01 May Regional Meetings During May

In preparation for National Conference this summer, Bishop Phil Whipple will hold regional meetings in three locations during May. These will provide an opportunity for people to give feedback on some proposals which will come before the national conference. We held such meetings before the 2013 National Conference, and they proved helpful.

In addition, there will be updates from ministries of the national office, and updates related to Huntington University.

Anyone may attend, but pastors and lay delegates are especially encouraged to attend.

Monday, May 11: Chambersburg, Pa.
Time: 9 am – 3 pm
Location: Rhodes Grove Campground

This event will be held in conjunction with a UB Ministry Resource Day. The time with the bishop will occur in the morning. After lunch in the camp cafeteria, there will be an update on a new Pennsylvania law regarding screening, supervising, and reporting procedures. ALL Pennsylvania churches are encouraged to attend.

Monday, May 18: Sunfield, Mich.
Time: 9 am – noon.
Location: Sunfield UB church.

Tuesday, May 19: Willshire, Ohio
Time: 1 – 4 pm
Location: Praise Point UB church.

24 Apr May 11: UB Resource Day at Rhodes Grove Camp

A United Brethren Ministry Resource Day will be eld May 11 at Rhodes Grove Camp in Chambersburg, Pa. It is designed for pastors and church leaders. Time: 9am – 3 pm.

Here is what will happen.
From 9am – noon, Bishop Phil Whipple and Todd Fetters, Director of National Ministries will offer:

• Updates from the UB National Office.
• Updates related to Huntington University.
• Opportunities to learn about and discuss proposals for revising the UB Discipline which will be voted on at this summer’s US National Conference.

Lunch will be served from noon to 1pm.

From 1-3pm, the focus will be on new Pennsylvania laws that take effect on July 1, 2015, regarding child protection, background checks, and mandated reporting. The resource person will be Jim Bower, Jr., of James O. Bower Insurance Agency representing Brotherhood Mutual. He will help churches understand the new requirements in the Child Protection Service Law.

Please RSVP to Carrie 717-375-4162.

21 Apr UB History Course: Two Locations in May 2015

The United Brethren History Course is a requirement for ministerial licensing in the United Brethren denomination. However, people who just want to learn more about United Brethren history are free to take the course. The course is held periodically in regional settings.

Two dates and locations are available in May 2015.

Akron, Ohio (Two Days)

Date: May 4-5, 2015 (Monday and Tuesday)
Time: 9 am – 4 pm each day
Location: Holiday In Express & Suites Airport, Akron, Ohio
Address: 898 Arlington Ridge East, Akron, OH 44512
Instructor: Daryl Elliott, senior pastor of Fountain UB church (Keyser, W. Va.).

Fort Wayne, Ind. (One Day)

Date: May 20, 2015 (Wednesday)
Time: 8 am – 5 pm
Location: Emmanuel Community Church, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Address: 12222 W Jefferson Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN 46814
Instructor: Bob Bruce, associate pastor of Emmanuel Community Church.

Registration

• $200, if you are seeking a ministerial license. There is a $50 discount if you pay fully in advance of the class, making your cost just $150.
• $100 for everyone else.

Register on the UB Website.

Trials and Triumphs Book

In addition to the registration fee, you will need a copy of “Trials and Triumphs,” a history of the United Brethren church. ($14.95 for the book, $5.75 shipping for US, $12.95 international). You can order a copy for $20.70 from the national office. Or, stop by the office and pick up a copy, to save shipping. You MUST have a copy of the book for the class. Order a copy from Church Services by calling toll-free: 888-622-3019, ext 301.

13 Apr National Conference Speaker: Pastor-Seminary Leader Wayne Schmidt

We’re excited to have Dr. Wayne Schmidt as keynote speaker for this summer’s US National Conference. He will speak on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights, and will also lead a workshop on Friday morning.

The US National Conference will be held July 15-18 in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Dr. Wayne Schmidt comes to us with 35 years of ministry experience in local churches and in training pastors.

From 1979-1981, he served as assistant pastor of the newly-formed Kentwood Community Church under founding pastor Dick Wynn. Within two years, Dr. Schmidt became senior pastor.

Over the years, Kentwood developed into one of the flagship churches in the Wesleyan denomination while becoming increasingly multi-ethnic and planting 10 churches. In 2009, KCC averaged more than 2600 attendees each weekend.

In 2009, Dr. Schmidt accepted a position at Indiana Wesleyan University as head of the Wesley Seminary. That is where he continues serving. A coveted speaker, Dr. Schmidt has addressed churches and conferences around the globe and throughout the Wesleyan Church.

Dr. Schmidt earned the Bachelor of Arts in Pastoral Ministry from Indiana Wesleyan University in 1979, the Master of Arts in Church Education from Calvin Theological Seminary in 1989, and the Doctor of Ministry from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in 1994. He has taught as an adjunct professor at Indiana Wesleyan University and Bethany Bible College.

He is the author of several books, including Accountability: Becoming People of Integrity (Wesley Press, 1991), Soul Management (Zondervan, 1996), Power Plays (Wesleyan Publishing House, 2006) and Ministry Velocity (Wesleyan Publishing House, 2010).

Dr. Schmidt and his wife, Jan, have three adult children.

08 Apr Matt Coppess Wins NCAA Bishop’s Challenge

Matt and Jodi Coppess and children.

Steve Dennie, Communications Director

For the second year, Bishop Phil Whipple created an NCAA bracket on ESPN and invited UB ministers, missionaries, and national office staff to participate. A total of 73 persons filled out brackets. Of those, 44 picked Kentucky to win, 11 picked Wisconsin, and 7 picked Duke. Six persons got the Final Four right, but none of them picked a Wisconsin vs. Duke final, and none of them picked Duke to win it all.

Bishop emeritus Paul Hirschy was solidly in the lead going into the Final Four. However, both of his teams (Kentucky and Michigan State) lost on Saturday, so Paul dropped out of contention.

The winner was a new guy: Matt Coppess. In October 2014, Matt became Pastor of Family Ministries at Heart O the Lakes UB church in Brooklyn, Mich. He finished with 1400 points, 30 points above second-place finisher James Hippensteel, Pastor of Congregational Care at The Well in Huntington, Ind.

Congratulations, Matt! And welcome to the United Brethren family!

Matt is an interesting guy. He grew up in Lansing, Mich., and for a good part of his childhood attended the UB church in Sunfield, Mich. In Lansing, he was part of Youth for Christ groups directed by another UB, Trent Bushnell.

Matt always wanted to become an officer in the military, and to play football at one of the military academies. His good grades and gridiron skills provided two choices: West Point, or the Air Force Academy. He says he chose West Point because his hero, George Patton, wasn’t in the Air Force.

Matt played offensive tackle for three years at West Point. He spent one summer serving at Fort Benning, in Georgia, as a drill sergeant.

Then, in a wrestling class, Matt injured his shoulder. Badly. He returned to Lansing to spend a year on medical leave, trying to rehab the shoulder, and then went back to West Point. Matt knew his shoulder was still messed up, but he tried to fake it. However, doctors saw through it, and said his shoulder wasn’t good enough for military life.

So, back to Michigan. He finished his studies at Michigan State, and embarked on 20 years with Youth for Christ. He started with ten years in Lansing, where he developed student leader curriculum and supervised both paid staff and volunteers. In 1999, he married Jodi Traynor, a 1996 Huntington University graduate with a degree in youth ministry. She served on staff with Lansing YFC for ten years, 1995-2005.

In 2005, after the birth of their first child, Jake, the Coppess family moved to Saginaw, where Matt served as executive director for Great Lakes Bay YFC. Cristin and Zach joined the family in 2006 and 2009.

After nine years in Saginaw, Matt took a YFC position in Tuscaloosa, Ala. But Matt grew weary of fundraising. After a year, he learned about a staff position open at Heart O the Lakes. He was familiar with the pastor, Kevin Cherry, who had previously pastored the Sunfield church. He applied…and there they are.

20 Feb UB History Course: May 4-5 in Akron, Ohio

A United Brethren History Course will be held May 4-5 in Akron, Ohio. This course is a requirement for ministerial licensing in the United Brethren denomination. However, people who just want to learn more about UB history are invited to attend.

During the past four years, 125 people have attended the course in 15 different locations.

Date: May 4-5, 2015 (Monday and Tuesday)
Time: 9 am – 4 pm each day
Location: Holiday Inn Express & Suites Airport, Akron, Ohio
Address: 898 Arlington Ridge East, Akron, OH 44512
Instructor: Daryl Elliott (right), senior pastor of Fountain UB church (Keyser, W. Va.).

Registration Cost

• $200, if you are seeking a ministerial license.
• $100 for everyone else.
• $20 for “Trials and Triumphs,” a history of the United Brethren church. ($14.95 for the book, $5.05 shipping for US, $12.95 international). The book will be sent from the national office. Or, stop by the office and pick up a copy, to save shipping. You MUST have a copy of the book for the class. Order a copy from Church Resources at the National Office by calling toll-free: 888-622-3019, ext 301.

Note: $50 discount if you pay fully in advance!

Course payment must be sent one week prior to the class, unless other arrangements are made. Send to:

United Brethren in Christ
302 Lake Street
Huntington, Ind. 46750

Make checks payable to “United Brethren in Christ.”

19 Feb 2015 UB Youth Workers Summit: April 27-30

Participants in the 2014 UB Youth Workers Summit.

This annual event is available to all paid youth ministry staff or the lead youth ministry volunteer in the church. About 25 youth workers typically attend.

Date: April 27-30, 2015
Location: Best Western Aku Tiki Inn,
2225 South Atlantic Avenue
Daytona Beach Shores, FL 32118

The Summit is a great time of networking with other youth leaders and being encouraged by others who are in the trenches of youth ministry. They enjoy the beach, the golf course, and incredibly beautiful weather, along with the chance to slow down and step away from the constant demands of youth ministry.

This year’s keynote speaker is Don Rosco. He will walk us through the life of Christ and how that can and should apply to our ministry today.

Registration

• Two persons in a room: $195 per person (whether it’s a spouse or another youth worker)
• One person in a room: $280 per person

You can register now. After April 1, the cost rises $50 and is on an availability-only basis. This is due to contracted arrangements with the hotel.

The registration fee includes meeting costs, lodging, breakfasts, and two “Special Treat” dinners–one hosted by Huntington University, the other by Bishop Phil Whipple.

You are responsible for:

• Transportation to and from Daytona
• Meals that are not covered (see above)
• Hotel incidentals

For complete information, go to UBTeens.org

14 Jan 2015 Cluster Leader Training

Todd Fetters opening up the gathering.

Bishop Phil Whipple and Dr. Sherilyn Emberton, president of Huntington University, spoke prior to the meal on Monday night.

Attaboy sang and led in worship on Monday night.

Cluster leaders fill out the Name Game.

Every January, the cluster leaders come to Huntington, Ind., for some training. This year, 17 of the 27 cluster leaders attended on January 12-13. The meeting was held at the Habecker Dining Commons at Huntington University.

The meeting began Monday evening. The person in charge of the meeting was Todd Fetters, director of National Ministries, whose responsibilities include overseeing the clusters. He opened the meeting. Bishop Phil Whipple gave a devotional, after which Dr. Sherilyn Emberton, president of Huntington University, spoke about the important relationship between the denomination and the college. Then it was time to eat.

Attaboy, a musical group affiliated with Huntington University, provided a half hour of music and worship. They described their new focus on ministering in public schools, and told of the success they’ve had already. They are making themselves available to churches.

The evening concluded with a “Thank You” time for Cathy Reich, administrative assistant to Bishop Whipple and Todd Fetters. Cathy interacts constantly with cluster leaders and other pastors, making all travel arrangements for them and making other contacts on behalf of the national office. Most of the cluster leaders had written words of appreciation. These were compiled and presented to Cathy. Three of the cluster leaders were asked to read their statements at the meeting.

After the meeting, a number of cluster leaders went to the home of Todd and Lisa Fetters to watch the national championship football game between Ohio State and Oregon.

On Tuesday morning, the group gathered at 8am for the actual training. The previous night, the cluster leaders were given a page with the photo of all 27 leaders, and a separate list of the names of the cluster leaders. To see how well they knew each other, they were asked to match names and faces. Those papers were turned in Monday night, and Cathy Reich “graded” them. Two persons got all of them correct: Rocky Spear, pastor of Mongul UB church (Shippensburg, Pa.), and Craig Burkholder, pastor of Hudson UB (Hudson, Ind.). They were both recognized first thing Tuesday morning and given a prize.

Mike Dittman, who heads a ministry called Haven of the Heart, was again (as in 2014) the main speaker. He addressed matters related to the pastor’s heart, and demonstrated how to lead a cluster group discussion.

After a buffet lunch at the university, the meeting concluded.

Below are a few photos from the Cluster Leader Training. Over 50 photos are included in an album on the United Brethren Facebook page.

28 Oct UB Pastors and Wives at the Holly Hill Food Pantry

Chuck McKeown, pastor of UBIC Holly Hill, led the group in prayer to start the day.

Prayer before starting a busy morning.

Senior pastors at work. L-r: Mike Caley (Byron Center, Mich.), Derek Thrush (Harrisburg, Pa.), Andy Sikora (Berea, Ohio), and Daryl Elliott (Keyser, W. Va.).

Polly Dunten, from First UB in Findlay, Ohio, in the sorting shed.

In the sorting shed. L-r: Gloria Woods, Marty Helman, and Dean Bentz.

Andy Sikora, pastor of ReNew Ministries (Berea, Ohio), loading a box into a vehicle.

A service project concluded the Pastors and Wives Summit held October 20-23, 2014, in Daytona, Fla. Everyone went to the nearby Holy Hill UB church to help with their food pantry. This is a huge operation, serving hundreds of people. The pantry is open every Tuesday and Thursday, Tuesday being the busier day. This was a Thursday, but there was plenty of work to do.

The group arrived at the church at 9 am. Chuck McKeown, pastor of UBIC Holly Hill, greeted everyone, led them in prayer, and gave them instructions. About half of the pastors and wives worked in an open-air building sorting food to be given out later that morning, while the other half worked in an enclosed building sorting food which would be taken elsewhere.

They have a great system in place. Food is sorted into banana boxes and placed on a conveyor belt, which takes them outside, where the boxes are placed on large carts. The carts are then rolled to a covered shelter. From 10 am to 1 pm, cars enter the property, with a lane going on each side of the covered shelter. Volunteers load the vehicles with the boxed food and other items, like cleaning supplies. The food recipients don’t even need to leave their vehicles.

Originally, the church opened the pantry for anyone. However, they were drawing people from all over the region, and it became unmanageable. So, they restricted it to persons from Holly Hill. As cars arrive, volunteers screen them to see if they are from Holly Hill and if they qualify for the free food.

It’s quite an operation, and it takes a large number of volunteers plus a lot–a LOT–of money. The church owns several large trucks (one of them refrigerated) which can pick up donated food and also take left-over food to other places.

The food pantry also serves hot meals to the homeless and prisoners–nearly 12,000 meals in 2013.

Some stats from 2013:

• Retail value of food given away: $2.2 million.
• Food boxes distributed: 36,816.
• Volunteer hours given: 25,000+.
• Total pounds of food distributed: 1.2 million.

Over 100 photos from the food pantry service project have been posted on the UB Facebook page.

27 Oct Pastors & Wives Summit 4 Underway in Daytona, Fla.

Around the table, l-r: Art and Deborah Page (Salem UB, Chambersburg, Pa.); Gary and Rhonda Dilley (College Park UB, Huntington, Ind.); Annette and Dennis Sites (Jerusalem Chapel, Churchville, Va.); Chris and Keri Little (Mt. Pleasant Church, Chambersburg, Pa.).

Around the table, l-r: Mark and Carla Wilson (Fowlerville UB, Fowlerville, Mich.); Jeremiah and Elisa Ketchum (Brown Corners UB, Clare, Mich.); Bishop Phil and Sandy Whipple; Matt McKeown (First UB, Holly Hill, Fla.).

Around the table, l-r: Jason and Mary Garwood (Colwood UB, Caro, Mich.); Lester and Linda Smith (Hillsdale UB, Hillsdale, Mich.); Marty and Amy Pennington (Mainstreet Church, Walbridge, Ohio); Lisa Fetters, wife of National Ministries director Todd Fetters.

The fourth, and final, Pastors Summit began Monday evening in Daytona Beach, Fla. They will meet through Thursday, October 30.

This event is for pastors and wives from our largest churches, those with an attendance exceeding 300. Last week, pastors and wives from churches of 150-300 attendance met at the same hotel along the ocean. Summit for pastors from churches under 150 attendance were held in April and May.

A total of 22 persons are attending this week. They include 9 pastoral couples, plus four persons from the UB National Office–Bishop Phil and Sandy Whipple, and National Ministries director Todd Fetters and his wife, Lisa.

The group began meeting with supper on October 27. After the meal, Matt McKeown, associate pastor of the United Brethren church in nearby Holly Hill, led the group in worship. Then Todd Fetters led a get-better-acquainted time, during which each person/couple told a bit about themselves.

Bishop Phil Whipple will speak to the group on Tuesday morning, and Marty Pennington, pastor of Mainstreet Church (Walbridge, Ohio), will lead a session on Wednesday morning.