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10 Jul

July 10, 2011 |

All of the National Conference photos have been placed on Flickr, as well as on Facebook. If you would like to download specific photos, or build your own presentation about the conference, Flickr will work best. Here, you can get the full resolution photos.

09 Jul

July 9, 2011 |

Over 600 photos from the 2011 US National Conference have been published on the United Brethren Facebook page.

Feel free to tag photos of people you know (or of yourself).

07 Jul

July 7, 2011 |

The US National Conference elected 8 members for the Executive Leadership Team for 2011-2013. The voting went like this. The person elected is in italics.

East District Clergy

Todd Fetters: 166
Daryl Elliott: 44

East District Laypersons

Robert Eberly: 74
Annette Sites: 137

Central District Clergy

Marty Pennington: 142
Brad Kittle: 63

Central District Laypersons

Tim Krugh: 77
Debbie Voight: 127

North District Clergy

Lester Smith: 122
Mike Arnold: 76

North District Laypersons

Joan LaClair: 57
Dan Paternoster: 143

West District

Tim Hallman: 113
Kent Koteskey: 93

West District Laypersons

Jim Cates: 90
Molly Kesler: 116

The only new person elected was Tim Hallman, senior pastor of Anchor Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.).

Three of the four women on the ballot were elected. All three are pastors’ wives.

These 8 persons, along with chairman Phil Whipple, will appoint four more persons to the ELT. There will be one appointee from each district–two of them clergy, two of the laypersons.

07 Jul

July 7, 2011 |

L-r: Jason Bakker, Micheal Dean, Roxton Spear, Gary Boston, Marshall Woods, and Dalton Jenkins.

Seven men will be ordained during the closing service of the US National Conference on Saturday, July 9. Bishop Phil Whipple will conduct the service. Each candidate has selected ordained elders to assist in their ordination.

The six candidates are:

  • Jason E. Bakker, associate pastor of Salem UB (Chambersburg, Pa.). Assisting: Art Page and Dennis Sites.
  • Micheal E. Dean, senior pastor of Sabetha UB (Sabetha, Kansas). Assisting: Ron Ramsey and Ray Seilhamer.
  • Roxton W. Spear, senior pastor of Mongul UB (Shippensburg, Pa.). Assisting: Milt Herrold, Howard Beaver, and Dwight Spear.
  • Gary Boston, an unassigned minister from Winchester, Va. Assisting: Chris Little and Dennis Sites.
  • Marshall Woods III, senior pastor of Mill Chapel (Reedsville, W. Va.). Assisting: Chris Little and Dennis Sites.
  • Dalton M. Jenkins, senior pastor of Bethel Temple of Praise (Yonkers, N.Y.). Assisting: Ron Ramsey.
  • Kenneth E. Williamson, Jr., a military chaplain from Idaville UB (Idaville, Pa.). Assisting: Ron Ramsey and Ray Seilhamer.

06 Jul

July 6, 2011 |

At the registration booth.

Dan Paternoster, a layperson from Michigan, and Charles Milliken, a minister from Pennsylvania, served as greeters on Wednesday afternoon.

Sam Ward (left) and the team from Emmanuel Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.) led in worship on Wednesday night.

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UBs from all over worshipping together.

The 2011 US National Conference got off to a great start on Wednesday, July 6, at Saw Mill Creek in Huron, Ohio.

Throughout the afternoon, people arrived from throughout the denomination–over 700 people. They were received by a friendly group of volunteers who greeted them at the door and got them registered.

Keynote speaker Rex Bullock.

The conference officially kicked off at 6:30 pm with the opening service. A worship team from Emmanuel Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.) led the people in singing, with videos and a drama rounding out the opening part of the service.

Then Bishop Phil Whipple introduced the week’s keynote speaker, Rex Bullock. Rex gave an inspiring message on “Fanning the Flame.”

The day concluded with an ice cream social sponsored by Huntingotn University.

Altogether, a great start.

Thursday includes:

  • An 8 am worship service.
  • A breakfast for delegates, spnsored by the Israel Ministry of Tourism, who will give a brief presentation.
  • The business sessino, with adjourment set for noon.
  • The Golf Scramble.
  • The evening service at 6:30.
  • An after-service reception sponsored by Global Ministries.

05 Jul

July 5, 2011 |

Josh Greenfield (on the ladder) and Steve Dennie put up one of Josh's many signs.

The main hall, with five big screens.

Paul Hammel helps prepare the attendee packets.

Tuesday was a busy day at the Saw Mill Creek Resort, as a large crew of people from several states came to prepare for the US National Conference, which starts tomorrow.

  • They prepared everything needed for registration, including stuffing ov er 700 bags with materials for attendees.
  • They put up colorful signs.
  • They worked on the main hall where the evening services will be held–staging, sound, lighting, etc.
  • They filled the Granary–the hospitality room–with goodies, which attendees can take advantage of all week long.
  • And they did many other things.

The day ended with a poolside meal for all of the volunteers.

Registration begins Wednesday at noon, and the first service begins that night at 6:30. It’s gonna be exciting!

You can view a bunch of photos from the day on Flickr.

04 Jul

July 4, 2011 |

Jeff Dice, who is in Nicaragua with his family helping with work teams, sent a note on July 2 about the group of 25 teens and adult sponsors from College Park UB (Huntington, Ind.), who had been in Nicaragua since June 20.

“The group from College Park just left. They did a great job of connecting with the community around Sergio Canda’s church. The kids were great. They did a 4-day VBS style camp which was constantly fighting the weather. They kept a great attitude and we accomplished everything we had hoped we would.”

He added these notes about upcoming ministries in Nicaragua.

“We are starting a two-week English camp in Masaya on Monday with two sessions each day. Projects are going well. April [Dice] has been asked to present a women’s conference July 28. The subject she’s been asked to address is abuse in the home. Pastor Juan estimates that more than 50% of the women who attend church by themselves are being abused at home. This will be a challenge for April.

“I will begin traveling around to all the churches this week to start the process of assembling a Nicaragua church/pastor directory.”

03 Jul

July 3, 2011 |

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

There is good news regarding the “good news.”

The latest edition of Operation World reported that evangelicals numbered 84.5 million (2.8% of the world’s population) in 1960, but in 2000 they were 420 million (6.9%). Evangelical Christianity is the world’s fastest growing major religion even in areas traditionally closed to missionaries.

In the Islamic world, North Africans have been turning to Christ in the last decade–perhaps explaining at least in part the desire for reform throughout the region. Middle East Media reports surging interest in Christian literature, while in Indonesia the church is estimated to have grown by 20 million since organized attacks against Christians began in 1998.

Latin America’s evangelicals now number 60 million people, two-thirds of whom are Pentecostals. Responding not only to the needs of the poor and disenfranchised within their own borders, they have been carrying the gospel overseas to Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

In the countries of the former Soviet Union, the Alliance for Saturation Church Planting and the CoMission, a cooperative effort of 35 denominations and agencies, reports 2500 new church plants in four years, including 767 in the Ukraine alone. Ukrainians are now sending workers to 11 unreached areas, including Kazakhstan.

In Asia, the church in China has gone from 30 million in 1949 when the communists took power to more than 100 million today. In India there is a vibrant and brave missionary movement of 200 Indian agencies and several thousand missionaries reaching out to their own tribal peoples, and also to Bhutan, Tibet, Nepal, and the disputed Cashmere Region.

Africa is the most Christian continent in all the world today. In Kenya, nearly 50% of the people claim to be evangelicals. Nigeria is sending missionaries throughout the world, but particularly to Arab North Africa.

The world as we know it has been turned upside down. Once the Global North was predominantly Christian. Today, it is the Global South. Nearly 80% of all evangelicals live in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and they are more engaged in mission than ever before. North America is being rivaled by South Korea, Brazil, China, India, and Nigeria as the leading sender of missionaries.

This doesn’t mean we are being relieved of our duties, nor are we unnecessary in the task of global evangelism. What it does indicate is that our role is changing from leaders to participants, and that the way missions is being done will continue to change significantly.

02 Jul

July 2, 2011 |

Report 33 to the US National Conference, which you can download in PDF format, compiles statistics for the year 2010. Of the 177 churches in the United States, 160 submitted the required annual reports for 2010 (due back in February). The statistics for the churches that reported show:

Total Attendance: 21,242
Total Membership: 16,003
Total Converts: 1,493
Total Baptisms: 779
Total Income: $32.6 million
Total Expenses: $30.9 million

The PDF file also lists every church individually, giving the following information:

  • Church name, location, and pastor
  • 2009 and 2010 attendances, and how much it went up or down
  • 2010 membership
  • 2010 converts
  • 2010 baptisms
  • 2010 total income
  • 2010 total expenses

You’ll also find:

  • A list of the 25 largest churches in 2010 by attendance, and a comparison with their attendance in 2000.
  • A list of the churches which have grown at least 10% since 2000 (there are 49 of them).