BMH Editor's Blog

The following "heads-up" note and request for prayer comes from Pastor Dan White of the York, PA, Grace Brethren church. Pastor Dan also serves as a police chaplain.

The first Sunday of May comes around each year with little attention. Most of us are looking toward the second Sunday--Mother's Day.

But, the first Sunday has gotten our attention at York, PA, GBC.

It is the Sunday closest to the annual Commonwealth of PA commemoration of the service of those who serve in police work.

We have taken it as our call (each year since 2001) to invite the officers of our city (there are right at about 100) and their families to church with us and to give them a gift of encouragement and provide a fellowship meal to get to know them a bit and them us.

This Sunday, we will do the same and have some special things in store. The message will be: "Blessed Are The Peacemakers." We will give the department a special gift as well, which will benefit all of the officers throughout the entire year.

Pray for a "sea of black" uniforms in our congregation this Sunday. And, for a clear understanding of the gospel and Jesus' great love for them all. May He be glorified and may many of our officers and their families come closer to Jesus, the One Who alone brings true peace.

Pastor Joel Richards, who was injured in a severe auto accident Wednesday, has served La Loma Grace Brethren Church in Modesto, CA, since 1974. He began his ministry as youth pastor, then in 1979 accepted the position of senior pastor. He is a graduate of Biola University and holds a degree of Master of Exegetical Theology from Western Seminary.

In addition to his pastoral responsibilities, Pastor Joel is a member of the Greater Modesto Ministerial Association as well as a Chaplain with the Ceres Police Department. He and his wife, Jane, are the parents of four children.
 

Joel Richards, pastor of the LaLoma Grace Brethren Church of Modesto, CA, and his wife, Jane, were injured in this accident which occurred about 5:20 p.m. Wednesday afternoon near the Modesto Junior College West Campus in Modesto. (photo by Marty Bicek, The Modesto Bee)

Both were taken to the hospital. Pastor Joel sustained a concussion and Jane has a broken collar bone, according to information received from Modesto’s youth and worship pastor, Michael Saldivar.

The driver of the other car, a 23-year-old male who sustained a broken leg, was arrested for investigation of drunken driving, according to a California Highway Patrol officer.

More information is available at http://www.modbee.com/local/story/10391330p-11193804c.html
 

Three FGBC journalists are currently attending the Evangelical Press Association convention in Chicago. From left are Barb Wooler of Grace Brethren International Missions, who has new communication duties with GBIM, and Terry White and Ashley Woodworth of Brethren Missionary Herald Co.

Some 350 Christian journalists are attending the convention, which concludes Wednesday evening. Keynote speakers include church historian Martin Marty, comedienne Chonda Pierce, former Moody Bible Institute president Joe Stowell, and Billy Graham's daughter, Anne Graham Lotz. Featured musicians include Ginny Owens, BarlowGirl, Glenn Kaiser Band, and Shane & Shane.

Workshop tracks for the week include specialized instruction in the areas of editing, design, writing, electronic publishing, professional growth, and the business of publishing. 

The Executive Committee of Grace Brethren International Mission's Board of Directors met all day this past Friday. The entire Board of Directors came together that evening to begin their annual meeting.

Many strategic and financial decisions are expected be made in this meeting, affecting Grace Brethren missions around the world. The board's annual Day of Reflection was Sunday, a time of focusing on several strategic issues. GBIM leaders request prayer for the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and for continued unity and clear understanding of the issues at hand. Dr. Sherwood Lingenfelter is president of the board, and is leading the meetings.

Later this week, on Thursday and Friday, the board of the Brethren Missionary Herald Company will meet at BMH offices in Winona Lake under the direction of board chair Dan Thornton, who is pastor of the Peninsula Grace Brethren Church in Soldotna, Alaska.

The board will hear reports on the growth and development of the FGBC's new periodical, FGBC World, and its accompanying website and editor's daily blog. They will also hear updates on the separation of BMH Books from its former publishing partner to now being a standalone independent publishing house, and they will also discuss some of the final details of the closedown of GBC Media.

Plans for BMH involvement in the upcoming Equip05 national conference will be discussed, as well as one-, three-, and five-year strategic plans for the company.

About 140 pastors, church leaders and guests gathered today in a lovely rustic lodge at the Squaw Creek State Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for the Iowa-Midlands district conference. Pastor Gary Austin of the Cedar Rapids church was the host and emcee, and groups came from other churches across Iowa. The worship team from the Waterloo church led music, and short testimonies were given by missionary appointee Jim Momeyer, Chicago-area GBNAM missionary Clive Craigen, and a video from missionaries-in-training Kevin and Holly High was shown. FGBC Conference coordinator Tom Avey (center) and his wife Sandi brought greetings from the FGBC, and BMH Executive Director Terry White also spoke briefly. A special offering was taken to help the Longview, Texas, church. The conference next year will be hosted by the Dallas Center church.  

Jason and Doni Weimer from the Waterloo (IA) Grace Brethren Church, will this summer be going, along with their two children, to serve for a year in the Philippines. Jason will be assisting missionary Clay Hulett with church-planting opportunities, and Doni will be teaching second grade at Faith Academy in Manila.  

Dr. Don DeYoung, of the Grace College physical science department, was the featured speaker for the conference. Here he demonstrates a model of Noah's ark and points out that God's instructions for the ark's measurements are identical to those of modern engineers who proportion boats and barges for maximum stability. He also gave a biblical perspective on creation, geology, astronomy, physics, and other subjects. 

The following dramatic account comes from an e-mail distributed by Pastor Scott Distler of the Lititz, PA, Grace Brethren Church:

One of our elementary school students at Lititz Christian School recently may have saved his mother’s life.

This mother is a juvenile diabetic and began having seizures around 2:30AM causing her to go in and out of consciousness. After two hours of this, she tried to walk to the hallway but collapsed on the floor.

Her fourth grade son heard all of the commotion and immediately called 911. He remained calm and instructed the dispatcher about his mom’s condition. He then ran outside in his bare feet to direct the ambulance crew to the front door and then helped by gathering all of his mom’s medications.

Without his quick response, who knows what would have happened. When the crisis was over, the boy was asked how he knew what to do. His answer was that his class here at Lititz Christian School received instruction from a Warwick township Police Officer on emergencies and contacting 911.

The mother wrote a very nice letter to the school thanking them for their part in this success story and WGAL TV also did a story on this wonderful happening.

Two groups of Grace Brethren pastors met informally this week to discuss plans and enthusiasm for church-planting in the Fellowship. This group met Monday and Tuesday at Hope Community Church in Raleigh, NC, which is pastored by Mike Lee. (Ed Trenner photo)  

Portions of the Raleigh church's new building were used for the first time this past Sunday. Mike Lee is pastor, and the Hope Community Church of Raleigh hosted the pastors who met there Monday and Tuesday to discuss church planting. (Ed Trenner photo) 

A second group of about 30 pastors met in Columbus, OH on Thursday for a Micropolitan Church-Planting Summit. This group focused specifically on church-planting in non-metropolitan communities of about 10,000 to 50,000 in population. Speakers included Ron Boehm and Terry Hofecker. 

Tony Webb, pastor of the Southwest Grace Brethren Church in Columbus, OH (Grove City), was the convener and the host for Thursday's Micropolitan church-planter summit. His church not only provided meeting room and materials, but a delicious lunch and snack breaks as well. 

(BP)President Bush and Vice President Cheney are setting an example for the nation by giving at least 10 percent of their income to churches and charitable organizations.

Tax information released April 15 by the White House indicates Bush and his wife, Laura, paid $207,307 in federal income taxes on taxable income of $672,788 in 2004. The couple gave $77,785, which is roughly 10 percent of their overall gross income of $784,219, to charitable organizations and churches including Evergreen Chapel at Camp David, St. John's Church near the White House, the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army World Service Office, AmeriCares and the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research.

The Cheneys reported paying $394,518 in taxes on earnings of $1,328,678 in 2004. They donated $303,354 -- more than 20 percent of their income -- to charity.

Today's Warsaw (IN) Times-Union newspaper features the current work of former GBIM missionary Jim Hocking in Africa. Here is the story, as written by one of the paper's staff writers:

BY DAVID SLONE, Times-Union Staff Writer

Orphans, AIDS, clean water, enterprise and mass communication.

They’re the big issues Integrated Community Development International is taking on in Africa, specifically Central African Republic, initially. And Kosciusko County businesses and residents slowly are getting on board to help ICDI accomplish the big tasks before it.

Jim Hocking is ICDI director and founder. Born in Warsaw in 1954, Hocking moved to Africa with his parents when he was 15 months old. He grew up in Africa, coming back to Warsaw in 1973 after completing his last two years of high school in California. He graduated from Grace College. He married his wife, Faye, in 1976 and they went to Africa for a year, coming back so Hocking could attend Grace Seminary.

In 1984, as part of Grace Brethren International Missions, they moved to Central African Republic until December 2003. But twice during that time, they had two armed robberies in their African home. After the first one, the family came back to the United States for about nine months. After the second one – in which his son was held at gunpoint – they came back to the states and Hocking resigned from the Missions.

But Hocking wasn’t deterred from returning to Africa.

Hocking said he believes there is much he could do in Africa in the way of community development. People there are dying and the average lifespan for a man has been reduced from 45 years to 38 in Central African Republic because of AIDS, war, malnutrition and lack of clean water.

Those are also the causes for the large number of orphans in Central African Republican. There are nearly 100,000 orphans in the capital city of Bangui alone, where the total population is 600,000.

A man Hocking knew in CAR, who ran a water well drilling company, decided to give his business to Hocking to help the people in Africa get the clean water they need. Hocking knew nothing about well drilling, but the man offered to teach Hocking.

“He said he knew I could do this because I know Africa better than most people,” said Hocking.

Only 10 to 15 percent of the population of CAR has pure drinking water. Unsafe water is the world’s No. 1 killer, according to information provided by Hocking, taking the lives of more than 25,000 people each day. Preventable water-related diseases are responsible for 80 percent of all the sickness in the world.

Those are some of the reasons Hocking formed ICDI, a non-governmental, nonprofit organization, in January 2004.

With the well drilling company, Hocking got the company compound, equipment, vehicles, shop, records and “just about everything you need because in Africa, there are very few shops.”

Though Hocking has the materials, he still needs the money to run the organization. He’s contacted various local people and businesses about investing and a number of them have, he said, including Wildman Uniform, The Pill Box and Sands’ Office Equipment.

But well water drilling isn’t the only thing Hocking wants ICDI to accomplish. The organization is building an orphan care center in Bangui.

“We’re trying to take some of those kids and put them in good homes. We try to meet their health, education and love needs,” he said. It is not an orphanage, but a place where orphans can go to get some of their needs met, like notebooks for school or a bite to eat.

The Bangui orphan center will be the model for other cities across central Africa. Currently, 250 orphans are being cared for now. For $30 a month, Hocking said, a person can sponsor a child. “For $30 a month, you can save a kid’s life,” said Hocking. One dollar will provide water for one for a year.

ICDI is assisted with the orphans by Visions Trust, Colorado Springs, Colo.

“They do a wonderful job,” said Hocking.

In June, a team of 10, including fathers and sons, from Winona Lake is traveling to Africa to help build the center.

“God has provided a lot,” said Hocking. However, he said they still need about $10,000 for building supplies and tools.

Before a well is drilled in a community, classes are taught by national teachers in the areas of health care, nutrition, literacy, AIDS prevention and water usage. For the following three to six months, the community accomplishes steps to reach the goal of having a well in their community. There also is a minimal financial investment from the community.

In the Central African Republic, 13.5 percent of the population is HIV-positive, twice that of its neighboring countries, according to the 2003 UNAID estimate. The HIV-positive rate for some cities is as high as 35 percent. Eighty percent of public schoolteachers who died in 2003 died of AIDS. There is virtually no organized AIDS/HIV prevention education, especially outside Bangui. It is estimated by the USAID report that one-third of the children will have lost both parents by 2010 due to AIDS.

“These people live day to day,” said Hocking. “They don’t know what they are going to eat tomorrow.”

ICDI will work to change those figures through education.

Two other areas where Hocking said ICDI will help in Africa include short wave radio and micro-enterprise development.

Few people in CAR have access to television, telephones, Internet, telegraph systems or the post office. But most have access to radio. Radios are obtained easily and are equipped with short wave, AM and FM reception. ICDI plans to use short wave radio as a tool to continue teaching AIDS prevention, nutrition education and water sanitation and usage methods.

“That’s why we’re really going into radio,” said Hocking.

Annual income in post-war CAR is less than $200. ICDI wants to also help initiate small business enterprise in CAR that will let Central Africans provide for their own needs and those of the many orphans.

“We feel God wants us to do these things so we have a conviction” about doing it, said Hocking.

To invest in these initiatives – water well drilling, micro-enterprise development, orphan care and radio – send a tax-deductible contribution, payable to ICDI to: ICDI, 3792 N. Oakwood Drive, Warsaw, IN 46582.

For more information, call 574-527-8920; visit online at www.ICDInternational.org; or e-mail jimhocking@icdinternational.org

If you live in the Midwest and want an educational, inspirational half-day with lasting value, we suggest you consider visiting the Behalt Interpretive Center near Berlin, Ohio, about a half-hour south of Wooster.

A free 15-minute video is available on the history of the Anabaptist (rebaptizer, so named for instituting baptism of adult believers, rather than infants) movement, which includes the Amish, the Mennonites, the Hutterites, and various branches of the Brethren church, including the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

A marvelous book and gift shop is well-stocked with books on the history of the movement, including the BMH Books title Complete Writings of Alexander Mack.(see www.bmhbooks.com for this and other Brethren books you may purchase).

For $6.50 per adult, you can then also be given an illustrated lecture of the entire history of the Anabaptist movement beginning at the resurrection of Christ and continuing to the present day, as portrayed on a 265-foot ten-foot-tall cycloramic painting completed in 1992 by the German artist Heinz Gaugel.

It is quite sobering to learn the price our spiritual ancestors paid for parting from state custom of infant baptism, believing that the Bible teaches baptism is for those who are old enough to believe in Christ and make one's own decision to follow Him. Similar information will be given on the "Brethren Heritage Tour" as part of Equip05 this coming August (see www.equip05.com)

Here is how the Behalt website describes it: "Behalt" ... meaning "to keep or remember", is a 10' x 265' cyclorama illustrating the heritage of the Amish and Mennonite people from the Anabaptist beginning in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1525 to the present day.

The story begins with the resurrected Jesus and follows the development of the early Christian church, the acceptance of the Christian church by the Roman Empire under Constantine, and the early development of the Roman Catholic Church.

Following the depiction of the first documented adult baptisms in modern times, which occurred in Zurich in 1525 among these believers, the cyclorama continues to follow the spread of the Anabaptist movement throughout the world.

Heavily persecuted by the state churches (both Protestant and Catholic), these Christians were forced to migrate across Europe into Russia and across the Atlantic Ocean to North America.

Unique and educational, this exciting and beautifully artistic exhibit will leave you with a deep understanding of these peaceful people."

More information is available at http://pages.sssnet.com/behalt. 

This is but one scene, depicting an adult baptism in 1525, from the 265-foot, 10-foot tall cyclorama painting by Heinz Gaugel at the Behalt interpretive center near Berlin, Ohio. An Amish guide traces the history of Anabaptism and its branches (including the Brethren) in an hour-long tour around the massive painting. 

CHARLOTTE, NC (ANS) -- In the latest stage of the organization’s growth that began in Minneapolis, Minnesota, more that 50 years ago, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) will celebrate the opening of its new home in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a special dedication ceremony. (Pictured: Franklin and Billy Graham).

Some four years after announcing a plan to relocate the international headquarters from Minneapolis and two years after the official ground breaking in Charlotte, Rev. Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, and the BGEA Board of Directors will hold a private dedication ceremony Saturday, April 23 at 10 a.m.

“The event will be an opportunity for invited guests and media to see the recently-completed facility located on 63 acres of land on the Billy Graham Parkway,” said a spokesperson for BGEA. “Tours of the building and a lunch will follow the one-hour program.

“The dedication event will also be an opportunity for guests to see the final plans for the Billy Graham Visitors Center and Library. Groundbreaking for this facility is expected to take place during the fall of 2005.”

Billy Graham, a North Carolina native, founded the BGEA in 1950 in Minneapolis. The city of Charlotte honored Graham, 83, in 1983 by renaming a 4.8-mile stretch of highway the Billy Graham Parkway.

More information is available at www.billygraham.org. 

Grace Brethren North American Missions (GBNAM) and the Editions Cle publishing house have put together an excellent project so that individuals, churches, Sunday School classes and others can provide a 16-book library for French-speaking pastors in Haiti and among Haitians in Florida.

The cost of one set of 16 books is $100, and the deadline is May 31. According to Greg Burgess of Editions Cle, the goal is to resource 40 such leaders at a total cost of $4,000.

Access to French Bible study resources is costly and difficult for most of our Grace Brethren church leaders in this area, and so the goal is to help underwrite most of the cost.

Funds need to be received at GBNAM, Box 587, Winona Lake, Indiana 46590 no later than May 31 and should be specified for “Help Haiti 2005.” Burgess has arranged for helpers to package and mail the materials in early June.

For more information, log onto the GBNAM website at www.gbnam.org or contact Burgess at greg@editionscle.com.
 

Today was a sad day for generations of Grace College and Seminary students as a local icon in the Warsaw/Winona Lake (IN) area bit the dust.

"The Flagpole," a well-known ice cream shop on East Winona Avenue that dates at least back into the 1950s was torn down today to make room for an office complex to be built.

Generations of Grace College and Seminary students enjoyed malts, sundaes and "Flagpole Specials" at the hands of Ted Franchino and other colorful proprietors who have owned the business. Athletes, Grace sports teams and traveling music groups from many decades enjoyed spotting their photos under the plexiglass tabletops in the Flagpole's dining area. 

Grace College’s Orthopaedic Scholar Initiative is featured in the newly-issued 2004 annual report of Lilly Endowment, Inc. Grace received a $750,000 grant from the Endowment in December, 2003, which resulted in a partnership with orthopaedic companies in the Winona Lake/Warsaw (IN) area.

The Lilly report begins: “Within a few miles of Grace College’s campus in Winona Lake, Ind., an international engine of orthopaedic devices hums. In fact, nearby Warsaw is home to nearly two-thirds of the world’s market-share for orthopaedic devices, held principally by Biomet, DePuy Orthopaedics and Zimmer Holdings.

“But until recently, Grace College—once known primarily for its seminary—was not particularly proactive in linking its graduates to the high-paying, high-quality jobs that the local orthopaedic industry offers…

“….with the help of a $750,000 grant from the Endowment, Grace College created the Orthopaedic Scholar Initiative (OSI), a plan to build a solid connection between the college and the local orthopaedic industry.”

The report goes on to quote Michael Harstine, who teaches business at Grace College and is the program coordinator for the OSI program. A representative of one manufacturer, DePuy, described Grace students, “They tend to have very mature students who are also well-rounded, with a strong work ethic and a desire to succeed. Ethics are big here (at DePuy), and Grace College students tend to have ethics and integrity very much in line with our credo values.”

To read the complete Lilly report, click here. To receive weekly e-mail updates from the Grace campus, contact Judy Daniels at connect@grace.edu to be put on the receiving list.

Nancy Messner from Akron, Ohio, played a mini-concert on the piano at today's Day Away seniors event in Wooster, Ohio. Nancy, whose father was Grace Brethren pastor Russell Weber, is now organist at The Chapel in Akron. 

Dr. Randy Smith, pastor of the Sebring, Florida, Grace Brethren Church, was one of the speakers for today's "North of 55" Day Away for seniors at Wooster, Ohio. Other speakers included Pastor Dan Allan of Ashland, Ohio, and testimonies were given by Herb Carr and Ed Jackson. Ed Lewis was the emcee and Seniors Pastor George Johnson of the Wooster church chaired the host committee. 

More than 200 seniors enjoyed an excellent noontime meal together in the Wooster, OH, Grace Brethren Church in the "Day Away" function sponsored by CE National. 

An interview with Patrick Kavanaugh, director of the MasterWorks Festival and Grace College music department faculty member, is in the current (April 16, 2005) issue of WORLD magazine on page 12.

Here are several of the questions and answers by Kavanaugh, who wrote The Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers. To see the remainder of the article, click here.

While most of us may be stuck in the style of music we listened to as teenagers, true music lovers recognize the greatness and value of classical music, even though it is not as immediately accessible as pop music. So for help to appreciate it fully, WORLD asked Patrick Kavanaugh, the artistic director of the MasterWorks Festival ("God is interested in excellence," July 31, 2004), and the author of The Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers.


WORLD: Why should Christians upgrade their musical tastes?

Kavanaugh: You would think it sad if someone could turn away from a gorgeous sunset and not even notice it. It is equally sad when many Christians never hone their capacity to appreciate "the beauty of the Lord" found within the greatest music ever written.


WORLD: What is a good way to get started with classical music?

Kavanaugh: The world of classical music covers many centuries of changing styles. Some of these are easy for the average person to immediately appreciate, while others are an acquired taste. First, you need to examine your present taste in popular music. We learn best by association with what we already know. Do you like "easy listening"? Then buy a collection titled "Soothing Classical." Do you prefer romantic love songs? Then find a collection such as "Romantic Classics." For the younger set, like your teenage son, remember the adjectives "loud," "fast," "big," and "colorful." Even the heaviest rocker will love the huge orchestra works of the early 20th century—music by Debussy, Ravel, and Stravinsky.
 

The following news release was mass-distributed today to media, syndicates and news aggregators. All blog readers are encouraged to copy and distribute the release to any news media in your area or for use on your own church, personal and organizational websites and e-mail lists.

Twenty-three courses and workshops on topics of interest to church leaders and staff members will be offered at a special equipping conference entitled “Equip05” to be held July 31-August 5, 2005 in the north-central Indiana town of Winona Lake.

Subtitled “Sharpening People for a Progressive Movement,” the educational opportunities are open to all and feature nationally-known experts teaching in many areas. Some courses are available, if desired, for seminary credit, including credits toward the Doctor of Ministry degree at Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake.

Among the courses available are “Strengthening Spiritual Vitality” by well-known author Jerry Bridges; “The Effective Communicator” by Dr. Donald Sunukjian; “The Connecting Church” by Texas pastor Randy Frazee, “Preparing Your Church for the Age Wave” by church growth expert Dr. Win Arn, and more.

Additional subjects include “Leading Turnaround Churches,” “Feeding Yourself From the Word of God,” “Lay Counseling for Women,” “Renewing the Vision for Christian Camping,” “A Biblical Prophecy Timeline,” “Mentoring Girls,” “Current Theological Trends,” “Principles and Practice of Prayer,” “Effective Worship Services Using Music and Media,” and many more.

The courses are offered as part of the national conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, but are open to all, whether attending the Brethren conference sessions or not.

A 16-page description of all courses and instructors is available. For more information, prices, specific times of courses, and lodging information, contact Tom Avey or Sandy Barrett at (574) 269-1269 or log onto www.equip05.com for information about Equip05.

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Pastor Bud Olzewski of the Rittman, OH, Grace Brethren Church, is coordinating publicity for the "Over 55 Day Away" to be held this Friday, April 15, at the Grace Brethren Church of Wooster, OH. Here is an edited version of his latest report:

It’s the last minute! Our Day Away is Friday, but anyone can still come. There are now OVER 200 REGISTERED! Please encourage your people – it is never too late to become a part of this great day in the Word and fellowship. We will take those who walk-in. But it helps to let the caterers know. If you do hear someone who is definitely walking in, you can call Dwight Stair, our registrar. Call him at Grace Campus South (Norton): 330-825-6291. But do encourage them to come, whether we know of them or not.

Just to remind you, we have a wonderful slate of upfront people: Dan Allan (our Moderator speaking twice), Dr. Randy Smith (speaking twice), Nancy Messner (piano mini-concert), Ed Jackson (sharing about his book and heart for missions), Herb Carr (reporting on The Canadian Adventure) , Terry White (leading congregation music) and Ed Lewis (being Ed, what else could he do?).

The date is April 15th for this Day Away – North of 55 event. It will be held at Wooster Grace again this year. Next year’s format will be slightly different in that we will have a great speaker (this isn’t new), and have several seminar speakers and sessions. It will again be an outstanding time together.

This is a CE National event intended to; 1) give awareness for older adults to remain active in ministry, 2) to remind them that there is a bigger movement across the country, and 3) to be a stimulus for getting churches to identify and equip mature adults into ministry.

Dr. Tim Boal, newly-appointed Executive Director of Grace Brethren North American Missions (GBNAM), has announced a number of changes as he assumes his new responsibilities.

Grace Brethren North American Missions is beginning a new era with a new executive director and a recently-reorganized board structure.

Larry Chamberlain will continue to lead Grace Brethren Investment Foundation. Dr. Tim Boal, pastor of Penn Valley Grace Brethren Church in Telford, PA, has been named the new executive director of GBNAM, and a structure of parallel but linked boards has been created.

GBNAM will now operate from two locations, according to Boal, with some employees in Winona Lake, IN, and others in Telford, PA.

GBNAM staff will be moving out of their current office building on Kings Highway in Winona Lake into the Grace Brethren International Missions building. In the Winona Lake office, Linda Leonard will be Director of Human Resources, Kathy Allison will be Director of Communications, and Kurt Miller will continue as National Director of Church Planting.

The Pennsylvania office, housed in the Penn Valley church building, will include Boal as Executive Director, Randy Disert as Director of Finance, and a yet-to-be-named Development Director.

Boal intends to create a “Key Church Network,” he says, in which 7-12 locations will become regional church-planter and training centers. A larger presence in colleges and seminaries will be created in an effort to recruit more young church planters.

The disposition of the GBNAM building in Winona Lake has not yet been decided, Boal says, but it is likely it will be sold. “It’s our effort to cut overhead so more dollars get to the field,” he says.

For now, Boal will continue to pastor the Penn Valley church because of his conviction that the mission of church-planting belongs to the church. “I want to be a working pastor alongside others who are planting churches,” he says. “I invite other pastors to join me in this effort.”

He says GBNAM also hopes to become more of a granting agency to help fund church planters. The goal, he says, is to be able to plant more churches than the Fellowship is losing by attrition, with the hope of doubling the number of churches by 2017.

He emphasized that GBNAM and GBIF, as sister organizations, are “very much committed to each other.” He indicated that GBNAM’s goal is to work effectively and efficiently in cooperation with all the local churches and national organizations of the Fellowship. The GBNAM website is www.gbnam.org.
 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--A LifeWay Christian Resources survey of more than 1,300 evangelical leaders from around the world revealed that the need for consistent and passionate prayer in church and personal life is the No. 1 issue in today's churches.

The April 11 announcement of prayer as the No. 1 issue culminates a LifeWay e-business initiative to ask evangelical ministry leaders from a variety of backgrounds to rank the "Top 10 Issues Facing Today's Church."

The LifeWay unit compiled information and multiple resources addressing each issue and has posted the materials online. For the complete survey results and reports addressing all the ranked issues, visit www.lifeway.com/top10.

LifeWay's e-business department began the two-month online research project last November by distributing thousands of e-mails throughout the United States and world asking ministry leaders to cite top concerns in their churches.

From the initial list of responses, the 20 most frequently submitted answers were sent back to all the ministry leaders who responded to the first round of e-mails. During December, these leaders used the same Internet survey tool to rank their top 10 from among those 20 issues.

The resulting list of 10 issues includes such diverse topics as abortion (no. 10) and evangelism (no. 4). But it was prayer that ministry leaders cited as the most pressing concern in their churches.

"In order for today's church to remain strong in the midst of an evil society, it must be a praying church," said Gary Butler, a survey participant from Gospel Lighthouse Church in Anadarko, Okla.

"If we as believers ... want to see the same mighty move of God that the early church saw, we must pray just as the early church did. Show me a praying Christian and church and I will show you a victorious Christian and church."

According to the survey's final results, the top 10 issues were:

1. Prayer: The need for more ongoing, passionate prayer in both personal and church life.

2. Discipleship: The need for involvement of every believer in being continually transformed into the image of Christ.

3. Leadership: The need for clear, biblical vision and direction by church leaders.

4. Evangelism: The decline among Christians in personal sharing of the Gospel.

5. Doctrine/Worldview: The growing pressure to compromise principles to make truths more palatable to an audience. The widening influence of explicitly anti-Christian culture and negative influences on the church.

6. Apathy: The seeming lack of personal interest, support and enthusiasm from the pews for the work of the church.

7. Marriage: The negative effects on families that result from divorce, adultery, etc.

8. Relevance: The seeming inability of the church to answer questions one has living in the "real world."

9. Homosexuality: The rising social pressure to accept same-sex behavior and relationships.

10. Abortion: The church's lack of an effective response to 30-plus years of legalized abortion.

Bill and Bambi Walker and their two children, Elisha and Moriah, have arrived in the Toronto area to join Team Canada as prospective church planters.

Bill Walker, a native of Maine, accepted the Lord through a Billy Graham telecast during a very dark period in his life. Educated at a Bible Institute in New Brunswick and at Washington Bible College and Capitol Seminary in the Washington, DC area, he served as associate pastor of a church in Canada for several years. While at Capitol Seminary he also was director of admissions for the school.

In October of 2000 he became pastor of a struggling small congregation in northern Virginia near Dulles airport, and in the four years of his pastorate there saw the church grow to an average Sunday morning attendance of about 245. His associate pastor and music director in that church was current BMH executive director Terry White.

For a number of years Walker had taken young people to Mississauga to participate in the Great Canadian Adventure and also with the Explorers group. Feeling an increasing call on his life to evangelism and church planting, he and Bambi went through the recent GBNAM church planter's assessment program in Chambersburg, PA.

He has now resigned his church in Virginia, they have sold their residence there, and have purchased a home in suburban Toronto and have all their permanent residence status paperwork in place.

Philip Bryant of Team Canada says Walker will work with Grace Community church for about 18 months and then, Lord willing, will plant the next Grace Brethren church in Canada.

Information about the existing two Canadian Grace Brethren churches may be obtained at www.grace-church.ca and at www.reallife.ca. Both Explorers and the Great Canadian Adventure are still open to participants this summer. Information may be obtained at www.canadianexplorers.ca and at www.canadianadventure.org. Registration is open until May 1, and then late fees apply. 

An all-day coloring party was held today in Winona Lake, Indiana, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with an open invitation to anyone who wished to participate in coloring Sango literacy charts for use in Africa.

The charts, which are being prepared under the direction of GBIM missionary Barb Wooler, will be laminated and used in literacy classes in the Central African Republic.

Workers today included (from top, clockwise) Madeleine Pacheco, Joyce Ashman, Phyllis Stauffer, Charlotte Austin, and Lila Sheely. 

Members of the Board of Directors of the Brethren Encyclopedia Project, representing six branches of Brethren groups tracing their heritage to Alexander Mack, met today at Ashland (OH) Seminary for their semi-annual meeting.

Groups represented include Old German Baptist Brethren, Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, Church of the Brethren, The Brethren Church (Ashland), Conservative Grace Brethren Churches International, and Dunkard Brethren Church.

The group has been active since 1978, and in 1983 published the first three volumes of “The Brethren Encyclopedia,” a huge reference work representing thousands of hours of research and editing. The fourth volume is scheduled to appear late in 2005.

The late Charles W. Turner, former executive director of the Brethren Missionary Herald Co., was a member of the board for many years and was honored by the passing of a resolution in his honor today. Terry White, current executive director of BMH, was elected to represent the FGBC in Turner’s place. Among the items of discussion were tours and events to honor the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Brethren movement, which will occur in 2008.

Further information and Encyclopedia products may be viewed at www.brethrenencyclopedia.org.
 

A critical shortage of Bibles in the Central African Republic has recently come to light. Because of the collapse of a previous Bible distribution system, and because of the destruction of so many Bibles and Christian literature during recent uprisings, in some cases as many as six Bible school students have been having to share one Bible.

Missionary Jim Hocking located a supply of Sango and French Bibles and has been ready to place a multi-mission order (about six missions cooperating, including the Grace Brethren), but needed $10,000 USD for transporting the Bibles. As of yesterday, he’d raised about $1,000 toward that amount.

Then came this e-mail from Pastor Rich Schnieders, whose little Grace Brethren church of 30-35 people in Fort Myers, Florida, showed they have a whopping vision and generous hearts. Here, in Pastor Schnieders’ own words, is the report:

“WOW God is surely good! Friendship Community Church had an annual business meeting this morning to receive corporate reports. We were blessed during the time we met in our home to save some money. [EDITOR’S NOTE: The church had lost its rented facility, met for a time in Pastor Schnieders’ home, and is now back in a newly-rented facility] Our financial health is good. But apparently our spiritual health is even better.

“I had read to the congregation the e-mail concerning the elections in CAR and the need for funding for Bibles for the CAR. When the meeting turned to new business I asked that the church to consider a gift to support the Bibles for CAR. I was thinking the congregation would suggest $500 or maybe $1000.

“God had other plans. We received a commitment from one donor for a $1,000 special gift and the church voted unanimously to give another $8,000 to the Bibles for CAR out of our banked funds. So a total of $9,000 will be coming in the mail this week from FCC. I had to confess to the congregation my lack of faith.

“God is good and surely does provide. I trust that the $9,000 will make it possible for many to receive the Word of God and bring many to Him. It is such a blessing to be able to watch God at work in the lives of His people. Thank you for making the need known and giving us the opportunity to participate in meeting the need.”

In His Service:

Pastor Rich Schnieders

Jim Hocking, in responding, said, “Read the e-mail and thank our God for what He does when we cannot see how. They just funded 1,800 Bibles for the CAR!"

Grace Community Church, a Grace Brethren congregation which meets on the southwest corner of Goshen, Indiana, this morning had a dedication service for its new 600-seat auditorium and multipurpose facility. Today was the congregation's second Sunday in its new facility, according to Pastor Jim Brown. 

Pastor Jim Brown (black shirt, kneeling on platform), led the Goshen congregation and guests in a prayer of dedication for their new building Sunday morning. He prayed that the building would enable the Goshen church family to reach "thousands" with the saving message of the gospel. 

This morning's Fort Wayne (IN) Journal-Gazette newspaper announces that Grace College basketball coach Jim Kessler, who recently won his 500th career game, has been named the winner of the 2004-2005 Coach of Character Award by the NAIA.

Kessler, who is currently in his 28th year at the Indiana college, is the first recipient of the award and was recognized for his commitment to serving others, including taking his teams on more than a dozen international outreach basketball camps and making extensive contributions on campus and in the local community of Warsaw/Winona Lake.

Kessler will be officially recognized on June 4 at a Citizenship Through Sports Alliance Awards Dinner in Saint Louis, MO, and at the 65th Annual NAIA National Convention in San Diego next spring.

He will also be honored with a banquet at Grace College on Saturday, April 16.

The complete NAIA news release may be read at www.naia.org.

The Goshen, Indiana, congregation of Grace Community Church (Jim Brown, pastor), will dedicate its new building tomorrow, April 3, in the 10:30 a.m. service.

The church has been blessed with recent growth—1,263 people were in attendance on Easter Sunday and 25 people gave their lives to Christ on that day. Pastor Jim Brown described the atmosphere as “electric” as the new building overflowed.

Sunday services are at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m., with KidZone available during each service. The new facility, on the southwest side of Goshen, is at the corner of CR 21 and CR 36, ½ mile south of Goshen Middle School where the congregation has been meeting during construction.
 

A special farewell service will be held tomorrow morning at the Grace Brethren Church of Chico, CA, for Rev. George and Lorraine Link, after 55 years of ministry. Link has been pastoral care pastor at the Chico congregation.

Pastor Rick Boswell will speak on, "A Man After God's Own Heart." An 11 a.m. luncheon follows service. The Links will share in an evening service at 6 p.m.

LYNCHBURG, Va. (BP)--Jerry Falwell remained in serious but stable condition March 31 but was showing improvement and even sitting in an armchair talking to family members and grandchildren, hospital officials said in a statement.

Falwell, 71, was admitted to Lynchburg General Hospital in Virginia late March 28 after having difficulty breathing. He initially was listed in critical condition but was upgraded to serious but stable condition March 30.

On March 31 Falwell said he "felt more comfortable," the hospital said in a statement. Karl Rove, an adviser to President Bush, phoned Falwell to wish him well. Earlier in the week he took a call from Bush himself.

"I'm making progress," Falwell said in an interview with the Lynchburg News & Advance. "I'll be in here for a few days."

Hospital officials say that swelling and fluid in his lungs caused his problem. They found no evidence of a heart attack. He was admitted to the hospital because of "respiratory arrest," officials said.

Falwell also was in the hospital for nearly two weeks in late February and early March battling pneumonia. Doctors said Falwell's latest condition seems to be unrelated to the earlier bout with pneumonia.

Falwell serves as pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist church in Lynchburg, and as chancellor of Liberty University.

A recent communication from Larry Chamberlain and the Eagle Commission announces that Grace Brethren U.S. Army Chaplain Mark Penfold has received the “Officer Instructor of the Year” award for 2004 at the Headquarters US Army Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Virginia.

The competition included all TRADOC Service Centers and schools in the U.S. Army. Mark won the top award for commissioned officers.

Penfold is stationed at Fort Eustis, VA, where he is a member of the Transportation School faculty. His teaching responsibilities include: Role of the Chaplain, Army Writing, Conducing Oral Briefings, Counseling, Suicide Awareness and Prevention, Stress Management, Army Values, Ethics and Ethical Decision-Making. Mark is also active in the installation-wide chaplain ministry. He leads a weekly Bible study, has led the quarterly “Spiritual Fitness” events, and planned the National Prayer Breakfast this past Spring.

He and his wife, Robin, have two sons. John is a Specialist in the Army and Matthew is in high school.

In other chaplain news, Army Chaplain James Schaefer has returned from Afghanistan to be with his wife Elizabeth, who is undergoing surgery this week to confirm and determine treatment for glandular carcinoma in the thyroid. Prayers are encouraged for Elizabeth and the Schaefer family at this time.

More information about all Grace Brethren military chaplains and the Eagle Commission is available on the GBNAM website by clicking here.