Puerto Rico – but rebelled against the faith of his youth and ran from God. His rebellion led to 12 years of military service, during which his life continued to spiral away from God. Eventually he met Sarah, got married, left the military, and the two of them moved to the Fox Valley. They both realized they were missing something in their lives – so they decided to try FBCG. After attending FBCG for only a few months, both Alberto and Sarah recommitted their lives to Christ. This past year Alberto began to sense the Lord calling him into ministry – and is currently pursuing a ministry as a lay-chaplain – in both V.A. hospitals and with the pastoral staff at FBCG!

Paul and Julia Warner, along with their three children, spent most of the last 8 years living in Japan.
But when Paul’s company transferred him back to the U.S., they found themselves in Geneva with no church home and no friends nearby. They visited FBCG several times and liked the preaching and worship, but found it somewhat difficult to get connected. But instead of just moving on and trying another church, Paul and Julia reached out to the FBCG pastors and, after several conversations, decided to start a new ministry at FBCG called “First Connections.” Now after each Sunday service at the West Campus, Paul and Julia – along with several others – wait at the “glass room” in the lobby to meet those who might be visiting or new to FBCG. In just a few months they have met and helped dozens of people feel more comfortable and connected at FBCG!

John and Carrie Smith were married at FBCG in 1997.
At that time John was a pilot and airplane mechanic while Carrie was an elementary school teacher. Missions would have been the furthest thing from their minds! But through their involvement with an FBCG Bible Study Class (Pathfinders), John and Carrie began to grow and mature in their faith. They were baptized together in 1998 and over the next few years began to serve in the TREK high school ministry and joined their first short-term mission teams to the Dominican Republic and Ecuador. Eventually God not only blessed John and Carrie with a family (3 biological children and an adopted foster child), but he used all these experiences to call John and Carrie to full time missions service through aviation. Today they are preparing to serve with the JAARS/Wycliffe missions organization – which focuses on Bible translation and literacy to unreached people groups. Please pray for John and Carrie as they continue to pursue the Lord’s call on their lives!