“We have a ministry!” This phrase was repeated frequently through the formative weeks of the Fellowship of the Cross, as our youth discovered their potential to serve Jesus, His church, and His people. They have also discovered that friendships—old and new—can fuel discipleship.

After spending the morning in worship and Sunday school, young people in fourth grade and above gather in the Simpson Room at 11:00, taking on projects such as writing to shut-ins and college students, creating centerpieces for church dinners, and filling shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. The Fellowship of the Cross—initiated and named by our youth—is open to suggestions for future projects. Please see Pam Mayo or Bill Utterback.

You can see photos from FOTC events in the media gallery.

Operation Christmas Child

One girl found hope in the face of a stuffed animal, another in a glittering package of hair clips. Yuliya, then 9, from an unidentified Asian nation, found a puppy inside her Operation Christmas Child shoe box. The gifts included an etch-a-sketch and bubble-gum flavored toothpaste, but the dog delivered a message: she was loved. “A dog was an item you couldn’t find in my country. It was really soft and had puppy eyes. It was my new best friend, my newfound treasure,” Yuliya said, through testimony found on the Operation Christmas Child website.

Livia, then-12, living in an orphanage in Romania, received a collection of sparkling, multi-colored barrettes. “Just put one to the right and one to the left, and you’ll look much better,” an American missionary friend told her. “No,” Livia responded. “I want all the hairclips in, I insisted. So I put them all in and had them on the whole day. How can someone give me something that I’ve wanted for so many years? Someone far away decided to pack it up, never knowing that it would be somebody’s dream come true.”

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