BMH Editor's Blog

On a delightfully warm summer late afternoon, members of the Grace Brethren International Missions corporation and guests were called to order by Dr. Sherwood Lingenfelter (on platform), chairman of the board of GBIM.

The guests were assembled in a tent that is situated on the site of the former 7,500-seat Billy Sunday Tabernacle. The grassy area is now called Tabernacle Field, and is the home field of an 1860s-era vintage base ball team called the Winona Blue Laws (see earlier blog post).

Dr. Lingenfelter skillfully guided delegates through a few necessary business items, and then the rest of the program centered on a celebration of the history of Grace Brethren missions and the commissioning of new missionaries about to go to the field.

In the tent, a group of six thespians performed a humorous and thought-provoking drama depicting the interaction between L.S. Baumann and James Gribble, and the romance between James Gribble and Dr. Florence Newberry (pictured). Gribble was the pioneer missionary to open up French Equatorial Africa to the gospel in the early 1900s.

The Central African Republic ambassador to the U.S., Emmanuel Tuaboy, was in attendance at tonight's event, as well. There are currently about 1,200 Grace Brethren churches in the CAR, one of the highest concentrations of any country in the world.

Kathy Allison, of the Grace College & Seminary staff, produced the drama, which included some actors who are alumni of Grace, including Mike Yocum and Rich Wroughton.

After processing from the Tabernacle Field tent, led by a brass band and singing "We've a Story To Tell to the Nations," attenders at Equip07 heard Grace Brethren International Missions executive director Dave Guiles (on platform) introduce and commission a number of new missionary candidates to serve in various countries. The concrete marker and plaque commemorating the founding of the mission society in 1900 is directly in front of Guiles on the ground.

Grace Brethren International Missions executive director Dave Guiles prayed for the newly-commissioned missionaries as GBIM board members and conference attenders surrounded the candidates and laid hands on them, consecrating them for missionary service.

On the very same grassy knoll just off Park Avenue and the Eighth Street Hill in Winona Lake, Indiana, where the Foreign Missionary Society of the Brethren Church was founded in 1900, today's missionary commissioning service was held. The marker reads, "On this knoll, September 4, 1900, the Foreign Missionary Society of the Brethren Church was organized."

Among the missionary candidates who were commissioned was Karen Courter (kneeling, center, with long dark hair), the daughter of Pastor Doug and Barbara Courter of the Calvary Grace Brethren Church in Hagerstown, Maryland. Karen will be going to the Central African Republic to assist with the growing orphans' ministry there.

A Mariachi band, Irish folk singers and dancers, and ethnic food from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and North America filled the Rodeheaver Auditorium as conference guests ate, visited with missionaries, and circulated from one food station to another. The International Food Fest was followed by another trek to the Tabernacle Field tent for a corporation meeting and presentation by Grace Brethren North American Missions (GBNAM) and dessert.

Tomorrow will once again be classes all day, and the special daylong track will be for women. In the evening, Moderator Jim Brown will address the conference at 7 p.m., and at 9 p.m. on the outdoor plaza of the Tree of Life Bookstore and Brethren Missionary Herald Company, a gala "Authors Autograph Party" will be held with 11 BMH books authors present to sign their books and visit with friends. Cake and punch will be served, and there will be live music as well. All are invited.

Roy Polman, pastor of the Cherry Valley Grace Brethren Church in Beaumont, California, and his wife, Judy (at left in photo) were eating breakfast last Friday, July 27 at Maria's House of Pancakes just off Rt. 30 and County Road 250E at the entrance to Winona Lake, Indiana.

They thought the guy in the pink shirt looked familiar. Sure enough, it was Tommy Lasorda (at right in photo), Hall of Fame former manager of the LA Dodgers, enroute with a group to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

The Polmans had a nice chat with Lasorda, who in his 20 years of managing the Dodgers won two World Series championships, four National League pennants, and eight division titles. Lasorda was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.

Pastor Wayne Ayer (left) of the Norwalk, California, Grace Brethren Church, this past Sunday, July 29, received a plaque from radio station KKLA's Jon Robberson (r) as Norwalk was honored as the "Church of the Week."

Congregants picked up KKLA program guides and were invited to listen to Pastor Ayer interviewed live on KKLA's The Frank Pastore Show the next day.

The Norwalk church's website is http://www.gracelive.com/

Dave Rank (at keyboard) and the worship team from the Winona Lake, Indiana, Grace Brethren Church led worship for the opening session of Equip07, the national conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

The conference is meeting all this week on the Grace College & Seminary campus in Winona Lake, Indiana, with a focus on equipping and lifelong learning.

In addition to the many courses, seniors conference, and other events, a special "Chaplains Appreciation Dinner" was held this evening for the nine Grace Brethren military chaplains. The event was sponsored by the Grace Brethren Investment Foundation and the Eagle Commission, which oversees the work of the chaplains.

Classes resume at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. Tuesday evening features the "International Food Fest" which is jointly sponsored by Grace Brethren International Missions and Grace Brethren North American Missions.

The meeting begins with a brief GBIM corporation meeting near the Village at Winona on Park Avenue and moves to the knoll where the Foreign Mission Society was founded. Then the festival moves to the Rodeheaver Auditorium for an evening of food and fellowship with home and foreign missionaries.

Brad Powell, pastor of NorthRidge church in Plymouth, Michigan, gave the challenge in the opening session of Equip07 Monday evening in the Orthopaedic Capital Center on the Grace College & Seminary campus. Powell's forceful message was that, to be truly biblical, the church must deal continually with change, yet remaining true to its mission to make disciples.

In the Monday evening plenary session of Equip07, the FGBC moderator Tim Boal (at right, with microphone) called Pastor Gerardo Leiton of the Iglesia Comunal Cristiana, an Hispanic Grace Brethren church in the Tampa area, to the platform. Leiton's church has been unable to move into its new building because of difficulties with local zoning and inspection authorities and the conference offered prayers on behalf of the Tampa congregation. Behind Boal and Leiton are current members of the Fellowship Council.

More than 30 classes on specialized topics are being offered as part of the Equip07 programming this week. In this one, Dr. Christy Morr of the Grace Seminary faculty is teaching on "Spiritual Formation."

The special "seniors menu" portion of programming for senior adults at Equip07 today included a panel discussing "Learning to Live With Change." Members of the panel were, from left, Dave Marksbury, Bruce Barlow, Charles Ashman, and Tom Abbitt.

The annual corporate business meetings of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, Grace College & Seminary, and the Brethren Missionary Herald Company were the features of the opening evening session of Equip07, the Grace Brethren national conference being held this week on the campus of Grace College & Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana.

FGBC moderator Tim Boal guided delegates through a lengthy agenda which included voting seven new churches into the Fellowship, approving Asia's Hope as a cooperating ministry, adopting a number of resolutions from the Social Concerns Committee, conducting elections of Fellowship Council members, and much more.

Elected to serve on the Fellowship Council for the years 2007-2011 were Phil Helfer from the western region, Brian "Skip" White from the central region, and Doug Black from the eastern region.

A budget of $361,250 was approved for the coming fiscal year, and the Structures Committee presented and explained wording for proposed changes to the constitution and manual of procedures that are designed to allow for more continuity of leadership.

The Grace College & Seminary corporation meeting was conducted by board chair Paul Mutchler and Grace president Ron Manahan, with a number of new faculty members being introduced.

The Brethren Missionary Herald corporation meeting was conducted by board chair Dr. Todd Scoles, with a financial report by treasurer Bruce Barlow and an activity update by executive director and publisher Terry White.

The meeting was followed by a dedication of the $9.1 million Orthopaedic Capital Center in which the conference is meeting.

Classes in the Equip07 schedule begin tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. Monday evening's plenary session will feature Brad Powell, senior pastor of NorthRidge Church of Plymouth, Michigan, as speaker. It will be preceded by a Chaplains Appreciation Dinner and Grace Brethren Investment Foundation corporation meeting in the Alpha Hall Dining Commons.

Mrs. Tom (Donna) Miller, daughter of Ralph and Anna Mae Grady of Waterloo, Iowa, was presented a plaque this evening by Dr. Ron Manahan (right), president of Grace College & Seminary.

Mrs. Grady is now with the Lord, but Mr. Grady, who is in an assisted living facility in Iowa, served many years on the Grace board and made a significant gift to the construction of the new Orthopaedic Capital Center on the Grace campus. The plaque will be mounted in a lower-floor classroom to recognize Mr. Grady's generosity.

Dr. William and Ella Male (left) were honored with recognition and a plaque presented by Grace College & Seminary president Dr. Ron Manahan (right) at tonight's dedication of the Orthopaedic Capital Center building on the Grace campus.

Dr. Male, whose long career at Grace included being professor, academic dean of the college, academic dean of the seminary, and deferred giving representative, provided a generous gift for the "alumni room" in the new center.

More than 300 Grace Brethren pastors met in the sanctuary of the Winona Lake (IN) Grace Brethren Church this afternoon for the Association of Grace Brethren Ministers (AGBM) annual meeting. In addition to routine business, three members were selected for special honor.

Dr. David Plaster (at podium), newly-called pastor of the Columbus, Ohio, church, was given the Excellence in Ministry award. He recently concluded several decades of ministry teaching and administrating at Grace College & Seminary. Dr. Ken Bickel of the seminary faculty read the commendation for Plaster.

Joel Richards, current president of the AGBM and pastor at the LaLoma Grace Brethren Church in Modesto, California, is at right.

The Pastor of the Year Award was given to Pastor Rick Nuzum of the Grace Brethren Church of Powell, Ohio. Jim Custer read the commendation and Pastor Nuzum's history, which included NFL experience with the Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers, and New York Giants as a player.

The Powell church under his leadership for the past 12 years has started three new churches, supports 23 missionaries, and has continued with a strong ministry in the Columbus area. Nuzum was unable to attend because of the sudden heart attack and death of a parishioner.

Jack Churchill, longtime Grace Brethren missionary to Argentina and to Mexico, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Churchill, 85, was also unable to attend the ceremony due to health concerns.

The AGBM meeting was the first event in a week-long national conference for the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. Tonight's session at 7 p.m. will be in the new $9.1 million Orthopaedics Capital Center on the Grace campus and will feature business meetings of the FGBC, Brethren Missionary Herald Company, and Grace College & Seminary. An Open House and dedication of the new OCC facility will follow.

For more information and schedule for the week, log onto www.fgbc.org.

A team of young adults from the Winona Lake (IN) Grace Brethren Church has arrived in Central African Republic and will be touring the orphan care and well-drilling ministry and assisting wherever possible in the work of Integrated Community Development International, whose founder and director, Jim Hocking, is at right.

In the photo, from left, are Deb and Jay Hocking, Abe and Lisa Wright, and Joanna and Nathan Zuck.

Among the ICDI ministries they will participate in is a radio station which recently began programming for the Pygmy people. For more information, log onto http://www.icdinternational.org

All the exhibit tables are up and ready at the Orthopaedic Capital Center on the Grace College and Seminary campus in Winona Lake, Indiana, and registration materials are awaiting the hundreds coming for Equip07, the national conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

Registration opens tomorrow (Sunday) at 2 p.m. at the OCC. The first event of the week is the Association of Grace Brethren Ministers (AGBM) annual meeting, to be held at the Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church, at 4 p.m.

The opening session of the conference will be in the 2,800-seat OCC at 7 p.m. and will be followed by a gala Open House and dedication service for the $9.1 million facility on the Grace campus.

More than 400 people have registered for courses throughout the week, and hundreds more are expected to attend the individual functions sponsored by the national organizations and the plenary sessions.

Monday evening's plenary session will feature speaker Brad Powell and on Wednesday at 7 will be the moderator's address, delivered by this year's moderator, Pastor Jim Brown from the Grace Brethren church in Goshen, Indiana.

For more information on the conference log onto www.fgbc.org and watch this blog for photos and daily reports as the conference progresses. It concludes next Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.

The Brethren Missionary Herald board of directors are meeting today in Winona Lake, Ind. Pictured are, left to right, Barb Wooler (back to camera), Pat Phillips (secretary), Rick Fairman, Bob Arenobine, Nathan Bryant, Todd Scoles (chair), Terry White (executive director), Bruce Barlow (treasurer), Dan Thornton (vice president), and Jesse Deloe (senior editor).

The final session of Momentum ended with a frank conversation led by Jeff Bogue, pastor of the North Campus of Grace Church in Akron, Ohio.

But it was not before a standing ovation greeted the home owners who were the recipients of work throughout the week on the Gulf coast projects, along with the volunteer administrators and managers. Young people left their seats to greet the homeowners with hugs as Steve Fee led music. (See photo, above right.)

Dominique and Jeremy, a brother and sister from Clinton, Md., sang a duet.

Reed Green Coliseum at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg quickly became quiet as Jeff began to speak.

“If I was going to find a phrase that sums up what we’ve heard all week, it would be ‘it’s not about you,’” he said.

He wove the themes of each of the Momentum speakers through his talk as he told about how he had decided at an early age that he’d have to go through life on his own. Because of various circumstances, no one was there to protect him.

“Until I was in college, I went about impressing people,” he recalled. He told how during the summer after his second year in college, he realized that he must accept God or walk away from Him. At age 20, in spite of being raised in a Christian home, attending Christian schools, and walking the aisle numerous times, he accepted Christ.

God continued to work in his life. One night he found himself prostrate on the floor of his dorm laundry room floor, confessing his sin, and asking God to do something significant in his life.

“I know this week that you’ve been challenged,” he said. “You’ve made recommitments. You’ve been motivated. My question is: have you been broken?”

He encouraged the audience to consider their lives. “If you are governed by your pain, your habits, I’d encourage you to get up and come down and throw your face on the floor.”

The conference ended tonight with a late night worship and communion in Reed Green Coliseum. To see complete reports and photos of the week, click here. See "Pictures from Momentum 2007."

Tonight is the last night of Momentum (formerly known as Brethren National Youth Conference). As the event winds down, here are a few stats from the week:

Total attendance: 2,062
Students: 1,449
Fusion (post-high): 54
Youth Workers: 343
Staff: 108
Adult Guests: 58
FGBC* National Organization Reps.: 34
Nanny: 1
Children: 15
States represented: 33
Top states represented: Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Maryland, California
Churches represented: 117
Top churches represented: Grace Community, Lititz, Pa.; Grace Community, Frederick, Md.; Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church (Ind.); Grace Brethren Church of Columbus, Ohio; Clinton Grace Brethren Church (Md.)
Groups who are attending Momentum for the first time: 8
Non Grace Brethren Churches: 5

Blitz
Students and adults who participated in Wednesday’s Blitz: 1,402
Locations helped in the Blitz: 20

Gulf Coast Projects
Total volunteers who helped at Gulfport and Pearlington: 2,318
Volunteers at Gulfport: 819
Volunteers at Pearlington: 1,499
Student hours of labor in Gulf coast projects: 14,055
Project administrator hours for Gulf coast projects: 384
Project manager hours for Gulf coast projects: 3,240
Bags of groceries distributed at Pearlington: 4,000
Bottles of water distributed at Pearlington: 6,500
Bottles of PowerAde distributed at Pearlington: 2,500
New homes constructed at Pearlington: 11
New additions at Pearlington: 2
Dry walling projects at Pearlington: 3
Painting projects at Pearlington: 3
Plumbing projects at Pearlington: 5
Clean-up projects at Pearlington: 10
Painting projects at Gulfport (interior and exterior): 5
Yard clean-up, debris removal: 1
Exterior siding, window replacement, deck add-on: 2
Handyman specials: 2
Grocery distribution and neighborhood lawn clean-up: 1

*Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches

For reports and photos from Wednesday at Momentum, click here.

From the Biloxi, Mississippi, Sun-Herald:

Coast gets 'Blitz' of help from teens

By LEIGH COLEMAN, SUN HERALD

Entire neighborhoods in Gulfport and Pearlington saw hundreds of teenagers from across the country mobilizing Wednesday to clean up, rebuild and pass out groceries.

The teenage workforce had arrived in the thousands at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg on Saturday to take part in a weeklong conference called "Momentum."

The special conference is sponsored by CE National and is an annual event with thousands of junior high and high school students in attendance.

As a part of the ministry training sessions, the teenagers go out into the field to serve the community through what has become known as "The Blitz."

This year's theme, "X-Treme Makeover: Heart Edition," was named after the TV show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

The teenagers and worksite managers have rebuilt rooms, painted homes, fixed up damaged lawns, cleared debris, distributed groceries and entertained the children of the neighborhoods with Christian music and games.

The effort to make over homes and neighborhoods will continue through today.

"These young people are doing a good job," said Gulfport resident and homeowner Norris Walker. "This is my family home and the kids found the same green paint my father painted the house with years and years ago."

The teens participating in the blitz this year also joined with Convoy of Hope to distribute several semi-truck loads of groceries and supplies to families in Pearlington and Gulfport.
"We are making a video for our church back home at Grace Brethren in Clinton, Maryland," said teen worker Katie Vanderhoof.

"I have been filming the workforces all over Gulfport and Pearlington and when we finish a work project, we do not just leave. We have been hanging out in the neighborhoods and playing games with the kids."

For more than 60 years, the annual event was known as the Brethren National Youth Conference. It is held around the country at a different university each year.

Organizers say they selected the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg because it is close to storm-damaged neighborhoods still needing assistance.

"We worked at a house in Gulfport today where the lady has not had gas or electricity since the storm," said site manager Charlie Wright of Indiana.

"Our church, Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church, has decided to help catch her up on her utility bills. It is hard around here but these people who suffered through Katrina keep hanging in there."

For more information about Momentum or CE National visit cenational.org.

Students from the Elizabethtown Grace Brethren Church in Pennsylvania were featured in a television story about the Momentum Blitz on Wednesday, July 25. Youth pastor John Vosberg and students Jackie Long and John Yeagley were interviewed.

To view the story, which was broadcast on CBS 22 WHLT, in Hattisburg, click here. (Scroll to Student Volunteers.)

“This has been like a week of football training camp,” said Dan Gregory as he took to the platform for the Thursday morning main session at the Momentum youth conference. He likened training camp to the mountain top experience that the week has been for many.

Dan is pastor of Community of Hope, a Grace Brethren church in Columbia City, Ind. He is also a football coach.

“At the end of the camp, there are three categories,” he noted. He called three “volunteers” to the front of the platform – Ed Lewis, Dave Rank, and Jeff Bogue – and outfitted them with helmets, pads, and football jerseys to illustrate his point. (See photo above right.)

“There are some who could care less,” he noted. “They came to camp, but they don’t want to give their time,” pointing to Jeff.

“The second group (of players) comes excited, but they are cautious and protective,” he said. “They don’t make mistakes. Their jerseys are clean because they don’t play in the game,” acknowledging Dave at center stage.

He characterized the third group as being “consumed.”

“They go to camp because they want to learn about football,” he pointed out, placing his hand on Ed’s shoulder.

“The theme for week has been Extreme Makeover,” he noted, using II Corinthians 5:14 as the basis for his talk. He said that the crux of having an extreme makeover is “when we are absolutely convinced that we have a heavenly daddy that loved us enough to die for us.”

He stressed that tonight the training camp will be over and the stage will come down. The trip down from the mountaintop that has been Momentum will begin.

“Jesus Christ today is looking for teenagers whose love for Him compels them,” he said. He encouraged the audience to lives their lives “upside down” for Christ.

The conference concludes tonight on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. At the 7 p.m. main session, the families who have been the recipients of the home repair and rebuilding projects will be honored. Jeff Bogue, pastor of the north campus of Grace Church, a Grace Brethren church in Akron, Ohio will present the challenge. The evening concludes with 9:45 p.m. worship service and communion.

After a long day of work projects that included picking up trash, weeding a tree nursery, hanging drywall, and a myriad of other projects, students lined up at microphones Wednesday night at Momentum to share what God had done in their lives. The late night session was held in Reed Green Coliseum of University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.

Formerly known as Brethren National Youth Conference, Momentum is a week of challenging speakers, ministry opportunities, and recreation for students while encouraging them in their faith. The week-long event concludes Thursday night.

“Yesterday, I gave my heart to Jesus,” said one young man, responding to the question “How has this makeover experience changed your heart?”

“I’ve learned that we’re not just building houses, we’re building relationships,” noted another boy.

Another young lady admitted she went to Gulfport the day before to work, but her heart wasn’t in it. “Today I learned to worship through my acts, praising Him when I’m serving,” she said. “My heart just changed.”

Another teen called the experience “inspirational. Last night I accepted Christ into my life,” she said.

The session concluded with devotions led by Josh Finklea, who was the main speaker in the morning session.

“What you did today is not a day for you to remember on your calendar,” he stressed, noting the number of students and staff who left campus earlier in the day to minister as part of the Blitz or the Gulf coast rebuilding projects. “This is a day for you to remember -- this is how you do it (ministry).”

“You have the spirit of God upon you,” he said. “You are to preach to the poor, bind up the broken hearted, and release from darkness of the prisoners.”

He encouraged the audience to respond to God’s call.

“When God says go, you got to go,” he emphasized. “It’s not just every day of a conference; it’s every day of your life, because God’s spirit is upon you.”

For an up-to-date report about the week's events, click here.

In this morning's SunHerald, the newspaper in Gulfport and Biloxi, Miss., reported on activities related to Momentum. Katie Vanderhoof, from the Grace Brethren Church in Clinton, Md. and Charlie Wright, of the Winona Lake (Ind.) Grace Brethren Church are quoted. An excerpt appears below. To read the whole story, click here.

Entire neighborhoods in Gulfport and Pearlington saw hundreds of teenagers from across the country mobilizing Wednesday to clean up, rebuild and pass out groceries.

The teenage workforce had arrived in the thousands at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg on Saturday to take part in a week-long conference called "Momentum."

The special conference is sponsored by CE National and is an annual event with thousands of junior high and high school students in attendance.

As a part of the ministry training sessions, the teenagers go out into the field to serve the community through what has become known as "The Blitz."

For more reports and photos from Momentum, which concludes tonight in Hattiesburg, Miss., click here.

Students picked up trash along the roads around Hattiesburg as part of the Momentum Blitz. More than 1,200 students left the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi, where the conference is being held, to ministry to the community. (See story below.)

To see additional photos from Wednesday at Momentum, click here.

Water was a necessary ingredient on Wednesday's Blitz. Temperatures reached in the high 90s with high humidity.

Students from Elizabethtown, Pa., helped wash the walls at the DREAM Center.

Painting was one of the tasks on the list for the Blitz.

During the blitz, students helped around a local church.

More than 1,300 students and adults who are attending the Momentum Youth Conference fanned out across the city of Hattiesburg today (Wednesday) for the annual Blitz.

The Blitz is a day of “acts of kindness” that focus on sharing the love of Christ with the community.

“This has been good,” said Andy Parker, arborist for the City of Hattiesburg. A group of teens from Pennsylvania and Indiana had just finished weeding a plot of 600 potted trees in the nursery. “It’s amazing what you can get done with 30 people in an hour and a half,” he said, noting that it would take his crew of six to accomplish the same task in a day.

“It’s all God,” said Christine, a young lady from Telford, Pa., taking a break from weeding. “That’s the reason we are here.”

“I really didn’t get out and do that much with my faith,” admitted Deanna, from Elizabethtown, Pa. as she folded clothes at the DREAM Center, a drug abuse prevention agency in Hattiesburg. “It’s a good opportunity to do this.”

Volunteers went to 20 locations around the city, in addition to those who stayed and worked on projects at the University of Southern Mississippi, where the conference is being held through Thursday.

In the photo above, Michelle and Deanna from Pennsylvania fold shirts at the DREAM Center.

For news and photos of Momentum, formerly known as Brethren National Youth Conference, click here.

 
Today marks the 70th anniversary of Momentum, formerly known as Brethren National Youth Conference. The first conference was held in 1938 at Camp Bethany in Winona Lake, Ind. There 102 students who attended the camp while their parents were attending the conference for the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. (And no, Ed Lewis was not the first director of the conference!)

For a walk through memory lane, click here.

 
During the Momentum staff meeting on Tuesday morning, Ray and Sharon Feather were given the Wall of Honor award. The Feathers were honored for their significant impact to our churches in the area of Bible Quizzing.

Ray is pastor of Grace Community Church in Mukilteo, Wash. He has been involved with Bible quizzing with the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches for more than 30 years.

Ray and Sharon are pictured at right with TK Kurtaneck, Director of Church Relations & Youth Leadership Training at CE National as TK made the presentation.

To be considered for the Wall of Honor, an individual or couple, through their connection with CE National, should have had a significant influence upon others by their ministry, equipping others to serve, including a special emphasis in church ministries. Significant influence should include one or more of the following:

providing ministry training
training others in evangelism
providing acts of service to the organization
involvement in encouragement
discipling others
modeling a godly Christian life

At the Tuesday morning main session of Momentum, Jim Brown, pastor of Grace Community Church, a Grace Brethren church in Goshen, Ind., noted that sometimes as Christians we want to exterminate or repell non Christians. Waving a can of bug spray, he said that sometimes we're afraid to share our faith.

"But when I read my Bible," he stressed, "do you know what it says? "Jesus walked with sinners."

He encouraged the audience to tell others about Jesus. "You never fail when you share your faith, you push people just one step closer (to faith in Jesus Christ)."

To view more stories and photos from Momentum, click here.

Every day during Momentum, more than 500 students board busses in Hattiesburg for the southern Mississippi communities of Gulfport and Pearlington, both at least an hour ride away. They are headed to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, many whom have waited nearly two years for assistance with clean-up, home repair, and even home replacement.

By the end of the week, Dan, the project administrator from Pennsylvania, estimates the students will have donated more than 10,000 hours to the clean-up. Add to that the time spent by 58 project administrators and managers, more than 14,000 hours will be tallied.

The work is hard and dirty. There are is much to be done. In Gulfport, there are 12 sites that need painting, drywall removal, yard cleanup, and other tasks. In Pearlington, near where the eye of the hurricane came ashore, the plan is to build 11 new homes and to repair, paint, and clean around another 23. The remote community is one of the last to receive help from the federal government.

Few of the young people have shirked from their duty.

“They’ve got some momentum in them,” says Shawn, a volunteer project manager from Kittanning, Pa., who is overseeing the construction of a house in Pearlington.

“If they don’t have a job, they come ask what they can do. They want to keep busy. I couldn’t be more happy.”

He stops to answer a question from a student, then looks toward house site, where joists are being laid 13 feet in the air, perched on pilons. “Our goal at the end of the week is to have this shelled up,” says Shawn, an ironworker in Pittsburgh.

In Gulfport, 40 miles to the east, three teens from Iowa have been installing drywall in a home.

“I absolutely love helping in any way I can,” says Dale. Her hair is pulled back in a bandana and her face is smudged with drywall dust. “Today we didn’t have much contact with people, but someone is going to be living in this house. It makes me feel good to know that I helped make it some place nice for them to live.”

A few blocks away, a youth group from Modesto, Calif. have been clearing the site of a garage and hauling the debris to the curb. It’s given them a new appreciation for the things they have.

“I don’t know how fortunate I am,” admits Will. “I know that I’m fortunate and this just opens my eyes even more (to how much I really have).”

To view more reports and photos from Momentum, click here.

Pictured above at right are Dale and Darin, both students from Iowa.

“Integrity means that you are completely consistent, not just with your beliefs but also in terms of how you act,” Shawn McBride, pictured above, told students and staff at the Momentum youth conference on Monday evening, July 23.

Speaking from center stage in Reed Green Coliseum on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, he challenged the audience to consider their actions. McBride is the founder and senior pastor of the New Life Community Church in Bowie, Md. He also is the chairman of the Youth and Family Ministries Department at the Washington Bible College.

“Many of you in this room will say ‘I believe in my heart that I have integrity,’” he said. “Do your actions match up with what you believe in your heart?” he questioned.

“God is trying to give you a makeover on the inside,” he added. “God could care less how you look on the outside.”

“If you are going to be a person of integrity, you have to examine yourself,” he suggested. “Look at the small little things in your life, the small cracks.”

He provided a few guidelines to help develop integrity.

“Simply be honest,” he said. “In other words, are you a liar? Be honest, tell the truth, if you get extra change at the store, give it back. Stop sharing music you haven’t paid for. Be honest.

“Honor your commitments,” he stressed. “Let your yes be yes and your no, no.” He reminded the students that their word has to be solid.

“If your word can’t be solid, don’t make promises you can’t keep,” he noted, reminding the young ladies in the audience to not let boys change their position on purity.

“Let you no be no and your no, no,” he said.

He said that integrity also involves not following the crowd. “We’re living in a society where it is so easy to go with the flow,” he noted. “Integrity says I’m going in a different direction.”

“Be sincere,” he concluded. “The way we live a sincere life is by holding our life up to the Son,” he stressed.

The evening began with an upbeat song from the Momentum choir, a group made of young people from around the country. Dan O’Deens, Gulf Coast project director for the Momentum rebuilding, presented an update on Monday’s projects. He showed a news clip from WLOX-TV Biloxi that had been taped earlier in the day.

From ASSIST News Service:

NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA (ANS) -- Ray Ortlund, a beloved pastor, author, and radio broadcaster -- who touched the lives of many through small-group discipleship, went to be with Jesus July 22. He was 84.

Ortlund slipped away peacefully at 8:00 p.m., surrounded by his wife Anne and their immediate family, at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. He bravely endured the complications of pulmonary fibrosis, an insidious lung disease that also claimed the life of Campus Crusade Founder Bill Bright.

He maintained lucidity until the day of his passing, and was able to speak and sing hymns with family members yesterday morning. His last words were, “Amen and amen.”

Ray and Anne founded Renewal Ministries after he led two of the most prominent churches in Southern California. Together they authored more than 25 books and traveled extensively throughout the world speaking on behalf of renewal and revival among God’s people. For 19 years Ray was the speaker for the “Haven of Rest” radio broadcast.

After he led two smaller churches, Ray accepted his third call to the pastorate at Lake Avenue Congregational Church in Pasadena, California. Lake Avenue become their home for the next 20 years.

During those years, Anne’s musical gifts flourished, and she became the organist for the “Old Fashioned Revival Hour” radio broadcast with Dr. Charles Fuller.

But perhaps the most pivotal event to shape their future ministry was their involvement with the revival at Wheaton College in 1970.

“Once you’ve seen that you will never be the same again,” Anne said. “We desired with all our hearts that God would make us instruments of renewal and revival around the world,” she said. “That became the passion of our hearts.”

Ray referred to the years at Lake Avenue as “slow burn revival,” as clusters of their flock accepted Ray’s challenge: “Lord, make my life a miracle.” That was also the title of his first book, published in 1974, which explained his theology and statement of purpose for the church.

“I never thought I’d write a book,” he said, as he asserted that Anne is the “real author” in the family. Indeed, her book “Disciplines of a Beautiful Woman” has sold more than a million copies.

The Ortlunds’ ministry philosophy has always emphasized three simple priorities: First God, then other believers, and third—reaching the world for Christ. The other vital component of their ministry, which led to rapid growth at Lake Avenue, was small group discipleship.

Beginning in 1970, Ray and Anne began leading their own small groups each year. Over 37 years, they’ve discipled and mentored hundreds of younger leaders and pastors, a practice that continued for Ray until his passing.

Students from the LaLoma Grace Brethren Church in California help clean an area damaged by Hurricane Katrina. They were part of hundreds of kids who left the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi yesterday (Monday) where the youth conference, Momentum is being held, to minister to victims of the 2005 storm.

“A few years ago I tried to take up mountain biking,” Francis Chan told Momentum participants Monday morning, July 23 in Reed Green Coliseum on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.

“I hated it,” he recalled. “The worst part was I kept falling down,” he added.

“My friend said, ‘are you looking where you don’t want to go? Do you see a rock and say I don’t want to go there?’” Chan recalled, realizing that was the problem. “Your body is going to go where you are looking. Your body naturally follows your eyes.”

Chan, the teaching pastor at Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, Calif., compared the experience to life as he addressed the topic of discipline during his last session of the conference.

“Guess what happens when you focus on things you don’t want to do?” he said. “You are going to naturally go there.”

He noted that if we spend too much time talking about our past, we’ll get depressed.

“Jesus hasn’t called us to do that,” he said as he discussed Galatians 6:7. “He wants us to fix our eyes on Him.”

“Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked,” he stressed. “You are never going to fool God,” he added. “You’re going to fool me. You’re going to fool your youth pastor. You’re going to fool your mom and dad.”

He noted that one reaps what one sows. “Have you ever planted an avocado seed hoping to grow corn? You won’t be able to do it. It’s a law. It will never work that way.”

He observed that no one in history has ever been blessed for sinning. “We’re blessed by following God, by pursuing faith, by going after Him,” he said.

As closed the session, he encouraged the students to do good.

“Don’t get tired of serving Jesus,” he said. “Don’t get tired of doing good.”

Tonight, Shawn McBride takes the stage in the coliseum to encourage students to live a life of integrity. The conference continues in Hattiesburg through July 27.

Each day during Momentum (formerly known as Brethren National Youth Conference), more than 500 students leave the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg to minister to victims of Hurricane Katrina. They are building homes in Pearlington, Miss., and helping with home repair and clean-up in Gulfport.

Here's a report from WLOX-TV (Biloxi) about today's efforts in Pearlington.

Thousands of pounds of food and water arrived Monday in Pearlington, along with hundreds of volunteers. As one of the hardest hit areas of South Mississippi, people in Pearlington are still struggling to recover.

The international relief organization, Convoy Of Hope brought the staples so Katrina victims can instead spend their grocery money on rebuilding their lives.
Teenage volunteers spent Monday afternoon putting food into the hands of the people of Pearlington.

To view the complete story, click here.

The conference began July 21 and continues through July 27 in southern Mississippi.

The plaza/patio beside the Tree of Life bookstore and BMH building at 1104 Kings Highway in Winona Lake, Indiana, is deserted and peaceful this afternoon.

But next Wednesday night, August 1, beginning at 9 p.m., it will be hopping with activity--and you're invited!

Ten BMH authors will be set up at tables after the national conference plenary session Moderator's Address, and there will be free cake and punch for all. The BMH authors will have copies of their books for sale and will be available at tables all along the plaza to autograph books and to meet their literary fans.

The cake and punch are to celebrate the 54th wedding anniversary of Dr. Homer and Beverly Kent, which occurs that same day. Dr. Kent, former president of Grace College and Seminary, is one of BMH Books' premiere authors, having written commentaries on 15 New Testament books.

It's all free, and there will be live music by pianist David Redman, known for his accompanying work with the Gaithers, Doug Oldham, and many other favorite Christian artists.

Plan now to join the BMH staff and authors for this gala event!

Spiritual Friends: A Methodology of Soul Care and Spiritual Direction, a 374-page hardback workbook by one of the nation's leading counselors and counseling educators, has just been released by BMH Books of Winona Lake, Ind.

The book, which helps professional and lay counselors relate God's truth to human relationships, is written by Robert W. Kellemen, Ph.D., who is chairman of the Master of Arts in Christian Counseling and Discipleship Department at Capital Bible Seminary in the Washington, D.C. area.

Kellemen, who is also a graduate of Grace Theological Seminary, has created this workbook to accompany his masterful text Soul Physicians, which lays out a theology of soul care and spiritual direction. Soul Physicians will appear from BMH books in late August or early September.

The books were originally self-published by Kellemen, but have been completely re-worked and edited for the new BMH editions. Widely adopted as texts in Christian counseling programs, the books are also useful by pastors or lay counselors who wish to have a thoroughly biblical approach to their soul care and spiritual direction.

Dr. Tammy Schultz, who directs the graduate counseling program at Grace College, says, "Dr. Kellemen skillfully relates compelling life narratives that keep the reader turning pages to learn his grace-filled approach to teaching the ministry and art of helping relationships.

"Spiritual Friends," Schultz says, "is brimming with biblical wisdom framed within the call to relationship."

Available at Christian booksellers everywhere and at http://www.bmhbooks.com/ or by calling 1-800-348-2756, Spiritual Friends retails for $39.99. The ISBN number is 9780884692560.

Ken Moyer, dean of enrollment at Grace College, Winona Lake, Indiana, has announced a lead donor helping the college offer one million dollars in four-year FGBC Scholarships to new students beginning fall 2008.

Thanks to this generous lead donor, Grace College will be able to offer $1,000,000 in four-year FGBC Scholarships beginning fall 2008 to new students from the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches (FGBC).

To qualify for one of the 200 FGBC Scholarships in the amount of $5,000 ($1,250 per year), admitted applicants must be from a Grace Brethren Church and meet one of the following academic requirements: 3.1 GPA or top 40 percent of class or combined SAT of 1,000 (math/reading) or ACT composite of 21.

Students will automatically be considered for FGBC Scholarships through the Grace College application for admission and will be notified when accepted. FGBC Scholarships are renewable each year, for four years, provided academic good standing is achieved at the end of each academic year. For more information log onto http://www.grace.edu/.

Many have been praying for the health needs of former Grace Brethren International Missions executive director Tom Julien (pictured). Today Tom sent along the following update:

This is a brief message to bring you up to date on my health.

Because I was experiencing chest discomfort during our participation in the missionary conference in Columbus, Doris and I returned a day early (July 18) and stopped at the heart center at Lutheran hospital in Fort Wayne.

Providentially my own cardiologist was on duty; he scheduled me for a heart catheterization the next morning and found that three of my four bypasses (not heart valves) were clotted shut. It is impossible for them to be opened by stents, and the doctor is not favorable to surgery. After several days of observation I was released yesterday (Sunday).

He has asked me to put aside all responsibilities, at least for the present, while I follow a treatment of medication. On August 2 they will begin a non-invasive procedure called External Conterpulsation (ECP) to encourage the development of collaterals that will bypass the blockages. This is a new procedure but apparently has had encouraging results.

Thanks to all of you who have phoned or sent e-mails assuring us of concern and prayers. We are grateful.

Tom

Dozens of young people scattered with counselors throughout the southwest side of Reed Green Coliseum in response to Francis Chan’s challenge to follow Jesus.

Earlier, Chan had challenged participants at Momentum, formerly known as Brethren National Youth Conference, to fall in love with the person of Jesus. It was the third session of the conference, which is being held on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.

“Are you really in love with the person of God?” he questioned the audience of more than 2,100 teens and adults.

“Are you hot or are you lukewarm?” he asked. “Are you lukewarm? That’s a problem. Jesus says the ones that are lukewarm; I’m going to spit them out of my mouth,” he added, reading from the section in Revelation 3 that describes the church at Laodicea.

“Do you understand what it means to spit?” he said. “It’s not good,” he added, noting that the reality that many of us are wretched, poor, pitiful, blind, naked.

“Why did he rebuke these people?” he queried. “He didn’t want to spit them out of his mouth. He loved them!”

He encouraged the audience to consider what it means to be earnest and repent.

He read Rev. 3:20 – “Here I am, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.”

“It’s a very intimate picture,” Chan noted. “It’s a relationship. Let me eat with you. We’ll have this union. We’ll have this marriage bond. We’ll be together.”

He noted that the next verse promises that those who overcome will be granted the right to sit with God on his throne.

“What would it be like to sit on the throne with God?” he said, reading the description of heaven in Revelation 4.

Chan stressed that it’s all or nothing.

“God is sitting there with this ring,” he noted, reciting traditional wedding vows. “Do you want to spend eternity with me? If so, you have to forsake all others. But do you want me?”

He challenged conference attendees to pursue the ring. “Do you want to be the bride of Christ that submits to him?”

The evening session opened with a solo by Jeremy Perry, a student from the Grace Brethren Church in Clinton, Md., testimonies from several young ladies who had helped with the Katrina rebuilding project on the Gulf earlier in the day, and a special tribute to Ed Lewis, who celebrated his 61st birthday on Sunday.

For more images and reports from Momentum, click here.

Youth Leader Salvador Becerra from Community Grace Brethren in Whittier, California took his students to Gulfport today to replace the siding on a house.

Senior Pastor Matt Lohr from the Winchester Grace Brethren Church in Winchester, Virginia took his students to Gulfport today. They worked at three sites doing drywall, edging for siding, and trash removal.

Students enjoy quality food and healthy meals at the University of Southern Mississippi during Momentum 2007.

Mark Artrip, youth pastor at the Grace Brethren Church of Powell, Ohio, leads a Sponge Session on Sunday morning. His topic? "Biblically Discerning Media." The small seminars give students an opportunity to soak up the Word.

Students filled the Reed Green Coliseum at University of Southern Mississippi for the Sunday morning session of Momentum.

“God wants us to live by faith… he wants us to try something,” Francis Chan told students and volunteers at Momentum. Chan, the teaching pastor at Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, Calif., took to the podium on Sunday morning, July 22, 2007 to continue his thoughts on authentic faith. He opened the conference on Saturday night with a challenge to lived changed lives.

Momentum is a week of special speakers, ministry, and fun for students while challenging them in their faith. It was formerly known as Brethren National Youth Conference. The main conference sessions are held in Reed Green Coliseum of University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg

Chan talked about the heroes of Hebrews 11, often known as the “faith chapter” for the listing of examples of faith by Old Testament icons.

“I never liked Rahab,” he admitted. “She lied. She hides the spies in her house.” He recounted how when authorities came looking for the spies, she wasn’t truthful about where the spies were.

He said he never wanted to preach about Rahab for that reason. “I didn’t want people to think they could lie,” he stressed, expressing frustration that God didn’t confront her about her sin, and then he included her in Hebrews 11.

“Then it hit me,” he said. “Did she sin by lying? Probably, but God doesn’t want to talk about it. He talks about her faith.”

He talked about others in the chapter who weren’t likely to be held up as Godly examples, including Samson, who didn’t make the wisest choice in selecting a girlfriend.

“Every time you go out, you’re going to sin,” he said. “But it’s not important that you screwed up,” he added.

He cited Hebrews 11:6 – “without faith, it’s impossible to please God.”

“The opposite is true,” he stressed. “With faith, it is impossible to displease God.”

He noted that we are going to make mistakes. What is important is that we tried. God cares about our hearts.

The morning session opened with special music by and scripture recited from memory by students who participated in quizzing. It concluded with prayer for the first teams that were headed for the Gulf Coast and rebuilding efforts at Gulfport and Pearlington, Miss.

Winona Lake, Ind. -- Hundreds of people from around the world will converge upon Kosciusko County, Indiana next week when the annual conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches (FGBC) is held at Grace College and Grace Theological Seminary. The conference, named Equip07 because of the many practical workshops that will be offered, will be held July 29 through August 3 in Winona Lake.

Several sessions are open to the public at no charge, including Monday evening’s opening celebration of the conference with keynote speaker, Brad Powell (pictured at right), and Wednesday night’s Moderator’s Address by Jim Brown of Goshen, Ind. Both sessions begin at 7 p.m. at the new Orthopaedic Capital Center (OCC), 610 Wooster Road, Winona Lake.

Throughout the week, FGBC conference participants may enroll in practical classes for pastors and laypeople and attend corporation meetings for organizations affiliated with the Fellowship.

Powell, the senior pastor of NorthRidge Church in Plymouth, Mich., will look at the topic, “Change Without Compromise.” His congregation has been recognized as the Midwest’s “Fastest Growing Church” by Outreach magazine and listed as one of the Top 50 Most Influential Churches by The Church Report. A graduate of Grace Theological Seminary, he is the author of Change Your Church for Good: The Art of Sacred Cow Tipping.

Brown, the incoming Moderator of the Fellowship, will focus on outreach and evangelism in his address on Wednesday. He is the senior pastor of Grace Community Church, a Grace Brethren church in Goshen, Ind. that ministers to more than 1,200 people each Sunday.

Brown believes in giving back to the community while offering them Jesus. Because of that, an offering will be taken at Wednesday’s session to benefit the Baker Youth Club of Warsaw. It is an opportunity for the Fellowship to give back to the community that is hosting the conference, and where many of its affiliated organizations are headquartered. The Baker Youth Club has helped more than 500 kids in the past year, giving them opportunities to develop skills through activities that instill character and confidence. Seventy percent of the young people are from low income families.

The Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches is a voluntary association of more than 260 churches in the United States and Canada. The Grace Brethren movement worldwide includes more than 1,300 churches serving approximately 750,000 people.

Churches in the FGBC are autonomous in structure, relevant in style, and biblical in substance. The group looks to the Bible as the authority, loving relationships as the glue, and hope in Jesus Christ as their passion.

For more information about the conference or to register to attend a session, see www.fgbc.org/equip07. For information on the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, see http://fgbc.org/.

From today's Daytona Beach, Florida, newspaper. John pastored Grace Brethren churches in Dayton, Ohio (Patterson Park), Johnstown, Pennsylvania (Johnstown First), Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, and Sunnyside, Washington.


John Ruby Terrell went home to be with his Lord and Savior, on July 20, 2007.

John was born in New Lebanon, Ohio, on June 6, 1933. He attended Dixie High School in New Lebanon and continued his education at Taylor University in Upland, Ind. After his graduation in 1956, he earned a Divinity Degree from Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio.

John married his high school sweetheart, Joanne Blosser, in September 1952. They served for many years together as pastor and wife at churches in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Washington State.

Together they raised four children, Rebecca, Jennifer, John, and Betsy. They shared 27 years of marriage which ended in Joanne's death in 1980.

In 1992, John married Patricia Steffes in Mercer Island, Wash., and he welcomed her children, John, Andrew and Karin into their life together. They resided in Bellevue, Wash., and moved to Port Orange, Fla., in 1998 to care for John's mother, Betty Mae Terrell.

Together John and Pat loved and served their family, played golf, attended Christ Community Church, and opened up their home for many gatherings that were full of laughter and rich fellowship.

John's life was filled with the joy of sharing and receiving God's love. He touched many lives with his Bible teaching, his writing, and his never-ending humor. In 1979, he began selling commercial real estate and was currently with Coldwell Banker, Port Orange.

He was a member of and has served as president of Cypress Head Men's Golf Association. Golf was his passion and he was an avid reader, loved walks on the beach and enjoyed music - particularly singing with his family and giving ukulele lessons to those who also loved music.

John will be greatly missed by his loving wife, Patricia, his children and step children, Rebecca (Donald) McIntosh, Jennifer (Rodney) Kauffman, John (Lori) Terrell, Betsy (Ruben) Hernandez, John (Kathie) Steffes, Andrew Steffes, Karin O’Hall, their 23 grandchildren and great-grandchildren (whom he affectionately called “his little bums”), his brothers Charlie (Marge), Dale (Anabelle) and Dan (Michelle) Terrell, his sister, Betty Lou (Russell) Mills, and many other family members and friends.

John was preceded in death by his father, James Matthew Terrell, and his mother, Betty Mae Terrell.

A memorial service to honor John will be held at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, July 25, 2007 at Lohman Funeral Home Port Orange, 1201 Dunlawton Avenue, with a reception to follow. Reverend John McIntosh pastor of Grace Brethren Church, Simi Valley, California, will officiate.

A committal service will be held for John in Seattle, Washington, at a later date.

The rafters of Reed Green Coliseum of University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg thundered as more than 2,100 students, staff, volunteers, and guests enthusiastically greeted the opening session of Momentum, formerly known as Brethren National Youth Conference.

The Saturday night, July 21 session began with recognition of the 70th year of the conference. The first conference was held in 1938 when 102 teens gathered at Camp Bethany in Winona Lake, Ind.

Last night in Hattiesburg, Francis Chan (pictured at at right), teaching pastor at Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, Calif., challenged the audience to follow the teachings of the Bible.

Speaking from II Corinthians 5:15-17, he said that Christians should live as new creations.

“If I really believe this, my life should look a lot different,” he said. He likened repentance to being on a crowded escalator.

“You see Jesus at the top,” he said, waving his hand in the air. “Picture yourself turning and running up a crowded escalator. You don’t care who is in the way, you see Jesus, and you say ‘I gotta’ have him. I gotta’ have Jesus.’

“That’s the idea of a believer,” he adds. “You are obsessed with him. You are consumed with him.”

He also spoke of the sacrifice of following Christ. He noted that Jesus never begged people to follow him.

“Jesus was a servant, but he was not a beggar,” he stressed. “Either you are going to follow or you’re not.”

He warned about the cost of following Jesus. “We don’t know where we’re going to sleep, do you still want to follow me?” he questioned

“Do you still want to follow Him? Is he that valuable?”

The evening also featured heart pounding music from Atlanta-based musician Steve Fee, a testimony from Olympic bobsledder Brock Kreitzburg, and an opportunity to pray with others in the auditorium.

Dan O’Deens, pastor of Gateway Grace Community Church in Parkesburg, Pa., introduced Jeff Swaim from Convoy of Hope. The organization has partnered with Momentum to provide funds for groceries and other services during rebuilding ministry projects this week. More than 500 students each day will travel to Gulfport and Pearlington, Ms. to assist with rebuilding efforts.

“The reason we came to Mississippi was not to be comfortable,” said O’Deens in a reference to the 90 degree temperatures coupled with high humidity outside. “We came so that we could not only do a makeover on people’s homes, but to give God the opportunity to do a makeover on their hearts.”

Also at the session, coordinators for the projects were introduced. More than 50 people from around the country have volunteered their time to supervise teams at 13 sites in Gulfport. In Pearlington, it is anticipated that Momentum volunteers will build 17 homes.

Chan leads off first full day of the conference on Sunday when he challenges conference attendees to live life authentically during the morning session, a theme he’ll also address in the evening session. In the morning students may choose from more than 40 practical “Sponge Sessions” where they can learn about anything from spiritual warfare and powerful prayer, to materialism and purity.

Afternoon options include a sports tournament, NAC (Nurturing Abilities for Christ) competition, quizzing, and off campus opportunities.

The conference continues through Friday, July 27.

To view photos and news from Saturday's events, click here.

From the Yakima (WA) Herald-Republic. Pastor of the Goldendale church is Dr. Greg Howell.

The funeral service for the Klickitat County sh