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We announced this morning the death of Paul Webster on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. Here are the arrangements:
Senior Pastor Steve Fish takes a video tour of the new facility.
On Sunday, May 16, Shoreline Church (Oak Harbor, Ohio) celebrated the completion of Phase 1 of their building addition. The project lasted 18 months and included both new construction and renovations.
The sign was raised by volunteers. Says senior pastor Pastor Fish, “The day it went up, I proudly parked my 2000 Malibu smack dab in the middle of five full-sized pickup trucks with long trailers and heavy equipment riding on each. These country guys really have the equipment sitting around. Our digital sign shut down for the first time in six months during Sunday’s celebration. I just had to smile. We are working on getting it up and running again.”
All of these changes have taken place since September 2008. The total cost was just under $72,000.
“We scooped the first backhoe of dirt the day the stock market took its initial 500-point slide,” says Pastor Fish. “Despite this economic recession, we are so thankful to report that all of our facility improvements are fully paid for through the generosity and hard work of this people of God in Ottawa County (our own county with Ohio’s highest unemployment rate at over 18%). God has blessed us despite all of these hardships, and we celebrate the growth and his goodness to us.
A Sunday school class of mostly senior citizens from King Street Church (Chambersburg, Pa.) was headed to Lancaster County on April 27 for a dinner theater. As their charter bus drove down I-81 on that Tuesday morning, a back tire blew. The driver couldn’t pull over, because the road had no shoulder, so he continued driving a half mile to an off-ramp.
When the driver checked on the tire, he saw smoke and flames. He then asked everyone to leave the bus. All 46 persons got off the bus safely before it filled with black smoke. Fire ultimately destroyed the interior of the bus. Fortunately, nobody was injured.
The passengers were bussed to the Newville fire station, where another bus from the charter company came to get them. They made it to the dinner theater on time.
Jess and Fay Baker, from First UB church in Holly Hill, Fla., experienced a great tragedy some years ago: their adult daughter was murdered by her ex-husband.
Vicki McKeown from First UB writes, “After the years their son-in-law spent in jail, he asked for their forgiveness and they gave it. God is doing miraculous things in their lives. The father and son-in-law have even served together on a ‘Kairos’ team (the ‘Walk to Emmaus’ for inmates).”
Their story of forgiveness will air Thursday, May 6, on Pat Robertson’s 700 Club. This will be a powerful message to be shared. The segment lasts about six minutes. Check your local listings to see when the 700 Club airs.
Jim Woodward receiving the "Outstanding Service Award."
From Darwin Dunten, pastor of Findlay First UB (Findlay, Ohio)
Jim “the Barber” Woodward, a member of Findlay First UB (Findlay, Ohio), received the Northwest Ohio Community Spirit Award for Outstanding Community Service for his volunteer work at the Hancock County Jail. Nominations from all over Northwest Ohio were considered. Awards were given to the outstanding fireman, Police, EMS, and other individuals for their work in the community in the area of emergency services and law enforcement.
In 2005, Findlay First UB Church went on a 40-day adventure studying the “Purpose Driven Life.” One of the last lessons was for Christians to leave their comfort zone and start impacting their world for Christ.
An opportunity came to Jim when he was cutting hair in the county jail. Inmates were complaining about the worship services and the lack of worship services that they were or were not receiving. He then started a monthly motivational session with all the inmates where community leaders came in and shared their stories. Eventually this turned into a weekly worship service on Thursday nights with community church members from the Episcopal, Methodist, and United Brethren churches. They have become “the church” for the inmates.
Because of Jim’s weekly “bribing” of the guards with pizza and cupcakes, Jim has been able to hold special events such as picnics for the inmates. Jim has also been able obtain special releases for the inmates to attend special services at Findlay First UB.
Jim has been called before clergy to help the guards with inmates that are emotionally out of control. How does he calm them down? He makes them recite, “It’s not about me; it’s about Thee.”
Because of Jim’s work, Findlay First UB and Pastor “D” Dunten, we have been able to introduce Christ to alcoholics, drug addicts, drug dealers, sexual predictors, and murderers. Some consider Pastor “D” to be their pastor. Some are even attending First UB.
At times, Jim apologizes to the inmates. He states, “On behalf of the church, I want to apologize. The church has not been doing its job. Jesus tells us to go to the widows, orphans, sick, and the prisoners. We have not done that. Some of you are in here because the church has never told you about Jesus.”
That gets their attention. He drills in the heads of the inmates, “Life is not about me; it’s about Thee.” And “God is good all the time.”
Jim has such respect among the inmates that I pity the fool that ever holds up his barber shop. No one messes with Jim “the Barber.”
The citation says:
“Woodward’s impact on the Findlay-Hancock County community and those incarcerated is indescribable. He frequently receives letters from inmates thanking him for believing in and encouraging them, and for being an uplifting presence in their lives. Once they are released from the Justice Center, the first stop for former inmates is not that of trouble, but that of the local barber’s chair for more conversation and thankfulness for Jim “The Barber” Woodward.
40 new members received on Easter Sunday at Zion UB in Blissfield, Mich. (click to enlarge)
From Rochelle Jensen, Zion UB (Blissfield, Mich.)
The “best kept secret in Lenawee county” is leaking out. On Easter Sunday, Zion United Brethren in Christ (Blissfield, Mich.) took in 40 new members! Pastor Aden Porter has given the church that motto because we are located in the rural area of Ogden Center. But just as the early followers of Christ came to him from everywhere, people are joining the community of believers here at Zion UB. Knowing Christ as Lord and Savior is one secret we want to share with everyone.
From Greg Reed (right), senior pastor of Morning Star Church (Kokomo, Ind.)
As a way to demonstrate the free gift God gives us and to show His incredible love to others, our church gave away 7,950 FREE chicken & noodle dinners to people in our community. From 11 am-7 pm, we offered dine-in, carry-out, and delivery meals absolutely FREE to everyone! Not only did our guests enjoy a free meal, it was also an incredible experience and a true blessing for everyone who served that day.
On Easter Sunday, five persons indicated that they were placing their trust in Christ for salvation for the first time. God is so good!
The crowd at Colwood church awaits the arrival of the helicopter with Easter eggs. (click to enlarge)
The helicopter dropping eggs. (click to enlarge)
Blue-shirted Colwood volunteers.
When Colwood UB (Caro, Mich.) announced that they would host a free community Easter Egg Drop, Pastor Jon Herron was praying that 1000 people would show up. Caro is a town of 4500, so that would make a pretty good percentage.
What a surprise when 5000 people came! Cars poured in from Birch Run, Bay City, Saginaw, Bad Axe, and elsewhere.
As the crowd watched, a helicopter flew over the grounds and dropped over 10,000 plastic eggs onto the field. Each egg contained such items as candy, toys, and free iPod certificates.
Pastor Jon Herron with wife and son.
The egg drop was designed for kids age 12 and under. Local fire trucks, EMTs, and sheriff’s deputies were on hand, and kids could also enjoy inflatable games.
Pastor Herron wrote on his blog, “God multiplied our hopes and dreams by five. I can imagine the Father hearing our prayers and saying, ‘Hey, Jesus and Holy Spirit, circle around and watch Me do this!'”
A group of 135 volunteers helped make it a big success. Pastor Herron writes, “It was awesome walking around Saturday morning with nothing to be in charge of. Our staff and volunteers had everything mapped out–my role was simply to cheerlead!”
Unfortunately, there weren’t enough eggs. They prepared 10,000, but that was in anticipation of 1000 participants. Many kids didn’t get any (including the pastor’s own three-year-old). So for next year, Pastor Herron says, they’re looking at 100,000 eggs, bigger fields, and multiple drop times with different age groups to make sure nobody goes home empty-handed.
On Sunday morning, 850 people attended the multiple worship services. And 19 persons stood from their seats and prayed to receive Christ!
From Gary Gates (right), senior pastor of South Scipio UB church (Harlan, Ind.)
Several of our congregation participated in community Lenten luncheons, cooperating with area churches. Each church supplied one of the weekly meals, and their respective pastors provided a Lenten devotional.
Our Palm Sunday began with a 9:00 carry-in brunch. Special music and readings, a children’s sermon, a short meditation, and communion service followed during the worship hour.
A Good Friday service was hosted by the Harlan Christian Youth Center, an offshoot of our congregation.
Easter Celebration included a welcoming poem read by a young lady, two songs by a women’s ensemble, a solo, video song (“He’s Alive”), responsive reading, and a message. Many guests and irregular attenders joined our celebration of the Lord’s resurrection.
A large piece of artwork displayed during the Easter service at Shoreline Church.
From Steve Fish, senior pastor of Shoreline Church (Oak Harbor, Ohio)
We chose to do a contemporary observance of Lent this year. We started on Ash Wednesday by burning in a small bowl slips of paper with confessed sins written on them (it was quite a fire.)
We encouraged Shoreline families to add family mealtime devotions into their lives for Lent (instead of giving something up.)
We celebrated the Passion week with a Seder meal and Good Friday services.
For six weeks we added something into each worship service–special music, worship dance, drama, and chalk art. On Easter Sunday we brought all these pieces back together as a response to the message that God’s strong arm (Isaiah 53:1) has brought from death to life those who seek the hidden treasure of God’s kingdom (Matt 13:44-46).
We were up 30 from 2009 Easter attendance. We continue to seek ways to reach people along the 107 miles of Shoreline in Ottawa County, Ohio. Thankful to God for His goodness to us!
