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GCI Malawi report

GCI pastor and district pastoral leader Rick Shallenberger recently traveled to Africa on behalf of GCI President Joseph Tkach. For a report on his time in Zambia, click here. Following is Rick’s report on a Q&A meeting he held with pastors and other leaders in Malawi. Next week, he will share more about Malawi, introducing the pastors and giving information on the congregations.

Rick Shallenberger

On Saturday, January 14, I had the opportunity to speak at our congregation in Numenjale. On the way to the service I was informed that Malawi TV, one of two Malawi television stations, would be taping the service to be played later (it was played on January 21). This was one of those Holy Spirit moments, because when I realized I was preaching to all of Malawi, I shared the story of the Prodigal Son-Dancing Father and told the audience that all in Malawi are included in God’s love and plan. I’ve since been informed the response to the message was so favorable, they’ve played it two weeks in a row.

Following the service, I held a Question and Answer meeting with a group of our pastors and other leaders from that area. For four hours that day and two the next, we met at a lodge owned by Franklin Likupe, Chairman of the Board for the Malawi churches, and Chairman of Ambassador School. Here is a summary of what we discussed:

  1. Day of worship. I noticed that the congregation holds its worship services on Saturday. I asked if there was a particular reason. The first thing a few said was, “Well since the day doesn’t matter, we decided to not change it.” So I posed the question, “Not matter to whom?” After a few minutes of discussion, they came to agree the day does matter. All had stories about people wanting to come to church, but then not coming because services were on Saturday, a business day. After a while, I said it seems that their own culture tells them the day does matter. Then I talked a bit about the error in thinking that because it doesn’t matter to us, it doesn’t matter to others, along with the error we used to make, saying that it’s no concern of our to make it convenient for others. I suggested we focus on making it as convenient as we can for others to participate in worship by coming to church. They were looking forward to continuing this discussion among themselves.
  2. Name of the denomination. They asked what I thought of our name, Grace Communion International. I told them I could not think of a better name to describe who we are as a denomination. We talked about each of the three words in our name and their meanings and then the power of the name when all three words are put together. The more we talked the more excited they became about the name and its significance.
  3. Grace. One of the pastors asked me to help him understand grace better. So I pulled out two 50 kwacha bills (local currency). I then asked another pastor to name the four Gospels and told him if he did, I’d give him the money. He did and I gave it to him. Then I walked over to another pastor and handed him 50 kwacha. I told him it was simply because I loved him. He got very excited (not about the money) because he suddenly got what grace was all about. Then we talked about grace being undeserved. That led to a discussion among the men on how to handle various situations in their congregations.
  4. Grace based ministry. We had an animated discussion concerning how we can use a grace based approach in our ministry to people. One pastor was insisting that our chief responsibility is to point out to people their sins so that they repent and turn to Jesus. It was fascinating to see the group gather around this pastor, to help him come to understand a more grace based approach. It was beautiful to see this pastor (who sincerely wanted to understand) grow right before our eyes.
  5. The Lord’s Supper. On Sunday, I was asked to lead the group in communion, which I did. I commented that communion can be sober, however, it can also be joy filled. Communion is about us being one with the Father, Son and Spirit and about remembering that we are one together because of Jesus. I then led communion in a spirit of rejoicing and we ended with a shout of “Hallelujah.” There were many positive comments about seeing communion in a different light.
  6. Preaching. Because my sermon on Saturday included stories, I was asked how I come up with them. I told them I take stories from the Bible and my life experience – always to illustrate a key point in the sermon – relating it to real life. We discussed how Jesus taught using stories. I noted that the Bible is full of stories that we can use – in fact the Bible is God’s story, a story that, through Jesus, now includes us! And so we can use our life experiences to tell the story.
  7. Divorce and remarriage. It is common in their culture for a man to leave his wife to marry another, then not support the first wife and her children. Should this practice be allowed in the church? I shared that our responsibility is to teach about God’s love and forgiveness, not to condemn people in judgment. However, part of teaching about love is helping men understand that not supporting their wives and children is not showing love. This led to a discussion about men marrying girls as young as 14, and other related topics.
  8. Reaching the unchurched. A follow-up to the question about grace concerned how to reach unchurched people. We spent a lot of time talking about how we view the unchurched. We need to consider this before we talk about how to reach them. That discussion linked back to the sermon I gave about seeing people as God sees them and loving them because they are God’s beloved. This led to an animated conversation about being included and sharing the good news with others.

We discussed other topics including blessings and cursings. I ended by encouraging them to meet more regularly to let “iron sharpen iron” within their group of pastors. It was a profitable six hours – I felt like I was living in the time of the early church when Jesus told the disciples not to worry about what they were going to say, for the Holy Spirit would lead them. I had no way to prepare for this meeting, nevertheless, I felt that God used it to encourage, enlighten, comfort and uplift a group of dedicated servants of God.

Tammy Tkach visits Tucson

Tammy Tkach visited Grace of God Fellowship in Tucson, AZ, on January 29. She gave a sermon entitled “Our Relationship with Jesus, Part 2.” She showed how eternal life, which is knowing God through his Son, Jesus, is a close, affectionate relationship. And that relationship needs to be our main focus, the centerpiece of our lives. The occasion of her visit was very festive, with a visiting praise band, and a special meal.

Left to right: Pastor Ted & Lila Millhuff, Tammy Tkach, Michelle & Pastor Tom Landess

 

GCI Zambia report

GCI pastor and district pastoral leader Rick Shallenberger recently traveled to Africa on behalf of GCI president Joseph Tkach. Following is Rick’s report on his time in Zambia.

Rick Shallenberger

On December 30, 1991, the president of Zambia, Frederick Chiluba, declared his country a Christian nation. Since that day, crime has dropped, people have become more concerned for others, and churches have grown. Our GCI congregations are no exception. Though our members have very little, they are actively sharing God’s love and life with those around them. As a result, our existing churches are growing and new ones are being planted.

Kalengule and Nsama

I traveled in Zambia with Kalengule Kaoma, GCI’s mission developer for central Africa. He lives in Lusaka, Zambia with his wife, Nsama and their four children. Kalengule spends a lot of time traveling to many countries in central Africa, teaching and conducting training seminars for pastors and ministry leaders. Following is information about some of the key pastoral leaders we visited in Zambia.

Inyambo and Mutinta Nyumbu

Inyambo and Mutinta

Dr. Inyambo Nyumbu is national ministry director for GCI in Zambia. His wife is Dr. Mutinta Nyumbu. With Inyambo’s assistance, the GCI pastors and other ministers in Zambia are focused on building and otherwise supporting their churches. Given their poverty, they are constantly on the alert for ways to generate church income so that they can plant more churches. Businesses are started and profits are invested for the sole purpose of building the church.

Peter and Judith Chipempele

Peter and Judith

Peter and Judith built a home with bricks that Christ Fellowship Church purchased three years ago. Now they are collecting bricks to build a church to replace the tent they meet in. They have two children and care for two family “orphans” in their tiny home. Recently, they received a generous donation and are wisely investing about half of it to generate an income stream. They also plan to purchase bricks by the truckload and then sell some of them for a modest profit. It is important that African churches develop income streams because donations are very low due to deep poverty.

Peter asked if we could send him some theology textbooks and Bible reference books. He has a love of learning, but no means to pay for formal education. Kalengule said any books we send would be passed around among the pastors for all to use. We are now making arrangements to send books to them.

Kennedy and Zelipa Musopelo

Kennedy and Zelipa

Kennedy and Zelipa just started a GCI church in Lilanda and face many difficulties. Kennedy told me that it was quite an honor to be visited in his home by the African mission developer and a US representative. Our visit significantly raised Kennedy’s credibility in the eyes of his family and community. The Lilanda congregation is very poor and they are behind on their rent of $20 a month. We donated enough to catch them up and pay for the next few months as they pursue options for generating an income stream. Their church meets in a school building with15 classrooms. Each classroom is used by a different denomination – all holding church at the same time. Sometimes they try to outdo each other in their worship and preaching. When the 15 churches end their services, 15 more groups come in for the next service.

Kennedy and Zelipa are looking for a way to raise funds so they can buy some land and build a church that can grow. They are outgrowing the school classroom and need to find a place to establish a church home for current and new members. They also need to find a new home to rent or build so they can get out of the family home. Kennedy loves to learn and is beginning a new diploma program in theology.

Chris and Bibiana Kalaba

Chris , Bibiana and children

Chris and Bibiana and their five children live in Chawama. They are tenants in a small home attached to two other homes. Chris is seeking higher education and Bibiana is seeking her first education. She hopes to one day study law so she can help support the church with her future income.

The Chawama congregation is growing fast. The Sunday before our visit, they had 150 adults and many children in attendance. The children have class outside the main hall during the worship service. Due to our visit, they expect attendance to rise even more. Having their own building has been a real blessing, but they are quickly outgrowing it. They have plans to build a larger building with a wall around it for protection. Once a month they have “Bring a Brick” services. Members bring a brick to church, or they will go as a group and each purchase a brick to carry back to the church. These bricks are stored in one of the rooms of the church. When they have enough bricks, they will begin construction.

Again, many noticed our arrival and departure. You are constantly reminded of the value and significance of visiting the pastor in his church and in his home. It is quite an honor for them in the eyes of the community (and it is an even bigger honor for us!).

Jack and Kabwe Banda

Jack and Kabwe

We visited the Banda’s congregation in Chongwe, where I gave the sermon. The church meets in a school, which is owned by a church member. They serve a very poor community and are actively reaching out and growing. They have a large children’s ministry. They use a blended form of worship, mixing traditional hymns with African worship music. The service was energetic and inspiring.

Pastor Jack loves to learn and has a desire to attend Grace Communion Seminary to further his education and work toward a Master’s Degree. We aren’t sure how that will work because of limited Internet access, but we will look into ways to help Jack and others benefit from Grace Communion Seminary.

Grace Communion International is rapidly growing in Zambia. There are many challenges, but the pastors and wives are dedicated to meeting them. Their dedication to their pastoral calling and to the Great Commission is inspiring and humbling. Please join in prayer for our brothers and sisters there.

Teens serve homeless

Teens from New Hope Christian Fellowship (the GCI congregation in the Eagle Rock area of Los Angeles) served on January 20 at the Pasadena Bad Weather Shelter.

This outreach is coordinated by New Hope members Ron and Cora Grassmann (Ron served formerly as the landscaping manager at Ambassador College).

About 20 teens served about 150 homeless people at the shelter.

 

 

 

Mexican youth camp

The following report is from Samuel Mercado, national youth ministry leader for GCI in Mexico.

On November 19-21, 2011 the first Mexican youth camp was held in Maxamitla, in the Tiger Mountains about 135 kilometers from Guadalajara. About 38 youth from six GCI congregations attended.

The camp’s goals were to unite GCI Mexico youth, help them identify their spiritual gifts (and learn how those gifts relate to the gifts of others), and help them understand how they can take an active role in their churches back home.

The camp theme was “The Master’s Touch,” which centered on part of the “Journey with the Master” curriculum provided by GCI Generations Ministries.

Camp activities included singing and icebreakers, an evening bonfire, a tour of the nearby town and a hike to a nearby waterfall.

Camp instruction, which focused on the camp theme, included viewing the video Dust, which explores our calling to be disciples of Jesus and showing that Jesus has confidence in our ability to finish the work he has entrusted to us. Instruction also included a spiritual gifts inventory to help campers determine their dominant gifts (some discovered gifts they did not know they had!). Campers also completed an assessment to determine their personal relationship styles, learning how one style relates to another. Campers also wrote down their definition of the plan of salvation, then shared it with others. Finally, they filled out surveys concerning the camp and their local church to give input for making improvements.

The cost to the campers was subsidized, in part, by the GCI congregations in Tabasco and Guadalajara. Without this assistance, many would not have been able to attend.

Overall, the camp was a great success – no campers wanted to leave at departure time! New friendships were formed (and will be continued on a newly launched Facebook page). Campers showed great interest in becoming actively involved in God’s work through GCI in Mexico.

Historic gathering of denominational leaders

On January 13, Joseph Tkach (GCI president) and Russell Duke (GCI vice president) were guests at a historic gathering of denominational leaders held in Los Angeles, CA at the central offices of the Foursquare Church.

Foursquare president Glenn Burris welcomed leaders of the denominations that have formed the Wesleyan Holiness Consortium (WHC). The WHC brings together the Pentecostal and Traditional streams of the Weslyan Holiness movement to cooperate in mission in the 21st century. Member denominations are Assemblies of God, Brethren in Christ, Church of God/Anderson, Evangelical Free, Foursquare, Free Methodist, Nazarene, Pentecostal Holiness, Salvation Army, United Methodist, United Pentecostal and Wesleyan.

Vinson Synan, renowned church historian at Regent University from the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, reported on the meeting with enthusiasm, “This is an historic day. The divisions of a hundred years ago were laid aside today in a wonderful spirit of unity.”

Assembled leaders including Joseph Tkach (back row, 5th from left) and Russell Duke (back row, 7th from left)

 

Snowblast

The following report is from Doug Johannsen

Snowblast 2012 was held January 14-16 at Ironwood Springs Christian Ranch near Rochester, MN. Twenty-eight youth and 24 adults participated with an additional 22 members of the Rochester congregation present for the Sunday morning worship service. The mix of people included some from other denominations, one woman who can only speak Spanish and a ten-year-old Russian boy who was just adopted from an orphanage in Kiev by a couple in the Rochester, MN congregation.

Alter'd leads worship

The overall theme of the camp was “New” and this was reflected in interactive messages from Todd Fox, Tom Kennebeck, Troy Meisner and Jeff Skrove. A newly formed youth band (Alter’d) from the Champlin, MN congregation led worship on Sunday. An adult Christian Living session was conducted by district pastor Doug Johannsen for adult staff and other adults who remained after the Sunday worship service. Questions and insights from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book Ethics formed the basis for this discussion.

In contrast to 2011 when 80-100 inches of snow fell in Minnesota, our concern this year was the absence of snow and unseasonably warm temperatures, which threatened to eliminate the main outdoor activity of snow tubing. The tubing hill ends at the edge of a small river and the river was not frozen. However, two or three days before the event the temperatures dropped and a couple of inches of snow fell. By Friday evening the thermometer had dipped to -2 degrees and by Saturday afternoon the river was covered with ice thick enough to be safe.

Other camp activities included board games, using a pottery wheel to make pottery, arts andcrafts, making peanut brittle and making paracord bracelets.

Barranquilla, Colombia church

The GCI congregation in Barranquilla, Colombia has 45 members and an average attendance of 70. They meet in the recreation room of a local school. This location provides many opportunities for members to develop relationships with students at the school. As a result, they have a large children’s Sunday School.

In addition to their Sunday worship service, the congregation has a regular Wednesday evening meeting for prayer, worship and to equip members for service in the work of God. In this meeting new teachers are trained. They also hold monthly prayer and fasting vigils. The most recent one was on December 7 from 7:30pm to 2 am. Attendance was high and the results were refreshing. The congregation also provides discipleship classes, with several expressing interest in baptism.

The Barranquilla congregation held its first Christmas feast on December 17. They visited 27 homes near their place of meeting to invite families to come to the feast – 23 families accepted and about 50 neighbors attended with their children.

During the feast the children gave a presentation about Jesus’ birth. A group of girls then presented a dance. Refreshments were plentiful and delicious. There was a very festive atmosphere – demonstrating that Christmas is a celebration of great joy.

A message was given titled, “Christmas and Salvation.” There was also a brief workshop concerning the meaning of Christmas, which was very well received. The feast also provided the opportunity to celebrate the birthdays of two girl guests. Several visiting neighbors gave positive comments about the event and some who did not attend the event have expressed their desire to do so next time.

Outreach in Ohio & Indiana

The videos below are interviews with GCI senior pastors Jim Valekis (Tipp City, OH) and Roger Abels (Fort Wayne, IN). Each pastor discusses what his congregation is doing to connect with the unchurched community nearby where their church gathers for worship.

http://youtu.be/HBhi4sl2T64

http://youtu.be/izkIGz0JuBM

Videos like these, showing GCI congregations on journey with Jesus, can be viewed at It Looks Like This at http://gci-usa.blogspot.com/.

Outreach in Madrid

This report is from Pedro Rufian in Spain.

click on map to enlarge

GCI members in Madrid are thanking God for the opportunity to participate, along with most of the Evangelical churches in Spain, in “My Hope” – three television programs that presented the gospel for the first time on two nationwide TV stations in Spain. We hope these programs provide a means for many Spaniards to hear and respond to God’s call to come to Jesus Christ and accept and receive his love and grace.

We have received several phone calls from people who watched the programs because they had known about them through one of the 5000 brochures we distributed in the neighborhood where our congregation meets. The brochures offered a free subscription to our GCI magazine Verdad y Vida. In Villamanta, a small village of around 1500 inhabitants where I live, we distributed 500 brochures. We received a call from a family asking for a subscription to the magazine. We will follow up with a personal visit.