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21 Oct

October 21, 2010 |

Deon McClennon, from Jamaica Conference, sent the following:

Every year Camp Malvern hosts the Jamaica Conference summer youth camp. At this camp over 100 youth attend and many give their souls to Jesus; others rejuvenate and strengthen their commitment to the Lord. Many other spiritual retreats and functions are also held at Camp Malvern.

The camp site is now in urgent need of repairs and development. Work teams from the United States will come to Jamaica in January and February in a 50/50 collaborative effort to develop Camp Malvern.

Since the beginning of the year, fundraising efforts in Jamaica have raised substantial funds for Camp Malvern. On October 17, at the Jamaica Conference midyear conference, the ”UB Torch” was launched. The UB Torch is a four-foot-high replica of our logo with a large square in the middle, which holds the development plans for Camp Malvern. Members who made contributions can sign in the square around the development plans of Camp Malvern.

It is called the UB Torch because it will travel to every church in Jamaica (similar to the Olympic torch), where members who have contributed will sign. The torch will continue to build the momentum as we approach the start of the project

21 Oct

October 21, 2010 |

Billy Simbo, bishop of Sierra Leone Conference, sent a report Oct. 20 about his wife, Mamei, who has been hospitalized for the past 7 weeks in Abington, Pa. He writes:

Today’s report begins with thanksgiving and praises! Mamei has overcome the setback that happened last Thursday. The pneumonia is under control, she is off the breathing machine, and she is smiling and interacting with us and the nurses. She was alert because they took her off the sedatives.

It was such a pleasant sight to come in last night and see her sitting up, smiling, and giving the nurse a hard time!

20 Oct

October 20, 2010 |

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries, is in South Africa attending the 3rd Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization. He sent this note on October 20.

We were majorly challenged in this morning session’s. John Piper spoke on Ephesians 3 emphasizing that prayer and suffering are normative to the spread of the gospel and fulfilling the eternal purposes of God. This was followed by testimonies about people who have lost their lives for the gospel in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan.

The story from Afghanistan was shared by the widow of a man who died along with 11 others just two months ago. To say I was overwhelmed by their faith is an understatement. I’m going to be processing some of this for a long while. I don’t think I’ll read Ephesians 3 the same way I have in the past ever again.

We focus on the last verse — immeasurably more — and think in terms of what God will do for us. In reality it refers to what he wants to do in us to bring us in line with His cosmic purpose of bringing salvation to all who would otherwise be nothing more than objects of wrath. In Paul’s world, and the world of the majority of believers where the church is growing, this will always take place in the context of prayer and persecution, not prosperity.

20 Oct

October 20, 2010 |

Tim Gorniak was hired as the new youth pastor at New Hope UB (Camden, Mich.). He holds a local license from Shoreline UB church in Oak Harbor, Ohio. Don Gentry is the senior pastor at New Hope.

20 Oct

October 20, 2010 |

Dr. G. Blair Dowden (right), as president of Huntington University, is automatically the Director of Higher Education. Here are some tidbits from his written and verbal report to the Executive Leadership Team on October 12, 2010.

The overall enrollment his 1278 for the fall 2010 semester, exceeding enrollment projections by 44. That includes:

  • 1040 traditional undergraduates.
  • 148 students in the EXCEL Adult Degree Program.
  • 90 students pursing master’s degrees in the HU Graduate School.

Other notes about the student body:

  • There are students from 35 states.
  • 33 international students represent 20 countries–the largest grow of international students in at least two decades.
  • The incoming class of 320 new fulltime students was the second largest in the university’s history.
  • The number of new Untied Brethren students increased from 28 in 2009 to 35 in 2010–the highest number of new UB students since 2002. The UB church is consistently the largest single denomination represented in the student body.

The Campaign for Huntington University is approaching the $10 million mark toward an overall goal of $21 million.

  • Renovations are currently underway in Becker Hall (the former Administration Building) to create new classrooms, studios, and labs for the Digital Media arts program.
  • New bleachers were installed in the Merillat Complex–the first of many planned renovations.

Huntington University has received some noteworthy rankings:

  • US News: #8 among the Best Baccalaureate Colleges in the Midwest Region, and #5 in the Best Values category for Baccalaureate Colleges in the Midwest.
  • Forbes.com: Among the top 15% of colleges in the United States.
  • Princeton Review: on the “Best in the Midwest” list.
  • Washington Monthly: one of the Top 50 baccalaureate colleges in the nation.

HU hired 7 new faculty this year. Of the 60 fulltime teaching faculty, 48 (80%) hold earned doctorates.

Huntington University is gaining a greater presence in Fort Wayne and northeast Indiana. Significant on-air and off-air promotion of HU has developed through a strategic alliance with Fort Wayne Christian radio station Star 88.3. The number of students form Fort Wayne has increased.

HU made significant progress on several diversity initiatives. United States ethnic minorities now comprise 5% of the student population. In 2009-2010, the university community had a year-long emphasis on diversity. Book studies, chapel program, special guest lectures, and other activities centered on the theme “One in Christ” explored racial reconciliation as an outgrowth of our Christ-centeredness.

State funding was cut 31% last year and another 7% this year.

20 Oct

October 20, 2010 |

Retired minister, Jim Sturgeon, has discontinued dialysis as of last Wednesday, the family reports. Hospice care has begun and he is ready to go be with the Lord. Please hold Jim and his family up in prayer during this time of transition.

You can send cards to:

507 W. Market St.
Rockford, OH 45882

18 Oct

October 18, 2010 |

A group of 12 persons from Canada, plus one from Honduras, spent nearly two weeks in Haiti earlier this month working at the Delmas church in Port au Prince. Team member Joan Sider wrote about the trip each day and took photos.

18 Oct

October 18, 2010 |

The 2010 Mid-Atlantic Pastoral Resource Day will be held November 7-8 at Rhodes Grove Camop and Conference Center in Chambersburg, Pa. The speakers will be:

  • Phil Whipple, UB bishop.
  • Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries.
  • Gary Gates, UB Director of Ministerial Licensing.

18 Oct

October 18, 2010 |

The Huntington University Board of Trustees chose new officers and some new members during its meeting on October 15.

Kelly Savage (right) is the new chair of the Board of Trustees. She is the first woman to serve in that post in the university’s 113-year history. She replaces Ed Souers, chairman for the past six years.

Savage is the vice president for global human resources at Amway Corp. in Ada, Mich. She is a 1983 graduate of Huntington University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, and she also holds an MBA from Colorado State University. She has served on the HU board since 2001 and as the vice chair since 2004.

Dr. Herb Schumm (right) of Spencerville, Ohio, was elected vice chair. Schumm, a 1982 HU alumnus, is a medical doctor and vice president for media affairs at St. Rita’s Hospital in Lima, Ohio.

Nancy Hull, a 1974 graduate and the 2010 Alumnus of the Year, was elected secretary of the HU Board of Trustees. She is assistant professor of English at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Three new board members were also elected at the October meeting:

  • Larry New, who previously served on the board 1996-2008, is president of Heritage Medical Group and owner of CrownPointe Communities. As a 1971 graduate of the university, he was named Alumnus of the Year in 1982.
  • Robin Wright, a 1982 HU graduate from Columbia City, Ind., is the executive vice president of STAR Financial Bank. He previously served on the board from 2009 to 2010.
  • Molly Deuberry, a 2001 HU graduate from Chesterton, Ind., is the director of communications for the Indianapolis Department of Works. She was officially named the alumni board president in May.

18 Oct

October 18, 2010 |

The opening of the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization

A South African choir during the opening service of Cape Town 2010.

Jeff Bleijerveld is in Cape Town, South Africa, representing the United Brethren Church as one of 4000 participants selected from 200 countries.

Cape Town 2010, also known as Lausanne III, opened Sunday night, October 17, amid much fanfare. The opening session was hosted by Doug Birdsall, the Lausanne Director, who declared this Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization  officially “open.”

With more than 4000 participants and more than a thousand observers from the media, the Vatican, Orthodox and other religious groups, the Congress is one of the largest gatherings of Christian workers in the history of the evangelical Church. Wonderfully “missional” musical pieces were prepared and performed by a multi-national orchestra and a 120-voice South African choir.

All participants meet around tables of six from various regions of the world. The room we are in has more than 800 tables. My table is represented by delegates from Malta, Bangladesh, Slovakia, and Myanmar.

This morning (Monday), we began dealing with the question of truth and specifically making the case for the truth of Christ in a pluralistic, globalized world. Having read papers on the subject in advance and hearing follow-up lectures from various speakers, we began to deal with the challenges and opportunities faced in each of the countries we represent. It was a great time of sharing, learning, and praying for one another.