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03 Jul

July 3, 2008 |

In early June, after spending some time with our brethren in Canada, I swung down for a visit with our churches in New York City. Then, on Wednesday, June 11, Pam and I arrived in Jamaica Plain, a suburb of Boston, to visit Rubenia Bomatay and her Hispanic congregation. I wrote about that visit earlier, but I’d like to say more about this isolated church.

Pastor Bomatay formerly served with our Honduras Conference. She came to the States about 13 years ago, but still has a house in Honduras. It is used to teach women the craft of sewing, so they can earn money to provide for their families. A pastor oversees that work and does spiritual development with the ladies.

The congregation in Boston is called Iglesia Reformada Emanuel. It consists mostly of Hondurans, but includes Hispanics from several other countries, too. They meet in a store-front. It is fixed up well, a warm place, They have a worship area, and some storage space.

While Rubenia is the senior pastor, her husband Gerardo and son Moses preach occasionally, and a daughter helps lead worship. It’s very much a family thing.

When Pam and I walked into the building, worship music was playing, and there was Rubenia on her knees, praying. That sight deeply moved me and taught me a lot about her.

03 Jul

July 3, 2008 |

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Americans and Nicaraguans posing together. The Americans are (from left to right): Logan Penrod, Kirby Sink, Tom Datema, Anita Penrod, Aaron, Adam Datema, Cody Heckber, Cathy Johnson, Darrin Johnson, Tyler. Aaron and Tyler are college students staying with Jeff Dice. The rest are from Zanesville UB. The pastor of the church is the guy holding the orange cup. (Click image for a larger view)

A missions team from Zanesville UB (Zanesville, Ind.) returned from a trip to Nicaragua last Friday, June 27. Tom Datema, the senior pastor, sent this report.

“An eye-opening experience” was the term I heard most from the three other adults and four teenage boys we took to Nicaragua to work at the Emmanuel church just outside Masaya. We went to construct a wall around the church which will also partially serve as a couple of walls for a parsonage or classrooms in the future. Due to a missed flight in Fort Lauderdale, it was a short trip, but well worth it.

It was hard work and left us with a lot of aching muscles. Apparently they don’t believe in using normal-sized blocks down there, so we built the wall with large blocks that weighed in at nearly 100 pounds each. There was a lot of concrete and mortar to mix, too, but working together with our Nicaraguan friends we saw the wall go up with amazing speed.

The Nicaraguan people were warm and welcoming. Everywhere we turned we ran into beautiful smiles and friendly handshakes. They patiently endured our feeble attempts at Spanish and helped us out with whatever we needed. There is nothing like having someone offer you a bowl of the sweetest pineapple you’ve ever tasted right in the middle of a hard day’s work.

Jeff Dice and his family were fantastic hosts. I’ve been on several mission trips now and I have to say that this was the most stress-free experience I’ve ever had. Jeff took care of all the details, which allowed us to truly enjoy our experience and focus on the Nicaraguans we were working with. The accommodations he arranged were excellent and we felt right at home even though we arrived in the middle of the night.

Jeff also arranged for us to go on a canopy tour. When we went to pay, the staff said they would give us a 35% discount because Jeff has been such a good customer for them. Apparently a lot of people in Nicaragua like Jeff.

Jeff’s planning also made it possible to make the most of our time as everything was ready to go when we got there. It seemed like we were laying block just 15 minutes after we arrived on site. Kudos to the Brown Corners Church for making it possible for the Dices to be in Nicaragua this summer.

This was our second trip to Nicaragua in the last two years, and we will probably go again in another year or two. It is great to be able to minister to the people there, but the biggest impact is on our own lives. God worked in the hearts of both the teens and adults, and it changed our perspective of this great big world. We know we are blessed and with that blessing comes great responsibility.

03 Jul

July 3, 2008 |

Many of us have attended conferences at Willow Creek and have been greatly influenced by the ministry of Bill Hybels. Willow recently released the results of the Reveal survey, as they call it, which took a sobering look at the level of life transformation actually occurring at Willow and other churches across the country. As a result of that study, they are making some major changes.

Unfortunately, too much of the information about the reported changes has not been accurate. Bill Hybels finally felt compelled to address the misinformation. He did that through this video, which explains what Willow is actually doing–a mere “strategic adjustment,” he calls it. The video not only clears up the confusion, but gives some good insights into reaching the current generation and the way “seekers” have changed over the years. Willow staff Nancy Beach elaborates in another YouTube video.

02 Jul

July 2, 2008 |

When Jesus was ministering to his disciples, the mother of James and John wanted to know which of her boys would enter the Kingdom first. She wanted them at the front of the potluck line.

The issue is control. Churches too often have people who want to control what happens, because they think they know better. They want to decide which table goes first at the potluck. That is carnality.

I had a whole bunch of people at Mainstreet who didn’t agree with me, but we got along and were excited because we baptized another 12 people on Sunday. Give up trying to control what happens in your church, and focus on fulfilling the Great Commission. It’s not about who goes first at potlucks. It’s about lost souls.

02 Jul

July 2, 2008 |

Many people in the former Central Conference are familiar with Dean and Marilyn Yocum, who were very active in the conference and, in Marilyn’s case, Women’s Missionary Fellowship. Marilyn passed away on Monday, June 30.

There will be celebration of her life in Jesus Christ on Monday, July 7, at 3 p.m. The service will be at Dublin Baptist Church, 7195 Coffman Rd, Dublin, OH 43017.

Dean has directed that memorials be divided among her three favorite ministries: Global Ministries, Better Way Ministries, and Precept Bible Study.

01 Jul

July 1, 2008 |

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Anchor Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.) co-sponsored a Walk Thru the Bible (Old Testament) seminar on June 28, along with five other churches in their zip code: Presbyterian, United Methodist, Mennonite, Evangelical Lutheran, and Church of Christ. The churches held a joint Vacation Bible School the past two years, but this year decided to try a Walk Thru the Bible seminar instead.

WalkThru_Anchorpeople300.jpgAbout 120 adults attended the event, most of them from the six sponsoring churches. They included 19 people from Anchor, some of whom are in the photo on the right. Folks from probably a dozen other churches scattered around the city also attended, most having learned about the seminar through a newspaper article.

The six churches are all fairly small, with around 100-150 people attending. They all have a heart for reaching neighborhood people for Christ and for growing as Christians.

Earlier this year, Anchor joined three Presbyterian churches in building a Habitat for Humanity home for a nine-person family from Somalia, who had previously spent 13 years in refugee camps. After about a year of fundraising, construction began in May; a number of Anchor people helped with construction. The home was dedicated on June 21.

30 Jun

June 30, 2008 |

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Pat Jones (right) introduces Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries.

About 50 people attended last Thursday’s “Hang with the Bishop” event. The location was the festively-decorated (for VBS) gymnasium of College Park Church in Huntington, Ind. As with the other three Hang with the Bishop events held thus far (in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan), Pat Jones emceed the occasion, and attendees had the chance to ask any questions they wished of Bishop Ron Ramsey.

27 Jun

June 27, 2008 |

Have you seen the new Global Ministries video on the Philippines? Jeff Bleijerveld, the director, put this together using footage from his May trip to the Philippines. It’s quite good, and suitable for viewing as part of a church service or Sunday school class.

26 Jun

June 26, 2008 |

There is a lot of activity regarding mission trips this summer.

  • A group from College Park UB church (Huntington, Ind.) returned from a week in Honduras early this morning. Everything went well, and associate pastor Roger Vezeau promises some photos and stories.
  • Banner Church (Byron Center, Mich.) is sending a group of eight high school students and four adults to Nicragua June 26-July 6 (which means they left today). They’ll help complete construction on two church buildings and provide a couple outreach events in hopes of connecting villages to their churches.
  • Michele Vigil, Youth & Disciple Pastor at Hillsdale UB (Hillsdale, Mich.) reports that they’re taking 12 teens and adults to Honduras July 14-21. They’ll stay in La Ceiba, visit a few orphanages and churches in the area, and do some work projects at the Bethel school.

26 Jun

June 26, 2008 |

We’re inviting UB people to design a logo for the 2009 US National Conference. We need car racing imagery combined with the name XLR8 (the text-message equivalent of “Accelerate”–clever, huh?). Think Nascar, without the trademark infringements. All the details are given on the Healthy Ministry Resources website. 

UB pews are loaded with talented people. Know someone in your church who might be interested in designing a logo? Make sure he/she hear about it. The deadline is July 31. And the winner gets a whopping $100. (Several possible designs have come in already.)