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25 Feb

February 25, 2014 |
Robert Rogers (click to enlarge)

Robert Rogers (click to enlarge)

Robert Rogers will share his testimony of “No Regrets” at Eagle Quest UB church (Columbia City, Ind.).

Date: March 6, 2014
Time: 7 pm.
Location: Eagle Quest Church, 1120 N. SR 109, Columbia City, IN 46725

In August 2003, Robert’s wife and four children died in a flash flood in Kansas. The family was returning from a wedding in Wichita when a six-foot wall of water inundated their van and swept them off the highway. His eight years as a father and 12 years as a husband came to an end.

Soon after, Robert resigned from his engineering career and began sharing his story, teaching people to “Live a Life of No Regrets.” He has remarried, and once again has two sons and two daughters.

Robert is an accomplished worship leader, pianist, and songwriter. He has shared his story on ABC, CBS, CNN, Montel Williams, the Billy Graham TV Crusade, and Focus on the Family.

24 Feb

February 24, 2014 |

Steve Smith (right), pastor of Lake View UB church (Camden, Mich.), had a scare last Friday (February 21) when he underwent a heart-related procedure. His wife, Pam, sent this email on February 20, explaining the situation and asking for prayer:

“Before we left for vacation, we asked for prayer for Steve as it was discovered when he went in to the doctor because of the flu that his heart was beating out of rhythm, called Atrial Fibrillation. He was to go to the cardiologist the day before we left for vacation, but with the large snowfall the night before, were unable to do so. The appointment was rescheduled for Tuesday, February 18.

“After consulting with the doctor, Steve will be going into the Hillsdale Hospital this Friday morning at 8:30 AM to have a procedure called cardio version. The goal is to give his heart enough of a shock to put it back into rhythm. Because his heart is out of rhythm, it is weakening his heart function. Please pray this will do what the doctor believes will restore his heart rhythm.”

God is good. Afterwards, Pam sent out this email: “Things went well. His heart is back in rhythm. Keeping him over night for observation. Thanks for your prayers!”

21 Feb

February 21, 2014 |
Dr. Jack Heller leading a discussion of Shakespeare with inmates at Pendleton prison.

Dr. Jack Heller leading a discussion of Shakespeare with inmates at Pendleton prison.

After volunteering with Shakespeare Behind Bars for seven years and conducting four different summer seminars with their program, Dr. Jack Heller (right) decided it was time to pursue his own prison program in Indiana. Heller is assistant professor of English at Huntington University.

This fall, Heller began a program to guide inmates through the study and performance of Shakespeare at Pendleton, a maximum-security prison near Indianapolis that has over 1800 inmates.

The program seeks to increase the cultural opportunities of the inmates while using Shakespeare to help them re-examine their lives.

Currently, the inmates are working on “Coriolanus,” the last tragedy written by Shakespeare with anger as the central theme. Because this program is so new, the men are currently approaching the play as a readers group. They will eventually work toward a performance of some kind.

“I would like for the men to wrestle with what roles they are assuming,” he said, explaining that many times when an inmate chooses a character, he can become conflicted because it will resonate with his past life.

Heller said that he would like to take groups of Huntington University students to Pendleton like he did with the Shakespeare Behind Bars program.

“You realize the purpose for visiting the prisoner is what we can do for them,” Heller said. “And that’s important, but it’s also about what we can learn about ourselves, and that can be our motivation to keep involved in the inmates’ lives.”

20 Feb

February 20, 2014 |

The new UB sign The new UB sign

On February 19, a new sign was installed outside the national office in Huntington, Ind. It incorporates the new United Brethren logo unveiled at national conference last summer. The sign has already been getting rave reviews. (As you can see, we still have plenty of snow on the ground.)

previous-signs500

The original sign (top) dates back to the 1970s. It was replaced in 2008 with the Healthy Ministry Resources sign. That year, the national office went through a branding process, and adopted the name “Healthy Ministry Resources” to refer specifically to the national office. That name never really caught on and is being phased out. Most people simply refer to the national office as, well, the national office. So we’ll go with that.

Although the name of the office building has changed, it’s mission remains the same: “to effectively resource pastors and congregations of the US National Conference to fulfill the Great Commission.” That was central to the idea behind Healthy Ministry Resources, and it will continue to be the focus of the national office.

The national office handles all cooperative ministries of the US National Conference. Here are some of the services under that umbrella.

  • The Office of the Bishop.
  • Global Ministries (the United Brethren missions entity).
  • Church planting.
  • The Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team, which handles ministerial licensing, ordination, and stationing.
  • Oversight of cluster groups.
  • The biennial US National Conference.
  • Church Resources, which ships Sunday school literature and other materials to several hundred churches every quarter.
  • Communications services (websites, newsletters, print materials, etc.).
  • Pension services for UB ministers.
  • The women’s and youth ministry teams.
  • The Higher Education Leadership Team, which oversees Huntington University.
  • Overseeing various UB events (US National Conference, workshops, training events, etc.).
  • Other leadership teams, study committees, and groups which may arise as needed.

20 Feb

February 20, 2014 |

The Huntington University Foundation has thus far raised over $165,000 for scholarships, far exceeding the goal of raising $75,000 during its 75th anniversary.

Since 1938, the Foundation has given grants to Huntington County residents who attend Huntington University. Approximately 20 percent of HU students come from Huntington County.

19 Feb

February 19, 2014 |
The Global Ministries staff (l-r): Donna Hollopeter, Jeff Bleijerveld, Frank Y, and Jana Gass.

The Global Ministries staff (l-r): Donna Hollopeter, Jeff Bleijerveld, Frank Y, and Jana Gass.

February 14 marked the last day of the Chinese New Year celebration. The festivities always last two weeks, and end with a big bang on the final day.

On January 31, the first day of the celebrations, the Global Ministries staff sent the above photo to our Chinese church leaders in Hong Kong, and to the Global Ministries staff in Macau and China. A number of our United Brethren colleagues in the Far East responded with appreciation.

Frank was born in China and lived there until age 7.

19 Feb

February 19, 2014 |
Huntington University award winners at the annual Fort Wayne Ad Federation Awards recognition on February 14, 2014.

Huntington University award winners at the annual Fort Wayne Ad Federation Awards recognition on February 14, 2014.

Huntington University students, graduates, and faculty shined at the Fort Wayne Ad Federation Awards on February 14. They took home four golds, three silvers, nine student golds, seven student silvers, and “Best of Show Student” in the annual creative advertising contest.

This annual competition recognizes advertising creative excellence from students and local advertising and media professionals. Entries are judged on creativity, originality, and creative strategy.

The Fort Wayne Advertising Honors is a unique national awards program designed specifically for college students. Work entered at the local level can move up to the regional and national judging.

19 Feb

February 19, 2014 |
David and Annette Souers

David and Annette Souers

David Souers was named senior pastor of New Horizons UB church (Rockford, Ohio) effective February 6, 2014. Since 2008, David had been lead pastor of Westwood Fellowship in Woodburn, Ind. (part of the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches denomination).

David grew up in UB churches in northeast Indiana, in the Huntington and Fort Wayne areas. He graduated in 2012 from Moody Bible Institute with a degree in biblical studies, and is currently working on his MDiv at Wesley Seminary.

David’s wife, Annette, graduated from Moody in 2005 with a degree in sports ministry, and in 2011 received a degree in nursing from Medtech College. She and David have one child.

19 Feb

February 19, 2014 |
Jeremiah and Elisa Ketchum

Jeremiah and Elisa Ketchum

Jeremiah Ketchum was appointed lead pastor of Brown Corners UB church (Clare, Mich.) effective January 26, 2014.

Jeremiah and his wife, Elisa, were married in 2000 and have four children ages 1-11. From 2003-2008, they served with New Tribes Mission, including a year of ministry in China.

Both Jeremiah and Elisa graduated from New Tribes Bible Institute (Jackson, Mich.) in 2005. Jeremiah went on to earn a Master’s in Religious Studies in 2006 from Southern California Seminary.

19 Feb

February 19, 2014 |

pool-ketchum-owensThe Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team has approved these ministerial licenses:

  • Kevin Poole has been granted a Specialized Ministry license. He is Children’s Pastor at Fowlerville UB church (Fowlerville, Mich.).
  • Jeremiah Ketchum has been granted a Provisional ministerial license. He is lead pastor at Brown Corners UB church (Clare, Mich.).
  • Mitchell Owens has been granted a National Conference ministerial license. He is executive pastor at New Hope Community Church (Bryan, Ohio).