Ministry

FHL Announcements: September 2009 Volunteer Opportunities!!

September 1, 2009 Merlin Gonzales Ministry

Opportunities to get involved and to volunteer as of September 2009:

Prayer at the Circle on 8/30/09 3pm

This prayer group will have a brief worship, communion and prayer for Indianapolis

FHL Kindness Days

on 8/29/09 :00pm

at 10th St & Rural, Indianapolis; There will be 4 Groups reaching out: Passing out cold drinks, picking up trash, street evangelism and Prayer Tent.

on 9/11/09

There will be several projects at Martindale-Brightwood area (clean up, light construction) and in Castleton. We are expecting more than 60 volunteers to come together in serving our communities.

on 10/17/09

This day will be focused on Cars of Clay Ministry. More details to come.

FHL Refugees & Farm Ministry

FHL has (3) farms that have been producing food for the community. A church in Greenwood, IN is donating 20 acres land for farming. There will be vision-casting luncheon at Midwest Food Bank on Saturday, September 12 from 11am to 1pm; Lunch is provided. There are opportunities to partner and to volunteer. Contact Wili de la Rosa at [email protected].

Street Evangelism 9/26/09

Meet at Cornerstone Baptist Church located at 952 N. Pennsylvania at 11am to 3pm. Please contact Bill Lamb 317-549-5238 for more info.

FHL Mobile Food Pantry on 9/26/09 3:00pm-4:30pm

Experience the blessing around the city!

Volunteer from 1:00pm-5:00pm. Contact Ethan Crane (317) 578-3370 for more info.

Citywide Prayer 9/27/09

Citywide Prayer/Worship. Contact Donna Cherry at 317-578-3370 or [email protected]

Jehoshua House, LLC

Offender, Re-entry ministry. Contact Bob Irvin at 317-578-3370 or [email protected] | Jehoshua House.org

Cars of Clay

Car Ministry. Contact Jim Raftery at 317-578-3370 or [email protected]

FHL Corporate Office
Located at 8383 Craig Street, Suite 335, Indianapolis, IN 46250.

Exciting and rewarding volunteer positions available. Contact Merlin Gonzales at (317)578-3370 for more info.

Meeting Minutes: FHL Launching Meeting for FHL Week 2009

January 19, 2009 Merlin Gonzales Ministry, Prayer Groups, Projects

FHL Week 2009

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thank you for coming to the (FHL Week 2009 Launching) meeting. We had many new potential Area Coordinators! Here are the meeting minutes for the January 15th meeting on Thursday:

The Vision of FHL International, Inc. and the FHL Week (It’s about Relationships)
Identification of NEEDS and RESOURCES in our neighborhoods and MOBILIZE our community to serve
Projects, services and events are tools to reach out to the community
We plan for all our events and projects but we are flexible to the leading of the Holy Spirit-He runs this ministry
We are planning to have at least 10 Area Coordinators from the following areas:

o Nora/Castleton
o Urban-North
o Urban South
o Noblesville
o Fishers
o Carmel
o Westfield
o Zionsville
o Greenwood
o West
o Avon/Brownsburg/Plainfield
o Fortville/McCordsville
o East

The Area Coordinators’ (AC) Training meeting is on Thursday, Feb 5th, 8a-10a at the FHL office. Please RSVP by Thursday, Jan 22nd by calling 317-578-3370 or by responding to [email protected] . Bring your potential ‘Apprentice’ and leaders
Please see your email for the ‘Invitation Letter’ to your area churches. You can fill in the blanks for your first area meeting. If you let me know in advance, I could come and assist you in casting the vision. Here is the One-Page ‘Save-the-Date’ brochure
Together with www.fhlinternational.org these Links will provide you and your prospective area church partner with multi-media marketing and presentation:

FHL International,Inc.’s Splashcast Video Channel

FHL International,Inc.’s YouTube Channel

FHL International,Inc.’s Facebook Page

FHL International,Inc.’s Wiki Page

Pastor Paul Backer of Central Christian Church in Carmel will be our AC Consultant. He had been an Area Coordinator for Carmel/Westfield area from 2006-2008 averaging 500+ volunteers every FHL Week
Paul Bechtold is the Metro Indy AC Coordinator and will assist you for the FHL Week
FHL Int’l., Inc. has several ongoing ministries such as the Mobile Food Pantry, Kindness Days, Prayer Teams, English as a Second Language, etc.
The FHL e-newsletter will give you updates on a monthly basis. I will send you another email with the e-news
You are invited to come to the FHL Prayer Team launching on January 24 7p-9p at: Providence Ministries, Indianapolis, Indiana 46218. I will send you another email regarding this event. Hope to see you there.

During these tough economic times, our churches need to work closer together in serving those in need. I would like to encourage you to continue to talk to other churches regarding this ministry that was birth in our own city.

God bless,
Merlin Gonzales
President, FHL International, Inc.

2008-the “Year of Love” for FHL International, Inc. and its Mission to our City

December 20, 2008 Merlin Gonzales Ministry

nativity3 FHL International, Inc. has opened its heart to allow the Lord to work through us in lavishing Indianapolis with love throughout the 2008 year. Through the Mobile Food Pantry, Kindness Days, ESL, Alpha Classes and FHL International Inc.’s signature event-‘FHL Week’, thousands of individuals were served.

God is doing mighty things through FHL International, Inc. in spite of the current economic conditions. I think the Lord birthed Faith, Hope and Love, International, Inc. during the boom in 2005 as part of our preparation for the current recession.

As I was sharing a vision with one of our partners about using their facilities as a storehouse, someone mentioned how the Lord had used Joseph during the famine in Egypt. Please read Genesis Chapter 41 to see how God prepared Joseph to build store houses around Egypt. This has been the vision of FHL-not to build a conglomerate ministry but a network of centers to work together towards the common good for local areas and their needs. This is what I mean about “building communities of faith, hope, and love around the world.”

Please read Acts Chapter 2, also. The current economic condition is a wake-up call to our churches and ministries to start working more closely together (See our future article: 2009 is the ‘Year of Hope’.) With the addition of Cars Ministry and the employment of Bill Farrar as Missions Director, FHL is now poised to expand instead of shrink in these tough economic times, leveraging our god-given resources and talents in serving others rather than using them for self-preservation. Jesus said, to “seek first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness and everything will be added unto you.”

We just need to be reminded of the second Greatest Commandment – love God and others, Mark 12:29-31, “30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'[b] 31The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'[c]There is no commandment greater than these.”

I give glory to God who provided FHL International, Inc. so much. As you have read and heard on the news, countless food pantries are drying up but FHL International, Inc. is now receiving much more than any other time in its existence. God’s economy cannot be explained by human intellect and reasoning. This is the time to have more faith and to rely more on God’s provision rather than men’s wisdom and intellect. (Psalm 146:3)

christmas-box Someone said “You cannot out-give God” and it has resonated through FHL International, Inc. throughout the 2008 year. 2009 is the Year of Hope. As vessels of hope, you and I can be conduits of God’s grace and come along side Him in giving hope to our neighbors. As 2008 come to a close, it is not too late to bless others through your prayers and tax deductible contributions. When you consider your year-end giving, please keep FHL International, Inc. in mind.

Please send your contribution to:

FHL International, Inc.
8383 Craig St Ste. 335,
Indianapolis, IN 46250

On behalf of FHL International, Inc., its staff and volunteers, we wish you a Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year.

God bless,

Merlin Gonzales

President, FHL International, Inc.

Simple ABC’s of Ministry

October 18, 2008 Merlin Gonzales Ministry

Identify needs and identify resources. From the very start of the ministry that God had me started, the ministry had been focused on 2 items: Needs and Resources. So I contacted several pastors and community leaders and asked them to meet together to identify those 2 items in our community. We came up with less than a dozen projects, mobilized 7 churches and inspired 200+ volunteers to serve unconditionally. What turned out to be just a one-time ‘local mission’ became an international ministry within 3 years. The concept (which is not new) is now adopted as far as Cartagena, Colombia.

Join in with what God is doing (and with others who has the heart to transform our community). Two quick stories….

Southport Presbyterian Church (SPC) was looking for additional projects for their youth. I hooked them up with Jerome Jorman to paint his newly purchased house to be used as ‘Group Home’ and with David Woodrupp to paint a house of an elderly near the urban area. The result: 2 houses were painted and several changed lives.

Northview Christian Life Church in Carmel was looking for additional projects to mobilize their congregation (see www.nvcl.org for more info on Life on Loan). I contacted the city of Indianapolis Neighborhood Liaison Office and shared with them the opportunity. They came up with projects, hooked them up with Northview. On the 18th & 19th, dozens of volunteers will be helping our city unconditionally.

Identification, connection and mobilization. Identify the needs and resources and connecting them through mobilization of the community. Simple ABC’s of Ministry…