Category: Stay Connected

Praising God for the Blessing of a New Location

Hands for Christ Church, GCI’s only deaf church, had their first worship service in a new location, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, on June 16 – after a 2-year search for a much-needed new location.

Pastor Mary Joseph Bacheller put a notice into the local paper, The Staten Island Advance, and they were blessed with a reporter to visit and cover the opening service at their new location.

For more information, you can view the article published here:

https://www.silive.com/news/2019/06/staten-islands-only-deaf-church-celebrates-at-new-location.html

Cara Garrity has recently been appointed as the Associate National Coordinator of the GCI Pastoral Resident & Intern programs. Cara is working closely with Anthony Mullins, who is the National Coordinator, in seeking high-caliber recruits, mentoring the existing participants and reshaping the programs for even greater fruitfulness in the future. We are excited to see what the Lord does with Cara and these programs as they move forward!

Cara is ideally suited for the position as she has completed both the internship and pastoral residency. By spending the past four years of her life being successfully guided by these programs with wrap-around support, she has the unique perspective of having lived the life of an emerging GCI leader. She has firsthand knowledge of the strengths and challenges of the programs. We have high hopes as she mentors and guides the next generation of GCI leaders.

Getting to know Cara in her own words:

“God led me into ministry, it was not something that I would have chosen on my own. As I got to know God more and more, I found myself wanting to be more and more involved in various aspects of ministry. Eventually he used those around me to speak into my life and slowly lead me into vocational ministry work. I became a participant in GCI through a friend of mine. I had been desiring a church community that felt more like family. That first Sunday I visited, Pastor Bill Ford gave me a welcome shout out- in the middle of the sermon! It was then that I knew that this church was family and that they could become my church family. I began my formal ministry service with GCI as an intern with Grace Christian Church in Waltham, Massachusetts and then as a pastoral resident. What steps did I take to find myself in this new role? It began with a reckless prayer that God would cause me to thrive without consideration that he would take me seriously, followed by a series of ‘yes’ to adventure with him.”

We are cheering you on in prayer, Cara!

On May 22-26, GCI President, Dr. Greg Williams, joined Heber Ticas (Superintendent for Latin America) and the Latin America community of practice for their first face to face meeting as a CoP. The meetings took place in Mexico City with the participation of Heber and Xochilt Ticas; Hector and Paulina Barrero (Regional Director of Central and South America), Luis and Selena Soto (Regional Directors of Mexico), and Jose Luis Escalante (Regional Director of Southern California Spanish speaking congregations).

The strategic meetings revolved around GCI’s vision of “Healthy Church.” Dr. Williams commenced the meetings with a presentation on GCI’s structure and vision. His presentation generated good flow and alignment for the rest of the meetings. Heber Ticas followed with a presentation on Team-Based and Pastor-Led as the basis for a proper expression of a healthy church. These two presentations sparked fruitful conversation on what it would take to attain such a vision in our Latin America congregations.

As a team, the participants wrestled with a deeper and contextualized meaning of what Healthy Church looks like for the churches represented. They came up with phrases that helped them visualize and define healthy church, including:

• A healthy church is a church that makes disciples and points others to Jesus.
• A church where participation is facilitated and congregants are able to serve according to their gifting.
• A church that intentionally assimilates guests into the life and ministry of the church.
• A church for all and a place where all feel accepted.
• Perhaps the most revealing comment was “healthy church expressions are the lifestyle of a healthy congregation.”

This discussion forged ahead to explore the future challenges and culture shifts that would have to take place. Only after considering these two elements, could we proceed to strategic inventory, where we identified 15 congregations that would be primed to receive high support for the vision to start taking hold.

The meetings moved to strategic praxis (practices), where all participants concurred that the resources provided by GCI on “Team-Based and Pastor-Led” leadership, and the three ministry venues (Hope, Faith and Love) served as the best practical resources for the implementation of the vision. As part of our ministry praxis, the seeds for Ministry Training Center (MTC) congregations were planted. The MTCs will be Antioch-like churches where leaders will be developed and sent out (Paulina Barrero gave an excellent Bible Study on this topic). Developing MTCs will be phase 2 of our forward movement.

Overall, the flow of the meetings went from GCI structure and vision, to challenges, to culture shifts, to strategic inventory, and finally to strategic practice. This flow served for good alignment and for an orderly conclusion to the meetings. The conversation and practical approaches to ministry enhancement will continue throughout the year.

On Sunday morning the team participated in the service of our congregation in Mexico City, one of the focus congregations in Mexico. The church service was inspiring and afforded a good visual of a healthy Hope venue. Rosario Saucer was ordained an Elder during the service. He will fulfill the role of Associate Pastor serving alongside Pastor Natanael Cruz.

I am grateful for the team the Holy Spirit has assembled to lead his church in Latin America. It is a joy and privilege to participate in the ongoing ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ in the cities and Pueblos of those Spanish-speaking countries where GCI has a presence.

 

In Christ,
Heber Ticas

Would you like to take an intentional 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.

GCI Coach Clinic

For any ministry leader from a GCI church desiring to grow in areas of leadership, discipling others and building a healthy team through a dynamic relating style known as coaching.

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.

 

Hello Girlfriends!

I would like to invite all of you to attend our 2019 fall retreat at the St. Bernard Abbey Retreat and Conference Center in Cullman, Alabama. This retreat center is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy some time as “Girlfriends!” There is a beautiful conference room where we have our general sessions, and the bedrooms are adjacent to the meeting area. Each bedroom accommodates two people (twin beds) and each has a private bathroom. The dining area is a short walk across the campus, and anyone needing to drive over can do so.

The dates are September 20-22, 2019. Registration begins Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. Snacks will be available, but you will be on your own for dinner that evening. A Cracker Barrel and other restaurants are nearby. This evening is free for getting checked in and relaxing. If you will be arriving after 10 p.m., please let us know ahead of time if possible.

Our theme for the weekend will be Our Journey with Jesus. Each of us is on a spiritual journey, growing in the grace and knowledge of God (2 Peter 3:18). One of the greatest gifts God has given us is the privilege of having “faith friends” to share the journey!

Speakers this year include Tammy Tkach, Ginny Rice, Ruth Miller, Pat Halford, Barbara Dahlgren, Becki Brown, and Gerrie Bayley. Ann Hartmann will be our guest singer again this year! You can go to Ann’s website (annhartmann.com) to learn more about Ann’s music and ministry. We also look forward to more of the inspiring and energetic sign language when Mary Jo Leaver shares her “Music to the Eyes.”

Dress is casual for the entire weekend. Bring comfy shoes, as you might enjoy a bit of walking. We now have a tradition of great fun playing games on Friday and Saturday evenings, so bring your “play clothes” or pajamas for this! Bring your favorite board games, and label them, please!

The retreat center supplies our bed linens, towels, and washcloths. You might want to bring your own water bottles, if you enjoy having bottled water. We have access to a kitchen and a refrigerator, so we are able to enjoy snacks throughout the weekend. The meals that will be provided are Saturday breakfast, lunch and dinner and Sunday breakfast (total of four meals). This year we are planning to have all our meals at the retreat center, as we did last year.

We plan to conclude the retreat by noon on Sunday so that those who need to get on the road will have the full afternoon for travel. For those who want to stick around and visit a bit, we can have prolonged “goodbyes” in the retreat center.

We hope you will help spread the word to others who might enjoy the weekend. If you have questions, need more information, or would like a registration form, please contact me at ruth.miller@gci.org.

Registration and payment are due by July 30. This is important, because the retreat center is a popular place and stays heavily booked. They need us to secure the number of rooms we’ll need ASAP! Late registrations will be accepted if space is available for any who cannot register in advance.

I’m looking forward to sharing this weekend with you in September!

With love,
Ruth Miller

Surprise Retirement Appreciation Dinner

On Saturday, May 18-2019, the GCI Snellville, GA congregation (Christian Family Fellowship), pastored by David Beckner, hosted a surprise retirement appreciation dinner for Dr. Tkach. The celebration was held at the beautiful Jade Event Banquet Hall in Norcross, GA.

There were over 100 in attendance, which included the Snellville congregation members, members of the GCI College Park Georgia congregation ( Living Hope Christian Fellowship ), two members of the GCI Hiram Georgia congregation (Grace Communion) and a few people not connected to GCI, but good friends of a couple in the Snellville congregation. Dr. and Mrs. Greg Williams were also present and Dr. Williams gave the toast.

The celebration featured song performances, comedy acts, special remarks, and plenty of delicious foods (most were prepared by the Snellville and College Park congregation members). Ms. Debbie Young, the wife of College Park congregation pastor Charles Young, baked a beautiful special cake.

Pastor David Beckner was delighted with the couple who organized and coordinated the celebration and with all the members of both congregations who helped in many ways.

Dr. Tkach, who thought he was only here to give the sermon on May 19, was very surprised and extremely happy with the event. Mrs. Tkach, who helped with the surprise, was also delighted with everything and stated, “that was the first time he has ever been surprised since their marriage.”

There were many of us praying for God’s blessing on the event and we are thankful that he answered our prayers in a very big way.

Alwaid Johnson

 

James Paul Humphries, age 79, of Poplar Plains, Kentucky, passed away Sunday, June 9, 2019, at Meadowview Regional Hospital in Maysville.

James pastored the GCI Mount Sterling, Kentucky church from January 1998 to June 2015.

He is survived by his wife, Phyllis Butcher Humphries; one son, James E. Humphries and wife Lynn, of Paris; one daughter, Tonya Ann Harber and husband Scott, of Elizaville; and three grandchildren, Cory Harber, Ariel Harber, and Melanie Humphries.

Funeral services were conducted Wednesday, June 12 at the Hutton Funeral Home with Pastor Tracy Crouch and Pastor Ron Dick officiating.

Condolence cards can be sent to:

Mrs. Phyllis A. Humphries
81 Barber Rd
Hillsboro, KY 41049-9167

Ralph “Dewey” Peterson passed away on Thursday, June 13. Dewey was the pastor/facilitator of New Beginning Fellowship a GCI home church in Crossville, TN for many years.

He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Georgia Peterson, his four children, Scott, Mike, Jennifer and Joel, along with 7 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren.

He lived a rich life dedicated to the service of others and faithfulness in Christ.

Condolence cards can be sent to:

Georgia V. Peterson
12 Mariners Pt.
Fairfield Glade, TN. 38558