31 Aug 538 Attend Services at Hillsdale UB

Hillsdale UB church (Hillsdale, Mich.) held its 17th annual outdoor service at Michindoh Ministries Camp & Conference Center on Sunday, August 23. A capacity crowd of about 450 packed into the Fireside Memorial Chapel (amphitheater) to see Pastor Lester Smith, clad as the Apostle Paul, deliver his letter to the Philippians.

Earlier in the day, about 100 people attended an indoor service at the church. That gave Hillsdale an attendance of 538 for the day, including guests from Ohio and Indiana.

21 Aug Worship Music from UB People

United Brethren people have been busy writing, performing, and publishing worship music. Here are some projects you can find on the internet.

• Chris and Bethany Solyntjes are husband and wife worship leaders out of Renew Communities, the United Brethren church in Berea, Ohio. Their album of worship music, “Refuge,” is currently streaming for free on the Relevant Magazine website.
• The worship team from Colwood UB church (Caro, Mich.) has released a full-length worship album titled “DOXA” (as reported in July on UBCentral). The album has 3 original songs and 7 re-arranged hymns. It is available now on iTunes and AmazonMP3. In iTunes, do a search on “doxa colwood”.
• Emmanuel UB church in Fort Wayne, Ind., has produced several projects that are available on the Emmanuel website.
• Matt McKeown, a pastor at First UB church in Holly Hill, has created some worship music of his own. It is available on iTunes.

17 Aug Back to School Bash in Findlay, Ohio

The Findlay First UB church (Findlay, Ohio) organized a “Back to School Bash” on August 15 at a local park to celebrate the beginning of the school year for the Findlay area community.

The vision for the “Bash” started six months ago when several local churches came together and asked, “How can we make an impact on our community?” The idea of the school bash was planted.

Four area churches adopted two parks. One park enjoyed the eventual participation of five churches, a Toledo radio station, health department, and Child Evangelism. They provided free haircuts, health inspections, concerts, and games.

Findlay First UB, along with a smaller church, adopted the Riverside park and provided the food and entertainment, the backpacks give away, and face painting by Child Evangelism.

The UB church collected 180 backpacks and filled them will school supplies and Bibles. They also collected 850 cans of pop and close to 1000 hot dogs to be grilled and handed out for free.

In preparation for this, flyers were handed out and Pastor Darwin Dunten was on two radio stations discussing the vision of the “Back to School Bash.” The musical group “Live 4:1” from Fort Wayne, Ind., provided the music and a Christian magician (arranged by the Crosspoint Church) provided the entertainment.

It is estimated that close to 400 individuals from Findlay passed through the “Back to School Bash” at the Riverside park, and 400-500 individuals passed through the Bernard park. Pastor Dunten was also approached by an individual for prayer, and several church women also prayed for a request that was given by an outside person.

The excitement at Findlay First is so great that one Sunday after the event, the people began discussing what they can do next year.

It is the vision of the ad-hock organization to eventually have one church adopt one park on the same Saturday of the year. Meaning, a city-wide “blitz” where the churches go to the people.

03 Aug Lake View Starts Major New Addition

Steve Smith (right), senior pastor, Lake View UB church (Camden, Mich.)

Lake View UB church has been into its Expansion Construction now for six weeks, and we are excited to see how God is moving things along! Our expansion will be in 2 phases.

1. Phase 1, the center structure, will eventually be our gymnasium. It should be complete before the end of the year.
2. Phase 2 will wrap around the construction of this steel building and offer us plenty of storage, a large stage, a new and large kitchen, six classrooms, a teen center, and a new lobby/foyer.

24 Jul 125 Years for Avlon UB Church

Avlon UB church celebrated its 125th anniversary on April 12, 2015, with a Homecoming Celebration. The day began with the morning worship service, when pastor Jason Sheets shared a message titled “Leaving a Lasting Legacy,” with the text being from Proverbs 13:22.

After the service, the congregation gathered in the fellowship hall for a meal. On display were several pictures and items from the Avlon’s past. There was also a 125th plaque that everyone had the opportunity to sign; it will be on display in the fellowship hall.

After lunch, those in attendance assembled in front of the church for a group photo, then everyone gathered inside for the afternoon service. All of the remaining previous pastors shared about their time and experiences at Avlon.

At the conclusion of the service, a dogwood tree was planted in front of the church and a time capsule was assembled that will be opened at the church’s 200th anniversary.

23 Jul Prince Street and a Story of Many Parts

Jim Bolich (right), senior pastor, Prince Street UB church (Shippensburg, Pa.).

God has been doing something special in Cleveland, Ohio. At the 2011 US National Conference, Andy Sikora, senior pastor of ReNew Communities (Berea, Ohio) shared his vision for planting a church in Cleveland. At that time, Prince Street Church (Shippensburg, Pa.), which was looking for a way to return to participating in launching new churches, partnering financially with ReNew.

But we wanted to do more than send money. We wanted to send people who would not only help ReNew in their work, but also learn lessons from ReNew that we could apply in Shippensburg.

The following summer, a short-term mission team from Prince Street headed to Cleveland. While there, Andy put us in contact with a fellow church planter named Jeff Bodziony, who was launching a church called Forward Church in the heart of Cleveland. Suddenly, our single partnership reproduced. Since then, multiple teams have partnered with Forward Church, assisting in construction projects and a variety of “street level” ministries.

Meanwhile, a couple from Prince Street named Burt and Tana Hey have been serving as fulltime missionaries at Joy of Living Ministries in Brinkhaven, Ohio. Joy of Living specializes in providing Christian summer camp experiences for inner-city youth, especially in Cleveland–actually, from the very same neighborhood as Forward Church. For years, Prince Street has been sending short-term teams to assist Joy of Living, both with construction and help with their summer camp programs.

During the 2015 US National Conference, God brought all that together in a harmony of ministry that could never be orchestrated by human minds.

Joy of Living brought its staff (including David Bolich, son of Prince Street Pastor Jim Bolich) to the streets of Cleveland to provide a week-long summer camp program for kids in Forward Church’s neighborhood. Prince Street contributed the financial backing necessary for the project as well as a support staff team. In the end, a beautiful picture emerged of what’s possible when God’s people work together for his glory.

21 Jul Colwood Releases 10-Song Worship Album

Colwood UB church (Caro, Mich.) has just released a full-length worship album titled “DOXA.” The album has 3 original songs and 7 re-arranged hymns. The music team from Colwood led worship last week during the first two nights of the US National Conference.

Track Listing:

1. Doctrine & Doxology
2. For Your Glory
3. Before the Throne
4. He will Hold Me Fast
5. There is a Fountain
6. Follow
7.  It is Well
8. Come Thou Fount
9. Nothing But the Blood
10. Doxology

It is available now on iTunes and AmazonMP3. (In iTunes, do a search on “doxa colwood”.)

08 Jul Devonshire Spends 10 Days with Honduras Sister Church

Derek Thrush, senior pastor, Devonshire Church (Harrisburg, Pa.)

Just last week, a team of 11 individuals from Devonshire Church returned from a trip to Puerto Cortes, Honduras. There, we spent 10 days reconnecting and ministering with our sister church, Iglesia Luz, in the barrio of Camaguey.

Our primary ministry focus throughout the week was:

• Leading a week-long Children’s Bible School.
• Meeting and sharing with home groups.
• Bringing encouragement to the Iglesia Luz church family.
• Helping complete the construction of classrooms and replacing a roof on the church parsonage.
• Serving the needs of families in the community.

Through the past four visits and a 12-year partnership in the gospel, it has been a gift to experience sweet times of fellowship as brothers and sisters united in Christ. It was such a joy to reconnect with a sister church family where we’ve seen friendships develop, families grow, and a deepening of Christian love for one another.

29 Jun Serving in Fowlerville: 90 Projects, 500 Volunteers

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

May 16, 2015, marked our fifth year of serving the Fowlerville community through “Outflow Serving Day.” This event has grown to be one of the largest impacts that we have as a local church in our community.

This year, over 500 participants from our church were sent out into our community to serve. They were dressed in bright florescent CIA (the Church In Action) shirts, tagged with Romans 15:13 on the front.

During the 6-8 hours, we completed over 90 projects. They included painting, deck repair/replacement, landscaping, bathroom repair, floor repair, roof repair, and too many other things to list.

This has become one of our most anticipated events of the year by our congregation, and has opened the door to many spiritual conversations. Over the years we have served many who are far away from Christ, or who have been deeply hurt by the church. Through this, God continues to open doors and hearts.

We truly believe, as the song says, that “Greater Things are Still to be Done in this City!”

29 Jun Planting Trees to Honor Previous Pastors

On June 21, 2015, Richfield Road UB church (Flint, Mich.) held a Tree Planting Ceremony to honor former pastors who has passed away. A tree was planted for each pastor in appreciation for his years of service at Richfield Road. They are:

Pastor Charles Malson, Sr., 1957-1982.
Pastor Robert Shellhouse, 1982-1987.
Pastor Charles Bugby, 1998.
Pastor Dick Raab, 1998-2007.