20 Dec Christmas at Salem UB (Chambersburg, Pa.)

Art Page (right), senior pastor, Salem UB church (Chambersburg, Pa.)

At Salem, we decided to do something new before Christmas this year. We called it “Christmas on the Road.” We reduced our normal Sunday morning schedule from three services to one service for everyone–it was crowded. We had a message on how we are God’s current generation of missionaries to bring blessings into the world, and then we bundled up and went out.

We had twelve teams with from 8-19 people each go out from our church for about two hours–into neighborhoods, into nursing homes, out to where shut-ins live–to bless people near and far with what we hoped to be the aroma of Christ. We delivered 130 plates of cookies that had been handmade and decorated by our women’s ministry, along with invitations to and information about our church family.

We then returned to the Salem Community Center to share in a banquet of hot Italian food (we are not Italian, but we like it anyway!). There was a lot of excitement and enthusiasm by our Salem folks, and we heard testimonies of lives who were very deeply touched by our outreach. One lady said she had been living on her street for 22 years, and this was the first time anyone had come to her door to sing Christmas carols or give her anything!

19 Nov Live Nativity at Alvordton UB

Alvordton UB church (Alvordton, Ohio) will holds its third annual “live nativity” December 8-9, from 6-7:30 pm. This year, the display will add more animals, a larger stable and set, and a 30-foot star above the stable.

Pastor Dan VanArsdalen says, If any are in the Alvordton area, stop by and take a look. Bring your children or grandchildren, as the animals are very friendly.”

The church is located at: 311 East Main St., Alvordton, OH 43501

19 Nov Honoring Veterans at Salem Chapel

Joe Leighton senior pastor, Salem Chapel (Junction City, Ohio)

We have 12 living veterans in our congregation, including one on active duty. A couple of them are having some health challenges. So for Veteran’s Day, we wanted to do a little something extra while we still have all of them with us.

At MedalsofAmerica.com, we ordered a 5 x 7 shadow box for each of them. Each shadow box held a brass plate with their name engraved and a medal commemorating their branch of service. We called each of their names and presented them with their medal during the opening of the worship service. We were fortunate to have 11 of the 12 in church that day (the 12th is re-habbing in a nursing home–he did receive his medal).

Our veterans greatly appreciated the gesture, and the congregation was delighted as well. Only the board knew ahead of time what we were doing, so it was a nice surprise that everyone very much enjoyed.

I have used this company to put together a shadow box to recognize my dad’s military service. For a fee they will mount the medals for you. The quality of the materials and the workmanship in putting everything together, right down to the shipping, is superior. We found this to be a tremendous way to tangibly thank those men and women who sacrificed and served our country with a momento that has an heirloom quality to it.

13 Nov 7 Project Reaches Over 2000 Teens

Teens at a 7 Project assembly in Jackson, Mich.

Pathway Community Church (Jackson, Mich.) brought the 7 Project to three local schools on Wednesday, November 7. They did assemblies in East Jackson Jr/Sr High School, Kidder Middle School, and Northwest High School.

Messages concerning making good choices in life were give concerning violence, bullying, drugs, alcohol, dreams, and scholastic achievement. Kurt Cullison, former NFL player Brian Pruitt, and the band Attaboy presented these messages to over 2000 teens in these schools.

At the evening event 111 decision cards were returned, with 34 first-time decisions to follow Jesus. Contact information for follow-up was provided to youth ministries, marking a cooperative effort involving four churches in our community.

Brent Liechty (right), youth pastor at Pathway, wrote, “Our little church came through with flying colors. Praise God for His faithfulness through difficult times. This has been a huge win involving over 90% of people attending our church.” The “difficult times” refers to the death of Tanya Hardaway, wife of senior pastor Scott Hardaway. Her funeral was held two days prior to the 7 Project.

13 Nov Nov 13 Update on Dan Paternoster

Dan Paternoster (right), a member of the Executive Leadership Team who was hit by a car on August 28 while riding his bike, continues to heal. He has returned home, and is undergoing outpatient therapy. Dan’s wife, Nancy, posted this update on Sunday, November 11.

We’ve had a busy past week with Dan going to outpatient therapy and me starting back at school on Friday with the Title I program at Smith Elementary.

As you continue to pray for us, here are a few areas we would appreciate your prayers on our behalf.

• Continued healing of Dan’s brain injury.
• Healing of the nerve in his left eye.
• That we would both remain healthy, especially now that I’ll be back at school daily.
• That our appointment with the urologist would go well and we’d have a plan to deal with the bladder cancer.

We thank God for those that have offered to drive Dan to therapy. And the meals that have been brought to our home have been great!

09 Nov 528 Shoeboxes from Shiloh UB

Children from Shiloh UB church with boxes for Samaritan’s Purse.

Shiloh UB church (Tiverton, Ontario), a church of about 30 people, packed 528 boxes for the Samaritan’s Purse Christmas shoebox ministry. That came to 22 cartons of 24 boxes each. for Samaritan’s Purse Shoe box ministry.

02 Nov 7 Projects Comes to Jackson, Mich.

Brent Liechty, youth pastor, Pathway Community Church (Jackson, Mich.)

On Wednesday, November 7 at 7 pm, Pathway Community Church (Jackson, Mich.) will bring in the 7 Project to Northwest High School, Kidder Middle School, and East Jackson Junior/Senior High.

The 7 Project is an assembly for the school that will tackle issues such as bullying, alcohol, dreams, character, and scholastic achievement.

Kurt Cullison and former NFL player Brian Pruitt will speak, teaching students how to deal with the dangers in life in a positive way. There will be an evening gathering where the 7th, most important part will be shared–Jesus.

Please be in prayer for an openness to the message, that a connection with youth groups will be formed, and that we’ll have enough adult volunteers to pull this off well.

We really need more counselors and adult leaders. If you are in the area and would like a free chance to lead some teens to Christ, email Brent Liechty or Kendal Sheen. For more information, check out the website.

01 Nov UBs in Yonkers, NY: Report from the Ground

Dalton Jenkins, pastor, Bethel Temple of Praise (Yonkers, New York)

We want to thank everyone for their prayers and thoughts throughout this hurricane.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, we give God thanks for his protection. For the most part, there was no significant loss of property or any personal injury. Our family was not directly affected. Schools were canceled for the rest of the week, and most jobs were closed the day after the hurricane. On Wednesday, we began to see some signs of normality.

Traveling to New York City under normal conditions was always an adventure. Hurricane Sandy made it extremely difficult. It was less difficult for those traveling north of New York City than for those traveling south. Mass-transit service is partially restored. The city is working hard to clear the downed trees, which are the greatest hindrance to travel, and to restore power.

In the city of Yonkers, 21,000 customers are still experiencing power outage. You can read more about the impact on Yonkers and the recovery efforts at Yonkers Daily Voice.

For the most part, the people in our church did not experience any significant damages. Some are still experiencing power outage and difficulty traveling to their jobs.

UPDATE THURSDAY NIGHT: I just came home and I saw only two gas stations that were opened. The lines were long and police guarded the entrances and exits. Now we are limited to 10 gallons per vehicle. How did this happen so quickly?

01 Nov Over 300 Kids Attend Findlay Halloween Event

Click to enlarge

The photo above shows some scenes from the 2012 “Trunk or Treat” Halloween event at Findlay First UB church (Findlay, Ohio) on Thursday, October 25. Over 300 kids came. The church gave out 300 Bibles and Bible tracks.

Charity LaRue, a member, reports that more candy was donated than in any previous year, but they still ran out. “But just like how Jesus fed the 5,000 with 2 little fish and 5 loaves of bread, we didn’t run out until 8:00 when it was officially over!

“This event has just exploded in the amount of people we’re reaching. Only about five kids came from our church. All the rest of them were neighborhood people! God has definitely blessed this ministry. Plus, it was so warm that kids didn’t have to wear coats over their costumes. Tons of kids stayed to play on the playground, and tons were eating the donuts and hot chocolate. It was amazing!”

01 Nov Halloween Event at Anchor Church

Lined up in the Anchor fellowship hall.

Serving up food to zombies and other visitors.

Hanging out with the kids.

Anchor Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.) held its annual Halloween event on October 31. After kids finished trick-or-treating in the church’s downtown neighborhood, they (and plenty of parents) came to Anchor. There, they found:

• A dark and scary maze in the downstairs children’s sanctuary.
• Lots of food in the fellowship hall–hotdogs, soups, nachos, and more.
• Games to play in the fellowship hall.

Several hundred people came through the church, many of them sitting down at tables in the fellowship hall to eat and watch the creative costumes.