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14 May

May 14, 2008 |

We need to step up leadership development, because there is a dearth of recognizable leadership across our denomination. With that in mind, three events are occurring during a three-week period. Two have already happened. The third started today.

1. Hit the Bullseye Conference (Lima, Ohio). We brought all of our cluster leaders to this two-day conference April 29-30. We registered 35 people through our office, and several other UBs came on their own.

2. Drive Conference (Atlanta, Ga.). For the second year, we took a group of pastors of our largest churches to the Drive Conference, hosted by Andy Stanley’s church in Georgia.

3. Train the Trainer (Huntington, Ind.). Tim Elmore, who has been associated with John Maxwell for a long time, has his own leadership development organization. He recrafted material which he uses in the business world. We invited 20 people to take part in this event:

  • Howard Beaver (Mount Olivet UB, Chambersburg, Pa.)
  • John Beukema (King Street Church, Chambersburg, Pa.)
  • Darrel Bosworth (Kilpatrick UB, Woodland, Mich.)
  • Kelly Burnside (Gaines UB, Caledonia, Mich.)
  • Mike Caley (Banner of Christ, Byron Center, Mich.)
  • Owen Gordon (Jamaica Bible College, Jamaica)
  • John Cole (Northland UB, Traverse City, Mich.)
  • Gary Dilley (College Park Church, Huntington, Ind.)
  • Milton Herrold (Orrstown UB, Orrstown, Pa.)
  • Gordon Kettel (church planter, Grand Ledge, Mich.)
  • Kent Koteskey (Emmanuel UB, Fort Wayne, Ind.)
  • Chris Little (Mount Pleasant, Chambersburg, Pa.)
  • Michael Longfellow (New Life, Chanute, Kansas)
  • Marty Pennington (Mainstreet Church, Walbridge, Ohio)
  • Greg Reed (Morning Star, Kokomo, Ind.)
  • Pat Daugherty (Atlantic Avenue UB, Franklin, Pa.).
  • Winston Smith (superintendent, Jamaica Conference)
  • Phil Whipple (Colwood UB, Caro, Mich.)
  • Ray Seilhamer (New Hope Church, Huntington, Ind.)
  • Larry Vander Laan (Gaines UB, Caledonia, Mich.)

08 May

May 8, 2008 |

oneprayer.jpgA couple days ago, an email to the UB constituency mentioned the OnePrayer.com emphasis being directed out of LifeChurch in Oklahoma City. This is a very unique thing that has been promoted almost entirely through the internet. And it’s free.

One Prayer will occur for four weeks in June, focusing on the question, “If you could pray one prayer for the church, what would it be?” A number of the most prominent pastors in America are providing video sermons to answer that question, using the title “Make us ___.” Make us one, make us creative, make us dangerous, make us obedient, make us wise, make us audacious–those are some of the sermons available.

As of today, 720 churches are signed up, and the list grows by the hour. At least four UB churches plan to participate:

  • New Hope Community Church (Bryan, Ohio).
  • Eagle Quest (Columbia City, Ind.).
  • Anchor Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.).
  • Grace UB (Sherkston, Ontario).

We’re not pushing this as a denomination–just letting you know about it.
To participate, you need the ability to download and show a video in Quicktime or AVI format. You can read all about it at the OnePrayer.com site. The video by Craig Groeschel explains everything.

06 May

May 6, 2008 |

During April, Pat Jones and I held “Hang with the Bishop” meetings in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. These were agenda-less meetings.

People showed up, we asked them what they wanted to talk about, and that was our agenda. About 70 people came for the last meeting, held at the East Washington UB church in Ashley, Michigan. We plan to hold a couple more, and will let you know when and where.

One question people wanted to know at each place was, “How are we doing as a denomination?”

It depends on who you talk to and on what day. We’re making progress slowly. We have churches that haven’t reported any conversions for a long time. There are barren altars and barren hearts, and yet the people are satisfied. We have so many places where people are being disobedient to the Great Commission. In some places, the Great Commission is not even on their radar.

But in other places, exciting things are happening. There are people in churches catching the vision. That’s exciting to me. We’re seeing some good fruit coming from the consultations we have held, and you’ll be hearing much more about those. So I’m optimistic about what God wants to do. 

30 Apr

April 30, 2008 |

Ron Ramsey at Hit the Bullseye

Ron Ramsey speaking to cluster leaders on Tuesday night, April 29.

Most of the cluster leaders, plus several Healthy Ministry Resources staff, are attending the Hit the Bullseye Conference in Lima, Ohio. It started yesterday and ends today. We registered 35 people through our office, mostly cluster leaders, and some other UBs came on their own. So the UB church has a good representation here.

Altogether, there are probably 350-400 people attending the conference.

This conference is led by Dr. Paul Borden, from whom we have learned the consultation process. Pat Jones has conducted six consultations thus far, with several other UB ministers–sometimes cluster leaders–helping him as part of each consultation team.

On Tuesday night, after the evening workshops, Pat, Steve Dennie, and I met with the cluster leaders for about 90 minutes. Pat and I went over several issues relating to the work of cluster leaders, particularly the process for stationing ministers, and Steve gave a brief presentation about the Healthy Ministry Resources branding.

14 Jan

January 14, 2008 |

Annette Sites, pastor’s wife at Jerusalem Chapel UB (Churchville, Va.) and a member of the denominational Women’s Ministry Team, is the keynote speaker at the annual Ladies Breakaway Retreat. The retreat will be held March 14-15 at Rhodes Grove Camp in Chambersburg, Pa. This inter-denominational retreat has been happening for over ten years. This year’s theme is “A Balancing Act,” based on the verses in Galatians about carrying each other’s burdens.

Registration begins on Friday, March 14, at 4:30 p.m. The retreat concludes at 6 p.m. on Saturday. The cost is $90 per person for a full room (4 persons). If interested, contact Jeanie Helman for a brochure by email or by phone at 717.263.0659. The registration deadline is March 7.

07 Jan

January 7, 2008 |

“Leading Change: Challenges and Opportunities for the 21st Century Church,” is the title of the next continuing education class being offered through the Ecclesiastes Institute, a ministry of Rhodes Grove Camp in Chambersburg, Pa. The class will be led by Anthony Blair, dean of Academic Affairs at Easter College (Philadelphia, Pa.) and a UB minister, and Jo Ann Kunz, a member of the pastoral staff of Hosanna Christian Fellowship. The text Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church, will be used as a tool and is available to purchase through Rhodes Grove. A buffet lunch will be provided by the camp.

Date: Monday, February 9, 2008
Time: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

The classes are offered in partnership with Lancaster Bible College and qualify for a .5 CEU rating and an accompanying certificate.

23 Oct

October 23, 2007 |

The course “Effective Christian Leadership” will be taught November 6 at Rhodes Grove Campground in Chambersburg, Pa. This course is part of the camp’s continuing education ministry, The Ecclesiastes Institute. The course, which involves essential leadership components that today’s Christian leaders need, will be taught by Rev. Carl Shank, formerly on the pastoral staff at Antrim Brethren in Christ church and now ministering in Mount Joy, Pa. Participants can earn .5 Continuing Education Unit from Lancaster Bible College. The time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. You can register online, or call the camp office: 717.375.4162. Registrations are requested by October 29. A buffet lunch is included.

11 Sep

September 11, 2007 |

laytraining_300.jpgA series of training events for laypersons will be held in five different locations during September and October. They are designed for anyone serving in some type of local church ministry. The training will include principles that can be applied to any size church and to any segment of ministry.
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07 Sep

September 7, 2007 |

laytraining_300.jpgA series of training events for laypersons will be held in five different locations during September and October. They are designed for anyone serving in some type of local church ministry. The training will include principles that can be applied to any size church and to any segment of ministry.

Each event will be held on a Saturday from 9 am to 3 pm.

  • September 22: Mount Pleasant Church (Chambersburg, Pa.)
  • September 29: Mainstreet Church (Walbridge, Ohio)
  • October 6: Eden Church (Mason, Mich.)
  • October 13: Lancaster UB Church (Lancaster, Ohio)
  • October 20: Emmanuel Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
  • October 27: Atlantic Avenue UB church (Franklin, Pa.)

The schedule will be the same at each location, with these four sessions:

9:00 – 10:30: The Non-Negotiables for All Churches
10:45 – Noon: Structuring Your Ministry to be Effective
1:30 – 2:30: Push Backs to Effective Ministry
2:30 – 3:00: Question and Answer time

The cost is free (though lunch is on your own at nearby restaurants). You can register online, or email the names of people from your church to Bishop Ron Ramsey’s administrative assistant.

Training for United Brethren youth workers will occur at the same time. This is a whole different track. The youth training will occur in the same locations as the lay training events, and will follow the same schedule.