BMH Editor's Blog

74-Foot Missions Mural Complete

Posted by Terry White on February 28, 2008  |  No Comments

A remarkable artistic accomplishment by Grace Brethren International Missions appointee Deb Hocking (pictured) has been completed and is on display around the circumference of the front lobby of the GBIM headquarters on College Avenue in Winona Lake, Indiana.

Here are some statistics on the mural, taken from the blog of Jay and Deb Hocking at http://www.jaborah.com/

• It’s painted with oil paints, mostly with palette knives, although the faces were done with brushes

• About 74ft long, by 3 ft high – 212sq ft

• took just a little over 500 hours to complete

• The river of shapes that runs through the painting represents the Spirit of God, which unites all believers around the world. The river’s patterns represent the various cultures, and how one Spirit of God is demonstrated in different ways through many cultures.

To scroll through the entire mural, click on http://www.chateaustalbain.com/mural.html

Deb and Jay are just about finished with their support-raising phase and will soon be departing for France, where they will resume an earlier ministry of managing the chateau there and preparing to transition the chateau into French leadership.

Gracia Burnham to Speak for Grace College Chapel

Posted by Terry White on February 28, 2008  |  No Comments

Author and speaker Gracia Burnham (pictured) will be speaking in Grace College chapel service on Wednesday, March 12 at 10 a.m. in the Orthopaedic Capital Center on the Winona Lake, Indiana, campus.

Burnham, who wrote In the Presence of My Enemies and To Fly Again, is the widow of jungle pilot Martin Burnham. She and Martin were missionaries for 17 years in the Philippines with New Tribes Mission.

In May 2001 they were part of a group kidnapped by a militant group of Muslims. The Burnhams were held hostage for 376 days. On June 7, 2002, in a firefight between the Philippine military and the Abu Sayyaf group, Martin was killed and Gracia was wounded, but freed.

She returned to the United States with her three children, and now lives in Kansas.

In addition to writing, she has established the Martin and Gracia Burnham Foundation, which serves to collect funds and resources for missions. To read more about Gracia and her ministry, visit http://www.graciaburnham.org.

Visitors are welcome to attend chapel on the 12th and hear Gracia speak. She will also be speaking at other times in the Winona Lake area. For details, call the Tree of Life Bookstore at 574-267-2006.

Unrest Also Touches Cameroon–Prayer Requested

Posted by Terry White on February 28, 2008  |  No Comments

The following update and prayer request on the situation in Cameroon, where many Grace Brethren refugees from the unrest in Chad have fled, is from Mike Taylor of Grace Brethren International Missions:

Greetings to all,

I have been in contact with Frank Puhl (Assistant Regional Director for GBIM in Africa) as well as Karen Foster (GBIM missionary living in Yaoundé).

Our team as well as other missionaries in Cameroun have not been harmed as a result of recent political instability.

The instability was sparked by a taxi strike (most people rely upon taxi transport) that quickly escalated into riots in the Douala (seaport – large city). That unrest spread to Yaoundé where our staff live and work.

Karen has been in touch with the Momeyers (Jim, Deb, and kids) and they too are okay.

Our prayer is that this unrest will not escalate into what we have seen in neighboring countries over the past several years.

We are also praying for the safety of our missionary and national family.

Frank Puhl and I will continue to monitor this situation with our team.

Thanks for your phone calls, emails, and most of all for your prayers.

Michael Taylor
Africa Regional Director
GBIM

Sharing Some Music and Some Chords

Posted by Terry White on February 26, 2008  |  No Comments

Jeremiah Olson (right), who leads music and worship at the Grace Brethren church in Goshen, Indiana, did a little coaching and sharing of music and chords with Javier Forero (left) of Tampa, Florida, after the Tuesday evening session of the Southeast Focus Retreat.

Focus Retreat Participants Fan Out Across Florida

Posted by Terry White on February 26, 2008  |  No Comments

Pastors and church leaders attending the Southeast Focus Retreat fanned out across central Florida today to accomplish some goals for meeting people and sharing the gospel.

Here John Nelson of Fort Lauderdale (front right) demonstrates how he did a quick U-turn with his vanload which included John Diaz (front left), Glen Rininger (back row left) and Dan Younger (back row right).

Though some groups had to contend with the power outages that hit central and south Florida, participants engaged many people in conversation as they completed assignments to take photos of people with four or more grandchildren, a store clerk who has been on the job for at least three years, someone wearing a sport shirt, someone who does not know Christ as Savior, and more.

The retreat concludes Wednesday at noon.

Short and Sweet: Worthington Christian Basketball Players Featured

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on February 26, 2008  |  No Comments

Today’s (February 26) Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch includes a story about Tyler and Zack Joseph, stand-out basketball players at Worthington Christian High School, a ministry of the Grace Brethren Church of Columbus. (In the Dispatch photo at right, guards Tyler Joseph, left, and Zack Joseph are big contributors to Worthington Christian’s success this season.) To read the complete story, click here.

Joseph brothers’ basketball schooling makes them tall order on court

One can almost hear Marv Albert calling the Nerf basketball games that Tyler and Zack Joseph waged in the bedroom they have shared since infancy.

“I was always John Starks and he was Patrick Ewing,” said Zack, younger by two years. “Our one-on-one battles were epic. They were always super, super competitive. We’re that way in everything.”

The part about the Joseph’s fierce sibling rivalry makes perfect sense. But Patrick Ewing?

“Tyler was always an inch or two taller than me,” Zack quipped. “I’ve always thrived on being the underdog, anyway.”

Tyler is listed as 5 feet 10 and Zack 5-9 (and both figures might be inflated), but their diminutive stature hasn’t kept them from playing big roles on a 21-1 Worthington Christian team that shared the Central Catholic League championship and spent all season ranked at or near the top of the Division IV state poll.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Snow Blankets Northern Indiana

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on February 26, 2008  |  No Comments

Southeast Focus Retreat Underway

Posted by Terry White on February 25, 2008  |  No Comments

FGBC Moderator Jim Brown (seated, left foreground), who also pastors the Grace Brethren church in Goshen, Indiana, led off the opening session of the Southeast Focus Retreat this afternoon at a camp near Haines City, Florida.

In the opening session, a number of the pastors and church leaders attending gave their personal testimonies and identified those who have had a significant impact on their spiritual lives. The retreat continues through Wednesday noon.

Lexington, Mansfield Have Special Events

Posted by Terry White on February 23, 2008  |  No Comments

Grace Brethren of Lexington

LEXINGTON — The Grace Brethren of Lexington, 215 W. Main St., will hold a mortgage burning ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Sunday.

Along with the Rev. Jason Carmean, the service will feature the Rev. Jim Custer of Columbus Grace Brethren. The original building was dedicated March 23, 1969, and has had several additions over the years.

Cornerstone Grace Brethren

MANSFIELD — Cornerstone Grace Brethren, 1905 N. Lexington-Springmill Road, will hold an “Understanding World Events in the Light of Prophecy” conference with Evangelist Mike Wingfield March 2 to 4. The event will kick off at 9:30 a.m. March 2 with a class titled, “Are We Living in the Last Days?” At 10:30 a.m. “Islam and the Land of Israel” will be discussed and at 6:30 p.m., “The World’s March to Armageddon.”

“The Sudden Collapse of the Present World System” will be presented at 7 p.m. March 3. “When God Judges America” will be the topic of the final class, 7 p.m. March 4.

Wingfield is an international Bible conference speaker, the director of Prophecy Today Ministries, editor of Prophecy Today Newsletter and hosts tours to the Middle East.

Dr. Matt Harmon Speaking at Ohio University

Posted by Terry White on February 21, 2008  |  No Comments

Dr. Matt Harmon (pictured), associate professor of New Testament studies at Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, Indiana, is speaking today at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.

He is speaking in the last of a three-part series held by Campus Crusade entitled, Reasonable Faith. Dr. Harmon’s talk is titled, “God of Vengeance, God of Love: Is the God of the Old Testament the same as the God of the New Testament?”

Brian McCollister, director of staff of Ohio University’s Campus Crusade, said, “It’s to expose our students that come to our weekly meeting to some of our best and brightest graduates and to address topics that are of interest both inside and outside of the Christian community.”

Dr. Harmon’s blog can be read at http://bibtheo.blogspot.com/

Wind damages Roanoke’s Jesus Saves sign

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on February 21, 2008  |  No Comments

Today’s (February 21) Roanoke, Va. Times carries a story about wind damage to a landmark sign over the Ghent Grace Brethren Church in that city. To read the complete story, click here.

Many are looking for the light after a windstorm damaged the landmark.

The congregation of Ghent Grace Brethren Church hasn’t shone with the glowing red light of Jesus lately. Neither have its neighbors near Roanoke’s Memorial Bridge.

That’s because the huge neon sign atop the church proclaiming “JESUS SAVES” was damaged in the windstorm Feb. 10 that temporarily knocked out power to about 45,000 customers in the Roanoke region. The sign, with 4-foot letters that face northwest, is an icon as visible in its community as the H&C Coffee and Dr Pepper landmarks are in downtown Roanoke. It now merely reads, “SAVES.”

So essential is the neon badge to the identity of the Ghent Grace sanctuary that Zach Doppelt, the pastor, has a likeness of it printed on his business card. “Some people around here know us as ‘the Jesus Saves Church,’ ” said Doppelt, 30, who arrived at Ghent Grace fresh out of seminary in Indiana in December.

“We’ll get the sign back. Someone is coming to see about fixing it early next week,” he said.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Team from Aiken GBC Helps with Chateau Renovations

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on February 20, 2008  |  No Comments

Wielding paint brushes and wall-papering tools, a team from the Aiken (S.C.) Grace Brethren Church is helping with renovations at the Chateau de St. Albain, Grace Brethren International Mission’s retreat center in France. The team, who left February 8, includes (back, left to right) Tom Palm, Ron Crofts, Jack Reed, (front, left to right) Sue Palm, Kathy Crofts, and Janet Reed. They will be returning to the U.S. on February 28.

Kitchen Duo Creates Stress-Free Meals

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on February 20, 2008  |  No Comments

Valerie Crumbley, an administrative assistant at Grace Brethren International Missions, and her business partner, Katie Elder, were featured in today’s (February 20) Fort Wayne (Ind.) Journal Gazette. The two have teamed up to create Friendship Foods, which provides cooking consultation. In the photo at right, Katie and Valerie show their Favorite Meat Loaf Cups and Rosemary Oven Fried Chicken (photo by Dean Musser Jr., The Journal Gazette). Read on to learn more about this dynamic kitchen duo.

Moms’ advance course offers stress-free meals

You know the routine. In fact, you know your mealtime routine so well it has become dull and mundane.

If that’s your situation, two northeast Indiana women believe they can help turn things around at your dinner table.

Fort Wayne resident Katie Elder, 27, and Valerie Crumbley, 31, of Warsaw, will present Neighborhood Connection’s latest cooking course: Friendship Foods: Meals in Advance.

The two own Friendship Foods, a cooking consultation business. Friendship was created when these formerly “kitchen-lost moms” had trouble preparing food for their families, according to their blog, http://www.friendshipfoods.blogspot.com/ . After much trial and error, they came up with a solution that virtually anyone can use. Their program provides guidelines for cooks to prepare quick, economical and healthy meals on a budget.

Crumbley, mother of a 4-year-old daughter, Lauren, and administrative assistant at Grace Brethren International Missions, and Elder, a stay-at-home mother who home schools her 5-year-old daughter, Selah, have worked together as cooking consultants the past three years.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Dr. Whitcomb Travels, Speaks

Posted by Terry White on February 18, 2008  |  No Comments

BMH Books author Dr. John Whitcomb (pictured) continues his vigorous travel and speaking schedule. Here are some places you can hear him speak in the near future. To browse his books log onto www.bmhbooks.com and for further information on his ministry contact www.whitcombministries.org

From Friday, Feb. 29, to Sunday, March 2, Dr. Whitcomb will speak on creationism at the Philadelphia Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. For more information, call Pastor Barry Bruce at 205-967-6023, or visit www.pbchurch.org.

From Monday, March 3, to Friday, March 7, Dr. Whitcomb will teach on Bible Prophecy at the Word of Life Bible Institute in Hudson, Fla. For more information, call Tom Phillips at 727-856-7575, or visit www.wol.org/biblei.

From Friday, March 7, to Sunday, March 9, Dr. Whitcomb will preach at the Bible Baptist Church in Wilton, Ala. For more information, call Pastor Tom Hammett at 205-665-2939.

From Friday, March 14, to Sunday, March 16, Dr. Whitcomb will speak at the Community Bible Church/Westview Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C. For more information, call Pastor Al Edgington at 317-414-0171.

From Friday, March 28, to Sunday, March 30, Dr. Whitcomb will give presentations on creationism at the Grace Bible Church of Elkhart, Ind. For more information, call Dr. Mike Fisher at 574-264-7333 or visit gracebibleelkhart.com.

For additional details about these events, please visit web pages at www.whitcombministries.org and www.sermonaudio.com/whitcomb.

Chad Fighting ‘Worst in 40 Years’

Posted by Terry White on February 18, 2008  |  No Comments

The following update on the political situation in Chad, Africa, is taken from the latest e-newsletter of Love In Action International. For more information on this ministry, click on http://www.loveinactioninternational.org

Matthais Ezel reported that although the French military have given the okay for residents of N’Djamena to return to their homes, the situation remains very unpredictable and uncertain.

Grace Brethren International Missions (GBIM) coworkers remain for the time being in Cameroon. Reports from other missions and missionaries indicate that the majority of mission stations were relatively untouched with the exception of a few vehicles that were stolen.

Most of the missionaries serving in Chad were evacuated from the country. Some reports from missionaries indicate this was the worst fighting they had seen in the 40 years they have served in Chad.

Praise the Lord that the fighting has seemed to have subsided. Please pray for wisdom on the return of missionaries to Chad and for continued protection and faith for our fellow believers living in this country.

More on Chadian refugees living in Cameroon may be seen at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/februaryweb-only/108-22.0.html

Weinstein to Head Enrollment Marketing at Grace

Posted by Terry White on February 18, 2008  |  No Comments

Mark D. Weinstein (pictured) has accepted the position of Dean of Enrollment and Marketing at Grace College, Winona Lake, Indiana, effective April 1.

Weinstein is a 1982 Grace College alumnus and also holds his M.S. degree in organizational leadership from Geneva College. In his new position at Grace, Mark will lead undergraduate and graduate enrollment and marketing.

Weinstein comes to Grace from his position as Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Maryville University in St. Louis, Missouri. Prior to that, he was Director of Public Relations and Enrollment Marketing at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1999-2005, and Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, from 1990-1999.

Mark and his wife, Lisa, plan to relocate to the Winona Lake area later this spring. He will be replacing Ken Moyer, who left the enrollment post in late December.

Grace Presidential Scholarship Competition Coming

Posted by Terry White on February 18, 2008  |  No Comments

Grace College, Winona Lake, Indiana, will welcome 184 high school seniors to campus for the 2008 Presidential Scholarship Competition on February 22 and 23. In the competition, Grace will award more than $2.2 million in four-year academic scholarships.

Competitors and their parents will enjoy a dinner, dessert, and student panel with former scholarship finalists on Friday evening. Then on Saturday, the competitors will participate in individual interviews and writing sessions. More than 60 faculty and staff will be involved in the interviews.

The average academic criteria of the competitors is a 3.89 GPA, 28 ACT and/or 1260 SAT. Twenty-five states and two foreign countries are being represented, and more than 70 percent of the competitors travel to Grace from out of state.

A Grace representative said, “Please join us in praying for the impact of the Presidential Scholarship Competition and for those who have been invited to come. Pray for travel safety and good weather and also for faculty and staff who are involved in this important weekend.”

To see a schedule of the competition, go to http://www.grace.edu/grace/admissions/pres-scholar.schedule.htm

Lake Odessa’s Betty Hulliberger With the Lord

Posted by Terry White on February 18, 2008  |  No Comments

HULLIBERGER (Stauffer)—Elizabeth “Betty” Fuller Hulliberger, of Lake Odessa, Michigan, aged 96, was rewarded with her home in heaven early Sunday morning, February 10, 2008.

Betty was born in Caledonia, MI, on June 6, 1911, to Owen and Hattie (Fuller) Stauffer. She was the oldest of nine children that also included Blanche, Elsie, Donald, David, Harriett, Mary, John “Jack”, and Alice. Betty was united in marriage to Orley K. Hulliberger on December 6, 1931 at the United Brethren Church parsonage in Freeport, MI. Orley preceded her in death on September 11, 1979 after 48 years of marriage.

Betty still resided in the farm home she and Orley purchased in 1944 when they moved to Lake Odessa from Lansing. Betty is survived by her beloved family, daughter Lorraine (Marvin) Stuart of Leonidas, MI, and their family, Suzanne Gibbs, James, Mark, and Stephen Stuart and 11 grandchildren, and two great grandsons; daughter Norma Lathrop of Wasilla, AK and her family, Beth Winter and Anna, Cathy, Rebekah, and Ben and Sarah, of Palmer AK, and Daniel and Brianna Lathrop of Wasilla, AK; and daughter Marcia (Don) Hofstra of Anchorage, AK and their family, Jane and Dale Ruckman and children, Jasmine, Harley, Ciera and Dustin of Unalaska, AK, and Jeanne and Phil Postma and their children, Sabriah, Jordan, Ellyana, and Isaiah of Middleville, MI; sisters and brothers, David (Millie) Stauffer, Harriett Steinfort, Mary (Ed) Good, and Jack (Colleen) Stauffer; brother-in-law, Ralph Lang; and many more loving relatives.

Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Orley; grandson, Jon Hofstra; and sisters and brothers and their spouses, Blanche, Elsie (Lavern), Donald (Lois), and Alice; brother-in-law, Jerry Steinfort; and sons-in-law, Paul L. Shellenbarger and Robert H. Lathrop.

Betty was a homemaker who loved gardening and quilting for her family and for the Navajo people. Betty had been a member of the Lake Odessa Grace Brethren Church for more than 60 years. She leaves a host of friends and church family who loved and cared for her over the past several years.

Betty had served as the church secretary for many years and had been a faithful and dedicated Sunday School teacher for most of her life until ill health and advancing years slowed her down. She had also made sure that many children always had a ride to church, and her lady friends always knew that that could count on her for transportation to church functions until her driving days finally ended at the age of 90.

Betty had been a committed Christian her entire life and delighted in reading through her Bible each year faithfully since 1970. She had been a prayer warrior for her family, church and missionaries around the world. Betty loved her Lord and served Him, and now is rewarded with a home in heaven.

The funeral service was to be held at 11:00 AM today, Monday, February 18 at the Lake Odessa Grace Brethren Church (2720 Vedder Rd. Lake Odessa MI 48849). Burial will be in Lakeside Cemetery in Lake Odessa.

The family has suggested that memorial contributions may be made to Pastor Tully Butler’s Cedar Hill Church in New Mexico which supports the Navajo Radio Ministry, where Betty’s daughter Norma and her husband Robert Lathrop served for more than 30 years.

Crossing the Line and Walking in Someone Else’s Shoes

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on February 15, 2008  |  1 Comment

Goshen Hand-Delivers 7,750 Ounces of Chocolate

Posted by Terry White on February 14, 2008  |  No Comments

The following story appears in today’s Goshen (IN) News, where FGBC Moderator Jim Brown pastors the local Grace Brethren church. To read the story in its original version, click on http://www.goshennews.com/local/local_story_045105237.html

7,750 ounces of chocolate, hand-delivered

Grace Community Church’s “blue crew” is sweetening up the Maple City today for Valentine’s Day.

Around the city, the blue crew — named because they wear bright blue sweatshirts and T-shirts with the church’s name on them — will randomly hand-deliver to people 5,000 1.55-ounce bars of Hershey chocolate.

Crews were out this morning and will continue handing out Hershey bars from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.

“There’s nothing quite like a delicious bar of chocolate, but that doesn’t begin to compare to what Jesus has to offer us and it’s all free,” said the Rev. Jim Brown, lead pastor at Grace Community Church.

“We want our shoppers and business owners to know without a doubt on Thursday that no one loves them more than Jesus. In fact, that is what the Valentine’s Day card says that will be passed out with the Hershey bars. There are so many people out there who are hurting and alone on Valentine’s Day and just need to know that someone loves them and that someone is Jesus. So if one person comes to know that, it’s worth all 7,750 ounces.”

“Our theme this year at Grace is ‘raise the bar,’ and we are constantly trying to think outside the box as we reach out to people,” Brown said.

“Jesus tried different ways to connect with people and that’s what we’re trying to do. We just want to get out of the way and let Jesus take charge. As people eat that last piece of chocolate and wad up that wrapper, we will be praying that they will have a desire to know the everlasting goodness there is with knowing Jesus.”

A large group of college students will be involved with the blitz. “Having them onboard makes it really special,” Brown said.

“We have a group of high school graduates from all over the country who are taking a year of intensive study for college credit right here at our church. They live with families in our church and take classes online through a Christian university.

“They are also taking trips to Vietnam, Israel and to model churches and organizations throughout the country as part of this year of training. They have been serving in our outreaches and other church activities and events this year here at Grace, and it’s been great having them here. The only problem is keeping them out of the chocolate.”

For more information about Grace, call 533-7546 or go to www.gracecommunity-church. com.