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Histroy, Page 4

We began 1999 with great hope and promise. On Saturday, March 13, 1999, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for our first building and construction begin on March 15, 1999. The following pastors came to celebrate with us: Pastor Chester Riggins of Saints Rest Baptist Church; Pastor Paul Binion of Westside Church of God; Pastor G. L. Johnson of People’s Church; Pastor Bufe Karraker of Northwest Church; Pastor Bob Cherry of Grace Family Fellowship; Pastor Edward Lee of Mt. Olive Baptist Church; Pastor Jan Van Oosten of New Covenant Community Church; Pastor Jerome Jackson of Christian Community Church; and Pastor George Posthumus of Riverpark Bible Church. These were all churches, which had supported us either with prayer or by giving us the use of their facilities while we were waiting for our own.

With construction well underway for the multi-purpose building, we proceeded forward with great excitement. God had been faithful to us, and now we needed to be faithful to Him. As Pastor McGensy had been considering the theme for 1999, it was placed on his heart that we, as a body of believers, need to focus our attention on “Filling the Master’s House” (Luke 14:23) through evangelism. As we were obedient to sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, God added to this local assembly of believers.

Not only did the Master’s House need to be filled with people, but also with furnishings. In making cutbacks for the building, the reserve for furniture was eliminated.. Our trustees showed tremendous courage and faithfulness as they once again were forced to come before the congregation and present the need. The congregation came together on Saturday, July 17, 1999, at a banquet to give praise to God for the great things He had done, to get information regarding the needs of the church, and to receive encouragement through testimonies of God’s faithfulness to us. That evening proved to be a great success as people graciously pledged their support to “Furnish the Master’s House.” With these pledges we were able to purchase 400 comfortable chairs, a grand piano, sound system, and multi-media equipment.

After much anticipating and arduous labor, both paid and volunteer, Family Community Church was ready to open the doors of our new church building. On October 24, 1999, the congregation gathered in front of the church and with high praise and prayers of thanksgiving, we entered God’s House at Chestnut and Nees singing, “We’ve Come This Far By Faith.” Our church dedication service was held on November 7, 1999, with many of our sister churches from throughout the City of Fresno joining us to celebrate this special occasion. Rev. Chester Riggins brought the gospel message on our theme, “Unless the Lord Builds a House.” This was indeed a glorious day!

As a body of believers, we entered the new millennium with the theme for the year 2000 “Endeavoring to Live By Sound Doctrine,” (II Timothy 4:3a). We know that whenever the unadulterated Word is preached and God has been glorified, the enemy attacks. During that year, we experienced much internal strife and unrest. However, in the midst of our season of testing, we remained faithful and focused, and the Lord brought us through the storm even stronger than when we entered it.

As our church and community continued to grow with many young families, it was time to begin the second stage of our vision – a full-time daycare center. Two faithful members, Deborah Marius and Michael McDonald, were assigned the challenging task of starting a Christian daycare center from which numerous church members and the community-at-large have been able to benefit.

In the fall of the year, Rev. McGensy was led by the Holy Spirit to start planning for the next phase of our education program...a Christian school. NorthPointe Leadership Academy was selected as the school’s name and Dr. Deborah Johnson-Daniel was asked to head a planning team consisting of the pastor’s wife, Janetta McGensy, Dr. Rosylin Bessard, Dr. Sharron Herron, Gwendolyn Lockett, and Tina Hunt. The planning is still in progress and we are looking forward to opening in the fall of 2004.

In May 2000, our church family witnessed its first Deacon Ordination Service with Marshall Kelley, Thomas Keys, Raymond Mitchell, Wesley Slade, Michael Smith, Ralph Toles, and Jack Wilkinson being ordained.
We ended the year 2000 with much joy and grace as we continued to witness the power of God working through us as a church body. Souls were being saved, lives were being changed, and many were growing in Christian maturity.

As we entered the year 2001, we were beginning to fill up all the seats on Sunday morning, which left no room to make visitors feel comfortable or to reach out and bring in more unsaved. Rev. McGensy was led to consider having two worship services. Even through there was some initial resistance, we witnessed the Holy Spirit bringing the congregation together which culminated in two morning worship services.

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