19 Jul UB Layman Celebrates 90 Years

West Windsor UB (Dimondale, Mich.) held a surprise 90th birthday party for Rholland “Archie” Carpenter on Sunday, July 18, during the Sunday school hour. He still attends every Sunday, and can quickly recall Bible verses for any subject they happen to be discussing. Among the 44 people attending were 16 Carpenters, mostly cousins, nieces, and nephews of Archie.

Archie and Cora Carpenter hosted the West Windsor church in their living room for many years before the current building was constructed. They are church patriarchs. Cora died a few years ago. Their daughter, Carol, who retired from school-teaching several years back, now takes care of Archie. He was the first Christian in his family, which included 11 brothers and three sisters.

19 Jul Block Party in Findlay, Ohio

First UB of Findlay, Ohio, held its 4th annual community block party on Saturday, July 17. This concluded a week-long VBS that saw 14 decisions for Christ. In preparation for this party, individuals within the congregation blitzed the neighborhood with fliers and personal invitations. On Saturday, the church prepared games, food, and entertainment that was all 100% free to everyone. Individuals from the community showed up, and the next Sunday, one individual even visited the church.

15 Jul Arizona Teens Going to Jamaica

For over ten years, a group of teens and adults went to Jamaica during the summer to conduct VBS in Jamaican churches. We called it STUMP — the Summer Teen United Ministry Program. There is no official STUMP group this year. However, our Open Bible Fellowship church in Safford has stepped into the gap. They are sending a group to Jamaica to conduct VBS in four churches, all in the Kingston area. The group will leave on Friday, July 17.

15 Jul Huntington Group Headed to Mexico

A group of 15 people from College Park UB church will travel to Mexico July 17-25 to work with our Hispanic churches in Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas (across the border from each other). They’ll do VBS in three places, and also help construct a Sunday school area for one of the El Paso churches. We have three churches in Juarez and six in El Paso. Gary Dilley, Director of Global Ministries, will lead that group.

28 Jun New Horizons Pays Off Mortgage

New Horizons UB paid off the mortgage on its new facility far ahead of schedule. Pastor Bob Loar reports that in the last five years, over $1.5 million passed through the building fund as they worked to relocate the ministry following the arson at the former building.

24 Jun Boys Multiply Their Money for Missions

Michael Wentz, pastor of Living Hope UB, challenged his congregation to take $10 and multiply it for UB missions. J. P. and Matthew (the boys pictured above) decided to invest in a food and beverage stand at a neighborhood yard sale in order to multiply their “talent.” They multiplied it ten times! Their donation of $100 was added to Living Hope’s missions offering.

14 Jun An “Inside Out” Mission Trip

The Blissfield church (Blissfield, Mich.)  is doing something very different–something they’re calling an “inside-out” mission trip. They are bringing people from our Jamaica Conference to the States July 7-14, so the Jamaicans can experience a cross-cultural ministry trip of their own. Michael Hewitt, the church’s youth pastor, writes:

“During this time, 15-20 Jamaicans are coming to Blissfield for a mission trip of their own. Seeds were planted two years ago when we took 33 participants to the Yorktown and Maypen churches in Jamaica. It’s taken two years of planning, acquiring visas, etc., but it looks like our hard work and prayers are paying off! Ministry opportunities for the Jamaican Team and the Blissfield church family include:

• Gospel outreaches and musical performances at Blissfield’s River Raisin Festival (brings in 80,000 to 100,000 people every year).
• Work at Camp Michindoh.
• Ministry at First UB Church in Blissfield.
• A day in the life of a Michigan farmer.
• A fun day trip to Cedar Point.

“We thank the Lord for this opportunity and pray for all the Jamaican participants that are preparing and training right now!” Next January 5-9, a team of UB youth pastors will travel to Jamaica to provide student ministry training in such areas as:

• Developing a youth ministry model for local church.
• Effective programming.
• How to train young people to actively share their faith with their world.