Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Next month the 2011 GCI regional conference series opens in Ontario, California. This year’s conference, On Mission with God, will focus on how we are included in God’s work of reconciling humanity to himself through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.
I will present the opening message Friday evening at each conference. Mike Feazell and Dan Rogers will also speak during our general sessions as they detail the mission of the church. In addition, Dr. Steve Elliott, President of Church Assistance Ministry and longtime pastoral trainer and coach with the Evangelical Free Church of America, will join us at each conference for a general session and a breakout session. This year’s breakout discussions will follow three primary tracks. Conference attendees will be able to follow entire tracks or pick and choose from the various topics.
Registration is now open for the Southwest and Northwest sites and conference details for California are on our web site: <http://2011ca.gci.org/>. Conference dates are listed in the table below. We look forward to seeing you at the conference in your region.
- Feb 25-27 Ontario, CA
- Mar 25-27 Vancouver, WA
- Apr 8-10 Chicago, IL
- May 20-22 Parsippany, NJ
- Jun 24-26 Lexington, KY
- Jul 22-24 Dallas, TX
- Aug 5-7 Orlando, FL
- Sep 23-25 Denver, CO
We look forward to meeting with our pastors and members across the country during the conferences this year.
GenMin Facebook Group Page
You might have already noticed the new GenMin page on Facebook. The idea behind the site is to bring together GenMin folks – directors, volunteer staff, campers, Journey With the Master attendees, youth ministry leaders in local churches, pastors, grandparents and anyone who would have an interest in GenMin. The site is mainly devoted to video content that teaches, inspires, informs and encourages. If you haven’t already, please join the community by clicking here. Help us get the word out by inviting all those in your local network to join this online community.
Colorado Springs and Arvada, Colorado
Our Colorado Springs and Arvada, Colorado, churches, pastored by Mark McCulley, distributed gift bags to a Colorado Springs women’s shelter, residents of assisted-living homes in Arvada, and to homeless families at a local Arvada facility. The homeless families included refugees from the Karen tribe in Burma. Some of the Karen teens sang Christmas carols to the church members, then joined in singing to the residents as the gift bags were distributed. Both congregations plan to expand their caring partnership with these facilities.
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Stoystown, Pennsylvania
At a special service on December 5, our Stoystown, Pennsylvania, church honored long-time pastor, Forrest Walker, and his wife, Mary Lou, for their more than 40 years of dedicated service to the members of the church.
The worship service was led by Sharon Metz, and Deanna Pfister led the service, during which the church praised God with many of the Walkers’ favorite songs. District Pastor John Dobritch gave the sermon.
After the regular church service, Pastor Dobritch presented Pastor Forrest and Mary Lou with a letter from GCI President Joseph Tkach, which expressed heartfelt appreciation for their years of service. It was a moving experience for the Walkers and the entire congregation.
The church also gave Pastor Walker a beautiful plaque, inscribed with a message of thanks for his faithful, fruitful, and fervent service to the New Hope Community Church. Flowers and a card were presented to Mary Lou along with a card from the children.
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After the presentations all the congregation was asked to come forward and lay hands on Pastor Bruce Metz and his wife Sharon as District Pastor Dobritch asked God’s blessing and direction for them to lead and guide the congregation as Bruce now becomes Senior Pastor of the Stoystown congregation.
West Harlem, New York
Our Manhattan Community Church reached out on December 18 to the community nearby their place of meeting with a Christmas service and lunch. More than 100 guests attended a special Christmas worship service with lots of music and a sermon from senior pastor Allan Barr. The service was followed by a Christmas-themed lunch. Throughout the day, members spent time in the community, distributing toys, serving coffee and doughnuts and offering prayer. They also read Christmas books (in English and Spanish) to neighborhood children. Each guest was given a welcome package (in English and Spanish), with a welcome letter from Pastor Barr and a summary of MCC’s core beliefs and ministries. All were invited to MCC’s worship service on Christmas Day.
The West Harlem community of New York City where MCC meets is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual neighborhood of over 100,000. More than 40 percent of its residents are Hispanic and more than a third are foreign born. Thus, the community provides many opportunities and challenges for outreach and evangelism. MCC has embraced its mission to participate in what Jesus is doing in the community by building genuine relationships. MCC realizes that Jesus is already, in the Spirit, working in the lives of those in the community; they see their calling as helping those people discover the story of God being actively carried out in their own story and together discovering the true heart of the Lord.
MCC has sponsored several community outreaches in the last few years. It has developed a “Gateway Ministry” to welcome and follow up with guests. The objective of Gateway is to help MCC live up to its motto as “A Place Called Home.” These outreaches have featured the distribution of food bags, school supplies and books. Under the leadership of Pastor Barr, MCC is making a conscious effort to make its outreach more relevant to the needs and rhythms of the West Harlem community while boldly proclaiming the gospel. In several collaborative brainstorming sessions, the congregation has taken what has been learned from past efforts and redefined its vision and action plan for community outreach. MCC plans more and varied outreach events in the coming year.
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Prayer Requests and Updates
Dennis Lawrence
Canadian National Director Gary Moore reported: “I had a call from Dennis Lawrence this week, and later talked to Lynn. Things are not as optimistic as we had all hoped, and we all need to rally behind the Lawrences in prayer…” Here is an update from Lynn:
At the beginning there were lots of options to try to help Dennis heal. We are down to only a few. The next few weeks will be critical both to establish whether the last chemo had the effect necessary, as well as to determine what other things are available to use. The doctor warned us that since the current options are so few, it was time to make sure our “affairs are in order.” This moved the situation from annoying and a little frustrating, to scary. I know you are joining together to pray that God will heal Dennis. We ask you to continue this. I will keep you up-to-date as things progress. He is in the Royal Victoria hospital and able to receive phone calls and visits.
Cards may be sent to:
211 De L’ile Blvd
Pincourt, PQ J7V 3R6
CANADA
Gerald Schnarrenberger
Gerald Schnarrenber had knee replacement surgery on Tuesday. In case you haven’t had an update here is what Connie said today. Gerald requested a spinal for anesthesia. It turned out that the anesthesiologist is a pilot so he and Gerald carried on a conversation about flying during the surgery. His lower body was draped so Gerald couldn’t see what they were doing but the occasional sound of electric saw and hammer meeting metal was a bit of a turnoff to say the least. Connie said the surgery was a success and Gerald will be out of the hospital this Friday if all continues as planned.
Cards may be sent to:
Kootenall County Medical Center
2003 Kootenai Health Way
Coeur D Alene, ID 83814-6051
(208) 666-3000
Bernie Schnippert
You might recall from past updates that I had a cancer treatment therapy about three or four weeks ago during which time radiologists attempted to kill one of the larger cancer tumors in my liver with radioactive beads. I am pleased to report that the immediate aftereffects — nausea and even more weakness — were less severe than feared. Furthermore, the procedure was a technical success in that the procedure went as hoped. Now, after nearly a month of recovery, I am happy to report it appears the therapy is working well. Exactly how well it will work is not known, but I have regained my ability to eat (thanks for the prayers regarding the nausea), gained weight, and gained strength. I am not 100 percent back to normal yet — maybe more like 80 percent — and not sure whether I will get all my strength back with only one therapy or whether I must wait for the next one. The next therapy is scheduled for January 31. It is different in that the doctors will kill the tumor, this time in the left liver lobe, with “Drug Eluding Beads,” not radioactive beads. This is for technical reasons, mostly due to the location of the tumor. Side effects will be worse, they say, and I will be hospitalized at least overnight. However, the procedure should kill or greatly weaken the tumor. (I have dozens of tumors, we are dealing only with the largest ones).
In summary, due to some hard work with the doctors and your prayers, I have made significant progress and might be on the road to good day-to-day health (the cancer is not curable, though). I will update everyone after the next therapy. In the meanwhile, I continue to handle some legal matters, and defer others as I need to put my health first. If you need my help but cannot get it, always contact Evelyn Dailey on email or phone. She will help you get the help you need.
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
