Category: Announcements

We are pleased to announce that Serge A. Volpe, a GCI elder serving in White Plains, New York, was recently awarded a Master of Arts in Ethnomusicology degree with High Distinction (4.0 GPA) from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Serge’s thesis, which received top honors, is entitled When Black Meets White in the Heart of Worship: A Case Study of Musical Changes in a Multiracial Church. Serge’s primary research question is: “What happens when African-American musical styles are introduced into the liturgy of a multiracial church where the liturgy had previously primarily consisted of European-American musical styles?” His thesis is available on ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Database or from the Digital Commons Database of Liberty University.

Dulcinea Reneé, who is 16 years old, attends GCI’s church in Bellevue, Washington with her family. She recently completed her debut music album, Good Things. It was released to about 450 radio stations and charted during its first week of radio play. Congratulations Dulcinea!

To read a review of Good Things click here; to listen to tracks from the album, click here.

The GCI home office staff in Glendora, California gathered recently for lunch to honor Mitch Vasseur. Mitch was given a watch and plaque to commemorate his 25 years of employment with the denomination.

Mitch began employment at GCI headquarters in June 1987. He first worked in telecommunications, then in special services for the Auditorium. In November 1990, Mitch became assistant manager in the telecommunications department; then in October 2002, he became its manager.

More recently, Mitch has been serving as the manager of facilities for GCI’s Glendora property. Many people also know that Mitch is a skilled drummer – he plays in various groups, including the praise team of the GCI congregation where he is a member.

Please join us in congratulating Mitch for his wonderful service to our fellowship!

We have posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BROjIHxhkyo a video of theologians discussing Paul Molnar’s book, Thomas F. Torrance: Theologian of the Trinity. The panel discussion was held during a joint meeting in San Francisco of the T.F. Torrance Theological Fellowship and the Karl Barth Society.

The GCI.org Church Development web page has been updated. It now provides a catalog of the media, programs and other resources provided by the Church Administration and Development (CAD) team to help existing churches to develop, and new churches to start.

The resources linked on the page (pictured below) are designed to help pastors, pastoral teams, ministry leaders and ministry workers share actively in the ongoing ministry of Jesus. The page is easily accessed by clicking on the Church Development tab found at the top of any of the pages at GCI.org.

Congratulations to Howard Blakeney who pastors GCI’s congregation in Marion, South Carolina.

Howard recently graduated summa cum laude from Cathedral Bible College in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with a Bachelor of Theology in Ministry degree. Howard is currently enrolled in the Masters of Theology program at the same college.

At a worship service last Sunday in Columbus, Ohio, GCI president Joseph Tkach presented a service plaque and watches to Jeffrey and Karen Broadnax to mark Jeff’s 25 years as a full-time employee of the church.

Jeff was first hired part time starting in 1983. He worked while attending Ambassador College, Pasadena, California in several roles: landscape and building maintenance, Imperial School graphics, the summer camp at Orr, Minnesota, and as an instructor at the college.

In 1987, Jeff was hired to work full-time in the church travel department. Later that year he began work as a ministerial trainee in the Pasadena West-PM church. In 1989, he was ordained an elder and named the congregation’s assistant pastor. In 1990, transferred to Big Sandy, Texas where he served as an associate pastor. Then in 1993, he transferred to the New York City area to serve in the Manhattan-Westchester congregation, where he became the senior pastor in 1996. In the years that followed, he became the senior pastor of the congregations in Middletown, New York; Hillsdale, New Jersey and White Plains, New York.

In addition to his work pastoring churches, Jeff has been active in GCI’s summer camp programs, serving for several years as director of the New Heights camp in Connecticut.

In 2010, Jeff and Karen and their children moved to Columbus, Ohio where Jeff now serves as the senior pastor of GCI’s congregations in Columbus and Chillicothe, Ohio. Jeff also serves as eastern region coach for GCI’s summer camps in the United States.

Last weekend at the U.S. Regional Conference in Lexington, Kentucky, GCI president Joseph Tkach honored Bob and Ruth Miller on the occasion of Bob’s retirement after 37 years of full-time employment with GCI.

Bob worked part-time in grounds maintenance and mail processing while attending Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas. Then in 1969 he began full-time employment as a ministerial assistant in GCI churches in Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tennessee. That employment ended the next year. In 1976, Bob was rehired, serving at church headquarters in Pasadena in several capacities including painting, mail processing, publishing, and media.In 1978, Bob became publishing production coordinator and was ordained an elder.

In 1979, Bob and his wife Ruth relocated to Alabama where Bob served as assistant pastor, associate pastor, and then senior pastor of the GCI congregation in Birmingham, where they remain today.

On May 18 of this year, Bob retired from full-time employment with the church. He continues serving part-time as the Birmingham congregation’s senior pastor.

We wish Bob and Ruth many wonderful years ahead as they continue to serve our Lord and his children.

At the recent U.S. Regional Conference in Lexington, Kentucky, regional pastor Greg Williams and his wife Susan were honored for Greg’s 25 years of GCI employment. GCI president Joseph Tkach presented Greg and Susan with a 25 year service plaque and watches to thank them for their years of devoted service.

While a student at Ambassador College in Pasadena, Greg worked part-time in several campus departments. Then in 1983 he went to work full-time as a physical education instructor in Imperial High School in Pasadena.

In 1985 Greg entered employed pastoral ministry as a ministerial trainee, serving in the Glendora, California congregation. Then in 1986 Greg was ordained an elder and began serving as an assistant pastor in Glendora. In 1987 he and his wife Susan transferred to Denver, Colorado, where Greg became an associate pastor in 1988.

In 1991 the couple transferred to Fayetteville, North Carolina, where Greg served as the church pastor. Beginning in 1997 he added responsibilities as coordinator of one of GCI’s annual festivals – a responsibility he held for many years.

In 2000, Greg also added the responsibility of heading up the basketball and volleyball programs at SEP in Orr, Minnesota. Greg served in many capacities at the camp in subsequent years.

In 2006, Greg left the employ of GCI, and began working as a regional leader for Youth for Christ in Atlanta. In 2008 Greg returned to employment in GCI, serving part time as director of GCI Generations Ministries – a job that became full time in 2009. In 2010, Greg joined Ted Johnston in developing a course in youth ministry at Grace Communion Seminary. And in 2012, Greg began serving as the GCI regional pastor of the eastern part of the United States.

Congratulations and thanks to Greg and Susan for their many years of service!

The following update is from Russell Duke, the president of Grace Communion Seminary (GCS).

Hallelujah! I am thrilled to announce that Grace Communion Seminary has been accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). Here is the first paragraph from the letter we received from DETC President Michael P. Lambert:

The Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council met June 15, 2012, and it is a pleasure to advise that the Commission granted accreditation to Grace Communion Seminary for a period of three years. We extend warm congratulations to you and your staff on this initial grant of accreditation.

This accredited status is effective immediately, and applies to all courses offered by GCS. The Accrediting Commission of DETC is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency. The Commission is also a recognized member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. The DETC report listing Grace Communion Seminary (under “One Institution Gains Accreditation”), can be viewed by clicking here. The DETC report states that GCS was founded in 1947. This is due to the fact that Grace Communion Seminary is a business name of Ambassador College.

This outside accreditation helps to assure quality of education by establishing minimum standards for education that must be adhered to by all its approved institutions. It provides a venue for peer accountability among online educational institutions and public accountability for consumer protection. It also provides greater opportunity for transfer of credit from GCS into other accredited institutions (though please note that it is the student’s responsibility to seek approval for transfer from the receiving institution if they want to transfer units, as is the case for students from all educational institutions).

We pray that accreditation will prove to be a valuable step forward for the church and for GCS, as we seek to promote Trinitarian theology and better prepare lay persons and pastors for ministry. The DETC letter closed with the following welcome:

Again, congratulations to you and your staff on the accreditation of Grace Communion Seminary. We look forward to a long and beneficial relationship with you and your colleagues in the years ahead.

We thank God for his favor and celebrate his blessing and the gift of his Spirit to participate in the life of Jesus Christ. Thanks for the direction given by Dr. Tkach and the Board, the hard work of our Dean Dr. Michael Morrison, the entire faculty, our Registrar Susan Earle, and the GCI support staff for their contributions on the journey. And thanks to all the students who have been such a great support through this process of accreditation for Grace Communion Seminary.