GO2 Church Planting Ministries

Prayers for Haiti.  That was the phrase that echoed following the devastating earthquake one year ago today. The earthquake caused the death of nearly a quarter of a million people, injured over 300,000 and left over a million more homeless.*  In a culture where we're too often distracted by the next news cycle, it's a phrase we need to keep in the forefront.

Since the earthquake Haiti its people have endured continued infrastructure issues, rainy seasons, hurricanes, and a cholera outbreak. And yet, Haiti's people are resilient, as evidenced in this photo essay from The Boston Globe.

GO2 teamed with World Vision in April of 2010 to send a relief team, and a second team followed in August.  GO2 is commited to continuing this work in 2011.  The nation and its people are still in dire need.  To learn how you can partner with GO2 to continue providing relief to Haiti and her people, visit the Justice+Mercy section of our website.  And most of all, please pray.

*  Figures from Haiti:  One Year Later White House Blog entry by Patrick Gaspard, Director of White House Office of Political Affairs, 1/12/2011

We're pleased to share the news that the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches (GO2 holds national ministry status in the FGBC) has named a new Moderator. The new Moderator of the FGBC is Rev. Bob Fetterhoff, who also serves as the Chairman of GO2 Ministries' Board of Directors.  Many thanks to Tom Hocking, the outgoing FGBC Moderator, for his time in this position and congratulations, Bob!

Here is the FGBC news release:

"Dear Fellowship Brothers and Sisters in the FGBC,

Believing that God has uniquely prepared Bob Fetterhoff to be the first long-term moderator of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches (FGBC), and having received overwhelmingly positive confirmations that the Fellowship Council, the recently created Enduring Visionary Leadership Community, and leaders of our national ministries concur with that assessment, I have asked Bob to complete the last 6 months of my term as moderator. You may remember that my second term as moderator was to be a transitional year. So, with gratitude to God for giving Bob the willingness to advance that transitional agenda more quickly, I resigned as FGBC moderator effective January 1, 2011. The Fellowship Council has already appointed Bob Fetterhoff to complete my term of service which will end at National Conference, 2011.

By making this move now, Bob Fetterhoff and Tom Avey (the FGBC Fellowship Coordinator) will have increased latitude to shape the format of our conference in July of 2011—making it more of a vision-casting conference rather than an Equip conference. Please begin praying with me now for that conference as delegates will consider a new future for the FGBC. By the way, Jeff Bogue will continue in his role as Vice Moderator, serving alongside Bob for the next 6 months.

So to recap, here are three very important announcements from the office of FGBC moderator and the Fellowship Council of the FGBC…

1. I have resigned as moderator of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches and Bob Fetterhoff has been appointed interim moderator from January to National Conference, 2011.
2. The 2011 National Conference will be re-shaped to highlight Bob’s vision.
3. The Fellowship Council will nominate Bob Fetterhoff to serve the FGBC as moderator beginning August 2011. This action, including the term duration, will be finalized at the January meeting of the Fellowship Council.

On a personal note, I want you to know that I am both energized by these developments and excited to be a part of the coming adventure in our network of churches! May Jesus Christ be praised!!

Learning to Love,
Tom Hocking"