May 9, 2014
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All of the ministers together. Front (l-r): Mike Sturgill, Brent Liechty, Rocky Spear, Jerry Drummond, Don Ross, Eldon Grubb, Jim Pryor, Andy Stahl. Back (l-r): Phil Whipple, Tim Sherman, Greg Voight, Mark Ralph, Ricky Hull, Todd Fetters, Todd Greenman, Devon Strine, Ted Doolittle, Dan Kopp, Joe Leighton, Ron Watterly, Nick Woodall, Ron Evans, and Dan VanArsdalen.
Todd Fetters, director of National Ministries, spearheaded the Pastors Summit.
Lisa Fetters led sessions for pastors’ wives.
Joe Leighton, pastor of Salem Chapel (Junction City, Ohio), tells his “Because of Jesus…” story.
The Pastors Summit ended with a prayer time.
The second Pastors Summit was held May 5-7 at the Gull Lake Ministries camp in Hickory Corners, Mich. The event was for senior pastors and spouses from churches with an average attendance under 150. It drew 43 persons–five persons from the national office, 24 senior pastors, and 14 pastors’ wives. The ministers and spouses included:
- 10 pastors and 6 spouses from UB churches in Michigan.
- 11 pastors and 7 spouses from UB churches in Ohio.
- 2 pastors and 1 spouses from UB churches in Indiana.
- 1 pastor from Pennsylvania.
The Pastors Summit followed the same format as the summit held the previous week in Pennsylvania, beginning on Monday evening and concluding by noon on Wednesday. Bishop Phil Whipple was the speaker for the three sessions. He opened on Monday night by telling about his journey as a minister, from his call to ministry through serving various churches both before and after joining the United Brethren denomination. It was fascinating stuff. On Tuesday he addressed principles he has learned along the way, and then spoke primarily about brokenness.
Coaching was a big part of the Pastors Summit. Pastors could sign up for a coaching session with one of the five trained coaches, all UB ministers:
- Dan Kopp, pastor of NorthPointe UB church (Lewis Center, Ohio).
- Greg Voight, pastor of Lancaster UB (Lancaster, Ohio).
- Rocky Spear, pastor of Mongul UB Shippensburg, Pa.).
- Mark Wilson, pastor of Fowlerville UB church (Fowlerville, Mich.).
- Jerry Drummond, a retired UB minister from Ashley, Mich.
Dan Kopp, Greg Voight, and Rocky Spear all served as coaches in Pennsylvania. The participants who signed up for coaching spent two sessions with their coach–an hour on Tuesday afternoon, and an hour on Wednesday morning. There will also be some follow-up interactions.
The Gull Lake lodge, where meetings and meals were held, included a large gymnasium and a four-lane bowling alley. After the Monday night session, nine men reconvened on the basketball court for about 90 minutes. Most were pretty rusty, and far removed from the Glory Days of Youth, but it was quite fun. They on Tuesday night, 11 pastors and three spouses donned their bowling shoes for the evening. Two persons worth mentioning:
- Eldon Grubb, pastor of Pleasant Valley UB church (Lake Odessa, Mich.), had the night’s best cumulative score.
- Devon Strine, pastor of Mount Pleasant UB church (Angola, Ind.), had the night’s single highest game score.
The Pastors Summit ended Wednesday morning with a group session during which pastors were invited to give a brief (no longer than 4 minutes) testimony which completed one of these statements: “Because of Jesus…” or “If it hadn’t been for Jesus….” The group was continuously in transition, since coaching sessions were going on at the same time; every hour, some ministers would leave and others would return.
The event concluded with a prayer time led by Bishop Phil Whipple.
Below are a few photos from the Pastors Summit. Many more–nearly 100–can be found on the UB Facebook page.
After a national search, Huntington University has named Greg Smitley (right) as vice president for business and finance/treasurer. Smitley graduated from HU in 1980 with a degree in business administration, and later earned a master’s in business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University.
Frank Y (right), Associate Director of Global Ministries
