GCI in the United Kingdom publishes an online magazine named Because. Links to the recent issues of Because are found online at http://www.because.uk.com/?page_id=1912. The February 2015 issue is found at http://www.because.uk.com/wp-content/uploads/Because-2015-02w.pdf.
Registration for the GCI-USA Converge conference closes on Friday, February 27. A few hotel rooms remain available at the Deer Creek Resort and Conference Center where Converge is being held.
To register for Converge, go to: http://gci.org/go/converge15 (log-in required).
We are pleased to announce that the following men and women recently were ordained as elders serving in GCI congregations. We thank God for raising up these pastoral leaders and offer congratulations to all.
Exponential is the premier annual U.S. gathering of church planters and others who are interested in planting and renewing churches. In 2015, Exponential conferences will be held in Tampa, FL in April (Exponential East), and Los Angeles, CA in October (Exponential West). The theme of the 2015 gatherings is Spark—igniting a culture of multiplication.
Exponential recently announced that a team from GCI will conduct a pre-conference “bonus session” at the Exponential East gathering. Led by GCI-Caribbean regional pastor Clifton Charles, the GCI team will make a presentation entitled “Share Your Faith.” Here is a brief description from the Exponential website:
Grace Communion International will be hosting a bonus session at Exponential East this year entitled: Share Your Faith. People don’t share their faith for two reasons, not knowing what to say and fear. This simple but effective way of sharing our faith that you will learn in this session can be used in most any witnessing situation, reducing fear. The session will be facilitated by Clifton Charles, Fred Kress and Arthur Hallett (from www.exponential.org/gcihostsbonussession/).
Concerning the conference, Clifton wrote this:
Our congregational leaders in the Caribbean are enthusiastically embracing this year’s Exponential conference. We are excited about the time we can spend relationally together amidst such an important conversation about multiplication. I know how busy everyone is, but let me strongly encourage you to carve out the time to attend. I believe this year’s conversation can make a huge difference in our future.
As you can tell from the pictures below, GCI-USA regional pastor Rick Shallenberger and his wife Cheryl are delighted to announce that they are grandparents! Their daughter Kayla and her husband Chris Elliott are now proud parents of a baby girl, Olivia Grace Elliott, born on February 10 at 1:02 a.m., weighing 7 lbs. 8 oz. Congratulations to the whole family!
Tim Maguire, the national director of GCI in South Africa, recently requested funds from the GCI Disaster Relief Fund to assist GCI members in Mozambique and surrounding areas. Tim wrote this:
I spent nearly two weeks in Mozambique in early January. It rained for most of the time that I was there and the ground was becoming water logged. On returning home, I heard that very heavy rains started falling in Mozambique’s northern provinces on January 16. Torrential rains continued for about five days causing major flooding throughout the northern province of Zambezi, as well as in Malawi. Of the 103 GCI congregations that we have in Mozambique, 43 are situated in areas directly affected by the flooding of the Zambezi and Chirre Rivers. All our members are subsistence farmers who eke out an existence from the land, growing mainly maize (corn), which they grind into a flour and cook into a thick porridge. This is the staple diet of most Africans. These crops have now been destroyed by the flooding and our members face starvation.
GCI Treasurer Mat Morgan announced that the GCI Home Office in Glendora responded quickly as did GCI’s Canadian Office. We are sending $25,000 from the US to buy food and other emergency supplies to help our members avoid starvation while they regroup. We are able to respond in this way because GCI congregations in the US have previously donated money to the GCI Disaster Relief Fund. Here is a note from Mat:
On behalf of Tim Maguire and hundreds of our brothers and sisters in Mozambique who will enjoy a meal as a result of your generosity in donating to the GCI Disaster Relief Fund, thank you! Probably the best way to assist members suffering in disasters like these in Africa is to donate to the Fund, which provides members in disaster areas with emergency needs for food, water, medicine, clothing, temporary housing, home and/or church hall repairs, temporary local pastoral salary expenses, etc. Monies donated to the Fund that are not immediately needed remain in the Fund to be allocated in future disasters.
Congregations can donate to the Fund by having their treasurer set up a one time or monthly donation using the GCI online system (http://online.gci.org—log in and select “Church Giving” under the “Treasurer” tab at left). A congregation or individual may donate to the Fund by check made payable to Grace Communion International, indicating on the memo line that it is for the GCI Disaster Relief Fund. Send checks to:
GCI Disaster Relief Fund
Grace Communion International
P.O Box 5005
Glendora, CA 91740-0730
GCI in Germany recently launched a new website at http://wkg.gci.org/#. It features “Speaking of Life” videos in the German language.
The Converge 2015 conference is coming up in March. Generations Ministries national coordinator Anthony Mullins recently announced that onsite lodging for the conference is full. However, there is plenty of room for people to attend who will then be lodged off-site. If you’re looking for nearby, offsite lodging, here are some good options:
In nearby Circleville:
In Grove City (about a 35 minute drive from the conference site):
Note: If you decide to attend Converge, but stay offsite, you’ll still need to register and pay the registration fee ($25) and purchase the meal package ($80) unless you plan to eat all meals offsite. To register, go to https://online.gci.org/live/ScriptContent/Index.cfm?go=EVENTS-CONVERGE15. If you have any questions, email Anthony at anthony.mullins@gci.org or text/call him at 678.427.9967.
The following announcement is from Dr. Russell Duke, President of Grace Communion Seminary (GCS).
It is with great satisfaction that I inform you that Dr. Gary Deddo will replace me as President of Grace Communion Seminary as of June 2015. Our GCS Board interviewed Dr. Deddo on January 16 and unanimously approved his appointment. Congratulations Gary!
Dr. Deddo has served as a faculty member with GCS for six years, so many of you have studied with him. Many others know him and his wife Cathy from their presentations on theology at our GCI conferences.
Dr. Deddo (pictured at right) brings a wealth of academic experience as professor and editor to the role of President. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary, a Master of Arts in Social Science from Azusa Pacific University, and a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from King’s College, University of Aberdeen. He has taught in seminaries for over 20 years, serving Fuller Theological Seminary, Zarephath Bible Institute, Eastern Baptist Seminary, and Grace Communion Seminary. He has been widely published in the area of incarnational Trinitarian theology, and has assisted dozens of authors in his former role as Senior Editor at InterVarsity Press from 1999 to 2012. He was hired as Special Assistant to GCI President Dr. Joseph Tkach in 2012, and will continue to serve in that capacity as well.
We welcome Dr. Deddo’s leadership. Since we are undergoing reaffirmation of our accreditation this spring, we are timing the change to coincide with the accreditation decision by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission in June. This will enable Dr. Deddo to observe the accreditation process from an administrative perspective.
I have felt it important to pursue a transition at this time so that we can deepen the impact that GCS can have for the Church, both within our denomination and for leaders in other churches in the Body of Christ. As we participate in Jesus Christ’s ministry, Dr. Deddo will be able to lead the seminary to connect GCI’s work in theology and our interviews with Trinitarian theologians and pastors to better serve the greater Christian body.
Though I will be retiring as President, I plan to assist in the transition of administration and teach a few courses as my career winds down in retirement. Thank you for your support during this time of transition.
This announcement is from Anthony Mullins, national coordinator of GCI Generations Ministries.
We’re in the count-down to Converge 2015! We have 170 people registered and we’re expecting a big push as registration closes on February 28. Please register as soon as possible—hotel room space is running out and we want to make sure you have a comfortable room in which to stay. Click here for additional information and here to register (sign-in required).
We’re excited that Wm. Paul Young, author of The Shack and Crossroads, will be our featured guest speaker. Participants will have several opportunities to interact with him. GCI president, Joseph Tkach, will also be a featured speaker and I know he’s looking forward to sharing the conference with us.
As you look over the Converge schedule, you’ll find many breakout sessions (called “Conversessions”) with a variety of relevant topics for both camps and congregations. The idea behind Conversessions is to have plenty of dialogue while being led by a facilitator. As the event draws near, we’ll send those who have registered descriptions of each Conversession, so you can decide which to attend.
A heartfelt thanks to all of you taking time off from work or school to join us for this Generations Ministries sponsored event. I can feel momentum building toward our gathering and there will be many epic stories to tell as we celebrate The Epic Story, our inclusion and adoption into the very life of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!
