Monthly Archives: June 2024

Ministry Uses Faith-Based Content and Fellowship to Bring Meaning and Purpose to Fantasy Leagues and Churches Nationwide

FAITH NEWS SERVICE – A Gospel-Centered Approach to Playing and Talking About Fantasy Football

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina–Fantasy Football Fellowship is launching FREE content, resources, and strategies for all Fantasy Football leagues to experience deep fellowship and grow in their faith throughout the season.

As an innovative and powerful initiative of UNPACKIN’ it Ministries Inc., Fantasy Football Fellowship effectively encourages and engages its members to “Play Fantasy Football with Purpose.”

The FREE and easy-to-use framework and content are helping Fantasy Football leagues double as Bible-based small groups. Churches are incorporating Fantasy Football Fellowship into their discipleship efforts to engage and build relationships with sports fans in their congregation.

Participants still compete in a regular Fantasy Football league through their favorite Fantasy Football platforms. The difference is that participants also gather for weekly “league meetings” in fellowship and discuss the weekly “Breakout” content provided by Fantasy Football Fellowship, which uses parallels from Fantasy Football and relates them to life and Biblical truth.

“We are thankful to be able to provide this FREE ministry to churches and the Fantasy Football community. We believe Fantasy Football is a blast, yet we want people to enhance the experience to include deep fellowship while growing in their faith,” said Bryce Johnson, President and Founder of UNPACKIN’ it Ministries and creator of Fantasy Football Fellowship.

A church league leader described his FFF experience by saying, “Fantasy Football Fellowship is a great way to have fun, hang out with some cool people, and learn more about yourself and Jesus. My league has had a lot of fun, helped form new friendships, and helped foster relationships where significant caring, sharing, and prayer take place.”

Fantasy Football Fellowship is turning a passionate hobby and competitive activity into a unique opportunity for members to experience life change. Every Fantasy Football manager is invited to join the FFF community today.

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* Learn more about Fantasy Football Fellowship and Become a Member today! Find us on YouTube and social media/podcast platforms.

** For media requests, interviews, and speaking opportunities, please contact:

Matt Osborne- Matt@unpackinit.com

About Fantasy Football Fellowship

Fantasy Football Fellowship is a ministry initiative of UNPACKIN’ it Ministries. It

provides content, resources, and strategies for Fantasy Football leagues to

experience deep fellowship and grow their faith throughout the season. For more information, please visit www.fantasyfootballfellowship.com.

About UNPACKIN’ it Ministries

UNPACKIN’ it Ministries, Inc. is a ministry for sports fans officially founded in 2014.

Their vision is to see sports fans everywhere following Jesus, and their mission is to challenge, encourage, and inspire sports fans to follow Jesus and become more like Him. They unpack sports, faith, and life through podcasts, radio, digital, devotionals, books, events, and fellowship opportunities. For more information, please visit www.unpackinit.com.

New Release Offers Help in Dealing with Personal Difficulties

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FAITH NEWS SERVICE – How should we best handle personal struggles and difficulties in life? Secular psychologists point us to solutions such as self-care, feeling our feelings, and other strategies to deal with our problems.

In a new release, Fighting My Battles with God on My Side (Redemption Press), author Kim Hardy points us back to God and reminds us we don’t have to face our struggles alone as God promises to fight our battles for us (see Ex. 14:14).

After taking inventory of where she’d be without God in her life, Hardy points readers to the truths of the Word of God as the primary resource for handling problems. Then, as part of the body of Christ, we can reach out to others for prayer rather than stay insulated from others.

Hardy covers dealing with our emotions, how we respond to others, how negative thoughts affect our behavior, and self-esteem issues that cause us to hide behind masks. But in all instances, she points the reader to God of the Angel Armies, who fights our battles for us.

Fighting My Battles with God on My Side provides inspiration, practical and biblical advice, and help from someone who has experienced God walking with her through both the hard times and the joys of life. An expanded section of interactive and intuitive questions helps the reader go deeper into scriptural answers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kim Hardy is an author, a speaker, and a hope dealer. She is married to her knight in shining armor, Nick, who keeps her laughing. She is passionate about giving hope to women through biblical truth, and seeks to inspire, renew, and restore hurting women so they can reach their full potential and live joy-filled lives. A resident of East Texas, Kim loves to read, write, and spend time outdoors. Fighting My Battles with God on My Side is Kim’s first book. She offers hope weekly on her blog Sunflowers of Hope, sunflowersofhope.com. For speaking inquiries, email her at info@sunflowersofhope.com.

For interviews contact: info@sunflowersofhope.com.

Social Media:
Website: sunflowersofhope.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hardykim82
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hardyk82/

Suggested Interview Questions

What are some of the differences between secular and biblical advice on how to handle the problems and battles of life?
You say your life would have been very different without the Lord by your side. How so?
Why do you think some of our personal battles seem to reoccur?
Can you share an instance when God intervened in a personal battle of yours?
Besides Exodus 14:14, what Scripture has been most meaningful to you in facing difficulties?
How important has sharing your difficulties with a friend been in your life?
What do you hope readers will take away from your book?

New Inspirational Release Issues an Invitation to Authentic Worship

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FAITH NEWS SERVICE – Denominations, congregations, and individuals often differ on the correct answer to the question “What is worship?” Sinclair Ferguson writes, “There is a difference between going to a service ‘for the worship’ and going to a service ‘to worship the Lord.’ The distinction appears to be a minor one, but it may imply the difference between the worship of God and the worship of music.”[1]

Brad Tuttle, a worshiper and intercessor who teaches on worship, says, “We have a choice to be the kind of worshiper the Father seeks or to be the kind of worshiper the Father does not seek.” In his new release, How Can We Not Worship Him? (Redemption Press), Tuttle defines worship and draws the reader into the authentic and biblical worship of God with forty-four short chapters containing encouragement to draw close to God, an invitation to delight in worship of Him, and a call to partake in worship that pleases the Father.

This devotional volume is written for those who want to be closer to the Lord, feel his presence, and worship him from the heart but may not know how to enter in. Those who already delight in worship and experience awe and wonder in God’s presence will be drawn deeper still.

Each reflective thought contains an invitation to come before the throne of God. Each entry contains scripture that invites a response and prayers that will lead you into God’s presence. Also included is the author’s testimony of his supernatural experience of salvation and the account of his recent death-to-life experience.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Brad Tuttle recently retired after forty-two years in the mortgage banking industry. A worshiper and intercessor since 1985, he is a speaker and writer of articles on worship and prayer. A member of the board of directors of Colorado Prays, he is one of the hosts of a joint TV prayer program sponsored by Colorado Prays and Rocky Mountain Christian Television Network. He and his praying wife of fifty-five years, Juneal, have two daughters, two sons-in-law, and four grandchildren. They live in Colorado, where he enjoys working in his multiple flower gardens.

For interviews, contact Brad Tuttle: brad@bradtuttle.net.

Suggested Interview Questions

What was your first experience with worship in a church like?
What is your definition of a worship service?
Do you think men, as a rule, have a harder time than women freely expressing themselves in worship? If so, why?
What do you feel pleases God in corporate worship? What doesn’t?
What’s the difference between singing and worship?
You’ve written articles and spoken on worship. What do you want people to know most about becoming a worshiper?
How has your recent near-death experience affected your relationship with the Lord?

[1] Sinclair Ferguson, A Heart for God, 1987, in “Conflict Over Musical Styles in Christian Worship,” by Eric Beechem, www. Medium.com, Apr. 11, 2021.

Practical Help for Mothers Raising a Special Needs Child Offered in New Release

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FAITH NEWS SERVICE – “Every 4 1/2 minutes, a baby is born with a birth defect in the United States. Birth defects affect 1 in every 33 babies born in the United States each year. That translates into about 120,000 babies,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.[1]

When one mother’s son contracted group B strep on the third day of his life, he became a part of that statistic. Sandra Nieto, author of Special Kids—Chosen Moms: A Mother’s Guide to Raising Her Special Needs Child (Redemption Press), says, “My beautiful child, Clay, was blind, had cerebral palsy, was fed via a G-tube with a twenty-four-hour feeding pump, and took as many as thirty-two medications a day.”

Because of what she learned on her almost-sixteen-year journey with her son, she has written a practical and supportive guide to help prepare, organize, and encourage mothers as they raise their special needs child. In this book she helps mothers face many difficult decisions regarding healthcare, schools, and respite and gives tips on organizing the household, recipes, and Scriptures to feed the soul.

Nieto says, “My hope is to remind mothers of God’s love and to appreciate that they are ‘chosen’ by our heavenly Father to nurture these little ones.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sandra Nieto served on the board of the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation from 2000 to 2003. Married and the mother of four adult children in a blended family, she and her husband live in Arizona. She enjoys walking, hiking, and running and has run half marathons, a full marathon in Paris, France, and two triathlons. Sandra blogs at www.sandranieto.com but Special Kids—Chosen Moms: A Mother’s Guide to Raising Her Special Needs Child is her debut book.

For interviews, contact Sandra Nieto at: s.nieto@yahoo.com
Website: www.sandranieto.com
Instagram: @theothersandranieto @special_kids_chosen_moms

Suggested Interview Questions

First, tell us a bit about your son, Clay, so we can get to know him.
What was the biggest challenge for you when you found out your son would need lifelong special care?
What area do you think mothers of special needs children most need help with?
You say the quality of the child’s life will largely depend on your (and his) attitude toward struggles. What did you find helped most to keep your attitude about caregiving positive?
Out of all the tips and advice you give in the book, what do you think is the most helpful?
Navigating the medical arena with diagnoses and insurance and appointments seems daunting. What helped you keep on track?
What are the distinctives of your book, Special Kids—Chosen Moms? Why do you feel the material in it is beneficial to moms with special needs children?

[1] “Birth Defects are Common, Costly, and Critical,” June 28, 2023, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov.

New Release Explores the Identity Question “Who am I?” by First Answering the Question “Who is God?”

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FAITH NEWS SERVICE – A new release focuses on self-discovery and identity by putting first things first. In Knowing Him, Finding Me (Redemption Press), debut author Rochelle Lefler recommends first finding out who God is and then who He has created us to be.

Lefler, who works with women in university ministry, says first we need an understanding of the characteristics of God before we discover who we were meant to be. “Often women walk in either insecurities or pride. But I pray this book will help women walk in humble confidence—humble before God, yet confident in Him.”

Rochelle Lefler spent many years discipling women one on one and in small group settings. She says, “A lot of our conversations and discussions have provided the content for this book. As I have traveled around the world I’ve come to realize that regardless of religious or national background there are some questions and struggles that are common denominators among women.”

To answer the question, Who is God? Lefler delves into the names of God and biblical truths concerning who He is. She says, by discovering who God is and what He is like through His names and attributes, we come to know Him.

As we do this, we can then learn who we were created to be—forgiven, free, strong, confident, and much more. Knowing Him, Finding Me encourages women to step into their God-given gifting and calling so they can live life to its full potential.

Rochelle Lefler says, “My number one goal is that God would use it to draw people closer to Himself. I also pray that people would be challenged to step out of their comfort zones and recognize the responsibility and calling that God has placed on their lives.”

Designed for seekers and Jesus followers alike, each chapter gives the reader ideas on how to know God better and apply the information to their own lives through Scripture, thoughtful personal reflection questions, and practical applications.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Rochelle Lefler grew up in North Carolina and has traveled extensively in the States and abroad. She has been in ministry more than twenty years, ten of those years serving with her husband, Jake. Rochelle has most recently been involved in university ministry. You can visit her blog at rochellelefler.com. In her free time, she enjoys writing, sharing a cup of tea with friends, playing the piano, and spending time with her husband and four boys.

For interviews, please contact: rochellealefler@gmail.com
Website: rochellelefler.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093669039378
Instagram: https://instagram.com/chellelefler?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==

Suggested Interview Questions

When and how did the idea of this book first germinate?
Your ministry has been with young women in small evangelism and discipleship groups. What did you learn from these seeking young women that influenced the material in this book?
Your educational background is in journalism. In what ways did this help you in writing your first nonfiction book?
From your experience with young women, how important is the identity question, Who am I?
Are any other writing projects in the works?

What would you advise others who have a book idea but don’t know how to get started?

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