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10 May

May 10, 2011 |

Carita Landes, right, senior class president, spoke during the May 9 groundbreaking. At left is Rob Hahn, student body president, and President G. Blair Dowden, center.

Huntington University seniors after the ground-breaking ceremony.
(click to enlarge)

President G. Blair Dowden breaks ground for the new outdoor basketball court.

Huntington University broke ground May 9, 2011, for a new outdoor basketball court–a gift from the senior class. The full-size court with two hoops will be located next to the Klopfenstein Tennis Courts on the southwest side of the Merillat Physical Education and Recreation Complex.

The cost came mostly from the senior class with the support of the Student Senate and the Student Activities Board. The remaining balance was raised through efforts of the Advancement Office and local businesses.

President G. Blair Dowden and Chris Dowden, first lady of the university, were present to accept the gift.

The project will be completed by Ironclad Excavating in Roanoke, Ind., with the help of a generous gift from Ironclad’s owners, Jenny and Junior Geiger. The basketball court will be finished this summer.

05 May

May 5, 2011 |

Each year, many UB churches raise money for missions through their summer children’s ministries, like Vacation Bible School, and channel that money to Global Ministries.

This year, Global Ministries will focus these funds on two medical needs:

  • Medicine to supply our medical team traveling to Honduras this summer.
  • AIDS medications for our Project Compassion children in India.

We created a short video and some activities for the children to use that focus attention on the needs and opportunity to share. The video and materials are available on DVD and in print. Or, you can simply visit our website and download either item.

05 May

May 5, 2011 |

The 40th annual Huntington University Forester Night was held May 3. This is when awards are given out for lots of things.

The Forester of the Year awards, voted on by the students, went to:

  • Male Forester of the Year: Philip Black, a senior theater performance major from Fort Wayne, Ind.
  • Female Forester of the Year: Gloria Bonilla, a senior public relations major from La Ceiba, Honduras. (Gloria attended the United Brethren Bethel school in La Ceiba, but is not from a United Brethren church there.)

The 2011 Outstanding Scholar Award was given to Jared Grandlienard, a senior mathematics major from Bluffton, Ind.

Dr. David Alexander, assistant professor of philosophy, was named the 2011 Professor of the Year.

The 2011 Impact Initiative Scholarship was given to Chad Shellabarger, a sophomore nursing student from Rockford, Ohio. The award is presented by the Student Senate to a student who has had an impact on the university and the greater community. The student receives a $1000 scholarship for his or her junior and senior years.

Twenty seniors were also honored by their respective departments with Outstanding Senior Awards, which are voted on by faculty. You can read about all of those recipients, and see photos of them, on the Huntington University site.

03 May

May 3, 2011 |

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

In early April, the Global Ministries Leadership Team met in Guelph, Ontario, to continue work on a number of strategic measures. These measures include:

  • Conduct a series of one-day regional training events in 2012, to provide a broad overview of what God is doing around the globe and how we can be involved.. These will be done in partnership with the US Center for World Mission.
  • Train and coach church planters in other countries to operate small business endeavors, which will provide funding for ministry and opportunity to penetrate Gospel-resistant areas. The first training event will take place in Sierra Leone in January 2012.
  • Continue collaborating with sister national conferences eager to send their own missionaries and participate in the broader world of United Brethren missions. Already, Honduras has participated in a short-term endeavor in Haiti, and Jamaica has received several offerings to benefit Haiti and the Philippines.
  • Develop a global prayer network to strengthen God’s hand to act among United Brethren ministries around the world through focused prayer. We’ll let you know more about this as plans develop.
  • Hire an additional associate director at the Global Ministries office. This person will focus primarily on all matters related to missionary personnel (recruitment, training, support, etc.), plus small business development and other areas.

03 May

May 3, 2011 |

Brandon O’Brien, editor-at-large for Leadership Journal, will present a seminar at the US National Conference based on his book, “The Strategically Small Church. The book shows how small churches are uniquely equipped for success in today’s culture.

He explains, “A ‘strategically small’ church is one that has learned to recognize and leverage the inherent strengths of being small. Being strategically small means that instead of trying to overcome your congregation’s size, you have learned to use it to strategic ministry advantage…. I’m hoping that by telling the stories of some truly innovative and effective small churches, other small congregations will stop viewing their size and limited resources as liabilities and begin thinking about them as advantages.”

02 May

May 2, 2011 |

On April 28 (Thursday), those of you who subscribe to Feedburner received an email saying that Wilmer Houck, pastor of the UB church in Coleta, Ill., would undergo brain surgery on May 4. That was wrong information–right family, wrong person. Actually, it is Juli Houck, Wilmer’s wife, who will have surgery. The error was quickly corrected on UBCentral, but not before the Feedburner emails went out (it’s done automatically). I apologize for the mistake. We do ask your prayers for Juli. — Steve Dennie

02 May

May 2, 2011 |

Donelle Raab passed away at approximately 7:30 am on Monday, May 2, 2011. She had been in hospice care throughout the weekend, and her condition was declining. We’ll post other details as we learn them. She and her husband, Richard, who passed away in January 2010, served UB churches in Michigan. Donelle held a Specialized Ministry license. You can read previous posts here and here.

Visitation: Thursday, May 5, 2-5 pm and 6-9 pm.
Visitation Location: Stroo Funeral Home, 1095 68th SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49508.

Funeral: 11 am Friday, May 6. Visitation 10-10:45 am
Funeral Location: Banner of Christ Church, 1111 68th St., Byron Center, MI 49315.

02 May

May 2, 2011 |

Anita Fleming, from Victory Chapel UB church ni Celina, Ohio, sent this note at 8:15 Monday morning (May 2):

“A tornado ripped through the Celina (Mercer County) area at 11:40 p.m. April 20, 2011. Our pastor, Kenneth Whetstone, lives on a few acres northeast of Celina. The storm took down two huge barns, ripped up all their fruit trees, and did some damage to their house, but praise the Lord, they were not hurt. There has been a massive clean-up going on since then even in the rain. The cluster pastors decided to forego the monthly meeting last Saturday and they came and helped clear debris.”

29 Apr

April 29, 2011 |

To date, Global Ministries has received over $11,000 from UB churches and individual donors to support tsunami relief efforts in Japan. As we promised, this money has been forwarded to Samaritan’s Purse, an organization with which we partner for disaster relief.

The evangelical Christian community in Japan represents less than 1 percent of the population, but undaunted, they are eager to help their countrymen. Samaritan’s Purse is working with churches in Japan providing tangible help with blankets, kitchen kits, and hygiene kits.

In addition to buying supplies locally, Samaritan’s Purse airlifted 93 tons of emergency aid to Japan on a 747 jumbo jet just a week after the tsunami. Their team continues to work with local church partners to distribute essential items to tens of thousands of people in the hardest hit communities.

Transportation remains a big challenge on the road to recovery. Nearly every car in the affected area was destroyed, and the country is facing a fuel shortage. In response to this need, Samaritan’s Purse has purchased hundreds of bicycles that they are giving to churches and evacuation centers, so people can borrow them when needed.

To help displaced families return to their homes, Samaritan’s Purse is providing pastors with small, inexpensive pickup trucks, each one loaded with a generator, power washer, and clean-up tools. Their team is training Japanese Christians in how to do “mud-outs,” and are setting up tents to serve as bunkhouses for volunteers coming from churches elsewhere in Japan.

28 Apr

April 28, 2011 |



The Jonathan Herron family

Over 5000 people converged on Colwood UB church (Caro, Mich.) on Saturday, April 23. The big attraction was an Easter Egg drop–from a helicopter. As the people formed a large circle on the church property, a helicopter dropped 50,000 plastic Easter eggs, each one filled with goodies.

Last year, when they tried a helicopter drop for the first time, Pastor Jon Herron was praying that 1000 people would show up–a good goal for Caro, a town of 4500. But they were overwhelmed when 5000 people poured in.

“This year we were ready for the crowds,” said Herron. “From smoother parking to additional inflatable bouncers, the entire experience was great. We saw thousands with Easter egg baskets overflowing. The kids loved it.”

Local businesses and organizations donated goods and services, and they were graced with the presence of the Tuscola County Sherriff’s Mounted Division, Caro Fire Department, local EMTs, and Wal-Mart. The church provided 175 volunteers to make a day a big success. In addition to the eggs, they gave out 5000 bottles of water.

The Easter services were a success too. Not only did 883 people attend, but 17 people dedicated their lives to Christ!