Author: Elizabeth Mullins

Join us in honoring David Beckner, who retired in April after 15 years as a part-time GCI employee. David served as the pastor of GC Snellville, GA.

A retirement celebration will be held Saturday, July 30 at Living Hope Christian Fellowship in Atlanta, GA. If you would like to attend, please email Phil Doele for more information. phil.doele@gci.org.

Cards may be sent to:
David & Gayle Beckner
15 Magnolia Walk
Covington, GA 30016-1153

Congratulations, David and Gayle! We are very grateful to you both for your many years of faithful service.

We wanted you to hear from David, in his own words.

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I am married to the greatest female on earth, Gayle Grimes Beckner. We were married on April 1, 1984—thirty-eight years of a wonderful relationship.

I have been a member of GCI since 1973, baptized in Kingsport, TN, the same year. I was always involved in the activities of the church—everything from Spokesman Club, to ushering, to teaching children’s classes. The thought of ever doing more was never a serious consideration for me until I was ordained a deacon by Earl Williams in 1991.

I became an elder in 1999 and began giving sermons at that time. Public speaking had never been easy for me, but the years in Spokesman Club certainly helped. This ordination put me closer to becoming a pastor, although the possibility had not taken root. When our current pastor stepped down, I believed the Home Office would find someone to take his place.

In 2005, our pastor Howard Shadoan invited Gayle and me to lunch. You guessed it! He asked me to consider my calling and proposed that he mentor me for the next two years until his retirement. For some reason, I immediately said yes without even telling him to give me time to pray and think about it. Maybe I was more ready than I realized—God’s timing is always perfect.

The thing I enjoyed most about pastoring was preaching directly from God’s word. I would have never imagined this years ago. I also enjoyed interacting with people in small groups.

My main concern was meeting the needs of people in my church. I worried whether I was really fulfilling that role. I lost many a night’s sleep thinking about this. Eventually, I reached a point where I had to acknowledge that I was limiting God’s role in people’s life in my ministry. God deals with people effectively whether we as pastors do or not. We need to do our part, but God will do his work despite of what we as pastors do or think. When a pastor realizes this, a lot can be taken off his back and mind.

I have deeply appreciated and enjoyed my time in GCI and will forever treasure the relationships I have developed over the years.

In Him,
David Beckner

Eula’s proud parents are Esther Carlisle Doele and Phil Doele, the pastor of GC Snellville, Georgia, U.S.

Let us share in the joy of Eula Brigitte Doele’s accomplishment! On Sunday, May 15, 2022, she received her high school diploma from The Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Georgia.

Eula will be attending Yale University this fall. Her intended major is Ethics, Politics, and Economics.

Eula’s older sister, Christianna (guest host of GC Podcast), preceded her at The Westminster Schools. As Eula enters her undergraduate program, we know Christianna will be cheering her on from Georgetown University, where she is studying Foreign Affairs. Prayers would be appreciated for Esther and Phil as they transition to an empty nest. (This is a term used in the U.S. to describe when children move away from home.)

Eula, all who know you have seen your heart for those who experience injustice. May the God of Light guide your steps as you bear the triune image of love to a hurting world. Congratulations!

This month we’re highlighting an article from Equipper. Click the preview below to read the full article by Dishon Mills.

Enjoy and subscribe today!

It is with sadness we announce the death of Steven Lewis Broadnax of Cincinnati, Ohio. Steven died on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, at the age of 67, surrounded by loved ones. He will be greatly missed.

He is the brother of Jeff Broadnax, Regional Director of the Eastern U.S. Jeff shared the following reflection:

My big brother was one of my heroes growing up. We were eleven years apart so everything he did was super cool to me. As we grew into adulthood, I continued to admire him as a man, husband, father, brother and child of God. His smile was infectious and a true love (that could only come from God) was always felt by those he came into contact with.

Cards may be sent to:
Jeff and Karen Broadnax
1211 Deer Path Court
Grove City, OH 43123-8750

We are Grace Communion River Road, formerly Grace Communion Eugene and before that, Living Grace Fellowship. We have gone through many names, but our heart has always remained the same. We have been a people that have endured many moves in our long history—including grange halls, schools, movie theaters, and square dance palaces!

More than twenty years ago, we were fortunate to land in a Methodist church that offered us a chance to heal and realize our purpose both within the congregation and without, but we knew it wasn’t a permanent home. We started our search for a permanent location, and we ended up just jumping from that church to another one that felt even less like the place we wanted to be. But at least we were able to make the change to Sunday at that location.

We finally hired a realtor to help with the search, but she didn’t understand our needs, like parking, appropriate rooms, and accessibility for those who are disabled. We became discouraged and finally gave up the search. There just wasn’t anything out there.

It is very interesting when you give up control of a situation, because it is then that God is ready to step in and take control. He was waiting for us to see what he had in store for us in his time.

Later, my son told us of a church that was for sale in our small community, and we thought it would work for us. But eventually, we realized we would not be able to afford to purchase it. Oddly enough, a member approached me and asked if we would be interested in leasing the church if she and her husband purchased the property. Of course, I said yes! They purchased the property, and we moved in. (Then COVID happened, but even that was a blessing because it allowed us to do some remodeling before we moved in.)

Over the months, it became apparent that some of the plans the owners had for developing the property were not feasible, creating an opportunity for GCI to help them transition from ownership and bless Grace Communion River Road with a permanent home. It seemed that the Holy Spirit was moving puzzle pieces around to make this a blessing for all. The Home Office stepped in, with board approval, and purchased the building for the Eugene Congregation with available funds from our region. Our congregation was told over 70 years ago that one day they would have a building of their own, and now they finally did!

We have a concentration of members in Junction City and the bulk of our members live just to the south, in the north end of Eugene. Therefore, it has been on our radar for quite some time to pursue Junction City as a potential focus neighborhood. So, you can imagine how thrilled we are to have found a church location in our focus neighborhood!

As a new church to the neighborhood, we are trying to be a “learner first” and not coming in with any preconceived ideas of what we think we should be doing. We have a pretty good understanding of our area because we’ve been mapping our neighborhood. We know the urban vibe is starting to grow because younger people are moving in, and it’s a neighborhood full of families. Now, we just need to find where we can be the best fit.

Our challenges going forward are shared with the rest of the world—Covid. Once we have it behind us, we can make the push we’re wanting to make to engage our neighborhood more fully. And you know what? COVID has, in some respect, been a blessing because it’s allowed us to get moved into a new building and make the renovations that we needed. Our little country church is not extravagant; it puts on no airs. It is surrounded by Filbert Orchards and a Country Club. There are many projects in the works from roofing, laying asphalt in the parking lot, landscaping, and tree removal. Also, we are considering adding a “bell tower” to make it resemble the original church that stood on this property for more than eighty years.

Covid has also forced us to have the digital presence that we’ve always wanted. So, without the pressure of having to hurry all these projects along and risk them turning out poorly, we were able to do properly what was needed.

Since moving in, we’ve already come to know many families in the neighborhood. Now we’re looking forward to opening our doors and welcoming the families with an Open House in July. And then hopefully, we will be mutually welcomed by our neighbors.

So, for those thinking “It’s never going to happen. We are never going to find a permanent home,” I was the last person to believe our story could happen. But it did happen—in just the right time, in just the right place, and most importantly, in God’s timing and not ours.

Note: Listen to Linda and others talk about the process of “mapping” their neighborhoods from a posture of being a “learner” on this episode of GC Podcast.

By Linda Sitterley
Pastor, GC River Road, OR

 

“The message I hope to send is that God gave you talents, so find them, develop them, and use them for his glory!”—Josh Holsenbeck

Check out this month’s GCI Profile to get to know Josh Holsenbeck, member of Grace Communion Richardson, Texas, U.S. To read his full profile, click the image below. #WeAreGCI

Grace Communion Cleveland (Cleveland, Ohio) hosted their 18th Annual LiLY (Living Life for You) Women’s Conference on April 22-24, 2022, at Embassy Suites in Beachwood, Ohio. Eighty-one women registered to participate in our conference, “Faith in Action,” highlighting the theme scripture:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28).

The weekend began with a praise and worship session Friday evening. Saturday, our first speaker Dr. Kim Carter, led “Igniting Your Faith.” We were reminded to look for the “And” in scripture and remember we are enough. We walked away with the words “Read, Heed, Study, Work” to put our faith in action.

Pastor Carrie Osborne (Voice of Hope Church of God—Grace Communion Chillicothe, Ohio) presided over session two, “Your Heart God’s Home.” She shared how we know we do not have to be perfect, but we can still struggle with perfectionism. Another highlight was learning how creating boundaries allows us to love others and ourselves simultaneously.

Dr. Carter returned in the afternoon with “Executing Your Faith in Action Plan,” where we learned the need to be in the correct posture to move forward in faith, not lose precious time, and how God is really in charge of us. We learned not just to tell God about our problems but instead to take the time to inform our problems about our God.

Pastor Tamar Gray (Grace Communion Cleveland, Ohio) was the MC for the weekend and led the last session-church service on Sunday. The sermon was titled “Beyond the Shadow of a Doubt.” Before leaving, we were reminded to drop our doubts and put our faith in Jesus.

We are looking forward to April 2023. Stay tuned!

By Rosa Hulse
Women’s Ministry Leader