Dear First Pres,
   
   Early in 2016 I picked up a book called Saturate by Pastor Jeff Vanderstelt. I had heard about Jeff and the work he was doing in Tacoma, WA when I lived in Gig Harbor, but I never met him. It was only a few years ago that I began to notice that he was writing and speaking about some of the very same things that we've been working on here at FPC Fresno. So, when I saw that Jeff had written a book, I was naturally interested. Plus, I was intrigued by the subtitle: Being disciples of Jesus in the everyday stuff of life.
   Still, I didn't get the title. What did he mean by Saturate? Well, it turns out, that what Jeff means by "saturate" is very similar to what we mean by "redeeming transformation" in our Purpose Statement. He points to a verse in Habakkuk (2:14) where God talks about a day when the earth will be full of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord like the waters cover the sea. That is a picture of saturation. It starts with the grace of Jesus saturating our whole lives, but the outworking of that in the people of God means that it is also evident in our city and world. 
 
     So, I read the book, and I loved it. It was simple, encouraging, challenging, inspiring, and deeply connected with the vision that God has planted in the leaders of FPC Fresno. I immediately thought, "Every person of FPC Fresno should read this book." I started with Session. We spent the spring working our way through the chapters and discussing them together. Then one of the women's Spring Six groups read it as well. Of course, not everyone was as excited as I was about the book, but it resonated with many of us.
    
   Then, when the Community Growth ministry team (who oversees all of Adult Ministry) realized that there was now a Saturate Field Guide designed for groups to work through together, we had our plan for Wednesday Nights @ FPC.

   WednesdayNights@FPC start on September 14, 2016. They'll run for 9 weeks - till November 9. The one adult course for both men and women will be Saturate: Principles and practices for being disciples of Jesus in the everyday stuff of life. That's right; we'll have all the adults (the ones who aren't serving our kids or cleaning up dinner) in the Sanctuary to experience this training course together. I'll be leading the course with a great leadership team: Diane Vaccaro, Lori Meadors, Touradj Etezadi, Mindy Franklin, Steve Skibbie, and Terry Jaurena. 
 
   I hope every person of FPC Fresno considers joining us forWednesday Nights @ FPC  to either serve our kids or participate in this course.  I truly believe it will be a vitally important step in helping us live our purpose: to engage together in Christ's work of making disciples for the redeeming transformation of our city and world. May it be so.

Blessings,
 

PS: Sunday, we'll have a table on the lawn to find out more aboutWednesday Nights @ FPC. Or you can register yourself and any family members through your MyFPC profile via Community/Events. Want to know what the children and youth are doing Wednesday Nights? Find out here.