2012 – Page 14 – GCI Update

William Mankhomwa

Mankhomwas — William and Chrissy Mankhomwa

William Mankhomwa, a Research and Test Development Officer for the Malawi Africa National Examinations Board (MANEB), serves as co-pastor of the GCI Blantyre, Malawi congregation with Fadrick Nihaka. He also helps serve the four satellite churches within 200 kilometers of Blantyre, Malawi.

William will have been married to his wife Chrissy for 30 years this September. They have two adult children, T. Isaiah and Marah Anne Chrissy.

William grew up in a typical African village, living in huts surrounded by bushes and cornfields. His parents separated when he was five years old and his grandmother, who had a great influence on his faith, raised him. She was a devout Presbyterian who traveled to many congregations bringing instruction to women.

After about two years as a Seventh-day Adventist, William became interested in GCI in 1981 and contacted the office in Kenya. In 1983, he went to England to study. “I was fully integrated into the church under David and Nancy Silcox, participating in all church activities… and visiting with members’ families. I was baptized on April 8, 1984 by Mr. Silcox.”

In 1996, William was ordained an elder and started assisting pastor Gardner Kunje in Malawi. The church needed more personnel in ministry and William was asked to help where needed. He loves preaching and leading worship, and “seeing people accept Jesus Christ and committing their lives to him.” It’s not past William to spend hours answering questions and talking with someone who wants to know about Jesus.

Because of his love for his country and his Lord, William has used his education to help others. “I have translated some of the GCI literature into the local language and distributed it to the church.” William loves being a pastor and loves preparing messages. His pastoral passion is “to help people know who they really are in Christ… watching the Holy Spirit bring new revelation to a person and watch that person grow in Christ.”

William lists two events as highlights in his ministry. One was when a fellow pastor who was struggling with understanding the changes came back from a conference in Zimbabwe a new man. “He said it was as if a mask had been pulled off his face.” William still gets a thrill recalling that transformation. His second highlight was a church service in January 2012 when visitor Rick Shallenberger preached in Malawi. “The service was recorded by our national television, then aired on subsequent weeks. It was inspiring to receive complimentary remarks from relatives and friends across the country who watched the service and said how much they enjoyed it.”

When asked what he likes most about GCI, William said, “The brotherly love we have; it feels real and unfeigned. We are truly connected and truly one.” He loves GCI’s sound doctrine and focus on Christian living. “I’m so glad we have learnt the humility and simplicity that is in Christ.” William loves to learn and loves to spend time with God. “Every moment of my life I seem to feel there is someone beside me. He said he would never leave us nor forsake us.”

Jonathan Rakestraw awarded GCS diploma

Rakestraw certificate — Left to right: Jonathan Rakestraw, Dr. Tkach and Dr. Duke

At the recent Regional Conference in Orlando, Florida, Jonathan Rakestraw, who pastors GCI’s congregation in Tallassee, Florida, was awarded the Advanced Diploma of Christian Ministry from Grace Communion Seminary. The presentation was made by GCI president Dr. Joseph Tkach and GCS president Dr. Russell Duke.

Healthy hospital visits

People make hospital visits for all sorts of reasons, including duty, friendship, repayment of favors. But a call that truly ministers the life and love of Jesus to the patient attends to the patient’s soul. For some helpful tips concerning hospital visitation, see the recent Leadership Journal article titled, “7 Essentials of a Healthy Hospital Visit.” Click here to read it.

Bonny McQueary

Together with Hugh Steiginga and Sarah Faulkner, Bonny McQueary serves on the pastoral team at Abundant Grace Fellowship, GCI’s congregation in Fort Myers, Florida. Bonny grew up in Ohio. Her parents were hard working and dedicated to children. They kept 13 foster children during Bonny’s childhood and inspired Bonny to take two foster children of her own. She then adopted one of them, her son Jon, who now lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Her daughter and son-in-law, Mindy and Mike Lockard, serve in a GCI congregation in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Bonny joined GCI in 1968 after listening to radio programs with Garner Ted Armstrong talking about evolution. The program was on at 11 PM and Bonny would often break out laughing and wake up her husband. “I’m a sucker for a good sense of humor.” Not only does she have a great sense of humor, Bonny also considers herself both a positive person and an extrovert. Those who know her would agree that she has a zeal for life and is always looking forward in hope.

Following her divorce, Bonny moved to Florida for a fresh start. Over the years, she became a leader in the Fort Myers church. She has the distinction of being the second woman to be ordained within GCI as an elder. “This means as #2 I have to try harder!” Bonny says. “The changes in the church gave me the opportunity.”

Bonny, who loves serving as a pastor, said, “I really enjoy our church mission of feeding the homeless. We feed them twice a week, on Sundays after services and on Wednesday for lunch.” She loves the challenge of helping produce good, quality and healthy meals without the use of an on-site kitchen. One of the highlights of the mission is how many people Bonny gets to meet and serve.

One person she met led to an experience that ranks as one of her most memorable as a pastor. Receiving a call from a stranded young man, Bonny and her daughter Mindy, who was visiting at the time, went to see this young man to find out how they could help. “The young man had AIDS and was dying. He came to Fort Myers hoping to reconcile with his family in the area.” Unfortunately, the man’s family rejected him – wouldn’t even see him. The Fort Myers congregation arranged for the young man’s bus trip home. When all was arranged, Bonny gave him a hug. “The fact that I hugged him overwhelmed him and brought tears to his eyes… he wasn’t used to being treated with love.”

Two of Bonny’s passion are intercessory prayer and taking care of the elderly. She loves her quiet time with God where she visualizes being in a safe place with Christ. It is in this safe place that she spends time praying for others and spending some quiet time with God.

When asked if one person influenced her above others in a positive way, Bonny said, “Mother Teresa. I would love to have a tenth of her unselfishness, dedication and patience.” From her life of service, it seems that Bonny’s wish has come true.

Surgay Kalamaha

This prayer request is from district pastor Doug Johannsen concerning Surgay Kalahama, GCI pastor in Minot, North Dakota.

Surgay’s wife Jan called to report that Surgay recently contracted strep throat. A few days ago it grew worse and his kidneys and liver failed. He is now in intensive care at Minot’s Trinity Hospital. His blood pressure is quite low, his liver enzymes high and he is on dialysis. The doctors feel he is doing okay, but can’t seem to clear the infection.

Cards may be sent to:

Jan Kalamaha

26101 55th Street SE

Max, ND 58759-9542

Jason Richards

We have had several prayer requests concerning Jason Richards (click here for the last one). We are pleased to report that he is doing fairly well as he continues to wait for a heart transplant. For an inspiring newspaper article about Jason, click here.

Sikh community

During the closing worship service at the recent Orlando, Florida GCI Regional Conference, members spent time together in a “concert of prayer.” As part of that concert, intercessory prayer was offered on behalf of the Sikh community in Oak Creek, Wisconsin where several were murdered recently during one of their worship services.

This prayer was in response to a request that had come from the Sikh-American Community. They asked for prayer for the injured, for the grieving families, and for time to reflect in memory of the victims. The request also noted that at the end of every Sikh worship service, the congregation makes a request of the Divine in a prayer called ardas, which says in part, “May everyone in the world be blessed and may good come to all.” The goal of the prayer request was that churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, gurdwaras and community centers across America might together send a message of blessing for all and that together we stand against hate and intolerance and as part of a common humanity.

For an article about this prayer request, click here.

Bahamas mission trip

This report is excerpted from an article in the August 13 edition of The Freeport News. It tells the story of a mission trip to the Bahamas by several GCI members from the U.S. The trip was organized by Grace Missions, of GCI Generations Ministries.

Grace Missions missionaries — Young missionaries

A group of eight adult and eight teen missionaries traveled from Ohio and West Virginia in partnership with Grace Communion International. The partnership began a few months ago between Pastor Calvin Parker and Pastor Dave [David Botha] out of the United States. Parker also joined up with Victoria Wright, Principal of Hugh Campbell Primary School so that the school can be used as the venue for the Vacation Bible School (VBS).

Grace Missions Terry McDonald with children — Bahamian children with Grace Missions leader Terry McDonald

Every day, 52 children crowded the hallways and classrooms at the school participating in a number of activities such as basketball, singing, drama, craft and storytelling. Then after the free lunch that is provided is served, the kids experienced a special activity known as “soaking.” Parker described soaking as a quiet time set aside for the children to meditate, concentrate and soak in the word of God. “We really want them to learn and be taught about the saving grace of God,” he said.

Robert O’Quinn from the West Virginia Senior Leadership team of Grace Community Church is one of the adult missionaries who said this experience has touched his heart and soul. “This is my first missionary trip and it’s amazing to see God moving through the kids. The joy in them is unbelievable, they jump up and give you a hug and they play, dance and sing with you so freely,” he said. O’Quinn said that each day is exciting for him, as well as the others because its radically different. “We have a team of young and old missionaries and this trip has turned into a multi-generational mission that will kind of unite us all and touch people from a different nation,” he added.

Seventeen-year-old, Brandon Bapst is preparing to enter his senior year come September but said after hearing and praying about the trip, he felt coming on it was the right thing to do. “It’s been an amazing experience, I feel like I’ve been called by God to come here and I’ve met such wonderful kids. It’s uplifting to see that they’re always so ready and willing to learn and everybody here is so nice.”

Michelle Greider, a sixteen-year-old missionary, said that she is enjoying her time here in The Bahamas very much and although at first she was scared, she now considers this to be a second home. “It’s awesome, this is my first mission trip but after my experience it certainly won’t be my last. The little kids are so sweet and I love them,” she added.

All of the missionaries, both young and old agreed with O’Quinn when he said, “It’s very encouraging to see the kindness and hospitality of the locals. They went out of their way to make us feel at home, comfortable and happy.” They would like to possibly visit another island, but if not, they hope to come back to do mission work with other local churches in the community.

Africa update

This update is from Kalengule Kaoma, GCI’s missions director for central Africa.

LIBERIA

I arrived in Monrovia on June 4. My visit had two purposes: to meet with Pastor Robert Browne III about a GCI presence in Liberia and to meet several church leaders who have written to GCI to express interest in being part of our denomination.

I am pleased to report that Pastor Browne, who we met first in May, 2011, is still enthusiastic about working with GCI. In fact, he organized a conference attended by 80 local leaders on June 8-10. I then met with four leaders from other denominations that have asked to become a part of GCI. One of these leaders, Pastor Leo Boimah Brosius, expressed interest in becoming a GCI missionary in Liberia, Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire. He has left the church he planted, leaving it under the care of his brother. He and I agreed to wait on God for further direction.

RWANDA

Kimani Ndungu, Area Pastor for East Africa, met me in Nairobi on June 12. From there we travelled to Kigali, Rwanda. Last year, I started cultivating new ground for a GCI presence in Rwanda. On this trip, I wanted to see what the Holy Spirit had been doing since I last visited. A group of pastors represented by Benjamin Sibo-Muzi of Calvary African Ministries International, are interested in having GCI facilitate a pastors’ reconciliation conference. These leaders do not want to see a repeat of the genocide of 1994.

Kimani and I had further discussions with Pastor Eugene Munyampama who runs a youth skills training center in Rwanda’s second largest city. After the meeting, he felt more confident to do what the Holy Spirit will lead him to do. He knows there is a need for GCI to be planted in the city where he lives. Both Kimani and I are looking forward to a fruitful harvest of God’s work in Rwanda through GCI.

BURUNDI

We traveled to Burundi on June 15. Prior to this visit, I had been in touch with Pastor Eugene Sibomana by email. For several months, Pastor Sibomana urged me to visit because he considers himself and his church of seven congregations to be a part of GCI. I thank God for his provision that when funds where available, Kimani and I were able to travel and meet Eugene Sibomana and his leadership team.

Pastor Eric-Armie Niyindengera (General Secretary) and Pastor Sibomana and his family met us at Bujumbura International Airport. As overseer of International Revival Church of Life (IRCL), Pastor Sibomana planned that we travel on June 16 to Cibitoke where IRCL was first planted. In the board – church council meeting, we were given reasons for affiliation. The team is eager to be part of GCI. As soon as some funds are available, we plan to make another trip there to consolidate our relationship.

The following day, 550 representatives from most of the congregations joined us for a worship service at the church in Cibitoke. From there, we drove back to Bujumbura to attend a service with members of two city congregations with about 200 in attendance.

MALAWI

Smithson, Maguire, Nihaka at worship — Joining in worship (L to R): Leigh Smithson, Tim Maguire and Fadrick Nihaka

Leigh Smithson, from the Red Deer, Alberta, Canada church, traveled to South Africa, where he met Tim Maguire, National Director of GCI, South Africa. Tim and Leigh traveled together to Mozambique. After visiting churches there, they traveled to Malawi where they found me waiting in Blantyre. We shared time talking to GCI Malawi church leaders during the conference on July 14-15. We also visited rural churches in Mombezi, Naminjale, Mwanza, Kabanga and Dowa where our displaced members from the Democratic Republic of Congo live. We encouraged our brethren with the hope of the gospel.

A vision for church planting

Church planting is a key part of GCI’s vision of all kinds of churches, for all kinds of people, in all kinds of places. Accordingly, GCI Church Administration and Development (CAD) helps individuals, congregations and district networks in starting new GCI churches in the United States. Our mission developers provide assistance elsewhere.

A recent Outreach Magazine article discusses why church planting is so important for the health of the church (download it by clicking here). For more information about church planting, see the GCI Church Multiplication Ministries (CMM) website.

Year: 2012