(260) 356-2312
Amy Bretz, Lancaster UB (Lancaster, Ohio)
It was a nice cool morning for the St. Jude bike-a-thon at Lancaster UB church. We got the grills ready for hot dogs, put out balloons, and got ready for our big event to help children with childhood diseases. We raised $1,080 in 4 hours. The kids had a blast. We had a bike race, played with bubbles and chalk, had good conversations and eating, and most of all, knew that we can make a difference.
College Park Church in Huntington, Ind., is seeking a servant leader to develop and lead our congregation in connecting ministries.
Allison Conners and Andy Sikora, lead pastor of Renew Communities, accept donations at one of the congregation's drop-off locations. The canned goods, cleaning and toiletry supplies will be shipped to aid victims of the April tornadoes in Alabama. (Photo by Joanne Berger, Sun News)
Renew Communities, a church plant in the Cleveland, Ohio, area, has been collecting supplies for victims of the tornados which struck Alabama in April. Their hope is to fill a 50-foot semi trailer and send it to the Holt Relief Center just outside of Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Renew started in April under the leadership of Andy Sikora, and has been averaging 90-100 people. The church was recently featured in the Cleveland Sun News. That article is printed below, with permission.
Joanne Berger, Sun News Staff Writer.
A local congregation is seeking donations to help victims recover from the devastating tornadoes that hit Alabama in April.
Members plan to fill a 50-foot semi-truck trailer with the donation and deliver them in July.
Andy Sikora, a Berea resident, is lead pastor with Renew Communities, which meets in Polaris Career Center each Sunday. The congregation has partnered with SEKO Worldwide, a freight forwarder firm in Cleveland, in organizing drop-off locations. Sikora said the church, which is about 3½ months old, is “passionate” about helping those in need.
“We believe one of the ways communities are renewed is by working together to meet these needs,” he said. “One of our small groups focuses on how to live out the mission of the Gospel. What better way to do that than by helping others in need, including this project.”
Some of the needed items include cleaning supplies, canned goods, washing detergent, undergarments/socks, lamps, blankets, linens, pillows and toilet paper/paper towels.
Rob Musial, SEKO’s inbound freight manager, said his company was looking for a project in which to get involved. Musial, a Renew member, said Sikora contacted him about the same time in finding a way to transport the donations. It was perfect timing.
“We gladly donated a truck to pick up the donations and dock space to keep them, and work with suppliers to get some donations as well as transporting the items to Alabama,” Musial said. “It is a perfect fit.”
Allison Connors, a Berea resident, spent a few hours outside the Berea Recreation Center last week accepting donations. She said Ohioans can relate to what occurred in Alabama with the heavy storms and flooding experienced recently in this area.
“We were spared the devastation they experienced,” Connors said. “I am sure they would do the same for us if we were in that situation.”
Berea’s recreation center is located at 451 Front Street. Middleburg Heights Community Center is at 16000 Bagley Road and Polaris, 7285 Old Oak Blvd., Middleburg Heights.
Idaville UB church (Idaville, Pa.) is looking for a fulltime assistant pastor. This person will be responsible to plan, oversee, and coordinate all activities of the youth and young adults in the church, and oversee the entire music ministry of the church.
Marshall Woods, senior pastor of Mill Chapel UB church (Reedsville, W. Va.), writes, “Because of the increased attendance and the sanctuary being so full, we are going to have 2 worship services on Sunday mornings–one at 8:30, followed by Sunday school and the 11 am service as usual. God is blessing our church in so many ways.”
Mongul Church is looking to hire a worship leader for a contemporary worship experience. This opportunity is part-time. As the church grows, it may become fulltime.
Mongul Church is located in Shippensburg, Pa. We are a growing church of 195 people. Mongul offers a traditional and contemporary service.
Mongul Church is striving to be a church that Loves God, Loves People, and Serves People.
Qualifications
We are looking for an individual who:
Send resumes to Rocky Spear at by email, or mail to:
Mongul Church
4162 Roxbury Road
Shippensburg, PA 17257
King Street Church (Chambersburg, Pa.) $22,438 for Japan Relief and sent it directly to Samaritan’s Purse.
Supplies collected for tornado victims in Alabama.
Praying over the supplies on Mother's Day.
Greg Voight (right), Senior Pastor, Lancaster UB Church (Lancaster, Ohio)
On Mother’s Day, the Lancaster UB Church partnered with several area churches to help victims of the recent tornadoes in Alabama. Through our partnership with Victory Hill Church of God and several other area churches, Lancaster UB sent a carload of supplies bound for Alabama.
We have a unique partnership in Lancaster among several of our evangelical churches. I meet weekly for prayer and support with pastors from various denominations and non-denominational churches. We have an unofficial partnership that gives us opportunity to help each other out in the name of Jesus. There is just none of the competition among this group of pastors that unfortunately you see so often in ministerial gatherings.
One of my brothers, Pastor Tim Teague from Victory Hill Church of God, has a disaster response team. Since at least two of the Alabama churches are in his denomination, he felt God was leading them to send help. I called on our people to bring supplies, and with only three days to respond, we had an enormous outpouring of help. We had special prayer for the gift, the givers, and the relief workers, and sent it off to Alabama.”
What’s more…I think God has already returned the blessing. During our worship service, we had what I can only describe as a spontaneous outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Women began to stand and testify and give thanks about their experiences as mothers and grandmothers. Ladies who never had the opportunity to have children got up and praised God for the children that they had a chance to love in the name of Jesus. I never preached. God told me to sit down and shut up, that He’d take the service. And He did. God showed up and spoke a blessing into our lives, and I think it was in direct response to our obedience in sharing with those in need.
Anita Fleming, from Victory Chapel UB church ni Celina, Ohio, sent this note at 8:15 Monday morning (May 2):
“A tornado ripped through the Celina (Mercer County) area at 11:40 p.m. April 20, 2011. Our pastor, Kenneth Whetstone, lives on a few acres northeast of Celina. The storm took down two huge barns, ripped up all their fruit trees, and did some damage to their house, but praise the Lord, they were not hurt. There has been a massive clean-up going on since then even in the rain. The cluster pastors decided to forego the monthly meeting last Saturday and they came and helped clear debris.”
The Jonathan Herron family
Over 5000 people converged on Colwood UB church (Caro, Mich.) on Saturday, April 23. The big attraction was an Easter Egg drop–from a helicopter. As the people formed a large circle on the church property, a helicopter dropped 50,000 plastic Easter eggs, each one filled with goodies.
Last year, when they tried a helicopter drop for the first time, Pastor Jon Herron was praying that 1000 people would show up–a good goal for Caro, a town of 4500. But they were overwhelmed when 5000 people poured in.
“This year we were ready for the crowds,” said Herron. “From smoother parking to additional inflatable bouncers, the entire experience was great. We saw thousands with Easter egg baskets overflowing. The kids loved it.”
Local businesses and organizations donated goods and services, and they were graced with the presence of the Tuscola County Sherriff’s Mounted Division, Caro Fire Department, local EMTs, and Wal-Mart. The church provided 175 volunteers to make a day a big success. In addition to the eggs, they gave out 5000 bottles of water.
The Easter services were a success too. Not only did 883 people attend, but 17 people dedicated their lives to Christ!
