If done right, it can be a moment your child will never forget. We’re talking about baptism, and the Children’s Ministry is aiming to do it right. There will be a Children’s Baptism Celebration on Sunday, February 17 at 4 p.m. in the Worship Center. Following the baptisms, there will a celebration time with cake and balloons in WC-132. The baptisms, of course, are only for those children who have accepted Christ and have gone through First Orlando’s “For Heaven’s Sake” program.

Posted February 6, 2008

For Leigh Ann Grubbs, the new English as a Second Language (ESL) program at First Orlando is far more than just a series of classes, but an actual ministry. “I knew this was something our church really needed,” said Leigh Ann, Mission Assistant at First Orlando. So she and Global Impact Administrative Assistant Nancy Williams took the training class offered by the North American Mission Board and went from there. “It’s amazing,” Leigh Ann said, “we actually have 17 volunteers who are committed to do this every Tuesday.” Those interested in attending ESL need to report to room E2-215 at 7 p.m. on Tuesdays. From there, students will be registered and matched up with someone who will give them an evaluation and determine whether they belong in a beginning, intermediate or advanced class. Classes run from 7 to 9 p.m.

Posted February 6, 2008

It’s safe to declare Men’s Fraternity at First Orlando a huge success. After all, what can you say about an event that begins at 6 a.m. every Tuesday and still manages to draw about 1,000 men each time? In fact, it almost borders on phenomenal. Men’s Fraternity, with this year’s theme “The Great Adventure,” will resume Tuesday, February 12 in Faith Hall. Refreshments will be served beginning 5:30. Each session ends at 7:30. For Pastor David Uth, this year’s theme has helped men take a deeper look at their lives.

Posted February 5, 2008

I remember one year I was walking down the high school of the Christian high school where I taught. I couldn’t help but overhear two girls talking at their lockers. Their strident tones and animated gestures broadcast to anyone within range that both were upset with their parents. “My Mom is such a jerk!” one snarled. “She’s always on my case about Brett. She wants me to drop him because she says he’s, like, so unspiritual.”

Posted February 4, 2008

Serving every summer at the Baptist College of Florida in Graceville is dirty, grimy, sweaty and tiring — and suits Nancy Williams just fine. “It’s messy work, but the blessings are worth it,” said Nancy, First Orlando’s Community/Global Outreach Assistant. “We love who we’re serving and that’s what keeps us coming back every year.” First Orlando will be sponsoring a trip to Graceville June 8-13. An information meeting will be held Wednesday, February 13 at 5:30 p.m. in Williams Memorial Chapel.

Posted February 1, 2008

No one wants to live an inconsequential life — one that fails to have an impact. We want to leave an imprint and to make a difference. To have the greatest impact, there is something we need to understand. Athletes know all about it. It’s call the “sweet spot.” There’s a spot on a tennis racket, golf club and baseball bat that every athlete knows is the best place to come into contact with the ball. That’s the sweet spot. When we find the sweet spot, we produce maximum results for the energy expended. We can just feel it! We know when we’ve found it.

Posted January 31, 2008

There is nothing dull about David Zanotti, the President & CEO of The American Policy Roundtable, which is dedicated to restoring Judeo-Christian principles to American public policy. “God wants us to be missionaries to America,” he said back in November during a Town Hall Meeting at First Orlando. “Do you know that when skeptics challenge us on things like the ‘separation of Church and State,’ there are answers? And that makes me mad, because for at least two generations we have stopped telling our children the real answers.” 

Posted January 30, 2008

It was part prayer ministry, part reunion. Republican Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee visited First Orlando on Sunday, January 27, in response to an invitation by Pastor David Uth. Two weeks earlier, Pastor David sent a letter of invitation to all the presidential candidates — Republican, Democrat and Independent — offering them the opportunity to have the congregation pray for them. Huckabee, the governor of Arkansas from 1996 through 2007, was the only candidate to accept the offer.

Posted January 28, 2008

Everyone who has had a child knows that kids love to whine. Especially at meal times. “I don’t want to eat my broccoli!” or “Can’t I go out to play yet?” are daily refrains endured by most parents. If children don’t want something, they have an irritating way of letting us know. And it’s certainly not just at meal times. Children have perfected the art of whining way beyond that. They use it to voice their dissatisfaction about limited television viewing, bedtime, homework, household chores, etc. Whining has become part of the worldwide lingua franca of kid-dom.

Posted January 28, 2008

The Watoto (pronounced Wah-toe-toe) Children’s Choir danced to African drums and rhythms, sang contemporary gospel, performed sign language, and gave personal testimonies in colorful traditional dress that won the heart of the audience at First Orlando on Wednesday evening, January 23. Team leader Mercy Rose Nalukenge, a 27-year-old Ugandan volunteer, said, “The children’s choir started in 1994. They were the arm piece for the organization that was started in 1992 by two Canadian missionaries. The choir has been around the world to raise awareness and support.”

Posted January 24, 2008