BMH Editor's Blog

History, Commissioning Highlights Missions Night

Posted by Terry White on July 31, 2007  |  No Comments

On a delightfully warm summer late afternoon, members of the Grace Brethren International Missions corporation and guests were called to order by Dr. Sherwood Lingenfelter (on platform), chairman of the board of GBIM.

The guests were assembled in a tent that is situated on the site of the former 7,500-seat Billy Sunday Tabernacle. The grassy area is now called Tabernacle Field, and is the home field of an 1860s-era vintage base ball team called the Winona Blue Laws (see earlier blog post).

Dr. Lingenfelter skillfully guided delegates through a few necessary business items, and then the rest of the program centered on a celebration of the history of Grace Brethren missions and the commissioning of new missionaries about to go to the field.

Posted by Terry White on July 31, 2007  |  No Comments

In the tent, a group of six thespians performed a humorous and thought-provoking drama depicting the interaction between L.S. Baumann and James Gribble, and the romance between James Gribble and Dr. Florence Newberry (pictured). Gribble was the pioneer missionary to open up French Equatorial Africa to the gospel in the early 1900s.

The Central African Republic ambassador to the U.S., Emmanuel Tuaboy, was in attendance at tonight’s event, as well. There are currently about 1,200 Grace Brethren churches in the CAR, one of the highest concentrations of any country in the world.

Kathy Allison, of the Grace College & Seminary staff, produced the drama, which included some actors who are alumni of Grace, including Mike Yocum and Rich Wroughton.

Posted by Terry White on July 31, 2007  |  No Comments

After processing from the Tabernacle Field tent, led by a brass band and singing “We’ve a Story To Tell to the Nations,” attenders at Equip07 heard Grace Brethren International Missions executive director Dave Guiles (on platform) introduce and commission a number of new missionary candidates to serve in various countries. The concrete marker and plaque commemorating the founding of the mission society in 1900 is directly in front of Guiles on the ground.

Posted by Terry White on July 31, 2007  |  No Comments

Grace Brethren International Missions executive director Dave Guiles prayed for the newly-commissioned missionaries as GBIM board members and conference attenders surrounded the candidates and laid hands on them, consecrating them for missionary service.

Posted by Terry White on July 31, 2007  |  No Comments

On the very same grassy knoll just off Park Avenue and the Eighth Street Hill in Winona Lake, Indiana, where the Foreign Missionary Society of the Brethren Church was founded in 1900, today’s missionary commissioning service was held. The marker reads, “On this knoll, September 4, 1900, the Foreign Missionary Society of the Brethren Church was organized.”

Posted by Terry White on July 31, 2007  |  No Comments

Among the missionary candidates who were commissioned was Karen Courter (kneeling, center, with long dark hair), the daughter of Pastor Doug and Barbara Courter of the Calvary Grace Brethren Church in Hagerstown, Maryland. Karen will be going to the Central African Republic to assist with the growing orphans’ ministry there.

Posted by Terry White on July 31, 2007  |  No Comments

A Mariachi band, Irish folk singers and dancers, and ethnic food from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and North America filled the Rodeheaver Auditorium as conference guests ate, visited with missionaries, and circulated from one food station to another. The International Food Fest was followed by another trek to the Tabernacle Field tent for a corporation meeting and presentation by Grace Brethren North American Missions (GBNAM) and dessert.

Tomorrow will once again be classes all day, and the special daylong track will be for women. In the evening, Moderator Jim Brown will address the conference at 7 p.m., and at 9 p.m. on the outdoor plaza of the Tree of Life Bookstore and Brethren Missionary Herald Company, a gala “Authors Autograph Party” will be held with 11 BMH books authors present to sign their books and visit with friends. Cake and punch will be served, and there will be live music as well. All are invited.

Bumping Into Tommy Lasorda at Winona Lake

Posted by Terry White on July 31, 2007  |  No Comments

Roy Polman, pastor of the Cherry Valley Grace Brethren Church in Beaumont, California, and his wife, Judy (at left in photo) were eating breakfast last Friday, July 27 at Maria’s House of Pancakes just off Rt. 30 and County Road 250E at the entrance to Winona Lake, Indiana.

They thought the guy in the pink shirt looked familiar. Sure enough, it was Tommy Lasorda (at right in photo), Hall of Fame former manager of the LA Dodgers, enroute with a group to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

The Polmans had a nice chat with Lasorda, who in his 20 years of managing the Dodgers won two World Series championships, four National League pennants, and eight division titles. Lasorda was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.

Norwalk Honored as ‘Church of the Week’ by KKLA

Posted by Terry White on July 31, 2007  |  No Comments

Pastor Wayne Ayer (left) of the Norwalk, California, Grace Brethren Church, this past Sunday, July 29, received a plaque from radio station KKLA’s Jon Robberson (r) as Norwalk was honored as the “Church of the Week.”

Congregants picked up KKLA program guides and were invited to listen to Pastor Ayer interviewed live on KKLA’s The Frank Pastore Show the next day.

The Norwalk church’s website is http://www.gracelive.com/

Equip07 is Off and Running

Posted by Terry White on July 30, 2007  |  No Comments

Dave Rank (at keyboard) and the worship team from the Winona Lake, Indiana, Grace Brethren Church led worship for the opening session of Equip07, the national conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

The conference is meeting all this week on the Grace College & Seminary campus in Winona Lake, Indiana, with a focus on equipping and lifelong learning.

In addition to the many courses, seniors conference, and other events, a special “Chaplains Appreciation Dinner” was held this evening for the nine Grace Brethren military chaplains. The event was sponsored by the Grace Brethren Investment Foundation and the Eagle Commission, which oversees the work of the chaplains.

Classes resume at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. Tuesday evening features the “International Food Fest” which is jointly sponsored by Grace Brethren International Missions and Grace Brethren North American Missions.

The meeting begins with a brief GBIM corporation meeting near the Village at Winona on Park Avenue and moves to the knoll where the Foreign Mission Society was founded. Then the festival moves to the Rodeheaver Auditorium for an evening of food and fellowship with home and foreign missionaries.

Posted by Terry White on July 30, 2007  |  No Comments

Brad Powell, pastor of NorthRidge church in Plymouth, Michigan, gave the challenge in the opening session of Equip07 Monday evening in the Orthopaedic Capital Center on the Grace College & Seminary campus. Powell’s forceful message was that, to be truly biblical, the church must deal continually with change, yet remaining true to its mission to make disciples.

Posted by Terry White on July 30, 2007  |  No Comments

In the Monday evening plenary session of Equip07, the FGBC moderator Tim Boal (at right, with microphone) called Pastor Gerardo Leiton of the Iglesia Comunal Cristiana, an Hispanic Grace Brethren church in the Tampa area, to the platform. Leiton’s church has been unable to move into its new building because of difficulties with local zoning and inspection authorities and the conference offered prayers on behalf of the Tampa congregation. Behind Boal and Leiton are current members of the Fellowship Council.

Posted by Terry White on July 30, 2007  |  No Comments

More than 30 classes on specialized topics are being offered as part of the Equip07 programming this week. In this one, Dr. Christy Morr of the Grace Seminary faculty is teaching on “Spiritual Formation.”

Posted by Terry White on July 30, 2007  |  No Comments

The special “seniors menu” portion of programming for senior adults at Equip07 today included a panel discussing “Learning to Live With Change.” Members of the panel were, from left, Dave Marksbury, Bruce Barlow, Charles Ashman, and Tom Abbitt.

Business Meetings Open National Conference

Posted by Terry White on July 29, 2007  |  No Comments

The annual corporate business meetings of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, Grace College & Seminary, and the Brethren Missionary Herald Company were the features of the opening evening session of Equip07, the Grace Brethren national conference being held this week on the campus of Grace College & Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana.

FGBC moderator Tim Boal guided delegates through a lengthy agenda which included voting seven new churches into the Fellowship, approving Asia’s Hope as a cooperating ministry, adopting a number of resolutions from the Social Concerns Committee, conducting elections of Fellowship Council members, and much more.

Elected to serve on the Fellowship Council for the years 2007-2011 were Phil Helfer from the western region, Brian “Skip” White from the central region, and Doug Black from the eastern region.

A budget of $361,250 was approved for the coming fiscal year, and the Structures Committee presented and explained wording for proposed changes to the constitution and manual of procedures that are designed to allow for more continuity of leadership.

The Grace College & Seminary corporation meeting was conducted by board chair Paul Mutchler and Grace president Ron Manahan, with a number of new faculty members being introduced.

The Brethren Missionary Herald corporation meeting was conducted by board chair Dr. Todd Scoles, with a financial report by treasurer Bruce Barlow and an activity update by executive director and publisher Terry White.

The meeting was followed by a dedication of the $9.1 million Orthopaedic Capital Center in which the conference is meeting.

Classes in the Equip07 schedule begin tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. Monday evening’s plenary session will feature Brad Powell, senior pastor of NorthRidge Church of Plymouth, Michigan, as speaker. It will be preceded by a Chaplains Appreciation Dinner and Grace Brethren Investment Foundation corporation meeting in the Alpha Hall Dining Commons.

Posted by Terry White on July 29, 2007  |  No Comments

Posted by Terry White on July 29, 2007  |  No Comments

Mrs. Tom (Donna) Miller, daughter of Ralph and Anna Mae Grady of Waterloo, Iowa, was presented a plaque this evening by Dr. Ron Manahan (right), president of Grace College & Seminary.

Mrs. Grady is now with the Lord, but Mr. Grady, who is in an assisted living facility in Iowa, served many years on the Grace board and made a significant gift to the construction of the new Orthopaedic Capital Center on the Grace campus. The plaque will be mounted in a lower-floor classroom to recognize Mr. Grady’s generosity.

Posted by Terry White on July 29, 2007  |  No Comments

Dr. William and Ella Male (left) were honored with recognition and a plaque presented by Grace College & Seminary president Dr. Ron Manahan (right) at tonight’s dedication of the Orthopaedic Capital Center building on the Grace campus.

Dr. Male, whose long career at Grace included being professor, academic dean of the college, academic dean of the seminary, and deferred giving representative, provided a generous gift for the “alumni room” in the new center.

Association of Ministers Honors Three

Posted by Terry White on July 29, 2007  |  No Comments

More than 300 Grace Brethren pastors met in the sanctuary of the Winona Lake (IN) Grace Brethren Church this afternoon for the Association of Grace Brethren Ministers (AGBM) annual meeting. In addition to routine business, three members were selected for special honor.

Dr. David Plaster (at podium), newly-called pastor of the Columbus, Ohio, church, was given the Excellence in Ministry award. He recently concluded several decades of ministry teaching and administrating at Grace College & Seminary. Dr. Ken Bickel of the seminary faculty read the commendation for Plaster.

Joel Richards, current president of the AGBM and pastor at the LaLoma Grace Brethren Church in Modesto, California, is at right.

The Pastor of the Year Award was given to Pastor Rick Nuzum of the Grace Brethren Church of Powell, Ohio. Jim Custer read the commendation and Pastor Nuzum’s history, which included NFL experience with the Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers, and New York Giants as a player.

The Powell church under his leadership for the past 12 years has started three new churches, supports 23 missionaries, and has continued with a strong ministry in the Columbus area. Nuzum was unable to attend because of the sudden heart attack and death of a parishioner.

Jack Churchill, longtime Grace Brethren missionary to Argentina and to Mexico, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Churchill, 85, was also unable to attend the ceremony due to health concerns.

The AGBM meeting was the first event in a week-long national conference for the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. Tonight’s session at 7 p.m. will be in the new $9.1 million Orthopaedics Capital Center on the Grace campus and will feature business meetings of the FGBC, Brethren Missionary Herald Company, and Grace College & Seminary. An Open House and dedication of the new OCC facility will follow.

For more information and schedule for the week, log onto www.fgbc.org.

1862-era Base Ball Featured

Posted by Terry White on July 29, 2007  |  No Comments