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20 Feb

February 20, 2012 |

Honduras Conference held its annual meeting January 16-21, 2012. Superintendent Juanita Chavez (right) sent this report.

Juanita Chavez, superintendent of Honduras Conference

We are rejoicing in the Lord for the strong representation that we had from our churches at this years conference. We had nearly 300 people present each day.

Here are just a few items to report:

  1. Although Zion Church of Puerto Cortes nearly left the denomination, they have now asked that we send them a pastor. Pastor Neptaly Ponce has been assigned and will soon relocate along with his wife and new baby. In total there were four pastors reassigned at this year’s conference.
  2. Four new district superintendents have been appointed. None have been part of our administration before, but are outstanding young leaders who are acting quite responsibly.
  3. Five pastors were ordained–four men and one woman.
  4. The church plant in El Chaparral was officially received and a pastor has been assigned.
  5. We have now officially assigned Pastor Gonzalo Alas to El Salvador only. He no longer divides his time between El Salvador and El Copan in Honduras. We trust this will encourage the growth of the work in El Salvador.
  6. We have two feeding programs providing nutritious meals to more than 200 children through Mercy Ministries and our United Brethren in the United States. On March 10, 2012, we’ll have the first meeting of the Combehul Cooperative. The leadership team of Honduras has approved the construction of a retreat center on the Maria River. The goal is to develop a self-sustaining ministry that will benefit ministry to youth in this area.
  7. We continue training pastors and leaders regarding stewardship using a program called Total Stewardship.
  8. During the first week of March, we will launch a church-based theological program. We’ll be offering four-week intensives each month in various districts.
  9. Abdiel Lopez of Guatemala continues to offer seminars and training in the integration of scripture in ministry for pastors and leaders.
  10. We were blessed to send out 10 teenagers for 33 days of intense missions training with Teen Missions. It was a wonderful experience. These young people have returned with a renewed commitment to the Lord and his work. They have also been awakened to consider becoming missionaries.

We continue to thank the Lord for the short-term teams that come to Honduras and especially the medical team that will be arriving in the coming months.

20 Feb

February 20, 2012 |

Andrew Martin

Nick Kight, Huntington University Class of ’12

As a young boy, Andrew Martin grew up watching “VeggieTales.” Who would have known the lessons taught by Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber would one day leave an impression both morally and occupationally on him.

Early on, he wondered how these movies were made and how the characters were brought to life. He did some research and taught himself the mechanics and functionality of computers. His studies at Huntington University as an animation and computer science major then gave him the technical skills and the means to succeed in the field.

Now, he works at DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. as a technician resource administrator, also known as a render wrangler. Animators send him their animations, and Martin, alongside the rest of the DreamWorks staff, brings those characters to the big screen through a system made up of thousands of computers.

“I love a good story so I decided to take my passions and apply them toward my career goals,” said Martin, a 2011 HU graduate. “So far, I’d say animation has been a good fit for me. I’ve been told I’m going to start working on DreamWorks Animation’s next film, ‘Madagascar 3.’ I think reality will set in once I go to a theater and see my name in the credits.”

Back in June, Martin found the position while browsing through different studio websites. He applied for the job, and then, all he could do was wait.

“I didn’t end up hearing anything until August when I learned my professor sent DreamWorks a recommendation on my behalf,” he said. “He had a contact who worked there and helped me get my foot in the door.”

Three weeks later, they asked him to pack his bags and move out to California. And had it not been for the networking with professors, preparation from the HU animation department and the opportunity to conduct his own independent study on render management, Martin does not think he would have landed the position at DreamWorks.

“My professors made sure I was on the right track,” he said. “My computer science classes taught me the specifics of computers and how to utilize those to their full capacity in the animation studio.”

During his first day of work, Martin realized the DreamWorks position is the dream job he always wanted.

“The fringe benefits are amazing, the animation process is a collaborative effort, people eat their lunch together and it’s a light-hearted environment,” he said. “I’m going to be spoiled by this.”

17 Feb

February 17, 2012 |

On February 5, Sierra Leone conference unveiled and dedicated a new sound system and instruments, made possible through a $3000 donation from a United Brethren couple in the United States. Bishop John Pessima wrote:

“Please extend our gratitude to the donors and let them know that we have started using the system to reach out to the unreached, and we are also using it to talk to the youths to stay away from violence as we are approching elections in November.”

17 Feb

February 17, 2012 |

This fall, Huntington University’s online programs are expanding to include degree programs in marketing and nursing. Both will be offered through the EXCEL Adult Degree Program.

  • RN to BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing). This degree prepares graduates for management and higher-level patient-care positions. This program will also be offered onsite in Huntington and Fort Wayne, Ind.
  • Marketing. This degree includes specialized training in advertising and salesmanship, digital marketing, public relations, social media, market research, and graphic design. This program is also offered onsite in Huntington and Columbia City, Ind.

15 Feb

February 15, 2012 |

Dr. Paul R. Fetters

When an ashen cross is lightly marked on the forehead of a Christian participating in an Ash Wednesday service on February 22, worshippers who are present are reminded that we are earthly creatures made from the dust of the earth.

“…all come from dust, and to dust all return.” (Ecc. 3:20b)

As children of God, we will remember our baptism into the Christian faith and our journey with our Saviour following conversion. We will remember that we are the body of Christ, living in community with others who wear the smudge of the cross.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten Season. Throughout the Christian Church, this season is known as a time of repentance and turning from sin and renewal of faithfulness to the Gospel. Ashes and sackcloth were symbolic of repentance, sorrow, and grief in the Old Testament, throughout the intertestamental centuries, and in the New Testament as alluded to by Jesus.

The Lenten Season spans 40 days of spiritual devotion marked by three spiritual disciplines: alms-giving, fasting, and praying.

Since the time of my new birth at the Willshire Zion Church of the United Brethren in Christ, I have been observing the spiritual disciplines of the Lenten Season–fasting (the denying of self), alms-giving (self-denial offering for missions), and praying (reflecting on and meditating upon the suffering and death of Jesus Christ). For many including myself, the receiving of the ashes has become a meaningful part of the observance.

As Christian believers, foregoing or receiving the ashes, let us welcome the Lenten Season.

14 Feb

February 14, 2012 |

John Pessima (right), the new bishop of Sierra Leone Conference, came to the United States last fall to meet with the Global Ministries Leadership Team. During that time, he sat down with Communications Director Steve Dennie for an interview. The resulting article, much longer than a regular UBCentral post, is published in the new “Features” section of UBCentral.

Bishop Pessima talks about his childhood and call to the ministry, his experiences during the rebel war, his leadership team in Sierra Leone, various bright spots in the conference, and his priorities as bishop in seeing Sierra Leone Conference move forward.

Read the full article about Bishop John Pessima.

13 Feb

February 13, 2012 |

A scene from "Refresh"

Benjamin Kroll (left) and Sean Cruse

Bethany Doyle

As a young man in New York City, Sean Cruse did not realize that his journey to become an animator and filmmaker would lead him to the American heartland.

He was originally interested in a college on the southern Atlantic coast with access to beaches and year-round warmth. After further investigation, though, he became dissatisfied with that school’s animation program. So, it was off to visit another campus, surprisingly nestled among the cornfields of Indiana. Cruse says the decision to check out Huntington University was a “leap of faith.”

“I originally did not want to attend Huntington. My dad and I drove around to scout out the surroundings and ended up in some field somewhere,” Cruse recalls. “But once I saw the facilities and talked with the professors, that’s when my mind immediately changed.”

Cruse is quick to point out that once he chose Huntington, he never doubted the decision.

Early in his college career, the university brought to campus a band that supported an organization called Blood: Water Mission. It was his first exposure to the serious issue of humans living without clean water. The experience awakened him to the reality of brothers and sisters in Christ living without basic needs.

“Huntington’s message is ‘Christ@Center’ but how do you get Christ to the center of someone who doesn’t even live past the age of 5 because he died from a water-borne disease?” Cruse asks. “It’s such a basic thing. I don’t understand. We’re in 2011, and there’s been a long time to solve this problem, and it’s just not happening yet. It can happen, and I want to see it happen.”

That concern ignited the idea for Cruse’s junior project in the digital media arts program. “Refresh,” a stop-motion short film, deals with the disparity between people who are privileged and those who live without. The film portrays a businessman going about his day, buying bottled water from a vending machine, watering his lawn and feeding an aquarium full of fish. These scenes are juxtaposed with images of a mother and daughter in Africa who take a long journey to bring jerry cans of dirty water back to their village.

During the last scenes of the short film, the businessman is shown retrieving his mail while a hose is watering his lawn (and driveway). As he walks inside, he slips on the wet pavement of his driveway, spilling his mail into the puddles and soaking his clothes. The next scene shows the mother and daughter journeying back toward their village with their containers of precious water. The young girl falls, spilling much of the water from her heavy jerry can. The mother helps her up and carries both containers the rest of the way.

The film leaves the audience contemplating how they use limited resources and freshly motivated to help those with less.

“I am blessed to be in this country (but) it’s not following out my faith to ignore my brothers and sisters in need around the world,” Cruse said. “This is where my passion comes from — the teachings of Jesus.”

Cruse’s commitment was contagious. Two fellow senior animation majors and members of the project team, Benjamin Kroll of Mount Lake Park, Md., and Matthew Weener of Hudsonville, Mich., soon shared the same motivation.

“Seeing Sean’s passion for this issue has instilled in me an awareness that has caused me to rethink my priorities,” Kroll said. Although Kroll grew up as a missionary kid familiar with poverty struggles around the world, working on “Refresh” gave him a new awareness of the magnitude of the struggle for clean water.

“Refresh” took the 2011 film festival circuit by storm, appearing in five separate festivals in the U.S. and Canada. Most recently, “Refresh” was shown at the Columbus (Ohio) International Film & Video Festival (CIFVF).

Matt Swift, adviser for the Ohio State University Film Studies and division chair for the student division of the CIFVF, was highly impressed with “Refresh.”

“I really liked the point behind ‘Refresh,’” Swift said. “It has a good message. You really feel for the characters, and it scored very high. Other films got mixed up with their message. ‘Refresh’ was very clear cut, and this made it a very strong film.”

Cruse appreciates the film’s acceptance into the festivals, but has a bigger goal.

“I’m more excited that the message is being spread,” he said. “We want people to not only become educated about the issue but to actually go do something about it.”

You can watch “Refresh” below.

11 Feb

February 11, 2012 |

First UB church is expanding its food pantry ministry, and did a nice little video about it. Pastor Chuck McKeown wrote on Facebook on February 10, “The pantry building is almost finished. We were able to use it yesterday. Looks like the cost will come in just under $20,000. We need about $8,000. to finish the project.”

11 Feb

February 11, 2012 |

Ron and Brenda Anderson are endorsed Global Ministries staff serving in Spain with European Christian Mission International. Here’s a video update they did around the recent Foundations training course. Ron explains, “Brenda and I spent the last week of January working with a group of ECM missionaries stationed in Spain, Albania, England, and France.  This was a time to encourage them in their new missionary career and to help equip them to have the resilience to make the sacrifices necessary to do what God has asked them to do.”

10 Feb

February 10, 2012 |

Phil Whipple, Bishop of the US National Conference

In July 2011, I concluded two years as bishop. When I started in this role, I decided I wanted to see things for myself. So I set a goal of visiting every United Brethren church in the United States during my first two years. I wanted to meet our pastors on their turf.

I accomplished that goal. Here are some observations from my travels.

1. I found our pastors to be enjoyable people with a strong love for the Lord and his church. Our pastors are mostly male and of the baby boom generation. They are committed to their families and have a fairly strong commitment to the UB church. We have some strong pastoral leaders among us and many who want to learn how to lead more effectively.

2. It is no surprise that many of our churches exist in rural locations. Most of them have been maintained very well, both inside and outside. Many are developing their facilities to reflect the changes that have emerged in the methodology of doing church today.

3. We are slowly and with some struggles moving into a balanced style of worship in many churches. Some churches are far ahead of others. Some remain very traditional.

4. We have many good cooks among us. I can attest to that from many potlucks.

5. Our people are friendly. I was impressed by the warm hearts of so many of our people.

6. We have some sharp leaders at the local church level. These men and women desire to see the church advance and impact their community.

7. A number of churches are changing their structure to an accountability governance model.

8. I saw churches and people engaged in the Great Commission. This clearly needs to be the rallying cry for UB churches everywhere, so that we reach the people Christ wants us to reach in these days.

9. I have met with a number of our cluster groups. The cluster system is still a work in progress, but it has made some huge strides forward in the last two years.

Denny Miller, in his role as Cluster Coordinator, has helped keep the connection with our cluster leaders. We have many cluster leaders who are doing a great job with their clusters, and who are being the first point of contact when issues arise with pastors and churches.

I have concluded that while we have some significant issues and room for improvement, we have a bright hope for the future.

I believe our commitment to the Great Commission is improving. But we can do more to reach people for Christ and grow strong disciples in our churches.

Our churches must do a better job of outreach to open the front door, and be more effective in assimilation and discipleship to close the back door. We need to move discipleship away from just a learning experience. Discipleship should be a lived-out relationship with Jesus that impacts everything we do.

I want us to remain committed to our confession of faith and our core values. At the same time, I want us to aggressively move into the flow of God’s Spirit to see the church advance. We began as a movement of the Spirit of God, and that is where we must return.