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02 May

May 2, 2014 |

thai-truck-568Aside from focusing on language and culture studies, Bryan and Emily Gerlach have begun work with a local ministry called the HUG Project. In addition, they worship regularly with a local Thai church and have begun to host short-term teams from North America. With growth in each of these areas, the need for a vehicle is becoming more apparent.

The vehicle would be primarily used for:

  • Transporting Thai students to/from the HUG Project Education Center and other activities.
  • Transporting United Brethren missions groups. They have hosted two groups already, including one with ten people.
  • Transporting HUG Project team members to/from meetings and trainings.
  • Occasional outreach trips to the mountain villages.
  • Potential to help the local Thai church they attend with outreach and in-church functions.
  • An enclosed vehicle would also help them during the upcoming rainy season (July – October) and when transporting anything larger than a bag of groceries.

Upon the recommendation of local missionaries, local leadership and Thai Christian friends, Global Ministries has decided a truck would best suit current and future ministry needs. The intention is to add a cab cover and bench seats in the bed for transporting people. In Thailand, it is very common for people to ride in the back of trucks.

The goal is to raise $14,000, preferably by the end of May (start of the rainy season).

If you would like to donate toward this project,
 please send your gift to:

Global Ministries
302 Lake St.
Huntington, IN 46750

Please write
 “2-8998 Th. Spec. Proj. – Vehicles”
 on the memo line.

02 May

May 2, 2014 |

Holly Lundberg, McGuire Bend UB church (Dayton, Iowa)

On Good Friday, we were blessed to have with us Jeff Bleijerveld, the Director of Global Ministries. After enjoying a potluck supper, Jeff shared with us the work and goals of Global Ministries. We traveled through the different countries and learned of the mission work going on in each one. It is such a big world with an even bigger God!

On Easter Sunday, Dan Carrow was our lay speaker. He spoke about how Jesus conquered death.

02 May

May 2, 2014 |

sue-ellspermann200Sue Ellspermann (right), Indiana’s Lt. Governor, will deliver the Huntington University Commencement address on May 17. Ellspermann was elected to that position in November 2012. In her position, she manages six state agencies and serves as president of the Indiana Senate.

The Commencement ceremony will be held at 2:30 pm in the fieldhouse of the Merillat Complex at 2:30 p.m. The graduate hooding ceremony will occur at 10:45 am at the Church of the Nazarene in Huntington (1555 Flaxmill Road). The university will award master’s, bachelor’s and associate degrees to 288 graduates.

The day of Commencement also will include a breakfast for graduates and their parents, an awards ceremony for Professional Programs students, and the president’s luncheon.

02 May

May 2, 2014 |

Francis George, Emeric young UBC Church (Freetown, Sierra Leone)

Easter at our church was very exciting, starting from Good Friday, when we had planned to paint our church. The board decided to do the painting on Saturday. Some youths and young adults offered themselves to do the painting, and the board chairman was their to supervise. We painted from morning until evening just to see our church beautiful while celebrating the resurrection of our savior.

On Easter the church was full with old members who have not been coming for services for a long time.We really thank God and hope they will stay forever.

02 May

May 2, 2014 |

Tracy Sturgill, Olivet UB church (New Lebanon, Ohio)

Pastor Michael Sturgill (right) from Olivet UB was very happy to welcome Bishop Phil Whipple (and his wife Sandie) as our speaker at our afternoon Easter Sunday service. Our musical group, The Southern-Aires, provided southern gospel music for our congregation. This was followed by a nice dinner.

Our cluster and cluster leader William Flamer helped make this possible. Two other pastors in our cluster attended: Pastor Ed Harvey, (Lighthouse Community Church in Dayton) and Pastor Roland Albert (Park Layne UB Church in Dayton), along with some members of their congregation. The cluster also helped by passing out flyers in the area. This made the service a great time for outreach.

01 May

May 1, 2014 |
Bishop Phil Whipple speaking to the group on Monday night.

Bishop Phil Whipple speaking to the group on Monday night.

Dan Kopp (left), pastor of NorthPointe UB church (Lewis Center, Ohio), with William and Mary Flamer, ordained ministers from Philadelphia, Pa.

Dan Kopp (left), pastor of NorthPointe UB church (Lewis Center, Ohio), with William and Mary Flamer, ordained ministers from Philadelphia, Pa.

The Pastors Summit attendees.

The Pastors Summit attendees.

Drawings for prizes were a part of each session. Charles Milliken, pastor of the church in Franklintown, Pa., reads a name while Todd Fetters holds up the prize options.

Drawings for prizes were a part of each session. Charles Milliken, pastor of the church in Franklintown, Pa., reads a name while Todd Fetters holds up the prize options.

Bishop Emeritus Ray Seilhamer, who now pastors New Hope UB church in Huntington, Ind., closed the Summit with a prayer time.

Bishop Emeritus Ray Seilhamer, who now pastors New Hope UB church in Huntington, Ind., closed the Summit with a prayer time.

Steve Dennie, Communications Director

Four Pastors Summits will be held during 2014. The first was held earlier this week, Monday – Wednesday. It was for senior pastors and spouses from churches with an average attendance under 150.

A total of 44 persons attended, including 39 pastors and spouses from seven different states–Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and Kansas. Yes, Kansas. Michael Mattox, pastor of New Life UB church in Chanute, Kansas, came all the way out. Michael was assigned to that church at the end of 2013.

Todd Fetters, Director of National Ministries, spearheaded the event. Although he didn’t lead a session, he organized everything–the schedule, the coaching combinations, the music, etc.–and emceed the sessions. His wife, Lisa, led a session for pastors’ spouses–about a dozen of them–on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.

The Pastors Summit opened with supper on Monday night, followed by the opening session. Mark Young, pastor of worship at Mount Pleasant UB church (Chambersburg, Pa.), led the group in worship.

Bishop Phil Whipple was the speaker for the three sessions. He opened on Monday night by telling about his journey as a minister, from his call to ministry through serving various churches both before and after joining the United Brethren denomination. It was fascinating stuff. On Tuesday he addressed principles he has learned along the way, and then spoke primarily about brokenness.

It was a rainy few days, so folks stuck pretty closely to the Miller Lodge, with its hotel-like accommodations. However, with Tuesday afternoon and evening free, some of the attendees ventured out to Gettysburg (45 minutes away), or simply to the mall or other local sites.

Coaching was a big part of the Pastors Summit. Pastors could sign up for a coaching session with one of the five trained coaches, all UB ministers: Dan Kopp, Greg Voight, Rocky Spear, Mike Brown, and Greg Helman. They had two sessions with their coach–an hour on Tuesday afternoon, and an hour Wednesday morning. These proved to be very helpful. Coaching is not counseling, and it’s not being told what you need to do. Rather, the person comes with an issue or situation, and the coach, through questions, helps the person come to a resolution of some kind–a way to deal with the situation. The coachees expressed much appreciation for what they gained from the sessions.

The Pastors Summit ended Wednesday morning with a group session during which pastors were invited to give a brief (no longer than 4 minutes) testimony which completed one of these statements:

  • Because of Jesus….
  • If it hadn’t been for Jesus….

The group was continuously in transition, since coaching sessions were going on at the same time; every hour, some ministers would leave and others would return. A fluid format was needed, and this proved to be just the thing.

All but two of the ministers presented something, a slice of testimony from their lives. It was most definitely a highlight of the event, as the ministers revealed interesting, occasionally surprising, and sometimes soul-baring parts of their lives, and explained how Jesus had worked in specific situations.

Another Pastors Summit, also for pastors of churches under 150 attendance, will be held next week at the Gull Lake conference center near Kalamazoo, Mich. The same number of people are signed up–about 45 total.

(Click on the photos below for a larger view.)

29 Apr

April 29, 2014 |

tabernacle-land1000

Steve Dennie, Communications Director

You’re looking at sacred ground. I know, it looks like just a vacant field, which it is. Now. But a large white tabernacle once filled that space, and oh, the memories.

For 90 years, starting in 1917, the tabernacle was the centerpiece of Rhodes Grove Camp, the United Brethren camp in Chambersburg, Pa. The tabernacle eventually became unusable, structurally unsound, beyond repair, and was torn down in 2006. But in its day, thousands and THOUSANDS of children, and adults, walked the long aisles to the front of the tabernacle, knelt at the altar, and committed their lives to Christ. Probably hundreds of them—it’s impossible to know—became pastors and missionaries.

I was one of those children. It was June 1966, during Junior Camp, just after my 4th grade year. I walked probably eight rows to the front, and knelt across from a counselor, who happened to be my dad.

“Do you know what you’re doing, Steve?” he asked.

“I think so,” I told him.

Dad explained a few things, and then prayed with me, his firstborn.

Rev. Burton Lange was the evangelist. A few years ago, when I reminded him that he was preaching the night I was saved, he told me, quite correctly, “With your background, if it wasn’t me, it would have been someone else.” To be quite honest, I’m not sure anything Burt Lange said did the trick. I think it was just my time. I was ready.

Dozens of other kids made commitments to Christ that week—just that one week. Several more camps followed that summer. Multiply by 90 years. Imagine.

Forty-five minutes away is Gettysburg, a battlefield dotted with monuments to what happened there—fierce firefights, acts of heroism, turning points, valiant stands. Gettysburg is one of my favorite places. Been there many times. It’s pretty, but nothing particularly unusual—regular rolling countryside. But something epic occurred there.

Perhaps a monument should be erected in that field, where the tabernacle once stood. On this ground, children, men, and women wrestled mightily with God’s pull on their lives. On this ground, decisions were made which totally changed the trajectory of lives, families, careers, churches. On this ground, epic battles occurred between Good and Evil, and the Good Guys usually won. On this ground, God touched hearts—over and over and over—and people responded, “Yes, Lord.”

Kids still find Christ at Rhodes Grove, of course. Salvation doesn’t require a tabernacle. When God speaks, when He reaches out and touches your heart, you remember it, whether you’re in a historic tabernacle or sitting in a car. Hallowed grounds are being created elsewhere at Rhodes Grove, and those places will one day deserve monuments of their own.

But my heart is in that vacant field. I’m at Rhodes Grove now, attending a Pastors Summit. My room overlooks that field. And I am remembering.

23 Apr

April 23, 2014 |

The Global Ministries Prayer Guide is a couple years old now. This monthly e-letter goes by email to about 160 subscribers.

It’s just a single page with a simple concept–two prayer needs involving Global Ministries staff, two prayer needs involving the United Brethren international fields, and two prayer needs involving the world at large.

The April edition went out yesterday, April 23.

23 Apr

April 23, 2014 |

Alice Belen, Heritage UB church (Dansville, Mich.)

We had a full day on Saturday morning and afternoon on April 19 with about 240 kids gathering Easter eggs on the Heritage church grounds and then going inside the youth center for entertainment by a magician and munching on a bag of popcorn. By 3:30 p.m., we were more than ready to head home.

Then we were back Easter Sunday morning at 10 a.m. for breakfast, sitting family style while Pastor Cal Hodgson brought a stirring sermon on the reason for Easter. We are a small, growing church in a very small community and thought we had set up enough tables and chairs for the expected service, but several more tables had to be set up in order to have room for all those who had come to worship with us. What a wonderful problem that was for us. All in all, a wonderful and meaningful Easter Sunday!

23 Apr

April 23, 2014 |

Margarita Mojica, Clearview UB church (Goshen, Ind.)

We have the great opportunity in our church to have two congregations but one church. Let me explain: We have an English-only speaking congregation and a Spanish-speaking congregation (some of us are bilingual), but yet we are ONE. Although we normally have separate times for our services, it’s always a pleasure when we can get together. And that we did! We got together for Resurrection Sunrise Service at 7 am, praising our risen Savior in song and adoration! What a blessing to be able to praise the Lord in different languages!