Year: 2015

This report is from Jeff McSwain, national coordinator of the GCI-USA Intern Program.

We held our second annual intern orientation at The Reality Center (home of Reality Ministries) in Durham, North Carolina on August 17-21. Our prayer before and during the event was Come Holy Spirit! He’s always there, of course, but “showed up and showed out” as we like to say! It was a rich time—my favorite part was watching the three first-year interns interact with the “newbies.” As the number of interns grows, this interactive culture within the program will only be more powerful. Having seasoned ministry veterans on hand for teaching and support provided its own critical element to the mix.

We welcomed nine new interns into the fold this year from all corners of the country: Southern California, Sacramento, Portland, Boston, Princeton, and Durham. Most of them are preparing to start classes at Grace Communion Seminary, although we are admitting three interns this year who are students elsewhere: two at Duke Divinity School and one at Princeton Theological Seminary (these three were recommended to us by GCI pastors). The Lord is answering our prayers to raise up young leaders for his budding work in and through GCI! I am so thankful! Pictured above and below is the group at this year’s orientation. Also below are quotations from a few of the interns. What they say provides a good sense of what happened at the intern orientation.

They Said It!

First Year Intern: “The time to fellowship with the other interns was incredible. I loved learning about where everyone came from and where God is bringing them. One of my favorite things was simply playing games with everyone during breaks and at night. It is so life-giving to me to share life with others in such simple ways. That face to face time with the other interns was important for me in building a foundation for us to encourage each other as a team of interns, especially since we are all from a different corner of the US. Having the intern pastors participate in the conference was also a great blessing. It is encouraging to see leaders in GCI investing in my generation of the church.”

First Year Intern: “My favorite part from our time together was the people and the fellowship. Gathering a group together of young and more experienced people to work through Trinitarian theology and thought in a ministerial context was a powerful experience.”

Second Year Intern: “I am really blessed by the racial and gender diversity.”

GCI Pastor: “The greatest blessing was the diversity of folks present. God is surely a God of variety! Seeing so many young adults interested in ministry inspired this old man!”

First Year Intern: “I felt a sense of family, camaraderie, and common purpose among the group. The food was great! I’m SO grateful to GCI for treating us to such great meals. It was nice not having to think about what or where we were going to eat.”

Second Year Intern: “Music is such an integral part of our lives and so having the time set aside each morning to convene together and experience communion through music was precious to me.”

First Year Intern: “Worshiping together was, as always, a great blessing to me. The morning devotionals were uplifting and encouraging. Also, being able to discuss difficult issues, like ethics and policy, was very helpful. Hearing the gospel and talking about our identity in Christ was refreshing and uplifting.”

This update is from Rod Matthews, GCI’s mission director in Southern Asia, New Zealand and the Pacific.

In recent weeks, many areas of Asia have experienced disastrous flooding as a result of an intense low pressure weather system that brought huge volumes of rain in a short time. The rugged, underdeveloped Chin Hills area of Myanmar was severely affected. GCI has a congregation there and it’s home for a number of our ministry partners. Tluang Kung, whom we helped gain his seminary education and who later translated our Discipleship Course into Burmese, wrote this:

Thank you for your concern for us. We are safe here in Yangon but my relatives in Tahan, Kalay and Chin Hills are the worst victims of this disaster. It is the worst within 64 years of Myanmar history. More than 600,000 acres of rice fields have been destroyed, many bridges taken away and hundreds of houses, especially in Chin Hills, collapsed by landslides. With the main road cut, transportation is possible only by helicopter in the Chin Hills. Food security is the highest level of risk—one bag of rice in Chin Hills which usually cost as little as 25,000 Kyat now costs 120,000 Kyat [approximately $100].

Tluang Kung said that even that price for a bag of rice is continuing to rise, and he and his family are concerned that the same will happen to prices in the capital, Yangon, where he lives, even though it wasn’t flooded to the same extent as in the northern and western states. He sent these photographs of the situation in the worst-hit parts of Myanmar:

Good news in the midst of disaster

In the midst of this natural disaster that is affecting millions of people, there is some good news. God is using our fellowship to touch the lives of an increasing number of people through the decision by a network of congregations headed by Chan Thleng to become part of GCI (click here to read my previous update on this development). Just recently, Chan Thleng responded to a message from our Southeast Asian Coordinator, Wong Mein Kong, asking how he had fared during the floods, and added more encouraging news about the value, impact and development of using our material in the churches who have joined us. Here are excerpts from what Chan Thleng wrote:

Flooding does not make any distinction between the rich and poor in Myanmar. People run to house-tops or other places of safety. The poor are badly hit as their mud houses collapse in rain and the mud is carried away by flood water. The villages and fields in the catchment area are all submerged under water in Hmawbi Township. Relief parties, voluntary institutions, and governments come to help the flood-stricken people. Rice and other things are provided to them in various ways. Our church also is arranging supplies for them such as rice, clothes, and other things in the most seriously affected area to assist further—especially in Yangon, Matupi and Rakhine state. In Matupi the house of one of our leaders was completely under water.

In Rakhine State, our church planter has been serving since 2013. We are sorry because we can’t contact him. In many Rakhine townships and areas people are still in relief camps and unable to return home according to the report. We all have concern for him and his family.

Our church has developed a close working relationship with one village using GCI material. We hope to wins soul if God helps us. Three families (Karen people) want to join to us. We pray for them that God would open the hearts that they may be given the eyes to see that their hope is found in Jesus. I plan to send our leader there next year.

We plan to celebrate our new name (GCI) in October in Yangon and Chin State. We all are so excited to belong to a new church as we had been praying for a church.

Some materials I have translated into our Matu Chin language. We pray that we will become a model everywhere in Yangon and Chin State to turn to God from animism to serve the living and true God in the future. I gave much time for translation.

At every home cell-group service, I am sharing GCI material to our church members and sometimes to our ladies prayer group and non-Christians of our neighborhood. One lady said, “GCI has helped me to understand the Bible better and given me my spiritual maturity.” One man said, “GCI helped me and my family to understand the Christian faith.” Our church members said, “All the writers of GCI material will touch the realities of our people if GCI material is available in our own language. One man said, “I like to thank GCI teams for producing such wonderful material. It has become my daily spiritual food.”

Our leaders and members [in the Matupi church] are so excited to be a part of GCI and are looking forward to celebrating a new name (GCI) in October. One leader said, “My members shout joyfully; we shall belong to a new name, never heard before; GCI is a beautiful name; GCI will be our second gate of heaven.” Rev. Tlou Cawng said, “We shall have a new name. We will hold GCI doctrine; we look forward to GCI material being available in our own language. We shall never be the same BP church” [their previous name]. One leader said that two families have already joined our church—they are from an animist background and their children have a great interest in reading the Bible story.

We thank God for his grace and encouragement in being able to help this group with the wonderful biblical material he has given us, and to see their excitement as they grasp the burden-lifting reality of the gospel. While many groups make contact in the hope that we can offer them financial support, this group has focused on what we actually can offer. It is a mutually exhilarating relationship.

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GCI Disaster Relief Fund

From time to time we’re contacted about helping members impacted by major disasters like the recent one in Myanmar. If your congregation has a heart to help members in this way, probably the best way to do so is to send donations to the GCI Disaster Relief Fund. The Fund was established to help provide members in disaster areas with emergency needs such as food, water, medicine, clothing, temporary housing, home and/or church hall repairs, temporary local pastoral salary expenses and other emergency needs. Monies received into the Fund that are not immediately needed will remain in the Fund to be allocated in future disasters.

In previous years, money from this Fund has been used to help members recover from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, storms and flooding in Bangladesh, an earthquake and tsunami in the Solomon Islands, typhoons in the Philippines and an earthquake in Haiti.

On behalf of all those who have been helped by the Fund, I wish to express sincere appreciation to the congregations and individuals who have generously provided financial assistance.

If your congregation would like to donate to the GCI Disaster Relief Fund, your treasurer can set up a one time or monthly donation through the GCI Online system (http://online.gci.org) by logging in and selecting Church Giving under the Treasurer tab.

If your congregation prefers to send a check, make it out to Grace Communion International, indicating on the memo line that the donation is for the GCI Disaster Relief Fund. The donation should be sent to:

GCI Disaster Relief Fund
Grace Communion International
P.O Box 5005
Glendora, California 91740

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Here are reports from two recent GCI youth camps.

YES Camp, Louisiana

This Generations Ministries camp was held in July at Fontainebleau State Park on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, north of New Orleans, Louisiana. The camp had two sessions: one for teens and one for preteens. There were about 60 campers each session, with a staff of 45 led by camp director Brandon Antwine. So many signed up this year that a waiting list was implemented for the first time. This year also saw the expansion of the camp’s Youth Leadership Team, which consists of older teens and young adults preparing for future leadership at camp and back home.

Camp chapels followed the GenMin Epic Story curriculum. Chapel speakers, led by camp chaplain Anthony Rice, showed how God’s love and mercy follow us in everyday life. One of the speakers, GCI regional pastor Ted Johnston, presented Anthony with a plaque and watch celebrating his 25 years of employment with GCI (including many years leading camps).

Various camp activities were provided this year. Teens enjoyed team/character building exercises and a banquet, where they were treated like royalty. According to Brandon, “It was a great feeling to watch God take over and lead us to greatness during camp.” Like the teens, the preteens enjoyed a wide array of sports activities including tubing (on nearby Lake Pontchartrain), arts and crafts, inflatables, basketball, swimming and volleyball. Here is a video from the teen session (http://youtu.be/PPguxNH98dM):

SEP 2015, Bahamas

On July 22, 18 campers and 15 staff members boarded a ship in Nassau, Bahamas and headed for Moores Island to attend SEP 2015. While on board, staff members were on security shifts throughout the night. Upon arrival they were greeted by staffers and campers who had arrived five days earlier, joining with church members there to prepare the camp. Later that afternoon more campers and staff arrived on a speed boat from Freeport.

Camp chapels followed GenMin’s Epic Story curriculum. Activities included basketball, volleyball, fishing, hiking, arts and crafts, novelty Olympics, a beach picnic, and community service where campers and staffers helped in painting the GCI Moores Island church building. The camp then joined in a worship service with the congregation, which is pastored by Robert McKinney. The congregation presented care packages from parents at home to each camper. A talent show topped off the evening. A highlight of the camp was a special dinner at which campers dressed as princesses and princes. The hall was elegantly decorated by one of the staff members. Campers were given certificates of completion for taking part in camp and special recognition was given to each staff member.

This update is from Kalengule Kaoma, one of GCI’s mission developers in Africa.

I visited Uganda in June. There is a lot of excitement there among our youth—a youth camp is scheduled to be held for the first time this coming December. Church leaders, parents, and youth are willing to face the challenges of being camp trail-blazers. The camp needs are many and daunting, but spirits are high to get started. Parents and guardians in two sponsoring GCI congregations have pledged to meet most of the food requirements. We certainly need prayer that God will provide camp workers as we embark on this new youth ministry in Uganda.

On my June visit I also connected with leaders of congregations interested in affiliating with GCI. I met Pastor Patrick Alobo and his leadership team (pictured below) from Morning Star Pentecostal Ministries in Lira. Their burning enthusiasm to be part of GCI ignited a fruitful discussion. They invited me to attend one of their church services, after which we met with most of their leadership team. We reached mutual agreement to start the process of affiliation.

I also connected with Pastor James Arikosi of Christian Revival Center (CRC) in Kumi. Among CRC’s main aims are evangelism and church planting. Shared thoughts on these topics prompted us to proceed with steps toward affiliation. From Kumi I headed for Kisoro. On the way, I visited our GCI Uganda home office in Tororo where I visited with National Director William Othieno and his wife Jessica. Last year, the Ugandan government allowed the change of our name from Worldwide Church of God to Grace Communion International-Uganda. We thank God for this development.

In Kisoro I visited Pastor Deo Ziragora of Ebenezer Pentecostal Church. We discussed working together as partners. Deo likes GCI’s Christ-centered vision and approach to missions. Our next meeting will include board members to discuss further areas in which we can work together to reach people with the gospel of grace. Kisoro’s crisp morning air remained in the mountains behind me as I traveled on to Kyotera. There I joined GCI members for worship and a meal at Mutukula, a border town between Uganda and Tanzania. In the afternoon, we had a leadership workshop titled “What to do when church leaders face challenges.”

Other areas I visited on this trip to Uganda included Jinja, Kalisizo, and Kampala, where I examined church planting opportunities. Like many other countries in Africa, Uganda has many churches, ministries, cell groups, Bible Study groups, lunch hour and evening fellowships, and other innovative ways that people are brought together for Christ. As a result, people are being saved and lives are being transformed. Leaders of these faith communities often search the internet for sound doctrines. When they land on GCI’s website, they often stay there and read extensively. Our website has become a resource site for a good number of church leaders who are inspired to be part of what they are learning. Please pray about this development—God is opening many doors to us in Africa!

GCI’s congregation in Surrey (Vancouver), Canada, recently held an outreach picnic in a park nearby their place of meeting. Members wore t-shirts that said “Ask Me About Jesus!” (see picture below). People in the park were invited to lunch (elder Bruce Edmonds is cooking hot dogs in the picture at right).

For about an hour Debbie Minke and her son Bryce (pictured in the shelter, below) played contemporary worship music, which created a warm and inviting mood. It was an opportunity to reach out in a friendly, non-threatening way, as members walked through the park inviting people to lunch.

According to pastor Craig Minke (at right in the picture below with member Harry Baergen), a GCI gospel pamphlet was made available to passersby and those who stopped for lunch. Entitled Here’s Good News for Everyone!, the pamphlet is available for download in both booklet and tri-fold pamphlet formats at http://www.gci.org/gospel-tract.