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30 Jan

January 30, 2006 |

Mike Brown, pastor of the Franklin UB church in New Albany, Ohio, is currently looking for persons interested in joining a 10-day mission trip to the Philippines. Members of this team will participate in a week-long evangelistic crusade, working in partnership with the new Philippines National Conference. These crusades, held annually for the past 18 years, have consistently resulted in new churches being formed. Individuals with the following giftedness are needed: musicians, books, medical personnel, persons for testimonies, altar counselors, and miscellaneous helpers.

Date: March 29 – April 8, 2006
Cost: $1,350 per person

This is a chance to be among the first North American UBs to visit and become acquainted with the new Philippines National Conference, which became a member UB conference in June 2005. For more information about the trip, contact Rev. Mike Brown at 614-855-1391 (church phone) or 614-855-3276 (home phone).

30 Jan

January 30, 2006 |

Pat Jones, Director of Healthy Church Ministries
If it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Romans 12 speaks about the grace of God given to us as His body so we mutually benefit each other. That is why we must work as a team for the common good. And here is a praise that illustrates that.
The Willshire, OH, church, now called Praise Point, opened their new building on New Year’s Day. In December, at their old facility, they had 90-100 people average. This past Sunday, if a group of youth and their leaders who were out on retreat were counted in, they had over 200. They are making sudden leaps that they are scrambling to keep up with.
In comes the team. They never functioned as a church of 200 before. They need help. We are working at assigning a coach to them who can help them figure out the decisions that have to be made, the processes that have to change, the steps to take to transition the congregation from a small to medium sized church, and the pitfalls to avoid. What a great problem!
Please pray for them as they address these challenges and seek to have the Lord continue the new work He has begun there.

27 Jan

January 27, 2006 |

Pat Jones, Director of Healthy Church Ministries

Thanks again to all who participated in our first cluster leader training. Just having you rub shoulders in the same room for a day and a half was a blessing to watch. YOU are key to making a difference in the lives of those you lead.

Please email me your cluster schedules as soon as possible. Pam and I would like to travel to be with you a time or two this year.
Some links you may find helpful:

If you want to do some demographic studies of your area, our Nazarene friends have a helpful tool at http://map.nazarene.org. Click on your state and if a Nazarene church is close by you can navigate around the site to get stats for your town.

Also, if you preach a message on the effects of pornography or have someone you are counseling who needs help, the following are some sites that have helpful info:

www.xxxchurch.com
www.pureonline.com
www.pureintimacy.org

As you lead, remember that the operative word is KINGDOM and everything we do has to be assessed on how it is positively contributing to the building of that Kingdom, His Kingdom and not ours.

Supporting you in prayer always!

26 Jan

January 26, 2006 |

“End of the Spear” is a version of the story of the five missionaries killed in Ecuador by the Auca Indians in 1956. This great missions film opens in local theaters beginning January 20. Note that it is rated PG-13 due to some spearing scenes.

Doug Weber, a UB endorsed missionary serving with HCJB Radio in Ecuador, comments, “I have seen ‘The End of the Spear.’ It is extremely well done! It would be a great thing to take a non Christian friend to, and could easily be used as an evangelistic tool. We got a sneak preview, as HCJB was involved in producing parts of the film. It is a fairly intense movie, but our kids all saw it, even our 6 year old. It was very thought provoking for even them and created some great after-movie conversations about the Lord, missions, missionaries, etc.”

26 Jan

January 26, 2006 |

About ten slots are still open for a mission trip to Poland this summer. It starts June 29 and ends July 11, 2006. The purpose is to work alongside UB endorsed missionaries Arek and Donna Delik (right) as they reach out to young people in Kutno, Poland, a city of 50,000. The event will involve teaching English as a second language to teenagers in a camp setting. It will cost $1700 per person. Donna Hollopeter will lead the group, and needs to know of your interest by March 1. Contact Donna by email.

26 Jan

January 26, 2006 |

    • Abby Farmer (right), one of our newest endorsed missionaries, is leaving this month for Papua New Guinea, where she will teach missionary children. Abby is from the Blue Rock UB church in Waynesboro, Pa.
    • Angie Swanson, a member of First UB church in Findlay, Ohio, is extending her stay at Jamaica Bible College through July 2006. She has been teaching a variety of classes, has mentored a number of students, and has been involved in a local United Brethren church. Angie needs an additional $3000 in support to get her through July. Contact missions@ub.org if you’re able to help.

  • Mike and Jennifer Burtnett and family (right), also new endorsed missionaries, left the staff of Hillsdale UB church (Hillsdale, Mich.) this month to join Wycliffe Bible Translators. They will serve at Wycliffe’s World Mobilization Center in Orlando, Florida.

 

24 Jan

January 24, 2006 |

Ron Ramsey, Bishop
DiscipledWarriors.jpg

I have basically “bought in” to the Healthy Church concept that healthy churches grow and it is possible to establish criteria to describe a healthy church. However, I was a little uncomfortable with the fact that the arguments for are so pragmatic.

I recently came across a book written way back in 2002, Discipled Warriors, by Chuck Lawless that is excellent. The sub-title is: “Growing Healthy Churches That Are Equipped For Spiritual Warfare.” In this book Lawless draws the argument that Church Health must be based on a theological foundation and then the principles build from that fundation. I found it to be an encouraging and challenging book. One you might want to add to your growing library of books and material about the Healthy Church.

I for one, will continue to exhort our churches to consider taking necessary steps to becoming healthy congregations. It really doesn’t have anything to do with size. It has everything to do with being obedient to the call of God upon a local church and the fact that the enemy of our soul and the church will do everything he can do to distract us from our mission.

23 Jan

January 23, 2006 |

Ron Ramsey, Bishop
At the Huntington University trustee meeting last week, Dave Engbrecht, Pastor of Nappanee Missionary Church, was the devotional speaker. One thing he said was very thought provoking: “Whenever memories are greater than your future, you’re writing your last chapter.”
Wow! Does that hit you like it hit me? I have been in some churches that seem to be writing their last chapter. Could it be that it is partly due to living in the past? Our past is something to be celebrated, especially if it is positive, but to try to live there denies the reality of a preferred future. You see, I believe that where God is taking us is always better than where we’ve been. Because God has a preferred future for me that begins with my decisions today.
Memories, I am glad for all my memories. But as good as they have been, I think the memories made in the future will be even better. Maybe one reason we are willing to live with the past is that the future does demand a price to be paid and it is always easier not to pay the price. But the result is to miss the glorious future of tomorrow.
As a church are our memories of the past greater than the future? In some places I think so…In some places they are writing their final chapter. I do not want that to be true of me. Where He is taking me is always better than where I’ve been!

19 Jan

January 19, 2006 |

It is a new year for the United Brethren Church–not just because the calendar says it’s a new year, but because of all the changes that became official on January 1. One of those changes involves organizing our churches and pastors into Healthy Church Clusters, rather than organizing around conferences. The Healthy Church Cluster is now the entity to which congregations and pastors are primarily accountable.
A cluster is a group of 7-10 pastors and churches who meet on a regular basis for mutual support, pastoral development, encouragement, coaching, accountability, friendship, healthy church development, fun (yes I said fun!), sharing of ideas, prayer, and reporting. Thus far, 31 cluster groups have formed. Pat Jones, our new Director of Healthy Church Ministries, has worked hard at organizing these clusters. Some decisions remain in certain areas of our denomination, and some pastors have not responded to the call to join a cluster. But for the most part, we are well organized.
One of the bishop’s responsibilities is to appoint a leader for each group, a person we are calling the Healthy Church Cluster Coach. Bishop Ron Ramsey has announced the leaders for all of the clusters which have formed thus far. You can view the clusters and leaders here.
The first Cluster Leader Training will take place on January 25 and 26 at the Michindoh Ministries Camp and Conference Center in Hillsdale, Mich.

19 Jan

January 19, 2006 |

As of January 1, the new National Conference structure is official. One major change involves the way we handle assessments (sending monetary support for denominational ministries). Each church will now send 3.5% of its total income (minus new construction funds, missions giving, and estate gifts) directly to the United Brethren Headquarters. No longer will churches send assessments through the conference. Each church is responsible for calculating the amount they need to send.
Please note that the 3.5% is just the assessment portion. Any other funds, such as pastor pension, need to be kept separate. Conferences may require an additional percentage (for instance, Central Conference churches must give an additional 1% to support conference ministries until the conference is able to official dissolve–something it can’t do yet because of pending legal action against the conference).
Your church’s treasurer should have already received forms to use when sending money to headquarters.