Category: Stay Connected

GCI members Jerome and Helen Ellard were recently named “Man and Woman of the Year” by the Big Sandy, Texas Chamber of Commerce. Here is the article that appeared on the front page of the local newspaper, The Big Sandy & Hawkins Journal.

Jerome and Helen Ellard were named “Big Sandy’s Man and Woman of the Year 2013” during the annual Chamber of Commerce Banquet in Big Sandy last week. This is an outstanding honor for someone to receive and especially a couple. The Chamber Board of Directors after consideration of several nominees from the community selected them as this year’s honorees. The selection was made on the basis of all around contributions to the community, not just for extraordinary performance in the individual’s business or employment. The directors were told that the nominees should have a consistent track record of accomplishments rather than being honored for a single act of merit. One of the keys to selection comes from the fact that the total person should be considered. Things such as general involvement in the community, public and civic service, organizations and church participations, outstanding special achievements, etc. The individuals selected should be ones who make personal sacrifices and give of themselves above and beyond the call of duty to help others.

Jerome is an elder in New Beginnings GCI where he and Helen serve on a ministerial team and are well known in the community for their service to others. They serve and volunteer out of a sincere desire to serve and not to be seen for what they do. “Let your light shine” can truthfully be seen in their lives. Our community benefits from the example that they set for others. Their willingness to serve no matter the area just reflects their faith and desire to encourage and help others to be lifted up. When you see one you find the other always serving.

There were dozens of activities and community projects listed that they have participated in during their ten years as a couple. Most of these are church related and carry over into helping to improve the community and spread the gospel through service to others.

They have always been individuals that truthfully meet the main criteria mentioned under the guidelines that states, ”be an individual who makes personal sacrifices and gives of himself/ herself above and beyond the call of duty to help others.”

Over the past four years three couples from New Beginnings have been named Man and Woman of the Year by the Chamber.

From its Disaster Relief Fund, GCI donated US$30,000 to the Bengali Evangelical Association. That donation is funding the rebuilding of a church multi-purpose building that had to be razed due to damage from a typhoon that recently devastated parts of Bangladesh. Here are pictures of the rebuilding progress.

This report on the start of a new GCI church in the Friesland province in the north of the Netherlands is from Santiago Lange one of GCI’ s mission directors in Europe.

The atmosphere at the inaugural service of our new Friesland church was celebratory and warm. I shared a message from GCI president Joseph Tkach and presented to the congregation’s newly commissioned pastoral coordinator, Matendo Makoti, a candle bearing the GCI emblem. In my message I drew a connection between the light of the candle, the meaning of the GCI emblem and our gospel commission.

During the service, the congregation’s leaders were commissioned. The congregation is looking positively forward to the future—I believe they have much potential for growth. I know that Matendo and all the leaders seek our active assistance, including our prayers.

GCI Mexico recently held a youth camp on the beach at Guayabitos. Total attendance was 30, including campers and staffers. The following report is from camp director Samuel Mercado.

Our camp was aimed at fostering unity among the youth who regularly attend our congregations in Mexico. The camp programs had a two-fold focus: first, that everyone understand that they can have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ; secondly, the continuation of the GCI Generations Ministries course, “Journey with the Master—The Master’s Calling,” which helps equip young people for their participation in ministry with Jesus.

During the camp five young people were baptized. The baptism service was conducted by Nathaniel Cruz, GCI’s youngest pastor in Mexico. Nathaniel also led the camp worship services. In addition to worship services, campers enjoyed recreational activities and prepared their own meals. On New Year’s Eve, campers visited the nearby beach and shared wishes for one another and their gratitude toward God. It was a moving and unique evening that included a special dinner. Some also took the opportunity to make a boat trip to watch whales migrating in the area.

The results of the camp are quite positive. New young leaders are emerging, new national projects are taking shape, and young people are accepting the call to work actively within their home congregations. This year, 18 campers received Jon Whitney Foundation grants—without this help, they would not have been able to attend. We all thank God for the opportunity to attend camp where we learned about the love of God and his will for our lives. Thanks to all who supported us!

Two Southern California churches recently bid farewell to their senior pastor, J. Richard Parker and his wife Sally. Richard recently retired after many years serving GCI as an employed pastor.

Richard, who was ordained in 1971, pastored GCI churches in Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Arkansas and California before becoming senior pastor of the Long Beach/Bellflower, California congregation in 1993, adding the Orange County congregation in 1996. Richard taught these two churches about the freedom they have in Christ, which replaces the bonds of legalism with grace-centered living. Richard served the members through preaching, counseling and writing (including his monthly Pastor’s Letter). Sally served by taking care of the church’s finances and membership contact information.

In his final Pastor’s Letter, Richard stated, “This is my last Pastor’s Letter… I must be a father, a grandfather, a husband, a brother and a son-in-law to my family. I must also grow old and eventually die. But the way of God will never die. In fact, it carries us all into eternal realms with God. The best to you all as you journey forth into those realms.”

The Long Beach/Bellflower and Orange County congregations are currently being pastored by Interim Pastor Eric Shaw and his wife Pat. The Shaws have graciously set aside their own retirement plans to serve the two congregations until a permanent pastor is appointed.

This update is from Carrie Smith a GCI pastoral intern serving in the San Diego, California area.

On January 24-26, a group of 20 that included GCI ministry developers, pastors, church planters and six pastoral interns gathered at CrossRoads Christian Fellowship in Tipp City, Ohio, for ConneXions, a conference focused on community outreach and church planting.

In the morning, CrossRoads pastors Jim and Becky Valekis led discussions concerning how they developed Christ-centered “conneXions” with their focus community in Tipp City (for information about the Valekis’ community outreach, click here). In the afternoon, the group discussed the culture and context of their home communities. This discussion was led by Hal Haller, a church planter and mission strategist from Jacksonville, Florida. Hal emphasized utilizing the outreach and church growth strategies exemplified by the early church in the book of Acts. As the group said their goodbyes, they left encouraged and ready to do their part in making “conneXions” within their own communities.

This update is from George Hart who pastors one of GCI’s churches in the Cincinnati, Ohio area.

As part of our celebration of Black History Month, Christ Community Church was visited by a true American hero—Mr. Leslie Edwards, one of the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II fame.

Mr. Edwards was born in 1924 in Memphis and joined the military where he rose to the rank of staff sergeant and flight chief. He was part of a team handpicked to maintain planes used in night flight operations to train navigators. In 1945, while stationed in Seymour, Indiana he witnessed the so-called “mutiny” at Freemen Field. African-American officers tried to enter a whites-only officers club and many were arrested. Mr. Edwards insisted that it was not an act of rebellion, but an effort of African-American officers to stress the importance of a fully integrated military. Mr. Edwards said, “Sometimes you just have to do the right thing.”

Mr. Edwards is critical of the movies about the Tuskegee Airmen, even the latest, Red Tails, by George Lucas. He referred to these movies as “the Hollywood version of the story” that are full of inaccuracies, including the following:

• The Tuskegee Airmen did not receive inferior aircraft and equipment but were provided the best the Air Force had to offer.
• It is inaccurate to say the Tuskegee bomber escorts did not lose bombers. They did have the highest return rating but “no one went up against the highly trained Nazi pilots in superior equipment and returned with no loses.” They witnessed many young white bomber crews plunge to their death.
• The movies fail to mention the number of white military and congressional leaders and people like First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt who fought for full integration of the military, or President Harry Truman who wiped out segregation in the Armed Forces by Executive Order in 1948.
• There is no mention of the many awards and citations the Tuskegee Airmen received including the Legion of Merit, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. In 2006 they were awarded the distinguished Congressional Gold Medal. Mr. Edwards brought his medal for the audience to see.

Mr. Edwards encouraged us to watch the soon-to-be-released documentary Double Victory, which more accurately portrays the Tuskegee Airmen story.

Mr. Edwards stressed that humanity, with its diversity, is better together than separately. He referred to segregation as an evil of our past that has hurt everyone in the nation. Several times his eyes welled with tears as he spoke of the hurt caused to both blacks and whites.

Mr. Edwards attended the recent inauguration of President Barack Obama. Of the thousands of Tuskegee Airmen who served as pilots, mechanics and ground crews, 187 were present. Most were in wheelchairs, though Mr. Edwards was able to walk out under his own strength. The airmen were recognized as a significant part of history that led to an African-American being elected president.

GCI elder Dishon Mills with his wife Afrika are in the process of planting The Redeemed of Christ Church (ROCC) in Randolph, Massachusetts (near Boston). Here is an update from Dishon concerning their progress as they prepare for a public launch in September of this year.

As we continue to follow where the Lord leads, we grow closer to the time of our public launch. In preparation, our focus has been on prayer, building relationships with people in our focus community, strengthening our core team, establishing administrative systems and fundraising. Here are some of our key activities:

• Preparing to move our meetings to a more central location
• Conducting Food & Faith gatherings where we build relationships with new people in our focus community
• Fine-tuning financial and other key administrative systems (with much-appreciated help from the folks in the GCI home office)
• Visiting area churches to talk about what Jesus is doing in Randolph
• Serving needy people in our focus community through home care, providing food and sending children to GCI’s New Heights summer camp
• Equipping our core team through various conferences including the CMM summit and the Exponential conference

Please pray for us, asking the Lord to supply our need for additional workers and for guidance and support through this critical period.

This update is from Curtis May, director of The Office of Reconciliation & Mediation (ORM), an independent ministry, which partners with GCI on projects of mutual interest.

ORM and its 28 chapter leaders continue to reach out to churches both inside and outside of GCI. We recently held reconciliation workshops in Portland; Vancouver: Detroit; Phoenix and Beaumont, California (where we had a particularly lively gathering). Due to the nature of our ministry, ORM works both interdenominationally and internationally.

On January 24, ORM’s editor Neil Earle interviewed the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s close friend and colleague Dr. James Massey. Dr. Massey is an accomplished scholar and author of 18 books. He formerly served as the Dean of Chapel at Tuskegee University and during the turbulent 1960s he pastored in Detroit. Dr. Massey stated emphatically that people “must know that we are one, then the commitment to fix our experiment in democracy will surely follow.” For a full report on this interview, click here.

I invite you to learn more about ORM at atimetireconcile.org where you will find upcoming ORM events, information about ORM local chapters and ideas for celebrating Black History Month.

About 85 leaders from GCI Generations Ministries’ camps, mission trips and administration gathered recently in Southern California for Converge West. Also participating were GCI youth ministry leaders from outside the U.S. and special guest Jeff McSwain who leads Reality Ministries.

Converge is the annual summit of GenMin’s leaders, held this year in two locations: Southern California (now completed) and Ohio (in April). The purpose of Converge is to gather for inspiration, encouragement and instruction. Participants worshipped, shared meals and fellowship, and participated in discussions with Jeff McSwain and various GenMin leaders.

Information about Converge West and the upcoming Converge East is found on GenMin’s Facebook page and the GCI website.