BMH Editor's Blog

Is It the Sawdust Trail? No, It’s a Football Practice Field

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on November 30, 2007  |  No Comments

International Thanksgiving Feast Held

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on November 30, 2007  |  No Comments

For the third consecutive year, the Grace Brethren Church in Tracy, Calif. hosted a Thanksgiving meal for international students in San Francisco. It was held at the International House of Friendship, where Kevin and Sieu Choo Ong minister to young men and women from around the world.

This year, more than 70 students and ministry supporters attended the November 17 dinner. About 20 members of the Tracy church prepared the meal, while another 10 took it to the city and served it, relieving the Ongs from any preparation or cleanup.

“After the meal, we led in games and a program in which a Christian perspective of an American Thanksgiving was presented,” reported Robert MacMillan, Jr., teaching pastor at the Tracy church. Guests were challenged to consider most world religions and to test the truths about Christianity.

In the photo above, two students (from different continents) participate in the popcorn race.

CE National Quizzing Event Begins Tonight

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

Eighty people will be part of the first Bible Quiz Invitational held at CE National’s Russell Center which starts tonight in Winona Lake, Indiana.

Key leadership at the BQI are Scott Feather, serving as main quiz master; Ray Feather, senior pastor at Grace Community Chapel, Mukilteo, Washington, serving as a quiz master and sharing challenges from the first six chapters in John; Timothy Clothier, youth director at Community Grace Brethren Church, Warsaw, Indiana, leading worship.

CE National executive director Ed Lewis will emcee the event and Courtney Cherest, Judy Fisher, and others will assist with the weekend, coordinated by Lois Maxson.

A special session for adults will be offered, helping them learn how to be effective coaches, along with three seminars for students. Dave Guiles, Director of Grace Brethren International Missions, will share a seminar titled “Ways to Share My Faith” from the Gospel of John.

Kip Cone, pastor at Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church, will give a seminar titled “Using Scripture to Make Practical Application to My Life.” Timothy Kurtaneck, Director of Church Relations and Operation Barnabas at CE National, will teach on “Maintaining a Godly Character in Competition.”

During the coaches’ meeting, Scott Feather will talk about strategies for discipleship through Bible Quizzing.

The final quiz awards will be given at 7:30 Saturday evening, with a worship time and a challenge by Ray Feather following. Sunday morning will also see a devotional time led by Ray.

Teams participating are from Maryland, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky.

CE National feels Bible Quizzing is important because it stimulates students to Scripture memorization and study. Not only is quizzing fun, but it helps students understand team concepts as they study the Word together.

Coaches have an opportunity to disciple students and answer questions about Scripture as they compete against each other. While not all students will want to participate in a program of Bible Quizzing, churches need to evaluate how students are stimulated to study and memorize the Word on their own.

This year’s Bible Quiz Invitational is very practical, as students coming have already studied and memorized portions of John chapters 1-6.

Promotional Video for Conference Available

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on November 28, 2007  |  No Comments

iGo 08 will be held at the Innisbrook Golf Resort near Tampa, Florida on July 26-31, 2008. For more details, click here.

While you are there, take time to look at the review video from Equip07, the 2007 conference of the FGBC, which was held in Winona Lake, Ind.

Rottenest Kids Collide with Greatest Story

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on November 28, 2007  |  No Comments

Services for Dick Coldren Announced

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on November 28, 2007  |  No Comments

Services for Richard L. (Dick) Coldren, father-in-law of Pastor Bruce Barlow (Winona Lake, Ind. Grace Brethren Church), will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, December 1 at at the Grace Brethren Church of Columbus, 8225 Worthington-Galena Rd., Westerville, Ohio. Below is the obituary that appears in today’s (November 28) Columbus Dispatch.

Richard L. (Dick) Coldren went home to be with his Lord on Tuesday, November 27, 2007. He died at his home surrounded by family and friends, following an extended illness. He was born on December 25, 1929. A native of Columbus, his life was invested in teaching. He graduated from Linden McKinley High School, Capital University, and the Ohio State University. He served a four year hitch in the U.S. Marine Corps as a military police officer during the Korean Conflict. He started his teaching and coaching career in 1957 at Marion Franklin High School. Later, he taught English and speech at his alma mater, Linden McKinley, until 1964. He then became Director of Publications and Public Affairs for the Columbus Public Schools. He held that and other administrative positions until his retirement in 1990. He became a Christian as a teenager and served God in various ministries to students throughout his life. He was an avid runner, having participated in the first fifteen Columbus Marathons, as well as other races in the region. He served as a Docent at the Columbus Zoo for thirteen years. He loved educational programs, especially concerning the elephants. He married Carol (Tolbert) on May 9, 1953, who survives. He is also survived by his three children, Rick (Gayla) Coldren of Shreve, Ohio; Christi (Bruce) Barlow of Winona Lake, Indiana; Lori (Matt) Liston of Worthington; and his brother, Robert Coldren of Delaware. He is also survived by ten grand-children; one great-grand-child; and many nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at the Grace Brethren Church Columbus, 8225 Worthington-Galena Rd., Westerville, on Saturday, December 1, 2007 at 1 p.m. Calling hours, also at the church, will be from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Schoedinger Chapel of Worthington is handling arrangements. In lieu of flowers, a scholarship fund for needy students has been established in his name at Gahanna Christian Academy and gifts in his memory may be sent directly to the school at 817 N. Hamilton Rd., Gahanna, OH, 43230.

Dick Coldren With the Lord

Posted by Terry White on November 27, 2007  |  No Comments

Word was received mid-afternoon Tuesday of the death of Richard Coldren, long-time member of the Grace Brethren Church in Columbus, Ohio. Coldren had been declining in recent days with advanced cancer.

Dick will be remembered, among other things, for his work as a photographer at BNYC, and for being the father-in-law of Pastor Bruce Barlow of Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church.

As further details become available, they will be posted here.

DRIVEN GO Team Departs For London

Posted by Terry White on November 27, 2007  |  No Comments

John Ward writes that the DRIVEN GO team is leaving this week for Europe and their ministry trip. Reproduced here is an excerpt from the DRIVEN blog–to read daily accounts of the trip log onto http://drivenblog.wordpress.com/

The date has finally come for the Driven GO team to hop on a plane and head to London. Once there we’ll be spending time with our GBIM missionaries in London and then in Paris for a few days each.

The team will be focused on cultural and missional understanding that will guide us a we spend a significant amount of our time in prayer.

Pray for safety for our team of six adults and one baby as we travel today and tomorrow. Please join us on this journey as we plan to post news daily of all the happenings.

Meyersdale Man Dies in Hunting Fall

Posted by Terry White on November 27, 2007  |  No Comments

From today’s Johnstown (PA) Tribune-Democrat. Randy Haulk is pastor of the Meyersdale, PA, Grace Brethren Church.

BY KECIA BAL
The Tribune-Democrat

BERLIN — Like thousands of others in the area, avid hunter Roger Deem woke early Monday to pursue a favorite pastime.

His annual tradition of heading out on the first day of deer season turned tragic when the 56-year-old Meyersdale man fell about 20 feet from a tree stand to his death, Somerset County Coroner Wallace Miller said.

Deem’s family characterized him as a hard-working and loving family man and a faithful churchgoer.

“He was a very energetic man,” said his wife, Pamela Deem. “He loved spending time with his grandchildren.”

A recently laid-off laborer at FreightCar America and former foreman, Deem always had enjoyed working with his hands.

“He was a jack-of-all-trades,” his wife said, adding that the couple sang in the choir at Meyersdale Grace Brethren Church. Roger Deem sang tenor. The family lived in South Fork before moving to rural Meyersdale.

State police said Deem was found about 100 yards off Glennoris School Road in Brothersvalley Township. Another hunter called emergency services when he saw Deem lying at the base of a tree. State police called it an accidental death.

The fatal fall was not considered a hunting accident. But Mel Shake, a regional supervisor with the state Game Commission said hunters should purchase appropriate safety devices when they buy a tree stand.

“One of the most important things for people to remember when using an elevated hunting platform is to use some sort of fall-restraint device – one that won’t slip up around the chest, preferably a full body harness,” Shake said.

Dr. Whitcomb Works on ‘Early Earth’ Revision

Posted by Terry White on November 26, 2007  |  No Comments

Dr. John C. Whitcomb (center), one of BMH Books’ best-selling authors, dropped by the BMH offices in Winona Lake, Indiana, today to give an update on his project to update and revise his book Early Earth. BMH Books division manager John Leonard is at left and BMH executive director Terry White is at right.

The new edition should be available sometime in mid-2008. Meanwhile, Whitcomb’s charts, and books such as World that Perished, Esther, and others, continue to be among the publisher’s best-selling works.

Whitcomb materials, and all BMH Books, may be obtained at www.bmhbooks.com. (photo by Liz Cutler Gates)

GBIF Approves Loan for Sebring, Fla., Grace Brethren Church

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on November 26, 2007  |  No Comments

The Grace Brethren Investment Foundation (GBIF) has recently approved the financing necessary for the construction of a new worship facility for the Sebring Grace Brethren Church, 3626 Thunderbird Road, Sebring, Fla. (Randy Smith, pastor). The new building will encompass 7,800 square feet of space and will be situated on more than four acres of land.

“GBIF is pleased to partner with this thriving
congregation in Florida as we witness God continue to transform lives in the furtherance of His work,” said Ken Seyfert, executive director of operations for the Foundation.

Pinellas Park Church Burglarized

Posted by Terry White on November 22, 2007  |  No Comments

PINELLAS PARK, FLORIDA – Thieves broke into a church on November 10 and walked off with a guitar and amplifier. Police said the suspects entered the Grace Brethren Church at 6300 62nd Ave. through a side door.

Other electronics equipment had been stacked in the chapel area. It appeared that the burglars left quickly when they were scared off. Randy Weekley is pastor of the Pinellas Park church.

Wooster Fun Fest Draws 800

Posted by Terry White on November 21, 2007  |  No Comments

Outreach pastor Ivanildo Trindade of the Grace Brethren Church in Wooster, Ohio (Robert Fetterhoff, pastor) sends along the following photos and report of the Wooster Fun Fest outreach:

Halloween at the church?

Not really. A healthy alternative for families who want to bring kids to a fun and a safe environment? Yes!

This is how our church views our Fall Fun Fest. We ask people to come dressed up in their favorite costumes and we provide them with fun activities for the evening. We let the light of Christ shine all over our building that night!

This year we built a maze with cardboard boxes, black light and a lot of creativity. Young people did most of the work to put this together. We also had face painting, giant inflatable games, which we locate inside our Family Life Center, and arts and crafts for all ages.

The highlights of the evening are the puppet team and a guest group we invite to perform. In previous years we’ve had magicians, painters, a man who did his juggling act using a chain saw, and other unique attractions.

This year our puppet team presented the story of Jonah and “Quiet Love,” a group that performs songs with sign language and black light, were a crowd favorite. They both presented the gospel in all of their shows.

We had more than 800 people come into our building for a little over two hours on a Saturday evening. Though it was raining, it didn’t dampen peoples’ enthusiasm for what our church was providing to their children. I talked to so many people who said again and again: “Thank you for allowing me to bring my children to such a wonderful place the week of Halloween.”

Fall Fun Fest is also for adults. We go out of our way to make sure that children have loads of fun but still feel safe in our building. We realize that perhaps the best way to get to the hearts of the adults is to make sure that we treat their young ones with utmost love and care.

We can tell the parents are happy when they leave our building and shake hands with members of our staff. Many of those folks had never been to our building before. Now we hope they will come back for some more.

Did I tell you that each child gets a bag of candies as well? Oh yes, “no tricks, only treats.” The bags also have a tract that is appropriate for this time of the year.

Fall Fun Fest is just another way that Wooster Grace finds to extend the love of Christ to people in our community in a tangible way.

Posted by Terry White on November 21, 2007  |  No Comments

Reds’ Hamilton to Speak at Raleigh Church

Posted by Terry White on November 20, 2007  |  No Comments

BASEBALL’S JOSH HAMILTON TO SPEAK AT HOPE COMMUNITY CHURCH
Will Share Story of Addiction, Recovery, and Rise to Baseball Fame

Raleigh, NC — Josh Hamilton (pictured) of the Cincinnati Reds will be a guest speaker at Hope Community Church (Mike Lee, pastor) during the weekend services of Saturday, December 1, at 5:30 p.m., and Sunday, December 2, at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. The church, which is affiliated with the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, is located at 821 Buck Jones Road in southwest Raleigh.

Hamilton, also known as “Hammer,” hails from Raleigh and graduated from Athens Drive High School. In 1999, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays selected Hamilton first overall in the MLB draft making him the first #1 pick in franchise history.

In 2006, after numerous off-field problems, the Chicago Cubs used the Rule 5 draft to pluck the outfielder out of the Tampa Bay farm system, and then traded him to the Cincinnati Reds. Baseball America’s Chris Kline and John Manuel called Hamilton “the biggest name in the Rule 5 in years.”

During the three weekend church services at Hope, Hamilton, nicknamed “The Natural,” will share his story of drug addiction and recovery, his rise to baseball fame, and how his faith impacted his addiction recovery and his baseball career.

For directions to or more info regarding Hope Community Church, visit www.gethope.net or call 919.532.0620.

Tampa Hispanic Congregation Dedicates Facility

Posted by Terry White on November 20, 2007  |  No Comments

The Iglesia Comunal Cristiana, a Grace Brethren church in Tampa, Florida, pastored by Gerardo Leiton (left in photo) recently dedicated its new facility. (photos courtesy Gerardo Leiton)

Posted by Terry White on November 20, 2007  |  No Comments

Posted by Terry White on November 20, 2007  |  No Comments

Dr. Larry Chamberlain of the Grace Brethren Investment Foundation, Winona Lake, IN, was one of the speakers for the dedication service.

Lexington, Ohio, GBC Pays Off Mortgage

Posted by Terry White on November 20, 2007  |  No Comments

Pastor Jason Carmean of the Lexington, Ohio, Grace Brethren Church (pictured), sent along the good news that the church has paid off its mortgage. Here is part of his message:

This last Sunday, we finished off our capital campaign to pay off our mortgage to the bank. Four years ago we started to take a one-time extra offering the Sunday before Thanksgiving. We also initially allowed people to give low-interest loans to the church as well, which were more than savings accounts were paying but less than our mortgage interest percent.

Sunday we had just under a $60,000 offering to finish our responsibility to the bank. We needed just a little more than $57,000.

We praise the Lord for this and the beginning of the financial freedom it is providing. We still have approximately $140,000 in loans that people gave, but those can be stretched out a little longer because of the agreement that we had.

Then last night, we had communion as well. It was great to have so many people reflect on the Lord’s goodness shown to Lexington in the good times and the tougher times over the years.

All in all, the day couldn’t have been much better!

Grace Grad Coaching in Indiana State Finals

Posted by Terry White on November 20, 2007  |  No Comments

Today’s South Bend Tribune carries an article about coaches in the upcoming Indiana state football finals, including a Grace College (Winona Lake, IN) graduate. Here is an excerpt–to read the entire article, click on http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071120/SPORTS11/711200408/1001/Sports

This isn’t Herb King’s first trip to Indianapolis.

Although King is bringing Rockville to the state finals for the first time, he knows the routine from his playing days at Tippecanoe Valley.

The 1980 graduate was a member of the Vikings’ 1977 Class 1-A state runner-up squad and a starter on the 1979 state championship squad.

“Although I don’t have any family left in Mentone, I’ve still got a lot of fond memories and classmates left there and in Kocsiusko County,” the 45-year old King recalled. “Some of the lessons I learned from (former Tippy Valley Coach (Charles) Smith as a player, I’ve used to teach my own players.”

One of the Rox’s top perfomers just happens to be King’s son, junior quarterback Matt King.

“I’ve been very blessed over the years, so I really couldn’t ask for anything else,” said King, who graduated from Grace College in 1985. “I not only get to coach in a state title game, but I have my son along with me as well.”