BMH Editor's Blog

Pastor Entertains Without Sacrificing Language

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on March 31, 2008  |  No Comments

Today’s Columbus Dispatch includes a story about Carlo Corral (in photo at right), the children’s pastor and Hispanic church planter at the Southwest Grace Brethren Church in Grove City, Ohio. To read the complete story, click here.

Bilingual clown translates as funny
Even in a parking lot, Chulo the Clown can create magic.

With a few dance moves, twists of balloons and a merry monologue, he entranced a group of children huddled on a West Side bench on a recent chilly day.

But Chulo — whose real name is Carlo Corral — has another weapon at his disposal, as he demonstrated at a recent birthday party for 7-year-old Mauro Sanchez-Hernandez.

“Feliz cumpleanos!” (“Happy birthday!”) Chulo yelled to the delighted Mauro, who speaks Spanish as well as English.

For central Ohio’s growing Latino population, Chulo — one of the few known bilingual clowns in the area — offers a way to entertain kids without sacrificing language.

To read the rest of the story and watch video of Chulo performing, click here.

Former Youth Pastor Manages NM City

Posted by Terry White on March 30, 2008  |  No Comments

An article in today’s Farmington, New Mexico, newspaper gives background on the new interim city manager, who comes from a well-known Grace Brethren family and has served in a Grace Brethren church. Here is an excerpt–to read the entire article click here.

FARMINGTON — Though he hasn’t been at City Hall long, interim City Manager Rob Mayes said his experience managing organizations such as Piñon Hills Community Church prepared him to lead the city’s 1,035 employees.

Mayes, 43, took the reins at the city as interim city manager on March 11, after the City Council fired his predecessor, Mike Miller.

Mayes has worked for the city for less than two years. He started in June 2006 as executive assistant to then-city manager Bob Hudson, was promoted to assistant city manager and took over as interim city manager the first time when Hudson retired in April 2007. . .

. . . Born in southern California, Mayes grew up in Fort Wayne, Ind. He attended Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., and earned a bachelor’s degree in youth services and clinical and clerical counseling.

He worked as youth services director and associate pastor for Grace Brethren Church and School in the Washington, D.C., area, and earned a master’s degree in religious philosophy from Liberty University in 1990.

In 1998, he moved to Farmington to take a job as executive pastor at Piñon Hills Community Church.

Grace Student’s Spring Break Ministry Featured

Posted by Terry White on March 30, 2008  |  No Comments

A Grace College student was featured in the local (Warsaw, Indiana) newspaper this week for having spent her spring break ministering at an orphanage in Mexico, and having written a book about the experience. Here is an excerpt from the story on Hope Rauchenstein (pictured with orphan). To read the entire article click here.

WINONA LAKE – While many students spent their spring break partying, Grace College freshman Hope Rauchenstein used her passion for children and spent her spring break volunteering at an orphanage in Mexico.

Rauchenstein, 19, an elementary education major, spent her spring break volunteering at Door of Faith Orphanage in La Mision, Mexico, a town south of San Diego, Calif.

Not the Retiring Type, This Beaver is Busy

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on March 28, 2008  |  No Comments

Retirement doesn’t seem to have a place in Wayne Beaver’s vocabulary. (He is pictured at right with his wife, Dorothy.) The veteran missionary and emeritus professor at Grace Theological Seminary is now helping his son, Dan, begin a Bible school in the Philippines.

To learn more, see the March-April issue of FGBC World, which is available at your local church or on the web.

FGBC World is the bi-monthly newspaper for the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. Printed copies of the March-April issue have been shipped to each church in the Fellowship and may be obtained there at no charge.

To read the complete issue online, click here.

If you’d like a free subscription to FGBC World (mailed to your home), click here.

Nomad church quietly grows

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on March 28, 2008  |  No Comments

Today’s Indianapolis Star includes a story about Life Spring Church, a new Grace Brethren congregation in Brownsburg, Ind., just outside of Indianapolis.

To read the complete story, click here.

Parishioners meet at fire headquarters

In a building designed to train firefighters to save people from car accidents and fires, a group of believers is spending Sundays saving souls.

Members of Life Spring Church this month began meeting in the Brownsburg Fire Territory headquarters on Northfield Drive. It’s the latest move for a group of believers that first met in a living room in August 2006.

“I like the idea of starting with nothing and God putting a church together,” said the Rev. Phil Gabriel, 55. “It is our belief that a church isn’t a building, but is the fellowship of believers in Christ living in relationship with one another. There are thoughts of having our own church building someday but our focus right now is really growing people.”

To read the rest of the story, click here.

To learn more about Life Spring Church, click here.

Kansas Murder Investigation Continues

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on March 28, 2008  |  No Comments

The investigation into the death of Jeffery S. “Scott” Noel, who attended the Grace Brethren Church of Portis, Kansas (Dave Sarver, pastor), continues as authorities search for a sedan and at least two people wanted for questioning in connection with the Tuesday murder.

Continue to pray for the people of Portis and Pastor Sarver during this time.

To see a story about the murder from today’s Salina (Kansas) News, click here. To read the obituary of Scott Noel, click here.

GBIM Seeks Controller

Posted by Terry White on March 27, 2008  |  No Comments

Can you use your skill with finances to reach people for Christ?

Yes!

Grace Brethren International Missions, Winona Lake, Indiana, is seeking a person with strong accounting background to join their team as Controller. God can use your skills to keep GBIM ministries fiscally strong, so missionaries are free to focus on and grow their ministries – to take the church where it is needed most!

For more information, see www.gbim.org. Please send your resume to Joan Hoke at jhoke@gbim.org or call her at (574) 268-1888 ext. 21.

Murder of Parishioner Shocks Kansas Church, Town

Posted by Terry White on March 27, 2008  |  4 Comments

Pastor Dave Sarver and the Grace Brethren Church of Portis, Kansas, will appreciate your prayers as they experience the shock and grief of the murder of one of their parishioners, Scott Noel (pictured). Here is a short excerpt from one of the media stories. Further information is at http://new.khastv.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=12886&storytopic=4 and at http://www.saljournal.com/rdnews/story/Portis-murder-follow-3-26-08

The Osborne County Sheriff’s Office and the Kansas Bureau of Investigations are trying to figure out who killed Scott Noel.

The 55 year old was found dead Tuesday afternoon in his home near Portis.
Police say it could be a burglary gone bad.

Investigators spent the day in and around Scott Noel’s farmhouse just southeast of Portis.

For some, it is their first local murder case.

“We have not had anything remotely similar to this in 15 years,” said Sgt. Jack Ennis.

The Sheriff’s office is not releasing many details, but believes Noel was killed sometime between 11 and 2 Tuesday afternoon.

Since then the public has been flooding them with possible leads.

“We are receiving phone calls constantly. We are following up all the information we get as fast as we can because we are very concerned about getting this solved,” said Ennis.

Just over a hundred people live in Portis.

So in a town where everyone is considered family, a murder affects everybody.

“I think everybody was traumatized and heartbroken. Everyone felt victimized. Cannot imagine what the family is going through. Everybody’s heart goes out to them,” said Alison Holt.

Eggs Drop as Churches Reach Out

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

Two Grace Brethren churches hosted helicopter egg drops as an outreach in their community.

“Wow…what a day! Weather was great!,” Pastor Mike Silliman at Elk Creek Church in West Grove, Pa., wrote on his blog this week. “Tons of people showed up. I have no idea how many people…If I had to guess, I would say 3,000-3,500!” The photo at right is from their event, which was held on Saturday, March 22. (See blog post from Thursday, March 20, 2008 for more details.)

Catalyst Church, a Grace Brethren congregation in Kent, Ohio (Jonathon Herron, pastor), also held a helicopter egg drop on Saturday. To see coverage of that event, click here. (There is also information on this blog. See the Friday, March 07, 2008 post.)

BTW, Elk Creek’s event on March 30 with Jon and Kate Gosselin, of TLC’s Jon & Kate Plus Eight, is sold out. However, Pastor Silliman has 25 tickets left. Visit his blog to see how you can win a pair!

NCO Church Plant Begins Sunday Gatherings

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

From the current newsletter of the North Central Ohio district, as distributed by district coordinator Todd Scoles:

ClearView Church Begins Sunday Gatherings

Andy and Trish Wirt report that eleven people attended the first-ever worship gathering in their home on March 16. On Easter Sunday, sixteen people were present.

Pray for the birth of this new church in the New Albany area. Pray for and consider the support needs of ClearView.

Contact Andy at andy@clearviewgrace.com for more information.

One final important prayer request: Pray for the Wirts as their new baby girl is scheduled to arrive next Monday, March 31!

BMH Books’ Subsidiary Rights Bearing Fruit

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

During this past year, BMH Books of Winona Lake, Indiana, has employed a subsidiary rights contractor to leverage its products into foreign language translations, large-print editions, audiobooks, digital versions (Libronix, WordSearch), and more.

The first of these, a German language edition of Transformed in His Presence: The Need for Prayer in Counseling by Roger Peugh and Tammy Schultz (at right) has now been released by a German publisher, Christlicher Mediendienst.

A Portuguese edition of Walking Like Jesus Did by Larry McCall is now on the press, an audiobook licensing agreement for the McCall book is pending, and a contract is pending for BMH’s Edmund Hiebert commentary series to appear in digital form.

For more information, contact BMH publisher Terry White at tdwhite@bmhbooks.com.

Longtime West Alexandria Member Dies at 105

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

Orville Flora, 105, a longtime member and leader in the Grace Brethren Community Church of West Alexandria, Ohio (Elbert Sorrell, pastor) passed away March 23, 2008.

Orville was saved at age 17 in the Camden,OH, Brethren Church and served there for many years. Later, he became a member of the Grace Brethren Community Church, West Alexandria,Ohio, where he served for nearly 60 years as Deacon, S.S.Supt., and S.S. teacher.

Orville loved to attend Grace Brethren National Conference and in 1982 was selected to receive the Senior Medal of Ministry. His last time to attend National Conference at Winona Lake, Indiana, was at the age of 91 as he was a delegate from his church.

Flora also enjoyed Southern Ohio District church camps, mission work, and traveling to New Mexico to the Navajo Mission.

Funeral Wednesday for Pike Teen Accident Victim

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

BLACKLICK TWP., Pa. — Grief counselors were on hand Tuesday at Blacklick Valley High School in Cambria County as students return for the first time since Saturday’s crash that killed two students.

Meanwhile, funeral arrangements have been made for two of victims of the crash.

Viewing for Tiana Rose will take place Tuesday from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Askew Houser Funeral Home in Nanty Glo. Her funeral service will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Pike Grace Brethren Church in Mundy’s Corner with burial to follow in the church cemetery.

Viewing for Nick Maniccia will also be held Tuesday from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Askew Houser Funeral Home. His funeral service will be held Wednesday at the funeral home beginning at 11 a.m.

Rick Clark is pastor of the Pike church. An additional story on the accident may be seen at http://www.wjactv.com/mostpopular/15694526/detail.html

Lehman Strauss Prophecy Books Released

Posted by Terry White on March 24, 2008  |  No Comments

BMH Books of Winona Lake, Indiana, has just released new versions of two highly-acclaimed books on prophecy by the late pastor and Bible teacher Lehman Strauss.

The Book of the Revelation contains outlined studies of the last book of the Bible. In his introduction, Strauss says, “Genesis is the book of commencement; Revelation is the book of consummation.”

The author identifies three distinct systems of interpretation of Revelation—The Preterist School, The Presentist School, and The Prophetic School. Subscribing to the latter, Strauss holds that the largest part of the Book of Revelation is prophetic, and thus it applies to a period still future.

In The Prophecies of Daniel, Strauss has written an engaging and informative commentary quite applicable in this day when there is great curiosity about future events and what the Bible says about them. Both these books will be helpful either to the preaching pastor or to the serious lay Bible student who wishes a better understanding of biblical prophecy.

Lehman Strauss, Litt.D., F.R.G.S., taught Old Testament history for eight years at Philadelphia Bible Institute and served as pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church in Bristol, Pennsylvania, from 1939 to 1957.

He was pastor of Highland Park Baptist Church in Highland Park, Michigan, until the end of 1963 when he resigned to devote full-time to an itinerant Bible conference and evangelistic ministry. Dr. Strauss was residing in Florida and was writing his 19th book at age 86 when the Lord called him home in June of 1997.

Both books retail for $17.99. The ISBN for The Book of the Revelation is 978-0-88469-090-0 and the ISBN for The Prophecies of Daniel is 978-0-88469-089-4. Both are available in paperback at www.bmhbooks.com or by calling (toll-free) 1-800-348-2756.

Posted by Terry White on March 24, 2008  |  No Comments

In The Prophecies of Daniel, Strauss has written an engaging and informative commentary quite applicable in this day when there is great curiosity about future events and what the Bible says about them.

The ISBN for The Prophecies of Daniel is 978-0-88469-089-4. Both books are available in paperback at www.bmhbooks.com or by calling (toll-free) 1-800-348-2756.

Oscar Chavez Gives Hispanic Church-Plant Update

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

Hispanic church planter Oscar Chavez (pictured), who pastors an Hispanic Grace Brethren church in Lancaster, California, and is active in encouraging and assisting Hispanic church plants, included some updates in a recent newsletter. Here are some excerpts:

We are excited at the possibility of planting two or maybe three churches by the year 2009 in the following areas. Please begin praying for these cities: (1)East Palmdale, (2) Rosamond, (3) California City.

This year our impact church in Lancaster will become stronger in different areas of ministry and outreach as we prepare to give birth to these new churches. We are creating two teams of people who will commit two years of their lives, ministry and finances to these baby churches. These teams will be headed by a graduate from our Bible training and one of our elders.

This year is the year of training and preparation for these new church plants. We will keep you informed so that you can join with us and pray for the vision God has given us, “Church planting is the best way to reach new people for Christ.” Please take 60 seconds to pray for this vision right now.

Hispanic Church Planting in North America

Working with GO2 is one of the most exciting things that I have done in ministry. We are working as a team to put together all of our expertise to create a strong church planting movement in North America.

For this purpose we have created a process that begins with a pre-assessment of a church planter by one of our regional directors, then to an assessment to ensure they understand all that is required in taking on this precious task. Once they have completed both assessments they will begin a training process with an established church planter.

April 3-5, 2008, the assessment team will be in Telford, PA, for our first assessment for GO2. Jesus Munoz (Go2 Hispanic church planting Director) and Oscar Chavez (Go2 West coast Director) Ron Boehm (Midwest field director) and Ned Denlinger, pastor of Mason Family of Grace in Mason, OH, and Dave Kennedy from Richmond, VA will train and be part of the assessment.

Please pray for the nine couples registered and praise the Lord for the three of these couples that are Hispanic.

Chaplains Appreciation Dinner–You’re Invited

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

From Dr. Larry Chamberlain and the Eagle Commission:

Come and celebrate the strategic and effective ministries of our Grace Brethren Chaplains who serve the brave men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces.

The annual “Chaplains Appreciation Dinner” will be held on Sunday evening, July 27, from 4:45 to 6:30 p.m. at the Innisbrook resort in Tampa as part of this year’s national conference. Tickets are available via your conference registration materials.

Hear testimonies from Grace Brethren Chaplains who are attending the FGBC National Conference. Honor several Chaplains who are retiring this year. Let our Chaplains and their families know that our Fellowship cares about them and prays for them as they share the goodness and grace of our Lord with the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who defend our freedoms, often in harm’s way.

Sponsored by The Eagle Commission
and Grace Brethren Investment Foundation

(The dinner will include a brief corporation meeting
for Grace Brethren Investment Foundation, Inc.)

Neil Cole Book to be Released April 1

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

Neil Cole, pastor of Awakening Chapel, a Grace Brethren church in Long Beach, California, and executive director of Church Multiplication Associates, has written a new book which will be released April 1.

Promotional copy on the new book says Christians today are on a rescue mission. Each of us is called to get involved in God’s plan to make disciples. A former California lifeguard, Neil Cole weaves together his personal experiences of saving lives with biblical principles for how to make and multiply disciples.

Cole shows how to create Life Transformation Groups that can help a Christian grow in a safe and transparent relationship with one or two other spiritual pilgrims.

Full of heroic and even humorous stories, Search and Rescue captures readers’ imaginations and hearts and doesn’t let go until they want to make a difference and know how to go about doing it.

To obtain the book, click here.

Elk Creek Church Hosts Jon & Kate, Minus the Eight

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

Elk Creek Church, a Grace Brethren church in West Grove, Pa., is using the Easter season to reach their community by offering two events to connect with people. They are planning a Helicopter Egg Drop on March 22 and will host Jon and Kate Gosselin from The Learning Channel’s Jon & Kate plus 8 during their worship service on March 30.

The Helicopter Egg Drop is a first for their community, according to Elk Creek pastor Mike Silliman. It will be held at 1 p.m., this Saturday (March 22) at Harmony Park in West Grove. Twenty thousand eggs will be dropped over the football field at the park. There will also be drawings for a Nintendo Wii game system, Nintendo DS Lite, and an iPod Shuffle.

The event is for kids up to age 12. Registration begins at Noon. (The church is expecting between 1,000 and 2,000 people for the egg drop.)

The Gosselins, who are the parents of two sets of multiples – a set of twins and a set of sextuplets, will take the stage during the 10:30 a.m. worship service on March 30. In place of the sermon, Pastor Mike Silliman will interview the couple.

“I’ll ask them questions about their life in general and eventually will ask them about the role of their faith and how that plays out in their lifestyle…especially with being celebrities,” Silliman said. (The Gosselin children will not be at this event.) The service is held in Avon Grove High School’s auditorium in West Grove.

The event is free, but tickets must be ordered in advance. The auditorium seats 800 and many tickets have been spoken for, according to Silliman. They may still be ordered at http://www.elkcreekonline.com/jk8.htm.

On March 30, there will also be a special children’s program while the Gosselins speak during the main service. It will be led by Elk Creek’s Children’s Director Monica Frank.

“We’re trying to host bridge events that really connect us with the community,” said Silliman. – by Natalie Rummel

Peggy Owens Honored for Jail Ministry

Posted by Terry White on March 20, 2008  |  No Comments

Peggy Owens (left in photo), an employee of CE National and a member of the Winona Lake (IN) Grace Brethren church (Bruce Barlow, lead pastor) was honored this week as one of the recipients of a 2008 Heart of Gold Award.

Recipients were honored at a reception, presented by Kosciusko County Community Foundation Inc., was held at Center Lake Pavilion in Warsaw, Indiana.

Recipients are recommended by community members who nominate them. Ten nominees, including Peggy, were selected by Kosciusko County Community Foundation volunteers to have their stories highlighted during the reception.

Recipients were selected based on their service to others, identifying a need and fulfilling it, working to create positive change and inspiring others to volunteer.

“The purpose of the award is to celebrate ordinary citizens who serve others in extraordinary ways,” said Kosciusko County Community Foundation Executive Director Suzie Light.

Each person nominated for a Heart of Gold award received a Heart of Gold pin, a certificate and the opportunity to recommend a Community Foundation grant to the area charity of their choice.

Marsha Cook and Tracy Jackson read the nominees’ and nominators’ names and highlighted the stories of 10 nominees, including Peggy Owens, for her volunteering at the Kosciusko County Jail for the past nine years bringing her joy of music with her keyboard on Sunday mornings and Monday evenings. She also teaches a Bible study to female inmates.