BMH Editor's Blog

Driven ‘08 Concludes with Challenge to Live an Undivided Life

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on June 30, 2008  |  No Comments

Driven ‘08, the young adult conference for the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, concluded Sunday morning with a challenge to live an undivided life. Keith Minier, pastor of Grace Fellowship Church, a Grace Brethren church in Pickerington, Ohio, (pictured at left) told the group that living a life devoted to Jesus requires a certain mindset.

Speakers for the weekend also included Kondo Simfukwe, Kary Oberbrunner, Sarah Cunningham, and Jeff Bogue. A variety of workshops also addressed topics such as church planting, worship, evangelism, and mentoring.

A highlight was Saturday afternoon when conference participants were given $10 each and challenged to form into teams of five to use their collective $50 to make as many contacts for ClearView Church, a new Grace Brethren Church in northwest Franklin County, Ohio. The groups employed numerous methods, including giving away water, ice cream bars, and doggie treats, along with offering to carry groceries and wash windows.

To see more photos from the weekend, click on the photo below.

Driven 08 for Blog

Kellemen Book Receives Air Time

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

This week the Total Living Network will air a television interview that executive producer Eric Aucoin did with BMH Books author Dr. Robert Kellemen on his BMH book on Soul Physicians and the state of biblical counseling in America. To see if your local affiliate carries the program Total Living Now, visit: http://www.tln.com/get_us.html

Dr. Kellemen also asks us to pray for his one-hour live radio interview with call-ins on July 28, 3:00-4:00 PM CST with Moody’s Prime Time Chicago. The interview will focus on Soul Physicians and the current state of Christian counseling in America.

MasterWorks Festival Now in Full Swing

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

The Rodeheaver Auditorium in Winona Lake, Indiana, is now jammed several times each weekend with performances by the MasterWorks Festival, a Christian classical performing arts training program now in its 12th season, which is held in Winona Lake June 20-July 19.(Warsaw Times-Union photo by Gary Nieter)

The festival trains hundreds of musicians, dancers, and theater students from around the world. Student participants are high school, college and post-college students. Concerts are held Friday and Saturday nights in Winona Lake and are free and open to the public. Faculty members are top professionals from orchestras and schools of music around the world, each of whom is a committed Christian and committed to integrating biblical Christianity with the world of classical music, theater, and dance.

This week’s orchestral performances will be on Thursday evening (Ravel, Mozart, and Schubert’s Symphony No. 9) and Friday (patriotic pops concert under the tent at the Hillside Amphitheatre) and Saturday (Smetana, Berlioz, Shostakovich and Bach Concerto for Two Violins).

Founder and director of the festival is Dr. Patrick Kavanaugh, chair of the School of Music at Grace College. For more information on the festival, log onto www.masterworksfestival.org or www.villageatwinona.com.

Grace College Adds Three to Faculty

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

Grace College, Winona Lake, Indiana, has announced three faculty additions for this fall.

Cheryl Bremer will be half-time assistant professor in the Teacher Education Department. Bremer is a graduate of Grace College (BS 92, Music Education and Music Performance) and Indiana University (Master’s in Special Education). She is currently the owner of Kindermusik with Cheryl. Prior to that, she was the emotional disabilities consultant for Warsaw Community Schools and taught special education for Wawasee Community Schools.

Dr. Jared Burkholder will be the new assistant professor of history. Dr. Burkholder comes to Grace from Augustana College in South Dakota. He has also taught at Kirkwood Community College, the University of Iowa, and Trinity College of Arts and Sciences. He is a graduate of Columbia International University (BA), Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (MA), and the University of Iowa (PhD).

Dr. Jeffrey Peck is the new associate professor in the Teacher Education Department. He is a graduate of Grace College (BS 78, Elementary Education; MA 84, Christian School Administration) and The Ohio State University (PhD in Education). Dr. Peck comes to Grace from Bethel College, where he has taught since 1998. His teaching experience also includes Gardner-Webb University (NC), The Ohio State University, Otterbein College (OH), and Worthington (OH) Christian Middle School.

Dan White Gets New Chaplaincy Co-Captain

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

Pastor Dan White of the Grace Brethren Church in York, Pennsylvania, is getting a new co-captain in his additional work as a police chaplain. Here is a short excerpt–to read the entire article click here.

Oldfield now passes the baton to the Rev. Darnell Bowman, pastor of Unity Church of God in Christ in York. Bowman will guide the 11-chaplain corps with co-captain Pastor Dan White, who replaced Scott.

White said Oldfield recruited him to the chaplaincy in 1992 and has since changed the way White views ministry outside his congregation, Grace Brethren Church in York.

“I began to see other believers as teammates that I hadn’t seen before, and that there’s a lot we can do together,” White said.

It can take time to become accustomed to chaplaincy duties, which involves two to five days of 24-hour duty a month. The most common call from police is for a chaplain’s presence when families receive notice of a death. Other calls involve counseling for victims, families in crisis or for officers and their families upon request.

York chaplains have been called to the scenes of standoffs, suicides and domestic disputes and witnessed much history-in-the-making. They went to New York City after 9/11 and down South after Hurricane Katrina.

Communion and Contemplation at Driven ‘08

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

Friday activites at Driven provided plenty of opportunities for participants to consider their individual walk with Jesus and to get acquainted with others. Workshops throughout the day focused on topics such as church planting, worship, male passivity, and living authentic lives.

The annual conference for young adults is being held this weekend at Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio (suburban Columbus).

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

Tony Livigni opens Friday evening’s communion at Driven with a few words about the love feast. Tony is pastor of the college ministry at the north campus of Grace Church, a Grace Brethren church in Akron, Ohio.

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

The day ended with a look at 300 years of Brethren history. Grace Brethren pastors and historians, Dave Plaster (left) and Todd Scoles (right) discussed our heritage as a church family over a late-night cup of coffee. Dave is pastor of the Grace Brethren Church of Columbus (Ohio) and is the author of Finding Our Focus: A History of the Grace Brethren Church, a BMH book published in 2003. Todd is on the staff of the Grace Brethren Church at Marysville, Ohio, and is the author of Restoring the Houshold of Faith, which will be released this summer by the Brethren Missionary Herald Company (BMH)

Sebring Day Camp Leads Kids to Jesus

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

Grace Church of Sebring, the Grace Brethren church in Sebring, Florida (Randy Smith, pastor) opened its doors recently to a third season of summer outreach called “Ignite Day Camp.”

Sensing a need in the community for a Christ-centered program for school age children during the summer three years ago, the Grace staff put together a program that has the excitement of a VBS, the feel of camp, and the Word focus of Sunday School. It is a high activity, full day, daily (Monday to Friday) experience that is designed to present Christ to children, help them grow in obedience and joy, and draw in new families to Grace.

According to Sebring staff members, the camp has been incredibly successful, with more than a dozen children committing their hearts to Jesus last season and several families that began to call Grace their church home.

The first year, the church invested about $6000 in startup costs and had fewer than ten children. Last year the number was in the low twenties, and the program paid for itself. This year, the staff has grown to four (three interns and a director) and there are nearly forty children at this point in the early summer.

Ryan Gagnon, director of the program says, “Our mission at Ignite Summer Day Camp is to minister to families by filling a need in the community. We offer weekly inclusive field trips to places such as Papa John’s Pizza, the Children’s Museum of Sebring, and Highlands Hammock State Park. We also have a weekly trip to the Sebring High School pool, as well as two additional water slide days per week.

“Each week has a different theme that the children learn more about. Some of these themes are the circus, sports, and countries around the world. The children have a weekly memory verse and also a daily Bible story. We do this so as not to lose focus on our primary objective which is the ministry to families.

“We began with 17 children on day one and have grown to 38 children just two weeks later. It is truly rewarding to see a child recite a memory verse for his or her parents and see the joy on the parent’s face. We have seen a good number of children return from last year, which gives us the opportunity to make a greater impact building relationships with our families.”

A manual has been produced on the operation of the camp, so that churches who may want to develop this ministry in their town may have the benefit of Sebring’s experiences without some of the painful lessons. Pastor Randy Smith says, “We hope to produce the full operation manual by this fall, as churches plan for the coming year. Interested churches can contact the church office at matt@sebringgrace.org.” (photo courtesy Randy Smith)

Steve Miller Named Warsaw Hospital CEO

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

The Kosciusko Community Hospital Board of Trustees, Warsaw, Indiana, has announced the appointment of Stephen R. Miller (pictured) as its new chief executive officer.

Miller, who received his BA degree from Grace College in 1974, returns to KCH from Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, where he served as chief financial officer. Prior to being at Lutheran, he was the chief financial officer at KCH from 1985-2007.

His wife, Lee (Sotnikow, C 76), is a staff member at Grace College and Seminary. The Millers have two children, are active members of the Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church, and have lived in Warsaw since 1985. Miller’s parents, Clair and Kay, are also active in the Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church.

Steve Miller will begin as KCH’s chief executive officer in August of 2008.

Miller is not the only Grace alumnus on the KCH Executive Management Team. Joan (Herr, BS 67) Darr is the chief operating officer at KCH. Her husband, Bill, is on the Grace faculty.

Driven Conference Continues

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on June 27, 2008  |  No Comments

Driven Conference Opens in Ohio

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

What better way to end an evening that with ice cream and coffee? Unless you are heading to the open gym later!

Driven conference participants stop for a snack and fellowship in Otterbein College’s Campus Center following the opening session of the conference.

The annual young adult conference began tonight in Westerville, Ohio (suburban Columbus) and continues through Sunday morning. The mission of the conference is to gather a generation to become catalysts for Christ within church and culture.

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

Jeff Bogue, pastor of the north campus of Grace Church, a Grace Brethren church in Akron, Ohio, challenged Driven participants to live “undivided” lives.

“Dethrone those idols,” he said, speaking at the opening session on the campus of Otterbein College. “Fix your eyes on the plow.” He challenged individuals to choose to be the undivided person God has called them to be.

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

Portis Park Dedicated to Murder Victim

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

From the Hays (Kansas) Daily News comes this story regarding a murder victim from the Grace Brethren church there:

Friends, family dedicate park building to Portis man

By GAYLE WEBER

PORTIS — About 60 people gathered at the city park here Wednesday night to dedicate a piece of the town to Scott Noel.

Noel was killed March 25 at his home outside Portis, and the investigation still is ongoing to find a suspect or possible suspects.

Portis Pride, a group of about 10 volunteers working to improve the city park, dedicated a newly built shelterhouse in Noel’s memory.

“We’d started on it before Scott was killed,” said Darrel Wolters, member of Portis Pride. “We thought that it would remind us of his smiling face.”

Residents Junior and Roma Caldwell also donated a flagpole in Noel’s memory.

On the 25th of every month, family and friends of Noel have gathered to remember him and pray for the capture of the suspects in the crime.

“We don’t hear any news. All you hear is stories,” Wolters said. “It’s pretty frustrating for all of us. … Hopefully, they’ll find the culprits and then justice will be carried out.”

Sgt. Jack Ennis of the Osborne County Sheriff’s Department had no new information to release about the case Wednesday but said the investigation was ongoing.

Wolters said family and friends simply are looking for closure, though the town seems to be recovering from the tragedy.

Grace Brethren Church Pastor Dave Sarver said people still are a little hesitant, but it’s to be expected.

“I think people still (are), and that’s because it hasn’t been solved yet,” Sarver said.

Many people in the area are wearing Scott’s Prayer Team wristbands to remember to pray for the Noel family.

“I see a real unity forming,” Sarver said. “The wristbands — you start seeing them all over the place on people you’ve never met before. It’s been a wonderful thing that’s come out of a really bad tragedy.”

Sarver said all the proceeds from the wristbands go toward the children’s educational fund or the reward fund.

“I feel like we’re trying to get back to normal,” Wolters said. “We’re just trying to survive until we can get some justice.”

More News from Momentum West

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

Participants in Momentum West experienced another exciting day, according to Ed Lewis, executive director of CE National, the organization sponsoring the youth conference. He reports below:

For Momentum West, yesterday was probably one of the most dynamic days we could have ever experienced.

We left early in the morning and went up to Burbank where we were trained and motivated in ministries to the overlooked in preparation for our ministry to the thousands of homeless people in the Burbank area.

In the morning we went to a WowJam event. WowJam does events in urban centers all across the US and around the world. We were able to learn what to do, what not to do and how to really impact other people. The students not only enjoyed it but it was also a really helpful, practical time.

To read his complete message (or hear his actual report), click here.

Ed Lewis Reports From Momentum West

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on June 25, 2008  |  No Comments

“Momentum West has been more exciting than we anticipated,” reported Ed Lewis, director of CE National, the sponsoring organization for the youth conference.

More than 400 students and adults were present for the Monday evening opening session at the Bellflower (Calif.) Brethren Church. Chairs had to be put in the aisles on the main floor and the balcony was full. He says that it was an incredible evening as Francis Chan shared a strong and powerful message. Todd Proctor also led worship in a very powerful and moving way.

Later that evening, all three Operation Barnabas teams participated in the service and held separate concerts. On Tuesday morning, students had another challenging time, as Chan spoke again.

“We had to delay programming because of what God was doing as a result of the morning,” Ed went on to say. “There were an incredible number of students making commitments, with some pledging to going into full-time Christian service.”

A training time was held following the morning service with two guest speakers. Dr. Cheryl Fawcett told students why she is living “on mission,” along with tips for living a focused life. Don Shoemaker, head of the Social Concerns Committee for the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, shared on the theme verse, Micah 6:8.

On Tuesday evening, Mike Yankoski told about being homeless for five months. “You could have heard a pin drop,” said Ed. Mike told the conference how God allowed him to see a whole new world from the perspective of being homeless.

Speechless, the mime group from Grace Church, a Grace Brethren church in Orange, Calif., encouraged the conference during the evening session.

Today (Wednesday), some conference participants were scheduled to go to skid row to minister to 3,000 homeless people as a part of WowJam, while others headed for ministry opportunities in Mexico.

“Please pray in expectation of hundreds, if not thousands, of people in the community being impacted for Christ,” Ed concluded.

This is the first of two Momentum conferences this summer. Momentum East will be held July 21 to 27 at Cedarville College in Ohio. The conference was formerly known as Brethren National Youth Conference.

GBIM Recognized for Human Resources "Best Practices"

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on June 25, 2008  |  1 Comment

Grace Brethren International Missions (GBIM) has been cited among those human resources ministries define “best practices.”

In the June/July 2008 issue of Outcomes, the magazine of the Christian Leadership Alliance (formerly Christian Management Association and Christian Stewardship Association), Katie Burgess, human resource consultant, is asked “From your experience, what ministries are defining ‘best practices’ through their hr efforts?”

Her response, found near the end of the article, is — “I have been impressed by Grace Brethren International Missions, International Mission Board, the Navigators, Compassion International, and the Assemblies of God World Missions. ..”

To read the entire article, “Human Assets — Rediscovering your ministry’s greatest resource is suddenly job one” by Mark Cutshall, click here.

Everything Goes in Delaware, Ohio

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on June 25, 2008  |  No Comments

In Delaware, Ohio, “everything” goes – at least from June 8-14. That was when the Delaware Grace Brethren Church hosted “Operation Everything,” a camp for junior and senior high students.

This year’s camp theme centered around “Reach In… Reach Out… Reach Him.” Guest speaker Tim Sprankle (Leesburg, Ind., Grace Brethren Church) challenged students throughout the week to pursue Christ and make the most of the time away from their normal lives. Sprankle focused on Psalm 24:3-4, which reads, “Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false” (NIV).

Campers spent six days focusing their hands and hearts on pursuing a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Amid the usual camp chaos of obstacle courses, challenging games, and spontaneous adventure, campers were exposed to a variety of spiritual growth exercises. Each morning, the kids attended workshops on seeking practical truths from the Bible. Pastor Gary Underwood led a Q&A session where, as he tells it, “It was a blast! One moment, we’re talking about creation and evolution, and the next moment, we’re talking about puppies.”

In the afternoons, they divided up into teams of five to eight teens to serve various people and organizations in the Delaware community. One group helped near Associate Pastor Darrell Anderson’s home. They offered to mow the lawn at one home, not realizing the father traveled frequently and the mother has had nine surgeries in the past three years. This family was so grateful that they questioned Pastor Darrell, saying, “Who ARE these young people?”

As Delaware Youth Director Rhett Edwards said, “We really want to reach out and serve our community in the name of Jesus Christ.”

In the evening, students gathered in the chapel for energetic worship, drama, and teaching by Sprankle.

“It’s an intense week,” observed Billie Lang, who served in her second year as camp coordinator. “The nightly music and teaching really helped kids focus their hearts and minds on Jesus.” On Friday night, at the close of the camp, students gave testimonies about how God had opened their eyes throughout the week.

For 95 students and dozens of adult leaders and volunteers, O-E has become a fixture on the June calendar. Pastor Underwood noted, “Operation Everything has really helped us have a positive presence in Delaware. These students and volunteers realize that we’ve got to get out and let Christ’s love shine through us into our community.”

Mason Receives Commission, Deployment Orders

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on June 24, 2008  |  1 Comment

Chaplain (First Lieutenant) Jeff Mason, a member of the Grace Brethren Church of Columbus, Ohio and a recent graduate of Grace Theological Seminary (pictured at right), has received a commission in the U.S. Army Reserves and is scheduled to be deployed on July 19 with the 157th Combat Service and Support Brigade (based in Willow Grove, Pa.).

It all happened pretty quickly, in answer to Jeff’s prayers that he would be able to serve alongside deployed troops.

“The initial contact was made on Monday,” Jeff writes. “I received a call on Tuesday officially offering me the position. On Wednesday I watched as I received copies of emails being sent to majors, lieutenant colonels, and colonels instructing people as to what paperwork needed to be done. On Thursday I signed the paper that will initiate the creation of my orders so that I will be attached to the unit. After the deployment I will have the option of staying with that unit, transferring to a Reserve unit closer to home, or going on full active duty. That decision will be made at a later time. It won’t be long now that I get to serve alongside soldiers and share with them the love of Jesus! Thank you for your prayers!”