(260) 356-2312
A team–in this case, a baseball team–left for Nicaragua on Wednesday, January 4. This group, organized by missionary Jeff Dice, consists of college-level baseball players. They will conduct baseball camps and play baseball games in Nicaragua through January 17. This is Nicaragua’s “spring training” time of year. The group includes 14 players, plus Jeff Dice and Josh Kesler, pastor of The Well in Huntington, Ind.
On December 10-11 (Saturday and Sunday), “The Gift of Christmas” was presented by the choir, orchestra, praise teams, kid’s choir, and drama and tech ministries of King Street Church (Chambersburg, Pa.). It featured anthems for choir and orchestra arranged by Bradley Knight, a beautiful worship musical entitled “Behold the Lamb of God” by Andrew Peterson and a live nativity (which included a donkey, calf, 2 roosters, 2 goats, 2 sheep and a lamb).
The 70 voice choir, under the direction of Pastor Jonathan Ford, spanned in age from 13 to 80+. All instrumental ensembles were directed by Mckendree Tucker, the newest member of the King Street Worship staff. With 4 performances over the course of 2 days, more than 2,000 people were able to come and see this cast of more than 200 volunteers present their sacrifice of praise to the Lord Jesus Christ in honor of his birthday!
You can watch segments of this program on YouTube.
If you would like a DVD or audio CD of this program please contact King Street Church by email.
Ralph Butzow, Claytonville UB Church (Claytonville, Ill.)
We continued a church tradition by inviting neighbors and friends of our congregation to join
us for an evening of singing Christmas carols around the lighted evergreen tree on our church lawn. After the singing, we enjoyed a time of food and fellowship in the church basement. This was a good
time of renewing friendships and sharing the Christmas message.
Our congregation started this annual event to replace a similar event that had been sponsored for
many years by the merchants of the town.
Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries
Francisco Najera (right) is the superintendent of our Guatemalan Conference. He is also the oldest son in his family and as such is responsible for the care of his elderly father who is passing away. This responsibility has not only kept him away from his duties as superintendent and as the pastor of his church, but has left him responsible for the mounting medical bills.
Would you help us provide a “Love Gift” for the Najera family to help them with this need? Gifts should be made payable to “Global Ministries” and ought to indicate on the memo line or in your correspondence that the gift is intended for the Najera Family.
Thank you in advance for your willingness to share in this need.
Global Ministries is sponsoring two seminars for persons interested in leading or participating in a short-term cross-cultural ministry. It’s a very informative, interactive, and fun seminar.
March 2-3, 2012: Monroe, Ind.
Monroe UB Church
205 South Adams Street
Monroe, Indiana 46772
March 9-10, 2012: Grandville, Mich.
Homefront UB Church
6265 8th Avenue SW
Grandville, MI 49418
Cost: $50 per person
The Sierra Leone team at the airport, ready to leave. Mick Bates is on the far right, and Jeff Sherlock is fourth from the right. (click to enlarge)
Today, January 4, a team of 10 persons is leaving for Sierra Leone, where they will train local people to identify opportunities and start up small businesses. Jeff Sherlock (left), a member of the Global Ministries Leadership Team, and Mick Bates are leading a group of 8 students from Taylor University on this Business as Mission trip. Both Sherlock and Bates are professors at Taylor.
At the request of the Sierra Leone United Brethren Church, the team will:
The team asks for prayer for the following needs:
If you are interested in updates on the team’s work, join their Facebook group.
Mark Smith, Morocco UB church (Temperance, Mich.)
On Saturday, December 3, at Christmas In Ida, we had a table this year at the craft show. We gave away cloth shopping bags with our name on them, along with free Bibles and information about our church and service times. It was a great day of sharing. Two people who took information attended our Christmas Eve service.
Our church Christmas program was on Sunday night, December 11, with almost everyone from the congregation taking part. It was wonderful seeing the church almost filled, and sharing the joys of Christmas not only with each other but with the visitors who attended. A fellowship time followed with plenty of treats.
We had a wonderful service on Christmas Eve. Pastor Todd Greenman served communion, with an elder and his wife assisting. On Christmas Day we had our regular service at the normal time, and again God blessed us with visitors who heard our church was having services. We praise God for the excitment of seeing him work not only in our families but in seeing new faces almost weekly.
Tell us something special your church did during the Christmas season–events, programs, ministries, anything. You can use this form or send an email.
Persons from The Rock cook a Christmas morning meal at the Findlay City Mission.
Christmas morning at the Findlay City Mission
Teddy Fairchild (right), senior pastor, The Rock (Findlay, Ohio)
We have been celebrating Christmas a little differently here at our church, The Rock, here in Findlay, Ohio. God gave us the opportunity to serve him in unique ways through the local jail. I was recently sworn in as a chaplain for the Hancock County Sheriffs Department.
I was given an idea about videotaping Christmas messages from the inmates to their families. I volunteered myself and The Rock to carry out the project. The sheriff was supportive in allowing us to bring in a festive backdrop, a Christmas tree, and video equipment. It was a lot of work for the Correctional Officers to go to each cell block and transport the inmates to get their video done, and they did so with full support.
In total, 17 inmates choose to record a message. We included a brief introduction of our church and our wishes for a blessed Christmas before the individual messages from the inmates with music overlay. Each DVD was personalized and mailed to the families.
God certainly was at work in the hearts of the inmates as well as the officers, and I am eager to continue building relationship’s with both of these communities. Our prayer is that we remain open to the new and different outreaches God allows the Rock to be a part of as we seek to reach others for Christ’s Kingdom.
In our Christmas sermon series, we were challenged to find a gift for Christ on His birthday, whether a gift of forgiveness to another, an expression of love, or an act of service to one whom we may not think deserves it or will give anything back. Christ set the example in sacrificing and giving without expectation of return in coming to our world as a baby in a lowly manger.
So this Christmas morning nearly two-thirds of The Rock Church showed up bright and early at the Findlay City Mission to cook and serve breakfast for the homeless before our regular church worship time. Many arrived before 7 am to decorate tables, heat ovens, and make coffee. We served egg casserole, biscuits and sausage gravy, donuts, drinks, and lots of friendly conversation.
As a pastor, I am encouraged to see my fellow brothers and sisters living out the name they chose for this church: Reaching Others for Christ’s Kingdom (ROCK). It was something small and simple to give, but I believe it shows the heart of God’s people, and some of the neediest people in our community experienced his love in a very practical way this Christmas.
Tell us something special your church did during the Christmas season–events, programs, ministries, anything. You can use this form or send an email.
First UB Church in Holly Hill, Fla., is looking for a bus. Got one they could have or buy?
Pastor Chuck McKeown (right, with wife Vicki) writes, “We opened an ACE school at the church on December 12, 2011. We have about 50 K-12 students enrolled now and are expecting an additional 10 by the end of January. Most are from low-income families and many have special needs. We need a school-type bus for outings and field trips.”
He reports that they also plan to build a new home for their food pantry. “In 2011 we distributed 340,000 pounds of food to over 40,000 people from another location. Because that location is no longer available, we had to move everything to the church.”
Bishop Phil Whipple (right) presents a ministerial certificate to his son Josh.
On Sunday, January 1, 2012, Bishop Phil Whipple had the privilege of granting a ministerial license to his son, Josh Whipple. Josh was named senior pastor of Mount Hope UB Church (Carson City, Mich.) effective November 14, 2011. He had previously served as youth/worship pastor at Mongul UB in Shippensburg, Pa.
Josh is the first person to be granted the new “provisional” ministerial license. Normally, the local church license, which is granted by individual churches, is the entry point for ministers. However, this has proven awkward in situations where a person (perhaps coming from outside the denomination) is being assigned as senior pastor of that church. Last fall the Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team implemented this new license, which brings the license under the authority of the PMLT and involves questioning which goes much deeper than the local church license (on the level of the national conference license).
Details of the provisional license will be finalized during the spring 2012 meeting of the Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team.
