Vision
Not many people have the chance to read their own obituary – but Alfred Nobel did!
Alfred grew up in Sweden in the 19th century as a bright boy with an unusual fascination for explosives. He went on to study and developed a career in chemistry and later became an engineer and a well-known entrepreneur.
Alfred was most widely known for his invention of explosives – not fireworks but dynamite! He developed factories all over the world to help expand the railroads and roadways. He also changed the way nations waged war against each other through the use of dynamite and other explosives.
Alfred became an extremely wealthy socialite who traveled the globe. However, one morning in 1888, something changed. Alfred woke up to read the morning news. It was in this French newspaper that he suddenly discovered his own obituary had been written.
In reality, it was his brother Ludwig that had died. The editor had received misinformation. Yet it still struck Alfred to the core. The headline of Alfred’s obituary read, The merchant of death is dead.
What cold, hard words these were. Is this the way the world saw him? A man known for bringing destruction thru weapons and war. This made Alfred think deeply about how he wanted to be remembered when his time really did come. He decided that he would work the rest of his life to leave a different legacy. And he did!
All of us have probably heard of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize. Recognize the name? Eleven years later, Alfred did pass away. But he had a plan in place for good. In his will, Alfred left much of his fortune so those who had done their best work for humanity could be awarded. He wanted to be a part of helping others celebrate those who made the world a better place. These were people who made strides in bringing peace and progress in science, literature, medicine and economics. Heroes like Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, Doctors without Borders and so many more!
For the past 120 years we have honored people worldwide with the cherished Nobel Peace Prize. Alfred Nobel changed his legacy. We now remember him, not as the merchant of death but as the champion of peace. It’s such a good reminder to all of us to think about what we want to be remembered for.
Michael Hyatt author of Living Forward encourages all of us to write our own obituary. While we are living, think about what we want to be remembered for – then live it out!
Thank you for striving to be people who live to bring God glory. Every little act of love, mercy, kindness and generosity is seen and matters! It’s what will be remembered by others. Thank you for living to leave a legacy that will be celebrated here and in heaven too!
OUR NEXT GENERATION
FOR THE LORD IS GOOD; HIS MERCY IS EVERLASTING, AND HIS TRUTH ENDURES TO ALL GENERATIONS. – PSALM 100:5
There’s a young girl who’s involved in FFC nextgen who has seen God work in her life in practical, powerful ways over the last several years. She started as a student and as one of the first people in her family to serve God wholeheartedly. She attended Student Ministry (SM) every week and eventually attended a weekend retreat held by SM. One night, there was an invitation for people who were hungering for God to come down to the front. This student responded and was filled with the Holy Spirit. Her life started to change, and she had a hunger for more of God and the Word. She started influencing her family and friends at an even greater level. The work God was doing in her life was noticeable. Her younger brothers were among those who noticed the change. After seeing the difference in her life and attending church with her, they decided they wanted to surrender their life to God as well.
Today, she continues to minister to and lead students to know God. The work God started in her is continuing both in her, her family and friends, and in young people around her. We’re so thankful! This is only one of the testimonies of what God is doing! Students and leaders alike are being impacted by the Word, Spirit and people of God in ways that is changing the trajectory of their lives and the lives around them. In 2025, we’re so excited to be building a new building that will accommodate even more space for the growing ministry. None of it could happen without a church family like you who cares for, invests in, and champions the next generation. Thank you for helping people experience God in a way that is marking their lives for eternity. And young people, thank you for hungering for God and sharing Him passionately with your generation! The best is yet to come!
SPARK KIDS CAMP
We can’t wait for our annual SPARK Kids Camp! Every year, our ffckids hear Bible messages that make God real; form life-giving friendships; and enjoy team competitions and CRAZY games! This will be an unforgettable week in every child’s summer, as we continue building godly foundations for incredible futures!
Fast Facts:
Who: 2nd-5th Grade (based on the grade completed)
Where: Camp Zephyr in Sandia, Texas
When: July 20th-23rd, 2025
How Much: $260 per student
Keyword: KIDS
IGNITE SUMMER CAMP
Ignite Summer Camp has always been a highlight for our students at Faith Family! Ignite is one way our students encounter God through Spirit-filled worship services, teaching, and ministry geared toward teenagers. They also have incredible fun through team competitions and games that leave them with lasting memories. Ignite is a great place for teens to experience God in a fresh way and develop lasting friendships!
Fast Facts:
Who: 6th – 12th grade students
Where: TBD
When: July 2025
How Much: $300 per student
Keyword: YOUTH
OUR COMMUNITY
“KINDNESS IS THE LANGUAGE WHICH THE DEAF CAN HEAR AND THE BLIND CAN SEE.” – MARK TWAIN
There’s a young couple in our church who has seen God do an amazing work in their life and family. The young man grew up without a father-figure and said it left him searching to fill a void. By twelve years old, he had tried marijuana and found himself turning to drugs and peers to feel accepted. Eventually, he started stealing to support his habit and found himself in juvenile detention. From seventeen to his early twenties, the cycle continued until one day, at age twenty-five, he hit rock bottom. He’d lost his job due to addiction and his family relationships were falling apart. He was spending his first night homeless, when he stumbled upon a Spanish church and walked in. Through tears, he said, “God, if anything can help me, it’s you.”
He remembered that while he was incarcerated, he had heard about Celebrate Recovery (CR). He started attending CR at Faith Family. He continued attending faithfully, engaging in the lessons and community there. Soon, he found himself alcohol and drug-free. He was “healthy and happy” and it “felt good that God gave him another chance.”
His wife, had her own battle with addiction, one that had run in her family. Seeing God’s strength in her husband to overcome, she found faith to overcome her own struggle. It wasn’t easy at first. Even after coming to Christ and seeing freedom, they encountered struggles in their marriage and life. But they took Pastor Jim’s one-year challenge to give God a year of their life, with the promise that life wouldn’t be the same. They attended church faithfully, engaged in community, and got to know God through His Word and prayer. Today, they say that their life has changed so much for the better. They continue to faithfully follow God and have now seen their whole family get baptized at FFC! The young man said that it’s been “good and humbling” to help people know God through his story. Their encouragement to others? “Anyone who is in a bad place, who’s on the fence, who thinks they can’t be redeemed, or wants a new hope and new life – it’s possible. Change is possible. Put God first in everything you do. It changes your life . . . I never thought we’d be where we are today.”
We’re so proud of this young couple and of the many others who are following God, paving a new path for their family and future. And there are so many more who need to know Him! Faith Family, thank you for being a place where people find the love, truth, and hope they need to experience a rich life in God. Together, let’s continue to allow His light and love to transform us and others for our good and His glory!
Pack the Bus
Pack the Bus is a community-wide effort to provide school supplies to hundreds of VISD children in need. Our dream team gathers to help sort, pack, and distribute school supplies to our VISD students. We are grateful for the generosity of our church family as well as our community partners who help make this project possible. We love seeing smiles on faces as students step confidently into their new school year.
Fast Facts:
Who: Area Students
Where: FFC NextGEN Center
When: August 2025
How Much: 100 backpacks at $25
Keyword: BUS
Legacy Scholarship
Fast Facts:
Who: High School Seniors
Where: Faith Family Church
When: June 2025
How Much: $1,000/student
Keyword: SCHOLARSHIP
The Plan to Expand!
As we finish the construction phase of our new Next Gen building, we enter the phase when we are going to equip the building for all of the ministries to use it. This new facility will serve two purposes. It will be a Sunday morning sanctuary for the Spanish-speaking community of Faith Family as well as a place for our Jhigh and high school students to meet on Wednesday nights.
In order for that to be done with the excellence that FFC is known for, we have some pretty extensive expenses coming up to decorate, furnish, and prepare the technical aspects of the building. To reach the next generation we need to have a technologically relevant setting for them to bring their friends and we need to be able to broadcast on social media because that generation consumes most of their content there.
This new addition will enable our Spanish-speaking friends to have a Sunday morning worship service in Spanish that has the excellence that allows them to worship while their children and teens participate in our English Sunday morning activities. It will be a win for both, and we couldn’t be more excited! We look forward to all of us being on campus every week to worship God together and to serving our growing next-generation ministries even better!
Fast Facts:
Who: Spanish-speaking friends and teens
When: Jan – Dec 2025
Where: Faith Family Church
How Much: TBA
Keyword: CAMPUS
Faith Academy Christian School
Faith Academy is a Faith Family Church ministry that has been effectively educating students for over four decades. It is a fully accredited private Christian school with programs ranging from daycare to twelfth grade.
Faith Academy is devoted to partnering with families to provide a biblically based education in a wholesome, Christ-centered environment. Students are academically challenged while also having the choice to participate in a variety of extracurricular and enrichment programs. Faith Academy is fortunate to have a caring and knowledgeable faculty who set the tone for students to form positive friendships and strengthen their faith. We are eager to assist in nurturing and educating the next generation to become everything that God intended them to be!
Fast Facts:
Who: Students of the Crossroads area and FA Teachers
When: Jan – Dec 2025
Where: Faith Academy
How Much: About $5,000 per student per year
Keyword: FA
Angel Tree
Every year, children in our area experience Christmas while a parent or guardian is incarcerated. At Christmas, the difficulty of this reality is felt even more, by children and parents alike. Angel Tree gives incarcerated parents a way to provide a Christmas gift and a personal message to their children as a tangible representation of their love. Join us in ministering to families in our community by helping provide a Christmas gift to a child in need.
Fast Facts:
Who: Children of all Ages
When: Nov. 1st – Dec. 10th, 2025
Where: Faith Family Church
How Much: $30 per child
Keyword: ANGEL
Single Parent Blessing
Giving is what Christmas is all about. That’s why we enjoy celebrating some extremely deserving people during the holiday season: our single parents! We’re grateful for the gift they and their children are to our church family and look forward to helping them have a Merry Christmas!
Fast Facts:
Who: Single Parents
Where: Faith Family Church
When: December 2025
How Much: $7500/75 parents
Keyword: PARENTS
Victoria House of Palms Phased-In
Phased In is a transitional living program for foster youth who have aged out of the system. The goal of Phased In is to teach basic life skills that will prepare these young adults for independent living. It provides housing, education, medical care, and helpful life skills in partnership with the church, community, and state of Texas. VHOP has been invited to become a Phased In home for young women who are pregnant or have children. We have a chance to help these mothers and babies experience what they’ve lacked most – family!
Fast Facts:
Who: Phased in residents
Where: Faith Family Church
When: Jan-Dec 2025
How Much: $50,000 for staff
Keyword: VHOP
El Roi Community Outreach
El Roi is a local non-profit organization that helps those in our community struggling with homelessness, addiction, and hunger. Their on-campus food pantry for children helps supply free food for VISD children at no cost. Those struggling with homelessness can receive free meals and hygiene packages that supply them vital necessities for two weeks. They offer transportation to rehabilitation facilities for those struggling with addiction, when they are ready to receive help.
Who: Those Who are Homeless
When: 2025
Where: Victoria, Tx
How Much: $25,000 to renovate bus that serves as care units for the homeless
Keyword: COMMUNITY
FFC Prison Ministry
Fast Facts:
Who: The Incarcerated
Where: Jails & Prisons throughout the Crossroads
When: Jan – Dec 2025
How Much: $10,000 (to provide Bibles, curriculums, and travel costs)
Keyword: PRISON
UNREACHED FRONTIERS
Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. Ecclesiastes 11:1
Shaji was an eight-year-old boy living in a rural village in India. His father was a Pastor within an organization that ministered among the unreached.
Shaji’s mother had unfortunately passed leaving his father to do his best to care for the family.
Shaji distinctly remembers the day when the leader of the missionary organization visited their home. His name was P.G. Vargis. P.G. had a burning desire to see the villages of India reached with the gospel.
While visiting, he noticed Shaji had developed a painful skin condition on his legs. P.G. was concerned for him and immediately went to get medication for Shaji.
He took time to apply the medication to Shaji’s little eight-year-old legs. He instructed his father to continue to use the medication until Shaji’s legs were well again. It wasn’t long before they were!
Shaji could never forget the kindness of this man. Why would he take time to care for me?
Shaji went on to become a successful businessman in India. He remained close to P.G. Vargis and supported the organization faithfully.
Later God called Shaji to work with P.G. He became a mentor and spiritual father to Shaji. Today, Shaji serves as the President of this same organization that has grown to thousands who are reaching the unreached of India.
For Shaji, it all started with a small act of kindness to an eight-year-old boy. Shaji understood the love of God because somebody took time to love him.
Jesus reminds us that we don’t give a simple cup of cold water to one of his children without a reward. Thank you, Faith Family, for being willing to give what you have to bless, heal, and help so many that are in need here and across the world.
You are storing up treasure in heaven by impacting lives on earth. I look forward to the day we stand together and hear him say, “Well done good and faithful servants!”
Let’s continue to make him proud!
India Bible School
For over two decades FFC has supported a church planting movement among the people of Madhya Pradesh India. The fruit has been nothing less than amazing! Salvations and baptisms within this community have multiplied. As a result, there’s an opportunity to train more pastors who will start churches in the remaining unreached villages. The goal is to build a Bible school where future ministers can receive much needed training. We’re believing God to finish what he started among these precious people.
Fast Facts
Who: Indian Believers
When: Jan – Dec 2025
Where: Madhya Pradesh, India
How Much: $250,000
Keyword: SCHOOL
India House of Palms
What a beautiful work is happening among the Banchada people of Madhya Pradesh, India! We now have two House of Palms Campuses, where 186 children can be loved and learn to live out their best life in God. This 500-year tradition of prostitution in this community is being broken, one family at a time. Our prayers and resources continue to enable these young men and women to be discipled and educated for a respectable profession and bright future. Thank you for pioneering and providing what’s needed for these precious people to live blessed!
Fast Facts:
Who: IHOP Resident
When: Jan – Dec 2025
Where: Madhya Pradesh, India
How Much: $60/month or $720/year/child
Keyword: IHOP
Hope for Israel
The crisis in Israel following the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7th has been devastating. Loved ones have been lost and livelihoods and homes destroyed, leaving many in great need of hope and healing. But we can help! FIRM is an organization within Israel that mobilizes the body of Christ to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those who are suffering. We can join with them as a church to help rebuild homes, lives and minister healing through trauma therapy and counseling. Let’s be a part of praying for and blessing Israel during this crucial time.
Fast Facts
Who: Victims of Israeli War
When: Jan – Dec 2025
Where: Israel
How Much: $10,000
Keyword: HOPE
RUN
Operation Jericho is an initiative that will begin targeting 5 major gateway cities through prayer, evangelism, church planting, and discipleship. These stronghold cities – Jerusalem, Mecca, Tehran, Varanasi, and Beijing are ones we believe can be changed by the power of the gospel. We can partner by praying and investing into God’s work going into gateway cities. Let’s believe for the walls to come down as we worship and work together for this harvest!
Fast Facts:
Who: Orphans of War
When: Jan – Dec 2025
Where: Middle East/Africa
How Much: $15,000
Keyword: RUN
Missions Testimonies
Ishita Sonu
Ishita Sonu is from the village of Chaplana, Neemuch and belongs to the Banchada community. Ishita’s mother has been a sex worker in the village since she was twelve years old. Her mother bore Ishita and two more children through prostitution. There is no father in the home and her mother continues in this work to provide income. Ishita would be involved in prostitution just like her mother but for the grace of God! She was rescued and taken to live in our second House of Palms campus in Neemuch. Ishita is safe, happy and growing in her faith. She’s also doing well in her studies and has a dream to becoming a doctor. We are grateful she has a bright and beautiful future in God!
Jagat Pawara
Jagat Pawara was overwhelmed by illness, unable to carry out even simple daily tasks. Burdened by debts and under immense pressure, he turned to alcohol, further plunging his life into chaos. His home was filled with strife, and peace was a distant memory.
Amid his struggles, Jagat heard the Gospel. Desperate for a way out, he embraced the Gospel and accepted Jesus as his personal Savior. This decision marked the beginning of a profound transformation in his life.
Through the power of Christ, Jagat found the strength to abandon his destructive habits and mischievous behavior. His health began to improve, and with it, he gained the ability to manage his responsibilities once more. The oppressive weight of debt started to lift as he trusted in God’s provision.
The peace that had long eluded him was restored, and his home became a place of harmony and joy. Jagat’s life is now a testament to the redemptive power of faith in Jesus Christ. His story of deliverance and renewal is a powerful witness to God’s mercy and grace. Praise be to God for His miraculous work in Jagat’s life.
Significant Church Leaders Retreat
Fast Facts:
Who: Pastors (In America’s smaller cities and towns)
When: January 27th – 29th, 2025
Where: Faith Family Church, Victoria TX
How Much: $500 per pastor
Keyword: SCN
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