What’s Happening 12/5/25

Forward Church welcomes to the family new members Evan & Elise Strong.

Romans 5:17, Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Invite Your Neighbors This Christmas!

Help us spread the word this Christmas season by picking up a Forward Christmas yard sign this Sunday!

If you already have a yard sign base, simply grab a new Christmas sign topper.

A friendly reminder: please keep your metal yard stakes with the QR code so they can be reused for future events here at Forward.

Let’s reach our community for Jesus together this Christmas! 🎄

LifeWise Academy Representatives This Sunday

Representatives from LifeWise Academy will be in our lobby this Sunday to share more about their ministry. Stop by their table to learn how LifeWise brings Bible education to public school students and how you can get involved.

Powered by The Gospel Project, the LifeWise curriculum walks students through the entire Bible with a three-fold focus: Head, Heart, and Hands.

Through our new partnership, students from S. Ellen Jones Elementary, located just a few blocks from Forward Church, will be able to come to our campus during the school day to study the Bible in a safe and welcoming environment.

🎶 forKids Christmas Handbell Choir— Ring in Christmas! 🎄

Get ready to make a joyful noise! Our forKids Christmas Handbell Choir will perform at the Christmas worship service on Sunday, December 21st. Invite your family and friends, and join the fun as we celebrate the birth of our Savior!

🎶 Rehearsal: THIS Sunday, December 7 following the service in the Worship Center.

Join Us for the Friends Forever Fund!

This year, our Friends Forever Fund has a goal of $250,000. We invite you to join us throughout this month in daily prayer, asking the Lord how He may be leading you to give generously. To guide us in this season, we’re walking together through the 21 Days of Deeper Prayer devotional.

How Your Gift Makes a Difference

Your generous gift will help us create more space in our building for people to hear the gospel of Jesus. In addition, 10% of the goal will support these impactful mission partners:

• Mission of Hope – providing 40,000 meals to families in Haiti and the Dominican Republic

• SOAR – helping men and women find healing from sexual abuse

• Island Encounters (Fiji) – supplying a large ministry tent for Youth outreach

• Local & Global Missions – supporting ongoing mission work through Forward Church

Thank you for helping us share the hope of Christ locally and around the world!

You can give any time online through the Giving page on our website. Click the down arrow and select the ‘Friends Forever Fund’ OR bring your offering in person during our Christmas service on Sunday, December 21st. We will celebrate that morning what all God has done!

Donate here 👇👇👇 now!!
https://www.forwardchurchfamily.com/giving/

Volunteer Opportunity: White Flag Shelter

Forward Church Family, we have an amazing opportunity to bless our community by volunteering with Southern Indiana’s White Flag Shelter—an emergency overnight shelter that opens its doors when temperatures drop below 35 degrees. This ministry is a partnership with one of Forward’s supported ministries, The Nomad Church Collective. The shelter operates from November 15 through April 15.

There are many ways to serve, including helping with dinner, laundry service, preparing bedding, and—most importantly—building relationships with guests.

If this sounds like a way you’d love to make a difference this winter, sign up soon!

👉 Learn more or volunteer at nomadchurch.org/volunteer

Share the Love of Christ – Serve at The Breakaway Recovery House

Join us once a month as we share a meal and the love of Christ with the ladies residing at The Breakaway Recovery House, our neighbors just across the alley from Forward Church. Our goal is to make these women feel welcomed, valued, and invited to worship with us if they don’t have a church home.

Volunteers from Forward Church will prepare a meal and/or spend time in fellowship with the residents. Women of Forward, if you’d like to help or learn more, please contact Tonia Hatfield at Hatfield912@gmail.com.

Upcoming Dates:

• December 14

Propel Youth Ministry – Wednesdays at Forward Church!

Middle and high school students — join us every Wednesday evening from 7:00–8:30 PM at Forward Church for Propel Youth Ministry!

Come be part of a dynamic community where we dive into God’s Word, grow in our faith, and build lasting friendships. Bring your friends. We can’t wait to see you there!

Young adults, ages 18-29 — whether you’re single or married — we’d love for you to be part of our community called Merge! If you’re looking to meet others your age who love Jesus and genuinely care for one another, this is the place for you.

🎄🌟 Join us on December 15th for our annual Christmas party! Invite a friend and get ready for all the fun! There will be a delicious dinner, a coffee/cocoa bar, fun games with prizes, and Christmas gifts!!

NO MERGE on December 29th. Our gatherings will resume after the New Year on January 12th.

To get connected, download the Stack Team App, search for Merge@Forward, and request to join our group.

If you have any questions, reach out to Tanya at tanya@forwardchurchfamily.com.

Come be part of a community where faith, friendship, and real conversations merge together. We can’t wait to see you there!

Open to all and meets Sunday mornings from 9-10am in the classroom behind the Worship Center. Join us as we start the book of James.

Contact Dave Hollander at dgchollander@yahoo.com with any questions.

Men, if you’re looking to connect with other guys here at Forward, this is a great group to be part of!

Our Tuesday evening Men’s Group is a time to dive into God’s Word, grow in faith, and build lasting friendships with other godly men.

You’re welcome to jump in any time; no sign-up required! The group meets every Tuesday at 6:30 PM right here at the church.

If you have any questions or want to learn more, reach out to Vince Garmon at vinceg0710@gmail.com.

Come be encouraged and challenged as we grow together as men of faith!

All men are welcome to join! Every Tuesday morning from 7-8am at Panera Bread on State Street. For any questions, reach out to Brent Kulwicki at brentkulwicki@gmail.com

If you are interested in becoming a member of Forward, contact Pastor Neil at neil@forwardchurchfamily.com!

The Chest of Joash provides an opportunity to give above and beyond the normal tithe. The money from it goes directly to work needed done on our building.

In 2 Chronicles 24 we find Joash repairing the temple and a chest was set outside of it for people to bring a tithe that was used to pay the workers restoring the temple. Verse 10 says, “And all the princes and all the people rejoiced and brought their tax and dropped it into the chest until they had finished.”

A huge THANK YOU to all of you who have joyfully donated just as the Israelite officials and people did!

You can give to the Chest of Joash by clicking the button below and selecting “Chest of Joash” in the drop down menu.

We want you to know that you are not giving TO Forward Church, you are giving THROUGH Forward Church! Our commitment is to stewarding every dollar that God entrusts to us for the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Join us online from anywhere every Sunday at 10:30am! You can stream our services here on our website! Just click “Watch Live” at the top of any page!

1 Peter 4:10, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:”

We’re encouraging and challenging everyone to take the step to get connected in serving on a team with us at Forward! We have many opportunities to serve:

• forKids (Nursery, Toddlers/Twos, The Clubhouse/Pre-K, God City/K-1st, The Dig/2nd-5th)
• Propel Middle (meets Sunday mornings) and Propel High (meets Wednesday evenings)
• Greeters and Ushers
• Parking Team
• Tech Team

For any area you may be interested in or want more information on, click the “Serve With Us!” button below and we’ll get you started!