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21 Jul

July 21, 2006 |

Jennifer Blandin, UB missionary in Macau, sent this update on July 7.
“During the month of June, our staff took a short trip to Hong Kong for a team retreat and to check out the new Disneyland. Like most things in Hong Kong, Disneyland is compact. But we still had a lot of fun! We also gained a new appreciation for Mickey, Minnie, and the gang! I’m guessing even the best trained athletes wouldn’t last 10 minutes of being in those costumes! But it would be a quick way to lose weight!
 
“Besides visiting Disneyland, we enjoyed walking around Hong Kong, hanging out at the hotel room, and playing a marathon game of Phase 10. It was nice to have some down-time together.
 
“Before Carlson and Naomi Becker headed back to the States for the summer, Living Stone Church had an outing into China for a steak dinner. The food was close to steaks you get in the States, and the time with people was a definite bonus.”

21 Jul

July 21, 2006 |

NorthPointe Community Church (Lewis Center, Ohio) is seeking to hire a Celebration (Contemporary Worship) and Youth staffperson. NorthPointe is located in the Greater Columbus area. If interested, contact Lead Pastor Dan Kopp for a ministry description and to submit a resume. Email him or write to: Dan Kopp, 7509 Storrington Place, Lewis Center, Ohio 43035.

21 Jul

July 21, 2006 |

Rhodes Grove Camp, the United Brethren camp located outside of Greencastle, Pa., will holds its traditional campmeeting August 20-24. The speaker is Michael W. Sigman, bishop of the Evangelical Congregational Church. Nursery service will be provided, along with children’s lessons for grades K-6 taught each night by Rev. James Herman.

Services will be held in the air-conditioned Meadows Conference Center Sunday through Thursday, beginning at 7 pm. the Macedonia Messengers will provide special music on Sunday evening. Rev. Bob Conway will lead a morning Bible study on the Parables of Jesus in the conference center on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings at 10 am.

19 Jul

July 19, 2006 |

I’ve come alongside some broken situations lately. My heart aches. I’ve seen it all through the years, and there are some patterns that continue to make no sense to me. A spouse is told that the “feeling” is gone and suddenly feelings have developed for a person that they’ve just met. This rush of “feelings” supersedes any vow of commitment that was ever made. Forget the vows, forget the kids, forget the oneness, forget the commitments. It all comes down to what I “feel.” Love has lost the buzz. It’s gone, and it won’t return. (At least that seems to be the logic.) And the number one priority is “my happiness.”

I’ve seen it in broken spiritual lives too. No work is put into developing the relationship. Other ventures and voices seem fresh and alluring. And suddenly Jesus is not worth following any longer. Pull back from fellowship. Pull back from Bible reading and prayer (the conversational aspect of relationship with Jesus). Pull back from serving anyone in any way. Listen to the voice that says, “Its all about you.”

And we walk away, chasing after our new friend.

The amazing thing to me is that while this scenario has failed to deliver on this ominous promise of happiness for people throughout the ages, everyone who walks through it feels it will be different for them. It is right for them, because it “feels” right.

Feelings are deceptive. They can change directions like the wind. That is why a wise man once said, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its path leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12).

The prophet also observed, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

The key for all is to revisit the commitments and vows taken at the beginning. We must begin to do the things that we were doing at the start (Revelation 2:5). Marriages, believing communities, relationships with Jesus, all take work. They take daily investments. Rather than walking away, get back to work!

The one reassuring promise is His: “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Matthew 28:20).

17 Jul

July 17, 2006 |

On Sunday, July 2 Franklin UB Church (New Albany, Ohio) held its second annual Freedom and Faith Sunday. The purpose of Freedom and Faith Sunday is to celebrate the freedoms we have in America, including the freedom to worship God and practice our faith as He directs us. Many political guests were invited, including Ohio’s Governor Bob Taft and area politicians. Though the Governor was unable to attend, a special congratulatory note was sent on his behalf.

The church is located in the city of New Albany and the mayor and city council declared in a proclamation that July 2 was Freedom and Faith Sunday for the city, recognizing Franklin Church. Guests included the City Council President (the Mayor had to be in Canada), a township Trustee, two of the three Franklin County commissioners, City of Columbus Mayor’s representative Rick Isbel, and several other special guests. The local NBC TV affialiate, Channel 4, gave favorable coverage to the event on both their Sunday and Monday news broadcast.

14 Jul

July 14, 2006 |

On July 13, six persons from the US National Conference began traveling to Sierra Leone, where they will participate in a major leadership development initiative. This trip begins a three-year effort to bring renewal and strength to Sierra Leone Conference. It will include training, a series of additional teams, plus projects which UB churches in North America can help accomplish.

This is something of an “intervention,” and it comes only at the request of Sierra Leone Conference. The civil war in the 1990s cut short many things, including the training and development needed to successfully move the Sierra Leone churches from “mission field” to self-governing “national conference.” The conference realizes its need for outside help, and called to us for that help.

The persons currently in Sierra Leone are: Ruth Ann Price (team leader), Jeff Sherlock, Randy Fennig, Luke Fetters, Todd Fetters, and Billy Simbo. Todd Fetters is the only one who is not a member of the Global Ministries Leadership Team. Billy Simbo, a Sierra Leonean and former President of the Sierra Leone Bible College, now pastors a UB church in New Jersey.

These US leaders will spend six days meeting with about 70 African pastors and lay leaders. They will interact on leadership development, biblical decision-making, preaching, and principles of financial management. Presentations will be given, case studies will be considered, and then the participants will break into small groups to discuss specific ways to implement what they have learned. The overall theme involves drawing lessons from the life of Joseph. At the conclusion, each participant will be challenged to make a personal action plan for growing as a leader.

Randy Fennig and Ruth Ann Price visited Sierra Leone in February of this year to assess needs and bring back recommendations to the Global Ministries team. It was their impression that the war left such devastation and trauma that the Sierra Leoneans lack the ability to “rebuild the walls” without assistance. After the leadership training, Randy, a former Africa Inland Mission missionary in Mozambique, will spend an additional week in Sierra Leone studying needs and possibilities.

“We are giving this our best effort and hoping that something very good will happen,” says Gary Dilley, the US Director of Global Ministries.

Sierra Leone was our first mission field, started in the 1850s, so our ties and history run deep. They currently have 35 churches and 5000 members. Islam is advancing aggressively in Sierra Leone and now claims 60% of the population, compared to 30% tribal religion and 10% Christian. The evangelistic challenges for our churches are great. Sierra Leone is also the world’s poorest country.

Please pass this information along to your congregation and remember this effort in prayer.

14 Jul

July 14, 2006 |

The UB Women’s Conference is fast approaching. Please inform women in your church about this conference and encourage them to register. Several promotional materials are available online, which you can download in Jpeg format which you can drop into your church newsletter.

The conference will be held in Shipshewana, Indiana (near the Michigan border) at the Farmstead Inn. The cost is $135 per person (or $125 if you bring at least eight women from your church). The keynote speaker will be Jennie Dimkoff, an author, motivational speaker, and gifted storyteller.

14 Jul

July 14, 2006 |

On July 8, Les and Linda Smith moved out of the parsonage at Hillsdale UB (Hillsdale, Mich.), so that it can be renovated into an office complex; the attached garage will become a conference room/classroom. The Smiths have lived next door to each of the three UB churches they have served during the past 25 years.

Currently, two staff members must share one office and a part-time pastor does not have one. The six offices at the church are scattered throughout the building in four areas. The new office complex will provide an office for each staffperson. The new office for Pastor Les will be his former bedroom.

Hillsdale UB has two Sunday morning services in two locations of the church–a more traditional service in the sanctuary and a contemporary service in the Worship Center (gym). For three years, 400 chairs have been setup and taken down each week for the second service. The parsonage renovation will allow the church offices to be used for additional lobby space and will relieve the bottleneck between services.

Two new parking lots have just been completed. One was a large expansion of the existing lot at the rear of the church, while the other replaced the front lawn of the former parsonage, so visitors to the new office complex will be able to park close by.

In June, Hillsdale completed a 40 Days of Purpose Campaign. Prior to the campaign, the congregation had eight home groups with about 80 participants. During the six-week campaign this number grew to more than 400 participants meeting in over 40 small groups. This included about three-quarters of the adult congregation as well as a number of unchurched people. Most of the groups are continuing to meet despite the end of the 40 days, while others plan to resume in the fall.

At the Ministry Fair held on the fifth Sunday of the campaign, around 350 signed up to serve in one or more of the dozens of ministry opportunities being offered both within the church and community.

12 Jul

July 12, 2006 |

Gary Dilley, Director of Global Ministries, 2001-2008

Mt. Pleasant UB church in Chambersburg, Pa., is partnering with a UB church in Mexico that has a big vision to make a difference in a city of 70,000 people. But they are wondering, “Could we work with other UB churches in North America that share our interest in Mexico? We would enjoy working with others and not just doing this on our own.” They have asked Global Ministries to work as a “clearinghouse” for churches and individuals interested in partnerships and ways God’s people can work together.

In a similar way, the Brown Corners UB church in Clare, Mich., has a passion for helping our churches in Nicaragua. The UB church in Fowlerville, Mich., is highly focused on church planting work in the Copan region of Honduras. Salem Chapel in southeast Ohio has involved itself with the new churches in San Jose, Costa Rica. A new church plant, Bethany House of the Lord, in Cumberland, MD, has intentionally sought to enhance kingdom work in Africa and India. These are just a few examples.

Working as partners enables you to do things you could never do on your own as a “Lone Ranger.” It’s a joy to watch UB churches work alongside each other, and alongside churches in other parts of the world. It may be helpful to know who else shares your church’s specific passions. This might also provide the opportunity to do a work team together, or to join forces to accomplish a specific project.

People in your church may have a passion for sports outreach ministry, and you wonder if other UB churches feel the same way, and if that can be used in cross-cultural ministry? Or perhaps your passion is in children’s ministry or music, or medical outreach, or leadership development, or in helping pastors’ families. The list could go on.

I’d love to get UB churches connected so they can do things like this together. Global Ministries is developing some ideas along this line, and plan to use the UBMissions.com website to help churches network with each other over places and projects. You’ll be hearing more about this. In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you about specific missions-related interests your church may have, whether it involves a country or a type of ministry.

12 Jul

July 12, 2006 |

Years ago, Denny Miller, Bob Bruce and I traveled together to attend seminary at Evangelical School of Theology in Myerstown, Pa. Denny and Bob would pick me up along the way and from my home we would alternate driving so we shared the gas expense. It became apparent after a while that there was a clear difference in how quickly we arrived at the school depending on who was driving. I won’t elaborate the difference, but it was clear. Keep that thought in mind.

Now picture your church as a car. There are four people, or entities, in the car. One is vision. One is relationships. One is management. And the final one is programs. There are two main drivers in the car: vision and management. The progression of the journey will be dependent upon who is driving.

When vision is driving the church, relationships are up front riding shotgun and they work closely together. Management and programs are along for the ride but the focus is on how vision is setting the pace and relationships assist the vision. It is exciting, focused, fun, and enjoyable. The journey “feels” exciting and breeds anticipation. You always wonder what the Lord is going to bring around the corner.

But when ministry in a church gets sidetracked, and vision is not clearly communicated or existent, suddenly management moves into the driver’s seat and programs hop up front with it. The high priority becomes preserving what is as opposed to seeking and driving toward what God desires. Policies, procedures, processes and programs become the focal point now. Vision sinks into the background and relationships along with it. The atmosphere becomes strained, deliberate, slow, and discouraging. The machine may even seem to be running well, but the vehicle is slowly moving nowhere.

This can be further defined using two other words: fruitfulness and faithfulness. We can be faithful to having the same few people attend, giving money, and showing some level of care to each other and never be fruitful at all. We are simply “managing” those who are already there. Our focus is inward. And there is no fruit.

But Jesus in John 15 said that we would (and should) produce lasting fruit. Fruitfulness is reproduction. Reproduction is seeing new people come to know Christ and eventually assisting in multiplying new congregations. Faithfulness is important and necessary. But faithfulness without fruitfulness is death.

So who is driving your church? Is a clear, outward-focused vision driving, enhancing and encouraging growing relationships? Or is the major focus managing and programming your church, with vision and relationship taking a back seat?

Whoever is driving will determine where, how and when you will arrive at a destination. They will also determine what your destination is. There is a way that seems right to a man, but it leads to death.