We are all thankful for many things, but I think one of the greatest is the joy of knowing and working with so many people whose zeal, dedication and love of Christ is a daily inspiration. Thanks so much to all of you for everything you do in his service, and may your Thanksgiving celebration be joyful and blessed!
CAD Renewal Conferences
This year, Church Administration and Development conducted Renewal Church Conferences in Glendora, California; Dallas, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; and Columbus, Ohio. At each conference, Dr. Dan Rogers led a study in the book of Acts, recounting how the Holy Spirit led the early church in mission with God. Short video excerpts of Dan’s presentations are posted on the It Looks Like This website at http://gci-usa.blogspot.com/p/church-multiplication-study-in-book-of.html.
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Twenty-five pastors and other GCI congregational leaders attended the Renewal Church Conference in Columbus on November 9-11 (see pictures). Dan noted that Acts is descriptive rather than prescriptive. Rather than mimicking the acts of the early church, we find principles that help us understand what the Holy Spirit is now doing to lead the church.
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Canada
From Gary Moore:
I’m in Toronto attending the annual meeting of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC). I have been pleasantly surprised to find that the EFC is strongly promoting Trinitarian theology and is framing the understanding of mission from a Trinitarian perspective. It is very encouraging to see that other Christian leaders are seeing the great value and scriptural soundness of this theological perspective. I want to strongly encourage you as leaders to take the time to keep up with the interviews with Trinitarian theologians on our denominational website (www.gci.org).
Toronto East hosted another regional volleyball tournament last weekend. Below is Alvaro Palacio’s report of the event, some pictures of the weekend.
Young (and not so young) participants from our Quebec and Ontario churches met in Toronto November 13-14 for our traditional Volleyball Weekend, a yearly festivity organized by the Montreal and Toronto East congregations. It started with an inspiring worship service on Saturday afternoon with traditional and contemporary worship music. Inspiring, spiritual messages were given by Judith Lawrence and Rob Brockman followed by a communion service. After services all enjoyed a wonderful fellowship time with pizza, snacks, video and board games.
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The well organized volleyball tournament started early on Sunday. Teams from Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and other participants from the neighbouring areas joined in friendly competition for most of the day. Big Bang from Ottawa won first place, followed very closely by Toronto’s team, Cornerstone. Toronto East was third. It was a well fought competition, in which all the participants gave their best.
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“It was evident that Christ was playing among our young people,” commented one of the observers after seeing the sportsmanship and Christian love showed by all the participants. This was also a great opportunity for the Toronto East congregation to share their hospitality with dozens of visitors and to renew old friendships in Christ. At the end of the tournament, players, organizers and helpers were tired but joyfully thanking God and one another; knowing that once more the love of God was put into action for the mutual edification of our Lord’s body.
Prayer Requests and Updates
Thanks from James and Shirley Henderson
James and Shirley thank everyone for their prayers and concerns following the attack by a Cape Buffalo on the 17th November. They have both had operations for trauma injuries and are responding well to treatment. Miraculously no vital organs were affected. Your continued prayers for a speedy recovery are appreciated.
Cards may be sent to: Worldwide Church of God Attention: James & Shirley Henderson P O Box 7703 Market Harborough, LE16 7ZG United Kingdom
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.
Heber Ticas, Ted Johnston, Randy Bloom, Hector Barrerro and I celebrated with several of our Spanish-speaking pastoral leaders and members in Guadalajara last weekend. Pastor Alfred Mercado and the Guadalajara congregation hosted the event. We enjoyed singing the hymns in Spanish and giving presentations over the three days on Trinitarian theology, church updates and other topics. The fellowship was heartwarming, and it was a treat to spend time with people we had not seen in ten years.
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Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Pastor Joel Aleman reported that on October 16, our congregation in Tegucigalpa had 16 baptisms in the city’s Piliguín ecological park. The baptized adults and young people received a certificate and were officially welcomed to the church during services on October 23.
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South Africa Mission Trip
David Botha and Joel Clevenger, leaders of Grace Missions, reported on Grace Mission’s recent trip to South Africa:
On October 23, the Grace Missions team from the Akron/Canton and Cleveland, Ohio, churches and one participant from the Loudon, New Hampshire, church returned from a successful mission trip to South Africa. We toured Johannesburg and Soweto on our first day. We ate lunch at a shabeen in Soweto right across the street from Nelson Mandela’s childhood home. A very moving afternoon was spent at the Apartheid Museum.
Our next stop was at the GCI “tent church” located in Moruleng. The chief of the village has given this congregation a piece of land to build a church building. We helped by installing a septic system and laying the foundation for the bathroom. A wonderful time was spent encouraging our brothers and sisters there—helping them see that they are not alone (their story was told at the International Conference in Orlando).
We spent one eventful day at the Pilansberg Game Park. We saw God’s creation in a magnificent way. Then we were pulled over at gunpoint and our entire vehicle searched because the local military thought we might be poachers. A few tense moments turned into a wonderful experience ministering to the men. One was even from the village of Moruleng, and we were able to connect him with one of the ministry leaders there. God does work in wonderful ways.
The Grace Communion International church in the northeastern South African region of Venda is located in Maelula, a village of about 6,000 people. The congregation was given some land by the chief to build its own building for worship. Our mission team from the U.S. joined with many young men from the village, spending time each day working on the part of the structure that would support the roof.
One of the highlights of each day was when we would break for lunch at the jobsite. After eating, we would all spend about an hour in devotional and prayer time before going back to work. We prayed in different languages but we prayed to the same God. On the final day of work, our break was a little longer. We took a short walk to a small stream and four young adults from Maelula (Naomi, Khathu, Mpho, Emmanuel) were baptized while the rest of the people sang praises to God.
Another highlight of each day was the evening meal. There was always lots of food and fellowship with many local members. This almost always included traditional African praise songs, which everyone there knows and can sing well. The food was normally South African style, but on the last night some of the team prepared some American style chili, which was a big hit.
We got a lot done on the church structure, but the building of relationships was much greater. It truly is “good and pleasant when brethren live together in unity,” as it says in Psalm 133. We hope the church building will last for many years, but we know that the friendships built, and the experiences we had there, will stay with us forever.
Wendy, Kylie and I had a wonderful time visiting the Ottawa area last weekend for the anniversary celebration. The congregation there was celebrating the 45th anniversary of its founding. We were also celebrating Bill and Linda Rabey’s 40th wedding anniversary, and Bill’s 40 years in ordained ministry – so it was quite a celebration!
People came from Montreal, Cornwall and Smith’s Falls, as well as the Ottawa area. There was a packed auditorium, with 160 in attendance. Bill’s brother Bob came, and we all enjoyed his funny and warm stories about growing up with Bill. The potluck meal was great, and then we enjoyed some entertainment to wrap up a full and enjoyable day. Bill and Linda have served with great dedication and compassion and are clearly much loved by the members there.
Several photos from the weekend follow. The first illustrates the blessing of a multi-generational congregation, in a culture where the generations rarely interact. The second picture shows one of three cakes presented that day (they were eaten very quickly!), the third picture is the happy couple cutting their anniversary cake, and the last is of two content, well-fed ministers at the end of a great day.
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Next week I’ll be in Toronto for the annual EFC conference and meeting. I will be visiting the Ste. Catharines/Hamilton/Kitchener congregations on the weekend. After that, the focus will be on putting the national budget together, and other year-end work at the office.
Exclusive pastors screening of of Narnia film
Below is a link for an advanced pastoral screening of the new Chronicles of Narnia film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
Cheyenne, Wyoming, elder Cliff Snyder is recovering well after a massive heart attack and emergency bypass surgery last week. He will still need another bypass surgery for three other blocked arteries.
Cliff’s wife, Mary, said that he would welcome calls. Their phone number is 970-881-2458.
Cards may be sent to: 5741 CR 68C Red Feather Lakes, CO 80545-9507
Dennis Lawrence wrote:
My treatment advanced yesterday as the team at the Royal Victoria Hospital was able to collect my stem cells. It didn’t look promising even on Wednesday that it would happen this week, but the number of stem cells in my blood jumped dramatically in those two days, and it went well yesterday—beyond their greatest hopes. They needed to collect 6 million stem cells, and got 17 million in the volume collected—apparently a record in their experience. (It’s one of those in which I really can’t claim any credit—it’s just what the body did).
I have a couple of tests to get in the next couple of weeks—don’t have the schedule for those yet. But in about two weeks I should be going into the hospital for the 3-4 week stay that begins with six days of very intensive chemotherapy followed by a day of recovery. Then, I’m given back my stem cells and am in recovery, under watchful eyes there for the following 2-3 weeks. I feel fine today—am planning to give the sermon—a full sermon—in church this afternoon!
Cards may be sent to: 211 De L’ile Blvd Pincourt, PQ J7V 3R6 CANADA
Charles Fleming sent a note mentioning that the hurricane caused some of our planned activities to be canceled in Grenada as it also passed by Haiti, St. Lucia, Barbados, and St. Vincent. Paul Creese in St. Vincent sent the link below. The site shows dramatic pictures of the damage in St. Lucia. Rudy Mills reports that all our members are safe, although many experienced some form of minor damage. So far, Rudy only knows of one member who may have lost a portion of his roof. The island has taken a beating with sections only accessible by boat. Agriculture was badly damaged and so food costs will be up for several months.
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.
Pastor Joseph Franklin of Haiti sends his deepest thanks to all who are praying for Haiti in the wake of Hurricane Tomas. He reported that our members were not hurt and remain safe, but much damage was done and cholera has become epidemic in some areas.
Please continue to remember in prayer the people of Haiti, who still suffer from the devastation of the earthquake while also having to cope with the annual destruction and misery of hurricane season.
Africa
African Missions Director Kalengule Kaoma reported four baptisms last month in Kolwezi.
Colombia
From Larry Hinkle:
This year’s annual Colombian Leadership Conference was a great success with more than 100 in attendance. The conference was held over a three-day weekend in a tranquil resort area outside of Bogota, Colombia. The theme was “An Experience with God.” Sub-themes presented by pastors Hector and Paulina Barrero, David Mosquera, Sonia Orozco and Larry Hinkle included dealing with suffering, being transformed by God’s unconditional love, and experiencing the blessings of the grace of God. Each day’s sub-theme was also presented in special sessions for children and for teens.
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A highlight of the conference was a worshipful footwashing service in which the teens and children also participated. A meditative communion service was presented each day, and everyone delighted in witnessing the baptisms of Claudia and Miguel Vega and Andrés Castaño.
Praise and worship music was provided in part by teens from Barranquilla, Colombia. Activities included swimming, soccer, hiking, horseback riding and table games.
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Israel Tour
From Shirley Henderson
Seventy excited people enjoyed the trip of a lifetime touring the country of Israel October 6-18. Members from Canada and the USA joined the main group from the UK at Heathrow Airport and everyone traveled together to Tel Aviv via El Al Airlines. The jumbo jet was a microcosm of the variety of people that we were to encounter in Israel and was a good introduction for what was to come. The Seven Arches Hotel, where we spent the first four nights, sits atop the Mount of Olives with the most spectacular views of the city of Jerusalem.
It was amazing to wake up each day and think, “I am on the Mount of Olives!” Our days were packed with visits to as many of the historical sites as we could possibly manage, including the Garden of Gethsemane, Hezekiah’s tunnel, the Qumran site, the Garden Tomb, the Western (wailing) Wall, the City of David, the Temple Mount, Bethlehem, Masada, the Dead Sea, the Holocaust Museum, to name but a few.
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Standing on top of the famed last stand of Jewish resistance to the Romans on top of Masada and floating totally unaided in the Dead Sea were surreal experiences, but to be standing where Jesus stood and walked, and the places where he was most likely interrogated, crucified and buried was a deeply moving and powerfully emotional experience.
A beautiful communion service was held at the Garden Tomb just before dusk. From our base in Jerusalem we moved on to the greener climes in the city of Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee. We stopped off at Jericho and Bet She’an. Our time in Tiberias included a trip on a replica boat of the kind used at the time of Jesus. A lively worship service was held on the boat and I’m sure we all, as we listened, were envisioning Jesus walking on the water or preaching to crowds from the boat. It was such a still, beautiful, sunny day that it was hard to imagine the storm that Jesus calmed.
A service was also held at the Mount of Beatitudes. Imagining the experiences and miracles of Jesus at places like Capernaum, Cana, and the Jordan River were just some of the special moments we shared. The Golan Heights ensured an amazing view of the surrounding countries and the road to Damascus, and brought greater awareness of the very vulnerable and fragile peace that exists in that part of the world. Further outings took us to Nazareth and Megiddo (the ruins of 25 layers of different civilizations over thousands of years) and a spectacular view of the valley of Jezreel, the site of Armageddon. The Bible came alive as scriptural names and reference points were everywhere and had many of us scurrying back to our Bibles to remind ourselves of the details.
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Trying to sum up the highlights of this journey in a few words is impossible because we went to so many places and saw and experienced things from the past and the present that do and will impact the future.
Photo captions: 1 – view from Seven Arches Hotel, 2 – going through Hezekiah’s tunnel, 3 – view from Masada of Dead Sea, 4 – The River Jordan, 5 – Service held on the replica boat on Sea of Galilee, 6 – Some of the tour group at the River Jordan
CAD
Dr. Dan Rogers has recorded a study of the first 15 chapters of the book of Acts. It is presented in 32 short videos that are now posted on our “It Looks Like This” website at http://gci-usa.blogspot.com/p/church-multiplication-study-in-book-of.html. These video studies make helpful “discussion starters” for small groups, discipleship classes and Bible studies. They are also useful for personal study.
Note: Videos posted on “It Looks Like This” may be downloaded by double clicking on the “YouTube” icon on the video. This will take you to the page on YouTube where that video is imbedded. Copy the webpage address (URL) for this YouTube page, and insert that in the YouTube Downloader, a free program available at http://youtubedownload.altervista.org/. Follow the YouTubeDownloader instructions and the video will be downloaded to your computer. From there (if you have the right software) you can burn the downloaded video to a CD or DVD, or show it directly from your computer using a projector or by viewing it on your computer screen.
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage pastor Don Marson reported that after the website training by Robert Meade and Pam Morgan at the Orlando conference, and with some additional help from Bret Miller, Grace and Truth Community Church launched its new website (http://gtccanchorage.gcichurches.org) on September 13. By the end of October they had received more than 900 hits.
Prayer Request
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.
In September New Hope Christian Fellowship in Eagle Rock, CA honored Ron and Norva Kelly on their 50th wedding anniversary with roses and a cake. The Kellys had been away on a trip during their actual anniversary – August 28. Ron is an elder at New Hope and also coordinates the weekly church service we hold at Fair Oaks By Regency Park Retirement Center in Pasadena.
Ron also serves on the denomination’s Advisory Council of Elders and on the Board of Directors of Grace Communion Seminary.
European Ministerial Conference in UK
Pastors, elders, and pastoral teams from Europe and predominantly the UK gathered for the weekend at Whipsnade Zoo near Luton Airport. Speakers included Dr. Alan Torrance from St. Andrews, Dr. Joseph Tkach and Dr. Michael Feazell. There were just over 100 in attendance and we concluded with a communion service led by James Henderson.
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Update from Africa
Kalegule Kaoma writes:Pastors Paul Mvita and Benoit Mpinda Ndayi of our church in Kinshasa, Congo, visited Katanga Province July 23 – August 4. They arrived in Lubumbashi on Friday July 23, where they encouraged and spiritually strengthened the members on Saturday and Sunday. They also did baptismal counselling, which resulted in three baptisms on Monday. On July 27, they travelled to Kawama, a township outside Lubumbashi. There, eight people were baptized. The following day, they were on the bus for five hours to Kolwezi, a copper mining town in Katanga Province. Four baptisms were conducted in Kolwezi, bringing the total to 15 baptisms. The report’s conclusion ended with these words: “We have not visited our congregations in Katanga since 2003. Our members, young and old were very happy to see us. Some members who left our denomination have come back to our fellowship. We are happy and thankful to God for what He is doing in our church.” This Ecclesiastical Council (EC) visit to Katanga Province was made possible by generous donations and support from members in GCI Canada congregations.
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Update from Canada
Gary Moore writes, I had an enjoyable trip to Quebec this past weekend. Roger and Sylvie Labelle picked me up at my brother’s home on Saturday morning, and we drove to Quebec City. I was able to show pictures and a DVD updating the congregation there about our international missions work, and followed up with a sermon looking at Romans 5:1-11 and the implications of our salvation by faith. The key concepts of Trinitarian theology emerge easily from the text, and I hope the members found it as edifying to hear as I did to prepare it. We enjoyed a potluck lunch following services.
Sunday morning we drove to Trois Rivieres (Three Rivers), where we met with the congregation there. We did the same presentations, and then had a wonderful lunch with the members. Bison Stew was the centre piece of the meal, and it was absolutely wonderful. Ah, but our French members can cook!
Both congregations were very warm and welcoming – it was a pleasure to visit both of them. Below are two pictures, one of the Quebec City church, and the second of Charles Meyer (left) and Denis Cayer (right). Charles has been serving as an elder in our Quebec churches for many years, and has a tremendous love and loyalty to Jesus Christ and his people. Denis serves as an elder in the Trois Rivieres church, helping out as well in Quebec City, and does so with great joy and enthusiasm. We much appreciate these men, who with the great support of their wives Irene Meyer and Therese Cayer, provide service to these churches, under Roger’s able leadership.
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SEP Rockies
SEP Rockies camp director Sarah Miles writes, SEP Rockies, held this summer (July 25 thru August 1) near Denver, CO was pure joy. We had 63 campers and 52 staffers, beautiful weather and one of the most transformational camp sessions we’ve ever experienced. Here are some highlights:
Outreach. 40 baby blankets designed, built and signed by the campers were donated to our Crossing Borders mission camp to give to new mothers in Mexico.
Solo Time. We introduced new ways to help campers participate in private devotional time. Each camper dorm was given a “solo time bucket” with devotional books, scripture cards, and recordings of worship music and teen Bible studies. These resources gave campers creative ways to seek God’s voice in their lives.
Guys\Girls Day: We had a day devoted to gender-separated activities. The guys had a traditional 1960s backyard cookout, with male staffers leading discussion sessions that continued far into the night. The Spirit broke down walls, softened hearts and convicted attitudes. The girls had a time of worship, then dressed up and entered into a discussion of the concept of true beauty and how it has been distorted. This was followed by a candlelight hors d’oeuvres reception ending with a rose ceremony (kind of like you’d see on the Bachelor…but everyone got a rose). With the presentation of a rose came a definition of each girl’s personality…Kayla the beautiful, Holly the Compassionate…each girl got a description of what the staff observed in the personality God has given her to bless the world.
Worship Night: It started with upbeat music and then became more introspective and mellow. There were a couple of skits, and one of the pastors led a prayer of acceptance, awareness and invitation for the Spirit’s presence and activity in the campers’ and staffers’ hearts. It was a powerful moment. What a joy it was to see hearts melt and pulse with joy as they sensed the very reason they were created by a loving God.
Chapel: Male and female chapel presenters took the campers through big chunks of Scripture to help them understand more about the overall message of the Bible and how that speaks to their everyday lives. Chapel was a highpoint!
International staff: We were privileged to have with us this year Tim Maguire, who directs the GCI camp in South Africa. Tim shared what he is doing to develop older campers to become staff members. As a result 27 of our campers signed up to receive information about becoming a camp staffer.
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Prayer Requests and Updates
Update for Lorenzo Arroyo
After two months on hormone therapy and right before radiation, my PSA levels have gone down from 38 to 1.9. As a result, my radiation doctor says the cancer cells are “asleep” and therefore making the radiation treatment that much more effective. My lymph nodes did not shrink as a result of the hormone therapy, which leads her to believe that the cancer has not spread. Previously my urologist told me that the suspect lymph nodes should shrivel up as a result of the hormone injections if they are cancerous. He had wanted to surgically remove them, but it now seems that that won’t be necessary. Thank God for the Spirit’s guidance. I am encouraged by the good news, although I still have a long way to go.
Cards may be sent to: 4035 Mount Day Ct. Antioch, CA 94531
Update for our church in Benin AP. Residents board canoes in flooded streets in Catonou.
Hundreds of thousands of people are being affected by the worst flood in Benin since 1963. Over 100,000 are homeless, and health officials are concerned that epidemics such as cholera may break out. Our Benin ministry leader, Arthur Adjibodou, wrote:
“Thank you much for your great concern and your prayers for us at this time of hardships. What are the causes of the flooding? Benin has two rainy seasons. The longer one lasts from March to June. The shorter season lasts from August to October. But the weather changed this year. The rain has not stopped since March, until now. The rain made our largest river to rise in level and overflow. Thus 55 out of 70 administrative areas are flooded, causing over 700,000 victims. 72 people have died so far. Some villages have disappeared. No more crops, no more tarred roads. Even in Cotonou [industrial and commercial city of Benin], people are using canoes because roads are flooded. A little boy went to the traditional toilet [pit latrine] and the toilet collapsed and he died. Fortunately our members are not affected. The main problem is that food is so difficult to find, and food items are very expensive. Prices have gone up three and even four times more than usual. Government assistance is directed only towards the direct victims, but no one is doing anything about the people who suffer indirectly because of food shortages. We thank God for his protection and his love. Greetings to our sisters and brothers.”
Santiago Lange writes:
Alfred Hellemann, a long-time German elder currently attending the Hannover congregation, suffered a heart attack on Tuesday. Fortunately, his heart tissue suffered no permanent damage. He is still in the hospital, and improving steadily. I am sure that Alfred, his wife Margarete and the rest of the family would much appreciate your prayers.
Cards may be sent to: Lendorfstr. 10 Wennigsen D 30974 GERMANY
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.
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Thanks from James and Shirley Henderson
