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decisions, decisions

by Sarah Fletcher

Find out more about the ministry of Free Will Baptist Master's Men at www.nafwb.org/mm.

 

 

Ladies, what will you give the special man of your life for Father’s Day? If you’re like 53% of Americans, you’ve yet to decide. A tie. Fishing gear. Electronic gadgets. Dinner. A card.

Mother’s day decisions rate similar offerings. Gifts for moms annually include more than a billion phone calls, 150 million cards, and a myriad of plants and flowers—25% of total holiday flower sales. One in three adults honor mom with a meal at a nice restaurant.

Compared to the life contributions of most fathers and mothers, these gifts are tokens at best. What can you give to significantly honor the special people of your life? Why not give them the very things they gave you—the virtues and values you seek to instill in your own children? Qualities like vision and integrity, a servant attitude, a love for the Word, and a heart for the world.

Two annual offerings provide those very things and lend honor to Mom and Dad as well. The Master’s Men Father’s Day Offering and WNAC Mother’s Day Offering serve as vital funding for the two small departments involved in great efforts for God.

Master’s Men, with its office staff of two, helps coordinate FWB Disaster Relief, plans and sponsors regional rallies and sports fellowships, and promotes evangelism through Operation Saturation. Mission trips, Bible studies, and retreats provide men opportunities to share the gospel with others. Master’s Men and Women Nationally Active for Christ sponsor marriage enrichment conferences together, helping to build and maintain strong families.

Founded as a Great Commission organization, Women Nationally Active for Christ seeks to help women find their place in Christ’s command and serves as the women’s ministry arm of the denomination. Its four employees (three full-time and one part-time) produce Together With God, a bimonthly magazine, publish resources and women’s Bible study materials, sponsor international mission trips and maintain the Missionary Provision Closet which provides missionaries with home essentials. Each year the office plans and coordinates a two-day convention and a national retreat for hundreds of women. WNAC also serves as a clearinghouse, routing and receipting financial gifts for a number of valuable ministries. However, WNAC retains no portion of these funds for operational expenses. The office depends totally upon designated gifts and special offerings. Both groups emphasize serving as a way of life and a means of ministry. Like the parents we all seek to honor, these Mom and Pop organizations work together for the good of the Free Will Baptist family.

Honor the man in your life with a generous gift to Master’s Men this June 17.

Sarah Fletcher is the managing editor of Together With God magazine, published by Women Nationally Active for Christ. She also coordinates curriculum and publications for the department. She and her husband Keith live in Antioch, TN.

©2007 ONE Magazine, National Association of Free Will Baptists