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11 Aug

August 11, 2025 |

We are excited to announce that the powerful and inspiring worship services from this year’s National Conference are now available to view online!

Whether you were with us in Fort Wayne and want to relive the moments that impacted you the most, or if you were not able to join us and want to experience them for the first time, we invite you to visit the National Conference event page to take them in. You will find all four services in their entirety, but each video also contains chapter markers to allow you to easily find the elements of each service you may be most interested in viewing.

These worship times are always a focal point of our time together at conference, and we hope they will be a source of encouragement and inspiration for you now.

Click to watch now.

30 Jul

July 30, 2025 |

This year at National Conference, Rob Wegner, our keynote speaker, along with Andy Sikora, our director of church multiplication, introduced us to The Movement System — a strategic training system to help churches reproduce at critical points of multiplication. If you missed those sessions or would like a refresher, they will be available soon.

As a follow up to those discussions, we are launching three catalysts for pastors and church leaders who are ready to take the next steps toward multiplication in one of three areas — reproducing disciples, reproducing leaders and reproducing churches.

Each catalyst is made up of…

  • Eight Sessions Over Two Months:  A focused, short-term commitment designed to build lasting disciple-making habits—without feeling like a semester-long course.
  • A Reverse-Classroom:  Engage 2 hours/week through a user-friendly online course with video teaching, readings, journaling, and practical exercises. Come ready to apply what you’re learning—personally and missionally (Luke 14:25–34).
  • Weekly Coaching Huddles:  Gather in small cohorts (max 20 people) for support, accountability, and coaching. You’ll experience the same reproducible model we’re training you to lead (Hebrews 10:25).
  • After the Catalyst:  We help you stay supported and challenged by connecting you with other pastors from our denomination through our Multipliers Network.

These catalysts are launching soon, so register now if you are interested in being part of one.

Learn more about The Movement System, the three catalysts that are kicking off soon and the dates and times for each on our Movement System Training page.

Questions about The Movement System, or about the catalysts being offered, can be directed to Andy Sikora.

15 Jul

July 15, 2025 |

The Grand Wayne Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana is full of energy as people begin to arrive for the 2025 United Brethren Nationsl Conference. It’s good to see so many pastors, delegates and UB families walking the familiar halls of the convention center and catching up on life and ministry since the last time they saw one another.

The conference officially kicks off this evening at 6:30 with worship service lead by Chris and Bethany Solyntjes from Renew Communities and featuring keynote speaker, Rob Wegner. If you are unable to join us in person for worship, you are invited to join us via livestream. This link will be available for every worship service this week — Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 6:30 pm and Friday at 9:00 am. Live streams will begin 5 minutes before each service with a welcome and conclude with an interview after service with our keynote speaker.

You can also keep an eye on our facebook page for photos and videos of the conference as it happens.

Are you ready? Let’s move!

10 Jul

July 10, 2025 |

As many of you prepare for National Conference next week, we wanted to make you aware of a few updates we have made to the downloadable reports, primarily dealing with the numbering of those reports. The document titled, List of Reports, is accurate and has the reports numbered correctly. However the reports they refer to have been numbered incorrectly until now. They are being corrected and will be re-uploaded by noon today.

One other change has been made to the Rules and Procedures page. The date has been changed in item 35 from 2022 to 2024.

We apologize for any confusion and inconvenience this may have caused, but we want to ensure we are all working from the same documents when we arrive for the business session next Wednesday morning.

10 Jun

June 10, 2025 |

 

On Wednesday, June 11 at 1:00 pm EDT, Bishop Todd Fetters will interview Rob Wegner, our keynote speaker for Tuesday and Wednesday nights at National Conference. This will be a great opportunity to get to know a little more about Rob, his family, and his passion for ministry. We will also ask Rob about a few ways our United Brethren family can pray for him as he prepares for the conference.

The interview will be streamed live on Facebook at 1:00 EDT. If you are unable to watch it live, it will remain on that page until conference.

National Conference registration is open until June 30, but the discounted hotel rooms being held for the conference expire in the next couple of days.

09 May

May 9, 2025 |

In order to help delegates prepare for conference, we are hosting a series of regional preview meetings. During these preview sessions, Bishop Fetters will share the proposals that will be presented during the business session at NC25. While no votes will be taken at these sessions, they do provide a space for more interaction and dialogue than would otherwise be possible at the national conference business session where the voting does take place.

The preview session packet is now available for download, and includes the following:

  • Nominating Committee Report (ELT and Bishop)
  • ELT Candidate Bios
  • Discipline Revision Proposals

The Discipline revision proposals primarily focus on the work of a task force enlisted by Bishop Fetters to better define church as described in the UB Discipline. The video linked below is the first in a series we will share leading up to conference related to this work. This first video explains more about why this task force was assembled, the process they followed, and the proposals they are making as a result of their work.

Click here to register for a preview session in your area.

Click here to register for National Conference.

30 Apr

April 30, 2025 |

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word… (2 Tim 4.1-2a)

—————————

God calls people from every generation to lead his church.  While we trust God to be faithful for tomorrow as he has in the past, we can’t be passive. God calls us to partner with him in the calling, equipping and sending of Christian leaders to build the Church. This has been a key part of the United Brethren’s past and we long to make it an integral part of our future.

We invite you to join in this work.

In the month of May, we are inviting the United Brethren Church to pray for the next generation of Christian leaders. Pray on your own, with your family, and in your church and small group gatherings. There is a need for more pastors and leaders, and we know the first critical step to identifying those individuals is prayer.

Please join us.

What can you pray for?

  • Pray that God would continue to make his call into ministry clear to the next generation.
  • Pray that people would have the courage and faith to respond to God’s call.
  • Pray that the Church would help identify the call in people.
  • Pray that the Church would equip, train, and encourage those called into ministry.

Keep an eye on our Facebook page for video reminders and specific prayer prompts on Thursdays throughout the month.

Thanks for joining in this prayer focus for the month of May. We are excited to see how God moves!

Article submitted by:

Ryan Koch

Senior Pastor, Hopewell Church

 

09 Apr

April 9, 2025 |

Roger Reeck, a longtime United Brethren missionary serving with Wycliffe Bible Translators, passed away March 28, 2025, in San Antonio, Texas. A celebration of life will be held at 8:00 p.m. on April 21, 2025, at the Bethel Evangelical Education Center in La Ceiba, Honduras.

Roger and Marilyn Reeck met at Fort Wayne Bible College in Fort Wayne, Ind. Marilyn was born in Canada, but spent much of her childhood in Honduras, where her parents, Archie and Maisie Cameron, were United Brethren missionaries. Roger and Marilyn were married in 1971 in Honduras, and two weeks later began linguistic training to become Bible translators with Wycliffe.

Their first assignment was with the Zapotec language spoken in southern Mexico. There was no written language, so Roger crafted an alphabet, and then they taught the people to read in their own language. They spent 19 years on that project. Mark, the first Bible book to be translated, was published in 1981, and more books followed.

During those years in Mexico, four daughters were born to Roger and Marilyn. In 1990, the family moved to La Ceiba, Honduras, where they worked on the Garifuna Bible translation and could also care for Marilyn's aging parents. They returned to Mexico in 1999 for the dedication of the Zapotec New Testament. In 2002, back in Honduras, they dedicated the Garifuna Bible. In the years ahead, they also created a Garifuna version of the Jesus film, which was shown up and down the Caribbean coast, along with sundry other materials.

From 2006-2021, Roger and Marilyn served as translation consultants, starting with a project in Guinea Bissau, West Africa. That required many trips across the Atlantic. Other consulting projects opened up—in Mozambique, Belize, Venezuela, Brazil, Columbia, Surinam, Nicaragua, Trinidad, and Aruba. After Covid hit in March 2020, all consulting work was done via Zoom.

Today, tens of thousands of people can read the Bible in their own language because of Roger and Mariyn Reeck.

Instead of flowers, it is suggested that you consider donating to a future Bible translation project which was close to Roger's heart. Information can be found on the Everloved.com online obituary page.

(submitted by Steve Dennie)

18 Feb

February 18, 2025 |

Good resources can be hard to find, but there are a few coming soon, and one recently released, from pastors and friends of the United Brethren Church. You can find more information about each of these resources below, including where to find them and how to purchase them.

Recently Released:

Death, Life, and Discipleship: Seven Ways Jesus Defeated Death Before the Resurrection

This book explores Jesus' victories over challenges like ignorance, sin, and Satan, offering a deeper understanding of His power. Each chapter examines a specific victory and draws practical principles for discipleship. It encourages personal spiritual growth and equips readers to make disciples themselves, fostering a deeper understanding of holiness and a Christ-centered worldview. This is a fantastic resource for personal and small group study. The author of Death, Life, and Discipleship, Victor Collins is the Associate Pastor at Kilpatrick Church in Woodland, Michigan. Purchase here through Amazon.

Coming Soon:

Grit & Joy: Help for Bewildered Families of Teens

In today's fast-paced world, teens often crave something deeper than fleeting distractions. Grit & Joy guides parents and mentors in cultivating lasting, authentic faith in young people. It blends practical advice, compelling stories, and insights from social and brain science with biblical wisdom, providing a roadmap for helping teens develop a meaningful relationship with Christ. This book is a valuable resource for anyone wanting to help teens find enduring joy. Dr. Dave Rahn was an influential professor at Huntington University, has been a featured speaker at UB Youth and Associate Pastor Summits, and will be the keynote speaker for youth workers attending the UB Youth Camp this summer. Co-author, Ebonie Davis is a veteran youth worker, researcher, and author who received her M.A. in Youth Ministry Leadership at Huntington University. The release date for this book is February 25 but you can preorder your copy here.

Essentials of United Brethren History: 10 Events, 10 Bishops, and 10 Issues You Should Know About

This is the latest release coming soon from Steve Dennie, our beloved United Brethren historian, author, and former communications director who served at the UB National Office for 45 years. Essentials of United Brethren History covers the denomination's history from its 1767 beginnings to the present day. Divided into sections on key events, influential bishops, and important issues, it tells the story of what has been important and what remains important to the United Brethren Church and its people throughout the years. This book is a valuable tool for anyone wanting to learn more about the United Brethren Church. It will be available this summer at the UB National Conference. You can find Steve's other works including All for Christ - Volumes 1 and 2 and Against the Blighting Curse here.

We hope these resources are helpful in your family, small groups, and discipleship ministries.

15 Jan

January 15, 2025 |

In July 2025, Fort Wayne, Indiana will host the U.S. National Conference of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. Beginning on Tuesday, the 15th, delegates will gather from UB churches across the country to worship, learn, and celebrate together. The business session of the conference will take place on Wednesday, July 16, in which delegates will discuss a variety of proposals, including potential changes to Part V of the U.S. Discipline. Bishop Fetters has formed a select task force to review, study, and recommend relevant changes to this section. 

Proposals, which must come from a group or official entity (e.g. local church board, denominational leadership team, denominational task force, clusters, etc.), must be submitted by March 31, 2025, to the Bishop’s office. The Bishop and the Executive Leadership Team will then be responsible for processing and approving each proposal and presenting them to the conference. The timeline from submission to presentation at the conference is as follows:

  • March 31, 2025 – Deadline for submitting proposals to the Bishop’s office.
  • April 15, 2025 – Proposals are finalized and formatted for the Executive Leadership Team.
  • April 29, 2025 – The ELT reviews the proposals.
  • May 1, 2025 – A draft of the proposals, as approved by the ELT, is posted on the conference website.
  • May 2025 – The draft is discussed in regional meetings. Suggested revisions are noted and, at the Bishop’s discretion, revisions are made to the proposals.
  • June 13, 2025 – A final version of all proposals is posted on the conference website.

 

How to Submit Proposals for Revising the Discipline:

  1. Submit the exact wording you would like to see used (rather than just a general idea).
  2. If it is new content, state where you suggest placing it (chapter and paragraph number).
  3. If it is a revision to existing content, state the chapter and paragraph number to be revised.
  4. Include a brief statement of the rationale for making the revision. A sentence or two may be sufficient, depending on the nature of the revision.

 

How to Submit Other Proposals:

United Brethren members may submit proposals that reach beyond revisions to the Discipline regarding the work and ministry of the U.S. National Conference. These proposals must also be submitted by a group (not an individual) and should include specific wording describing what you want to happen.

 

How Proposals will be Processed

  • All proposals will be channeled to the Bishop’s Office.
  • The Bishop will determine the best way to process proposals for eventual presentation to the national conference. Proposals may be referred to other leadership groups, and new committees and task forces may be formed.
  • All proposals will be presented at the April 2025 Executive Leadership Team meeting.
  • Proposals will be passed along to the National Conference delegates, either as proposals for consideration on the floor or as supplemental proposals. A supplemental proposal will not be considered on the floor unless delegates move to consider it.
  • No new proposals will be added after the April 2025 ELT meeting. However, revisions can still be made at the Bishop’s discretion until June 13, and later if he feels it is necessary.

 

Send proposals to Bishop Todd Fetters at: [email protected]. Or mail to:

Bishop Todd Fetters
302 Lake Street
Huntington, IN 46750