Category: Announcements

A new page at GCI.org features audio and video recordings of this year’s US regional conference main sessions. Go to http://www.gci.org/media/conference2012.

In a ceremony held this month at the GCI home office in Glendora, California, Charles Albrecht was honored for 25 years of service to GCI as a full-time employee. A service plaque and watch were awarded to Charles by GCI president Joseph Tkach and CAD director Dan Rogers.

In 1982, Charles entered Ambassador College in Pasadena, California, transferred for a year to Big Sandy and then returned to Pasadena. As a student he worked in various part-time jobs including landscaping, maintenance, the SEP Orr staff, in food service and the Auditorium staff. He also spent time in Jordan working with the College’s project staff teaching vocational skills and mentally disabled children.

In 1987, Charles was hired full time by GCI to work as a telecommunications dispatcher, while continuing to work on the Auditorium on-call staff. In 1990, he was transferred to the Pastor General’s Office to serve as executive office aide.

In 1993, Charles received a master’s degree with honors in business administration, with emphasis in international business, from Cal State L.A. In 1994, he became the international administrative coordinator for GCI Church Administration International. In 1995, he was promoted to international operations manager. In 1996, he received a certificate in non-profit development and fundraising from UCLA.

In 1996, Charles’ responsibilities were widened to include serving as the US Church Administration and Development (CAD) office manager. That year he was ordained an elder and his title was changed to Manager, Operations and Budget. In 2000, he was given the additional duties of conference coordinator for CAD conferences in the US.

Charles continues to serve full time in these many responsibilities for GCI in the US and internationally. Congratulations Charles, and thanks to you, your wife Susi and to your children for your continuing service to GCI!

This update concerning the GCI Disaster Relief Fund is from GCI Treasurer, Mat Morgan.

From time to time we’re contacted about helping out members impacted by major disasters. 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 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 clicking on Donate under the Manage 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

Thank you for your prayers and financial contributions to help members of the GCI family who are suffering.

The following is excerpted from the December NAE Update.

Most Unmarried Evangelical Millennials Have Never Had Sex

The NAE commissioned a poll on what evangelicals ages 18-29 think and practice regarding sex and unexpected pregnancies. There are some surprising (and encouraging) stats. For example, the percentage of unmarried evangelical Millennials who have had sex is much lower (44 percent) than previously thought (80 percent). The poll’s findings will be released in five stages. (read more)

National Marriage Week

Plan now for National Marriage Week (Feb. 7-14) by launching a marriage class or event during the week leading up to Valentine’s Day. A free tool kit (event ideas, curricula, press release, advertisements, etc.) can help you plan a meaningful event in your area, and you can join a conference call on Dec. 4 with NAE President Leith Anderson to find out more. (learn more)

Immigration Reform in 92 Days

A group of evangelical leaders sent letters to President Obama and the House and Senate leadership seeking action on immigration policy within the first 92 days of President Obama’s second term. (read more)

Helping Families Stay in Touch with their Loved Ones Behind Bars

When prisoners are incarcerated far from home, telephone calls are often the best way for family members to keep in touch. Prisoners who maintain relationships with their family while in prison are more likely to be rehabilitated when they are released. But phone rates for calls from prisons in some states are exorbitant – as much as $17 for a 15-minute call. The NAE has called for the Federal Communications Commission to cap rates at a reasonable level. (read more)

Here is information from Mission America concerning trends in the church and society at large.

Christian Divorce—Updated Statistics

A recent article from the Gospel Coalition sets the record straight about erroneous statistics that have been published on the internet and used as illustrations from the pulpit. The statistic in question was that Christians divorce at roughly the same rate as the world. The research actually showed couples who regularly practice any combination of serious religious behaviors and attitudes (attend church nearly every week, read their Bibles and spiritual materials regularly; pray privately and together; generally take their faith seriously) have significantly lower divorce rates than mere church members, the general public and unbelievers. The research shows couples who are active in their faith are much less likely to divorce. Catholic couples were 31% less likely to divorce, Protestant couples 35% less likely, and Jewish couples 97% less likely. (Ed Stetzer, Church Report 9/28/12)

Digital Invasion

Dr. Archibald Hart, Sr. Prof. of Psychology at Fuller Seminary’s School of Psychology, maintains digital addictions have created a spiritual deficit. With 1 in every 9 people on the planet now on some form of social media, he calls it the “digital invasion.” Humans spend roughly 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook alone. Dr. Hart says, “It is making such an inroad to our lives that it is robbing us of the time that we need for spiritual discipline…to be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). But we can’t be still anymore. People are not spending time in prayer as they used to because they are distracted all the time. It’s our misuse of technology that is the problem, and the misuse of it being reprogrammed for speed and not for content. But more than that, this wonderful technology that comes from the fantastic brain that God has given us is now actively coming between us and God.” He offers these suggestions: Do not check your smartphone until after morning devotions. End your digital day at 9:00 p.m. Do not check your smartphone when having lunch or dinner with a friend, or leave the phone in your car. Take a digital fast every Sunday. No digital gadgets at meal times. Limit checking e-mails or texts to once an hour. Try not to talk on your phone to virtual people when real people are in front of you. Pray daily for God to help you become a good steward of your virtual life. (OneNewsNow 10/13/12)

Big Birth Rate Decline

The number of U.S. births has been dropping since 2007, when they peaked at 4.3 million just before the economic downturn. But now, substantial declines among certain segments of women suggest a deeper and potentially longer-lasting change in childbearing. A demographer-anticipated mini-baby boom never materialized. Instead, 2011 National Center for Health Statistics stats shows: The number of births to teens 15–19 dropped 10%, the fewest since 1946. The rate has declined more than 3% a year since 1991. The number of births to women 20–24 declined 3% from 2010 to 2011, and the birth rate dropped 5%. The birth rate is the lowest ever recorded in the U.S. For 25–29s, the birth rate was the lowest since 1976. The pace of decline in the teen birth rate has accelerated since 2007, and since then there’s been a 25% drop. The total number of births to unmarried women declined 2%. In 2011, the non-marital birth rate dipped 3%. Since 2008, it has dropped 11%. In 2011 the rate of people starting families went down 2%. (USA Today 10/3/12)

Debt an Enemy of the Church

R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, recently exhorted Southern Baptists, “If your concern is to get young people into the churches or on the mission fields, the greatest enemy other than Satan himself is educational debt, because there are far too many young people graduating who are slaves to that debt when they need to be unfettered slaves to Christ.” Student loan debt, which surpassed $1 trillion in late 2011, surpassed credit card debt ($975.7 billion) in 2008 as the leading cause of debt in the U.S. While credit card debt is decreasing, student loan debt continues to rise, with the average student amassing $25,250 in educational loans. Unlike card debt, which can be refinanced or wiped out with bankruptcy, student loans will not go away. Even in bankruptcy, the individual is expected to repay his or her loan. (Baptist Press 10/11/12)

Crushing Debt

USA Today reports that only 1 in 5 people use a monthly budget. As a result, the majority are swimming in debt. In fact, half of the families surveyed spend between $2,500 and $5,000 a month on debt payments alone! Meanwhile, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports Americans put barely 1% of their income in savings. (Thriving Pastor 10/1/12)

Shorter Life Spans

The most educated Americans are making the biggest gains in life expectancy, but now they say mortality data show that life spans for some of the least educated Americans are actually contracting. Four studies in recent years identified modest declines, but a new one that looks separately at Americans lacking a high school diploma found disturbingly sharp drops in life expectancy for whites in this group. The reasons for the decline remain unclear, but researchers offered possible explanations, including a spike in prescription drug overdoses among young whites, higher rates of smoking among less educated white women, rising obesity, and a steady increase in the number of the least educated Americans who lack health insurance. The steepest declines were for white women without a high school diploma, who lost 5 years of life between 1990 and 2008. White men lacking a high school diploma lost 3 years of life. Life expectancy for both blacks and Hispanics of the same education level rose. But blacks overall do not live as long as whites, while Hispanics live longer than both whites and blacks. (NY Times 9/21/12)

Andre Disashi-Ludiha and Cecile Onema-Akanyi recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. The couple, affectionately referred to as “Papa” and “Maman,” were married in the Congo and now pastor GCI’s church in Kinshasa. Congratulations Papa and Maman!

Anthony Mullins, director of GCI Generations Ministries, recently announced the appointment of Ashley Todd to serve as the director of Souled Out—a GenMin-sponsored camp in Memphis, Tennessee. Congratulations, Ashley!

GenMin sponsors 16 camps for children and teens in the United States. For a list, click here.

We are saddened to learn of the recent passing of Dr. David P. Wainwright. He died peacefully in his sleep on September 15. He would have turned 77 later this month and would have celebrated in October the 49th anniversary of his marriage to his wife Sarah. Dr. Wainwright is survived by Sarah and by their two married children, Elizabeth and Matthew. Dr. Wainwright’s funeral is scheduled for October 12 at the Vaca Hills Chapel in Vacaville California.

Dr. Wainwright was hired at the Ambassador College campus in Bricket Wood, England in 1959. He later served on the faculty there and pastored churches in the U.K. After the Bricket Wood campus closed, he transferred to Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas in 1976. When the College there closed in 1977, he transferred to Pasadena, and then, when AC in Pasadena closed in 1990, he transferred back to Big Sandy. He then retired from active employment with Ambassador University in 1996. The Wainwrights have lived the last few years in Vacaville.

Cards may be sent to:

Sarah Wainwright

236 Bartlett Lane

Vacaville, CA 95687-3117

This birth announcement comes from GCI pastor Rand Holm and his wife Beth.

We are pleased to announce the birth of our first grandchild, Grace Caroline Huynh. She was born after about 60 hours of labor on August 31 (on a full moon — actually a blue moon!).

Grace is doing well, as are her mother, our daughter, Sharran and her father David. Thanks for the many prayers and well-wishes. It’s wonderful to be a grandparent 🙂

At the recent GCI U.S. regional conference in Aurora, Colorado, Bill Linge who pastors the GCI congregation in Boise, Idaho, received an Advanced Diploma in Christian Ministry from Grace Communion Seminary (GCS).

The diploma was presented to Bill by GCI president Joseph Tkach.