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Darren Duncan
Rev. Darren Duncan (right), a minister in Central Conference, is currently serving as a chaplain in the United States Air Force. He is deployed at an undisclosed location. Darren was pastor of the Living Word Church (Columbus, Ohio) prior to going on active duty in the spring of 2003. Darren reports that his worship services are packed and that hearts are very receptive to the gospel where he serves.
Gary Brooks reported on February 11, “Diane and I just returned from a visit to three UB churches in Costa Rica. Our group was led by Joe Leighton, youth minister of the UB church in Lancaster, Ohio. One of those who preached in Costa Rica was the senior pastor, Bill C. Pitts. We were all impressed by the dynamic worship services and the commitment of the brethren at the Fe Abundante UB Church who are working hard to construct a permanent place of worship.”
Mt. Pleasant UB church. The new addition is on the far left.
Mount Pleasant UB recently completed the first phase of a major building project. The congregation broke ground in May 2003, and the dedication service was held on January 25. Pastor Chris Little writes, “Today the people of Mt. Pleasant remain committed to Building, Belonging and Becoming the Family of God. We are encouraged by the growing enthusiasm and excitement within our church family and our community, and we are eager to see what God will do in us and through us in the future.”
Hillsdale UB (Hillsdale, Mich.) bought out three showings at the local theatre of “The Passion of the Christ.” Pastor Lester Smith sent a note on February 19 saying, “Because we bought all 200 seats (600 tickets in all), they gave us a good discount. It was a 2,500 investment and we’ve gained back more than half already after we presented it as an application to my sermon last week. One man has offered to pay for 100 tickets to be given away to youth in our community.” The first showing will be Thursday, February 26, at 7:10 pm. They are promoting it as “Youth Night.” The other showings are on Saturday, February 28, and Monday, March 1.
On February 23, Smith reported, “Today, we sold out the rest of our tickets for all three showings. We are now going to ask for a fourth showing for next week. One of our members has promised to buy half of the tickets so we can give them out to the needy and outreach prospects. We are asking those who buy our tickets to only do so if they will also treat an unsaved or unchurched person to go with them.”
Hillsdale had David Meece for a concert in during the worship service on Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, which was January 18. They put out all of their chairs for the first time, and attendance topped 650. During the past few years, Hillsdale converted their gym into what is now the largest worship facility in the county, with 680 seats.
Dr. Jeffrey Webb, a history professor at Huntington College, is the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Christianity, which will be released in March. The book looks at the differences among Christian denominations today.
“I discovered through the process of writing that I could not do this without going back through the history of the church and identifying reasons for the different conflicts and schisms that produced the denominational divisions, Webb recalled. “Yet, I also tried to emphasize the points of agreement and unity among Christians.
Several Huntington College communication students received awards in the 2004 Intercollegiate National Religious Broadcasting (INRB) media competition at the National Religious Broadcasting Convention in Charlotte, N.C., February 13-17.
Each year students under the direction of Dr. Lance Clark, assistant professor of communication, enter various projects in the INRB media competition. This year, Huntington students won four first-place awards in nine categories.
Jaymie Shafer, a junior broadcast communication major from Canton, Ohio, placed first in the Al Sanders Essay Contest, and received a $1000 grant. Her essay, Cinematic Theology, compared the different approaches to Christianity in film. She focused on the movies Bruce Almighty and The Lord of the Rings.
Paco Michelson, a senior Bible and religion major from Huntington, Ind., and Jonathan Bordeaux, a senior broadcast communication major from Roanoke, Ind., placed first in the Television Field Production category with their production, Hannahs Cross. The short film dealt with religious persecution in foreign countries.
Michelson also won first place in the Radio Drama category with The Hiding Place, a production that served as an adaptation from the life story of Corrie Ten Boone.
During its mid-year meeting on January 31, Michigan Conference chose Rev. Roger Burk as the new fulltime superintendent. Roger is currently pastor of Mount Hope UB in Carson City, Mich. He will take office August 1, replacing Rev. David Burkett.
Many UB churches are planning evangelistic efforts around Mel Gibson’s film “The Passion of the Christ,” which opens February 25. For instance, NorthPointe UB in the Columbus, Ohio, area is renting out an entire theater. They are buying screen advertising that will run 14 weeks, and will do a mailing to 7000 homes in their zip code, plus to all new residents in the country during the past year.
At the beginning of the year, Darlene Burkett began serving fulltime as Administrative Assistant in Global Ministries. When you call Global Ministries with questions or requests, there’s a good chance you’ll talk to Darlene. Darlene actually started working part-time in the department during the fall. Darlene and her husband, Phil, are one of the two founding couples of the Macau mission work. Phil now serves as Minister of Music and Missions at College Park UB in Huntington.
As of February 1, Sherry Rupert is the new Executive Secretary to Bishop Paul Hirschy. She is from College Park UB in Huntington, Ind. Sherry replaces Susan Hoopingarner, who served in that role for six years. On February 1, Susan started a new job on the staff of Youth for Christ in Fort Wayne, Ind. We wish her well in that role.
A number of information meetings have been held about the proposed joining of the United Brethren church with the Missionary Church. Some have been held in local churches, some in regional settings. Michigan’s Mid-Year Conference, which met January 31, spent considerable time discussing the idea, mostly in a question-and-answer format. Three representatives from the Missionary Church’s Michigan District were on hand for that event.
Here are some upcoming meetings currently on the schedule:
