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28 Jan

January 28, 2014 |

HCJB Global, the Christian radio ministry, has changed its name. The organization is now called “Reach Beyond.”

Doug Weber, a UB endorsed missionary whose family serves with HCJB, writes, “HCJB are really the call letters of our flagship radio stations in Ecuador, and they will continue to use these letters in their name. And for now, the technology center, where we will work in Indiana, will retain the name HCJB Global Technology Center. However the letters ‘HCJB’ don’t really convey the ministries that we do in healthcare, training, or leadership development. Nor do they convey the international scope that our ministries now enjoy.”

Doug says HCJB supporters don’t need to do anything different. They will simply see the new name on receipts, credit card statements, and EFT bank charges.

In the video above, Wayne Pedersen, president of Reach Beyond, explains the reasons for making the name change.

Pedersen says we need to reach beyond our borders, beyond our comfort zones, and beyond our perceived limitations.

Two other organizations that recently changed their name are:

  • Cru: the new name of Campus Crusade for Christ in the United States. They still use “Campus Crusade for Christ International” for their global work. The Brian Birdsall family, Global Ministries staff, served with Campus Crusade in the Ukraine and are now stationed in New York City.
  • One Mission Society: the new name of Overseas Mission Society. Sarah Bonner and Roger and Mary Lou Skinner, Global Ministries staff, work with OMS at the international office in Greenwood, Ind.

23 Jan

January 23, 2014 |

On Tuesday, January 21, Michael Dean (right), a UB pastor in Virginia, was taken to his local hospital and diagnosed with a stroke. Presently, he is in the Critical Care Unit. His daughter, Briana, wrote on January 23, “He has lost his ability to fully communicate and has confusion. As you can imagine, this is pretty devastating.”

Mike is senior pastor of two churches: Living Water UB Church in Winchester, Va., and a church plant in Berryville called Emmaus Church.

Please keep Mike and his wife, Jeanne, in your prayers.

22 Jan

January 22, 2014 |

Global Ministries has partnered with Huntington University to organize all of their short-term mission trips, and possibly do trip orientation and team leader training. Global Ministries can offer locations for valuable ministry experiences for HU students.

22 Jan

January 22, 2014 |

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

In Macau, Living Stone Church will soon be without a meeting place. The owner is significantly raising the rent.

We’re exploring ministry models that combine a business with a church venture. For instance, a facility could provide daycare during the week and be used for church services on weekends. This would provide income for the church, plus opportunities for interacting with young families.

This would open the door to different kinds of missionary staffing, moving away from the English teaching model to early childhood education and family ministry.

15 Jan

January 15, 2014 |
Dr. Sherilyn Emberton speaking at the banquet.

Dr. Sherilyn Emberton speaking at the banquet.

Bishop Phil Whipple speaking to the cluster leaders and guests on Monday night.

Bishop Phil Whipple speaking to the cluster leaders and guests on Monday night.

Each cluster leader was recognized on Monday night. Here, standing, is Steve Clulow, who pastors the UB church in Cochranton, Pa.

Each cluster leader was recognized on Monday night. Here, standing, is Steve Clulow, who pastors the UB church in Cochranton, Pa.

The current and former bishops led in the prayer time that concluded the Monday night banquet.

The current and former bishops led in the prayer time that concluded the Monday night banquet.

L-r: Dr. Sherilyn Emberton, Global Ministries director Jeff Bleijerveld, and Micheal Dean, pastor of the UB church in Sabetha, Kansas.

L-r: Dr. Sherilyn Emberton, Global Ministries director Jeff Bleijerveld, and Micheal Dean, pastor of the UB church in Sabetha, Kansas.

Dr. Mike Dittman was the keynote speaker for the Tuesday morning training.

Dr. Mike Dittman was the keynote speaker for the Tuesday morning training.

On January 13-14 (Monday and Tuesday), 22 cluster leaders met in Huntington, Ind., for the annual Cluster Leader Training. Todd Fetters, Director of National Ministries, organized and led the event. Bishop Phil Whipple was also involved in leading the meetings.

The meeting began Monday evening with a banquet sponsored by Huntington University. Also attending were various denominational officials and spouses, plus all four of the former bishops–Ron Ramsey, Paul Hirschy, Ray Seilhamer, and C. Ray Miller. After the meal, the new president of HU, Dr. Sherilyn Emberton, spoke to the cluster leaders and guests about the work and mission of the college.

Then came a time of recognition for the cluster leaders.

Cluster leaders oversee a group of 6-10 senior pastors. Todd Fetters had asked cluster members to write a note of affirmation and appreciation for their cluster leader, and many did. The comments were then compiled and presented in a nice folder to the cluster leaders.

At the Monday night gathering, one by one each cluster leader stood and was handed a folder by administrative assistant Cathy Reich. Then Todd and Lisa Fetters alternated reading one comment for each cluster leader. There was applause, and then it was the next cluster leader’s turn.

The evening ended with a prayer time. Bishop Phil Whipple and the four bishops emeriti stood in the middle, with the cluster leaders circled around them, and other persons forming an outer ring. The five bishops then took turns praying for the cluster leaders, their ministers, and the work of the United Brethren church in general.

Tuesday morning was spent in training. Mike Dittman, who heads up a ministry called Haven for the Heart, was the keynote speaker. He addressed “How to Cultivate a Transformational Cluster.” It was an information-packed morning. After a noon meal together, the event concluded.

On the UB Facebook page you’ll find a gallery of 75 photos from the event.

15 Jan

January 15, 2014 |

The four-day Honduras Annual Conference started with 102 hours of continual prayer. Numerous people filled each hour from Saturday until the beginning of the conference on Wednesday, January 15.

15 Jan

January 15, 2014 |

A 13-person construction team flew into Sierra Leone on January 9, and arrived at Mattru on Sunday, January 12.

The team includes several persons who are returning to Sierra Leone:

  • James and Michelle (Becker) Berg, along with a son and daughter. Michelle was a nurse at Mattru during the mid-1980s, and met James when he came to Mattru with a construction crew from Canada.
  • Nathaniel Burkholder. His parents, Dennis and Becky Burkholder, served at Mattru during the 1980s.
  • Jimmie Cole. His parents were missionaries in Sierra Leone 1967-1969.

They will begin renovations on Harmonie House, which housed missionary nurses until the rebel war began in the early 1990s. Among other things, the team will replace the roof.

Since roofs on other Mattru Hospital buildings also need to be replaced, Global Ministries bought welding equipment to make steel truss roofs. Thanks to termites, wood trusses last just 8-10 years. The welding equipment, which this team took with them, will also be used to develop a steel fabrication shop in Mattru to provide employment for some local UB people.

15 Jan

January 15, 2014 |

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries, has arrived in Honduras to attend the annual Honduras National Conference meeting. He says they anticipate 200 pastors and delegates coming to La Ceiba for the four-day meeting, which starts Wednesday night, January 15.

15 Jan

January 15, 2014 |

When you submit a ministerial or local church report, you should automatically receive, by email, a copy of the report.

However, this function wasn’t working with the local church report. It’s fixed now. So if you previously submitted a local church report and want a copy, contact Cathy Reich, administrative assistant to Bishop Phil Whipple, and she’ll send you a copy of the one you submitted.

14 Jan

January 14, 2014 |

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

On December 15, 2013, violence erupted in the capital of South Sudan. The violence quickly spread, dividing the nation along ethnic and political lines. The conflict has resulted in well over 1000 deaths and hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Christian Horizons Global (CHG), the organization with which we partner in Haiti, has worked in South Sudan for seven years and is in a strategic position to help. CHG operates out of five centers in South Sudan, three of them near the capital of Juba. Mark Wallace, a United Brethren minister and member of the Global Ministries Leadership Team, leads CHG.

Neil Cudney, pastor of the Mill Crossing UB church in Cambridge, Ontario, serves on staff with CHG. He writes:

“We’ve had 1,5000 people show up at our centres seeking refuge. The personal stories I’ve been getting out of South Sudan are utterly heart breaking. One of our pastors saw children shot right in front of him because they were from the ‘other’ tribe. After the soldiers left, their school friends carried the bodies away. I can’t fit this in my head! My heart is broken…such great gains were being made in our disability work there.”

CH Global has worked in South Sudan for seven years. Since the nation became independent in 2011 (separated from Sudan), CHG have worked with church, community, and government leaders in various programs. It is heartbreaking how quickly things have changed in the past month. CHG’s local staff and partners face immense challenges as they try to serve where there is a severe shortage of basic life essentials.

At CHG’s two-acre training facility in the rural region of Kejo-Keji, 3000 people have come under the CH Global banner looking for support. Children are baking under the hot sun with no shade or water.

Though the need is overwhelming, CHG is in a unique position to respond. Their local South Sudanese staff and volunteers are in strategic locations to provide such basic life-sustaining needs as food, water, and latrines. CHG’s main priority is to areas where there is no United Nations or non-government-organization (NGO) support.

Global Ministries wants to help. A gift of $29.50 can provide for one individual for the next month. Less than $30 can sustain a life.

Any gifts sent to Global Ministries will be passed on directly to CH Global without any administrative fees being levied, just as we always do with relief projects. Be sure to indicate that your gift is for “South Sudan Relief.”