In addition to FEC’s global footprint throughout the world, recently the main office in northeast Fort Wayne became a temporary home for Zo Christian Church, a Burmese church. After an FEC church member connected Zo Christian Church with the FEC office, the two ministries discovered many shared similarities. The result was that the Zo Christian Church wanted to partner with FEC.
Last fall, Zo Christian Church was meeting in a building that required remodeling. After meeting with a construction company employee who also attends an FEC church, the church leaders met with Rocky Rocholl, FEC President, and Hal Lehman, Cross-Cultural Church Multiplication Director, and they discovered that they share a similar doctrine and mission. When Zo Christian Church sold their building, FEC staff offered their office lower level for Sunday gatherings until they found a more permanent home. Hal Lehman said, “They are the first church to worship in our building.”
Since connecting with FEC, Zo Christian Church leaders have begun the process of becoming an official FEC church. The first step to becoming a fully participating FEC church requires a pastor to be credentialed and receive a pastor’s license from the FEC board of elders, affirming doctrinal agreement. They must also prove that they are self-governed and self-supported. By autumn, we anticipate that the FEC delegate body will be able to recognize and approve them as a fully participating church.
Zo Christian Church includes about 150 men, women, and children who have come from Myanmar and call Fort Wayne their home. The Zo people are an ethnic group that can be found in Myanmar and other east Asian nations. Fort Wayne is also home to other ethnic groups from Myanmar. In the 1990’s, Fort Wayne began welcoming refugees from Myanmar, and some sources cite it as the largest settlement of Burmese people in the United States. We continue to praise God for opportunities to welcome neighbors from across the globe into our fellowship.
