10 Sep These People REALLY Want to Come to Church

Darwin Dunten speaking to jail inmates.

Darwin Dunten (right), senior pastor, First UB church (Findlay, Ohio)

If you had to be searched before you go to church and then stripped searched after you attend services, would you still go?

Because of security concerns, when prisoners leave their cell at the Findlay/Hancock County, Ohio jail, they must be searched. When they return to their cells, they are stripped searched. This was implemented about 4 months ago after drugs were being smuggled into the jail.

That would be the death nail to many ministries.

Not for the jail ministry. There has been a slight decline in the attendance from 50 inmates a night to 35-40 inmates. But the ministry remains strong.

Jim Woodward and pastor Darwin Dunten of First UB in Findlay, along with pastor Ted Fairchild of The Rock UB church in Findlay, spend a lot of time encouraging the inmates when they do come. We thank them for being willing to go through the gauntlet to attend. We share that this is really a testimony to their faith. And we also tell them, “Your actions put our own church members to shame.”

Think about it. What would happen to our churches if each church member had to be stripped searched to attend services?

Yes, we recognize that there are still prisoners that are willing to go through the searches just to get out of the cell. However, it is making an impact on the jailers. A corrections officer recently told Pastor Dunten, “For them to go to your services after what we have to put them through, you must be doing something right.”

Matthew 25:36–“I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

08 Sep Sept 8 Update on Dan Paternoster

Here are some updates on Dan Paternoster (right), from his wife Nancy. Dan, a member of the Executive Leadership Team, is a veterinarian from Fowlerville UB church (Fowlerville, Mich.). As we reported earlier, he was struck by a car while riding his bike to work on August 28. If you are interested in daily updates, you can sign up at CarePages.com. We will post occasional updates here.

Thursday (Sept 6). Dan wiggled his toes and did a “thumbs up” (right-handed only) for the night nurse. He opened his eyes very briefly when I (Nancy) said his name this morning, but he didn’t look my way. Dan’s brain pressure is getting better, but it’s not where the neurosurgeon would like it to be. If the pressure remains closer to normal the drain in his head will be removed. He is still not awake most of the time and they don’t plan to wake him up/take him off his pain meds until next week giving the fractures more time to heal. The last fracture they found was on the side of his face where the jaw attaches. However, his previously dislocated jaw is now back in place. Thanks for your love and prayers…keep them coming!

Friday (Sept 7). Hard to believe that this is our 11th day at the hospital. The drain in Dan’s brain has been raised a bit so it’s not draining as much fluid now as it was before. This is causing the brain pressure to be elevated – but the pressure isn’t as high as it was last week! We praise God for this improvement! He’s still on the ventilator, but is taking some breaths on his own. The cuts on Dan’s forehead and nose have fully healed. His bones are all still in alignment and are beginning to heal. Now we wait some more until the doctors find it safe to reduce Dan’s pain medication so that he can wake up.

Saturday (Sept 8). The drain in Dan’s skull was raised a little more today. It won’t be removed until the pressure remains low enough for a period of time. Dan is becoming more active during his short waking times and is pulling on tubes. When he pulls on tubes they give him more pain meds and then he sleeps for awhile. On Tuesday morning Dan is scheduled to have two procedures done that were set for last week then cancelled. He’s making progress, but it is slow.

06 Sep Sunfield UB: 1300+ Free Meals for Kids

Lining up for ice cream, scooped out by Pastor Randy Carpenter (click to enlarge).

Water balloons!

Pastor Randy Carpenter (right) taking time out from serving pizza to have lunch with the kids.

Leigh Pearson (right), administrative assistant, Sunfield UB church (Sunfield, Mich.)

Sunfield United Brethren Church sponsored a community-wide free Summer Sack Lunch program for all children available Monday-Friday throughout the summer. Lunch was taken down daily to the local park, and any extra sack lunches were sent home with the children on Fridays to ensure they had meals on the weekends as well.

We averaged 25 children per day and served a total of 1,320 meals. Wednesday, September 5, was the last day of the program and we had a Pizza Party Celebration, as well as ice cream and water balloons. The program was a blessing to many families in need in our community and they are looking forward to next year’s Summer Sack Lunch Program.

A lot more photos can be found on Sunfield’s Facebook page.

06 Sep Logan, Ohio: Third Street Community Festival

Clowns at the Shepherd of the Valley community festival (click to enlarge).

Skeeball!

Jason Sheets (right), associate pastor, Shepherd of the Valley UB Church (Logan, Ohio)

On August 18, our church hosted the Third Street Community Festival. It is a back to school event we have each year. The city of Logan allows us to block off a part of Third Street. We had various carnival type games that kids could win tickets at and use to redeem for a toy of their choosing. We also live music, free food, a bounce house, and clowns that gave away candy and shared the good news of Christ.

As part of the Festival, we gave away over 200 backpacks, filled with free school supplies, to children in our community. Not only did kids in our community receive much-needed school supplies; they also had the opportunity to hear the gospel and learn about Christ.

04 Sep Sept 4 Update on Dan Paternoster

Dan Paternoster, who was struck by a car while riding his bike a week ago, has shown some signs of progress, but not much. Here are reports from the past two days:

• Sept. 4. Dan’s brain swelling has started to decrease. It is a very slow process but encouraging to finally start to see readings closer to what the doctors would like. Early this morning Dan popped his eyes open wide for a few seconds when the nurse called his name. Dan hasn’t repeated this but is still heavily medicated. When reviewing the last cat scan, more fractures to Dan’s skull were discovered. This isn’t really a surprise since the remains of his helmet that the Sherriff’s Department returned to us didn’t look like a helmet at all. We are still under the “No Visitors” policy due to his condition.
• Sept 3. The CAT scan this morning showed no changes from the last two scans. His blood pressure has been better as has his heart rate. Dan yawned on his own today. There were some good readings of the pressure in his brain, but there were some high readings, too. Continue to pray for the pressure in his brain to return to normal. Also, pray for his daughter Sarah as she went back to college, that she can focus on her studies.
• Sept 2. Dan’s heart rate has been higher and healthier today than the past few days. The pressure and swelling in his brain are still the main concern. It had been projected that Dan would get pneumonia in his lungs, but it was confirmed today that Dan does not have it! He coughed today for the first time without the nurses causing it.

The Paternoster family set up a page with CarePages.com on which they post regular updates. You will need to set up an account, but will then receive emails, with a link, whenever updates are posted about Dan’s condition.

04 Sep Lake View Teens Go to Laurel Mission

The Lake View team that ministered at Laurel Mission. (click to enlarge)

Working on a wheelchair ramp at Laurel Mission.

The Lake View team at the falls in Kentucky.

Ben Gladhill (right), associate pastor of Christian Education, Lake View Church (Camden, Mich.)

A group of 24 teens and adults from Lake View Church’s ONE80 Student Ministries set off for a mission trip to Laurel Mission in Big Laurel, Kent., August 5-9. The teens raised over $10,000 for the trip through support letters, bake sales, concession sales, a spaghetti dinner, and even a Duck Race. Over two-thirds of our support came directly from Lake View Church.

The teens and adults completed a number of projects under the supervision of Nathan Boggs, director of Laurel Mission. Projects included building a 60-foot wheelchair ramp, finishing a bathroom remodel, repairing another wheelchair ramp, painting at Living Waters Christian School, refurbishing a bathroom, roofing, working at the thrift store, and various projects at the mission itself.

Our teens were challenged to let their light shine from the moment we boarded the vans at Lake View until we returned, that in all they did they would be a lighthouse shining for Christ. Each day’s devotions with the teens gave them a challenge to keep their glass clean so the light could shine brightly to those we served. And we saw that light shine as they worked and got to know those we served!

We were also able to present Nathan with the funds raised by our VBS kids for the ice machine and a donation to their building fund. We were blessed to work for a couple days with a few members of Prince Street UB church in Shippensburg, Pa.

On August 19, our teens shared with the congregation about our trip. We were very encouraged as one member challenged others to continue to encourage our young people as they have set an example of service.

31 Aug Aug 31 Updates on Dan Paternoster

A couple updates on Dan Paternoster, a member of the Executive Leadership struck by a car on Tuesday morning.

Dan moved all of his limbs again today (Friday). The doctors loosened the collar brace around his neck and he moved his head from right to left and back to get as comfortable as possible. When the nurse was brushing his teeth he opened his eyes for a few minutes but was not focusing or following anything specific. Later he was chewing on the tubing in his mouth. His movement seems to increase when his pain medications are decreased or when they are wearing off. Dan is still on a ventilator but the chest tube that was suctioning extra liquids away from the chest and lung area was removed today. The pressure in the brain is still a serious concern.

The cat scan did NOT show any large blood clots! Dan still has swelling in his brain that is dangerous but he will not be going to surgery at this time.

People can sign up to receive email updates about Dan.

30 Aug Camden, Mich: VBS, an Ice Machine, and Two Pies

Lake View VBS kids. (click to enlarge)

Ben Gladhill (left) and Steve Smith.

Ben Gladhill (right), associate pastor of Christian Education, Lake View Church (Camden, Mich.)

Lake View Church (Camden Mich.), hosted its annual VBS program July 15-19. Our theme this year was PRAISE, “where kids get down and lift God high.” The curriculum was produced by The Go Fish Guys, a Christian music group known for their acapella, and harmonies. Our program was set up like a concert venue complete with lighting and fog machines, and was high energy, exciting, and a ton of fun.

Throughout the week we set several goals for our teens. The first was an attendance goal of 80 kids. The reward: I would take a pie in the face. The last night we had a total of 83 children attend our VBS program, and I took a prune pie!

Each night we also collected a missions offering. Our project was to raise $1000 to purchase an ice machine to take with us to Laurel Mission on our trip with our teens. By our third night we had raised over our $1000 and upped our goal to $1500 (the actual cost of the ice machine). By the final night we had raised $2000 from the contributions of our children and leaders! Senior pastor Steve Smith stepped up and took a second prune pie for the amazing offering!

Finally and most importantly, we had 14 children accept Christ during VBS—14 more lives for the kingdom! Praise God!