Category: Announcements

On September 27, Associate Regional Pastor Tim Sitterley had the blessing of installing Bill Kranich, Martin Registe and Susan Krueger as the members of a new Pastoral Team that will be serving GCI’s congregation in Anchorage, Alaska. The team replaces retiring Lead Pastor Don Marson.

Don, with his wife Anne Marie (pictured below), has served in some form of ordained ministry for over 40 years, including the last seven as lead pastor in the Anchorage congregation. Don and Ann Marie will remain as members of the congregation, and have plans to travel frequently.

Our sincere thanks to the Marsons for their many years of ministry and our congratulations to the new pastoral team.

Here is a list of men and women recently ordained as elders within GCI. Congratulations to them all!

• Brian Smith (3/15/15) Coulsdon UNITED KINGDOM
• Eligio Toledo (6/7/15) Cabantuan PHILIPPINES
• Wade Meadows (7/12/15) Fort Wayne, IN
• Tracy Lee (7/12/15) San Francisco, CA
• Emily Lukacik (7/12/15) Calgary, Alberta CANADA
• Ebenezer Maninang (7/19/15) Altadena, CA (NewLife Fellowship)
• Bill Bonham (8/28/15) Cincinnati (West), OH
• Kirk Hayden (8/30/15) Wichita, KS
• Farai Muringai (9/20/15) Mondeor SOUTH AFRICA
• Ardel Magararu (9/23/15) Manila South PHILIPPINES
• Jose Ustaris Jr. (9/25/15) Bahile PHILIPPINES (see picture at right)
• Laura Urista (9/27/15) Pasadena, CA (New Hope Christian Fellowship)

GCI’s Crossing Borders mission organization will be embarking on its 20th trip into Mexico on December 11-14. Ages 15-99 are invited to come along. On this trip (among many activities), participants will hand-deliver shoeboxes full of supplies and gifts to children in Mexico. For more information about attending or about sending shoebox gifts, go to cbmission.org/ or telephone 903-746-4463.

GCI pastor Timothy Brassell will appear on the TV game show, Wheel of Fortune, on October 14. You might want to watch the show that day to see how he did (check local listings for station and time).

Members of GCI’s New Ashongman congregation in Ghana, Africa, recently honored Pastor Solomon Ayitey on his 70th birthday. Solomon is the pioneer pastor of GCI in Ghana.

Solomon was ordained in 1983 and has served all branches of the church in Ghana. One of the fruits of his service is his brother Theo Nii Okai who Solomon mentored and led to Christ. Now a GCI pastor, Theo preached the sermon in the service preceding his brother’s birthday celebration.

Both young and old wished their “Spiritual Dad” and mentor long life and good health. The Ayiteys live at Adenta in one of the northern suburbs of Accra, the capital city of Ghana.

August 30 was a significant milestone for GCI’s congregation in Wichita, Kansas, as the baton of pastoral leadership was passed from lead pastor Don Engle to a newly commissioned pastoral team. As part of the celebration, Don Engle and his wife Alix were honored on the occasion of Don’s retirement after 43 years of WCG/GCI employment. Regional Pastor Mike Rasmussen honored the Engles by recounting Don’s years of pastoral service and presenting him with a gift from GCI president Joseph Tkach (below, left). The congregation honored the couple with a special cake (right).

Don graduated from Ambassador College in Bricket Wood, England in 1972, and was ordained an elder in 1974. During his years of GCI/WCG employment (with Alix at his side most of those years) Don served 15 congregations, including four in New Zealand, and ones in Louisiana, Texas, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina, Minnesota, Iowa and Kansas. Don plans to continue his service in ministry as a chaplain with the Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice in Wichita.

As part of the celebration, Mike and Don, with the support of the congregation (see pictures below), commissioned a pastoral team to assume the responsibilities formerly fulfilled by Don as lead pastor. The team members are Kirk Hayden, Laura Hayden, Ross Hays and Rhonda Hays.

Also during the August 30 celebration, Kirk Hayden, a member of the newly commissioned pastoral team, was ordained an elder by Don and Mike (see picture below).

Our sincere thanks to the Engles and congratulations to the new pastoral team.

ACCM recently announced that beginning in November, it will offer its 10-week-long Christian Leadership course in a format that includes a three-day intensive held in Dallas, Texas, on December 10-12. The class, titled Christian Leadership: Foundational Perspectives, Principles & Practices for Lifelong Growth as a Leader, will be taught by Charles Fleming and Greg Williams, who provide this comment:

As your instructors and fellow lifelong-learners, we will help participants in the class reflect on key foundational elements that contribute to growing as leaders across a lifetime. As Christ followers in a world of radical, adaptive change, what are the perspectives we need to have? In what ways do our imaginations need to be re-framed for effective engagement with an increasingly secular world? What principles and practices can help us cultivate the conditions for people to encounter Christ in transformative ways? And, vitally important, what formational practices do we need to make a part of our personal lives if we are to avoid burnout and, instead, live a kingdom-flourishing life?

For more information about the class, including instructions about registering, download the document at www.gci.org/files/ACCM_Leadership_Class.pdf.

Recently, one of our pastors received a pop-up warning on his computer that said something about Windows being broken and that he needed to contact a Microsoft support person immediately, giving him a phone number to do just that. Unfortunately, it was a scam. He allowed them to access his computer where they did major damage to Windows and then demanded money to “fix” his computer. Fortunately, he got suspicious at this point and decided to call us before he went further. It took a few hours, but we were able to repair most of the damage and get him running again. It could have been much worse.

So, we’d like you to be aware that Microsoft never initiates contact with computer users to fix a computer. They won’t pop up a warning window on the computer. They won’t call you on the phone. They won’t email you. So if someone does these things claiming to be Microsoft, you can assume it’s a scam.

If you suspect you might already be infected with something, make sure your antivirus is up-to-date and scan your computer. To go further, download the free program Malwarebytes AntiMalware from www.malwarebytes.org/downloads/ and scan your computer with that. You can assume everything it finds is good to remove. And if you as a pastor or treasurer need help beyond that, feel free to call our IT help desk at (626) 650-2340 or (800) 350-4466.

Here is information about two gatherings for women coming up in the United States this fall.

Alabama retreat: Eyes Fixed on Jesus

Grace Covenant Fellowship, a GCI congregation near Birmingham, Alabama, is hosting a retreat for women on October 9-11 in Cullman, Alabama. Titled Eyes Fixed on Jesus (based on Hebrews 12:2), the retreat will take place at the St. Bernard Retreat Center in Cullman (www.stbernardabbey.com). The weekend will provide fun, fellowship and inspiration, with speakers Tammy Tkach, Ginny Rice, Pat Halford, Gerrie Bayley, Barbara Dahlgren, Mary Jo Leaver and Ruth Miller. Music will be provided by Ann Hartmann (pictured at right), a singer, songwriter and speaker who focuses on spreading the gospel of God’s unconditional love in Jesus. Seven of Ann’s songs have reached the number one position on independent Christian-Country charts, and she is the recipient of numerous awards (learn more at www.annhartmann.com).

The cost for the retreat is $125 per person, including registration, lodging for two nights and four meals. For more information and to register, email Ruth Miller at ruth.miller@gci.org or call (205) 663-7979.

Ohio conference: Unlocking the Treasure Within

Christ Community Church, a GCI congregation near Cincinnati, Ohio, is hosting a conference for women on November 6-8 in Milford, Ohio. Titled Unlocking the Treasure Within, the conference begins Friday evening at 7:00 and ends at noon on Sunday. The featured conference speakers and worship leader are noted below. The registration fee (which covers some meals) is $70/person (a $60 early bird rate applies until October 16). To download the conference brochure, go to http://www.cincyccc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Conference-2015-brochure.pdf.

GCI president Joseph Tkach and his wife Tammy recently enjoyed sharing in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of GCI’s congregation that meets in Leeds, England. Here are pictures: