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08 Oct

October 8, 2025 |

It is with great joy that we recognize nine individuals who have recently answered God’s call to serve the Church of the United Brethren in Christ as ordained elders. This commitment is a profound step, and we celebrate the spiritual maturity, passion, and commitment these leaders bring to their churches and our denomination.

Six of these individuals (pictured above) were ordained during the Friday morning service at National Conference this summer. That day we celebrated the ordinations of Frank Yang, Colin Raab, Jay Leadley, Tiffany Rhine, Philip Kandeh, and Dawn Sundstrom. Since the conference, three others have been ordained during services held with their local congregations: Jason Carter, Robert Rose, and Aminata Conteh.

Please keep all nine of these ministers in your prayers. We thank God for their willingness to serve and for the gifts they continue to share as they guide, teach, and minister within the body of Christ.

08 Oct

October 8, 2025 |

We’re excited to share a few books recently published by folks right here in our United Brethren family. It’s inspiring to see the diverse gifts God has given us, and I encourage you to check out these titles that span fiction, spiritual encouragement, and history.

           

First up is Sunrise Mountain, a novel by David Kisamore, Senior Pastor at Mill Chapel UB Church in Reedsville, WV. In this young adult fiction novel, David tells the story of a young man’s journey with Jesus in a world of drama and dysfunction.

Next up is Companions in the Darkness: Seven Saints Who Struggled with Depression and Doubt by Diana Gruver. Diana, a board member at Otterbein Church in Greencastle, PA, offers a powerful look at historical figures who wrestled with the very real issues of depression and doubt, reminding us we aren’t alone in our struggles.

Finally, if you want to deepen your understanding of where we come from, pick up Essentials of United Brethren History: 10 Events, 10 Bishops, and 10 Issues You Should Know About by Steve Dennie. In this book, Steve, our former communications director and a dedicated UB historian, has compiled a concise and essential look at the history of the United Brethren in Christ denomination.

If any of these books pique your interest, you can find the links to each of them in the article above. Supporting these authors is a wonderful way to celebrate the talent within our denomination. Happy reading!



25 Sep

September 25, 2025 |

Every two years, all associate staff and spouses from UB churches around the country are invited to attend the Ministry Leader Summit. This event takes place in Daytona Beach, Florida at the Aku-Tiki Inn. 

The Summit is a great opportunity to get away to relax and refuel after a busy season of ministry. It also provides a space for associate staff to connect with their counterparts from other UB churches to share ideas and encourage one another. 

The dates for the 2026 Ministry Leader Summit are April 27-May 1. More information will be available soon.

12 Sep

September 12, 2025 |

The Discipline revision work that began late in 2024 has been completed and the newly revised US Discipline is now available as a pdf to view online or download to your device (more on that in a moment). 

The process started late in 2024 as a team of ministers and professors gathered to do some difficult work to help us more clearly define what we mean as United Brethren, when we talk about a church. That team took a deep dive into history, theology, and the bible to craft a definition of church that would be clear, while allowing freedom for new expressions of church. Their work yielded fourteen proposals which were presented to the national conference in July and voted upon after any amendements were made.

Since then, the document has been revised, reviewed and is now ready for download (and now we return to what I hinted at before). 

If you have visited ub.org to read previous versions of the Discipline, you would have seen a table of contents page with each chapter listed as a clickable link that would take you directly to a separate page containing that one chapter. You would also have seen a version of the discipline that you could download directly to your device.  Having both was extremely handy. 

However, with this revision we have opted to provide the downloadable resource only. But this change is not forever. In fact, we just launched a project this week that will result in a brand new website and provide a fresh viewing experience for visitors looking for information about the United Brethren Church and ministers looking for next steps in their licensing process. In the meantime, we will be consolidating information on our current site which may result in changes similar to this one with the Discipline document. 

10 Sep

September 10, 2025 |

Mt. Zion UB Church is seeking a passionate and spiritually grounded youth leader to disciple and mentor students in grades 6–12. This part-time position (approx. 30 hours per month) is ideal for someone who loves Jesus, connects well with teens, and desires to help the next generation grow in their faith and navigate life with biblical wisdom.

For a more detailed job description click here.

If you are interested in the position, contact Senior Pastor André Laird for more information.

 

08 Sep

September 8, 2025 |

Ruth Joanne Faber, widow of longtime United Brethren minister Ralph Faber, passed away September 2, 2025, in Hoopeston, Ill. She was 90. Ruth and Ralph, who passed away in 2019, were married 64 years and spent 35 years pastoring UB churches in Illinois (Manlius, Quincy, Rockford, Leaf River, and Claytonville) and Kansas (Abilene). Ralph served some of those years as conference superintendent and General Conference delegate. Funeral services for Ruth were held Monday, September 8, in Princeton, Ill.

Read more about Ruth and her family in her official obituary.

05 Sep

September 5, 2025 |

It can be rare to celebrate the launch of a new local church, but this weekend we get to celebrate three! September 7, 2025, marks the official start date of CrossFields Church in North Royalton, Ohio, Arise Community Church in Bad Axe, Michigan, and Cedar City Church in East Lansing, Michigan.

We’ve spent some time this month interviewing each of the pastors of those churches to hear their stories and learn about ways we can support and pray for them. Those interviews were conducted live on Facebook where the videos will remain for the next few weeks. They are also available as audio podcasts for those who prefer to listen. You can find those episodes at the links below.

We have also created a slide you can save, share or use on-screen at your church highlighting each of these church planters and some specific ways you can pray for them.

26 Aug

August 26, 2025 |
Rev. Paul “David” Graham passed away April 18, 2025, after a two-year battle with cancer. He was the son of Paul and Hazel Graham, who pastored United Brethren churches in the Midwest.

 

David, born in 1945 in Celina, Ohio, attended Huntington University and went on to pastor UB churches for 16 years, 1971-1987. During that time, he earned a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and became a Marriage and Family Therapist.

 

In 1987, the Grahams moved to Chico, Calif., where David worked as a therapist before retiring in 2015.

 

Read more in Rev. Graham’s official obituary.

21 Aug

August 21, 2025 |

Prince Street Church is seeking a part-time Worship Director (up to 15 hours per week) to join their ministry team. Their heart is to see people encounter Jesus Christ through worship that is both God-honoring and Spirit-led.

The Worship Director will serve alongside the Senior Pastor, Worship Commission, and other ministry leaders to provide leadership in both traditional and contemporary worship services. This role includes:

  • Providing overall music leadership and coordination for worship services
  • Serving as worship leader in both traditional and contemporary services
  • Identifying, developing, and shepherding volunteers to use their gifts in worship

Candidates who meet the following criteria will be considered for this role:

  • A follower of Jesus Christ with a growing relationship that is evident in lifestyle, speech, and habits
  • A heart for serving people graciously and working in a team setting under the leadership of the Senior Pastor and Board of Administration
  • Strong vocal and worship leadership skills
  • Musical leadership ability; ability to play an instrument (guitar or keyboard preferred) is a plus
  • 1–3 years of worship leader experience preferred, but not required

You can find a more complete job description here.

If you sense God’s leading to serve in this role, please contact the Prince Street Church Personnel Relations Commission (PRC) to express your interest.

12 Aug

August 12, 2025 |

Join us Wednesday, August 13, at noon (EDT) for a live interview with Andy Sikora, Director of Church Multiplication. We will chat about the Movement System Training Catalysts that have just launched and set up a series of conversations we will be having with our church planters in the coming weeks.

The conversation will be live at the Church of the United Brethren in Christ Facebook page. Head there now to follow the page so you don’t miss the notification when the conversation begins.

Join us live in the comments during the conversation. We would love to hear from you and take a couple of questions during the stream.