Pat Jones, Director of Healthy Church Ministries
I’ve been working hard at perceiving things as Jesus would. The disciples saw a sinful woman at the well. Jesus saw a person reaching out for help. Jesus observed how hard the Pharisees worked to get their “converts”, even going overseas to make like-minded legalists. But He told His disicples to open their eyes to see the multitude of people around them who were ripe for the picking, wanted to be a part of an eternal harvest. He told of a man who worked hard to build barns that benefitted himself, but was not concerned about eternal things.
A study is currently being done as a part of a doctoral thesis. It will give us insights into the statistics we have reported over the past ten years. What will we do with what we find?
Pam and I visited with the final three members of a church that voted to close. We will sell the building and reinvest the funds in other ways. While I shared their grief over the finality of it all, I also grieved over the reality that the Great Commission played no part in the later years of this church.
In contrast to this, I received news this week that a church that has been in decline reached and assimilated over a dozen people in the last months. Another church that had several people leave and faced some financial struggles had a greater than average attendance and third largest offering of the year. A newly assigned pastor is trusting the Lord for great healing and growth in his church. Several of our churches have shown good health in NCD surveys. These are blessings.
So when Jesus looks across the landscape we call the UB church, what does He see?

Two men were arrested Tuesday, June 6, for starting a fire early that morning at the Park Layne UB church in New Carlisle, Ohio. Both men, David Taylor and Brandon Marlow, are accused of breaking into the church and setting it on fire. Investigators say tips from the community led to the arrests.

Tom Brodbeck, superintendent of Central Conference, visited the church site yesterday. He reports: “The building is a total loss. I didn’t go down into the basement, but the upstairs is gone. The fire was started in the pastor’s office, and everything there is a pile of ashes. All of [Pastor Roland Albert’s] books and files were lost. The front half of the sanctuary is ruined due to the heat. The keys on the organ are melted together. Things like hymnals and offering plates are singed or warped.”

The Bethel Township Fire Department has offered its firehouse to the church as a temporary worship facility. Prince of Peace UB church in Springfield, about 20 miles away, offered Park Layne the use of its facility. However, according to Brodbeck, “At this time, the church is thinking that if the weather is good, it would like to worship in a shelter house on its property as a symbol to the community that it is still present.”

Brodbeck offered two interesting side notes. “Auglaize Conference had three churches built from the same set of blueprints: Park Layne, Otterbein, and Monroe. Arson fires have now happened in two of those churches. The fire at Otterbein led to the relocation of the congregation into what is now New Horizons Church (Rockford, Ohio).”

In addition, Park Layne is in the same cluster as the Pleasant Hill UB church near Muncie, Ind., which suffered a fire in May of 2005. Brodbeck says, “Pastor Roland Albert attended the May 7th dedication of the rebuilt Pleasant Hill Church and was rejoicing at how God used the ‘evil’ of a fire to bring about something wonderful for that congregation. He told me that he is certain God will do the same thing for Park Layne.”

Echoing that thought, Pastor Albert told a reporter, “We’re very positive. We know that God is in charge and we’re going to keep on doing what we do best and that’s saving souls.”

ParkLayneFire.jpg
Arson is suspected as the cause of a fire which started about 4:00 this morning (Tuesday), causing extensive damage to the Park Layne UB church in New Carlisle, Ohio. The pastor is Roland Albert. That is all the information we have at this time.

JChapelFire
Here is some more information regarding the fire that struck Jerusalem Chapel UB on Thursday, May 29. Jerusalem Chapel is a congregation with an attendance of 375 located near Churchville, Va.

  • The oldest part of the church, including the sanctuary and Sunday school area, is what burned. Firefighters took a stand to protect the new sanctuary at a firewall between it and the already-engulfed oldest portion of the structure. The new sanctuary was built in 1990.
  • Jerusalem Chapel held its usual two morning worship services on the Sunday after the fire, but Sunday school was canceled. Projected on a screen above the pulpit were the words: “We praise God that we are able to worship today in this sanctuary.”
  • Congregation members Mitch Acord and Craig Smith were praying in the church about 5:30 a.m.–a regular ritual–when they heard a crackle. When they investigated and smelled smoke, they called the fire department.
  • At the time of the fire, Pastor Dennis and Annette Sites were returning from Alaska, where a daughter has been serving as a missionary. They learned about the fire from their daughter Tabitha, back in Virginia, who called them in Denver.
  • The damage is estimated at $750,000. The church is insured for $2 million.
  • Investigators pinpointed decades-old wiring as the cause. They think a wire running from underneath a floorboard to the attic burned through its coating, and shorted after brushing up against a nail or another wire.
  • The church dates back to around 1902, though a church has occupied that site since the 1850s.

GodspellStudents from Huntington University are spending the summer performing the musical “Godspell” throughout the midwest. The schedule includes about 20 UB churches–in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Ontario, Florida, and Kentucky (the Little Laurel UB church).

Pat Jones, the UB Director of Healthy Church Ministries, recommends the play to United Brethren audiences. He writes:
“I was recently asked by the Admissions and Theater departments of Huntington University to sit in on a dress rehearsal of their 2006 Summer Tour production of Godspell. You could probably join me in reciting the words of many of the songs that were popularized in this musical when it was first produced in the ’70’s, such as ‘Day by Day’ and ‘Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord.’

“Once again I was struck with the remarkable way this story presents the psychological, social, and relational trends that represent us as sinful human beings through the centuries and then gives voice to Jesus speaking the truths of the Sermon on the Mount and familiar parables into those trends. The dialog and songs are firmly based in Scripture. What makes this even more striking is to realize that the creator of Godspell is not a believer.

“This is a high energy, fun theatrical presentation of the powerful Gospel of our Lord. Dance, lighting, varied musical instruments, humor, sarcasm, and simple props force us as the audience to see and hear ourselves and our condition. We are then hit with the high calling and demand of Jesus to live above it all through Him. You will not be disappointed in inviting your unsaved friends to it. This is a great opportunity to reach into the lives of our pre-Christian, unbelieving friends with a high quality, Scripturally sound presentation of the Gospel. It gives a foundation for further dialog with your friends about the Gospel, and just may serve as the bridge to see them come to faith in Christ. I recommend it to you.”

Some openings remain in the schedule. If you want to investigate the possibility of booking a performance, even at this late date, call Jeremy Rufener at the University: 260-224-3290.

In April, the Brooklyn Park UB church (Baltimore, Md.) opened what they call the UB Lighthouse After School program. Pastor John Christophel (right) wrote on May 8 concerning the first month of operation, “To this point we have had 18 different young people come through our doors. We are helping these young people with homework and learn new recreational skills, and are planting seeds of God’s love in their lives. Of these children, 90% do not attend our church or any other church. We have made new connections with a number of their parents on a weekly social level. God is truly beginning to bless this wonderful ministry.
“I tried to help our church family understand that the best way to move from a struggling church to a strong effective church is by stepping out and caring for those in need. I said that God would bring in those who needed saved when we stopped focusing on our current condition and started caring more about the condition of those who were lost.
“God has begun to honor our new efforts. In the past week we have helped lead four people to the Lord and had five new visitors in the past month have rededicated their lives to the Lord. That is nine transformed souls for the Kingdom of God. Six individuals who have been coming since January have decided to become official members of the church. Our Sunday evening service has grown from the five we have had for the past year to an average of 16. It is now a praise and celebration service.”

Pat Jones, Director of Healthy Church Ministries
I was recently asked by the Admissions and Theater departments of Huntington University to sit in on a dress rehearsal of their 2006 Summer Tour production of Godspell. You could probably join me in reciting the words to many of the songs that were popularized by this musical when it was first produced in the ’70’s. (Day by Day, Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord, et. al).
Once again I was struck with the remarkable way this story presents the philosophical, social and relational trends of sinful human beings through the centuries . Then it highlights Jesus speaking truth into those trends through the Sermon on the Mount and familiar parables. The play’s dialog and songs are firmly based in Scripture. What makes this even more striking is to realize that the creator of Godspell is not a believer.
This is a high energy, fun theatrical presentation of the powerful Gospel of our Lord. Dance, lighting, varied musical instruments, humor, sarcasm, and simple props force us as the audience to see and hear ourselves and our condition. We are then hit with the high calling and demand of Jesus to live above it all through Him.
Director Dave Shamburger, his wife Kristi (Choreographer) and Mike Burnett (chairman of the Department and in charge of Lighting and Scenic Design) have done a marvelous job preparing this talented troupe to make this a quality production. You will not be disappointed iif you invite your unsaved friends to it.
This is a great opportunity to reach into the lives of our pre-Christian, unbelieving friends with a high-quality, Scripturally sound presentation of the Gospel. It gives a foundation for further dialog with your friends about the Gospel, and just may serve as the bridge to see them come to faith in Christ.
I recommend it to you. And if you are not yet on the schedule, call Jeremy Rufener at the University (260-224-3290) and see if they could possibly squeeze you in at this late date.