Category: Stay Connected

This update is from Rod Matthews, GCI’s mission director for Asia.

India

Daniel Zachariah (pictured at right), pastors GCI’s congregation in Secunderabad, India. He was asked recently by the Director of Person-to-Person Institute for Christian Counseling, Samson Gandhi, to present two seminars on his behalf. Mr. Gandhi is recovering from an accident that dislocated his shoulder.

Mr. Gandhi, who has preached in the GCI Secunderabad congregation on several occasions, appreciates our approach and emphasis on counseling in church, and as a result he invited Dan to join with him to help the churches and people of the Hyderabad/Secunderabad twin city area.

Dan has been volunteering as a counselor ever since and conducting seminars for the Institute’s program to train counselors. Dan also reported that recently the Director of Agape Bible Academy (an informal Bible school ) asked if he could conduct some classes for them. Their leadership asked him to teach a class on “Essentials of the Christian Faith” and after one session, requested he continue with two classes a month until the end of the year.

Sri Lanka

Mohan Jayasekera (pictured at right), is GCI’s National Director in Sri Lanka and the Senior Pastor of GCI congregations in Western Australia. He was invited recently to Sri Lanka to be guest lecturer for a four-day course at the Colombo Theological Seminary (CTS), titled Views of Scripture. The course covered important attributes of Holy Scripture, addressing such important questions as: How did the scriptures come into being? Did God override the personalities and personal efforts of the writers? What does “inerrancy” of the scriptures really mean? Mohan also presented a condensed version of the course at the Calvary Theological Seminary in Colombo.

The Colombo Theological Seminary’s publishing division printed both the Sinhala and Tamil editions of GCI’s course Discipleship 101 and the booklet The God Revealed in Jesus Christ. Discipleship 101 is used as a text in one of CTS’s entry level classes, and the Sinhala edition of the booklet has been distributed to hundreds of Anglican pastors across Sri Lanka.

New Zealand

At a recent special dinner in New Zealand’s national capital of Wellington, the CEO of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), John Morgan, presented the first-ever NIWA Excellence Awards. These awards were established to recognize people who have made exceptional contributions to NIWA, New Zealand’s premier research organization. The final award of the evening was presented to GCI New Zealand elder Dennis Gordon. In a special Executive Update, John Morgan stated:

Dennis Gordon, Group Manager, Marine Biodiversity, Wellington, won the Research Excellence Award for his central role in the creation of the three-volume New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity—documenting all the known species in New Zealand, over all time. Dennis instigated the project, managed the contributions of over 200 scientists, and oversaw the arrangement of taxa and editing, as well as making the inventory highly readable.

An article in The Wellingtonian reported,

For Mr. Gordon, compiling the catalog meant working with 238 scientists from 19 different countries to produce chapters on each living and fossil species of New Zealand’s plants, animals, fungi and micro-organisms…. He launched the project at a millennial symposium in 2000…. Volume one was published in 2009, volume two in 2010 and volume three earlier this year. He said it was challenging to find authors to describe all the groups of species, so he wrote 11 chapters himself.

The picture above shows Dennis (at left) being congratulated by the Chairman of the NIWA Board Chris Mace. Dennis commented later:

I was utterly stunned—there are so many excellent scientists in NIWA far more deserving and cleverer than I am. There was a financial reward and a bottle of Moët & Chandon that went with the award but that is small compared to the recognition by one’s peers (and the executive). I was overjoyed.

The boxed set of the New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity is being made available to New Zealand schools.

We are pleased to announce that the “launch service” for Hands for Christ — the newly planted GCI congregation in Staten Island, New York — occurred on September 16. Here is a report from Pastor Mary Bacheller.

What a great day it was! God was surely present. Our Launch Sunday service had 38 people (33 adults and 5 children) in attendance. The average age was about 38.

We opened with prayer and the whole service was conducted in American Sign Language with no voicing. It was truly wonderful! Following the service we met in the fellowship hall downstairs to celebrate the birth of a new church for the deaf: Hands for Christ Community Church!

The birth of this new church has been greatly helped by several people. First I want to mention the capable assistance given to me by Randy Bloom and Becky Deuel from GCI’s Church Multiplication Ministries (CMM). Also I have learned a great deal by attending Exponential conferences. I also want to give thanks for the love, support and prayers from our mother congregation, GCI’s New Life In Christ church in Queens, New York, led by its dedicated pastor, John Newsom and its ever-thoughtful elder, Jonathan Browne. I thank all these people from the bottom of my heart!

Note in the picture below the joy reflected in the smiles of those who attended this first service. Their generous offering reflected that joy and was an awesome tribute and praise to our Living God! I thank God for giving me the opportunity to lead a wonderful team in starting this new GCI church for the deaf in Staten Island.

This update is from district pastor Heber Ticas who is the senior pastor of Comunion De Gracia, the GCI Spanish-speaking congregation in Sun Valley, California. Heber has taken the lead role in planting a new congregation in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Our Lincoln Heights church plant continues to flourish as we approach our first-year anniversary in October. The Lord continues to amaze us as he opens channels for ministry. Attendance has settled at about 70 attendees. We are getting first- and second-time visitors almost every Sunday. I am encouraged that we have been able to retain and nurture a good number of these visitors. It has been a humbling and learning experience, and I thank the Lord for the awesome team that he has provided for us. Had they not obeyed the Lord’s calling, this would not have been possible.

We continue to do ministry through big-day events as we reach out to the surrounding community. We also focus on small-group ministries. Recently I redirected our evangelistic cell groups into missional small groups. The existing groups were gatherings where neighbors were invited to a Bible study. That approach served its purpose, which was to help gather folks leading up to launching the new church. But now our need is for small groups that more actively reach out to serve and thus connect with the community. And so we are currently piloting two missional small groups with a total attendance of 22 adults, many of whom are capable of leading a missional group of their own.

These missional small groups meet at a home once a month to nurture one another and then they reach out beyond the group: to the church, to the neighborhood and to the city. So far, this approach has worked well, with group members visiting area hospitals to pray for the sick and visiting people just starting to attend church. The groups are now planning projects to serve the city. Early next year we hope to multiply these two missional small groups into five.

So far this year we’ve had two baptism services (see the pictures below–click on them to enlarge). One service occurred at a nearby river where we baptized nine converts: six from our Sun Valley church and three from our new Lincoln Heights church plant.

The second baptism service occurred during a worship service at Lincoln Heights where five converts were baptized: three from Lincoln Heights and two from Sun Valley. Overall, we have baptized 14 new members this year. Lord willing, we will have more baptisms in early December.

This August, a team of seven Americans (pictured at right), including two high school students, two college students and three adults, went on a two-week mission trip to India to partner with the GCI church in the city of Hyderabad. The trip was sponsored by Great Commission Trips–a mission event ministry of GCI Generations Ministries.

The trip included several mission-focused activities including visits to three Christian orphanages where they gave the children donated clothes; presented programs with drama and singing; and helped the children make bracelets and animal balloons. Each of these activities incorporated the gospel message.

The mission team also spent five days at a local school, working with all of the classes from preschool through high school. Some team members led group games, while others taught a Values class that addressed such issues as standing up for what is right and acceptance of others. Others led a Cultural Exchange class that taught about both the U.S. and India. By the last day, the team had served all 750 students in the school, getting to know many of them personally.

The team also coordinated a Vacation Bible School for 50 children from the GCI church as well as the local village. The theme was “Shining God’s Light,” so all the messages, crafts, games and songs focused on that gospel message. In the photo below, children are being taught a worship dance. Throughout the two weeks, many adults in the community were served through a seminar for teachers, as well as a seminar on Trinitarian theology, both led by members of the mission team.

This update is from Eugene Guzon, GCI’s national director in the Philippines. He writes concerning the steps being taken in GCI Philippines following the death of Area Superintendent Captain Jessup Bahinting.

July and August have been quite a challenge as we recover from the shock and grief following the tragedy of the plane crash that took the life of GCI Advisory Council Member and Visayas Area Superintendent, Captain Jessup Bahinting.

Pastor Jessup was laid to rest on Monday, August 27 in Ginatilan, Cebu. The Bahinting family sends their deep appreciation for the support extended to them by members in the Philippines and overseas. Jessup’s wife, Margarita said, “We praise God for giving us a big family who continues to be a source of overwhelming support and encouragement during our time of loss.” I talked with her over the phone and she sounds well but exhausted from the series of meetings with the students and stockholders of Jessup’s flying school and in coping with the loss at the same time.

Pastor Terence Santibanez who is Assistant Area Superintendent of Western Visayas will now be serving as the Acting Area Superintendent for the whole of Visayas, assuming the role filled by Pastor Jessup. We thank and appreciate Pastor Terence for his willingness to assume broader responsibilities at this difficult time. He will be a great blessing to the churches in the Visayas in this new role.

Pastor Levi Yuson of Maramag church suffered a mild stroke while visiting Cebu for Pastor Jessup’s wake last week. He safely returned to Maramag after a few days of rest and is doing better. Let us pray for his full and speedy recovery.

Because of the growing need for ministers, we are committed to developing new and younger leaders to serve our churches. We are confident that God will continue to sustain us in our journey of faith. We thank our pastors, leaders and members for their continuing faith in God and love for our church family, as we serve with zeal and dedication in various ways.

CrossRoads Christian Fellowship (CCF), GCI’s congregation in Tipp City, Ohio, has for the last several years emphasized outreach to unchurched people living in the nearby community. As a result, many new relationships have begun, and the new friends have been invited to the congregation’s various discipleship gatherings, which include the Alpha program and classes using The Hope of Jesus, a small-group curriculum based in Trinitarian theology written by CCF’s pastor Jim Valekis. One of the wonderful results of these cultivating, planting and reaping activities was a special CCF service held last Sunday at which 12 people were baptized! Here are pictures:

Here is a comment about this service from Pastor Jim’s wife Becky Valekis, who coordinates CCF’s discipleship programs:

What a blessed and powerful day we had last Sunday! We are all still “glowing.” We baptized 12 people; some have been journeying with us for a few years and others are new to our fellowship. These baptisms are a result of much prayer and teaching over the last few months. Our next step is to help these people become “grounded in faith” – please pray for them.

Here is a letter to Pastor Jim from one of the women who was baptized:

What a wonderful day, Sunday! I just wanted to thank you again for yesterday’s baptisms, a day filled with such great joy that is difficult for me to express in words. What a great church service you provided for us in preparation for the baptisms. And to have so many attend and participate in the baptisms at the river was truly a unique and a very spiritual experience. You conducted everything in such an inspiring and spiritually moving way. Praise God for He, you and Becky made it happen! I thank Him for you two, for our little church, and for all the people He has put into our lives and continues to do so. I feel God’s grace is upon us all.

For disciplemaking tools, including those used by CCF, see GCI’s FaithTalk resource website at http://faithtalkgroups.blogspot.com/.

 

This update is from Eric Shaw, pastor of Community Life Fellowship (CLF), the GCI congregation in Altadena, California. CLF recently merged with New Hope Christian Fellowship, one of GCI’s congregations in nearby Los Angeles. This update tells the story.

As a congregation, we were experiencing the decline of our resources. We had not been able to draw new people and it became evident that our reserves would be depleted in a couple of years and our members would disperse or we would need to reconfigure into a small-group format.

As we considered our options, we began holding discussion forums after our worship service about once each month. We shared meals together and searched for ideas and vision. As we did so, it became clear that our best option was to merge with New Hope Christian Fellowship, a nearby GCI congregation, and place our remaining cash reserves in the GCI Southwest District church planting fund.

Although merging with another GCI congregation is not often an option for other GCI congregations in similar circumstances, we learned that open communication is vital. Even though people may not say much, it gives them time to process their thoughts and go through the grieving process that typically comes when a congregation faces closing. Indeed, the closing of a congregation is typically experienced as a great loss by those remaining to the end. However, we came to see ours as an opportunity to further our experience and maturity as disciples of Jesus and to leave a legacy toward our denomination’s future.

As we discussed these matters, we realized that our ministry is not over just because the doors of our congregation shut. We believed that God will open new doors. We focused on this concept at our final worship service, where we watched the movie, The Road to Emmaus. The movie emphasized the vital lesson that as long as we have Jesus, we have everything.

We also learned that it is important that communication continue following the closing. I still write my monthly letter to stay in touch with our members. We plan to continue to have gatherings (“reunions”) on a somewhat regular basis. We were a family and we don’t want to lose that. Many who had left before the closing still want to stay in touch and get together.

With the moving of our financial reserves to the GCI Southwest Districts church planting fund (which is coordinated by the GCI pastors pictured above), we are already able to provide support for the Filipino missionary couple planting a church in the Eagle Rock area of Los Angeles. We hope to see another new church develop soon. My hope and prayer is that this fund will not be depleted as we continuously replenish it through appropriate fundraising so that when God calls someone to our district vision for church planting, we will be able to offer them our support. By investing in this new opportunity, our congregation and its legacy live on and continue to impact the lives of others.

Rather than looking at the close of our congregation as a death, we look upon it as giving birth to new life. And rather than looking at it as failure, we see it as completion of an important aspect of the mission that God had, and continues to have, for us. Indeed, the journey is not over. The book is not completed. We have merely finished one chapter and now it’s time to begin another.

This update is from Ground Zero Church co-pastor Anthony Mullins.

Ground Zero Church, GCI’s new church plant in Aurora, Colorado, recently held a SEP Rockies camp reunion event, which included a worship service, meal and recreational activities.

Several Ground Zero members are on staff at SEP Rockies (Sarah Miles, who directs the camp is shown below speaking at the reunion event). Ground Zero leaders planned for a reunion attendance of about 60. However, 85 showed up – the largest attendance at Ground Zero Church to date!

Perhaps most importantly, the event drew four unchurched new families who live near Ground Zero’s meeting location. They seemed to enjoy the event and their kids returned the next evening for a youth group meeting.

The worship service at the event was filled with testimonies and laughter – there was a wonderful sense of the Holy Spirit’s presence. It seemed to several Ground Zero leaders that the event will be a catalyst for what God does next in the growth of their church family.

GCI Canada member Leigh Smithson recently made a mission trip to Africa where he visited various GCI congregations and contacts. Here is his report.

I left Canada for Africa on July 7. The plan was to ride “shotgun” with GCI’s African missions directors Tim Maguire and Kalengule Kaoma (KK for short).

Before I recount some of the stories, I need to share some thoughts about fear and worry. As Tim and I (sometimes with KK) traveled through the southern part of Africa, we faced many frightening, worrisome challenges. Yet, I felt calm, safe and generally free of fear. All credit goes to the Holy Spirit–and now to the stories.

Johannesburg

Tim met me at the Johannesburg airport. That evening, he hosted a meeting of the SEP camp staff (wonderful people!). Early the next morning, Tim and I packed the car and started on our journey. We headed east towards Mozambique–a route that would take us through Kruger National Park.

Kruger Park

Tim and I spent five hours in this amazing game park. We saw all sorts of animals and Tim got an elephant to “mock charge” our car (thanks Tim!). Was I worried? Well, yes, this got me a little concerned…why tempt the Lord?

Mozambique

At about 1:00 a.m., an ugly pot hole “attacked” our car and bent two tire rims. We pulled over to evaluate and discovered that one tire was rapidly losing air. As we started repairs, a stranger pulled up in a truck and offered help. I felt uneasy with his mannerisms as he took the hammer out of Tim’s hand and started to beat the rim into shape. I thought this was strange, so I made sure my back was never turned to him. As we got the tire inflated with a can of tire repair stuff, the stranger got back into his truck, but the engine would not start. Interestingly, he knew exactly how to hot wire the truck. Once it was started and before he drove away, he told us to follow him to his garage. We said okay, but when he pulled in, Tim kept going–he was sure the truck was stolen and that our “helper” was up to no good. Was I afraid? No but I was a wee bit leery. At 2:30 that morning, after almost 20 hours of driving the world’s worst roads, we parked at a closed gas station. We decided to sleep until dawn when the station would open and we could get gasoline. The place was mostly dark, with spooky shadows; it appeared to be almost abandoned. However, we were confronted by a guard coming out of the shadows, carrying an assault rifle. We told him that we needed to park until dawn so we could buy some gas. He said okay. Tim fell asleep, but as I tried, a large and noisy crowd of young men started to gather. I felt threatened and could not sleep. Eventually, around 6:00 a.m., a school bus picked them up – that was a close call! Tim made breakfast and we offered some to the guard. Was I worried? Not really…ha!

Malawi

We then traveled northward toward Malawi. I was surprised by the young guard who greeted us at the border. He wasn’t wearing a uniform and he smiled a lot. (I later learned that the more a guard smiles, the more trouble you are going to have!) As he interviewed us about the trip, he was twirling his handcuffs and asked for my yellow fever card. I did not have, nor did I need one, and was taken aback even more when he asked if I had been recently in Brazil. As it turned out, I had been in Brazil six months earlier, but that passport had expired and there was no indication of my trip to Brazil in my new passport. However, I said I had been there recently, and it took some quick talking to assure him that I had not been in the Amazon or the jungles (which are prone to yellow fever), so he eventually stamped my book. As we left, the young guard came out to our car and told us that he was fasting to hear God’s direction for him. I prayed for him, Tim gave him his card and we stepped on the gas! Was I worried?? Not a bit (plus we were able to witness). A few minutes after leaving the border station, we hit a deep pothole with a loud thud. We suspected from the sound that we had put a hole in the oil pan. The red oil light coming on confirmed it. We had no choice but to keep driving, and we soon arrived at a little town teeming with people. Loud music was blasting from some poor quality speakers. It was not a comfortable feeling! Tim left me in the car while he searched for oil. Meanwhile, night fell and the town’s power went out. I was now alone in the dark, locked in the car, with no idea where Tim was. Once again, the car was surrounded by a crowd of young men. But I was not worried–I was confident that God was looking after us, even though I was making plans for what to do if Tim did not return! Thankfully, after a long wait, Tim returned with diesel oil, which should be used only in diesel engines (we had a gas engine!). Now I was worried for the sake of the engine, but not for us! Fortunately, we made it to Blantyre, Malawi where we met KK. It was 10:00 at night and we were hungry, so we headed out to find food. However, the car stopped suddenly about two blocks from the lodge; it seems the engine had seized up and would not turn over. We had to walk down a dark street to a gas station to buy oil. The gas station had oil, but we did not have Malawian money. Another short walk to a bank machine was in order. Once again, a young guard there had a big gun. Tim got some funds and we returned to the gas station, bought the oil and walked back to the car. The little engine drank five liters, but it still would not turn over. We eventually pushed the car up an incline where we could then point it downhill. Then Tim steered the car while KK and I followed. It was easy to see where the car had rolled because there was a trail of oil on the road. As we pushed Tim’s car into the lodge parking lot, we could hear oil gushing from the engine. What a mess! Over the next several hours we made plans to get Tim and me back to Johannesburg and get KK to Lusaka. We would have to arrange for our flights and for a tow truck to take Tim’s car the 3,000 kilometers back to his home. In the meantime, we were safe in Blantyre and the ministerial conference would start in the morning. Was I worried? Not a bit. However, I was disappointed because I still wanted to experience Zambia, Namibia and Botswana. I guess that will have to be another trip.

Malawi Ministerial Conference

The conference was a delight. I met most of the people Rick Shallenberger wrote about earlier in the year. KK was host and he made sure that Tim and I were put to work! It was fun how KK arranged it; his exact words were, “You can talk about anything you want, but I want you to talk about conflict resolution methods.” Was I worried? Not a bit. Long before we planned this trip, God had brought into the Blantyre church a young man named Mike. He works for the church at the school doing maintenance, plus he is an auto mechanic! He was able to repair our car and get it running again. It ran flawlessly for the rest of the trip, bent wheel rims and all. There was nothing to worry about. God is in charge!

Malawi church visits

In one of the churches we visited in Malawi, 50 children were in attendance. They were so well behaved that it was a delight to be with them. With KK’s permission, I handed out peanuts that had been given to us earlier. As I did so, the children surrounded me, pushing so hard that I could not move. Looking down, I saw that some of them were being walked on. So I started throwing the peanuts away from me and the kids ran after them, giving us all room to move. Though I feared for their safety, the kids seemed to enjoy it. I don’t think I will do that kind of food distribution again!

Zambia

We next traveled to Zambia, KK’s home country. Though Tim and I had never been there, it soon felt like home to us, thanks to the wonderful hospitality from KK’s family. On Saturday afternoon we had a meal with most of the ministers working in Lusaka. Then on Sunday we met for church. Following that we said goodbye to KK’s family and the three of us headed out. On the west side of Lusaka, we got a call from KK’s family telling us that they had been in a car crash! Before they could share the details, the phone disconnected. You can imagine the heart-stopping thoughts that raced through our minds. We turned around, and then a second call came in. Fortunately it was not as bad as we had imagined–just a fender bender, but it meant we had to return to KK’s house and spend another night. However, this turned out to be a blessing for the family since it gave me time to run solar-powered lighting into KK’s house. Now the family can see at night without having to run extension cords and listen to a noisy generator.

Headed home

Now behind a day in our travels, Tim decided not to go to Namibia as planned. We said our goodbyes to KK and his family, and Tim and I headed off for Johannesburg. On the way, we visited Victoria Falls (magnificent!) and then camped for the night in Botswana. At 3:00 a.m., Tim’s air mattresses sprung a leak with a loud bang. Tim got up and repaired it and fell back to sleep. But I could not sleep–Tim had a cold and his snoring got quite loud. And then I heard loud snorts and grunts outside the tent. Earlier, we had seen warthogs in the area, but as I listened, I realized that these sounds were from hippos resting just 15 meters away. The only “protection” we had was a little barbed wire fence and the fabric of our tent! Was I worried? No, but I was pretty tired!

After 16 days on the road, we arrived back at Tim’s house, both of us still in one piece and still friends (my evaluation). I told Tim beforehand that I wanted to say our goodbyes before we got to the airport (I tend to choke up easily when I am sad). As we said goodbye at the airport, neither of us could speak. Goodbye was a couple of hearty hugs and a wave, and Tim drove off. But he got the last laugh – he had dropped me at the wrong gate! What amazing experiences we shared–many “near-misses,” 18 days (and nights) together–all this can either make friends or enemies. For my part, I feel a deep respect and love for Tim. He does a wonderful job in most difficult circumstances in an efficient and cost effective way. He is totally dedicated to his work as a GCI mission director. The same goes for KK; I really miss those guys and pray for them in a much deeper way than before. I know I will see them again someday and we will pick right up where we left off.

This update is from Pastor Mary Bacheller, who reports on the progress of Hands for Christ Community Church in Staten Island, New York. This new church is being formed principally by and for people who are deaf. Mary reports on two recent events that are important steps in preparing to launch the new church.

Launch team retreat

Mary gathered the 14 ministry leaders who are helping her start the new church (see picture below). They held a weekend retreat where the leaders introduced themselves and the group prayed for one another. Much laughter and some tears were shared. Of the 14 in attendance, three are GCI members. Seven of the others are either unchurched or have not been to a church in over 15 years. Mary shared with the group the vision, mission, budget and discipleship pathway that will shape the life of the new church. She then asked each leader for a one-year commitment to serve on the launch team. She also asked each of the leaders to complete a self-assessment survey called SHAPE: S=spiritual gifts, H=heart, A=abilities, P=personality, E=education/experience. The retreat ended with communion.

First formal Bible study

Fifteen people attended this event, the first in a series of Bible studies. It was held in the library of the church building where the new church will be meeting. It turned out that the library was too small to accommodate the group – next time they will meet in the church fellowship hall. For these studies, Mary is using the Alpha Course. The first study addressed personal friendships and a relationship with Jesus. The next study will address the identity of Jesus and God’s plan for humanity as revealed in Scripture.