Dan Rogers, director of U.S. Church Administration and Development recently visited Alaska to encourage and teach our members there. He was accompanied on the visit by his son Steven. This was Dan’s final annual visit to Alaska in his official capacity (he retires at the end of this year).
On Saturday, 20 people from the GCI congregations in Anchorage and Kenai gathered for fellowship, a meal and a seminar from Dan on the history of the early church based on the book of Acts. Following the meal, Dan was presented with a hand-made quilt as a retirement gift, thanking him for the love and friendship he has extended toward the Alaska congregations over the years. A few mementos were given to Steven Rogers, who has traveled with his dad for many years on his annual visit to GCI’s congregations in Alaska.
During the visit, Dan and Steven, accompanied by Anchorage pastor Don Marson and his wife, visited the Alaska Zoo and Chugach State Park with its stunning views of Mt. McKinley, Mt. Foraker, Mt. Spurl, the Alaska Range, and the Readout and Illiamna volcanoes. On Sunday, Dan gave the sermon at the Anchorage church worship service, covering the story of David and Goliath.
The family of GCI member Annetta “Genevieve” Brown is delighted to report that Genevieve will celebrate her 100th birthday on October 23. In tribute to Genevieve, they have shared this article.
Genevieve Brown
Genevieve attributes her longevity to following God’s teachings, practicing a healthy lifestyle with nutritious eating and regular exercise. She believes that her body is a temple of the Holy Spirit as stated in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. She also has drawn strength from the promises in Romans 8:28 and Psalm 23 that God will see her through life’s trials, with Jesus, her shepherd, leading and guiding.
Born in Howard County, Maryland, Genevieve married her first husband, William Steward. They were married for 25 years and had three sons together. After his death she married James “Toby” Brown. They were married for 47 years until his death. She was a domestic worker for many years and sold Avon cosmetics for 40 years, winning numerous awards for her sales achievements.
Genevieve became involved with WCG in the early 60s after hearing The World Tomorrow radio program. She contacted Pastor Guy Engelbart in Baltimore and was baptized shortly after that. She has been a faithful member ever since, volunteering in many capacities and always sharing her wisdom with others. She loves attending church picnics, dances and other social activities. In 1965 she started travelling to church festivals in far-flung places like China and Trinidad.
Genevieve was instrumental in starting church services and Bible studies at Village Oaks Apartments where she now lives. Before moving there, she loved canning her own vegetables from her garden and sharing them with others. She still cooks her own meals and bakes delicious cookies and bread. She also is a member of a walking club and now walks the hallways where she lives for exercise.
Genevieve has many wonderful memories of the love she has received from her church family and relatives and is very much aware of God’s love for her. She is the oldest member of New Life Fellowship, the GCI congregation in Baltimore where Timothy Brassell serves as senior pastor.
Please join us in wishing Genevieve a very happy birthday! Cards may be sent to:
New Life Fellowship P.O. Box 1417 Owings Mills, MD 21117
This update is from GCI mission developer Rod Matthews who works in Southern Asia and the South Pacific region.
Papua New Guinea: historic ordinations in the land of the unexpected
Mark Latham, pastoral coordinator for Papua New Guinea (PNG), recently returned from his 22nd visit to the country. He was accompanied by Rod Dean, GCI pastor in Sydney. Over the years, the congregations in Rod’s pastorate have faithfully supported our work in PNG and Rod has mentored Mark in his challenging responsibility. This was Rod’s first trip to PNG, travelling up to our main PNG church on Mt. Wilhelm, more than 6000 ft. up PNG’s highest mountain, which reaches over 14,000 ft. Mark and Rod were warmly received (the welcome group is pictured at right).
After returning to Australia on August 17, Rod wrote a report entitled “The Light on the Hill at Mt. Wilhelm.” Here is an excerpt:
The main purpose of this trip was to celebrate with the church and wider community the ordination of Ben Galwa and Richard Kindi [pictured at right, Ben is on the left]. This was the most anticipated event in the history of our PNG church—the Mt. Wilhelm congregation had been preparing for weeks. A grand mumu [feast] fed the visitors who represented more than seven denominations. Chairman of the village court, doctors, health clinic administrators, councilors and local women’s group representatives. The local MP [Member of Parliament] sent his apologies. Our church is well respected by all.
With the theme of their visit being “Strengthening the Foundations,” Rod and Mark shared their pastoral experiences and reinforced the local pastoral team’s focus on Jesus Christ as center of all aspects of our lives. Special attention was given to the large contingent of youth in the church (about 50 of them, included in the picture of the congregation’s membership, below). The women’s ministry is a pillar in the life, strength and maturity of the congregation, and their work was acknowledged and praised.
At the end of the visit, the congregation’s pastoral team gave Rod and Mark a letter of appreciation to be carried back to Australia, thanking the many people who have contributed so much to the spiritual and physical development of GCI-PNG.
Fiji: celebrating God’s grace and the ordination of an elder
The Christian Camp at Pacific Harbour was once again the site for the annual celebration of our Fijian family’s life together in Christ. The theme, “Celebrating God’s Amazing Grace” permeated the event’s messages and activities. Most of GCI’s members in Fiji (who live all over the islands) were able to stay on site (the group is pictured below).
Meals were provided by rotating crews of members so that the members could eat together (see picture at right). Lovely “home cooked” meals were provided, including “lovo”—a traditional meal of meat and vegetables cooked slowly in an underground pit.
A highlight of this year’s gathering was the ordination to elder of long-time Suva member, Jope Nalequa Uqeuqe (pictured at left). His ordination reflected his long and faithful service to the church in Fiji and a need for an elder to assist Pastor Isei Colati.
Other highlights were the baptism of Jason Raki; the blessing of a little child, Azariah Jesse James; special presentations for the youth, men and women; an afternoon tea; an “Indian night”; a grand finale event entitled “Island Night”; and one day in which the services were presented entirely in the Fijian language.
At most of the worship services music was provided by the youth. On the last day the choir sang the Hallelujah Chorus a cappella with magnificent harmony. As usual, flower arrangements were supreme works of art, refreshed daily and highlighting the extravaganza of tropical creations with which God has blessed Fiji.
We were saddened to learn of the death of Ted Herlofson at age 79 on September 11. Ted was a long-time GCI employee and elder. He began that employment in the art department of the Ambassador College Press in 1969. He then transferred to the church executive office in 1973 and entered the field ministry in 1979. He served churches in Visalia, California; Denver, Colorado; and Coeur D’Alene, Idaho until he retired in 1996. Ted is survived by his wife Opal (Speers) Herlofson.
Cards may be sent to:
Opal Herlofson and Family Route 1, Box 55 Birch Tree, MO 65438-9613
Please pray for our brothers and sisters in Liberia, Africa. The Ebola epidemic there is now affecting our members as food and medicine become scarce and expensive. GCI pastor Browne, who serves in Liberia, wrote recently that, “life is deteriorating on a daily basis in Monrovia,” Liberia’s capital. “Ebola is on the rampage here, but hunger is killing the most people. My daughter died at the hospital as the result of complications from a miscarriage.”
Pastor Browne requested financial assistance to purchase food, medicines and other supplies to care for our members in Liberia during this time of crisis. Kalengule Kaoma, GCI mission developer in Africa forwarded the request to our Glendora home offic and the GCI Disaster Relief Committee responded quickly by forwarding about US$5,000.00 financial assistance from the GCI Disaster Relief Fund to Kalengule so he can help pastor Browne meet the current needs. If your congregation would like to help replenish the GCI Disaster Relief Fund so that we are ready to assist with this and other emergency needs as they arise, donations may be sent to:
GCI Disaster Relief Fund Grace Communion International P.O Box 5005 Glendora, California 91740
Note: The GCI Disaster Relief 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 and be allocated for future disasters.
Last week was an important and positive milestone in the history and future of GCI. Thirty-three men and women gathered in Dallas, Texas to finalize a new structure for our U.S. Church Administration and Development (CAD) team. That structure will be implemented in January 2015. In early October, we’ll announce the details in a letter to all U.S. pastors and provide a summary here in GCI Weekly Update.
A highlight of the Dallas gathering occurred when CAD director Dan Rogers “passed the baton” of CAD leadership to Greg Williams (see picture at left). Greg will become the new CAD director when Dan retires at the end of this year. During the ceremony, Dan quoted Paul’s words to his protégé Timothy: “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:1-2).
As depicted in the cartoon below, our plans sometimes (often?) don’t work out as initially envisioned. What looked like “smooth sailing” on the drawing board, eventually collides with unforeseen reality. However, as we follow the Spirit into and through that reality, we have assurance that he will lead us into the fullness of God’s plans for us. I’m particularly grateful for the way the Spirit has led us through what have been remarkably smooth leadership transitions. Those include the recent hand-off from Dan to Greg and the leadership transitions occurring in several of our congregations where senior pastors reaching retirement are handing the baton of lead pastor to others. My thanks to all involved!
Greg and Susan Williams arrived here in Glendora this week (moving from North Carolina) and Dan and Barbara Rogers are relocating to Henderson, Nevada. We pray for smooth transitions for both couples and also for the rest of the CAD team as the new structure is implemented. God has answered in wonderfully positive ways our many prayers for these transitions. We continue to pray about and plan for additional transitions as the “age wave” washes over our fellowship. Many of our denominational leaders and lead pastors are mentoring their replacements. For that I extend my deep gratitude.
One of the reasons these transitions are going so smoothly is that the Spirit has led us to focus on relationships as the foundation of our ministry. Doing so is vital, for if our ministry practice would fail to line up with our theology, we’d be nothing but the intolerable noise that Paul warned about: “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1).
Relationships grounded in God’s love are the heart and core of our participation in ministry with the relational, Triune God of love. I’m convinced that our relational approach to ministry is the reason many independent churches in far-flung locations around the world have recently joined us, and many more desire to do so. In thinking about this, I’m reminded of a favorite phrase of my dad’s: “We are family.” He used that phrase to speak about unity in our church—unity that was not just about doctrine or practice, but about loving, family-like relationships. I envision my dad and Herbert Armstrong watching us from heaven, rejoicing with the Father, Son and Spirit in our progress. I too rejoice in seeing our continuing journey from “survival mode” to “maintenance mode” and then to following the Spirit into “missional mode”—active participation with Jesus in the Father’s mission to the world. That amazing transformation is ongoing.
From an organizational perspective, churches have life-cycles that end, on average, after about 70 years. Some have wondered if GCI’s life-cycle is about to end. But God apparently has a different plan for us. We believe that his desire is that we live on as a denomination with a missional focus—a church joined with Jesus in his ministry to the world. Living into God’s plan for us is giving us new life (a new life-cycle?). I believe that as our congregations embrace this missional focus, many will be reborn.
Thinking about this reminds me of good news/bad news jokes about life and death. Here are two:
Doctor: I have some good news and I have some bad news. Patient: What’s the good news? Doctor: The good news is that the tests you took showed that you have 24 hours to live. Patient: That’s the good news? What’s the bad news? Doctor: The bad news is that I forgot to call you yesterday!
Gallery Owner: I have some good news and some bad news. Artist: What’s the good news? Gallery Owner: The good news is that a man came in here today asking if the price of your paintings would go up after you die. When I told him they would, he bought every one of your paintings. Artist: That’s great! What’s the bad news? Gallery Owner: The bad news is that man was your doctor!
Here’s a good news/bad news joke of my own. It speaks to our growth and development as a denomination:
Me: I have some good news and bad news. Reporter: What’s the good news? Me: GCI is growing all over the world. Reporter: What’s the bad news? Me: Some feel too old and too tired to grow.
All churches contend with good news/bad news realities. As a result, some will grow numerically and some will not. Some will have active youth ministries and some will not. We do not expect every congregation to be the same and we realize that some will close in the years ahead. That’s nothing to be ashamed of and when one closes, we celebrate their faithful participation in what God has done in and through them. We also realize that our congregations will continue to differ in abilities and resources to participate in mission. But no matter what the limitations, each and every congregation is an important partner in what God is doing in, with and through GCI (I’ll write more on this in the near future).
I thank God that because we have followed the lead of the Spirit in mission, there is much good news to celebrate and more on the way. Several GCI church plants are “in the works” in various places around the world. Church Multiplication Ministries (CMM) recently updated us about GCI church planting activity in the U.S. Here from mission developer Kalengule Kaoma is a list of new GCI churches in Africa:
Liberia: seven new churches (several more in process)
Burundi: five new churches
Rwanda: one new church (plus four possibilities)
Uganda: four new churches (10 in the works)
Tanzania: fifteen new churches (plus 15 more in the works)
Ghana: one new church
Kenya: five new churches (with numerous others in the discussion phase). Also in Kenya, eight leaders representing several Sabbatarian churches have asked for a one-week long teaching conference on the topic of grace.
God has called us to live and share the gospel. That is the mission in which we all are partners. Thank you for your part, including your prayers for growth and for additional smooth transitions.
In August, GCI’s Quezon City, Philippines, church celebrated its 10th anniversary. The celebration worship service included video messages from former pastors Andrew Teng and Audie Santibanez. Vincente “Ting” Bejo, Jr. is the congregation’s current pastor.
Following the service, there was a time of joy-filled celebration that extended into the afternoon. As shown in the pictures, there was singing, dancing and entertainment from J-Lo enthusiasts and Hagibis wannabies (who called themselves Pogibis)!
Greg Williams is the associate director of GCI Church Administration and Development, USA (CAD). On January 1, 2015 he will succeed Dan Rogers as CAD director.
Along with the rest of his family, Greg became part of WCG/GCI in the mid 1970s. “My father was afflicted with an arthritic condition that landed him in bed for a year. He was serving as a lay pastor with a small Advent Christian Church at the time. After completing the WCG Bible Correspondence Course, he led my family into WCG.”
Greg was a junior in high school when he and his family began attending WCG. “I abandoned my extracurricular athletic activities to observe the Sabbath. I joined in WCG’s Youth Opportunity United (YOU) activities. Through YOU I participated in two national track meets at the Ambassador College campuses in Pasadena, California and Big Sandy, Texas.”
Greg almost didn’t get to compete. At the time, he was employed at a park in Hendersonville, North Carolina. “My main function was park maintenance. The week before a YOU track meet I was working with another employee servicing a bush hog mower. We had sharpened the blades and cleaned the machine and as we were setting it down off the blocks my partner let go of his end and the 350 pound machine landed on me and broke my big toe. I was proud that the broken toe didn’t prevent me from attending the track meet and participating in the discus throw—I won second place!”
After attending a YOU leadership conference in Pasadena, Greg was offered a YOU scholarship to attend Ambassador College. He attended beginning in 1979. During the summer between his junior and senior years at AC, Greg was selected to be a ministerial trainee in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. “I had a fabulous experience working alongside four pastors who poured into my life in various ways. As a result, the sense of calling to pastoral ministry was planted in my heart and mind.”
Greg met his wife Susan (Lang) at AC and they recently celebrated their 30th anniversary. They were married on May 13, 1984. At the time, Greg was working at Imperial High School teaching history and physical education. “We attended the Glendora congregation while I worked at Imperial and then in May 1985 I was hired as a full-time ministerial trainee, working initially with Doug Horchak and then Dennis Wheatcroft in the Glendora congregation.”
In 1987, shortly after the birth of their twin sons, Glenn and Garrett, the Williams’ family moved to Denver, Colorado, where Greg served as associate pastor until 1991. Their third son, Gatlin, was born in Denver. Then in the spring of 1991, the family moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina, where Greg served as the senior pastor. He continued in that responsibility until 2006. After raising three boys, Susan was pleased to add female voices and input to the family when the twins married—Glenn to Crystal and Garrett to Marlo. “Gatlin,” notes Greg, “is single and available.”
Greg said this about Susan: “Susan is so often the voice of the Holy Spirit in my life. She is able to see details that I don’t see, and has a strong gift of mercy that helps her see and respond to people’s deepest needs. The cool thing is that while responding to those needs, she doesn’t let people skirt the truth of the matter. She helps them face the sometimes-painful truth within the embrace of a loving, relational connection.”
When asked about his most memorable moments as a pastor, Greg spoke about his family. “As a family man, I’ve always taken seriously the scriptural teaching of Paul for an elder to manage well his home if he or she is going to manage one of the churches of God. My marriage is not perfect and neither are my children, but by the grace of God we have been deeply blessed and experience incredible love within our family circle. My most memorable moments were the privileged times when I baptized my three sons and experienced the pride and sense of release as I handed each of them over to the eternal care of their heavenly Father.”
One of Greg’s strengths as a pastor was in mentoring young leaders. Two of GCI’s senior pastors along with several other elders and multiple ministry leaders were mentored and trained by Greg. This commitment to raising up leaders ties in with what Greg enjoys most about being a ministry leader and soon-to-be director of CAD. “I enjoy most seeing people coming alive in Jesus and then seeing how they blossom in that growing relationship. There is nothing more enjoyable than being in community with people who know Jesus and are growing in his amazing grace and knowledge.”
When asked what he enjoys most about being part of GCI, Greg said, “The national and international relationships of some of the most interesting, loving and diverse people across God’s green earth. As Joseph Tkach Sr. often said, ‘We are family!’ And I love the GCI family.”
Speaking about when he feels closest to God, Greg said, “I certainly enjoy my ‘solo time’ when I commune with Father, Son and Spirit. But I also enjoy those times when I’m in the company of two or three other believers and the Spirit is palpably active. At such times I find myself in deep awe and especially close to the one who is the head of the church.”
In looking back, Greg says he realizes his training to be CAD’s new director started back when he was mentoring new leaders. That training, which has never stopped, was not just within GCI. “For 10 years I worked with Youth for Christ, which is an international para-church youth ministry organization. I was exposed there to cross-denominational ministry and was actively engaged in youth evangelism. I remained connected to and active in GCI during that time; however I gained rich experience that helped shape me for the duties I soon will have as CAD director.”
Greg’s passion summarizes part of his excitement for his new responsibility “I love to network people together. One of my slogans to the CAD team is this: ‘Get the right people in the room for the right meeting with the right discussion.’ Helen Keller once said, ‘Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.’ I refuse to engage in the mission Jesus has given us apart from the company of others, and I am pleased with the amazing people that God has placed on our team.”
Greg listed three primary goals for the CAD team:
Provide CAD services to pastors and congregations in ways that effectively help them participate in the mission of Jesus through existing and newly birthed ministries.
Expand from four to six administrative regions in order to more effectively serve our pastors and churches. Each of the six regional pastors, partnered with a few senior pastors in their region, will oversee 45 to 60 congregations (the new structure will be implemented in January 2015).
Continue our progress toward becoming a church planting denomination where all congregations are partners in church planting.
Concerning the third goal, Greg commented: “The idea of ‘partnership’ speaks to who we are in GCI—an extended family with deep relational connections.”
Greg recently announced new vision and mission statements for the CAD team:
CAD vision: We envision Christ-centered, disciple-making churches where all kinds of people in all kinds of places are equipped for building up the body of Christ through missions and ministry.
Greg commented on this vision: “It’s the same one that comes from the lips of Jesus in the New Testament, reflecting the really good news that Jesus is the living head of GCI. He is alive and leading us well!”
CAD mission: Developing and serving pastors, who develop and serve congregations, who live and share the gospel.
Greg commented on this mission: “It centers around how we develop, support and nurture our pastors from their point of entry into pastoral ministry through their retirement. Our pastors are the CAD team’s primary ‘clients.'”
How does your congregation conduct the offering segment of your weekly worship service? Does your approach promote stewardship? Thom Rainer of LifeWay addresses that question in a recent blog post at http://thomrainer.com/2014/09/10/five-ways-use-offertory-enhance-financial-stewardship/. In that post he features the video below as an example of an effective offertory message. Please use the “comment” feature below to share your thoughts and experiences related to effective offering services.
This update on John Halford’s continuing battle with cancer is from his daughter, Becki Halford Brown.
My dad continues the battle, but instead of growing stronger, it seems as though his strength is diminishing. He uses a walker to get from the bedroom to the living room now and his speech is slurred. He has grown several lumps around his torso, which yesterday were confirmed as new tumors. This week we will go for a biopsy to see if they are benign or if this is new cancer growth. We desperately need some good news, renewed hope and continued prayers.
Cards may be sent to:
John & Pat Halford 5836 South State Road 129 Versailles, IN 47042
On Saturday, 20 people from the GCI congregations in Anchorage and Kenai gathered for fellowship, a meal and a seminar from Dan on the history of the early church based on the book of Acts. Following the meal, Dan was presented with a hand-made quilt as a retirement gift, thanking him for the love and friendship he has extended toward the Alaska congregations over the years. A few mementos were given to Steven Rogers, who has traveled with his dad for many years on his annual visit to GCI’s congregations in Alaska.
