We are excited to introduce our new project to you, TRUE BEAUTY, a series with Lisa Chan about finding your identity in Jesus. Please watch this introductory clip for the first film, Be Still, below.
We are currently working on several projects and need your help. If you would like to help in making the next Flannel films you can donate here.
We value your support and our partnership with you.
Steve Carr
Executive Director
You are receiving this email because you are a friend of Flannel: a donor, a customer, or someone who has previously expressed interest in our film series. We rarely send emails like this one to our complete mailing list, and appreciate you taking the time to read it.
We would like you to prayerfully consider making a donation to our Ed’s Story series. We are trying to raise $72,000 by the end of this month to complete the final two films. All donations for this series will be matched, so your gift will actually be doubled. Ed has been working on this series for three years now, and we are almost there.
However, we need to get there faster. Frankly, we don’t know how much longer Ed will be able to film.
If you are not familiar with Ed’s Story, I invite you to watch the first film, It Ain’t Over, at edsstory.com. Ed’s Story includes some of the most powerful films we have released to date, because Ed’s Story is real. It’s a compelling story of hope from a man with an incurable disease. Ten years ago, Ed was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and given just a few years to live. This series poignantly discusses the lessons Ed has learned over the past decade.
We have just two films left to make in the series, one on being grateful and another on healing.
Please prayerfully consider making a gift to help us finish. You can give online now at https://flannel.org/support/donate, or send a check to us at:
Flannel
4555 Wilson Ave SW Suite 1
Grandville, MI 49418
Flannel is a 501(c)(3) corporation and your gift is tax deductible.
Thanks for your help and please feel free to share this email with friends you think may be interested.
Steve Carr
Executive Director
In 2007, we did quite a bit of planning. Our staff met a number of times to assess how we were doing and to dream about the future. In January 2008, our board of directors made it official. We developed a vision statement.
“By 2012, Flannel will become a catalyst for highly creative people who share our desire to communicate the way of Jesus to the world. In addition to NOOMA, we will be fulfilling our mission with more speakers and formats.”
Praise God, we did it! Since January of 2008 we have released 6 of the 7 films in our BASIC series with Francis Chan along with 2 small group experiences, Who Is God and We Are Church. We have also released 5 of 7 films in the Ed’s Story series with Ed Dobson. We could not have done any of this without your prayers and support. Thank you!
In 2012, we will be releasing 2 new series.
This is a film series we are creating with Lisa Chan that focuses on lies women have been taught and the freedom that results when you replace the lie with truth as told to us through Scripture. Our culture has placed expectations on women that are, quite frankly, impossible to meet. To understand what I am talking about, all you have to do is walk through the check-out line at your local grocery store. You can learn anything you need to know about improving your looks, your career, your love life, and more. The only problem is, most of what is projected from magazine stands is the exact opposite of what Scripture tells us. While this series is meant for women, it has a lot to say to all of us. Check out this short film from Dove that inspires us in our quest to reveal true beauty.
Once you hear from Lisa, we think you will agree with us that she is a gifted communicator. While you have probably never heard her, she has taught women in her church for years. She has a passion to share with other women what God has put on her heart. And quite simply, that is what we need in order to get serious about following Jesus. Many of the struggles in our lives stem from the fact that we are chasing after the wrong dream.
Lisa also has one of the traits that have become very important in Flannel’s search for new speakers, and that is her life reflects her words! Lisa learned from her grandmother that following Jesus is worth more than anything the world can ever offer. It’s how she lives her life, every day. Lisa will be sharing practical lessons on what it means to follow Jesus. In addition, the series will introduce us to women who have applied these lessons to their lives. We can’t wait to show it to you this coming spring!
Mike Foster has been a friend of Flannel for many years. Mike Foster is the co-founder of People of the Second Chance, a movement that advocates for radical grace every day, in every moment, for everyone. He is the author of Gracenomics: Unleash the Power of Second Chance Living and lives in Southern California with his wife and two children.
Mike has a passion to demonstrate grace. As followers of Jesus, we have been given the beautiful gift of grace. Mike has noticed over the years that while we have this gift, we can be pretty stingy about sharing it. We can be pretty quick to judge. One wrong comment, moment of weakness, or other slip can instantly leave you on the outside looking in.
What would our world look like if we were able to extend the radical grace that Jesus has shown us? Well that’s what we will be exploring with Mike in this project. We will be showing real-life stories of amazing grace!
We are very excited to tell you that creative direction on this project will come from our co-founder Tom Rinks! Tom played a huge role in the creation of NOOMA, and he led Flannel for many years. He has gone on to create a number of successful consumer brands, and we could not be happier that he is lending his incredible creative mind to this series.
The past few months have been amazing as we have watched Ed’s Story touch people’s lives. We joined up with Ed a couple of years ago now in a desire to be a catalyst for the hope he wants to share with the world. Last month, we saw the hope spread a couple of million times on the Today Show! Watch Ed’s appearance here.
In the month of December, his story will continue to spread on hundreds of radio stations as they air an in-depth interview with Ed about his journey.
We are very eager to finish filming this series and we really need your help. We have two films left with a combined production cost of $100,000. Thanks to one generous donor, $50,000 of this cost has been pledged if we can raise matching funds! We need your help right now. Please help us complete Ed’s Story!
We recently completed post-production on the seventh and final BASIC film, Communion. We are grateful for your support and encouragement. This series was put together in a desire to be a catalyst to Francis Chan as he inspires us to BE the church. Today we have a generation of people interested in the teachings of Jesus, but not necessarily the church. In this series, Francis shows us that the two truly go together. If we want to be followers of Jesus, we are the church! This series explores what the church is for, according to Acts 2:42.
In BASIC, Francis often compares the early church to our modern church in American culture. However, we have found that people from around the world are interested in the BASIC message. So far it has been downloaded from flannel.org in the following languages: Spanish, German, Portuguese, French, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Korean, Russian, and Dutch.
Much has happened since 2008; our vision is becoming a reality, and we thank God for that daily. We also thank you! Thanks for your prayers and support. We could not do this without you. And we ask for your help once again. Would you please consider making a year-end or recurring gift to Flannel?
And from all of us at Flannel, have a very merry Christmas!
Steve Carr
Executive Director
Flannel
4555 Wilson Ave SW Suite 1
Grandville, MI 49418
USA
616.776.7755
flannel.org
The small group experience for the final four films in the BASIC series is now available.
Are we doing church the way the Bible instructs us? Are we supposed to gather in a building once a week to sing a few songs and hear someone else talk about God? Are we really supposed to take Communion facing forward in silence, eating dry wafers and drinking wine from tiny plastic cups? Is that the church Jesus asked His followers to create?
Join Francis Chan as he encourages Christians to examine the early church and consider returning to the concept of church described in the Bible. This nine-session small group experience is designed to take your small group deeper into the content of the final four BASIC films. Each DVD includes expanded content not found on the individual film discs.
Learn more or buy your copy today at store.flannel.org.
Frankie had heard the word surrender many times, but truly understood it one night after watching the BASIC film Follow Jesus. Listen and watch as Frankie surrenders in obedience and finds true intimacy with God.
On June 5, the first film in the ED’S STORY series premiered here in Grand Rapids to a packed house of over 2,000 viewers. We are so thrilled with the positive feedback we received about the film. Last month, filming was completed for the next two installments, leaving just four films left.
If you haven’t yet watched It Ain’t Over, free streaming and easy sharing are available on edsstory.com.
Please remember that we’ve received a generous offer from one donor who will be matching all donations made to Ed’s project through the end of this month. We hope to complete filming on Ed’s Story this summer, and need your help right now to do so.
Thanks for prayerfully considering to help make this series possible!
The sixth film in the BASIC series releases in September.
In this film, Francis Chan challenges us to consider not only how we pray, but why we pray and what we pray for. Are our prayers supposed to be a list of things we want, or are they really intended to be an ongoing dialogue with God about the things He wants?
As always, thank you so much for your support of Flannel and our mission.
We couldn’t make these films without you.
Steve Carr
Executive Director
Flannel
4555 Wilson Ave SW Suite 1
Grandville, MI 49418
USA
616.776.7755
flannel.org
Frankie had heard the word surrender many times but truly understood it one night after watching the BASIC film, Follow Jesus. Listen and watch as Frankie surrenders in obedience and finds true intimacy with God.
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Flannel
4555 Wilson Ave SW Suite 1
Grandville, MI 49418
Email Deb Blackport at
donations@flannel.org
