28 Apr 50,000 Easter Eggs!

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!

27 Apr Gaines UB Baptizes 16 on Easter Sunday

Kelly Burnside, senior pastor of Gaines UB, baptizing people on Easter Sunday.

Gaines Church (Caledonia, Mich.) celebrated Easter Sunday with 16 baptisms–2 in the first service and 14 in the second service. Keith Elliott, the Personal Growth Director at Gaines, writes, “We’ve made baptisms a part of our Christmas and Easter services, and they are one of the highlights of the year.”

26 Apr Fowlerville Serves Its Community

Persons from Fowlerville UB Church doing landscaping at the public library....

...and washing windows at a local business.

Mark Wilson (right), senior pastor, Fowlerville UB church

Here at Fowlerville UB church (Fowlerville, Mich.), we have been seeking tangible ways to reach our community, show the love of Christ, and open opportunities for spiritual conversations.

On Saturday, April 16, 252 people from our church went into the community to serve. A group of 10 people from two other local churches joined us for the day. It was a God-sized day!

It had been raining all night long, and the weather report called for rain all day, but we believed that God wanted us to bless our community. After we held a brief time of worship and commissioning, the rain stopped and many of us left the parking lot as the sun peeked out through the clouds. The rains held off until we completed all of our outdoor projects.

We completed over 30 projects in the community–yard work, washing all the windows in our local downtown area, cleaning our local parks, and serving many local businesses. It was evident to all that God had moved in a mighty way.

20 Apr Cele-BRAY-tion at Lancaster UB

On Palm Sunday, April 17, the children’s and youth ministry teams from Lancaster UB church (Lancaster, Ohio) portrayed the triumphal entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem using a live “mini” donkey during the morning service.  The narration was from the donkey’s perspective:  how the lowest of beasts was chosen to carry the King of Kings!  Pictured are Samantha Ashton, Children’s Ministry Director Ryan Voight, and Hunter Bashore….oh, and Bunny, the donkey!

20 Apr With the Bomatay Family in Massachusetts

Clockwise from left: Rubenia Bomatay, Phil Whipple, Geraldo Bomatay, Jeraldina Bomatay.

Bishop Phil and Sandy Whipple have been in the northeast, and today fly to Florida to attend the Exponential conference on church planting. On Tuesday, April 19, they were in the Boston area. He sent this note:

“On Tuesday we met with the Bomatay family. Rubenia and her husband, Geraldo, work side by side pastoring the Iglesia Reformada Emanuel Church in Jamaica Plain, Mass. Jeraldina, their daugther, leads the youth work in the church. They have a variety of outreaches into their community including meals that help those around the church, and health clinics to meet basic needs and to raise awareness of health issues. We had a great time of sharing together.”

18 Apr With the Bishop in the Bronx

Bishop Phil Whipple with Linton and Michelle Thomas of First UB in the Bronx.

Phil Whipple, Bishop

Yesterday, April 17, Sandy and I attended First UB Church in the Bronx, a Jamaican congregation. It was pastor’s appreciation day. The church had quite a program to honor Pastor Linton Thomas and his family. Many gave a tribute to him. He was also given the Logos Bible software and reservations for a two-day get-away for Linton and Michelle.

The sanctuary was packed, and the children were upstairs because there wasn’t room for them. I had the opportunity to preach, with a meal afterwards. We started at 11:15 and left around 4 pm. It was a great and meaningful day.

18 Apr With the Bishop in Baltimore and Philadelphia

Bishop Phil Whipple (right) with Jon Christophel, pastor of Brooklyn Park UB in Baltimore, Md.

Bishop Whipple and Edner Antoine, pastor of God's Church by the Faith in Philadelphia, Pa.

Bishop Whipple (right) with leaders from God's Church by the Faith.

The building used by God's Church by the Faith is a former Episcopal church. Can you tell? (Click to enlarge. Get a good look at this amazing place.)

Phil Whipple, Bishop

Bishop Phil Whipple and his wife, Sandy, are on the road for a few weeks visiting churches in the east and then heading to Florida for the annual Youth Leaders Summit. Here are some notes from the first couple days of the trip, which started last Wednesday, April 13.

We spent the first day of our trip in Baltimore, Md., at the Brooklyn Park Church. We spent a couple of hours with John Christophel, the pastor, and then shared a meal with the people at the church. Sandy and I had a Maryland crab cake which was quite good. Then I shared  for a little bit with all of them.

We then drove up to Philadelphia and met Edner Antoine and his wife and a couple of laymen from God’s Church by the Faith, and toured their building. They bought a former Espiscopal Church. It is quite ornate, and they have done a great job cleaning it up and making it usable.

We went out to eat with Edner and his wife and one of the laymen. Then we came back around 9 p.m. with a Bible study in full swing. I was asked to speak to the group.

It was a great beginning to our trip.

17 Apr Leadership Training in Northeast Indiana

John Cole, pastor of Park UB in Bluffton, Ind., leads training for the Monroe Cluster. (Click to enlarge)

The Monroe Cluster (Indiana) held its second Leadership Development Day on April 9. John Cole, pastor of Park UB church in Bluffton, Ind., led the training for the 17 people attending. Cluster meetings are designed for senior pastors, but in this case, they’ve been inviting laypersons to participate in the training.

“When I arrived in Bluffton in August 2010,” says John, “I started talking to Troy Green, our cluster leader, about extending the cluster experience beyond pastors and into the churches more. We also talked about leadership development being a significant addition to the great teaching we already get through the video lessons.

“During our fall meetings, I began introducing the group to the Habitudes series from Dr. Tim Elmore of Growing Leaders. I received training in that back in 2008 at the Train the Trainer seminars held in Huntington, Ind. The cluster liked the idea, and we decided on a quarterly training day to invite the leaders from our churches so they could interact and share ideas around the leadership principles I would be teaching about.

“So far, we have had 15-20 from the Park, Monroe, and Praise Point churches attend the two meetings, and some great discussion has come out of it. We are looking forward to continuing this and seeing it expand.”

08 Apr Ordination of Elizabeth Cudney

Rev. Elizabeth Cudney kneels next to her husband, Dr. D. Neil Cudney. Leading the ordination are (l-r) Bishop Brian Magnus, Rev. Nick Swirski, and Rev. Martin Magnus.

The congregation at Mill Crossing

The Mill Crossing UB Church in Cambridge, Ontario

Worship team at Mill Crossing. That's pastor Neil Cudney in the background playing guitar.

On Saturday, April 2, the Mill Crossing UB church in Cambridge, Ontario, celebrated two events:

• The dedication of their new facility.
• The ordination of one of their pastors, Rev. Elizabeth A. Cudney.

City Councilor Rick Cowsill cut the ribbon and a capacity crowd enjoyed a time of worship, special music, welcomes by local dignitaries, and then the ordination service.

Elizabeth Cudney and her husband, Neil, are co-pastors of Mill Crossing. They started the church together in 2005 with a core group from Parkwood Gardens UB in Guelph. About half of the core group members have since returned to Parkwood Gardens.

In 1998, Liz Cudney started the Port of Grace UB church in Port Colborne, Ontario. The mother church was Grace UB in Sherkston, about 15 miles away. Neil, the pastor of Grace, resigned after a couple of years to devote all of his attention to Port of Grace, joining his wife as co-pastor. They both worked part-time on the side. Since this is Liz Cudney’s second successful church plant, it puts her in somewhat elite company among North American UBs.

Neil recently successfully defended his doctoral thesis and will receive his Doctor of Ministry in Leadership and Business Ethics from Gordon-Conwell.

28 Mar Two Youth Groups Raise $1500 to Fight Hunger

Jason Sheets, associate pastor of Shepherd of the Valley UB church (Logan, Ohio), sent a report on a youth group activity. Sixteen youth from the Shepherd of the Valley and nearby West Pleasant Hill (Rockbridge, Ohio) UB churches participated in a 30 Hour Famine. The groups together raised over $1500 to help fight world hunger. (click photo to enlarge)