Bishop Phil Whipple and his wife, Sandy, were supposed to be on vacation this week. However, this afternoon Phil took Sandy to St. Joseph Hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind., where she is being checked out for heart symptoms.

Sandy is scheduled for a heart catheterization. She and Bishop Phil would appreciate your prayers at this time.

Mission Team TrainingGlobal Ministries will sponsor another workshop for persons interested in leading short-term mission trips. We did four such events in 2008.

Date: February 12-13, 2010
Location: Mainstreet Church, Walbridge, Ohio
Cost: $60

This workshop is open for all persons who either will lead short-term trips in 2010 or who may be considering leading trips in the future.

Participants will receive a lot of material helpful in putting together the trip, team development, dealing with cultural differences, and much more. If your church is considering short-term mission ministry, this is a “must” event.

Jeff Bleijerveld and Donna Hollopeter will be team teaching. More information will be coming to local churches. The Global Ministries website gives the schedule, and you can download a brochure about the event. You can register and pay online.

On Sunday, November 22, Bishop Phil Whipple returned to Colwood UB (Caro, Mich.), the church he pastored for 11 years before being elected bishop in June 2009. The visit was a surprise to the congregation, but senior pastor Jonathan Herron was well aware of it.

The occasion: to present a National Conference ministerial license to Jonathan Herron. Bishop Whipple presented the license during all three morning worship services.

Two churches have have chosen to withdraw from the denomination.

  1. Reash UB (Cochranton, Pa.) withdrew effective October 31, 2009. They had an average attendance of 30 in 2008.
  2. Montgomery UB (Montgomery, Mich.) withdrew effective June 7, 2009. They merged with New Testament Ministries, Inc. to form The New Beginnings Church, Inc. Montgomery had an average attendance of 58 in 2008.

Sarah YanovitchSarah Yanovitch, a sophomore vocal performance major at Huntington University, took first place for the second year in a row, in the sophomore women’s division of the Indiana NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) competition held Oct. 31 at Anderson University.

She performed “Ah, non giunge” from Bellini’s “La Sonnambula,” in a competition that included singers from Indiana University, Indiana State, Depauw, Ball State, as well as several Christian colleges. Yanovitch is from Griswold, Conn.

WinterSlam 2010 LogoJunior high and senior high students from UB churches are invited to attend WinterSlam 2010, a winter retreat in the mountains of western Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. This annual retreat has existed for the past 20 years.

WinterSlam was originally sponsored by Mid-Atlantic Conference. Bobby Culler, youth pastor at Mount Pleasant UB (Chambersburg, Pa.) and a member of the denominational Youth Ministry Team, is in charge of the event. The retreat is sponsored in part by Huntington University.

The retreat is  held at the Laurelville Mennonite Church Center, a 250-acre retreat center at the foot of the Laurel Mountains of southwestern Pennsylvania. That’s near the town of Mt. Pleasant, and southeast of Pittsburgh.

The cost for the retreat is $80, plus activity fees for such things as skiing, snowboarding, and tubing.

Go to the Youth Ministry page for complete information.

Balloons fall as the worship team plays.

Balloons fall as the worship team plays.

Pastor Jonathan Herron at a tailgating tent.

Pastor Jonathan Herron at a tailgating tent.

They called it Baptismapalooza. On November 15, Colwood UB (Caro, Mich.) baptized 40 people. And since baptism is a big deal–you’re publicly identifying with Christ–the church made it a very big deal.

Like the tailgating party. Pastor Jonathan Herron mentioned how we get excited about football and basketball games. Shouldn’t we get just as excited about somebody who gets raised from the dead? Maybe do tailgating for Jesus, too?

But that’s as far as he took it. The church office did nothing further–just planted the idea. What resulted was purely a grassroots thing. People arrived Saturday night to put up campers and tents. And all Sunday morning, out in the church parking lot, people were serving up food, including a truckload of bacon.

A powerful sound system was erected, too. Hunters three miles away said they could hear the music. Somebody even created a Facebook page just for the event. All grassroots-driven. People took the idea and ran with it. Ran far.

“Do the Oreo” appeared on signs and t-shirts made just for the event. That was a way Pastor Herron illustrated baptism–we dunk, immerse, Oreo cookies in milk. As opposed to just sprinkling on some milk. During the sermon series which led up to Baptismapalooza, he told how, as a Presbyterian preacher’s kid, he was sprinkled as an infant. But in 2005, he realized that baptism was supposed to be for believers. Infant baptism may be memorable and significant for the parents, but not for the infant. So, as a pastor, he was immersed before his own congregation.

Jonathan Herron prepared to baptize Clara, age 88.

Jonathan Herron prepared to baptize Clara, age 88.

His story resonated with some other people at Colwood. Like Clara, age 88. She was among the 40 believers who were baptized that day. “When an 88-year-old gets baptized, you better believe everyone was crying,” Pastor Herron says.

Baptismapalooza was designed as an outreach event, something you bring friends and relatives to. “We want to blow away the expectations of the unchurched and dechurched,” Pastor Herron says. “We wanted them to come to a party atmosphere.” Balloons dropped while the worship team played. Everyone who came received a printed invitation to the next outreach event, during the Christmas season. And when people come to that event, they’ll receive information about the next event, so that each outreach event builds on the next.

Ten people were baptized during the 9:45 service, with 287 people watching. The other 30 were baptized during the 11:15 service in front of 575 people. They videotaped testimonies of every person and edited them down. Show a video testimony, baptize that person. Show another video, baptize. There was no need for any other sermon that day.

Amber Herron, Jonathan’s wife, wrote on her blog, “I was so encouraged to see people have the same level of enthusiasm for lives changed by Jesus as they have for a favorite sports team….Not only were there tailgaters galore, but people brought cow bells and bull horns to cheer on those getting baptized. Totally unforgettable!”

Follow the link for more photos.

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Pastor Tim Hallman and the children watch Brad Johnson carry in a baby pig.

Pastor Tim Hallman and the children watch Brad Johnson carry in a baby pig.

Tim Hallman with the children gathering around his laptop.

Tim Hallman with the children gathering around his laptop.

On August 17, children of Anchor Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.) sold their own possessions to raise money for the poor. They raised $241, which was enough to provide several micro-business opportunities through Food for the Hungry–a dairy goat ($150), a pig ($50), 4 rabbits ($20), and a fruit-bearing tree ($25).

On November 15, Pastor Tim Hallman gathered the children around him at the front of the church to “place the order.” He opened his laptop, connected to the internet, and let them click on the links to actually send the donation to Food for the Hungry.

But first, to help illustrate what they were doing, one of the church members, Brad Johnson, entered the side door carrying a baby pig. The children had the chance to touch the pig; some did, some didn’t. But all were fascinated by the squirming animal.

Before the service, administrative assistant Pat Minch told Tim she would give him $5 if he kissed the pig. He said he wouldn’t do that for such a paltry sum. But as the children were attending to the pig, Pat walked to the front waving money in the air–this time, $100, which she emphasized would go to missions. All Tim had to do was kiss the pig.

And so, for $100, that’s what he did, much to everyone’s delight.

Jane Mason was the United Brethren archivist for over 20 years, finally stepping down in 1997 at age 80. She professionalized our a archive services, and was in charge when the archives was moved from the United Brethren offices to the lower level of the Huntington University library.

Jane’s daughter, Barb, wrote about her mom on her blog. For those of you who might know Jane, you’ll find Barb’s recollections interesting.

Stuart and Judy JohnsStuart Johns has been named senior pastor of Idaville UB (Idaville, Pa.) effective November 1. He and his wife, Judy, moved from Marietta, Calif. Stuart is currently an ordained minister with another church. He spent ten years, 1995-2005, as a Child Evangelism Fellowship director. Most recently, he was Director of Development Systems for Every Generation Ministries.