BMH Editor's Blog

Betty Miller Obituary

Posted by Terry White on July 30, 2010  |  No Comments

Betty and Carl Miller

Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Miller, 82, of Flintstone, Georgia, and wife of longtime Grace Brethren pastor Carl Miller, went home to be with her Lord on Tuesday, July 20, 2010.  She was a native of Saskatchewan, Canada, born an identical twin to the late Virgil and Mary Bingaman on December 19, 1927. 

During her teenage years, Betty and her sister sang regularly on the Sunday School of the Air radio show in Canada.  Betty graduated from Bob Jones University in 1950.  She was a school teacher and principal for 25 years, and served as a minister’s wife from 1951-1996.  She lived in Flintstone since 1997 where she was a member of the Chattanooga Valley Baptist Church and the Young at Heart Seniors Group.  She was a prayer warrior, seamstress, baker, and known for her notes of encouragement.

 She was preceded in death by her son, Larry Carl; two half brothers, Harold and Kenneth; and stepmother, Adeline Semrau.

 Survivors include her husband of 59 years, Carl Miller (married July 25, 1951); two daughters, Linda (David) Kephart of Harrisonburg, VA and Marianne (Daniel) LeVan of Chickamauga; twin sister, Elsie (Lester) Smitley of Pennsylvania; two grandchildren, Nathan and Lynnea LeVan; nieces, Fran Fortney, Dawn Smitley, and Vicki Slotto; and nephews, Larry Smitley and Kenneth Bingaman.

 Memories and condolences may be sent to www.lane-southcrestchapel.com for a Memories Book.  Contributions may be made to GBCanada USA, P.O. Box 836, Charlotte Hall, MD 20622.

 Memorial services will be held Saturday, August 14, 2010 at 10:30 a.m. at the Chattanooga Valley Baptist Church with Reverend Dwayne Boudreaux officiating. 

 The graveside service was held July 21, 2010 at Chattanooga Valley Baptist Church Cemetery.

 Arrangements are by the South Crest Chapel of Lane Funeral Home and Crematory, Rossville.

Robert Smithwick Obituary

Posted by Terry White on July 30, 2010  |  No Comments

Rob Smithwick

Soldotna, Alaska, resident Robert Andrew Smithwick, 41, died Wednesday, July 21, 2010, while fishing on the Kenai River.

A celebration of his life will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday at Cook Inlet Academy in Soldotna. Rob was born in Warsaw, Ind., on Nov. 17, 1968, to Larry and Shari Smithwick and moved to Alaska in the late 1970s. He grew up in Anchorage, where he spent his school days at Grace Christian School and his summers commercial fishing in Ninilchik. After marrying his high school sweetheart, Jenny Davis, he moved to the Kenai Peninsula, where he has been the owner and operator of Pizza Boys for nearly 20 years. The couple has been blessed with five beautiful children.

Mr. Smithwick is remembered as an amazing athlete, all-star golfer, pizza-maker extraordinaire, comedian, and a deeply loved husband, father, son, brother, uncle and friend. He was passionate, extravagant, compassionate, generous, unique, thoughtful, unselfish, and a great listener. His infectious laughter brightened the lives of many.

He spoiled his family and friends with his amazing cooking, massaging, and endless other acts of service. He provided endless entertainment with his crazy antics and priceless stories. He specialized in upholstering luxury chairs and making cozy slippers for his family and friends. He loved yard work and poured himself into cultivating a green, flower-filled oasis for his family. He left his wife with 170 rose bushes which he personally planted for her. He loved his family, his employees, his customers, and looked forward with great anticipation to the day he would see his Lord face to face.

His family cites this Bible verse from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14: “And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.”

Mr. Smithwick was preceded in death by his sister, Erin Smithwick; grandparents, Bob Smithwick, and Floyd and Laura Moine; his mother-in-law, Lois Davis; and nieces Samantha, Jesse and Kadee Jo Davis.

Mr. Smithwick is survived by his wife, Jenny; his daughter, Amie; his sons, Robbie, Riley, Timmy and Johnny; his parents, Larry and Shari Smithwick; his brother, Eric Smithwick; his in-laws, John and Mary Jo Davis; and his much loved brothers- and sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews and a few “adopted” children he collected along the way.

Please take a moment to share memories of Rob at robsmithwick.blogspot.com. His family and friends wish to thank the community for its generous outpouring of goodwill and prayers.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating toward the education of Mr. Smithwick’s children through a memorial fund at Alaska USA, listed as “Rob Smithwick Memorial Fund”.
Read more: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/adn/obituary.aspx?n=robert-smithwick&pid=144357907#ixzz0vBTp85f5

To read the most recent press reports, click here.

Your Invitation to Participate in a Poll

Posted by Terry White on July 29, 2010  |  No Comments

Ed Trenner of Grace Brethren International Missions, wants to be sure pastors of Grace Brethren churches are aware of a survey that has been sent to each congregation in the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. “It’s an opportunity to stop and reflect what we are doing on mission,” he says. He believes the results will be enlightening and encouraging, as GBIM measures where Grace Brethren churches are ministering around the world.

Below is a portion of what has been sent to the churches. Only one individual from each congregation should respond. If you did not get the survey or have questions, please contact Ed at etrenner@gbim.org or 714-402-7717.

—

TO OUR FAMILY OF CHURCHES,

You are being invited by Grace Brethren International Missions to participate in a survey of our Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. Your participation is greatly appreciated. This survey will help identify what God is prompting in the churches regarding local and global mission.

We want the survey to reflect all your local and global mission involvement, including your church initiatives and your participation with all mission organizations, not just GBIM.

HOW WILL THE SURVEY INFORMATION BE USED?
The responses from all our churches will result in a celebration of God’s work among us as the combined survey data is published this fall. Your church will also want to celebrate what you have done and are doing in mission. Your information will help GBIM be a strong support to you in your mission initiatives and aid in future strategic planning.

IS THE INFORMATION SUBMITTED IN THE SURVEY SECURE?
All internet transmission of this survey data is protected by SSL encryption. Our survey service, SurveyMonkey, is a well-respected web-based tool that will not keep, access, or use your data for its purposes. All individual data will be seen only by GBIM personnel. Any data made public will be a compilation of all the survey responses. No individual church will be publicly identified.

WHO SHOULD COMPLETE THE SURVEY?
Select someone in your office who has access to much of the data and can call others for any missing information; or in some cases ask the pastor or a mission commission or team member.

WHEN DOES THE SURVEY NEED TO BE COMPLETED?
You have until August 18 to complete this on-line survey – that’s three weeks from today.

HOW LONG WILL THE SURVEY TAKE TO COMPLETE?
The survey will take you 10-15 minutes to complete. Availability of information will be the difference in the time required. There are 28 entry items; most are multiple choice.

Kandice Robinson Obituary

Posted by Terry White on July 28, 2010  |  1 Comment

Kandice Robinson

Kandice Marie Robinson of 307 – 14th Street, Winona Lake, Indiana, passed away on Wednesday, July 28, 2010, at 2:33 a.m. at Goshen General Hospital, Goshen, Indiana, at the age of 28.

Born on March 17, 1982, in Akron, Ohio, to Tammie Dee (Conover) Robinson and James Ralph Robinson, who survive. She attended Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, Illinois, graduating in 2003 with a degree in Evangelism and Discipleship. She was a former resident and had previously worked in Indianapolis at the Indiana School for the Deaf for five years. While residing there, she was a member of Common Ground Christian Church in Indy.

Kandice has been a resident of Kosciusko County, Indiana, for the past 13 years, and was the Administrative Assistant for Grace Brethren International Missions. She was a member of Community Grace Brethren Church of Warsaw, Indiana.

She will be lovingly remembered by her parents: James “Jim” and Tammie Robinson (Winona Lake, Indiana); one sister: Tara (husband Clint) Serafino (South Bend, Indiana); and her Grandparents: Dick & Betty Conover (Warsaw, Indiana); and Ralph & Middy Robinson (Marysville, Ohio).

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 31, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. at Community Grace Brethren Church, 909 South Buffalo Street, Warsaw, Indiana, officiated by Pastor Tom Abbitt and assisted by Timothy Clothier.

Memorial donations in Kandice’s name can be made to Grace Brethren International Missions – Kandice Robinson-Team Asia, P.O. Box 80065, City of Industry, California 91716-8065.

Funeral arrangements were entrusted with Redpath-Fruth Funeral Home, 225 Argonne Road, Warsaw, Indiana.

Online condolences may be sent through the funeral home’s Web Site at www.redpathfruthfuneralhome.com.

Kandice shared about her journey with cancer during Momentum 2010. Click here to watch the interview.

Kandice Robinson With the Lord

Posted by Terry White on July 27, 2010  |  2 Comments

Kandice Robinson

Kandice Robinson of Warsaw, Indiana, a courageous young woman who was a missionary appointee to Asia with Grace Brethren International Missions, has succumbed to cancer in Goshen, Indiana. Just two weeks ago Kandice participated in Momentum, the annual Grace Brethren youth conference, at Cedarville University in Ohio.

Details will be posted as they become available. Friends all over the world have followed her “detour” from her goal of getting onto the missionary field. Here is her “my story” posting from her Caring Bridge website:

How this all started…
At the beginning of April I noticed some swelling in my left breast. I was in Colorado for training, so I visited a local clinic and was diagnosed with Mastitis (an infection in my milk glands). However after three weeks of crazy amounts of anti-biotics the doctors began to worry that it wasn’t an infection.

That was the week my life turned upside down. On Monday I visited the clinic worried that I wasn’t responding to the meds as quickly as I expected….and on Thursday I was at the hospital for out patient surgery to biopsy my left breast. The biopsy results came back on April 28th and I was officially diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer. I started chemo treatments on May 7th and finished them finally on September 24th. I was preparing for surgery at the beginning of October when my world was rocked again and I was told that my cancer has “upgraded” to a stage 4 and my entire treatment plan was sidelined. I now know that I have IBC in my right lymph nodes as well as the left and that it was unresponsive to my chemotherapy. The new treatment plan includes radiation and clinical trials…but all of that is still unfolding…

Its amazing how everything can come to a complete standstill in an instant. Suddenly everything else gets put on hold as we call doctors, read books, research online, send out prayer e-mails, and make phone calls. Hopefully this website will help keep everyone up to date on the every changing journey that is my fight against IBC.

Thanks for all your support and prayers! I am blessed to have such a big “fan club” (as my friend Sandea always says). I can’t tell you how much joy I have received from your cards, e-mails, and words of encouragement.

Keep in touch as we see God’s plan in this unfold. His plans and ways and thoughts are so much higher than ours. This may be a shock to us, but my God knows exactly where this detour is headed.

Ray Feather Services Set for Saturday, July 31

Posted by Terry White on July 26, 2010  |  2 Comments

Pastor Ray Feather

Pastor Ray I. Feather, 63, of Grace Community Chapel, a Grace Brethren church in Mukilteo, Washington, went to be with the Lord on July 23, 2010.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, July 31 at 1 p.m. at Alderwood Manor Community Church, 3403 Alderwood Mall Blvd. Lynnwood, Washington. There will be a reception following the service.

Feather was born March 26, 1947, in Martinsburg, Pennsylvania. He attended Washington Bible College in Washington, DC, where he met his wife of 41 years, Sharon Mae Benyack.

Ray had a passion for studying and preaching God’s Word. He served as a beloved pastor to many over his 45 years of Christian service. Ray shared his love for his Savior with everyone he met.

Pastor Feather is survived by his wife, Sharon: children, Scott (Jodi) Feather, Doni (Jason) Weimer, Athena (Matthew) Grady; grandchildren, Asia, Coleman, Raylee, Camden, Addison, Lucas, and Dawson; sister, Peggy (Walt) Bell; nieces; Melissa and Elise and brother Rob Gordon.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Virgil and Betty Feather

Memorials may be made to Grace Community Chapel, 9800 Harbour Place, Mukilteo, WA 98275 designated for the Weimer Thailand Ministry. Ray and Sharon’s daughter and family, Jason and Doni Weimer, plan to serve in Thailand as missionaries with Grace Brethren International Missions, Winona Lake, Indiana.

Ocala to Become Sebring Second-Site

Posted by Terry White on July 26, 2010  |  No Comments

After a number of months of prayer, reflection, and visioning, the congregation of the Ocala, Florida, Grace Brethren Church voted this past July 18 to dissolve the Ocala  church as an independent entity, and become a campus of Grace Church of Sebring, the Grace Brethren Church in Sebring, Fla. Sebring pastor Randy Smith said, “They willingly have submitted to follow the leadership of the elders at Sebring, who prayerfully accepted them with joy.”

 his decision to rebirth the Ocala church, which had been without a permanent pastor for some time, was based on a work that God had been doing for months, according to Smith.

He explained, “About a year ago the leadership of Ocala Grace faced a real problem. Their dear elders had served faithfully into their 80s and knew they needed help to keep going. They are men of integrity, but they felt unable to keep forging ahead. The spirit was willing but the body wouldn’t always cooperate. 

“Closing the church seemed to be an answer, but what of the vision that planted the church a generation ago? They could not simply give up. Through the visionary leadership of FGBC Fellowship Coordinator Tom Avey, they were connected to the Grace Church of Sebring. The pastors at Sebring met together with Tom and the Ocala elders, and they began a cooperation that led to the July 18th congregational vote.

“In the immediate future, Ocala Grace will continue to meet as before, but something is happening. An exciting rebirth is underway. Pastor Matt Wheelock, the administrative pastor at Sebring, has been at Ocala teaching, and says, ‘They are a precious group! We cannot abandon them, and we will not back off the mission to reach into their neighborhood. Our churches cannot back up; the need is too great. Stay tuned; the best is yet to come!’”

Smith continued, “Sebring Grace is openly seeking God for the tools needed to get the job done. We ask the sister churches across the FGBC to pray for our work. Florida has receded far enough; it is time to replant. We have plenty of sunshine and soil that needs new seed. Lord willing, an even greater harvest is ahead!”

Old Testament Scholar to Speak at San Diego Church

Posted by Terry White on July 23, 2010  |  No Comments

Dr. Tiberius Rata

Dr. Tiberias Rata, Professor of Old Testament Studies and Chair of the Department of Biblical Studies at Grace College and Seminary, Winona Lake, Indiana, will be speaking at the San Diego (Calif.) Grace Brethren Church on Sunday, August 8, for the 10:45 a.m. worship service. His sermon title is “Looking for Mephibosheth.”

Rata, a native of Romania, holds the B.S. degree from California State Polytechnic University, the M.Div. from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, and the Ph.D. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Pastor of the San Diego church is Glen Sykes.

Photos Trace Past Conferences of FGBC

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on July 22, 2010  |  No Comments

At the recent Celebrate 2010, the annual conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, the Brethren Missionary Herald Company encouraged conference delegates to walk down memory lane with a slide show of images from previous meetings. The photos range from portions of a 1921 photo taken in Winona Lake, Ind., to casual snapshots from last year’s conference in Columbus, Ohio.

The images have all be uploaded to the FGBC World page on Facebook. To look at Past Grace Brethren Conferences, click here.

Church Sign Causes Controversy

Posted by Terry White on July 22, 2010  |  No Comments

This sign, in front of the Grace Brethren Church of Fort Myers, Florida (Steve Shipley, pastor) has been commented on critically by local news media.

 To see what a local news reporter/commentator said about the sign, click here.

Celebrate2010 Now in the History Books

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on July 21, 2010  |  No Comments

The commissioning of missionaries is always a highlight at Grace Brethren conferences.

Celebrate 2010, the annual conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, is now history. Held last weekend (July 16 to 20) in Cincinnati, Ohio, the conference was nontraditional in format but still very much a traditional annual meeting in spirit.

The conference kicked off on Friday, July 16, with the chaplain’s luncheon, a time when the military (and other) chaplains in the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches are recognized. (This year, eight chaplains shared about their various ministries.) The rest of the day was set aside for the meetings of Women of Grace and the Association of Grace Brethren Ministers.

Friday night included a Concert of Prayer, facilitated by Mac Pier, president  of The New York City Leadership Center (NYCLC), a new independent non-profit organization, which was recently planted by Concerts of Prayer Greater New York. The conference delegates spent time praying for themselves, each other, the lost, and the world.

Saturday, registrants from Celebrate joined with the students at the Momentum youth conference to minister as part of We Care, Dayton. They scrubbed toilets in a senior citizens tower, played games with kids at community picnics, painted aging houses, and talked with people about the love of Jesus, to name a few. It was an effort to put hands and feet to the gospel, going into neighborhoods and meeting needs while sharing about Jesus Christ.

Representatives of incoming congregations to the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches were introduced Monday morning.

At business meetings on Sunday and Monday, the conference welcomed four congregations into the fellowship. They include Darby Grace Brethren Church (Shawn Kaeser, pastor), Plain City, Ohio; MISPA Missionary Community (Luc Nonorme, pastor), Miami, Fla.; Capital City Grace Brethren Church (Larry Totzke, pastor), Columbus, Ohio; and Iglesia Vida Nueva, (Abner A. Solano, pastor), Grandview, Wash. Also approved as a cooperating ministry was Servant Send Ministries, an organization founded by Grace Brethren pastor Dan O’Deens that will have a two-pronged focus: nextchurchplant.com, an individualized approach to mobilizing and motivating church planters and churches to accomplish their vision, and CPR-3 (Crisis Preparation Readiness), to help the Church provide hope in the time of crisis.

In addition, the conference voted to remove the provisional status from Go2 Church Planting Ministries and Vision Ohio. At the 2008 conference, Go2 was granted a provisional national ministry status and Vision Ohio was granted a provisional cooperating ministry status.

To see photos from the conference, see FGBC World on Facebook.

Organ, Piano, Choral Program at Winona Lake Sunday Evening

Posted by Terry White on July 21, 2010  |  1 Comment

Bill Schaffer

‘Keyboards and Chorale’ at Winona Lake Church Sunday Evening

Keyboard artists Bill Schaffer and Rich Dick, along with a select vocal ensemble, will present a free “Keyboards and Chorale” program at 6 p.m. this Sunday, July 25 in the worship center of Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church, 1200 Kings Highway, Winona Lake, Indiana, as part of the church’s Sunday Night Praise series.

The piano/organ segment of the evening will include opportunity for improvisation and for the congregation to make requests. The latter part of the program will include narration by Dr. James Nesbitt and Mary Elsa Schaffer, a tenor solo by Tim Yocum, and many numbers featuring the organ and piano, 20-voice select vocal ensemble, and congregation.

Bill Schaffer, whose late father William H. Schaffer was a well-known Grace Brethren pastor and one of the founders of Grace Theological Seminary,  is a Grace College music graduate, former Grace College music faculty member, and was organist at Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church and at the Warsaw Evangelical Presbyterian Church. 

He was chair of the music department at Miami Christian University, has been the organist for Key Biscayne Presbyterian Church, Bibletown at Boca Raton, Florida, and for many years has been tonal director, clinician, and concertizer for Central Organ Company in Miami, which features Rodgers electronic organs and Rufatti pipe organs. Rich Dick, also a Grace Brethren pastor’s son and former organist at the Winona Lake church, recently retired after 37 years as the choral director at Concord (Ind.) High School.

All are welcome to participate in this unique worship experience, followed by an informal time of keyboard improvisation and group singing.

Pack Food for Haiti: An Invitation

Posted by Terry White on July 21, 2010  |  1 Comment

Hope for Haiti, August 14, Grace Church of Powell

Did you know that $40 can feed 285 people in Haiti?  Grace Church of Powell, Ohio, will be hosting a food packing session on August 14 with a goal to fill a 40-foot container with over 280,000 meals for the people of Haiti.  We will be joining resources with a Westerville based mission called Lifeline (http://www.lifeline.org/).  Lifeline has developed an assembly line like process to package a nutritious rice based meal for the people of Haiti.  Lifeline has the ability to ship the food to Haiti where it will be distributed to the people through over 20 different missions.  The total cost is about 14 cents per meal.
DETAILS:
• Participants will spend a 2-hour shift measuring, bagging, weighing, sealing, boxing, and loading boxes onto pallets and into the 40-foot container to be shipped to Haiti.
• Groups should plan on 2 1/2 hours total at Grace Church for registration, prayer, instructions, and light refreshments before/after the 2 hours of bagging.  The first shift will begin at 8am, and the last shift will begin at 4pm.
• We ask for a tax-deductible donation of $40 per person for each 2 hours of bagging.  The donation supports the food, supplies, and shipping.  Each donation will pay for approximately 285 meals.
• All ages are welcome to bag…a great project for families, individuals, youth groups, churches, scouts, senior citizen groups, etc.

If you want to be more involved or feel the Spirit leading you in a direction of leadership for this event please contact Sean Kaiser: 614-570-5794 or skaiser@worthington.k12.oh.us

Pray for Ron, Alice Kinley

Posted by Terry White on July 20, 2010  |  4 Comments

Word has been received that Ron and Alice Kinley were seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident while vacationing in Northern California this past weekend. Both were seriously injured and were taken to different hospitals. 

Alice was airlifted to a trauma center and Ron to a regular hospital.  They are both doing amazingly well, and are expected to recover fully, but it will take some time.  Their children Danny and Rachel are both there with them.  Rachel says they hope that Ron will be out of intensive care today and Alice could be released sometime this week, but can’t fly home to Portland, due to lung injuries. 

The Kinleys are Grace graduates and former residents of the Winona Lake/Warsaw area. Alice is the daughter of Bud and Mary Thompson.

Inviting All Ham Radio Operators

Posted by Terry White on July 19, 2010  |  2 Comments

GBC hams (amateur radio operators) are invited to join a group of Christian hams from across the United States and Canada in a daily on-the-air fellowship time. The Amateur Radio Missionary Service (ARMS) provides a daily Net as well as weekly section Nets that cover all of the US and Canada.

The 20 Meter Net operation is found at 14.3075 MHZ daily, Monday through Saturday at 1500 Z (ST) and 1400 Z (DT). It operates for 2 hours. Hams can check in, share prayer requests, a Scripture portion and local weather.  Hams needing it can have “short time.”

ARMS Christian Fellowship Nets are also found in various sections of the country on 75 phone and 40 Meters.  Exact frequencies, days, times and areas can be found on the ARMs Fellowship website at www.qsl.net/arms 

The website also contains short biographies of some of the ARMs members, current missionary prayer information and digital copies of THE BEAM, the periodic ARMS newsletter.

An ARMS Net will also be found on “CQ-100.”  This virtual computer Net meets on Mondays at 2300 Z at 14.307 on the virtual dial. A round-table format is used and may include overseas Christian ham check-ins as well as those stateside.

ARMS was organized at the Philadelphia School of the Bible in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 2, 1957, by a small group of born again Christian amateur radio operators. At that time they were interested not only in fellowship on the air and in person, but also in assisting missionaries overseas with communications.

That latter purpose is largely met today with cell phones and high speed data communications. The fellowship aspect is still “very much alive.”

Come join us.

Chuck Winter, N7AAG

Betoneys Lead Native American Ministries

Posted by Terry White on July 18, 2010  |  No Comments

Bessie and Arnold Betoney

Evan Adams felt called to share the gospel with Navajo Native Americans.

Under his ministry, Lee Trujillo gave his heart to Christ.

Then Lee’s son, John Trujillo, also committed his life to Christ and became pastor of the Red Lake (Ariz.) Grace Brethren Church.

Then John Trujillo, who was conducting a revival/camp meeting led a young 25-year-old married-with-two-children Native American to the Lord.

That young Native American, Arnold Betony, is now a Bible college graduate and a pastor himself, as well as American Indian Church Planting Director for GO2 Church Planting ministries.

Arnold and his wife, Bessie, are this week attending the Grace Brethren national conference in Cincinnati, and today they sat down with BMH to share a bit of their background and ministries.

 Arnold and Bessie met while they were both high school students in Tuba City, Arizona, and they married right out of high school. Arnold went to work as a construction worker/carpenter and they began their family, which now includes five adult children and six grandchildren.

Bessie became a believer about a week before Arnold committed his life to the Lord, and eventually a representative from Indian Bible College in Flagstaff visited the Red Lake Grace Brethren Church. Arnold, who had no intention of becoming a pastor or a preacher, decided God wanted him to know more about the Bible, so, having recently been laid off from his job, he enrolled for further Bible study.

Graduating after four years with a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies, Betoney moved his young family back to Red Lake where he began a six-year career as an alcohol and drug counselor. Eventually Pastor John Trujillo recruited him to be the youth pastor at the church and, in 1993, associate pastor.

In 1996 Arnold replaced John Trujillo as senior pastor of the Red Lake church and he pastored for a number of years before feeling the call to join Andy Moyer and Steve Galegor in a church-planting effort in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Betoney now pastors the Native New Life Church on the south side of Albuquerque, where he describes the residents as “a melting pot of ethnic cultures.”  His congregation is largely Native American, although there are some mixed marriages, and many who attend are single parents and young people.

Betoney encourages prayers for the Native American ministries, saying that he’s glad the Grace Brethren “hasn’t given up on native ministry.” He said, “We covet your prayers and support.”

Bessie’s primary ministry is rug-weaving, a skill she learned as a child. Many women in the church desire to learn the skill, so a number of years ago Bessie began to build small looms and offer classes. The first time she offered a class, 16 women signed up.

Betoney sees a bright future ahead for Native American ministries, pointing out that for the first time, Grace Brethren Native American ministries are being directed by Native Americans rather than by missionaries.  

He said, “Now God has given us opportunity to minister to our own people. God is working through us to share the gospel with our own people.”

As he seeks to train young Native Americans for ministry leadership in the future, Betoney indicates a need for prayer and financial support from the Grace Brethren family. More information is available at www.Go2ChurchPlanting.org and Betoney may be reached at abetoney@juno.com.  Gifts of financial support should be channeled through Go2 Church Planting ministries.

Jeff Bogue Challenges National Conference Delegates

Posted by Terry White on July 18, 2010  |  No Comments

Using nails, concrete blocks, and a sledge hammer to dramatically illustrate his points, Pastor Jeff Bogue of Grace Church of Greater Akron (OH) (pictured) delivered a stirring challenge to delegates and attenders at the annual Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches conference meeting this evening in Cincinnati.

Bogue urged churches and pastors, instead of looking for a charismatic or effective young leader to breathe new life into the Fellowship, to return to the scriptural teachings of equipping local churches to “prevail against the gates of hell.”  An important Town Hall Meeting at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow (Monday) will engage leaders of the Fellowship in a discussion of future direction and strategic planning for the Fellowship.

Storm Misses Filipino Churches, Believers

Posted by Terry White on July 18, 2010  |  No Comments

Ted Ruiz, who is with Grace Brethren International Missions in the Philippines, says, “Thanks for all your emails and prayers of concern for us! The storm (Conson?) has passed. We are fine. Electricity is back most of the time. It was only a Storm Signal #1 (out of 5) in Manila, but it was a direct hit. Strong gusts of wind did some damage in Metro Manila. The Filipino believers seem fine, also.”

Chicago gets Goshen ‘encounter’

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on July 18, 2010  |  No Comments

Grace Community Church, a Grace Brethren church in Goshen, Ind., recently donated some bicycles to Urban Encounter, a ministry in Chicago, Ill., run by John Shirk. Here’s part of a report from the Goshen (Ind.) News. Click here for the rest of the story.

A semibed and two haulers loaded with bicycles drew a lot of attention as they wended their way through Chicago, en route to Humboldt Park Wednesday.

John Shirk, who runs the Urban Encounter ministry there, said, “It was a spectacle!” When the entourage made it’s way to the warehouse where Urban Encounter would be refurbishing the bikes, people swarmed, wanting to get one for themselves.

The more than 300 bicycles were from Grace Community Church in Goshen. Last Sunday, Grace’s lead pastor Jim Brown challenged congregants to bring their old bicycles in on Monday and Tuesday to donate them to Urban Encounter. Volunteers were coming from Florida to spend the week reworking the bikes and giving the kids’ bikes new, snazzy paint jobs.

Click here for the rest of the story.

Reports from We Care Miami Start Last Momentum Session

Posted by Liz Cutler Gates on July 17, 2010  |  No Comments

Ed Lewis, executive director of CE National, leads off the last session at Momentum 2010.

The energy was high as students filed into the auditorium for the last evening at Momentum 2010, the annual Grace Brethren youth conference hosted by CE National.

It has been a full day. The more than 1,500 students had spread to more than 25 sites around the greater Miami Valley to minister. They cleaned for senior citizens, entertained kids at community picnics, canvased neighborhoods, and more, all in the name of Jesus. Joining them were adults from Celebrate 2010, the annual conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

About 300 students stayed on campus to pack more than 100 thousand meals, By the end of the day, they had packed 106,920 meals. As a result, 283 kids will get a meal a day in an entire year with what was packed today.

On the schedule tonight is Brett Younker leading worship and Jeff Bogue is the concluding speaker. The night is scheduled to end with communion and a celebration/wedding feast.

For complete reports of the activities at Momentum this week, click here.

Watch this blog for more stories from We Care Miami Valley.