Coach Jim Kessler

Grace College’s basketball team played an inspired first half en route to a 75-66 victory over Spring Arbor on Tuesday, January 31, a win that gave head coach Jim Kessler his 650th career victory.

No. 8 Grace pushed their lead up to as much as 20 points in the second half and kept Spring Arbor at bay to maintain their one-game lead in the heated Mid-Central College Conference standings.

“We came out and did what we need to in the first half,” Kessler said. “We passed the ball around well and created advantages for ourselves throughout the night. We had several players step up. A road win is a road win.”

Kessler’s milestone makes him one of only nine active NAIA basketball coaches who have reached 650 coaching wins. His all-time record currently stands at 650-498. Kessler added his 651st win on Saturday, February 4, as the Lancers beat Goshen College 90-76. Grace’s record is now 20-5 overall, and 10-4 in the Mid Central Conference.

“I have had the privilege of coaching a lot of great players over the years who have made me look good,” Kessler remarked. “I consider myself fortunate to be where I am now, and I praise the Lord when I think about these experiences.”

This is Kessler’s 35th season at the helm of the Lancers basketball program.

Kessler has led the Lancers to five consecutive national tournaments in the past five years: twice at the NCCAA National Tournament (2006-07, 2009-10) and three times at the NAIA National Tournament (2007-08, 2008-09, 2010-11). Overall, Grace has made six appearances in the NAIA nationals, including the 1992 squad, who finished 32-5 and won the national championship.

Kessler has enjoyed 13 20-win seasons and three 30-win seasons during his coaching career at Grace. He was inducted into Grace’s inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008. He has also been inducted into the NCCAA Hall of Fame (1994) and has been named the NAIA Coach of the Year in 1984 and 1992. Most recently, he was named the MCC Coach of the Year in 2009 for taking Grace to back-to-back Elite Eight appearances in the NAIA Tournament.

It is the journey, not the destination, which keeps Kessler around the game. In his fourth decade, Kessler enjoys not only the practices, but the opportunity to see the impact Christ has on the lives of the players he coaches. It has been his mission over the past 30 years to help his players grow in their faith through missions trips, community service projects, in-season outreach opportunities and Lancer Basketball Camps.

Kessler has led the Lancers on multiple international mission trips over the years, including trips to the Philippines, Jamaica, Bahamas, Egypt, Germany, France and Kenya. He has made extensive contributions on Grace’s campus by establishing campus projects that have raised funds for the college library and for other equipment and programs aimed at enhancing the quality of life at Grace.

In the local community, Kessler has organized annual tournaments to benefit local organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and the Kosciusko County Cancer Care Fund.

For his contributions to the lives of youth in the Warsaw community, Kessler received the 2005 Pete Thorne Memorial Award. In 2006, he received the NABC Guardians of the Game National Award for Service.

Kessler is a 1970 graduate of Grace College where he had a four-year playing career with the Lancer men’s basketball team. He is married to Susanne and the couple has four daughters — Kim, Sarah, Jenny, and Janelle, four sons-in-law, and seven grandchildren. Kessler and his wife reside in Winona Lake, Ind.

Mark and Kristin Artrip, right, are introduced by Pastor Sean Spoelstra as the couple who will lead the first church plant out of Encounter Church.

Sean Spoelstra, pastor of Encounter Church, a Grace Brethren congregation in Dublin, Ohio, has announced that the church is launching their first church plant.

“For more than three years I’ve said, ‘I don’t know who or where or when, but we are committed to planting a church and are putting five percent of our offerings aside to prepare for it.’  It gives me great joy to tell you that this past Sunday, January 29, Mark and Kristin Artrip were introduced as the couple who will be the first to lead a church plant out of Encounter Church. This will make us a mother church and Grace Church in Powell a grandmother church.”

The announcement came as Encounter celebrated their third anniversary of holding Sunday morning services and Spoelstra was teaching on the church’s core value “Multiply,” which has church planting as a major component.

The couple will move to Hilliard, Ohio, on the northwest side of metropolitan Columbus, to begin a new Grace Brethren work. He is currently the youth pastor at Grace Church in Powell, Ohio.

“Mark is committed to finishing well at Grace Church and plans to come over to Encounter at the end of this summer,” said Spoelstra. “He then will be a leadership resident with us for approximately six months, teaching, training, praying, dreaming, and preparing his ministry team to launch Movement Church in the Spring of 2013.”

Mark Artrip explains more in an open letter to the Powell congregation on his blog. You may also follow Movement Church on Twitter, @movecolumbus.

Bob Fetterhoff, pastor of the Grace Brethren Church, Wooster, Ohio, and moderator of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, leads the morning session at the Southwest Focus Retreat for Grace Brethren ministry leaders.

Grace Brethren ministry leaders from California and beyond gathered this week for the Southwest Focus Retreat, which is being held at The Oaks Conference and Retreat Center at Lake Hughes, Calif. Participants have come from as far away as Alaska, Ohio, and Virginia to participate.

The retreat was led by Dan Allan, pastor of the Grace Brethren Church, Ashland, Ohio. Bob Fetterhoff, pastor of the Grace Brethren Church, Wooster, Ohio, and moderator of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, led the morning session on Tuesday.

The theme is It’s a Jungle Out There… Finding Your Way Forward.

This is the third of five focus retreats held in various locations throughout the U.S. It allows ministry leaders several days away to enjoy scripture study, relationship building, and relaxation. In Southern California, the pastors enjoyed “human foosball” on Tuesday afternoon, in addition to hiking the trails around the camp.

The retreat concluded Wednesday morning prior to lunch.

See additional photos from the week at facebook.com/FGBCWorld.

The next Focus Retreat will be March 19 through 21 at the Florida FFA Leadership Training Center, 5000 Firetower Road, Haines City, FL 33844. Additional retreats are scheduled for Alaska (May May 18-20) and the Northwest (May 21-23).

WINONA LAKE – Grace College in Winona Lake announced that members of the first cohort of the Orthopaedic Regulatory and Clinical Affairs graduate program are getting ready to put their new master’s degrees to work.

Thirty students are slated to graduate May 19 in the college’s annual commencement ceremony after completing a rigorous year of study in 12 courses designed by and for professionals in the orthopaedic industry.

This graduate program is targeted to professionals who desire a thorough knowledge of the laws and regulations mandated by the federal government, especially the FDA, as they apply to the development, testing approval, manufacturing and commercialization of orthopaedic products.

Grace College partnered with OrthoWorx to launch this program one year ago and has enjoyed wide industry support.

Of the 30 students enrolled, 22 come directly from local orthopaedic firms such as Zimmer, DePuy, Biomet, Medtronic, Paragon Medical and OrthoPediatrics.

According to Allyn Decker, program director, “We (Grace College) couldn’t have asked for a better first year. The quality of instruction and the dedication of our students have been exceptional. We anticipate career growth and success for those currently employed in orthopaedics and others hoping to enter the field. Already, two non-industry ORCA students have been able to land long-term internships at local companies, and other students have taken on new responsibilities at their current companies because of what they are learning in the classroom.”

Grace College will take applications until April 1 for the next cohort to begin in May. Program information and application materials can be accessed via www.grace.edu/orca

Josh Troyer, Ben Reno, Josh Remington, and Brandon Glock, all Sport Management majors, were selected from among 4,500 people who applied to fill the anticipated 3,000 volunteer positions available for events surrounding the Superbowl.

Three of the students, Reno, Remington, and Glock, will be assisting with the “NFL Experience,” which, according to the official NFL Super Bowl XLVI website, is “pro football’s interactive theme park offering participatory games, displays, entertainment attractions, kids’ football clinics, free autograph sessions and the largest football memorabilia show ever.” Troyer will be assisting with operations at central command.

Dr. Darrell Johnson, faculty advisor for Sport Management majors, also applied to volunteer. Johnson will be in Indianapolis February 3-5, helping with various events, beginning with a Gospel singspiration on Friday evening.  Johnson was also selected to serve as a “Special Ambassador” supervising groups of volunteers at the Super Bowl Village on the newly renovated Georgia Street area.

Johnson routinely encourages his students to take advantage of volunteering opportunities.  “Volunteering helps students build their resumes and expand their networking base, and it’s exactly the kind of applied learning focus that the Sport Management program has been cultivating for the past five years,” Johnson said. According to Johnson, the Sport Management program has 70 students and is the fastest-growing major on campus.

The quarterly magazine of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches is also available online at fgbcworld.com. To watch more of the interview with Dave Kennedy and Brad Gromis, click here.

Award-winning playwright Stephen W. Baldwin and Artistic Director Jeffrey Querin will play two old-timers who have set out to find the loves of their lives despite a series of mishaps and adventures.

A dessert reception will be held in the south fellowship hall following the performance. No tickets are required for the event; a love offering will be taken.

For more information, contact the church office at 330-264-9459 Ext. 226.

Tim Boal, executive director of Go2 Ministries, shares about the ministries of Go2 in his annual report to the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

This morning, the Fellowship council, the leadership board of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, began the January meetings in Southern California. First on their agenda are reports from the leaders of national ministries, including Grace College and Seminary, the Brethren Missionary Herald Company, CE National, Go2 Ministries, Women of Grace USA, Association of Grace Brethren Ministers, Encompass World Ministries, and the Grace Brethren Investment Foundation.

Today and tomorrow, the council will also look at a Declaration of Common Identity and review applications from six churches that would like to join the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

The council is led by Bob Fetterhoff, current moderator of the FGBC and pastor of the Grace Brethren Church in Wooster, Ohio. Serving on the board are representatives of three regions of the country: east, central, and west. Board members have come from as far away as Alaska, Maryland, and Virginia.

Members of Grace Brethren Christian School and its parish community in Clinton gathered Sunday for a public tour and dedication of the school’s new 13,000-square-foot building featuring a two-story library, classroom additions and teacher’s lounge.

The school, which purchased its 17-acre campus from the Prince George’s County Board of Education in 1984, currently has about 610 students in prekindergarten through grade 12, said school director George Hornickel.

“We’re very pleased with where we are right now,” he said. “We feel very blessed especially when we hear that other [private] schools have closed or cut back significantly.”

Hornickel said the library will open Wednesday.

The original school building, which dates back to the 1920s, had five additions made to it and was the former site of Surrattsville High School and Surrattsville Junior High School.

Students and teachers moved into the new building before the winter break. Grades 3 and 4 are located in the first floor of the new building, and grades 5 and 6 occupy the second floor.

Hornickel said construction of the $2.85 million building was funded through loans with the Grace Brethren Investment Foundation, which provides financial services for churches and ministry organizations affiliated with the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

Sylvia F. Jentes

SYLVIA F. JENTES was born September 1, 1943, in Long Beach, CA, and died at Hemet Valley (CA) Medical Center on January 18, 2012. She lived in Hemet for 30 years. She was a LVN Nurse at Hemet Valley Medical Center for 19 years. She was a member of the First Baptist Church of Hemet and sang in the choir.

She is survived by her husband, Donald; her daughter Sharon of San Dimas; son Daniel of Hemet; sisters Elizabeth Leaman of Munich, Germany; Nancy Windhauser of Orange, CA; Martha Vandeventer of Yorba Linda, CA and her brother, Richard of Myrtle Point, Oregon and three grandchildren. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 28, at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church, 26087 Girard St. Hemet.

If you’d like to receive a free copy mailed to your home, send an email to fgbcworld@bmhbooks.com or call 574-268-1122.

Grace is now 8-2 in the MidCentral Conference and 18-3 overall, holding first place in the conference. Grace plays at Indiana Wesleyan this Tuesday and is back home at the Orthopaedic Capital Center in Winona Lake for a televised “Game of the Week” against second-ranked Huntington University at 3 p.m. next Saturday, January 28 (Gordon Austin photo).

Don and Sylvia Jentes

Family members this weekend are reporting the death of Sylvia Jentes of Placentia, California, this past Wednesday, following a massive heart attack and several days on life support. She is the wife of former Grace Brethren pastor Don Jentes. Services are tentatively scheduled for January 29.

Here is posted information regarding Don and Sylvia’s ministry:

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.

Every day the secretary at Brethren Christian High School here fields phone calls from college scouts regarding Mamadou Ndiaye, a junior on the school’s basketball team. That is not unusual: Ndiaye is a budding college prospect who averages 22.9 points, 13.2 rebounds and 4.7 blocks per game for the Warriors.

What is extraordinary is that the Guinness Book of World Records recently phoned to inquire about Ndiaye.

“Our school wouldn’t cooperate with them,” Brethren Christian’s coach, Jon Bahnsen, said, “but Guinness probably wanted to see if he was the world’s tallest high school basketball player.”

The 18-year-old native of Senegal stands 7-foot-5, weighs 310 pounds and wears size 19½ lime green Nike Zoom Kobe VI shoes. At 89 inches, Ndiaye is two inches taller than anyone currently toiling in the NBA even though he plays for a tiny private school (enrollment: 250) that currently does not even have its own gym.

While his stats may be skewed due to the Warriors competing in California’s third-smallest class (5-AA), Bahnsen has little doubt that his player who ducks through doorways has an unlimited ceiling.

“Right now his game is basically catch, turn, drop-step, dunk,” says the 5-foot-11 Bahnsen, whose own college coach was a 7-footer from a foreign country, former NBA center Swen Nater of the Netherlands. “But this kid’s going to play professionally someday. The minute Mamadou enrolled I became a much better basketball coach.”

Here is another interesting Fox Sports article about Brethren Christian High’s “big.”  This is an excerpt–to read the entire article, click here.

And since WCS completed a dual site visit, they have also been awarded a full five-year term with AdvancEd (formerly North Central Association/NCA).  Foreman expressed his thanks to faculty and staff members who worked so hard to help WCS achieve this professional award.

Nancy was the daughter of Betty L. Nye of Hagerstown, who  survives her, and the late W. Joe Nye.

She was a member of Paramount Baptist Church and a former member of Hagerstown Grace Brethren Church.

Nancy was a 1964 graduate of North Hagerstown High School. She received her bachelor’s degree from Grace College in Winona Lake, Ind., and a master’s degree from St. Francis University in Fort Wayne, Ind.

She taught elementary school, beginning in Rome City, Ind., and ending in Washington County schools.

She was a dialysis patient for 12 years at Robinwood Dialysis. In 2001, she was diagnosed with scleroderma. She endured many operations and procedures.

Survivors include her husband of 45 years, Ned Curtis Weirich of Hagerstown; son, Nathan, and wife, Elissa Weirich, and their children, Nathan II, Madison and Devon Osborne, of Sharpsburg, Md.; son, Jeffrey, and wife, Danielle Weirich, and their children, Reghan and Parker, of Virginia Beach, Va.

There will be no viewing. Her final resting place is Broadfording Cemetery. A memorial service will be held Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Paramount Baptist Church on Marsh Pike, Hagerstown, with the Rev. Dr. Larry Rickard officiating.

In lieu of flowers, donations are to be given to Paramount Baptist Church, 13234 Marsh Pike, Hagerstown, MD 21740.

Arrangements are by Minnich Funeral Home, 415 E. Wilson Blvd., Hagerstown.

Online condolences are accepted at www.minnichfh.com.

In 2010 Nancy and her treatment for chronic illness were featured in a blogpost. Here is an excerpt–to read the entire article click here.

Ned and Nancy Weirich

Nancy Weirich, a 63-year-old dialysis patient from Hagerstown, Md., has always loved to travel. With her grandchildren located just a few hours away, and annual family vacations to Tennessee and Alabama, Nancy wasn’t about to let dialysis stop her from traveling. She started in-center hemodialysis nearly ten years ago after being diagnosed with scleroderma, which causes high blood pressure. She receives treatment at Fresenius Medical Care Robinwood.

An earlier post on this blog about Nancy may be seen here.

This past Thursday night more than 600 people gathered to honor Tom and Lisa Anglea and all they have meant to many people at Grace Polaris Church and Worthington Christian Schools over the years.

As of Saturday, more than $92,000 was raised, all of it to go directly to the Tom Anglea Fund to help defray expenses associated with Tom’s illness. The “Night With Angleas” benefit was held at the Villa Milano in the 1600 block of Schrock Road in Westerville. An anonymous donor  committed to match all contributions up to $25,000.

A commemorative scrapbook is also being created for the Anglea family, with notes, funny remembrances, wonderful time shared with Tom, a Bible verse, or photo to be included.

Anyone wishing to make a donation should make checks payable to Huntington National Bank Account #01892793498. Write “Tom Anglea Fund” on the memo line, and write “for deposit only” on the back. Send donations to “Anglea Benefit Dinner,” P.O. Box 2370, Westerville, OH 43086-2370. All proceeds are designated for Tom Anglea, and cannot be considered for tax deductions.