On June 9-11, we hosted our second annual neighborhood youth camp. The day camp took place at our church-owned facility that provided a nice, outdoor playing field and a basketball and volleyball court. We chose the name Grace Camp, and our stated purpose is: “To enjoy life together in the grace and love of God through fun, friendships, and faith in Jesus.” Our chapel theme was “Jesus’ Words are Good News.”
Campers ages six through 17 enjoyed a safe, fun, and inspirational time together. Participation increased to 25 campers this year from 18 last year. Eleven campers were first-time participants, over half of whom came from the nearby neighborhoods. Our volunteer staff of 20+ adults worked hard and did a great job. Each day began at 9:00 a.m. and ended around 7:00 p.m. The campers and staff returned to their homes each night.
We provided the campers breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals. In addition to a daily chapel worship service, activities included: arts and crafts, water balloon battle, volleyball, basketball, block party, a Christian movie, dance lessons and dance, dodge ball, and a talent show. The camp also included offsite outings to the zoo and to a water park. The weather was good, although hot, and no activities were rained out—for which we’re thankful to the Lord!
On the last day, we ended with a very nice dinner for everyone, including the families of the campers. At least two of the families who came expressed their intention to worship with us in the near future. As we connect more with our neighbors around the church facility, we want them to know that we care about them and their children and are here for them. We would be pleased to be a part of their lives along their path of discipleship with Jesus. In any case, we have already succeeded in showing them the love of Christ and the joy that comes through serving him!
Visit our Facebook page to view more photos. Watch a video slideshow of our camp: Grace Camp 2022
Our beloved brother, Sonny Parsons, died on May 12, 2022. He pastored the GC Big Sandy congregation for 13 years and was a current member in his retirement. His memorial service on May 22 in Big Sandy was attended by many whose lives were deeply impacted by his kindness and service. He will be deeply missed.
Frank “Sonny” Parsons grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, and has a long history of community service. He went to Provine High School, where he met his wife, Jane. They enjoyed more than fifty years of marriage before Jane passed away in 2017.
As an Eagle Scout, the Boy Scout organization was important to him. Sonny helped found one of the first camps for children with intellectual disabilities in Mississippi. He attended Mississippi State University and Ambassador University and served many years as a school administrator and educator.
He believed we should never stop learning, growing, and serving. Sonny served on the Big Sandy City Council, was the mayor of Big Sandy for three terms, and served on the Volunteer Fire Department. He was a loving, peaceful, kind man, and a loving husband and father. Above all, Sonny loved our Lord and Savior.
Cards and notes may be sent to his daughter: Amy Peeples 420 VZCR 4503 Ben Wheeler, TX 75754
Visit here to read more about Sonny’s full life of service.
As a member of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), and we join them as the body of Christ, praying for those affected by the loss of life and asking God to help us pursue sustained efforts towards love and justice. Click the link below to read the full statement by the NAE.
Are there specific ways your church is comforting your neighbors at this difficult time? Write to us about it: update@gci.org
Recently the congregation I attended in Orlando closed. The reasons for closing congregations are many and varied. Yet one thing is true: their closure is often a time of sadness. Yet it can also be a time to celebrate Jesus by focusing on the God who raised it up and was at work in the congregation over many years.
Steve and Carol Schantz
Pastor Steve Schantz decided to make it a celebration, so I asked him to tell me the specific things he had in mind when framing the service as a time of celebration.
“We had three things in view as we planned a celebratory worship service together,” Pastor Steve replied. “First, we sought to honor all the ways God has blessed this part of the body of Christ during our time together. Second, we wanted to provide a time of fellowship and food together. Third, we sought to provide the opportunity to stay connected though no longer meeting together regularly. The printed programs had room to write a note or share an address or phone number, and my wife and I added a handwritten note to each one.”
We certainly experienced a time of celebration. It was a time of worship as we reviewed some of the collective and individual ministries where the Holy Spirit worked in and through the congregation. It was a time of fellowship as invitations were sent to people who were no longer attending the church. More than seventy people showed up. The catered meal that followed the service was a time of joyful reconnecting, reminiscing, and rejoicing in ways God has been at work in people’s lives.
Ruth Haley Barton has said that God is so faithful that any little space we open up to him, he fills with his presence. And he certainly did just that. One of our members asked if her great granddaughter could be blessed during the service. God blessed us by allowing profound ministry to happen at our closing service. A new life was formally welcomed into the family of God.
The juxtaposition of closure and new life made me think of Ecclesiastes 3:1-4, which affirms that human experience is framed by lifecycles. We were reminded that even churches have a lifecycle in which closure can be a reality, but God’s work through his people does not come to an end. That which looks like death can lead to new birth. That which is uprooted can be replanted. A season of mourning can turn into a time of laughter and dancing.
Maybe another way of saying that is to remember that God does not allow anything to happen in our lives that he cannot redeem. With that in mind, there is no better way to face life’s varied circumstances, including the closure of a church, than Paul’s encouragement:
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Col. 3: 17
By Charles Fleming, Southeast Regional Support Team
Join us in honoring David Beckner, who retired in April after 15 years as a part-time GCI employee. David served as the pastor of GC Snellville, GA.
A retirement celebration will be held Saturday, July 30 at Living Hope Christian Fellowship in Atlanta, GA. If you would like to attend, please email Phil Doele for more information. phil.doele@gci.org.
Cards may be sent to: David & Gayle Beckner 15 Magnolia Walk Covington, GA 30016-1153
Congratulations, David and Gayle! We are very grateful to you both for your many years of faithful service.
We wanted you to hear from David, in his own words.
I am married to the greatest female on earth, Gayle Grimes Beckner. We were married on April 1, 1984—thirty-eight years of a wonderful relationship.
I have been a member of GCI since 1973, baptized in Kingsport, TN, the same year. I was always involved in the activities of the church—everything from Spokesman Club, to ushering, to teaching children’s classes. The thought of ever doing more was never a serious consideration for me until I was ordained a deacon by Earl Williams in 1991.
I became an elder in 1999 and began giving sermons at that time. Public speaking had never been easy for me, but the years in Spokesman Club certainly helped. This ordination put me closer to becoming a pastor, although the possibility had not taken root. When our current pastor stepped down, I believed the Home Office would find someone to take his place.
In 2005, our pastor Howard Shadoan invited Gayle and me to lunch. You guessed it! He asked me to consider my calling and proposed that he mentor me for the next two years until his retirement. For some reason, I immediately said yes without even telling him to give me time to pray and think about it. Maybe I was more ready than I realized—God’s timing is always perfect.
The thing I enjoyed most about pastoring was preaching directly from God’s word. I would have never imagined this years ago. I also enjoyed interacting with people in small groups.
My main concern was meeting the needs of people in my church. I worried whether I was really fulfilling that role. I lost many a night’s sleep thinking about this. Eventually, I reached a point where I had to acknowledge that I was limiting God’s role in people’s life in my ministry. God deals with people effectively whether we as pastors do or not. We need to do our part, but God will do his work despite of what we as pastors do or think. When a pastor realizes this, a lot can be taken off his back and mind.
I have deeply appreciated and enjoyed my time in GCI and will forever treasure the relationships I have developed over the years.
Eula’s proud parents are Esther Carlisle Doele and Phil Doele, the pastor of GC Snellville, Georgia, U.S.
Let us share in the joy of Eula Brigitte Doele’s accomplishment! On Sunday, May 15, 2022, she received her high school diploma from The Westminster Schools in Atlanta, Georgia.
Eula will be attending Yale University this fall. Her intended major is Ethics, Politics, and Economics.
Eula’s older sister, Christianna (guest host of GC Podcast), preceded her at The Westminster Schools. As Eula enters her undergraduate program, we know Christianna will be cheering her on from Georgetown University, where she is studying Foreign Affairs. Prayers would be appreciated for Esther and Phil as they transition to an empty nest. (This is a term used in the U.S. to describe when children move away from home.)
Eula, all who know you have seen your heart for those who experience injustice. May the God of Light guide your steps as you bear the triune image of love to a hurting world. Congratulations!
It is with sadness we announce the death of Steven Lewis Broadnax of Cincinnati, Ohio. Steven died on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, at the age of 67, surrounded by loved ones. He will be greatly missed.
He is the brother of Jeff Broadnax, Regional Director of the Eastern U.S. Jeff shared the following reflection:
My big brother was one of my heroes growing up. We were eleven years apart so everything he did was super cool to me. As we grew into adulthood, I continued to admire him as a man, husband, father, brother and child of God. His smile was infectious and a true love (that could only come from God) was always felt by those he came into contact with.
Cards may be sent to: Jeff and Karen Broadnax 1211 Deer Path Court Grove City, OH 43123-8750
We are Grace Communion River Road, formerly Grace Communion Eugene and before that, Living Grace Fellowship. We have gone through many names, but our heart has always remained the same. We have been a people that have endured many moves in our long history—including grange halls, schools, movie theaters, and square dance palaces!
More than twenty years ago, we were fortunate to land in a Methodist church that offered us a chance to heal and realize our purpose both within the congregation and without, but we knew it wasn’t a permanent home. We started our search for a permanent location, and we ended up just jumping from that church to another one that felt even less like the place we wanted to be. But at least we were able to make the change to Sunday at that location.
We finally hired a realtor to help with the search, but she didn’t understand our needs, like parking, appropriate rooms, and accessibility for those who are disabled. We became discouraged and finally gave up the search. There just wasn’t anything out there.
It is very interesting when you give up control of a situation, because it is then that God is ready to step in and take control. He was waiting for us to see what he had in store for us in his time.
Later, my son told us of a church that was for sale in our small community, and we thought it would work for us. But eventually, we realized we would not be able to afford to purchase it. Oddly enough, a member approached me and asked if we would be interested in leasing the church if she and her husband purchased the property. Of course, I said yes! They purchased the property, and we moved in. (Then COVID happened, but even that was a blessing because it allowed us to do some remodeling before we moved in.)
Over the months, it became apparent that some of the plans the owners had for developing the property were not feasible, creating an opportunity for GCI to help them transition from ownership and bless Grace Communion River Road with a permanent home. It seemed that the Holy Spirit was moving puzzle pieces around to make this a blessing for all. The Home Office stepped in, with board approval, and purchased the building for the Eugene Congregation with available funds from our region. Our congregation was told over 70 years ago that one day they would have a building of their own, and now they finally did!
We have a concentration of members in Junction City and the bulk of our members live just to the south, in the north end of Eugene. Therefore, it has been on our radar for quite some time to pursue Junction City as a potential focus neighborhood. So, you can imagine how thrilled we are to have found a church location in our focus neighborhood!
As a new church to the neighborhood, we are trying to be a “learner first” and not coming in with any preconceived ideas of what we think we should be doing. We have a pretty good understanding of our area because we’ve been mapping our neighborhood. We know the urban vibe is starting to grow because younger people are moving in, and it’s a neighborhood full of families. Now, we just need to find where we can be the best fit.
Original church with bell tower
Our challenges going forward are shared with the rest of the world—Covid. Once we have it behind us, we can make the push we’re wanting to make to engage our neighborhood more fully. And you know what? COVID has, in some respect, been a blessing because it’s allowed us to get moved into a new building and make the renovations that we needed. Our little country church is not extravagant; it puts on no airs. It is surrounded by Filbert Orchards and a Country Club. There are many projects in the works from roofing, laying asphalt in the parking lot, landscaping, and tree removal. Also, we are considering adding a “bell tower” to make it resemble the original church that stood on this property for more than eighty years.
Covid has also forced us to have the digital presence that we’ve always wanted. So, without the pressure of having to hurry all these projects along and risk them turning out poorly, we were able to do properly what was needed.
Church outdoors during Covid restrictions
Since moving in, we’ve already come to know many families in the neighborhood. Now we’re looking forward to opening our doors and welcoming the families with an Open House in July. And then hopefully, we will be mutually welcomed by our neighbors.
So, for those thinking “It’s never going to happen. We are never going to find a permanent home,” I was the last person to believe our story could happen. But it did happen—in just the right time, in just the right place, and most importantly, in God’s timing and not ours.
Note: Listen to Linda and others talk about the process of “mapping” their neighborhoods from a posture of being a “learner” on this episode of GC Podcast.
“The message I hope to send is that God gave you talents, so find them, develop them, and use them for his glory!”—Josh Holsenbeck
Check out this month’s GCI Profile to get to know Josh Holsenbeck, member of Grace Communion Richardson, Texas, U.S. To read his full profile, click the image below. #WeAreGCI
Campers ages six through 17 enjoyed a safe, fun, and inspirational time together. Participation increased to 25 campers this year from 18 last year. Eleven campers were first-time participants, over half of whom came from the nearby neighborhoods. Our volunteer staff of 20+ adults worked hard and did a great job. Each day began at 9:00 a.m. and ended around 7:00 p.m. The campers and staff returned to their homes each night.
Join us in honoring David Beckner, who retired in April after 15 years as a part-time GCI employee. David served as the pastor of GC Snellville, GA.
