Category: Stay Connected

Please join me in celebrating Gordon Herrmann’s completion of the GCI Ministry Intern program. Gordon served for 2.5 years as a ministry intern at Christ Fellowship Church in Cincinnati, OH, with Pastor Julie Frantz. He is now serving as a Pastoral Resident at Grace Communion Surrey Hills. Gordon brings a passion for small group ministry and facilitating relationship building. Ministering alongside Gordon, I have experienced insightful conversations as well as many a rowdy, fellowship-building game night. Please enjoy Gordon’s answers to the following questions about his time in the program.

Cara Garrity, Development Coordinator

Why did you enter the GCI Ministry Intern program?

I entered the program because I was starting to feel the call of ministry on my heart. I had been working in campus and youth ministry during college and fell in love with ministry. I had several mentors who affirmed this calling and pointed me in the direction of the GCI Ministry Intern program.

Tell us about your passion for ministry and how God has developed it.

My passion for ministry is based on relationships. I have a heart for God and for his people. There are a lot of different aspects of ministry, but at the heart is people. And through my ministry, I’ve learned that people are more important than programs or things. If that weren’t the case, I wouldn’t have any interest in ministry. God has blessed me with the opportunity to walk alongside him in his ministry. I love getting the chance to walk alongside others and pointing them toward Jesus. It was through experiencing this and getting those opportunities in my ministry that God developed this passion.

What impact did the program have on your ministry leadership journey?

The program had a lot of different impacts on me, but more than anything else it increased my desire to continue on this path. I learned a lot about the rhythms of church life, and what a leader’s role in those rhythms are. After experiencing everything I did throughout the program I felt a really strong confirmation that vocational ministry was the path God has laid out for me. I know it won’t always be easy, but I’ll stick with it for as long as I feel God calling me along this path!

What are your big takeaways from your time spent as an intern?

I’ve definitely learned the importance of trusting God. I’ve learned a lot of skills, what to do, what not to do, etc. But nothing else sticks out quite like trust. I moved across the country to a church where I knew nobody, I experienced a church in transition from pastor to pastor, I experienced a world in quarantine, I experienced many highs and many lows. None of it I ever could have predicted, and I would be lying if I said I always had the best attitude through it, but God was beside me through it all. And as I reflect on it, I see where he was at work in and around me. I hope to move forward for the rest of my life with the confidence that comes with trust in a God who is good and who loves and provides for me in both the hills and the valleys!

Funding for the GCI Ministry Intern Program comes from the GCNext Fund, the local congregation and intern fundraising. Thank you to all who help make this program successful!

Every mid-December beginning in 2006, Crossing Borders mission trip has gone into Mexico with hundreds of shoebox gifts, blankets, totes, baby supplies, food, and other resources—14 “shoebox trips.” It is surely a wonderful blessing to have many U.S. churches, clubs and individuals provide these resources—Thank you!

But one of the most important “gifts” we can provide is not a physical present, but our “presence”—just being there, showing God’s love, building relationships on a personal level with people with great hearts and great challenges every day. With the U.S./Mexican border still closed, CB was unable to take missionaries or physical gifts into Mexico, but we do our best to continue the “gift of presence” during this COVID crisis.

Many times the presence has to be by email, phone calls, Facebook Messenger or other methods—and those are wonderful tools. However, this year two of the core CB Team members, Lee Berger and Pedro Orduno, were able to spend a few days at the border, visiting with some of our U.S.-side ministry partners. Here are some updates from our visit:

• We were housed at Laredo Stepping Stone (LSS). Rick Hall is the facility/ministry manager. He recently recovered from near-death COVID, but his wife (Kim) died from the virus in August. We were able to spend time talking with Rick, sharing meals, hearing stories about Kim, and helping with construction and maintenance projects at the camp. While we were there, Rick went to the emergency room for several hours due to very high blood pressure.
• Ray and Lisa Rendon (and boys Rayito, Benji and Ryan) assist Rick at LSS camp. Ray also pastors a church in Nuevo Laredo, across the border in Mexico. Because of the current travel restrictions, the Rendons cannot travel into Mexico, so Ray is pastoring his church remotely. Amazingly, the church is growing in attendance, and the members are taking on new responsibilities at the church in Ray and Lisa’s absence. It was wonderful to spend time with this family that we have known for 15 years. We involved the boys in building and painting a cornhole game board and did some kite flying; they had a blast!
• We met “Jose” and his family. They were staying at the camp for a couple days as they headed back into full-time missionary ministry in central Mexico. In their city, evangelical Christians are only 2% of the population (the rest are Catholic [mostly non-practicing], followers of traditional pseudo-spiritual religions, and the unreligious). Plus there is a lot of drugs, violence and immorality. It is a great challenge to be a Christian and to grow a church in that environment. Jose and his family have been threatened at gunpoint, but they continue to feel God’s calling to minister in that area.
• Carlos Flores pastored a church for eight years that met in a city park in Laredo (on the U.S. side) and he taught Bible classes at a local college. Crossing Borders has participated with Carlos for many years. Four years ago, his health took a turn for the worse. He had to stop pastoring and could barely function. During this trip, we were able to meet with him for over two hours and found that his health is slowly improving. He has begun a private Bible study group and has goals to reconnect with young adult ministry.
• Jeannie Leyendecker’s husband, Randy, died from heart conditions this past July. Randy was a fireball of ministry on the border, helping many pastors and churches, providing food for thousands in the community, loyally delivering food and necessary supplies to homeless on the streets, and more. Jeannie is struggling mentally and in grief, and she is dealing with many challenging situations and decisions after Randy died. Thankfully, she has three grown kids close by, and they give her good support. Your prayers are appreciated for all of these individuals as they serve in their different areas. These are some highlights of the trip:

• We took homemade cookies to our partners (a CB tradition), handmade blankets and tote bags, and some other gifts that Ray and Lisa will take across the border and given to those in need.
• Crossing Borders bought groceries to be given in gift bags and were able to purchase some other needed supplies for the border ministries.
• Most of all, we were able to spend many hours in personal interaction with our partners and to assure them that CB continues to remember, care for and pray for them.

We gave them the gift of “presence”—God’s presence through us—and that was a blessing to all involved.

Lee Berger, Crossing Borders Director and Facilitator
Longview, TX

While issues of racism, injustice, abuse of power and protest have been part of the national conversation in America throughout our history, events such as the George Floyd killing by a police officer last May brought a call to action to every dinner table, newsroom, and church pew in 2020.

Once again, the Spirit seemed to be convicting the soul of America, but more importantly, the heart of the Body of Christ to respond to the personal, community and systemic divisions and abuses, particularly those affecting people of color.

One key question being asked was, “How should the Christian Church and in particular Grace Communion International speak into and become a part of the solution to this crisis of racial, interpersonal and spiritual division in America?”

It was clearly understood that our GCI members, pastors, Regional Directors and Home Office Team were all grieving what we saw each night on the news as the pent-up emotions from weeks, months, years, decades and centuries of abuse and mistreatment within minority communities spilled into the streets in protest.

The cry to be “heard” was passionate and very often peaceful but at other times, escalation of those emotions led to violent reactions and interactions between police and protesters. We saw destruction, fires, and opportunistic mayhem, but we also saw tears, lament and prayer for reconciliation and peace.

GCI President, Greg Williams and several in the Home Office team began discussing, planning, and implementing a preliminary gospel-centered denominational response to all we were seeing in our nation. Simultaneously, several of our pastors were prayerfully seeking to call up GCI to speak into the national crisis.

Regional Directors began having Zoom calls with the Black pastors in their regions to understand what these pastors and members from minority communities were feeling, praying and hoping the Lord would do in this crisis.

Subsequently, Michael Rasmussen, Superintendent of the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, set up Zoom calls with our Black Pastors and Fellowship Group Facilitators who were interested in speaking into the crisis and any potential denominational response. When asked for a quote on the council he had this to say,

“We are very excited to have our newly formed National Advisory Council on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We are thankful and humbled by those who have agreed to serve on this council, considering their plates are already quite full. We are prayerful and hopeful the Holy Spirit will work in and through all of those involved to help us better understand who we truly are as ‘his Body’, as a denomination and also as individual beloved children of God. If we are all truly one in him, then the church must reflect that in every aspect.”

After several meetings with those pastors and fellowship group facilitators, he set up a National Advisory Council to help GCI better address issues faced by people of color and minority groups within GCI.

Although the mandate is to give advice, counsel and make recommendations on how GCI U.S. can effectively address issues facing all minorities, the current national situation led to a focus on the Black American experience.

The pastors on Mr. Rasmussen’s calls were grouped by regional designations and asked to prayerfully recommend three people (two members and one alternate) to serve as representatives to this forming National Advisory Council.

To adequately represent the local congregations, he asked that this council include two pastors of chartered churches from each of our five GCI regions, have male and female voices, have diversity in age, and reflect urban, suburban and rural communities.

Representing the GCI Home Office as facilitators of the Council are Jeff Broadnax (Regional Director) and Dishon Mills (Pastor and Coordinator of Generations Ministries).

As representatives of the GCI Board, Tommie Grant Jr. and Celestine Olive (who are both pastors as well as Board members) accepted invitations to serve on the Council.

The following are the regional representative members:

Western Region: Celestine Olive (Lancaster, CA), Annette Nettles (Washougal, WA)

Central Region: Terry McDonald (Kansas City, MO), Gabriel Ojih (Dallas, TX)

North Central Region: Al Talison (Indianapolis, IN), Ron Washington (Livonia, MI)

Southeastern Region: [name removed] (Charlotte, NC), Charles Young (Atlanta, GA)

Eastern Region: Tamar Gray (Cleveland, OH), John Newsom (Queens, NY)

GCI Board: Tommie Grant Jr. (Ladson, SC), Celestine Olive (Lancaster, CA)

Facilitators: Jeff Broadnax (Grove City, OH), Dishon Mills (Waltham, MA)

In their first meeting, they selected the name National Advisory Council on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as a true reflection of the Christ-centered mission for GCI they are undertaking.

Their primary goal is to reflect on GCI’s past and present regarding matters of race, diversity, equity and inclusion then make recommendations to Superintendent Rasmussen to help us better fulfill our GCI vision of Healthy Church as we live and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. With the empowerment of the Holy Spirit they will do so to the glory of the Father and the betterment of our church and world.

Jeff Broadnax
Regional Director, Eastern USA

Stephen John Dobritch, the beloved son of Pastor John and Mary Dobritch, died at the age of 35 at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center on December 26, 2020.

Stephen was an ordained minister in Grace Communion International, a gifted musician and vocalist who served as the worship leader at Word of God Christian Fellowship in Canfield Ohio. He graduated from Austintown Fitch High School and also attended Youngstown State University.

Stephen is survived by his parents, and three sisters Katherine, Theresa and Marianne.

Cards of sympathy and encouragement may be sent to:

John and Mary Dobritch
3312 Starwick Dr
Canfield, OH 44406-8201

Please remember Mrs. Leigh Sniffen and her family in prayer.

Her beloved husband and faithful servant of God, Paul Sniffen, died peacefully in his sleep on December 23, 2020. He had suffered a series of minor strokes in early November.

For more about Paul’s life and legacy, read GC Memphis’ tribute here.

You can send cards of sympathy and encouragement to Paul’s wife Leigh at the address below:

Mrs. Leigh Sniffen
9209 Speerberry Circle
Cordova, TN 38016-2399
UNITED STATES

Sammy R. O’Dell, 67, of Amarillo, Texas, passed away Thurs., Nov. 5, 2020. Sammy was born in Shelby, NC, Dec. 31, 1952 to Ernest Wade O’Dell and Macie Christine McDonald O’Dell. Sammy grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina in Murphy. His father died when he was five. He always had compassion and understanding for the widows and fatherless. His kind, Christian mother worked long hours to provide for her two sons and widowed mother. Church attendance, piano lessons and saving for college education were priorities. At age 12, Sammy climbed a nearby hill to pray and dedicated his life to God to be used as the Lord would lead him.

After graduation from Murphy High School in 1971, Sammy enrolled at Ambassador College in East Texas, where he studied theology, speech, and liberal arts. He met his future wife, Julia Lane, in college chorale. After graduation in 1975, he settled in Amarillo, volunteered to serve at church, and found a job that led to his life-long career in life insurance sales and service. Julia and Sammy married on May 30, 1976 in Big Sandy, TX. Two daughters, Christy and Karen Beth, were born in 1978 and 1982.

Sammy owned O’Dell Insurance Agency and represented many fine companies over 45 years. He earned Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow designation in 1987. He was member and past-president of Amarillo NAIFA (National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors). They presented him the George Morris Memorial Financial Service Professional of the Year Award in 2005. He was recognized in 2011 for the many years he chaired the annual Tri-City Sales Forum convention in Amarillo. Sammy had hundreds of clients across the Panhandle and High Plains. He loved driving to give personal service to clients new and old. He was a kind, dedicated agent and advisor.

Sammy was ordained as an elder in 1984. He was asked in 1997 to serve as a bi-vocational pastor for what is now Grace Communion International in Amarillo and was honored for 20 years of pastoral service in 2017. He received a Master of Pastoral Studies degree from Grace Communion Seminary in 2014. The outpouring of love and kind words from so many longtime friends, church members, clients, acquaintances and extended family shows that Sammy’s ministry and life in Christ reached far outside the church walls.

Sammy’s interests included Bible study, jigsaw and crossword puzzles, computer chess and solitaire, bird watching, coffee drinking, playing hymns on piano, listening to gospel and classic rock, and playing basketball in his younger days.

He is survived by Julia, his wife of 44 years; two daughters, Christy O’Dell López and husband Nick of El Paso, TX, and Karen Beth O’Dell Strovas and husband Scott of Plainview, TX; five grandchildren, Timothy, Dominic, and Zoe López, and Sammy and Sally Strovas; and one brother, Danny O’Dell and wife Diane of Harrison, TN.

You can send cards of sympathy and encouragement to Sammy’s wife Julia at the address below:

Julia O’Dell
4122 S. Hughes St.
Amarillo, TX 79110

Thank you to everyone who participated in our 2020 Healthy Church Photo Contest, and congratulations to our winners! We are grateful for and encouraged by your images of our growth. Together with Christ, we are embodying Healthy Church.

“From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:16

Following the political protests and the security breach of the U.S. Capitol, it is appropriate for us to be in prayer for the healing of our nation. As American citizens and Christ-followers we pursue the spiritual fruits of love, joy, and peace. We denounce the strife, quarrels, dissensions, factions that are so prevalent in our society. We ask our living Lord Jesus to bring wisdom to our leaders and that they will lead with integrity, especially in the transition of offices. We should actively act as peacemakers in our neighborhoods and all places where we have influence.

Lord God have mercy on us as a nation and draw us to yourself in the strong name of Jesus we pray, amen.

Greg Williams, GCI President

On Monday, December 7^th the Home Office employees held an Ugly Sweater Contest via Zoom.

It was great fun having everyone show off their creativity and what they consider “Ugly”.

Above is a picture of the entire group. We had a three-way tie for first place. Reuel Enerio, Anthony Mullins and Tim Sitterley.

Congratulations to our winners.