Category: Stay Connected

Here are reports of two recent events in GCI-Canada.

Elder ordained in Calgary

GCI-Canada National Director Gary Moore reports that during his recent visit to the Calgary congregation, he and his wife Wendy were privileged to participate in the ordination of Emily Lukacik as an elder. Emily and her husband Andrew (pictured at right) are long-time members and servants of the Calgary church.

Camp Connections fundraiser

Mark Yandt reports a successful fifth annual bike ride to raise money for GCI’s Camp Connections. A team of 15 riders (pictured below) raised a total of $13,400. Mark commented:

Not only did we raise more than in previous years, but almost 80% of our fundraising came from supporters with no previous affiliation with Camp Connections or with GCI. Our biggest fundraiser again this year was Karl Moore (in the red jersey below) who raised over $5300 and promoted the trip for months beforehand on Facebook and Twitter. He even posted updates during the ride and raised over half of his support during or after the ride was completed!

This update is from GCI-England Pastor David Bedford.

Seven years ago, our congregation in England moved to St. Andrew’s Church in Carr Clough and began to work together with them on combined outreach projects. Last year we began holding joint meetings the first Saturday of each month in what is known as “Messy Church” (www.messychurch.org.uk/).

Messy Church (one of our meetings is pictured at left) is for younger children accompanied by at least one parent or other adult. A theme is chosen for the meeting. Our first one was Abraham. At the start, a brief ten-minute explanation of the theme is given. Then, for the next hour, or so, the children work on various craft items related to that theme. We had one craft of sticking stars on a page to make a pattern. Another was drawing a beach with the sea, sky, sun, etc., plus sticking real sand on the beach. They could also build their own personal family tree as Abraham was a father to many nations. There was the opportunity of coloring a picture of the three men at Abraham’s door, plus other craft work. About eight different items were offered. As the children enter we give them a brown paper bag with their name on it to leave on a table and, as they complete each craft, it is popped in the bag to take home at the close.

At the end of the craft section a fuller explanation of the theme is presented and the children are encouraged to ask questions and join in. Two or three children’s hymns are sung followed by a closing prayer. Following that, a cooked meal is provided, giving the helpers opportunity to sit down with the visitors to chat and get to know them. We have one collection box at the food counter and another at the reception desk for any donations.

Including the helpers, we were graced at our first meeting with an attendance of 107, of which 52 were children. This was more than twice as many as both congregations combined. We had planned food for 60, but God did a loaves and fishes’ act and we had enough.

As the Messy Church book states, “expect lower numbers after the first meeting.” They were right; our attendance dropped to 49, then 36, in large part due to summer travel. For that reason we’ll probably not have meetings in August in future years. In September our number jumped back up to 92, and for the months from October through May the numbers have fluctuated between the low 50s to high 60s.

The “fruit” so far? The churches involved have grown closer and some Messy Church participants have begun attending church for the first time or more regularly. Most importantly, seeds have been sown that God, no doubt, will water when the time is right. One child who attended said this: “I like Messy Church because it’s lots of fun. It teaches us about God’s story in a different way.”

Leaders and their families from GCI congregations in France met recently outside Paris to review current activities and future plans. The conference was a time of much-needed reflection and fellowship with lots of laughter and good food!

During the conference, James Henderson, GCI mission developer for Europe (at center in the picture above), led interactive discussions on getting back to the basics of Christian ministry, and on comparisons between cultural and biblical Christianity. The group made plans for their annual worship festival in France—this year it will take place in Evian from October 17-24.

Here is a video produced by GenMin’s SEP So Cal camp in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the SEP camp in Orr, Minnesota. We encourage you to use the comments section below to post your own remembrances of SEP.

On YouTube at http://youtu.be/iIVUo0l6p1g.

For several years, GCI members from the Philippines have served as missionaries in Thailand. One of their ministries (pictured below), in partnership with other Christians in the community, is to serve incarcerated youth in the city of Rayong, Thailand. To read more about this ministry, go to http://my.gci.ph/rabim-opens-this-first-semester/.

In the U.S., GCI Generations Ministries (GenMin) is sponsoring several youth camps this summer. Here are reports on two held in Tennessee.

Higher Ground

This report is from camp director Natalie Sturgeon.

Higher Ground 2015 was EPIC! With 128 campers and 47 volunteer staff, it was a year for firsts in our second year in Townsend, Tennessee. We started camp with a flash mob lip- syncing the song Geronimo by the group Sheppard. I told the story of the origin of the word Geronimo, which fit well with the Epic Story curriculum. All week long campers yelled Geronimo! as they jumped off the diving board, climbed the high ropes and played laser tag.

On Sunday night we had a Block Party with campers running around doing silly games to gain points. On Monday the oldest boys dorm explored caves and the day conclude with a whole camp dance. On Tuesday the oldest girls explored caves, then Tuesday evening we held our most popular event, the Color Run Obstacle course. Wednesday was filled with gagaball, 9-square, laser tag, swimming, archery, cooking class, arts and crafts, climbing wall, high ropes, low ropes, hiking to the waterfall, dodgeball, kickball, ultimate frisbee, flag football, and blacksmithing. The day ended with a Variety Show, complete with our camp magician. Thursday was full of several firsts including canoe battleship in the pool and a lip sync contest. These activities gave the campers a great opportunity to learn a bit more about being who we are in communion with the Father, Son, and Spirit.

Friday featured pool parties and Highland Games (Caber Toss, Sheep Toss, Toss the Hagis and Kilt Run). Saturday morning everyone was sent off with final few words about being “dipped cones”—dipped in the Father, Son, and Spirit, surrounded by the love of the Trinity. Just like peanut butter is to jelly in a sandwich, we cannot be separated out from our Triune God.

Here is a Higher Ground 2015 video (on YouTube at http://youtu.be/2GdsjoBIly0):

Base Camp

This report is from camp director Wayne Wendt.

It was a joy to see what our Lord did at camp this year, once again held at Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park near Eva, Tennessee. We had 46 campers served by 24 staff members as we gathered an Epic adventure that will likely inspire our youth for a long time to come. With 23 girls and 5 boys making up our youth campers and 15 girls and 3 boys making up our teen campers, we set out on an adventure that included a block party, our historic “Night Furry,” an all camp dance, and for the first time this year, “Clan Wars.”

Epic Story was our curriculum, and we found the ideas and videos of great help in presenting the topic of God’s Trinitarian love for all humanity. To have the opportunity to share that love both in story and activities was nothing short of “good times.” Activities included crafts, journaling, team-building, nine square and target practice.

Following camp, one parent commented, “I’ve never seen a camp where the kids have fun and didn’t argue with the leaders!” Although we had fewer campers this year, we witnessed lives being changed as campers and staffers were given the chance to see how their stories fit into God’s Epic Story. Most importantly, the campers went away knowing they are loved.

Here is a video from Base Camp 2015 (on YouTube at http://youtu.be/V-xh7TFWbgI):

It’s always a joy to learn of baptisms in our congregations around the world. Recently seven people were baptized in New Outlook Christian Fellowship in Attalla, Alabama (pastored by Rannie Childress), and four were baptized in our church in Bogotá, Colombia (pastored by Hector Barrero). The pictures below show some of those baptisms (Alabama in the top row, Colombia in the bottom row). We praise God for this fruit of the gospel in our midst.

As mentioned by Joseph Tkach in his letter in this issue, Pathways of Grace, one of GCI’s congregations near Dallas, Texas, hosted an “Outside the Walls” training event. The video below shows highlights of the community outreach segment of the event.

On YouTube at http://youtu.be/HMf4ahtonbw

In addition to sponsoring camps within the United States, GCI Generations Ministries sponsors short-term mission trips to locations around the globe (see http://www.generationsministries.org/mission-trips.html). Here are reports on two recently completed trips—one to Mexico and one to Colombia.

Mission trip to Mexico

In June, Crossing Borders mission trips marked its tenth year of conducting mission trips when 19 missionaries from around the U.S. participated in the organization’s 19th mission trip to Mexico (they make two trips each year).

God blessed the group with good weather, safety, great camaraderie and many opportunities to join him as he writes his “epic story” in the lives of each individual he has created. No two years are the same on a Crossing Borders trip. The leaders communicate in advance with ministry partners in Mexico, asking, “What can we help you with this trip?” The goal is to be a blessing by supporting the on-the-ground ministries of these partners.

These partners request various kinds of assistance: teaching VBS classes, fixing broken items, helping with outreach events, preaching, providing food, etc. Almost all the requests on this trip were for repair and construction projects. As the trip planning team considered how to fulfill the requests, God was sending applicants with great construction skills.

Though the missionaries preached, played with children, fed the needy and conducted other outreach activities, their main focus was to build a large shade shelter for a church, hanging new ceiling fans and doing a major bathroom remodel in a children’s home, repairing a refrigerator, mowing grass, painting two houses and more. The group also conducted an all-day Fiesta at a children’s home with face-painting, games, balloon animals, Bible lesson, squirt guns (a big hit!), two meals and a piñata filled with candy.

The next Crossing Borders trip to Mexico is scheduled for December 11-14, 2015. For more information and an application form, go to www.cbmission.org or phone 903-746-4463.

Mission trip to Colombia

As reported last week, a group from the U.S. (pictured below with trip coordinator Janet Morrison at left) traveled in June to Barranquilla, Colombia to work alongside the GCI church there. The missionaries hosted a Vacation Bible School for children 5–12 years old. One requirement for the trip was that participants have had at least three years of Spanish in high school or grew up speaking the language.

Seventy children attended the VBS, with about 22 people serving as staff, including the 10 from the U.S. The theme for the VBS was the “I am” statements of Jesus: I am the Good shepherd, I am the Bread of Life, I am the Resurrection, I am the Light, I am the Way the Truth and the Life. Each day included a Bible story, crafts and games to match the theme. The children loved the VBS and at dismissal each day would excitedly tell their parents what they had done and show their craft.

On the Sunday following the VBS the children and their parents were invited to church. The Barranquilla, Colombia church usually has about 70 in attendance but this Sunday it had 170 (including 51 children). Hector Barrero, pastor of the Bogotá church and GCI’s mission developer for Latin America, gave the sermon. The children enjoyed an age-appropriate class and made a craft. Here are comments about the VBS:

• “It was a real inspiration that you came from the United States.”
• “I don’t want it to be over.”
• “All I hear at home are the songs and memory verses.”

This report is from GCI pastor Karl Reinagel, who pastors a GCI congregation in St. Louis, Missouri.

Our congregation recently hosted an Experiencing the Trinity retreat that was conducted by a team from Odyssey in Christ. Several of our local members attended along with GCI members from Colorado, Illinois and New York.

Experiencing the Trinity is designed as an opportunity to enjoy the presence of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The retreat was run on “Kairos time.” Watches and electronics were banned, allowing one to simply sit in God’s presence without the distractions of email, phone calls and worries of getting to the next scheduled event. To help enter Kairos time, the retreat started with a night of silence. One participant said, “That night was a great way to refocus the mind from our lives, ministries and the people around us and to focus in on God alone.”

A theme of the retreat was: it is okay for your prayer time to “accomplish” nothing. “Few things are better than to ‘waste time’ with God,” Bill Wells from the Odyssey in Christ team said in his presentation. Throughout the retreat, the theme of unwinding and relaxing in God, experiencing him and being experienced by him, was prevalent.

Many of the local members who attended said they received encouragement and strengthening by having a time set aside just to sit in God’s presence and talk with him, fulfilling Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-16, “That out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith.” There is a time to accomplish tasks, but we also need time to be with God as a child sitting in the lap of their Father.

Each day during the retreat we went through different spiritual rhythms and prayers. It was meaningful to us that the day we focused on the ministry of the Spirit was very windy and fell on Pentecost. It was a perfect ending to a weekend filled with experiencing our triune God and enjoying the fellowship of other believers. We look forward to another Odyssey in Christ retreat in 2016.