From Our President
I have an amazing job! I get to tell people every week about what God is doing in His hometown of Nazareth and how they can be involved. Really, how they should be involved. Nazareth is the hometown of Jesus but it’s also the home of the only K-12 Evangelical school in the Middle East. While the school is strategic in impacting student’s minds, Nazareth Baptist School and Friends of Nazareth are also about heart change - and it is happening!
Reports come in regularly of amazing things happening in the classroom, chapel, courtyard, camps, clubs, and in the community. Thank you for letting us go and be the “hands and feet” of Jesus. NBS could not continue and we could not go if it weren’t for the diligent prayers and faithful gifts of our friends. Simply put … thank you!
2023 has been amazing and record-breaking on many fronts. As we prepare for 2024 we are expecting the same. Please take note of our current travel schedule and join us in prayer:
VBS Week 1—July 4-12
VBS Week 2—July 11-19
VBS Week 3—July 16-27
Potter’s Wheel Camp Week 1—July 30-August 10
Potter’s Wheel Camp Week 2—August 6-17
Potter’s Wheel Camp Week 3—August 13-24
Fall Festival—October 1-11
Spiritual Enrichment Journey—October 22-November 2
Christmas Outreach—January 21 - February 1, 2025
(You can see additional details on our Trips page)
Speaking of travel, Tyson and I both have been extremely busy and it is paying off in positive ways. We are adding new prayer partners, donors, school partners, monthly givers, and Legacy gifts each year. We are praying now for 20 new supporting churches, 50 new monthly donors, and 2 new Legacy gifts. As I’m sure you know, FON is a relatively small 501(c)(3) but we serve alongside the largest and most influential Evangelical school in the Middle East. And we need your help! Remember we are not about collecting dollars, we are about making disciples. 50 new monthly donors giving $25, $50, $100 (or more) would go a long way in helping us help our school.
I love preaching God’s Word and telling churches and groups what God is doing through FON and NBS. If you would like for me to visit your church or school or class, please reach out and let me know. If would be an honor to visit with you.
Blessings,
Dr. Roger D. Mardis, President
Friends of Nazareth
About
Dr. Roger Mardis, President Friends of Nazareth
Roger became FON’s first President in January of 2018. After 36 years of Pastoral Ministry, Roger brings much wisdom and many connections to Pastors, churches, and Denominational agencies. As he likes to say, “I get to tell people every day what God is doing in His hometown and how they can be involved.”
Roger and his wife, Michelle, live in Florence, Alabama. Roger leads the Florence office of Friends of Nazareth and Michelle works in the Shoals area. Roger and Michelle have four married children and five grandchildren.
Dr. Mardis has served over thirty years as a Senior Pastor with pastorates in Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina and Virginia. Most recently, as Founding Pastor of Agape Baptist Church, Scottsboro, AL. In addition to serving as a Pastor, he has served the Southern Baptist denomination at the local and State levels. Dr. Mardis obtained his MDiv and DMin from Mid America Baptist Theological Seminary. He has his undergraduate degree from the University of North Alabama. He is the author of four books: The Expository Preaching and Teaching Ministry of Jerry Vines (2002); Big Doors Swing on Small Hinges (2014); Sail On...Examining the Ships of the Bible (2016); and Peaks and Pits (2020).
Roger's mission experience is broad and his heart for the world is BIG, especially Nazareth. He has been involved in mission outreach on four continents and in eleven countries. He has been a part of over fifty mission encounters, many of these were in Israel. His mission's role has been and will continue to be sharing the Gospel through relational, intentional and pastoral ministries.
Roger is available to visit your church, be a part of your church's mission conference, or fill your church's pulpit to share the awesome news of NEMA-FON and the absolute truth of God's Word.
Learn more about Roger at https://www.rogermardis.com/
Peaks and Pits
FON’s President, Dr. Roger D. Mardis, recently published his third book, Peaks and Pits. This book is a 30-Day Devotional Guide to many of the places FON teams visit in the Holy Land. Life, like the land of Israel, has many mountains and valleys; some days are up, and some are down. Roger will take you on a journey across the land and help your heart to grow and your life to be encouraged.
All of the proceeds from the sale of Peaks and Pits are given to FON’s work in Nazareth and with the Nazareth Baptist School. If you are taking a group to the Holy Land we strongly encourage you to get a copy for each of your travelers.
Books can be bought at Amazon, Books A Million, WestBow Press, or through your local bookstore. You can also purchase them directly from the FON office or from the author.
To contact Roger personally about bulk orders or a Peaks and Pits Day at your church, contact him at 256-599-6344 or via email at roger@friendsofnazareth.org
Peaks and Pits
All proceeds from the sale of Peaks and Pits supports the work of Friends of Nazareth.
“Breaking pita bread over an open fire in Nazareth, I was blown away by the depth of Roger’s devotion to the land of the Bible. His fingerprints cover mission projects across the city of Nazareth, the hometown of our Lord Jesus. Of the hundreds of devotionals I have read, this is one book that stands unique as it journeys the reader through the real world of the Bible. We not only read Scripture; we are immersed in it as we see the culture and customs that surround the biblical narrative of history. Roger brings it all to life. The title alone tells me to “Put on your sandals and get ready for a wild adventure.” The peaks and pits of modern life are paralleled in these pages and the author takes us through with hope and confidence. Thank you, Roger, for being a key part of the first Student Leadership Nazareth. Your willingness to reach students in the land is a great gift.”
—Jay Strack, President, Student Leadership University