BMH Editor's Blog

60+ Plan to Attend ‘Exponential’ Conference

Posted by Terry White on April 16, 2008  |  No Comments

More than 60 Grace Brethren plan to attend the “Exponential” conference in Orlando, Florida, next week, according to FGBC Coordinator Tom Avey.

Avey says, “Biblical Mission is a core value of the FGBC and many are working hard to advance an exciting movement of church planting through our churches. This three-day conference will provide a great opportunity to hear the stories of leaders in various church-planting movements and listen to God in His Word for His principles and passion to reach people for Jesus through new churches.”

Avey encourages all to pray for those who plan to attend and stay tuned for reports from the conference.

Old Fashioned Hymn Sing Scheduled at Centerville, Ohio

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on April 16, 2008  |  No Comments

From the Tristate Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches web site:

The Centerville Grace Brethren Church (Steve Makofka, pastor), 410 E Social Row Rd., Dayton, Ohio, is hosting an Old Fashioned Hymn Sing on Sunday evening May 4, at 6 o’clock.

Special musical guests will be Bruce and Brenda Jackson and their family (pictured at right). There will be opportunity to make requests, and share testimonies.

Following the service will be an ice cream social.

All are invited!

(Click for map)

Grace Seminary Scholarships Expanded

Posted by Terry White on April 15, 2008  |  No Comments

Dr. Jeff Gill, Dean of the School of Ministry Studies at Grace College and Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, Indiana, is pleased to announce that beginning this fall Grace Theological Seminary will expand the Sparks Endowment Fund scholarship program to both online and distance education students enrolled in either the MA Local Church Ministry or MA Intercultural Studies programs.

This program, also known as the GTS Scholarship, presently provides a generous benefit of $65 per hour for Grace Brethren Church members, or $50 for non-Grace Brethren students.

To inquire about the criteria for this scholarship program or to apply for it by submitting an online form please visit the following web page at the Grace Theological Seminary:

http://www.gts.grace.edu/GTS-scholarship-application.htm

The program applies to both current students as well as new students, but students have to reapply each year to received the benefit as well as meeting other criteria. If you have questions, please contact Jim Hill at 1-800-544-7223 x-6435 or drop him an email at hilljm@grace.edu.

Waynesboro Celebrates 100th Anniversary

Posted by Terry White on April 15, 2008  |  No Comments

Pastor Larry Weber and Nancy Weber (center) greet worshipers at the 100th Anniversary Renascence of the Waynesboro, Pa., Grace Brethren Church this past weekend. Pastor Larry Orme, Renascence guest speaker, is on the right.

The Grace Brethren Church of Waynesboro, Pa., celebrated its 100th Anniversary Renascence April 11-13, 2008. Pastor Larry Orme, Executive Pastor of the Penn Valley Grace Brethren Church, Telford, PA, was the conference speaker.

A Saturday Evening concert by Seasoned Grace, a ten-member musical ensemble founded and directed by Pastor Larry Weber of Waynesboro, involved the audience in singing as they listened to beloved and familiar hymns.

Sunday afternoon, April 13, a special service of worship and celebration featured a message by Pastor Orme, with inspired singing led by a brass choir, organist Nancy Messner (sister of Pastor Larry Weber) from Fairlawn, OH, and soprano soloist Judy Chenoweth, of Hartville, OH, both of whom are members of Seasoned Grace.

Messages of congratulations from Tom Avey, Fellowship Coordinator of FGBC, and Ed Lewis, Executive Director of CENational, were read to the congregation. Messages from local political leaders, missionaries, and other churches were read, as well.

The Waynesboro church is committed to a growing ministry. It has purchased ten acres, and is actively in negotiations for the sale of the current church property which will enable the church to relocate to a strategic position just west of the community.

Pray for the details of the sale and eventual construction of a new church building for the glory of Jesus Christ. All praise is to Him for His blessing and leading the Waynesboro church into a second century of ministry.

Posted by Terry White on April 15, 2008  |  No Comments

The oldest living member of the Waynesboro Grace Brethren Church, Kenneth Heefner, 92, spoke at the 100th Anniversary Celebration and Worship at Waynesboro, PA, Grace Brethren Church.

Posted by Terry White on April 15, 2008  |  No Comments

The Brass Choir played in the service of Worship and Celebration at the Waynesboro church.

GBB and SMM Seek Ways to Cooperate

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on April 15, 2008  |  No Comments

Members from the GBB (Grace Brethren Boys) National Board and members from the National SMM (Serving My Master) Cabinet met on in Rittman, Ohio on Saturday, April 12 to discuss their respective ministries. Their purpose was to educate each other about the ministries and to discuss the reasons they believe in gender-specific ministries.

GBB is a ministry of men mentoring boys, while SMM is a ministry of women mentoring girls. Both organizations are affiliated with the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

Rob Gable, director of boys’ ministry for GBB, and Viki Rife, director of girls’ ministries for Women of Grace USA, arranged the meeting because they realized their ministries had common challenges and opportunities. By exchanging information and ideas, they hope to strengthen both ministries.

For more information on these ministries, please contact:

Rob Gable
GBB National
Phone (330) 464-8185
Rgable1357@neo.rr.com

Viki Rife
National SMM
Phone (574) 267-4252
smm@wgusa.org

What is Driven?

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on April 14, 2008  |  No Comments

Driven is the conference that strives to gather a generation to become catalysts for Christ within church and culture. It will be held this year at Otterbein College from June 26-29. Otterbein is located in Westerville, Ohio, just outside the I-270 outerbelt of Columbus, Ohio.

Driven was set in motion by the vision of several young adult pastors and leaders in the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches (FGBC) with a common passion to gather a generation to become catalysts for Christ within church and culture. Others in the fellowship have caught the vision and were asked to respond to “What is Driven?”

A catalytic experience for renewal, networking, and envisioning. A conversation among leaders whose passion and stewardship will give shape to coming decades of ministry. A gathering that stimulates passion for God’s work. A place to be and become. Driven is all of this and more. Grace College and Seminary believes in this experience. – Ron Manahan, president, Grace College and Seminary

Driven is a Greenhouse for future generation leaders. If you are in your “twenties” and want to make significant difference then come to Driven. We endorse the Driven Movement with great confidence knowing it is a super venue to catapult future leaders. – Jim Brown, moderator, Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches

If the FGBC is to thrive in the future we must recruit and empower a new generation of leaders. My hope is that through Driven some of these future leaders will build relationships that span the fellowship. Driven is designed to challenge them right where they are at in life. There is no other place in the FGBC where this can effectively happen. – Dave Plaster, senior pastor, Grace Brethren Church of Columbus, Ohio

To register for the conference, click here. To learn more about the event, see the Driven blog.

DeArmeys Honored for 37 Years in Missions

Posted by Terry White on April 13, 2008  |  No Comments

Larry and Vicki DeArmey (seated) were honored this Sunday, April 13, at the Winona Lake (IN) Grace Brethren Church for 37 years in European missions service with Grace Brethren International Missions. The first 32 years were in France, and the final five were in Madrid, Spain.

A reception and ceremony were emceed by former GBIM missionary Kip Cone. A number of tributes were given, including a video tribute from the DeArmeys’ European missionary colleagues.

Gifts were presented from the Winona Lake church and from the Women of Grace organization, and those attending had opportunity to express their thanks and appreciation to the DeArmeys. In addition to church friends and family, there were also representatives from the Grace Brethren Church in Columbus, Ohio, where the DeArmeys will be moving to continue their recruitment and encouragement ministry with Grace Brethren International Missions.

Participating in the prayer of commitment for the DeArmeys were (from left) Bruce Barlow, lead pastor of the Winona Lake Church; Jay Bell, outreach pastor of the Winona Lake church; Dave Guiles (with microphone), executive director of Grace Brethren International Missions; and Donna and Tom Miller of Winona Lake, who have served as the prayer partners and church liaisons for the DeArmeys over the past 15 years.

Figerts Celebrate 50th Anniversary

Posted by Terry White on April 13, 2008  |  No Comments

Billy and Florence (Moeller) Figert of Winona Lake, Indiana, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with an open house for friends this past Saturday, April 12.

The Figerts were married in the Grace Seminary chapel in Winona Lake, with Dr. W. A. Ogden performing the ceremony.

Billy was employed at Endicott Church Furniture Company and Da-Lite Screen Company, Inc. Florence was employed by the Johnstown Bank & Trust Company in Johnstown, Pa., and upon moving to Winona Lake worked for many years at the Grace Brethren Home Missions Council, Inc., and at the Grace Brethren Investment Foundation, Inc.

The couple has one daughter, Mrs. Debra Kay Beam of Warsaw. They also have two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. They are planning a second honeymoon this summer.

Keep Up-to-Date with the Grace Brethren Boys Ministry

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on April 11, 2008  |  No Comments

Updates have been made to the Grace Brethren Boys website, including information about the Ohio District Spring Outpost, to be held April 25, 26, and 27 at Atwood Lake Park, and results of the March 15 Indiana District Pinewood Regatta Race at the Bethel Brethren Church in Berne and Indiana’s own Spring Outpost, May 16-18, 2008, at Salamonie Lake.

There is also information on the page about the 2008 GBB National Rendezvous, which is scheduled for June 22-28 at Hueston Woods State Park in southwest Ohio.

Grace Brethren Boys mission is to reach boys for Christ, instill Godly character through discipleship and mold them into Godly leaders in their family, their church and their community while encouraging men in their discipleship responsibilities.

300th Brethren Celebration Details in Place

Posted by Terry White on April 11, 2008  |  No Comments

Representatives and friends of Brethren groups from all over the world will converge on the little village of Schwarzenau, Germany, about forty minutes north of Marburg, on Saturday, August 2, and Sunday, August 3, 2008, to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Brethren movement, and you are invited to participate! This celebration will be the 2008 Brethren World Assembly.

It was early August 1708 that Alexander Mack and his seven believer-friends gathered at the Eder River at Schwarzenau. One of them baptized Mack, and he baptized the others, thus beginning what we know today as the Brethren movement.

Tour buses, individuals, and international delegates will convene at Schwarzenau this year to worship together, to be challenged from God’s Word, to fellowship with other Brethren, and to hear from one of the pre-eminent historians whose specialty is the Schwarzenau Brethren.

The festivities will begin Saturday with registration at the Gasthof Feige in Schwarzenau. Guests may visit the Alexander Mack Museum, the former Alexander Mack Schule, the old mill, the church, and the castle in Bad Berleburg and the Berleburg Bible.

Walking tours of Marburg are also available. Exhibits of crafts will be available, and movies depicting the history of the Brethren will be shown on the grounds of the Manor House and at the Alexander Mack Schule.

A lunch in a large tent on the grounds will be available for 6 Euros, as well as a supper at the tent for 9 Euros (not included in registration fee). At 7 p.m. a musical concert will be given by the McPherson (Kansas) College Choir; and several local German ensembles.

The next day, Sunday, August 3, a worship service at 10 a.m. will take place in a retrofitted equine arena in Schwarzenau. Speakers will include the Rev. Frederic Miller, Jr., pastor of the Mount Olive Brethren Church in Virginia, and the 2008 Moderator of the Church of the Brethren, James M. Beckwith, who pastors a church in Annville, Pennsylvania.

Following a noon lunch at the tent (6 Euros for guests not paying the registration fee) a 2 p.m. anniversary program will feature more choral music and an address by Dr. Marcus Meier, author of The Schwarzenau Brethren, a monograph now being published in English by Brethren Encyclopedia, Inc.

The worldwide assembly will conclude with a gathering at the Eder River where there will be hymn singing, remarks, and a closing prayer, and benediction.

All events will be translated simultaneously into German or English, with individual translation headsets available to all who need them.

The preceding day, Friday, August 1, an optional “Peace Fest” will be held in nearby Marburg with a number of speakers including Dr. Ken Rogers, Dr. Ken Kreider, and others.

Registration for the 2008 Brethren World Assembly is $85 USD and registration forms are available by contacting Dr. Dale Ulrich at 26 College Woods Drive, Bridgewater, VA 22812, or by e-mailing daulrich@comcast.net or phoning (540) 828-6548.

Additional literature is available including lodging suggestions and a road map of the area around Schwarzenau.

This 2008 Brethren World Assembly is being planned and conducted, in conjunction with a committee of Germans, by the board of Brethren Encyclopedia, Inc. The Encyclopedia board is comprised of representatives of six Brethren bodies descended from the little group in 1708 led by Alexander Mack.

Board members include Robert S. Lehigh, President, Dunkard Brethren; Dale R. Stoffer, Vice-President, The Brethren Church; Dale V. Ulrich, Secretary, Church of the Brethren; Terry D. White, Treasurer, Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches; C Michael Miller, Board Member, Old German Baptist Brethren; and Daniel Moeller, Board Member, Conservative Grace Brethren Churches International.

Northern Atlantic District Celebration May 9 & 10

Posted by Terry White on April 11, 2008  |  No Comments

The annual Northern Atlantic Fellowship Celebration 2008 will be held Friday and Saturday, May 9-10, at Refreshing Mountain Camp in Stevens, Pennsylvania. This event is open to everyone, not just pastors or church leaders.

This year the emphasis is a sense of community and focusing time on the Word of God and its practical application. The theme is “Discipling the Nations 2: Exalting, Equipping and Evangelizing.”

Refreshing Mountain Camp, 455 Camp Road, Stevens, has hotel-type rooms for families and couples and bunkhouses for singles and youth. The cost is $25 per person with a maximum of $10 per family. The cost includes lodging and meals for the Celebration Conference.

There will be three worship sessions including special music and updates on various ministries.

Free time activities such as ropes course, zip lines for adults and children, gym, paintball, pool, etc. are all included in the cost.

Schedule for the weekend:

Friday, May 9

6:30 pm – Registration & Check In

7:30 pm – Session with Dan Travis – Exalting
10:00 pm – Late Night Fellowship Time

Saturday, May 10

7:00-8:15 am – Breakfast

8:30 am – Session with Steve Galegor – Equipping
10:00 am – Free time & Quiz Off

12:00 pm – Lunch

1:00-3:00 pm – Zip Lines, Ropes Course, Paintball, Swimming

5:00-6:00 pm – Dinner

6:30 pm – Session with Scott Distler – Evangelizing

For more information, or to register, log onto http://www.gbnaf.org/08registration.html

Church Planting Website Now Online

Posted by Terry White on April 11, 2008  |  No Comments

The new church-planting website of GO2 Church Planting ministries is now live and online for browsing.

Executive Director Tim Boal (pictured) indicates that more web development is coming, but currently a number of church planters and their work are featured, including Chad Presley, Fort Worth, Texas; George Stagg, Twin Cities Church, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; Jonathan Herron, Catalyst Church, Kent, Ohio; Gerardo Leiton, Iglesia Comunal Cristiana, Tampa, Florida; Flavio and Rosa Niehues, Brazilian Bible Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Mike Silliman, Elk Creek Church, West Grove, Pennsylvania.

You’re encouraged to log on to http://www.go2churchplanting.org/ and explore how God is working through His people to raise up church planters and churches.

An Opportunity is Coming Your Way

Posted by Terry White on April 10, 2008  |  No Comments

BMH volunteers (from left) Jim Morrison, Jim and Rosalie Niederhouser, and Esther Morrison worked today in the BMH conference room to prepare a mailing that presents a special opportunity to friends and supporters of the Grace Brethren history and literature ministry. (Natalie Rummel photo)

Two new books on Brethren history are being readied for national conference in this 300th anniversary year of the Brethren movement, and all are welcome to participate by helping to finance their production.

BMH Books publisher Terry White explained that BMH hopes to raise a total of $14,000 in gifts — or $7,000 per book — to finance the editing, typesetting, graphics, printing, and distribution of the books to Grace Brethren churches and missionary personnel free of charge.

The first is Heroes Who Live On, Volume 3 by Viki Rife and Robert Cover, Sr. This is the third book in the “Heroes” series, and the personalities featured in this volume include Christopher Sauer, Amy Greenlun, Elizabeth Tyson, Floyd Taber, Herman Koontz, Bernard Schneider, James Boyer, Keith Altig, Angie Garber, Marguerite Dunning, Walter Fretz, and Raimundo Cardoso.

The other book, which originates from a doctoral dissertation written by Pastor Todd Scoles (Marysville, Ohio), is tentatively entitled Restoring the Household: The Heritage and Quest of the Grace Brethren Church. It is an insightful work that gives the historical context to the founding of the Brethren movement and of the Grace Brethren (1939 and following). It also includes excellent teaching on Brethren ordinances (trine immersion baptism, threefold communion).

All individuals who receive FGBC World will be receiving the participation letter. Anyone wishing to contribute toward the effort should send checks for their tax-deductible gift (made payable to Brethren Missionary Herald Co.) to BMH, P.O. Box 576, Winona Lake, IN 46590. A copy of each book will be sent to donors as a thank-you for participating along with a receipt, less actual cost of the book.

A gift of $25 or more (and affiliation with a Grace Brethren church) will make the donor a member of the BMH corporation, thus qualifying to participate in the annual corporation meeting that will be held during national conference in Tampa, Florida, on Sunday, July 27, 2008.

Questions about the project, or about BMH in general should be sent to tdwhite@bmhbooks.com. All BMH books products may be browsed and purchased online at www.bmhbooks.com or by calling 1-800-348-2756.

Disc Golf with Kary Oberbrunner

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on April 9, 2008  |  No Comments

Kary Oberbrunner, one of the speakers for Driven ‘08, talks about his session at this year’s conference, in this video clip. The conference will be held June 26-29 in Westerville, Ohio.

Grace in Action Debuts New Blog

Posted by Terry White on April 9, 2008  |  No Comments

Grace in Action, a new non-profit group which has applied for cooperating organization status with the FGBC and which will be represented at this year’s national conference, has begun a new blog.

Check out today’s post at http://www.giablog.org/

Why Wait? Missionary Efforts Launched

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on April 7, 2008  |  No Comments

Foreign missions in the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches was birthed as the result of “enthusiasts who refused to have their ardor cooled” one warm day in August 1900. To learn more, see Moments in Grace Brethren History in the March-April issue of FGBC World.

In the photo, Yohan Y. Auraham (second from right), the first Brethren missionary in Persia (modern-day Iran) in 1903.

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.

Event to Fund Housing for the Poor

Posted by Terry White on April 5, 2008  |  No Comments

A fund raising event to build homes for poor families in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Mozambique and the Philippines is being organized and promoted by a parishioner from a northern Ohio Grace Brethren Church. Here is an excerpt of an article in today’s Akron (OH) Beacon-Journal. To read the entire article, click here.

”The folks working directly with the people in the communities, giving their time and talent every day, are the real heroes,” said Paul Noonan, a co-chairman of the local fundraising event. ”You either have a giving heart and appreciate the plights of the poor or you don’t. I’m committed to Cross because it is more than a humanitarian organization. It spreads the Gospel and is doing good deeds in the name of Christ.”

Noonan, of Copley Township, manages the ministry’s donor base through his Akron company, International Data Management. Noonan, a parishioner at Grace Brethren Church in Fairlawn, said his eyes were opened during a trip to the Dominican Republic less than six months ago.

”I was able to see firsthand some of the families that are being supported by the ministry,” Noonan said. ”I saw seven, eight, nine children living in a mud hut with no clean water, little food and miles and miles and miles from medical care. When it rains, the floor is washed away. I was moved to help do what I can to help provide housing for those families.”

Phil Dick Obituary

Posted by Terry White on April 5, 2008  |  No Comments

The following obituary appears in today’s Warsaw (IN) Times-Union:

WINONA LAKE, IN – E. Philip Dick, 65, peacefully passed away April 4, 2008, at Goshen Hospital after a very courageous two-year battle with kidney cancer.

He was born March 30, 1943, to Paul E. and Esther Hostetler Dick and grew up in Winchester, Va. On June 19, 1965, he married Rebecca “Becky” Joanne Crawford, who survives.

A resident of Kosciusko County for the past 43 years, he graduated from Handley High School, Winchester, Va., and moved to Warsaw in 1961 to attend Grace College. He graduated from Grace College and married his college sweetheart, Rebecca J. Crawford. He received his master’s degree from St. Francis University.

He began his teaching and coaching career at North Webster Junior/Senior High School in 1965. He taught English and later K-8 physical education. Through the years, he coached baseball, track, basketball and was instrumental in the beginning of the Little League community program in North Webster.

He enjoyed playing and coaching various Warsaw City League softball teams. In 1981, he assumed the position of athletic director at Grace College, where he successfully coached women’s softball, having several nationally-ranked teams.

In the mid 90s, he began his career with Chore Time Brock, Milford, later going with Royal Outdoor Products, Milford. He enjoyed traveling his sales territory, which included the East Coast and southern area where he had grown up.

Being a member of Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church, his Christian testimony was evident in his daily walk. His concern for others was very obvious in the creative ways he consistently and quietly reached out to help others. He also enjoyed his classic cars and being a part of the Cruisin’ Hoosiers car club.

Also surviving are a daughter, Michelle R. (and spouse Jerry) Yeager; a son, Matthew P. (and spouse Nicole) Dick, all of Warsaw; five dearly-loved grandchildren: Madison, Kensington, Jeremy, Andrew and Luke; a brother, Richard (and spouse Teresa) Dick, Syracuse; a niece, Ashley (and spouse Josh) Fitzgerald, Warsaw; and two great-nieces, Brooklyn and Avery. He was preceded in death by his parents and his niece, Natalie Marie Dick.

A graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Oakwood Cemetery. A memorial celebration service will be April 14 at 7 p.m. at Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church, Winona Lake, with Pastor Bruce Barlow officiating.

Calling will be from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Redpath-Fruth Funeral Home, 225 Argonne Road, Warsaw.

Memorials to the E. Philip Dick Memorial Endowment to benefit student athletes in care of Kosciusko County Community Foundation, 102 E. Market Street, Warsaw, IN 46580.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at the funeral home’s website at www.redpathfruthfuneralhome.com.