Category: Stay Connected

This article was originally published on the Grace Communion International – Philippines website.

Grace Communion-Baguio has a story to tell . . . none can compare to The Author. It was a divine proposition that cannot be put aside, a once in a lifetime opportunity of the now in response to longing hearts.

The birthing of the idea and its fruition into reality is another story for the books, a transforming journey in itself for each individual participant, to those who took off their sandals in the Presence of The Holy One.

Hunger and thirst were so evident in the free expression of singing and dancing, hearts in reverence to the Person of each song sang in abandon. Such declaration addressing The One who wakes us, tuning hearts into his beat! And so, “this is living now” as we “wake up knowing there’s a reason.” There is no time to waste, this is the “best time of our lives as we encounter your love again.” We can choose to live kingdom life even here and now. In him, “blind eyes are opened, strongholds are broken” as we live by faith. What sustains us? It is “His love that never fails, never gives up and never runs out” on us.

Along the way, GCI Youth Ministry (GYM) Baguio was officially launched and introduced by Jep Parcasio as a resource for the young people. There were eighty-six invitees and guests. The youngest was four in age who sang and danced and listened with joy. Articulated needs in the connect cards show a significant number wanting to be part of a church, attendance in a Bible Study group, campus ministry and requests for prayer and counseling

Everyone could not get enough from singing incognizant of The “river where goodness flows, fountain that drowns sorrows, ocean deeper than fear” where “we come alive” in his presence. The atmosphere was richly blessed, filling each heart for a personal encounter of his great love. Again and again, we invoke the presence of the Holy Spirit, for where the Lord is, “dry bones awaken.”

During the devotional, Pastor Joseph spoke of Saul’s encounter of Jesus. Choose to heed David’s prayer in Psalm 34:8 (The Passion Translation) saying, “Drink deeply of the pleasures of this God. Experience for yourself the joyous mercies He gives to all who turn to hide themselves in Him.” Jesus brings about transformation and changes lives!

In prayer, we request for enabling so Jesus can be the center of our lives, this is our stand: “With arms high and heart abandoned, in awe of the one who gave it all.”

Approaching the end of the activity, it was a lullaby to the soul to be reminded of God’s reckless love, “overwhelming, never-ending, chases me down, fights ‘til I’m found. . .”

Our response: there is only one way and that is J E S U S! We are all living for HIM.

Leaving is difficult when there is more to anticipate. Guests were given lanyards as a memento. His promise is to bring us from glory to glory! Church members who came to support alongside the worship team and worked behind the scenes had their fill and went home in abundance. Also, there were silent forces who gave for the cause of the Lord and are known and will be rewarded.

The event was held August 2, 2019 at the Function Hall of Gestdan Centrum, Baguio City.

All praise and honor belong to our Triune God!!! – Auey Parcasio

The following is an update from Charles Fleming, Mission Developer, on our members in The Bahamas, in the wake of Hurricane Dorian.

I spoke with Robert McKinney, National Director for the Caribbean, and his wife Tania, an hour ago. They are fine as are the brethren on Nassau. Abaco is a different story. All communications have been cut so they only have a few details as Dorian continues to inflict damage. Tania says houses there have been flattened. Not just roofs off, but solid cinder block homes have been leveled. Relatives of a member lost their home and have been moving from one evacuation center to another as they have been compromised. In some places, flooding is 10 feet deep. Freeport is also experiencing the worst of the storm. Robert spoke to his sister who said all their relatives including Robert’s mother are okay.

The recovery is going to be very challenging. Tania mentioned that Abaco is the 3rd largest economic center on the island.

I have seen two heartrending videos on YouTube of people surrounded by water desperately praying as they recorded the carnage. Robert asked me to say thank you for all your continuing prayers. Tania said that prayers are what has been making a difference for everyone.

In prayer,
Charles

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Additional update from Robert McKinney:

Family and friends, we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief and shout a collective Hallelujah as Dorian makes his way out of our waters. I am happy to report that as far as we are aware, all my family members and all our brethren in Freeport, as well as in Moores Island, are well. Now begins the task of picking up the pieces and rebuilding. I encourage us all to assist in whatever way we can. Stay strong in the Lord, and may our faith always rest in His mighty power.

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GCI Disaster Relief Fund

If your congregation has a heart to help members impacted by major disasters like the one in The Bahamas, consider donating to the GCI Disaster Relief Fund. The Fund helps provide members in disaster areas with emergency needs such as food, water, medicine, clothing, temporary housing, home and/or church hall repairs, temporary local pastoral salary expenses and other emergency needs. Monies received into the Fund that are not immediately needed will remain in the Fund to be allocated in future disasters. In previous years, money from this Fund has been used to help members recover from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, storms and flooding in Bangladesh, an earthquake and tsunami in the Solomon Islands, typhoons in the Philippines and an earthquake in Haiti.

Individuals who wish to donate may do so at www.gci.org/disasterrelief

If your congregation would like to donate out of local church funds, you may do so at www.gci.org/go/chdonate

If your congregation prefers to send a check, make it out to Grace Communion International, indicating on the memo line that the donation is for the GCI Disaster Relief Fund. Send the donation to:

GCI Disaster Relief Fund
Grace Communion International
3120 Whitehall Park Dr.
Charlotte, NC 28273

Would you like to take a step toward becoming a healthier leader in Grace Communion International?

Consider attending the ACCM Christian Leadership Intensive in Hickory, North Carolina, on August 30-31. This two-day intensive has been carefully crafted for ministry leaders, pastors or any GCI member who desires to take a deeper dive in leadership from a Christian point of view. Grace Communion Hickory will be the host church for this training event.

GCI President Greg Williams, wrote about ACCM, “I have used and taught the ACCM material and in my opinion they are outstanding. These classes help fulfill the ongoing educational pathway for our bi-vocational pastors, so please take advantage of this opportunity.”

If you have any questions, contact Anthony Mullins at anthony.mullins@gci.org.

Register Now!

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.”

You are invited to join us for four days of celebration, fellowship and Christian outreach at our 12^th annual Come & Drink Crusade.
It takes place at Courtyard by Marriott, Junkanoo Beach, downtown Nassau, Bahamas, October 11-14, 2019. This hotel is the ideal site for a fall get-together for the entire family. Rooms rates are $160.00 per night double occupancy, all taxes included. Space is limited, so register today.
For more information, email Robert.Mckinney@gci.org or call (242) 424-4062.

Harvest Your Blessings! Don’t miss out on registration for the North Central or East Celebration.

In 2019, GCI will host Regional Celebrations in the USA:

• September 27 – 29: North Central – Noblesville, IN
• October 25 – 27: East – Ocean City, MD

Click the image below to for more information and registration options.

 

We were saddened to learn of the recent death of Linda Holladay, long time GCI member and wife of Pastor Charles Holladay of Bloomington, MN. A memorial service was held Saturday, August 17th at Hillcrest United Methodist Church. The following article is an excerpt from her obituary originally published here.

Linda Holladay, of Belle Plaine, passed away at her home on August 3rd, 2019. Her final weeks and days were spent surrounded by family. Though her life was shortened by ocular melanoma, the impact she made on those around her will be a lasting one. Linda was a selfless person in all aspects of the word, always thinking of others before herself, even up to the day she died. She kept a positive attitude throughout and her faith in God never wavered.

Linda was born in Wauseon, Ohio on March 15th, 1952 to Kenton and Marilyn Deily. She grew up the oldest of seven children and thoroughly enjoyed being a part of a large family. She left home to attend Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas where she met the love of her life, Charles Holladay. Linda and Charles married in 1976 and were blessed with four children. They moved around the country before eventually settling in Belle Plaine. Linda attended Living Grace Church, where she enjoyed playing hymns on the piano. She also enjoyed tending to her flowers and absolutely loved spending quality time with family, most notably, her grandchildren.

Linda is survived by her loving husband of 43 years, Charles Holladay; daughter Kari (Dylan) Valliere; daughter Julie (David) Wuggazer; son Andy (Tara) Holladay; son Steven (Amy) Holladay; eight grandchildren (soon to be nine); siblings Jo Ellen (Larry) Mavis; Greg Deily, Karen (David) Lintz; Wendy Karcher; Jeff Deily; Connie (Randy) Roberts; and 28 nephews and nieces. Linda was preceded in death by parents Kenton and Marilyn Deily and daughters Lindsey and Erin Holladay.

We regretfully pass on the death of Pastor John Amadala, pastor of the Kitale, Kenya, congregation and member of the African National Leadership team.

According to Anthony Gachanja, Regional Director for East Africa and National Ministry Leader for Kenya, John Amadala died last week, August 12^th of a suspected heart attack. John retired from his teaching career at the end of July 2019. He is survived by his wife, Jeniffer and four sons. During his service in GCI, he has served as a board member, chairperson of Ecclesiastical Council of Elders and local pastor of Kitale.

The relaunched Grace Communion Church in Calgary, Alberta celebrated its second anniversary on July 21, 2019. There were over 30 in attendance including the President of State of the Heart Ministries, Dr. Ross Jutsum and 18 adults and children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, now living in our city. This added much joy to our worship of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior who died for all.

The congregation, meeting in the Upper Room of a local community center was reminded by pastor David Sheridan of the major changes that took place two years ago after a church split – a move to Sunday morning, a new location in the heart of the immigrant quadrant of the city, a new pastor, a celebration of communion on a weekly basis and a new-found joy in the Lord.

Ross Jutsum led worship including musical pieces from two recent CDs – In Christ Alone and Music from the Heart. A heart-warming segment was having all the children come to the front and use percussion musical instruments to accompany Ross. Members enthusiastically responded to God’s love for them with a rousing rendering of How Great Thou Art!

The service ended with the cutting of an anniversary cake and a potluck meal – with a grateful heart that Jesus will come again in glory as King of kings over all nations for a worldwide celebration of joy!

David A Sheridan
Pastor, Calgary Congregation

The following story was written by Lee Berger about the Crossing Borders mission trip summer 2019.

Fifteen missionaries of all ages completed their 8-day mission trip across the Mexican border on June 30, 2019. In its 14th year of ministry, the group was able to come alongside a variety of indigenous pastors, children’s home directors, parachurch ministers and other servants to share the love of Christ through words and actions.

There were a number of “firsts” on this trip. Normally crossing the river border in our vans can take between 45 minutes and 3 hours each way. The daily crossings on this trip were amazingly rapid, with one crossing only taking 12 minutes—what a blessing!

One of our ministry partners had recently purchased a new piece of land to begin developing as a ministerial training center, a Christian school for neighborhood children, housing for mission teams, and more. Our Crossing Borders team was honored to be part of the groundbreaking and the first day of physically clearing the land of trash and brush.

 

For the first time, we visited a holding center for immigrants seeking to enter the U.S., with people from Cuba, Central and South America, Africa and other regions. Their stories of sacrifice to seek a better life were amazing and heart-touching.

 

We have assisted a Mexican pastor for many years with various outreach projects, but this was the first time we attended his Sunday morning church service. We were asked in advance to provide a special time of Bible lessons, craft projects, and fun songs for the church youth—which we gladly did! We were blessed to share a meal prepared by his members and to enjoy a time of good fellowship across cultures.

There were many more activities and special conversations during the week, each one provided by God to start or build meaningful relationships. Everyone stayed safe and well, and many people were blessed with physical necessities and encouragement that comes only from the
heart of Jesus Christ. Thank you for your prayers and other support for this mission ministry of GCI.

 

God willing, we will be heading back to Mexico December 6-9. We are in need of “shoebox gifts.” Last winter our gift box totals dropped to about 800. We could use at least 1200 boxes to be able to bless the children God places in our path. If you could gather gift boxes from your neighborhood, church, club, family or any other group, they would be hand-presented
by our Crossing Borders missionaries to many needy children, along with a gospel message and lots of personal love.

See details at: https://cbmission.org/shoebox.html

In spring, Paul David Kurts, Regional Director of the U.S. Southeast Region, was offered a full-time position with the Air National Guard. It was an amazing offer he could not resist. I asked Pam Morgan to step up as the Interim Regional Director to help during this transitional period. Even though Pam already had a full-time position as Operations Coordinator in our Home Office, she graciously accepted the additional responsibilities and challenges. I am grateful to Pam for all her hard work and sacrificial love and service to the pastors and members within the Southeast. Pam has done a tremendous job of helping pastors and treasurers bring their Monthly Church Reports and Financial Reports into compliance. Pam also worked to host a fantastic Regional Celebration this summer in Charlotte, NC. Thank you Pam!

The plan was to have Pam serve until a full-time Regional Director could be identified and freed up to serve the Region. After much prayer and many discussions, I would like to announce that Anthony Mullins has agreed to serve as the Regional Director and is excited to lead and serve the pastors in this region as they join Jesus in “being the church” within your congregations and fellowship groups as well as to your neighborhood. Anthony and his wife Elizabeth have served in GCI in many capacities over the years, from being a youth pastor in Atlanta, to Director of GenMin – overseeing our regional camps, to heading up our Intern and Pastoral Resident Programs, and overseeing our GCI Coaching Program. I believe Anthony will serve well and will help share the vision we as a denomination are embracing. Please welcome he and Elizabeth in their new role of service. Anthony will step into the role on September 1.

Mike Rasmussen