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Andy Stahl has been named senior pastor of New Life Community Church in Chanute, Kansas, effective September 1, 2011. Michael Longfellow resigned from that position earlier this summer to take a church in another denomination.
Andy is a 2007 graduate of Huntington University, with a degree in Bible and Religion. His wife, Jennifer, graduated from HU in 2006 with a degree in Recreation Management.
Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries
The 10th Anniversary of 9/11 is just around the corner. Perhaps you haven’t given it much thought in your worship planning, but here are some practical ideas from Shane Bennett of Missions Catalyst to focus your church on the opportunities to share Christ’s love and not just the tragedy.
Mark Wilson, senior pastor, Fowlerville UB (Fowlerville, Mich.)
Each year we have an outdoor baptism service, that is often a highlight in our summer. This year was the first in the history of these outdoor baptisms that we had to cancel due to impending severe weather. After deciding to move the service and picnic indoors to the church. We planned to make the best of the day and still proceed with the baptisms.
God met with us in a very powerful way as He moved on the hearts of people. We celebrated God move as 34 individuals were baptized. As we reflected on the day, we were reminded that when God chooses to move, men’s plans are nothing. We are rejoicing in the celebration of these steps of obedience.
Scenes from the Honduras Mission Conference. The woman in the red jacket in many of the photos is Juanita Chavez, superintendent of Honduras Conference.
Juanita Chavez, Honduras Conference Superintendent
The Women’s Leadership Team of Honduras, District No. 3 (La Ceiba) and two congregations from District No. 4, celebrated their first missionary conference. Each country where the worldwide United Brethren Church works was represented with typical food, costumes, and other items related to that country.
We had with us Rev. Edgardo Lainez of Church of the Nations, who also works with COMIBAN (Latin American Missions Consortium) of Honduras. He provided us with a comprehensive briefing on missions and missionaries from Honduras who are serving in different countries.
Bryan Ballinger, associate professor of digital media arts at Huntington University, has published a collection of vintage recipes and recipe booklets.
Kooky Cookery: An Archive of Irregular Recipes from Yester-year features recipes such as Bologna Cups with Peas, Sausage-Eyed Apple Winkers and Cheese-Burger Pancakes.
“I collect vintage recipes and recipe booklets and have been for years, in particular, ones that were put out by food companies trying to come up with more and more ways to use their products, and that is a ‘recipe’ for some really absurd food creations,” Ballinger said. “When I was getting my Master in Fine Arts in creative writing, I decided to write a humorous book about these recipes as part of my final thesis. Since then, I’ve been working on the design and layout of the book.”
Ballinger teaches in the digital media arts department at HU. His specialty is in the design and illustration work of digital media, including 3D CGI skills in modeling, texturing, lighting and animation.
Before coming to HU, he was a freelance illustrator with clients such as Microsoft, Nintendo, Disney, and Harley Davidson. He was also the lead 3D designer for five years at Big Idea Productions, the creators of VeggieTales. He also spent six years as a senior designer and illustrator at the Microsoft Corporation where he was awarded a patent for development of multimedia buttons.
“Kooky Cookery” is available in print, Kindle, Nook and PDF formats at kookycookery.com.
Josh McKeown (left) at the US National Conference in July with (l-r): his brother Matt, Global Ministries Director Jeff Bleijerveld, and father Chuck McKeown, pastor of First UB of Holly Hill, Fla.
Josh McKeown, 32, youth minister of First UB in Holly Hill, Fla., was diagnosed with leukemia in November 2010. His attitude, in his own words: “Cancer has made me a better parent, a better husband, and a better pastor.”
Josh and Julie McKeown
The Daytona Beach News-Journal published a lengthy, and quite inspiring, story about Josh, called, “Pastor Credits Faith, Cancer for Making Him ‘Better’.” Some tidbits from it:
Abby Waterbury (right) served four years, beginning in the fall of 2007, in Honduras with World Gospel Outreach, teaching elementary children. She has returned to the States, and will be teaching at Lenawee Christian School in Adrian, Mich.
Milt Herrold (right) resigned as pastor of Orrstown UB (Orrstown, Pa.) to take a position in Vermont with Child Evangelism Fellowship. Milt had been pastor of Orrstown since 2004.
Jason Sheets (right), associate pastor of Shepherd of the Valley (Logan, Ohio), reports, “We baptized 18 people at a nearby pond in Sugar Grove, Ohio. We sang a different chorus as each person emerged from the pond. We all shared in eating homemade ice cream during a time of fellowship following the service.”
Children singing at one of our churches in Thailand.
Rev. Mark Choi, mission director for Hong Kong Conference, provided this information about the three churches and the student center in northern Thailand. Hong Kong provides the primary oversight of our ministries in Thailand.
Litao Village Church. Rev. Li began this church in 1992, and it now has 300 members. Most of them are tea workers, earning about $200 (US) per month. Some of them work in Bangkok or Taiwan as laborers or servants. Rev. Li intend to rebuild the church with two levels–a ground floor with 3 classrooms for Sunday school, and an upper floor for worship services.
Roman Village Church. This church began in 2006. Rev. Li had tried for a long time to plant a church here, working hard to reach the people of this village. Now, Mr. Ah Tu is the assistant pastor to Rev. Li. The church has 60 members.
New Church at Laozuo Village. We intend to plant a new Chinese church at Laozuo village, either on land provided by Rev. Li or in cooperation with Zhongxing Middle School. It does depend on the financial situation. Rev. Li has land to offer for further development, but the size seems too small for any long-term strategy. The site of Zhongxing Middle School is more flexible. If it becomes a Christian school, we can have our own church with bilingual language worship there. In addition, it can serve as a training center or social service center.
Student Center. The Student Center opened in 2000, and serves 26 children from ages 6-16. Most of them are orphans or from single-parent families. Due to the high inflation, the monthly expense for each child is about $70 (US).
We hope that we can help the Thailand field become more independent financially in the future, and that the living standard of the villagers can be improved. They could share the love of Christ with other tribes.
