25 Sep Anchor Marking Fifth Anniversary

Fort Wayne, Ind. Here are several items from Anchor UB (Fort Wayne, Ind.), which on October 19 celebrates its fifth anniversary.

• About a dozen youth from Anchor UB, along with several adult sponsors, attended the DC/LA youth conference in Cincinnati. Some of the neighborhood youth made decisions for Christ during the event.
• Soon after returning, the youth headed off again, this time for the Cornerstone music festival in Bushnell, Ill.
• Jamie Knuth, a member of the youth group, led this year’s VBS program during June. She incorporated high-school, college, and adult volunteers. A great example of youth ministry leadership. Jamie, who has also been a youth leader with Campus Life, is now a freshman at Taylor University’s Fort Wayne campus.
• Every year, Anchor holds a baptismal service/picnic/worship service at the Stillwater retreat just south of Fort Wayne. This year, five people were baptized. They included a mother and adult daughter; the daughter had led her mom to the Lord during the previous month.
• Over fifty kids showed up for our fifth annual Neighborhood Carnival. Many of them came for the first time.

25 Sep News from College Park UB

The youth of College Park UB (Huntington, Ind.) embarked on a missions effort to help Honduras Conference get its church camp ready for ministry. Twenty-two people, including 16 youth and 6 adult staff, went on one of several short-term mission trips, working in partnership with Honduras Conference.

College Park is starting its second year with the Upward basketball and cheerleading program. Thus far, 27 kids have accepted Christ as a result of the ministry. They anticipate well over 200 students being involved during the second year.

25 Sep Summer Events in Waynesboro, Pa.

Here are several items about summer events at Otterbein UB in Waynesboro, Pa.

On July 8-10, over 20 players and coaches met for 3 days of High Flyer basketball camp. The camp offered players a chance to develop physically, socially, and spiritually. Players learned both basketball and life skills in a fun and competitive environment. Each player left the camp with a t-shirt, a ball, a pizza, and a great learning experience.

On July 11, 34 men and women participated in the Annual Otterbein Golf Scramble. The winning team shot a 65. Gift certificates were awarded to the top teams of each flight as well as the longest drive and closest to the hole. One person commented, “It was a great opportunity for me to spend some time with my son and get to know the others on my team in a fun environment.”

Twelve men from Otterbein attended the Promise Keeper event held in Pittsburgh July 11-12. The men had a great time together and were challenged spiritually to be men of God. They arrived Friday and attended the opening session, then stayed overnight and attended the sessions on Saturday with 11,000 other men.

Over 40 players and coaches met for this year’s Golden Goal soccer camp, held July 21-25. Players learned several soccer skills and a life skill on each of the five nights of camp. They also played games against other teams in the camp. Each player received a t-shirt, soccer ball, pizza, and a week of camp experience.

Otterbein held a “Group Connect” night on September 7, from 6:30-8:00. It was designed as a non-threatening environment where people could connect with others who share common interests, life stages, or geographic location. These starter small groups will meet for a total of four weeks at the church’s ministry center before going out on there own. This will provide the groups with a safe and comfortable environment to see if their starter group wants to continue beyond these four weeks. Fifty people showed up for the Group Connect night–potentially, another 3-5 small groups. The church already has 22 LIFE small group.

25 Sep Church Hosts Soccer Camp

Vicky Lorencen, Director of Discipleship and Assimilation at Gethsemane UB (Jackson, Mich.), reports, “Nearly 100 children participated in this summer’s Building Champions Soccer Camp July 21-25). Our theme was ‘Soul Survivor–Only the Strong Survive.’

“It included a drama and reality show format based on an unlikely combination of the NBC show Survivor and the verse Joshua 1:9, ‘Be strong and courageous.’ Kids learned soccer skills, made crafts, and enjoyed a lively teaching time each night. Sixteen children responded to the gospel message at the end of the week.”

18 Sep Hispanic Congregation Outgrows Its Building

Sam Quinn, superintendent of California Conference, sent this note: “Please be in prayer for the Canyon Country church, as they are making decisions as far as having to move to a new and larger location. The cost could be as much as $10,000 per month–a large commitment.” This Hispanic congregation of about 400 people was recently told that they could not continue using the Lutheran facility where they have been meeting for many years. Edwin Recinos is the pastor.