01 Dec Homecoming and Christmas in Junction City, Ohio

L-r: Bishop Phil Whipple, Joe Leighton (current pastor of Salen Chapel), Chuck Wheatley (former pastor), Billy Snider (special speaker)

Annette Self, Mt. Zion UB (Junction City, Ohio)
Mt. Zion UB (Junction City, Ohio) had a homecoming on October 4 with special speaker, Rev. Billy Snider. He grew up at Mt. Zion and entered the ministry in the 1950s. The day included special music in the morning and afternoon services, a dinner, several guest singers, and guests from other churches and the community. Ninety people attended in the afternoon.

The church also contributed to Franklin Graham’s Operation Christmas Child. We did 36 shoeboxes this year–an average of over one per person in Sunday attendance.

We are also once again adopting a family for Christmas and contributing to the local food pantry with 70 boxes of crackers. Each of the churches contributes something like that, and the community ministry compiles food baskets for needy people for Christmas. Salem Chapel UB usually participates in this too.

20 Nov Reash and Montgomery Churches Withdraw

Two churches have have chosen to withdraw from the denomination.

1. Reash UB (Cochranton, Pa.) withdrew effective October 31, 2009. They had an average attendance of 30 in 2008.
2. Montgomery UB (Montgomery, Mich.) withdrew effective June 7, 2009. They merged with New Testament Ministries, Inc. to form The New Beginnings Church, Inc. Montgomery had an average attendance of 58 in 2008.

20 Nov Seeking Acceptance and Losing Relevance

At the Canadian National Conference, Bishop Brian Magnus asserted, “Jesus was not accepted, but his mission and message were totally relevant.”

Commenting on the desire for churches to be relevant in our society today, Bishop Magnus went on to say that some churches have sought acceptance and have lost their relevance. Still others have put all their energies into “doing church”–making relevance itself irrelevant.

Based on Phil Wagler’s book, “Kingdom Culture,” Rev. Magnus suggested we could overcome irrelevance in these ways:

• By celebrating the extraordinary nature of the the body of Christ–including our diversity both within and outside the church and partnering with our communities.
• By recovering our prophetic voice and presence and culture–getting out of our churches and into the lives of our friends and neighbors.
• By making obedience to the clear commands of God our priority. Matthew 5:13: “If salt loses its saltiness…it is no longer good for anything.” Non-christians don’t want us to be just like them. They expect something better.

17 Nov Baptismapalooza at Colwood UB

Balloons fall as the worship team plays.

Pastor Jonathan Herron at a tailgating tent.

They called it Baptismapalooza. On November 15, Colwood UB (Caro, Mich.) baptized 40 people. And since baptism is a big deal–you’re publicly identifying with Christ–the church made it a very big deal.

Like the tailgating party. Pastor Jonathan Herron mentioned how we get excited about football and basketball games. Shouldn’t we get just as excited about somebody who gets raised from the dead? Maybe do tailgating for Jesus, too?

But that’s as far as he took it. The church office did nothing further–just planted the idea. What resulted was purely a grassroots thing. People arrived Saturday night to put up campers and tents. And all Sunday morning, out in the church parking lot, people were serving up food, including a truckload of bacon.

A powerful sound system was erected, too. Hunters three miles away said they could hear the music. Somebody even created a Facebook page just for the event. All grassroots-driven. People took the idea and ran with it. Ran far.

“Do the Oreo” appeared on signs and t-shirts made just for the event. That was a way Pastor Herron illustrated baptism–we dunk, immerse, Oreo cookies in milk. As opposed to just sprinkling on some milk. During the sermon series which led up to Baptismapalooza, he told how, as a Presbyterian preacher’s kid, he was sprinkled as an infant. But in 2005, he realized that baptism was supposed to be for believers. Infant baptism may be memorable and significant for the parents, but not for the infant. So, as a pastor, he was immersed before his own congregation.

Jonathan Herron prepared to baptize Clara, age 88.

His story resonated with some other people at Colwood. Like Clara, age 88. She was among the 40 believers who were baptized that day. “When an 88-year-old gets baptized, you better believe everyone was crying,” Pastor Herron says.

Baptismapalooza was designed as an outreach event, something you bring friends and relatives to. “We want to blow away the expectations of the unchurched and dechurched,” Pastor Herron says. “We wanted them to come to a party atmosphere.” Balloons dropped while the worship team played. Everyone who came received a printed invitation to the next outreach event, during the Christmas season. And when people come to that event, they’ll receive information about the next event, so that each outreach event builds on the next.

Ten people were baptized during the 9:45 service, with 287 people watching. The other 30 were baptized during the 11:15 service in front of 575 people. They videotaped testimonies of every person and edited them down. Show a video testimony, baptize that person. Show another video, baptize. There was no need for any other sermon that day.

Amber Herron, Jonathan’s wife, wrote on her blog, “I was so encouraged to see people have the same level of enthusiasm for lives changed by Jesus as they have for a favorite sports team….Not only were there tailgaters galore, but people brought cow bells and bull horns to cheer on those getting baptized. Totally unforgettable!”

Follow the link for more photos.

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16 Nov The Day a Pig Came to Church

Pastor Tim Hallman and the children watch Brad Johnson carry in a baby pig.

Tim Hallman with the children gathering around his laptop.

On August 17, children of Anchor Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.) sold their own possessions to raise money for the poor. They raised $241, which was enough to provide several micro-business opportunities through Food for the Hungry–a dairy goat ($150), a pig ($50), 4 rabbits ($20), and a fruit-bearing tree ($25).

On November 15, Pastor Tim Hallman gathered the children around him at the front of the church to “place the order.” He opened his laptop, connected to the internet, and let them click on the links to actually send the donation to Food for the Hungry.

But first, to help illustrate what they were doing, one of the church members, Brad Johnson, entered the side door carrying a baby pig. The children had the chance to touch the pig; some did, some didn’t. But all were fascinated by the squirming animal.

Before the service, administrative assistant Pat Minch told Tim she would give him $5 if he kissed the pig. He said he wouldn’t do that for such a paltry sum. But as the children were attending to the pig, Pat walked to the front waving money in the air–this time, $100, which she emphasized would go to missions. All Tim had to do was kiss the pig.

And so, for $100, that’s what he did, much to everyone’s delight.

11 Nov Five Youth Find Christ at UB Weekend Retreat

Kendal Sheen, Youth and Music Pastor, Kilpatrick UB (Woodland, Mich.)

I am a new youth and music pastor with the Kilpatrick United Brethren church. I wanted to spend some time with the teens to get to know them better and determine where they stood in their relationship with Christ, so I planned a weekend retreat at Camp Michawana in Hastings, Mich.

I was looking to bring in a speaker from Huntington University to make a connection with the youth and the University. I contacted Cathy Reich, the Administrative Assistant with Healthy Ministry Resources, but we couldn’t find someone to come speak with the youth.

Now that the weekend is over, I realize that God was moving his plan forward, not mine.

I spoke this past weekend to the group, which I believe is what God wanted from the start. He opened their hearts and minds during the weekend.

Five youth accepted Jesus Christ into their hearts and lives. Praise the Lord!

09 Nov NorthPoint Begins Meeting in Local YMCA

On November 8, NorthPoint Church of Toledo, Ohio, began holding services in the 930-seat auditorium of a new YMCA. In return, NorthPoint signed an agreement to contribute $500,000 to the YMCA over the next ten years.

The Toledo Blade ran an article about the church on November 7, which included interviews with senior pastor Brad Wotring and teaching pastor Pat Schwenk.

Northpoint, with a 2008 attendance of 500, is overflowing its current facility (the church once known as Harvest Lane). They held a preview service a few weeks ago at the YMCA, and 800 people came. They’ll continue using the Harvest Lane facility for office space, Bible classes, community outreach, and other things.

06 Nov Pastor Appreciation in Mt. Solon, Va.

Fonda Cassidy, layperson, Mt. Olivet UB (Mt. Solon, Va.)
During October, we had pastor appreciation each week with events of writing on their walls, poking them, etc. (using large cardboard pieces as walls). The third Sunday, our two pastors, Todd Lilley and pastor Dan Lam, were presented with overnight stays at the Highland Inn, a beautiful historical hotel in Monteray, Va. The fourth Sunday, we did a short video of events throughout the year, and a surprise lunch at the end of the service. We had great attendance and great support.

06 Nov Halloween and Pastor Appreciation at Ebenezer

Bonnie Ramer, layperson, Ebenezer UB (Greencastle, Pa.)
Our church held a Pastor Appreciation Sunday. We gave our pastors the day off, and members of the congregation did the entire morning worship service. Afterwards, everyone was invited to the front of the church to present their tokens of appreciation to senoir pastor David Grove and his wife Amy, and associate pastor Jim Mack and his wife, Faith. Since David and Amy just had a baby girl, Madison Noel, on October 1, we had a baby shower for them at the same time.

David Grove, senior pastor, Ebenezer UB (Greencastle, Pa.)
For the first time, the church held a public Harvest Party on the church parking lot as an alternative to Halloween Trick or Treating. We had games, food, face-painting, trunk & treats (candy was given out from the trunks of several cars), and hay rides. Although it was windy and chilly, we had close to 300 people. Praise God for this great success. We are planning on having a second one next year.

05 Nov On the Road: Ohio and Pennsylvania

Last Sunday evening, Sandy and I went to Mainstreet Church (Walbridge, Ohio) to hear senior pastor Marty Pennington talk to the small groups that normally meet on Sunday evenings. They set up their lobby as a coffeeshop and served coffee and donuts. He shared about their “BE” capital campaign. It was an enjoyable night.

We returned on Monday for a tour of the Mainstreet facility. It is an attractive and functional church. We shared lunch with Marty and Amy. It is exciting to see God at work.

On Tuesday morning, before we headed out of Ohio, we realized that we were only about 10 miles from Bethel UB in Elmore, Ohio. So we drove over there. Pastor Norm Pickett was visiting someone in the hospital, but the church secretary showed us around. She was a great guide and spoke in positive terms about the church and the impact it is having in the life of the community and in her family. It was exciting to hear. We then drove on to Franklin, Pa.

On Wednesday morning, we met with Steve Clulow’s cluster at the Atlantic Avenue church in Franklin. About 10 pastors were there. Gary Small, who pastors Atlantic Avenue, shared devotions about unity from Acts 4. Some good discussion followed and then I shared a little of what has been going on at Healthy Ministry Resources.

Gary took us on a tour of the new facilities under construction. They will have a new sanctuary, offices, and lobby, and the lower level is being turn into a delightfully decorated children’s area. God is at work.

Sandy and I then left Franklin around 11 and headed across Pennsylvania. And today, Thursday, it is on Yonkers to meet up with Dalton Jenkins and the Bethel Temple of Praise church. Looking forward to a good time together.