Take Mom To Church Tomorrow And On A Country Ride

BROOKSVILLE - Whose mom wouldn't enjoy a Mother's Day ride down a wooded lane to Faith Fellowship Church, a small old-fashioned place of worship?

Then add singing - indoors and out.

The music indoors is by the congregation with soloists and touring Christian music groups.

The music outdoors comes from nature - songs by all sorts of birds, frogs and crickets in the surrounding leafy, new spring green. Pastor Tom Dickson says he's never seen so many hickory nuts and eager squirrels.

The pastor's wife, Cheryl Dickson, will sing one of her many newer hymns that will remind you of songstress June Carter, or play the organ for traditional hymns that will surely please mom while Charlotte Meinhardt plays the piano.

Dickson promises his message tomorrow will include a tribute to mothers. The slogan on the sign says, "Welcome to Faith Fellowship - A Full Gospel Independent Church." He is family oriented, having headed a court-directed group home for troubled and orphaned children in New England. One woman who was a resident there as a child saw Dickson in a busy mall in St. Petersburg 15 years later, and dashed over to say hello and thank him for helping her become a Christian.

Dickson has been preaching on the East Coast for more than 40 years. He enjoys rural solitude and relishes heading a small church "where you really get to know and care about each other as you study God's word and grow old together. I may be retirement age but I'm not retired from God's work."

"In the beginning it was God's plan not to have a large church. In these hard times today, I believe the ministry God has given to us all is to be on a one-to-one basis," Dickson said. "That will be more vital. People here have needs met in getting spiritual healing. In a small church the pastor can have more of an understanding. In confidential relationships such a pastor can be someone to talk with for that spiritual guidance, be they about marital and family relationships, hurts and difficult times.

"Sometimes those concepts get lost when you turn large churches into entertainment or just watch TV preachers. I know because I worked for many years with Christian broadcasts and writing for religious publications. We had featured theologians and evangelists such as Perry Stone, Grant Jefferies, Darlene Brubaker, Mike Evans and Jim LaHaye.

"It is natural to crave the personal touch and fellowship, especially as we grow older and maybe Mom doesn't even live near her kids."

Dickson talked about some important mothers in the Bible, including Mary, Sarah and Elizabeth. He also paid tribute to the maternal aspects of such exemplary women as Golda Meier, Margaret Thatcher, Sojourner Truth and Mother Teresa. "Mothers of the world, really."

During the Great Depression, the pastor's own mother and family were of modest means, he recalled. "She always saw that we were well-behaved and dressed neat and clean to go to church each week."

Among the pastor's worries are concerns about "our nation becoming more and more a division of the 'haves' and the 'have nots,' " he lamented. "We must try to see that people are educated so that they can provide for themselves and their families. So many people just simply don't know how to live a better life, or don't have the educational opportunities. And we get frequent calls for financial help, but we're a small church. We refer people in need to various local resources and organizations."

Faith Fellowship does lend support locally to Jericho Road and Dade City Lighthouse men's residencies and ministries. Globally, the church helps missions in Mexico, the Philippines and the Amazon region of South America.

A covered-dish fellowship and the Lord's supper happen quarterly and when music groups and missionaries visit. Faith Fellowship's 13th anniversary will be celebrated at its next homecoming. Last January the founding minister, Pastor John Burns, attended from his present home in North Carolina, where he still preaches.

"Whatever is done in a church is to be done for God's glory," the pastor concluded. " Faith, hope and charity. Find and develop and keep good Christian company. Predictions and prophecies found in the Bible are coming to fruition in the world scene and in churches.

"Mothers are still real in the hearts and minds of us all. We welcome you and honor God and mothers and the motherly love tomorrow and every week."

Faith Fellowship Church is located at 19255 Campground Road, off the intersection of Cobb Road and State Road 98 (Ponce De Leon Boulevard) north of the Florida Highway Patrol station. Phone: 796-6589.

When do they meet?

Sunday school all ages: 10 a.m.

Sunday worship service: 11 a.m.

Sunday eve service: 6 p.m.

Wednesday Bible studies: 7 p.m.