It’s something many people at First Orlando don’t know about, but it plays a big role in helping guests to First Orlando find their place here. The Connect System was created several years ago as a database to help the leadership and LIFE Group leaders know which guests to First Orlando fit into their field of ministry. The problem was that the Connect System was not operating as effectively as it could have.

Posted June 25, 2008

Randall James knows that his appointment as the Chairman of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee is something that will require the best of his abilities. “This is a major responsibility,” said Randall, a pastor at First Orlando and President of the First Orlando Foundation. “I’d like to serve quietly and as best I can.” The SBC can be assured of that. Morris Chapman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Executive Committee, is thrilled to have Randall on board.

Posted June 19, 2008

I ran into a new Christian the other day and asked where she fellowshipped. She named an evangelical church in our city, so I encouraged her to continue there. “Actually,” she confessed, “I don’t go very often anymore.” When I inquired further, she explained that she felt the people at the church “weren’t really that friendly.” I encouraged her to get more involved in the church, thus increasing the odds that she would make new friends, but I doubt she ever did.

Posted June 22, 2008

It was a triumphant week at Camp Orlando as 570 teens attended, 47 of whom gave their lives to Christ and 38 got baptized. “It was amazing,” said First Orlando Student Pastor Keith Harmon. “We saw the Lord move in so many ways. We saw teenagers making first-time decisions for Christ and giving their hearts to Him. We had students rededicating their lives and others who are praying about ministry and missions.”

Posted June 17, 2008

Some mission trips are for the purpose of directly reaching people for Christ. Others are more in the capacity of support. That's what First Orlando's June 20-July 6 outreach to Thailand is all about. A team of 97 will embark on flights this Friday and Saturday. The purpose of the Thailand outreach is to minister to about 500 full-time missionaries and their families. These faithful workers are the ones who are doing the “down-and-dirty” work with the people of South Asia. However, these faithful servants have been working for about a year without a single break, or as First Orlando's Pastor of Worship/Event Coordination Jon Marks puts it, “no spiritual refreshing.” So, in a nutshell, the First Orlando team will work a steady 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. day serving these missionaries in any way they can, primarily in the area of childcare. For the full-time missionaries, it translates into a time of physical, mental and spiritual rest.

Posted June 17, 2008

The scene is Heaven. There’s a knock on the main gate. “Who is it?” enquires the angel through the gate intercom. “You know who it is,” snarls the visitor on the other side. “It’s not like I haven’t been here every day for at least the last 5,000 years! Now open up!”  Slowly the gate automatically opens and the visitor enters briskly without so much as making eye contact or uttering a word with the gatekeeper on duty that day.

Posted June 16, 2008

When Jon Balao felt the Lord lay the idea of a LIFE Group for law-enforcement personnel (and their spouses) on his heart, he knew that it was an idea whose time had come. “I really think of it as a care group,” said Jon, a police officer at the Sanford Airport and a deacon at First Orlando. “I want this to be a place where men and women in uniform can come and have fellowship with people who understand what they’re going through.”

Posted June 11, 2008

The kindergarten age has been described as the “first adolescence,” for these little ones tend to go where they want and come home when they want. They usually have one or two best friends, but these change rapidly. New playmates are accepted quickly. Kindergartners freely show their emotions. They love dramatic play and are not the least inhibited talking in front of a group. Quarrels are frequent but die quickly and forgotten. They have not yet developed the highly refined adult ability to hold a grudge for years. According to I Corinthians 14:20, this is one area, along with several more enunciated in other passages, where adults can learn something from children. Some jealousy may surface among kindergarten classmates vying for their teacher’s attention.

Posted June 6, 2008

Barbara Williams has long had a zeal for politics and has championed those causes which have been of most crucial importance to Florida’s Christians. Her most recent efforts included being part of the team that helped land the Florida Marriage Amendment — officially known as Amendment 2 — on the November 4 ballot. But it required a Herculean effort.

Posted June 6, 2008

JohnThreeThirty is not for the spiritually faint-hearted. “For the person who just wants to show up on Sunday, have some verses read to them and leave, they’re probably going to feel out of place,” said Al Borrero, who along with his wife Karen will be leading the new LIFE Group. “This is a group for people who want to study the Word of God and grow in the Lord.”

Posted June 3, 2008