Year: 2014

The article below was published in a local newspaper concerning the community outreach of CrossRoads Christian Fellowship, GCI’s church in Tipp City, Ohio (the church building, referred to in the article as “CrossRoads Community Center” is pictured here).

TIPP CITY – Tipp City will be home to a cooperative project designed to feed the hungry, provide resources to the needy, and create vital community connections between all walks of life. ONE Market (which stands for Our Neighbors Empowered) will open on June 21 at the CrossRoads Community Center at the corner of Broadway and Third Streets. The Market will be held every Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The project is coordinated by CrossRoads ConneXions, a non-profit that operates out of the community center. Three primary programs will be housed under the ONE Market umbrella: One Bistro, Flea Market and FREE Market. Although the goal is to provide a hand up for those in need, the market theme and products will be of interest to all, organizers say.

“We invite everyone – regardless of your income level – to take part in this celebration of all that we have as Americans,” said Jim Valekis, Pastor of CrossRoads Christian Fellowship. “This is a chance to help those in need, to connect with others, or to enjoy our flea market goodies, educational opportunities, the amazing One Bistro meals and so much more.”

One Bistro – The One Bistro food truck is an extension of One Bistro Restaurant and “businestry” in Miamisburg, where renowned chef Rob Adamson uses his culinary skills and industry contacts to make a difference in the lives of others. “One Bistro exists to share love, give hope and provide a sense of community,” said Valekis, who quoted Adamson’s vision that the pay-what-you-can restaurant is “dedicated to serving our neighbors, the privileged and underprivileged, by giving a hand up not a hand out.”

“That’s the same spirit we will have at One Market – people coming together to share resources, knowledge, and their love for their fellow man. It will be fun, light-hearted, and just a great opportunity to touch lives and enjoy great food,” Valekis said.

The One Bistro truck provides Chef Rob’s acclaimed gourmet meals at pay-what-you-can prices. “Those with resources can enjoy a great meal and ‘pay it forward,’ if they like,” Valekis said. “Those without resources can eat, and, if they choose, offer some volunteer hours in return.”

The food truck – and the ONE Market concept – is open to residents from any community in the region. For those interested in offering volunteer hours in exchange for meals or products, ONE Market officials will attempt to connect them with volunteer opportunities in their own communities.

FREE Market – FREE stands for Food, Resources, Education and Empowerment. A variety of projects will fall under the FREE Market umbrella, according to Valekis. This includes a freecycling station with gently used household goods that can be traded or acquired at no charge, free classes on healthy cooking, exercise, or other topics and periodic features like a job fair, resume help, veteran’s services and wellness checks. The station will also offer a weekly grocery giveaway. Local grocers such as Dorothy Lane Market, Kroger and others donate their almost-expired but still perfectly edible food items to an area supplier, who makes them available to ONE Market. Additionally, organizers encourage non-profits from across the region to set up here on Saturday and offer help and resources, in addition to seeking volunteer support.

Flea Market – Will be a traditional flea market style set-up. Booths will offer gently used household goods at reasonable prices, as well as hand-crafted items, produce, arts & crafts and more. There will be no charge to set-up but vendors are asked to fill out an application and make a donation to CrossRoads ConneXions.

“We figure folks can come see us once they are finished shopping at the Tipp City Marketplace downtown. By stopping here for a lunch break they can try the gourmet meals served by One Bistro,” Valekis explained, adding that the food truck will be located at the downtown Marketplace in the morning and will move to the ONE Market site in time for its 11:30 opening. “The whole point of this project is to make connections…between individuals, organizations and agencies.”

This update is from Charles Albrecht who serves on the GCI-USA Church Administration and Development team.

In May, about 30 GCI denominational leaders from around the world gathered in Somerset, New Jersey, to meet with GCI president Joseph Tkach at the annual Mission Developers (MD) conference. The group met together on May 13–15, then on May 16-18 attended the U.S. regional conference being held at the same location.

During conference sessions, the MDs received updates on shared international initiatives and discussed how best to equip and coordinate GCI international mission efforts. The group also participated in exercises on transformational leadership and strategy facilitated by Dr. Jim Galvin, an organizational consultant who specializes in strategy, effectiveness and change.

In addition to covering current church and denominational business, the international team spent time focusing on future ministry and leadership needs. With this theme in mind, several international regions decided to send younger, emerging leaders to participate in the meetings with the MDs.

Each international region has its own gifts and challenges. Travel can be difficult and resources often are limited. In spite of these obstacles, it was encouraging to learn about many of the entrepreneurial ways the MDs visit remote and sometimes dangerous areas. Hearing their stories exposed conference participants to the big picture of what God is doing through GCI, and gave them new ideas for ministry. One example was South African MD Tim Maguire’s use of Google Translate to assist in gospel work, providing humanitarian assistance in Mozambique. The South African team won an award from Google for their work (to learn more go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8EZqDHKR6g).

The group also set aside time for ministry and family updates, leading into a time of mutual support and prayer. Located in many countries spread across five continents, the group highly values these times of sharing.

The morning before the start of the U.S. regional conference, some of the MDs took a tour of New York City. It was the first time most had visited the city and, although a little overwhelmed, they were able to such landmarks as Ground Zero, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park and Times Square. A highlight of the visit was to partake of some New York style pizza.

The MD team greatly appreciated being able to attend the U.S. regional conference. They enjoyed hearing what was happening in the U.S. and participating in the various equipping sessions. During the regional conference, a few MDs gave updates about their region.

The annual MD meeting provides an important connecting opportunity for the international areas of GCI. Recognizing the need to purposefully build and maintain contact, the group committed to focus on developing new types of connecting links going forward.

In this update, GCI-Netherlands national leader Frans Danenberg reports on the Pentecost celebration of GCI in the Netherlands.

On Pentecost Sunday, five of GCI’s Dutch congregations combined for an inspiring celebration in the city of Tiel. The 130 people in attendance (pictured below) represented many languages and ethnicities (Congolese, Burundese and Dutch). Several visitors attended as the result of a newspaper ad. Also attending were pastors and members from congregations interested in associating with GCI.

The celebration was a wonderful time of coming together, reflecting the theme, Unity through the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13).

In my sermon (see picture at right) I challenged the audience to tell more people about God’s great love for mankind and bear more fruit of the Holy Spirit.

A highlight of the service was the combined choir (pictured below) singing ¨How Great Thou Art.” After the service we enjoyed a good meal with excellent fellowship.