14 Jun An “Inside Out” Mission Trip

The Blissfield church (Blissfield, Mich.)  is doing something very different–something they’re calling an “inside-out” mission trip. They are bringing people from our Jamaica Conference to the States July 7-14, so the Jamaicans can experience a cross-cultural ministry trip of their own. Michael Hewitt, the church’s youth pastor, writes:

“During this time, 15-20 Jamaicans are coming to Blissfield for a mission trip of their own. Seeds were planted two years ago when we took 33 participants to the Yorktown and Maypen churches in Jamaica. It’s taken two years of planning, acquiring visas, etc., but it looks like our hard work and prayers are paying off! Ministry opportunities for the Jamaican Team and the Blissfield church family include:

• Gospel outreaches and musical performances at Blissfield’s River Raisin Festival (brings in 80,000 to 100,000 people every year).
• Work at Camp Michindoh.
• Ministry at First UB Church in Blissfield.
• A day in the life of a Michigan farmer.
• A fun day trip to Cedar Point.

“We thank the Lord for this opportunity and pray for all the Jamaican participants that are preparing and training right now!” Next January 5-9, a team of UB youth pastors will travel to Jamaica to provide student ministry training in such areas as:

• Developing a youth ministry model for local church.
• Effective programming.
• How to train young people to actively share their faith with their world.

30 Apr Homefront Sponsors Art Exhibit

David Leraaen, associate pastor of of Homefront UB, sent this report:

“As a brand new church (we began having regular Sunday Services in September, 2003), we wanted our first Easter together to be something truly memorable. We wanted to invite our congregation and our community to celebrate the resurrection of Christ with us. So we hosted an art exhibit!

“We invited local artist John Katerberg to exhibit eleven of his original oil paintings depicting the life of Christ. The exhibit opened to the public on the two Fridays and Saturdays preceding Easter Sunday, complete with tour guides, refreshments, interactive children’s activities on Saturday, and an opportunity to meet with the artist as he worked on a new painting. Especially featured were the three paintings that comprise the artist’s Passion Series, which graphically depict the crucifixion of Christ. Though conceived and painted long before its release, the images in these three paintings are reminiscent of scenes from Mel Gibson’s film, ‘The Passion of the Christ.’ With the paintings still adorning our entry way and main hall, we hosted two Easter Sunday morning services, with 329 people on hand to celebrate the joy of the resurrection.

“This Mother’s Day will mark the first anniversary of our “Sneak Preview” service at Homefront Church. Now less than eight months after beginning regular Sunday services, an average of 170 people attend each week, and most call Homefront home.”

29 Apr Roseville Hosts Dinner Theatre Outreach

Roseville UB (Ayr, Ontario) hosted its first-ever dinner-theatre as an outreach event. About 85 people were present for the event which helped open or build connections with several unchurched or unbelieving families. The ladies of the church converted the church hall/basement into a classy Italian restaurant. The main course was spaghetti with several hors dourvres and desserts.

A team from Emmanuel Bible College (Kitchener, Ontario) presented a drama called “The Gospel According to Jessica.” The drama is about a girl from the streets seeking refuge from the weather in church. She asks many questions of the pastor, just out of seminary. He struggles to demonstrate the love of Christ while the church secretary shows unconditional acceptance.

20 Apr Missions Night at King Street Church

On March 21, King Street Church (Chambersburg, Pa.) sponsored a Missions Night. Nancy Fritz of the Missions Commission writes, “This evening was a time to praise the Lord and thank those who were part of this outreach through prayer, financial support, or active involvement. Everyone experienced a wonderful time of sharing, rejoicing and recalling the wonderful things God is doing in Honduras and Belize through the efforts of short-term work teams.

“Approximately 60 men and women in the Mid-Atlantic conference area spent time in these countries in January and February. In less than two months, with a great crew of nationals, these workers began and completed a church at Mt. Hebron outside La Ceiba, Honduras. A number of team members were privileged to participate in a dedication service before returning to the States. A children’s home in Belize was constructed and is now ready for the roof, which is expected to be completed by another team in May.

“Plans are underway for the 2004 Global Missions Celebration to be held November 13-14 at King Street Church. Since God is igniting a great interest in short-term mission trips, one of the major parts of this conference will be devoted to sharing information regarding opportunities, requirements, training, and plans for maximizing the efforts and results of short-term mission trip.”

20 Apr Lansing UB Sharing with Dewitt UB

First UB in Lansing has agreed to allow the DeWitt congregation to share its building, starting May 2, 2004. Ron Watterly, pastor of DeWitt, writes, “Our building has had problems with the roof leaking and our landlord has been slow in making repairs to the point that now we are having mold problems. We will hold services at 8:30 a.m. and join them for Sunday school at 10:00. The Lansing congregation will conduct its worship at 11:00.”

20 Apr Faith Promise, Costa Rica Trip

Jerry Caley, from the Banner of Christ UB church (Byron Center, Mich.), sent this note on April 19:

“Our church is three months into its new Faith Promise for Missions campaign. The goal for giving and fundraising events is $17,500. Already the giving alone is nearing $6000.

“In addition, under the leadership of our new Pastor of Discipleship and Youth, Josh Good, we have 25 persons going to Costa Rica in July to build a new church with Youth With A Mission. Nineteen high school students and six adults will be part of this two-week trip–a first ever ‘out of the country’ for our youth ministry.”

18 Apr New Church in Shirley, New York

Roy Scott is the pastor of a new church in Shirley, New York, called Omega Family Church. He is also pastor of Bethel African American Church in Somerset, N. J.

15 Apr Family Conference in Harrisburg, Pa.

Devonshire Memorial UB (Harrisburg, Pa.) held a Family Life Conference this week. It began on Easter Sunday morning, and continued with services each night through Wednesday (with a buffet dinner before the Wednesday evening service). It was led by Home Fire Ministries.

15 Apr Arizona Church Hires Children’s Director

Hilltop Community UB (Lake Havasu City, Ariz.) hired a Children’s Director in April. Erika Gloeckner has experience working with children, and she possesses a passion for helping children know the Lord. There has already been a healthy increase in attendance for Sunday school and the weekday children’s programs.

Pastor Michael Tucker writes, “The church has successfully operated a preschool for several years, and now has announced plans to add a kindergarten class for next fall. Although the announcement of the new class is only a week old, the class is already full, and there are eight students on the waiting list. Plans to build an educational building are being discussed as the church anticipates that additional grades will be added to the school next year.

“New video projection equipment has been installed in the church auditorium since Easter. The church makes extensive use of PowerPoint slides each week for the worship. There are 80-100 slides used each week, and often video is incorporated into the service.”

15 Apr Purpose Driven Life Campaign in Ontario

Grace UB (Sherkston, Ontario) is getting ready for week one of the Purpose Driven Life Campaign. Sheldon King writes, “We have been praying about this and deliberating over it a lot, and a lot of hard work has gone into preparing the campaign for the church. We have great hopes for the church and its spiritual growth and ‘people growth’ as well. This campaign will bring much change to the way we do things at Grace. We kick it off with the National Simulcast Video on April 18. The whole service will be a video of Rick Warren in his service for Saddleback’s launch of the 40 Days or Purpose.”