Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Two new Filipino elders were ordained in our headquarters office here in Glendora on Monday. Sadie and Angie Tabin, who also attended our international conference in Orlando, Florida, were here with Philippines National Director Eugene Guzon. Besides their pastoral team work, the Tabins serve in a prison ministry and are assessing the possibility of planting a new congregation. Please remember them in prayer.
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Ted Johnston has posted some short videos from our GCI-USA mission blog on YouTube. The link is: http://www.youtube.com/user/pastortedjohnston. These can also be downloaded for use in presentations or embedded on local church websites.
Israel/Jordan Tour, June 2011
GCI pastors and members are invited to participate in a unique study tour of Israel with optional added trip into Jordan in June 2011. As noted in the attached brochure, the trip focuses on biblical stewardship and provides not only special access to popular sites in the Holy Land but also access to some seldom seen sites. This special opportunity is being extended to us by Dr. Scott Preissler, a friend of GCI and an expert in biblical stewardship.
The price for the Israel segment of the tour is $3963.00. This price includes airfare from Dallas to Israel and back to Dallas or another International airport nearer you. The price also includes all lodging in Israel (double occupancy), breakfast and dinner each day of the tour, ground transportation by tour bus, tips, and entry fees. The optional Jordan add-on trip costs an additional $900.00. These prices are quite low for what is provided because generous donors are subsidizing the trip’s cost. Dr. Preissler has generously extended this subsidy to us.
If you are interested in participating in this exceptional study trip, notify Ted Johnston in the next few days (by email at Ted.Johnston@gci.org or by phone at 330.497.7188). If our GCI group is large enough, there may be a small further reduction in the per person cost. Openings for this trip are limited, so act quickly.
Interesting Stats
Prediction
According to the Pew Forum Weekly Update of June 24, 58 percent of white evangelical Christians say Jesus Christ will definitely or probably return to earth by 2050, by far the highest percentage in any religious group. Just 32 percent of Catholics, 27 percent of white mainline Protestants and 20 percent of the religiously unaffiliated predict Jesus Christ’s return to earth. Those with no college experience (59 percent) are more likely than those with some college experience (35 percent) and college graduates (19 percent) to expect Christ’s return.
Bible Readers and Debt
What is the best financial advice you will ever receive? The surprising answer is to read your Bible on a daily basis. New View (www.StateofthePlate.info) from the Pew research shows that the more faithful someone is in their daily Bible reading, the less debt they tend to have and the more likely they will be to give 10 percent or more to their church.
Church Attendance Increase
Gallup research reports more Americans are attending religious services weekly or almost weekly. Results of its study showed 43.1 percent of Americans regularly attending, up slightly from ’09 (42.8 percent) and ’08 (42.1 percent). Gallup aligns the increase with Americans’ increasing economic confidence, suggesting that more people attend church during good financial times rather than bad, as historically assumed (Gallup 6/25/10).
Prayer Requests and Updates
Pastor Gary Dry of our Lake St. Louis, Missouri, congregation and his wife, Diane, reported the pathology report for their toddler granddaughter, Laila, showed that the doctors removed all of the cancer during the surgery! Gary added:
Laila will still have to have a maintenance dose of chemotherapy as a precautionary measure, but that is all. Her strength and demeanor are improving daily and she has actually been sitting in a chair this morning. Not bad for someone who was basically sawed in two just four days ago. At this rate, the doctors think that she may get released from the hospital as early as Sunday.
We wouldn’t be where we are without your support. Thank you very much from the bottom of our hearts. Join us as we say praise be to the Lord.
Please remember Philippines pastor Ezra Raduban, who has just undergone an angioplasty. We are awaiting further information. Thank you for your prayers for him and for the rest of his family during this challenging time.
Ray Griffee, our pastor in Cadillac, Michigan, sent this note of thanks:
Thank you all for your cards and prayers for me and my family. I was overwhelmed by your response. I had to have a quintuple bypass performed and it was successful. There was no damage to my heart. I am home recuperating and my doctor said that I can resume normal duties by the end of August. Thank you again for your love.
Remember that prayer is the battleground where we fight the good fight of faith. Let’s encourage everyone to join together in prayer, for we belong to Christ, and by the Spirit it is in Christ that we pray. Prayer and other spiritual activities help keep our hearts in tune with God and remind us of who we are in Christ. He is our all in all, and in him we are eternally beloved of the Father and blessed to share his good news with others.
Love from my family to yours,
Joseph Tkach
