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07 Jun

June 7, 2012 |

Erik Rojas is pastor of one of our churches in San Jose, Costa Rica. This gifted young man, who represented Costa Rica at the 2010 General Conference, is now attending seminary in Costa Rica at the Nazarene Seminary of the Americas. He expects to finish in 2016. Global Ministries is seeking a total of $100 a month to support Pastor Erik while he pursues a seminary degree. 

Testimony of Erik Rojas

I was born in a Catholic home in 1967. In January 1979, when I was 11 years old, my mother was very ill in hospital when she heard a dear woman of God share the salvation message of Jesus Christ. From then on, we began attending a Pentecostal Evangelical Church. After five years in that church, when I was 16 years old, I walked away from God’s ways. Many years later, when I was working in a restaurant, I met the woman who is now my wife. She invited me to church August 21, 2003. Following such a long time away from God, I was reconciled with the Lord in the same church where I serve as pastor today.

In 2005, I was chosen, along with my wife, Iris, to take charge of a church plant that we call “House of Prayer.” I had no theological training. Moreover, I did not know how to plant a church. I accepted the challenge because it has always been my desire to serve God. In 2006, I received the news that I would be transferred to the church where I now serve as pastor, “His Holiness Worship Center.” I now have over eight years of involvement with the United Brethren in Christ and this year, God willing, I will fulfill seven years in the pastorate. I am very happy and thankful to God to belong to the United Brethren in Christ.

Erik Rojas and his wife, Iris.

During these years of ministry, I completed my theological studies and earned my Diploma in Pastoral Ministry in the Costa Rican Evangelical Alliance Seminary (a leading school in Costa Rica). To obtain this diploma, I completed 20 courses, a workshop, and a final project. My studies lasted two years. My average grade was 96.5%.

Parallel to these studies, I obtained three credentials from the United Brethren in Christ. These credentials are:

2006. The Superintendent’s Credential, which is awarded after a year of pastoral service. It requires the presentation of the primary academic diploma, recommendations, a review of the work performed, and the approval of the Bishop or Superintendent.

2007. The Pastoral License, which is awarded after two years of pastoral service. It requires a review by a theological examination board, various recommendations, a written examination, and approval by the Conference Board of Nicaragua.

2009. Pastoral Ordination, which is awarded after four years of pastoral service. It requires a review by a theological examination board, recommendations, a written examination, and approval of the Board of the Conference of Nicaragua, after review and assessment of work done by the pastor.

Our Constitution provides that the minimum time for a pastor to receive these three credentials is four years. I thank God that I was able to achieve them in the shortest possible time.

(more…)

06 Jun

June 6, 2012 |

Make plans to attend the Fandana Music Festival at Huntington University on August 10-11 (that’s a Friday and Saturday). Thousands of people attended the first Fandana in 2011. One of this year’s headliners is Chris Tomlin. Bring your youth group, or join the many adults sitting outside in front of the huge stage, as band after band perform for the crowd. It’s a neat atmosphere.

This is a very family-oriented event. Adults of all ages attended in 2011, along with plenty of teens

06 Jun

June 6, 2012 |

Harold and MaryAnn Hancock, a retired couple, have joined the Global Ministries staff. In mid-August 2012, they will begin serving at Jamaica Bible College in Mandeville, Jamaica.

Harold spent his career working in various trades–welding, electrical work, plumbing, etc. He will teach those skills at a vocational high school located on the campus of Jamaica Bible College. MaryAnne will work in the college library.

The Hancocks are members of New Hope UB church in Camden, Mich. MaryAnne has been the longtime administrative assistant for the church and the former New Hope Christian School. A commissioning service will be held at the church no August 5.

At this time, the Hancocks have raised 90% of their needed support. If you are interested in supporting them, send contributions to:

Global Ministries
302 Lake Street
Huntington, IN 46750

Include a separate note indicating the check is for “Hancock support.”

05 Jun

June 5, 2012 |

Bishop Denis Casco speaking at the May 2012 seminar in Mexico. (click to enlarge)

Gary Brooks (left) and Bishop Denis Casco in Mexico.

Gary Brooks leading a session for Mexican pastors and church workers.

On May 17, 2012, Rev. Gary Brooks, a retired UB pastor and missionary, flew to Mexico to join Rev Denis Casco, bishop of the Mexico National Conference. They conducted a seminar for 35 pastors and church workers. It was held at the Rosa de Saron United Brethren Church in the municipality of Jesus Maria El Marquez, on the outskirts of Queretaro, Mexico.

Gary Brooks taught a chapter by chapter study from Colossians. Bishop Casco taught classes on discipleship, focusing on the difference between unproductive professing believers who fill our church pews and disciples who do all they can to fulfill the Great Commission.

The response was overwhelming and pastors responded frequently with great enthusiasm. As Gary Brooks noted, their excitement demonstrates the need for more training of this kind.

If you would like to support future training events like this in Mexico, send your gift to Global Ministries marked “Mexico – Leadership Development.”

05 Jun

June 5, 2012 |

Not far beyond the multinational fruit company headquarters where seasonal workers wait in hope for temporary jobs, the Honduran village of El Carril is brimming with children. Many of these children come from homes where eating more than one meal per day is considered a luxury, and what is consumed is little more than a basic starch like rice or corn.

However, at this “comedor” (meal program), a local United Brethren church does all it can to provide the children with occasional meals that are more nutritious than they receive at home. Along with the meals, the children are able to hear Bible stories, sing songs, and learn that they are valued and loved by God.

Just a few of our North American churches support feeding programs like this, and yet so much is accomplished as a result.

04 Jun

June 4, 2012 |

Associate pastor Matt Kennedy (left) and senior pastor Tim Hallman (right) with a joyful member after being baptized.

Pastor Tim Hallman (center) with members of the Anchor worship team.

For over ten years, Anchor Community Church has held an annual service at the Stillwater Retreat on the south side of Fort Wayne, Ind. The event begins with a worship service which includes communion, and concludes with a potluck meal and fun times at the camp. But the highlight is the baptism. After the service, everyone heads down to the lake, where they sit on the dock or stand on the shore as various people share their testimonies and then walk into the lake to be baptized.

On June 3, 2012, around 180 people gathered at Stillwater to watch 10 persons be baptized.

A highlight was the presence of Joe Leatherman, who had arrived in town around 4:00 that morning after completing basic training in San Diego, Calif. He was now a Marine, and was proudly wearing his uniform. Joe, Anchor’s drummer for the past several years, talked about the spiritual reawakening which had occurred during basic training, and wanted to be baptized as a testimonial to what God was doing in his life.

Conducting the baptisms were Pastor Tim Hallman and associate pastor Matt Kennedy, with the assistance of several laypersons. Each person gave his/her testimony about how Jesus had changed their life, and why they were taking this step of baptism.

Hundreds of photos of the event were posted on Anchor’s Facebook page: photos of the service, the baptisms, and miscellaneous photos.

04 Jun

June 4, 2012 |

Jane Shutt Mason, 92 passed away on May 29, 2012, after an illness of several months duration. The funeral service was held Saturday, June 2, at the Myers Funeral Home in Huntington, Ind., with Dr. Kent Maxwell officiating.

In 1978, following the death of her husband, Wendell, Jane became the United Brethren Archivist. In 1988, she oversaw the relocation of the Archives from the denominational headquarters to a much larger space at the RichLynn Library at Huntington University, and the integration of the collection with the university archives. For the next 11 years, as an employee of Huntington University, she worked as Archivist for both the denomination and Huntington University.

Jane is responsible for professionalizing the denominational archives. After being named Archivist, she was sent to the National Archives in Washington DC for specialized training in archives management. Under her leadership, the United Brethren history collection was greatly expanded and items of relevance to UB history–books, annual conference minutes, magazines, and other records–were acquired. Many periodicals were put on microfilm.

Numerous people doing historical research appreciated Jane’s knowledge of United Brethren history and her helpfulness in locating the information they needed.

Jane and Wendell were very active in the College Park United Brethren Church, where she was a board member, children’s Sunday school superintendent and teacher, VBS director, and editor of the church newsletter. She also served as a youth leader with her husband. Later she was a member of the New Hope United Brethren Church in Huntington, Ind., close to her home. Since February 2009, Jane lived in Maumee, Ohio, with her daughter Barbara and her husband, Dr. Jonathan Rohrs.

31 May

May 31, 2012 |

Josh Whipple (right, with family) is taking a new position as Youth Pastor at Colwood UB church in Caro, Mich. Since November 2011, he has been senior pastor of Mount Hope UB church in Carson City, Mich. He will now be returning to the church where he partly grew up; his father, now Bishop Phil Whipple, was pastor of Colwood 1998-2009.

Josh served as youth/worship pastor at Mongul UB (Shippensburg, Pa.) 2008-2011, and then as Campus Life Director near Caro until his appointment to the Mount Hope church. He holds a Provisional ministerial license. Josh and Katie have two young children.

31 May

May 31, 2012 |

The United Brethren Staffing Course is a requirement for ordination in the United Brethren denomination. The first edition of this course will be held Wednesday, July 11, 2012, at the Healthy Ministry Resources office in Huntington, Ind. Denny Miller (right), lead pastor of Emmanuel Community Church in Fort Wayne, Ind., is the instructor.

This course will help you develop an ability to expand ministry through staff, both volunteer and paid. Learn to balance responsibilities of staff to accomplish the ministries of your local church.

This session will also emphasize team development through staffing. You’ll walk away knowing the importance of delegation, job descriptions, and strategic staffing so that you can be better equipped to manage your role as supervisor.

Whether you are the only person on staff or have multiple persons on staff, this course will apply to you.

The cost is $100 for persons seeking ordination, $50 for everyone else.

30 May

May 30, 2012 |

On the evening of May 16, thieves drove what was probably a truck across the grass in back of HomeFront UB church, broke the window of the pastor’s office, backed the truck up to the church, and helped themselves to anything of value. They apparently spent quite a bit of time in the building. They kicked in doors and ransacked at will, leaving with TVs, computers, printers, guitars, projectors, and other items.

This happened between 9:30 Wednesday night, May 16, and 8:30 the next morning. The break-in was discovered Thursday morning by Josh Good (right), who had been senior pastor of HomeFront for just two weeks.

They also took items donated by local businesses for a silent auction to be held two days later, a Habitat for Humanity benefit for a single mom and her four kids. Missing was Zales jewelry, a digital camera, about $185 in cash, and other items from the auction table. They’d been preparing for this for several weeks, and the loss–up to $2000–was heartbreaking. The stolen church property was valued at around $6000, but is covered by insurance.

Two other churches in the area had been burglarized recently, but no connection has been made. Police don’t yet know the identify of the thieves. Pastor Good says seven acres of land lie behind the church building, and, “It gets really dark back there.” The thieves entered through the office window, but probably carried items out a door. One neighbor said he saw a truck at the end of the building for a few hours that night.

Pastor Good, who had served on staff at nearby Banner of Christ UB church since 2003, didn’t lose anything from his office. He was still waiting for a desk to arrive, so all of his books and other belongings were still packed in boxes, and he had taken his laptop home for the evening. “Apparently the thieves aren’t theologians, because they didn’t steal any of my books.”

The Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity is building a home for Julie Malfroid, her three sons, and a daughter who is severely handicapped from a brain injury and requires constant care. They’ve been living in a bad-off trailer. Construction of their new home will begin in July.

So, how did the auction go?

“It worked out really well,” says Pastor Good. HomeFront had set a goal of $3500 for the Malfroid family. Thus far, they have raised over $9000.

The break-in drew a lot of media publicity, and people and businesses responded with donations. Ticket packages came from the Detroit Tigers and the Grand Rapids Griffins hockey team. The Tigers tickets went for about $90 apiece. Some local businesses mailed in cash donations. A local ice cream shop auctioned off free ice cream once a week until the end of August. A card shop that went out of business brought purses and other items. Two private artists donated wood pieces.

“It has all worked out very well,” says Josh Good. “Insurance will cover our stuff, and we’ll go without for a few weeks. The response for the auction from the community was awesome. People came up big. And for a fairly young church like HomeFront, for newer believers to see a situation that is pretty bad and to see how God can use it for good and flip it upside down–that was really good for our people. I’ve been able to say from the pulpit that God has ways of doing things that we can’t foresee.”