It’s about relationships

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Tammy and I recently traveled to Staten Island, New York to share in an anniversary celebration at Hands for Christ Community Church—one of our most interesting and unusual congregations. One year ago, Pastor Mary Bacheller had a dream come true when Hands for Christ held their inaugural worship service. Weekly attendance has grown to around 40. About 120 attended the first anniversary worship service—they had invited members from other New York City area churches.

Hands for Christ Community Church is an apt name, because the congregation serves the deaf and hearing-impaired community. They conduct their worship services entirely in American Sign Language (ASL). All their hymns and music are signed—watching their choir signing in ASL was quite an experience (see the picture at left). In a reversal of what is usual, those of us who can hear were the ones who needed an interpreter.

Tammy and I joined with Pastor Mary in baptizing three members at Mary’s home and then blessing them in the anniversary service (see the picture at right). We also helped commission three new ministry leaders. The whole anniversary celebration was inspiring. I thank Pastor Mary and the other Hands for Christ leaders for their faith, determination and hard work in shepherding this pioneering church plant to this point in its journey with Christ.

On the subject of anniversaries, this month marks the 18th year of my serving as President of our church fellowship. I can honestly say that “time flies when you’re having fun” (despite some anxious moments). There is no greater joy than seeing people grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior.

GCI is active in about 100 countries and territories, with about 55,000 members gathered in about 900 congregations. I say “about” because it is difficult to get precise numbers since we have added several thousand new members in Asia and Africa in the last few years. Because we are a small denomination, it is my blessing to be able to know the majority of our ordained ministry, not only in name but also in person. This is true for many of our members as well, although I must confess that since crossing the 60-year age threshold, I cannot always recall names as I used to. However, my recall of God’s commission to our church fellowship has not been forgotten in any way. Collectively, our memory is strong in the calling God has given to all of us to be in his ministry of all believers.

Traveling to annual conferences around the world, I am reminded that we are alive in Christ. It is a recurring and delightful thought that Christ lives in us all through the multiple relationships we have with one another. We are bound together in an intricate network of relationships that fascinates me whenever I think about it.

Other Christian leaders often tell me how impressed they are with the relational nature of our fellowship. We probably underestimate how unusual and important this is. According to a recent article in Christianity Today, 19.8 percent of North American non-Christians do not know any Christians (see the graph below) and 60 percent have no relationships with any. According to LifeWay president Thom Rainer, in his book, The Unchurched Next Door, though most people come to church because of a personal invitation, seven out of ten unchurched people have never been invited to attend church, despite the fact that 82 percent of unchurched people are at least somewhat likely to attend when invited.

CT image — The full article is available online at www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/august-web-only/non-christians-who-dont-know-christians.html

LifeWay Research surveyed over 15,000 adults and found that about two-thirds are willing to receive information about a local church from a family member, and over half are willing if the information comes from a friend or neighbor. The survey also showed that 4 percent of formerly churched adults are actively looking for a church to attend regularly (other than their previous church) and 6 percent would prefer to resume attending regularly in the same church they had attended. The survey also indicated that over 60 percent are not actively looking for a church but are open to the idea of attending regularly again. It showed that many would respond to an invitation to attend church when given by a friend or acquaintance (41 percent), by their children (25 percent) or by an adult family member (25 percent). The issue of affinity surfaced here: 35 percent indicated that they would be inspired to attend “if I knew there were people like me there.” Unfortunately, the study also revealed that only 2 percent of church members have invited someone to church in the past year.

Statistics like these remind me of Jesus’ words in Matthew 9:37: “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” I can only echo the words of Lee Strobel, author of The Case for Christ, “Seven out of 10 unchurched people would visit a church if a friend invited them. What are we waiting for?”

Your brother in Christ’s service,

Joseph Tkach

Harry Kall

Harry Kall, who pastors GCI’s church in Cicero, Illinois, grew up in the Chicago area. “It was interesting for a Greek boy, born of immigrant parents, to grow up in a predominately Italian and Mexican neighborhood. As I reflect on what brought me to where I am today, I can only say that it was God’s mercies.”

Harry and his wife Ruth have been married for 30 years. “My loving wife has been a fabulous mentor to me. She is a member of my ‘jury of peers.’ She has great vision, compassion and patience.” Harry and Ruth’s daughter Marissa (25) is an orchestra teacher. “We still attend her performances; pretty awesome!”

Harry became part of GCI on June 22, 2003. “Our entire church was added to GCI. Prior to that, I was ordained by and affiliated with the North American Conference of the Evangelical Church of God. The president of that conference was Lorenzo Arroyo (now a GCI regional pastor). All of us in the conference had been members of the Church of God (Seventh Day), headquartered in Denver. In 1996, 32+ churches left that Sabbath-keeping group to form the independent conference led by Lorenzo. Later that year, Lorenzo met with GCI president Joseph Tkach and seven years after that many of our congregations became part of GCI.”

“The short version is that theological reasons led to these decisions,” Harry shares. “Interestingly, GCI was moving on a parallel track; away from Sabbath-keeping and toward the gospel of grace.” Harry adds: “Leaving wasn’t an easy or quick decision. I don’t believe anyone should leave a church or conference unless it is for theological reasons and that is what we did.”

When they joined GCI, Harry was ordained a GCI pastor. He loves being a pastor. “Weekly we gather with other believers who place their trust in us; and, we have the privilege of talking to them about what God is doing in our lives and that of his church. Amazing isn’t it?”

Becoming part of GCI proved to be a great blessing to Harry and the others who joined GCI with him. “Until you have had the feelings of isolation and being a ‘lone wolf’ you cannot imagine the joy I feel being part of GCI and its support system—from its extensive website to its regional conferences and associated activities that occur regionally and nationally. Did I mention our theology?”

Harry, who said the one thing people may or may not know about him is that he gets moody when he’s hungry, and one of his big passions is music. “I’ve never been a person driven by a single passion, but I must say that I love all sorts of music: jazz, blues, concert, bluegrass and most operas. Oh yes, you will also find me gardening in my free time and looking for travel deals.”

When asked about a mentor, Harry shared the following: “There have and continue to be five or six people I trust where I can check out an idea with them. When in doubt, it’s always best to have what I call ‘a jury of your peers.’ Having three to five people who can ‘weigh in’ on a question of interest or concern is a great way of keeping you grounded and puts in check pridefulness or self-righteousness.”

Harry recently retired from being a GCI District Pastor and says the experience was something he will never forget: “I had the awesome and amazing privilege of ordaining elders and deacons. I thank God for allowing me to do that through the years.”

When asked when he feels closest to God, Harry said it is when he is preparing a sermon. “During that time, I am always reminded by him of how much he loves me. When I am in the Word is when I am most reminded that God really, really loves us, that he saved us and that he has given us an everlasting relationship with him.”

Baptisms in Colombia

Pastor Hector Barrero reports that his GCI congregation in Bogota, Colombia is rejoicing in the baptism of six members early this month.

GenMin update

Anthony Mullins, who directs GCI Generations Ministries (GenMin), recently reported on progress in 2013:

1,144 campers and 750 staffers participated in a GenMin camp (these numbers do not include CrossWalk and Souled Out, which are yet to be held this year).
38 missionaries on GenMin sponsored mission trips served 460 indigenous children and 307 indigenous adults.
Three camp coaches were appointed to provide skills coaching and mentoring to GenMin camp directors. Mark and Anne Stapleton are coaches in the West and Jeff Broadnax is coach in the East.
Lee Berger was appointed coach of GenMin’s mission directors and mission resource team.
GenMin moved from one annual camp/mission leadership conference to two, now named Converge: one in California and one in Ohio. As a result, there was an 80% increase in attendance and a greater sense of community and passion for Christ’s mission.
85 young emerging leaders participated in five Journey with the Master retreats to help them understand who Jesus is and to participate actively in Jesus’ ongoing ministry.
GenMin launched two “Dream Teams” (one in the East and one in the West), each with five young adult leaders. Their charge is to help imagine GCI’s future with dialogue surrounding key questions:
- How can local churches experience the relational closeness and inspiration that camps are known for?
- To what is God calling your generation?
- How can GCI better meet the needs of your generation?
- Why do you think many college students leave the church and how can we better prepare them to be involved in the body of Christ?

Heartland SEP

One of the GenMin camps this past summer was Heartland SEP in central Illinois. Camp director Todd Woods reported that 83 staffers served 75 regular campers and 15 junior campers. Of particular note is that many of the camp’s older staffers caught GenMin’s vision for preparing the next generation of servant-leaders. There were three new chapel message preachers and campers and staffers were helped to grow in ministry ability through classes in worship, drama and missions. Other camp activities included sports, paintball, pottery, archery and cake decorating. Three baptisms capped off a wonderful week of fun, fellowship and disciple-making.

Reaching out

Sam Butler pastors GCI congregations in Grand Rapids and Ravenna, Michigan and serves as one of our district pastors. Until recently, Sam’s Grand Rapids church met in the Roosevelt Park community where for several years they ran a food pantry that served dozens and dozens of disadvantaged families. Though many were blessed by this outreach and Sam and the congregation became well known in the community, their efforts did not lead to the hoped-for multiplication of new disciples of Jesus.

This past spring, Sam began looking for a new focus community for the congregation. He discovered the nearby town of Wyoming with its community-based program called One Wyoming. The program brings together church leaders, school officials and local government leaders to help end poverty in the community, to plant new churches and to mentor school-age kids. As Sam became acquainted with its leaders, an opportunity arose for GCI to offer the GenMin Journey with the Master (JWM) emerging leader training program to community teens. Sam asked Greg Williams to facilitate that training and three sequential weekend training events were arranged.

Sam has now been asked to help One Wyoming train mentors of school children. Also, Sam’s congregation has relocated to Wyoming, meeting at an elementary school at the invitation of the school’s principal. There is much work to be done, but forward movement is occurring and Sam is working closely with his church leaders as they seek to discern what their next steps should be. They would appreciate your prayers as they enter a new season of reaching out to the community to join with Jesus in his disciplemaking ministry.

Colorado floods

GCI Denver, Colorado area pastors report that no GCI members were harmed in the recent terrible flooding in Eastern Colorado, though some were threatened by rising water.

At least four rivers in the area flooded due to torrential rain storms. As a result, six, or perhaps more people lost their lives (some still are missing), about 100 miles of roadway (including highways) will need to be rebuilt; about 30 bridges must be replaced and another 40 to 50 will need major repairs. Thousands of homes were destroyed. Please pray for those affected and for those helping in the recovery.

Fighting in the Philippines

This prayer update is from GCI Philippines director Eugene Guzon.

Prayer is requested concerning the situation in Zamboanga City, on the Southwest tip of the Philippine island of Mindanao, about a one and a half hour flight south of Manila. There is an ongoing armed struggle there between government forces and a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). It has resulted in about 100 casualties including 12 government soldiers, 3 policemen and about 86 MNLF rebels. Many, including civilians, were wounded. As of this report, the conflict continues.

So far, GCI members living in the area are safe, although our pastor Ted Natividad and his family had to relocate. Another church leader lives four kilometers from the fighting. They told me that once the situation stabilizes, they plan to move to a safer place—they can hear sounds of mortar and machine-gun fire. Other members in the area are in the same predicament. About 100,000 people have moved to relocation centers because MNLF rebels have burned about 500 homes in the area.

Sadly, there are other areas in the world where this sort of violence is common. Mother Teresa said that the world does not have peace “because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” We know that it is God who brings real, lasting peace. As it says in Psalm 46:9-10, [God] makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.'”

We request prayer for the people of Zamboanga City. Please pray for a rapid end to the conflict and that we as a church are able to assist those needing help.