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A series of training events for laypersons will be held in five different locations during September and October. They are designed for anyone serving in some type of local church ministry. The training will include principles that can be applied to any size church and to any segment of ministry.
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A number of denominational short-term mission opportunities are planned for 2008. They are listed below.
February 15-29: Medical Team (6 persons) to Mattru Hospital, Sierra Leone.
April: Evangelistic Team to the Philippines to assist with a crusade.
June 4-14: Ministry Team to Peru, working with Anna Geivett and Food for the Hungry.
June 20-28: Medical Team to Copan, Honduras.
Summer: China Teacher Training Trip.
June-July 3: Impact Poland (for teens).
2008: Construction Team to Haiti.
On Sunday, September 2, Eden UB Church in Reedsville, Ohio baptized five people in a service at the Lake of Forked Run State Park. This was Eden’s first baptism in quite a while. The people included a convert from last year, a 10-year-old girl who made her profession of faith, a young man who was converted a few years ago, a newcomer to Eden, and a re-baptism of another woman.
The baptism has seemed to revive the congregation, which has had its share of difficulties. Several people have since expressed interest in being baptized and others in the community have started to express interest in Christ and the Church. The Pastor of Eden UB is Pastor Adam Will.
Alex Kock, a 2007 Huntington University graduate, has contracted to play professional basketball for BC Mess, a team in Luxemburg. This is the first time a former Forester has been signed to a professional team. Kock, a native of Auburn, Ind., left for Europe on September 8, and will play through April 17.
In 2007, Kock was named Division II National Player of the Year by the NAIA. In HU’s own Mid-Central Conference, he was named Player of the Year for three consecutive years (he played his freshman year at Wright State University before transferring to Huntington). As a senior, Kock averaged 23.4 points and 10 rebounds per game. Read more about him.
Huntington University’s has launched the Urban Scholarship and Mentoring Program, which will identify and support up to six urban students each year in a scholarship, mentoring, and urban leadership program. This start-up initiative is made possible by an $18,000 award from the Ball Brothers Foundation Venture Fund. This program involves a partnership between Huntington University and Youth for Christ. The first scholarship recipients will enroll in the fall of 2008.
The 2008 U.S.News & World Report annual collegiate rankings lists Huntington University 7th among the Best Baccalaureate Colleges in the Midwest region. Huntington also ranked 5th in the Best Values category. This ranking is based on the percentage of students receiving need-based grants, the average cost of tuition after receiving those grants, and the average discount from the total cost.
“The cost component has been a result of working hard as a campus to keep recent tuition increases well below the average for other colleges and universities to impact the sticker price while also offering increased financial aid to positively impact the net price that students actually pay to attend Huntington,” says Jeff Berggren, HU’s Vice President of Enrollment Management and Marketing (right).
Tuition for fulltime undergraduates increased just three percent for the 2007-2008 year, the third consecutive year for low or no price increase. That compares to an average 5.9 percent increase nationally at four-year private colleges. About 90 percent of Huntington University students receive financial aid in the form of scholarships, grants, loans or work-study assistance.
Berggren says he hopes “families that would love to send their children to a high-quality, Christ-centered university, but don’t explore Huntington because of cost, will now give us a good look as part of their college selection process.”
Juan Pavon, Superintendent of Nicaragua Conference (right), will come to the States in early November. A group of people interested in partnering with Nicaragua Conference (and also with our churches in Guatemala and Costa Rica, which are extensions of Nicaragua), will meet with Rev. Pavon on November 3 at the UB Headquarters in Huntington, Ind. The meeting will last from noon to 2 pm, and will include a free pizza lunch. If you’d like to attend, please email Jeff Dice.
Two significant hurricanes affected United Brethren people in recent days. Hurricane Dean brushed the southern part of Haiti, bringing some damage to United Brethren churches on that part of the island, but brought much more devastation to the island of Jamaica.
Hurricane Felix (a category 5 hurricane) hit Central America at the point Honduras and Nicaragua meet. In God’s mercy, this is one of the least populated areas of these countries, and the mountainous terrain quickly decreased the intensity of Felix to a tropical storm. Flooding rains soaked Nicaragua, bringing a great deal of agricultural damage. Some of our UB families were affected.
As mentioned, the greatest need at this point is in Jamaica. Two UB congregations, the New Gardens Church and the Yorktown Church, had all or a large portion of their roofs torn off, rafters and all. At New Gardens, the pastor and congregation are trying to continue meeting in an office area.
Hurricane victims from many different Jamaican UB churches are living with relatives or neighbors. Some have tried temporary fixes, such as using damaged zinc and boards to patch their roofs. Others are covering badly-damaged areas with tarps. As you can imagine, their houses were not insured, and many of these individuals need assistance putting their lives back together.
Global Ministries is receiving reports and estimates from the various sites. We hope that our North American churches can provide assistance to our brethren there. If you or your church can provide financial help, please send your gift to Global Ministries marked for Jamaica Hurricane Relief. If people from your congregation want to travel to Jamaica to help with repairs, please contact Global Ministries.
A series of training events for laypersons will be held in five different locations during September and October. They are designed for anyone serving in some type of local church ministry. The training will include principles that can be applied to any size church and to any segment of ministry.
Each event will be held on a Saturday from 9 am to 3 pm.
The schedule will be the same at each location, with these four sessions:
9:00 – 10:30: The Non-Negotiables for All Churches
10:45 – Noon: Structuring Your Ministry to be Effective
1:30 – 2:30: Push Backs to Effective Ministry
2:30 – 3:00: Question and Answer time
The cost is free (though lunch is on your own at nearby restaurants). You can register online, or email the names of people from your church to Bishop Ron Ramsey’s administrative assistant.
Training for United Brethren youth workers will occur at the same time. This is a whole different track. The youth training will occur in the same locations as the lay training events, and will follow the same schedule.
Dennis and Debbie Osberg, former UB endorsed missionaries who serve at a school in Tegucigalpa, sent this note about Hurricane Felix:
“We are so thankful to report that the power of Felix faded during it’s run through the country and it didn’t produce the expected results on Honduras. There are some areas to the north that experienced flooding and damage but still much less than predicted earlier….It rained all night long but the winds weren’t strong for us. Also, we only lost electricity for brief amounts of time throughout the evening and into today. Our internet connection, which is a hanging wire from across the street and into our house, is still hanging strong, for which we are deeply grateful!”
