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02 May

May 2, 2008 |

HMRLogo_200.jpg

The United Brethren national office has a new name: Healthy Ministry Resources. The name reflects the mission of the national office, which is: “To effectively resource pastors and congregations of the US National Conference to fulfill the Great Commission.”

When Bishop Ron Ramsey took office in 2005, one of his strategic initiatives was to create a “brand” for the national office in Huntington which would:

  • Provide an official name and logo for the office. The generic “UB Headquarters” has been used until now.
  • Focus the office’s purpose squarely on serving and resourcing local churches.
  • Emphasize that the national office’s only reason to exist is to help UB churches. The churches don’t exist for the sake of the national office.
  • Change the perception of the national office as an hierarchical entity.

“The real work of our denomination occurs at the local level,” says Bishop Ramsey. “As a national office, our only reason to exist is to help those churches thrive. Many people in our churches around the country view us as a bureaucratic, top-down entity. I want to change that perception. Our purpose is to serve our churches. The new name, the website, and everything we do will emphasize that purpose.”

The branding initiative was unveiled on April 21 to the Executive Leadership Team, and went public on May 2. It includes:

  • A name and logo for the national office, which you’ll begin seeing on stationery, forms, and all kinds of other materials.
  • A new website for the national office: healthyministryresources.com

UB.org remains the official website of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA, and UBMissions.com is the official website for Global Ministries. Those aren’t going away. The new website deals specifically with the work of the national office.

The BishopBlog, which was launched in 2006, has been revamped and folded into the new website. It has a new purpose, and will be given far more attention than in the past. Communications director Steve Dennie describes the new BishopBlog as the “Grand Central Station” of UB communications–the one place to go to find out what’s happening throughout the UB internet world.

The Healthy Ministry Resources name and logo apply only to the national office. It is just one ministry of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA.

  • We’re not changing the name of the denomination.
  • This is not a new denominational logo.

02 May

May 2, 2008 |

Jeff Bleijerveld, our new Global Ministries director, left today on his first overseas trip for the UB church. It started out a bit rocky, with weather delays in both Fort Wayne and Chicago, but he finally made it onto his plane in Chicago just as they were closing the doors.

Jeff will visit the Pearl River Delta part of China (which includes Hong Kong, Macau, and the surrounding province) until May 7, and then travel to the Philippines May 8-12 to take part in the 25th anniversary of the Looking Unto Jesus church, which is how our Philippines churches are known in their country.

02 May

May 2, 2008 |

bestworkplaces_100.jpgHuntington University is one of 33 organizations listed among the Best Christian Workplaces Institute in the US, according to the Best Christian Workplaces Institute.

The survey involved more than 7,834 employees in 67 organizations across the US to identify great workplaces with a Christian mission and/or values. Based on the survey, people love to work for the Best Christian Workplaces for two reasons: the cause and the culture.

02 May

May 2, 2008 |

Jeff Bleijerveld

Jeff Bleijerveld, director of Global Ministries, speaking to the 70-some persons who attended the “Hang with the Bishop” meeting on April 16 at East Washington UB church (Ashley, Mich.).

Jeff Bleijerveld, our new Global Ministries director, leaves today on his first overseas trip. He’ll be in the Pearl River Delta part of China (which includes Hong Kong, Macau, and the surrounding province) until May 7, and then travel to the Philippines May 8-12 to take part in the 25th anniversary of the Looking Unto Jesus church, which is how our Philippines churches are known in their country.

01 May

May 1, 2008 |
  • Randy and Toni Fennig plan to depart for their first term of service in Sierra Leone this month. Pray that they will complete their support-raising efforts, and then for their transition to the field.
  • The Looking Unto Jesus Church in the Philippines, one of our national conferences, will celebrate its 25th Anniversary on May 11 in the capital city of Manilla. Pastor Michael Brown (Franklin UB, New Albany, Ohio) and Jeff Bleijerveld (Director of Global Ministries) will participate.
  • The US Center for World Mission created a 20-minute DVD titled “Global Purpose.” It combines dynamic special effects with biblical, historical, strategic, and cultural perspectives to give an overview of God’s movement throughout history. It’s an effective teaching resource for Bible studies or small groups. You can borrow the DVD from our Global Ministries Lending Library. Contact Darlene at darlene@ub.org.

01 May

May 1, 2008 |

The new BishopBlog has several purposes:

  • A vehicle for me, as bishop, to cast vision.
  • An informational Grand Central Station (as already described).
  • A forum for interacting over UB-related issues.

We’ve needed a forum.

  • The United Brethren magazine was a forum…until we discontinued it in 1993.
  • Annual and midyear conferences were a forum…until we discontinued them in 2005.
  • The national conference isn’t a good forum. Not with several hundred delegates, and meetings only once every two years.

But good interaction can occur via the Internet. That’s what we want here.

  • I want your honest reactions to what I and others write.
  • I want to know what’s on your heart.
  • I want to know how you perceive things.
  • I want to learn from you.
  • I want us all to learn from each other.

30 Apr

April 30, 2008 |

Ron Ramsey at Hit the Bullseye

Ron Ramsey speaking to cluster leaders on Tuesday night, April 29.

Most of the cluster leaders, plus several Healthy Ministry Resources staff, are attending the Hit the Bullseye Conference in Lima, Ohio. It started yesterday and ends today. We registered 35 people through our office, mostly cluster leaders, and some other UBs came on their own. So the UB church has a good representation here.

Altogether, there are probably 350-400 people attending the conference.

This conference is led by Dr. Paul Borden, from whom we have learned the consultation process. Pat Jones has conducted six consultations thus far, with several other UB ministers–sometimes cluster leaders–helping him as part of each consultation team.

On Tuesday night, after the evening workshops, Pat, Steve Dennie, and I met with the cluster leaders for about 90 minutes. Pat and I went over several issues relating to the work of cluster leaders, particularly the process for stationing ministers, and Steve gave a brief presentation about the Healthy Ministry Resources branding.