BMH Editor's Blog

Henry Rempel, 105, Reported to be With the Lord

Posted by Terry White on August 17, 2009  |  1 Comment

An unverified report has been received of the death Saturday of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren’s oldest living pastor, Henry Rempel (pictured), at age 105.

Among the Grace Brethren churches Rempel pastored are Uniontown, Pennsylvania; Yakima, Washington; Norwalk, California; and North Long Beach, California.

In recent years he has been living in a retirement home in LaHabra, California. Further details as they become available.

Picture-Perfect Outreach

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on August 17, 2009  |  No Comments

Members of the Wooster, Ohio, Grace Brethren Church reach out to its community at their local county fair by hosting a booth where people can have their photo taken for free and then made into a magazine cover. Learn more about this event in the July-August issue of FGBC World, which is available at no charge at your local Grace Brethren Church or online at http://www.fgbcworld.com/.

FGBC World is an all-fellowship, all-Grace Brethren newspaper that is published six times a year. In its pages you will find stories about the Grace Brethren family around the world – from individuals who are on the front line of ministry to organizations that help impact lives for Jesus. Pick up your free copy of the July-August issue at your local Grace Brethren church, see www.fgbcworld.com/ or subscribe online to have your free copy delivered directly to your mailbox.

Taking It All in Stride

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on August 17, 2009  |  No Comments

Today’s Port Clinton, Ohio, News Herald includes a story about an unusual athlete at Grace College — MariJean Wegert, who competes in cross country and track while running barefoot. To read the complete story, click here.

Barefoot Woodmore grad takes college meets in stride
Woodmore graduate MariJean Wegert didn’t really like being an athlete.

Until the shoes came off.

Wegert runs cross country and the 800 meter on the track team at Grace College, an NAIA school in Winona Lake, Ind., in the Mid-Central Conference.

“I don’t know how to put into words why it’s so much more fun,” she said of going barefoot. “I remember feeling miserable (with shoes). It felt a lot lighter without shoes. I like to be different — it’s fun to have a way to run that nobody else does.

“When I first came to college, I wasn’t an athlete. I like poetry and music and didn’t like the athlete stereotype. It gives me a way to not totally fit into the mold of a jock. I can run faster and be more competitive.”

Wegert, a junior, advanced to NAIA Nationals in the 800 as a freshman. Her 3,200-meter relay team qualified to nationals during the indoor season last year.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Making a Transition

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on August 14, 2009  |  No Comments

Today’s Simi Valley, Calif., Acorn, has a story about the new starting quarterback at Grace Brethren High School, a ministry of the Grace Brethren Church in Simi Valley (John McIntosh, pastor). In addition to his role as quarterback for the Grace Brethren football team, Max Leffler (pictured below) will serve as junior vice president this year. He carries a 4.1 grade-point average. To read the complete story, click here.

Smooth transition
Gridiron impact report: Grace Brethren Lancers

Max Leffler is making a big change, transitioning from top receiver to starting quarterback.

The Grace Brethren football team hopes that’s a good thing.

A year ago, Leffler led the Lancers with 694 yards at wide receiver.

This season, the junior-to-be will serve as Grace Brethren’s new leader behind center.

“I just need to step up and lead the team,” Leffler said.

The 6 foot 2, 195 pound quarterback is replacing Kevin Ramay, who graduated in the spring. Ramay led the potent Grace Brethren offense with 2,922 passing yards, 23 touchdowns and only 12 interceptions in 2008.

Head coach Terry Gourley, the players and the entire school believe in Leffler.

Click here for the rest of the story.

Author-Educator, Grace Alumnus Kenn Gangel With the Lord

Posted by Terry White on August 13, 2009  |  No Comments

Randy Poyner (thanks Randy!) has just informed us of the homegoing of one of Grace Theological Seminary’s illustrious alumni, author and educator Kenneth O. Gangel. The following is taken from a blog at Toccoa Falls Radio in Georgia:

Dr. Kenneth O. Gangel entered into the presence of His Lord on Thursday morning, June 18 at the age of 74.

Dr. Gangel was one of the most influential Christian educators of the 20th century; a leader of leaders; and a champion of the Christian family. Kenn authored or edited 57 books and lectured in more than 40 educational institutions worldwide. Even in retirement, Dr. Gangel served as the Scholar-in-Residence for Toccoa Falls College and continued to edit his own leadership publication titled The SEAL (Seeking Excellence in Administrative Leadership).

He had been honored as a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Dallas Theological Seminary and as a Senior Fellow of the Association of Biblical Higher Education. He also hosted a radio program called Morning Light for many years on WRAF.

But most importantly, Kenn loved His Lord Jesus and lived his life in service to God’s Kingdom. He loved his family including his wife of 53 years, Betty; his children Jeff and Julie and their spouses Beth and Tim; and his grandchildren Lyndsey, Brad, Madison and Philip.

He loved his friends and co-workers and the thousands of students and other believers who were blessed by his teaching and writing ministries. He loved to play tennis, loved to read, loved to sing and loved to spend time with his precious wife. Kenn will be missed by his family, his friends and the Body of Christ worldwide. He has been reunited with his blessed mother who raised him, welcomed by his Savior Jesus, and is being rewarded with the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Come and share in your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:21).

Jay Bell Ministry Idea Gets Exposure

Posted by Terry White on August 13, 2009  |  No Comments

Don Byers passes along this nice plug for the “nations” ministry headed by Jay and Jan Bell of Grace Brethren International Missions. This is an excerpt–to read the entire blog entry, click here.

Reader’s Story: Befriending Immigrants
The opportunities are closer than you think.

Jay Bell

In response to our latest resource on refugee and immigrant ministry, BCL reader Don Byers passed on this encouraging story from Jay Bell, director of Internationals USA, Grace Brethren International Missions:

Recently we conducted our workshop (on reaching other cultures in America) in the Community of Grace Church, Richmond, Virginia. The chairman of their Mission Commission is a police captain named Hal Moser. On the Monday after the workshop, Hal routinely stopped by his favorite up-scale grocery story to get a cup of his favorite up-scale coffee. But this time he walked into the store with a different set of lenses. For the first time he saw an Asian working behind the sushi counter. Hal thought, “I wonder if the material Jay and Jan shared really works?”

He decided to give it a try. He walked up to the sushi-maker, said good morning, and asked the gentleman his name and where he was from. Hal learned his name was Win, and that he was from Burma, and that he’s been in the U.S. for three years. Hal proceeded to ask Win if anyone had welcomed him to America. Win looked at him with a quizzical look on his face and said, “No! Not at all. No one.” Hal then reached his hand over the counter to shake Win’s hand and said, “Then that gives me the privilege to be the first to welcome you to the United States. Welcome Win.” And then Hal hurried off to work.

Abraham Lincoln Presenter Given Recognition

Posted by Terry White on August 12, 2009  |  No Comments

An Abraham Lincoln character impersonator with Grace Brethren connections was recently honored. Here is an excerpt–to read the full article click here. Jim Franklin is pastor of the Flora (IN) Grace Brethren Church.

Meredith Ayres (pictured) received a Special Recognition Award for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln and service to his community.

In 1972 the Town of Flora celebrated its Centennial. Men grew beards, and there was an enormous parade downtown. Winning first place was the Grace Brethren Church float featuring Meredith Ayres dressed as Abe Lincoln reading the Bible to his young daughter, Carrie.

When Ayres’s daughter-in-law, Cathy, began teaching 17 years ago, she asked him to present Honest Abe to her first grade class. He made a hat to wear that day, and later located a Lincoln stovepipe hat and then his long coat with tails in Colorado.

Soon Ayres was asked to join the Abraham Lincoln Presenters. He was the 150th Abraham to join the presenters group that meets every year in cities that have ties to Lincoln.

While attending a National Farm Bureau meeting in Texas, Ayres was recognized by guest speaker, Bruce Hanks, a descendant of Nancy Hanks Lincoln. Hanks walked straight to Ayres in a group of 500 people and said, “You look just like me.”

This past spring, Ayres and his wife of 48 years, Sharon, attended the 200th Anniversary of Abraham Lincoln celebration in Washington, DC. He enjoys portraying Lincoln to school children, church groups and nursing homes.

Perhaps Ayres’s love for Lincoln presentations started with his resemblance, but it is also a shared love of the Bible, kindness, and doing things right for family and community that have made his presentations realistic.

Driven Research Measures Young Adults Needs, Interests

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on August 12, 2009  |  No Comments

Last spring, organizers of Driven, the Grace Brethren young adult conference, spearheaded a survey to measure the interests and needs of young adults in the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches (FGBC). Below is a note from Kyla Zenan, the project coordinator, on behalf of the Driven leadership, including Nate Harrison, Beau Stanley, Keith Minier, Ezra Wimberly, Jonathan Wiley, Tony Livigni, Mike Jentes, and John Ward.

The research was the catalyst for conversation around the subject during the Driven Unplugged gatherings at Equip 09. The multi-generational discussions took place in a round table format Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights.

Bob Combs Recognition Planned

Posted by Terry White on August 11, 2009  |  No Comments

Pastor Bob Combs (pictured) of the Norton, Ohio, Grace Brethren Church is retiring at the end of the month. There will be a reception at Grace South (Norton), Saturday, August 29th from 4-8:00 p.m. and a special service at Grace North (Fairlawn) on Sunday, August 30th at 6:00 p.m.

Former Chico Pastor Louie Ricci Dies

Posted by Terry White on August 11, 2009  |  No Comments

From the Chico, Calif., Enterprise-Record:

Well-known Chico evangelist Louie Ricci dies at 86

By LARRY MITCHELL – Staff Writer

CHICO — Louie Ricci, a self-taught evangelist who served many churches over the years, died Sunday at a local convalescent hospital.
Ricci, 86, was well known for his preaching as a substitute pastor, for visiting nursing-home residents and for his letters to the editor. His short letters invariably ended with “Christ is the answer!”

His son-in-law Ron Jones said Ricci had been ill for about three months with an incurable brain disease.

A celebration of his life will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Evangelical Free Church in Chico.

Ricci was born in Decatur, Ill. In an interview with the Enterprise-Record some years ago, he said he’d been a “lukewarm Christian” when a Church of the Nazarene pastor knocked on his door one day.

Skeptical at first, Ricci said he began attending the pastor’s church and experienced a change of heart. Before long, he felt inspired to begin preaching himself. The inspiration apparently never left him.

In 1961, Ricci and his wife, Beverly, and their four children moved to Chico. He began a nearly 30-year career as used-car manager for A. Volpato Chrysler.

During those years, he served Nazarene churches that were without or in between pastors in Paradise, Oroville, Gridley, Anderson, Quincy, Marysville and Corning. After retiring from Volpato’s, he served as full-time pastor for Grace Brethren Church in Chico for nine years.

More recently he filled in as a guest preacher at Chico’s Butte Bible Fellowship and the Chico Nazarene Church, when needed or invited.

Ricci said he felt called to help those who were sick, lonely or otherwise in need. As a result, he officiated at more than 1,000 funerals for people who had no churches of their own. He helped start the Oroville Rescue Mission and preached there regularly. He also conducted church services at The Well, a ministry in Chico for men recovering from addictions. He was a frequent visitor at nursing homes, where he enjoyed leading residents in singing hymns.

For his work in the community, Ricci was named Chico’s Senior Man of the Year in 2000.

He was also a great baseball fan who could tell you from memory any of the sport’s statistics from the 1930s to the 1960s, said Jones, his son-in-law.

“He was a dear man,” said Vera Mae Robinson, music director at Butte Bible Fellowship. “He loved the Lord, and it always came out in his speaking.”

George Beckering, a good friend of Ricci’s, commented on the evangelist’s warm personality: “He knew exactly how to get along with people.”

“He was a very faithful, faithful, faithful man,” he said. “He loved the Lord, and he let everyone know it.”

Clive Craigens Experience God’s Protection

Posted by Terry White on August 10, 2009  |  No Comments

Clive Craigen (pictured), who teaches at Moody Bible Institute and works as a Grace Brethren church planter in the Chicago area, posted the following incident report today:

Jesus saves took on a whole new meaning today at church. We were gathered at church. Carlos suggested we go downstairs to meet because it was cooler. Ten minutes later we heard shots fired.

The result, a bullet came through the wall and the room and another wall and into the entry way. If we had stayed upstairs somebody would have been hurt.

Thank God for whispering to Carlos.

Women’s Online Bible Study Available

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on August 7, 2009  |  No Comments

Lois Shirk, pastor’s wife at the Grace Brethren Church (Glen Shirk, pastor) in Ripon, Calif., has been leading a women’s Bible study for nearly 20 years. For much of that time, she has been writing her own curriculum. “I couldn’t find study materials in the local Bible book store that were more than fluff, so I started writing my own,” she says. “I have 14 studies bound and self-published.”

Now she’s taking it to the Internet, establishing an online forum for questions and discussion.

Earlier this week, she posted the following message as her status on Facebook, the social networking website:

If you can’t make the Tuesday morning studies but would like to study on your own and interact with others who are involved in the study, sign up for the group “Women of the Word – Ripon Grace.” Then you will be able to send questions and comments to the rest of the Group. Should be fun.

The live group meets on Tuesday mornings at the church, which is located on West Main Street. “I usually have between 25 and 50 women (it varies by year),” she notes. “We meet for an opening thought and prayer, then (we) divide into small groups for discussion of the lesson. I do a wrap-up of the lesson and handle any extra comments or questions during the last 30 minutes.”

They began studying the book of Hebrews in January. After taking a summer break, they resume next month, starting with Hebrews 6.

While the ladies in Ripon will pick up in the middle of Hebrews at their first meeting on September 1, the online group will start at the beginning, following Lois’ prepared lessons. She’s recommended that online participants read the book of Hebrews through before September 1.

She admits it’s an experiment. “The Facebook study is a whole new adventure for me,” she stresses. “I have never done it before and I don’t know quite how it is going to work.”

“I’m hoping to get input from the students in both classes,” she adds. “It just seemed to me that Facebook would be a great way to connect people around the Word of God.”

To participate in the online group, simply join the Women of the Word – Ripon Grace group on Facebook. (You’ll need to join Facebook to participate.) The study guide is available from Lois. Contact her at lmsbooks@charter.net or 1007 Manor Drive, Ripon, CA 95366. The cost is $25 for the materials.

Softball Tourney Raises Funds for Missions in Mexico

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on August 6, 2009  |  1 Comment

An annual softball tournament in northern Ohio helps spread the gospel in Mexico and honors the memory of the late Tom Sharp, a former missionary with Grace Brethren International Missions. Learn how this came about in the July-August issue of FGBC World, which is available at no charge at your local Grace Brethren church or online at www.fgbcworld.com.

This year’s tournament marks the 20th anniversary of Tom’s death and the 30th anniversary of the tourney. It begins with a memorial game on Friday, August 14 at the elementary school located at 195 School St. in Sharp’s hometown of Bellville, Ohio. The tournament continues on August 15.

If you would like to participate or learn more, contact Richard Beal at (419) 571-9872 or James Beal at (419) 886-4875.

FGBC World is an all-fellowship, all-Grace Brethren newspaper that is published six times a year. In its pages you will find stories about the Grace Brethren family around the world – from individuals who are on the front line of ministry to organizations that help impact lives for Jesus. Pick up your free copy of the July-August issue at your local Grace Brethren church, see www.fgbcworld.com/ or subscribe online to have your free copy delivered directly to your mailbox.

Grace Grad, Family, Visits 52 Zoos in 52 Weeks

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on August 6, 2009  |  No Comments

Grace College grad Gabe Taviano and his wife, Marla, and their three daughters, embarked on a marathon effort to visit 52 zoos in 52 weeks last year. They finished on Saturday, August 1, with a “last zoo” party with family and friends at their hometown zoo, the Columbus (Ohio) Zoo and Aquarium.

Marla, an author with four books under her belt, plans to write a book about the experience. (Gabe served as photographer for the effort and is a Web and graphic designer. He’s designed the websites for bmhbooks.com and fgbcworld.com and recently taught a class on Web communications at Equip09, the national conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.)

Their efforts have caught the attention of the media. Today they were featured in the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, but they’ve been written about by the Associated Press and interviewed on radio and television. (On Saturday, they are scheduled to be interviewed on the CBS Morning Show.) Their year-long adventure is recorded at their web site, http://www.52zoos.com/.

Here’s part of the story from the Dispatch. To read the complete article, click here.

Family goes wild with visits to U.S. zoos
With three children and a limited budget, Marla Taviano knows that world travel isn’t exactly a family option.

So the Minerva Park wife and mother of three dreamed up a different approach.

“I thought (that) while we’re waiting to see these countries, we could see the animals from these countries,” said Taviano, 33.

And so the Tavianos drove 22,000 miles in their Dodge Grand Caravan to visit 52 U.S. zoos (and three other animal parks) in 52 weeks. They finished the quest Saturday with a celebration at their final stop, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

Marla, author of four books on Christian living, conceived of the idea last year while mulling the topic of her next book. Because she, her husband and children love traveling and zoos, she considered a memoir detailing the family trips.

After a visit to the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky last August, she was convinced that visiting 52 zoos in a year was doable.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Book on Grace Brethren History Getting Good Exposure

Posted by Terry White on August 4, 2009  |  No Comments

The latest BMH publication on Grace Brethren history, Restoring the Household: The Quest of the Grace Brethren Church by Dr. Todd Scoles of the Marysville, Ohio, church staff, is enjoying wide distribution and application among those interested in the roots and theological context of the Grace Brethren movement.

Following the recent Equip09 national gathering of Grace Brethren pastors and church leaders in Columbus, Ohio, this short list of applications was compiled of how the book is being used. To obtain quantity pricing, call John Leonard (toll-free) at 1-800-348-2756, or log onto www.bmhbooks.com or http://www.bmhbooks.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=205&Itemid=35 for more information. Here are some ways the book is being used:

• The Lanham, MD church (Paul Mutchler, pastor) purchased copies for its elders; inviting the author to come in November for a weekend seminar.
• Paul Twichell (new BMH board member) purchased copies for the elders at Simi Valley, CA church.
• Philip Bryant has made it required reading for elders and new members at Vancouver, BC church. Dr. Scoles will travel to Vancouver in January to do a seminar.
• A personal report indicated the book has been a tremendous help to the missionaries in Germany, allowing them to counter accusations of being a foreign cult with documentation that they are a “German church.”
• Dr. Jim Swanson made initial inquiry for the author to teach two sessions with the incoming Grace College freshman class on Brethren history and beliefs.
• John Schumacher (chaplain’s endorsing agent) plans to make it required reading for all Grace Brethren military chaplain candidates.
• The Grace College and Seminary Board was assigned to read the book last fall. Dr. Scoles followed up with a two-hour presentation at meetings last week at Equip09. Several non-Brethren (and Brethren) members commented that they had never understood baptism and communion so clearly.

Give Once, Bless Five

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on August 4, 2009  |  No Comments

Gifts to iCare, given through CE National, Winona Lake, Ind., will be divided evenly between five organizations: Feed My Starving Children, Integrated Community Development International (ICDI), Urban Hope Training Center, Grace Brethren International Missions (GBIM), and Jail Ministries. Plus for a one-time gift of $100, you will receive an iCare T-shirt as a thank you. Go to cenational.org/icare to find out more and donate online.

Orthopaedic Leaders to Caucus on Grace Campus

Posted by Terry White on August 3, 2009  |  No Comments

The campus of Grace College and Seminary will be the site for a significant gathering of leaders from the orthopaedic industry in about a month. Dr. Ronald Manahan, president of Grace College and Seminary, will have a part in the program along with the scientific and business leaders. Here is an excerpt from a news release on the event–to read the entire article, click here.

Indiana Life Sciences Collaboration Conference heads to the ‘Orthopedics Capital of the World’

Conference set for Sept. 11 in Warsaw, Ind.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The successful Indiana Life Sciences Collaboration Conference Series will go on the road to Warsaw, Ind. — the “Orthopedics Capital of the World” — for the first of its 2009-10 seminars on Friday, Sept. 11.

Several key executives from medical device makers Biomet Orthopedics, Inc., DePuy Orthopaedics, Micropulse Inc., OrthoPediatrics, Paragon Medical, Inc., PearlDiver Technologies Inc., Symmetry Medical, Inc., and Zimmer will share insights about building a successful life sciences cluster and its role for future economic success in Indiana.

They will be joined by David Johnson, president and chief executive officer of BioCrossroads — who will present a new report analyzing the industry and its prospects for future growth — and advisors at Baker & Daniels LLP and its B&D Consulting division.

“This conference will give us a unique opportunity to learn from and see up close a huge success story in Indiana, a life sciences cluster that continues to grow, and which can be imitated elsewhere in the Hoosier state,” said Larry Davidson, founding director of the Center for the Business of Life Sciences and the W. Michael and William D. Wells Life Sciences Faculty Fellow in the Indiana University Kelley School of Business.

“In addition to hearing from decision makers at these companies, we’ll also get the first look at a report that will answer important challenges faced by the orthopedics industry, including what it will take to remain successful in a global marketplace,” Davidson added. “Businesses will learn how to pursue opportunity with these firms for mutual success.”

Bob Hartwiger Toy Collection Featured

Posted by Terry White on August 3, 2009  |  No Comments

Bob Hartwiger (pictured), of the Winona Lake (IN) Grace Brethren Church, was featured this past Sunday in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette newspaper for his toy collection. Here is an excerpt–to read the entire article click here.

Making room for memories
Toy collection fills area house with thoughts of happy childhood

Stefanie Scarlett, The Journal Gazette

Photo by Dean Musser Jr. | The Journal Gazette

Bob Hartwiger just couldn’t get rid of his childhood toys.

So he had them immortalized in his game room floor.

Walking down the wide, carpeted steps that lead into the room in his Warsaw home, you can stand on glass-covered cavities displaying a Tootsie Roll bank, View-Master and a tin Crayola crayon box, all highlighted by a string of tiny lights.

There’s also a transistor radio in the shape of a gasoline pump, a pair of his baby shoes and his hospital ID bracelet from when he was born. And an astronaut helmet that dates back to the good old days, “before they had the electronic stuff. You had to pretend,” Hartwiger says.

Across the room, a black-and-white tiled area has two more “holes in the floor” holding more collectibles and toys that he played with as a boy in Bethlehem, Pa.

“It makes for kind of a neat room. It’s a conversation piece,” he says.

Rich Bartley of Cleveland Given Blue Knights Award

Posted by Terry White on August 3, 2009  |  No Comments

Pastor Richard Bartley (center) of the Village Grace Mission Center, a Grace Brethren mission located at 3561 Independence Road, Cleveland, Ohio, was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Blue Knights International Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club.

The Blue Knights have more than 20,000 members within 606 chapters in 30 countries. The Blue Knights Board of Governors presents this award to those Blue Knights who have shown that they are the cream of the crop.

Pastor Bartley is the Great Lakes Regional Conference Chaplain and works within seven US States and Canadian Provinces, representing one of the largest geographical areas in the world. He is responsible for the well-being of 79 chapters and 2,181 members as of May 2009.

This year at the International Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, Reverend Bartley was the lone recipient of this year’s award. More information on the Blue Knights can be found at: http://www.blueknights.org/ or http://www.bkglrc.com/

Pittsburgh Paper Features Momentum Teens

Posted by Terry White on August 2, 2009  |  No Comments

The Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette recently featured some of the Momentum teens. Here Rachel Peters, 15, of Lititz, Lancaster County, paints the hall of the Cornell Education Center as part of a volunteer project through the Momentum Youth Conference at Robert Morris University. To read the entire article, click here.

Volunteers with paint brighten Coraopolis school

By Brian David, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

When Cornell School District students return for classes next month, they will see a whiter white and a bluer blue, thanks to a bunch of Christian kids from Lititz, Lancaster County.

“I like that the kids are going to come in here and see what we did,” Jon Romantic, 16, said, taking a break from painting a hallway in the Coraopolis school, which houses kindergarten through grade 12.

“Being a Christian is more than just bringing people to God; it’s helping people in need,” said Adriana Fetzeck, 15.

They were among 85 students from one church who were in town for Momentum Youth Conference 2009, a Christian conference at Robert Morris University attended by about 2,000 youths from churches nationwide.