Friends and Fellowship

Grand Rapids: What do you do when a dynamic leader is suddenly gone? That is the question that the Ministry of Leadership and Communications posed to the staff members at Friendship Ministries in Grand Rapids this week. Nella Uitulugt, the executive director of Friendship Ministries a resource organization whose motto is “Sharing God’s love with people who have Intellectual Disabilities,” passed away sometime before Palm Sunday in April. DSNE has learned that an interim director will be named in the next few weeks and that there is interest from a few men and women who are uniquely qualified to run the outreach.

Friendship Fellowship III

At Ministry of Leadership and Communications, the leadership thrived on Nella’s enthusiasm and took her wise advice in planting Friendship Fellowship along the Front Range of Colorado. Since the time of Nella’s death, the special needs pastor at Friendship Fellowship planted the second Friendship Fellowship church at a day program in Colorado Springs, and now a third at a nursing home in Old Colorado City, Friendship Fellowship has started a Monday group to Senior Citizens with Intellectual Disabilities. “Our churches are on mission this summer with two weeks planned to reach out to inner city Denver.” This is the 4th summer that Friendship Fellowship has been involved in Summer Missions and the third where the church is actively recruiting special needs pastors; new places of worship; and training people to get involved, to start Friendship in their communities.

The Melting Pot of Message; Mission and Music

At a coffee house in Colorado Springs, a new network called Five Points Communications is being discussed. 5 PTS is a media group that is cultivating new ways of creating; producing and broad and pod casting materials that would be based on their five points of impact in the community. Evangelism; Special Needs and the Least of these; Media that feeds a hungry culture; Prayer and prayer walks; and Community Building are the main components of influence. The breakthrough question is “How do we gather, produce and fund great messages and stories; remain on-mission in our approach; and gather an organic music publishing company that will be a melting pot of praise and worship music?” This would also be a new adverting agency for sponsors and affiliates (Likewise).

Cause we care

Based in New York, Likewise is creating; producing and distributing great audio commercials that help to sponsor new Christian-based programs; organic praise and worship music (The Melting Pot) and a digital publishing tool called Triology that publishes studies; relationship building and outreach to local communities. This includes bringing Friendship Fellowship; Ancient Paths and The Word and Spirit Network to communities like yours. One of the ways all these MLC’s get funded and supported are through adverting; creating resources; and then the third is opening cafes in churches. Mission Coffee Roasters based in Colorado Springs is a cornerstone in raising funds for missions. “When you sell a bag of coffee at your church cafe, the church or ministry receives $5 a bag;” Brett Bixler explains. the founder and roaster, whose branding statement is “really good coffee with a mission,” is on board with starting cafes or simply selling coffee to the churches at wholesale. Bixler roasts coffee for mission brands like Windfarm which supports Daily Audio Bible. A new label is being discussed for Five Points Media that will support all of their causes that are based on Five points Communications under the umbrella of “Cause Central.”

“You buy coffee anyway, what if you supported the ministries that focused on evangelism; special needs, better media that feeds the culture; prayer groups and worship and then community building and influence in your neighborhood. That and a better cup of coffee!” E-mail us at Friendshipfellowship@juno.com.

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