GCI’s Queens, NY, congregation (New Life in Christ) held its annual Back-to-School event on September 8. The congregation served over 100 in their local community, distributing specially designed bags of school supplies, serving lunch, and having special face painting and arts-and-crafts activities. The congregation’s Richmond Hill, Queens community is the most diverse community in the most diverse borough of a very diverse city (New York). As noted by the congregation’s pastor, John Newsom,
We are always faced with the challenges of diverse cultures and languages in conducting outreaches. For this outreach, the need was for Spanish and Mandarin and we were blessed to have these skills among our volunteers. Thus, we were able to translate our gospel message in these languages!
Thanks and congratulations to Steve and Mary Ann Brown! Steve recently retired from 40 years of GCI employment, pastoring churches in Michigan, Missouri, West Virginia, Ohio and Florida. Here are pictures of a party in the Browns’ honor, held recently in Bradenton, FL (Mary and Steve are at left in the picture below, left). Four of the couple’s five children joined in the celebration.
Cards may be sent to:
Steve and Mary Brown 4350 Genesee Lane New Port Richey, FL 34655
GCI’s congregation in Derby, KS, recently held a Sunday service that included the blessing of backpacks full of school supplies assembled by the congregation. These were given to students at nearby elementary and middle schools the congregation is reaching out to in multiple ways.
On July 23-26, GCS faculty member Randy Bloom conducted an intensive class in Church Planting. The class, attended by six students from the U.S. and U.K., was held in GCI’s Home Office in Charlotte, NC. At the end of the intensive, Randy conducted a communion service, attended by most of the GCI home office staff. Doing so accentuated the joy and unity experienced throughout the week. Here is a video with pictures of the class:
On June 25-28, GCS faculty member Dan Rogers conducted an intensive class in Homiletics. The week-long intensive portion of the course, held in Cincinnati, was preceded by seven weeks of online work. During the intensive, the five students each gave three sermons. All agreed that meeting together face-to-face was dynamic and helpful, providing interaction, mutual critique, encouragement, and fellowship. One of the students, Anthony Mullins, shared this:
The intensive was a great success. Tangible growth took place in all the students over the course of a few days together. The relational bonding was exceptional as well. All the students mentioned they could not imagine taking the course online without the intensive. Thanks to Dan for his competent teaching guidance.
The following report is from Bob Miller, pastor of Grace Covenant Fellowship, GCI’s Birmingham, AL, congregation.
Bob and Ruth Miller
Like most GCI congregations, we were small—averaging 15-20 in attendance—and praying for guidance to see how God wanted to use us. We were getting older and “church planting” seemed beyond our present gift mix, as well as beyond the level of energy required. Like most churches our size we were rocking along, meeting in our “holy huddle” each week and faithfully doing what we could in terms of outreach ministry and supporting our denomination. But a welcome change came along—an “open door” to do something completely different.
One morning at breakfast, Ruth encouraged me to contact Aspire Physical Recovery Center, about 10 minutes from where we normally met for church, and ask them if we could provide a worship service for their guests. Ruth works full-time for a fairly large church, and folks had come there looking for churches who could help them provide worship. But the larger churches have their pastors leading the various Sunday morning worship times, and are not as “portable” as we are. So Ruth knew the need was there. When I contacted them the program director’s immediate response was yes! “How did you hear about us?” she said. “I have been calling churches all around our area to see if they could come and do a Bible study or a church service. Any day of the week would be fine.”
That conversation took place in November 2015. We had been paying $750 a month in rent at another church. Since we would be providing a service for them, we would not have to pay any rent! So we bought an electric keyboard and speakers—basic things we would need. We also purchased a fold-up table-top lectern, which would work well. The activity room where we meet for church had tables and chairs, and we are allowed to store the equipment we bought in the activity room closet.
We held our first church service there in December 2015 from 10:30 – 11:15 am. It’s very casual as some who attend come in wheelchairs or are on walkers. Some are full-time residents and others are there for a few weeks recovering from strokes, heart attacks, surgeries, etc. They are mostly older folks—like us, so we can relate. We usually open the service with two hymns, then have intercessory prayer, a reading of an inspirational poem by our 91-year-old member, another hymn, scripture reading, a 20 min sermon, closing hymn and prayer. We are blessed to have a young woman who does beautiful PowerPoint graphics for the hymns and sermons.
We now have about double our attendance (33 this past Sunday). Often family members come with the patients, so we are privileged to serve them as well. The folks seem to love having the scriptures up on the screen, so they can follow along. We stay seated while singing so that those in wheelchairs can still see. This past Sunday we had communion, and they appreciate being able to participate in that. The feedback from the patients and their families has been incredibly encouraging. We have had folks from a variety of denominations—Catholic, Methodist, Episcopal, Baptist, you name it! Since the first of this year we have had about 140 first-time visitors!
One family member was so inspired by what we were doing that he sent us a check for $500! We do not take up an offering, but we have a basket out on the table where our members bring their donations and occasionally guests will give a little. But we don’t want them to think we’re after their money. We view what we are doing as an outreach ministry. Our small congregation “came to life” in serving others. Their attendance became more regular!
It’s wonderful not to have to pay rent or maintain a building! We continue to do what we were doing before, such as our annual shoebox ministry, supporting other charities and denominational ministries. We did have to discontinue our discipleship class that we were having prior to worship, but the benefit of serving others far outweighs that small sacrifice. Our members connect with the visitors and some of them become “regulars” who are with us from week to week.
It’s something like a “parachurch” type ministry, and I think that many of our smaller churches might be able to do something like this. It’s different, of course, from planting a new church with the anticipation of growing a local church congregation. But when you see how these folks appreciate the chance to worship the God they love, it feels very rewarding. The need is great, because these rehab centers and assisted living facilities are popping up all over. At least they are in the Birmingham area.
We use primarily well-known hymns, because these folks love them. I think it’s important to know your audience and what makes a worshipful experience for them. We use some praise songs, also, but try to choose songs people can sing easily. We have our electric keyboard and a bass guitar for accompaniment, and it works beautifully. We’ve had some interesting experiences. One guest had been a gospel singer and asked to sing for us. One lady asked to sing and sang a capella beautifully.
We love being able to share the good news with new folks every week!
On July 20-21, over 15 people from various GCI congregations came together at Christ Fellowship Church (one of GCI’s Cincinnati, OH, area congregations) for a workshop led by Cathy Deddo.
Cathy Deddo addressing the group
Through individual study time, small group interaction and large group discussions, the group studied seven related passages in the Gospel of Mark. The goal was to help each other listen more attentively to the passages so that each person could grow in their understanding of Scripture and their relationship with the Lord, and also grow in their ability to lead interactive small group Bible studies.
Cathy commented on the approach she took in the workshop:
The Bible is unlike any other written word. The Holy Spirit, who inspired these writings for our benefit, can speak to us again today in and through these words. As pastors and small group leaders, we want Bible study to feed people’s actual, real relationship with God and to draw us together in Christ-centered fellowship. In expectation of what the Spirit will do in using these words again, we learned how to tune into the message of the biblical author (Mark in this case). We especially focused on discerning the particular questions Mark raised and the particular answers he gave in his Gospel.
small group discussion
Here are comments from some of the participants:
It was awesome to really dig in. It was like digging for gold. Absolutely wonderful, in-depth study. (Laura Bauer)
I loved doing this study directly from the Scriptures instead of just relying on what someone else is telling us. We should always start at his Word, then move on to reading commentaries and using Bible dictionaries and lexicons. Reading Scripture first really gives us focus and faith in what God is telling us. It helps his Word reach into our hearts when we reach into it and get our hands dirty instead of just standing aside and watching someone else doing the hard work. Thank you, Cathy, for taking us by the hand and showing us how to garden. (Valerie Beverly)
This study in Mark gave me techniques and tools to use as a small group leader in my church. In addition to gaining much insight into the book of Mark, walking through the passages with a focus on ways to engage our groups to more fully connect with God and his message was a treasure. It is such a blessing to have the opportunity to point each other to Christ and see ourselves in light of Scripture. (Carol Bolander)
I enjoyed reading and considering the various Scripture passages and the in-depth analysis of each one. The lectures from Cathy and the comments from workshop participants made the written material come alive. More than ever before, I was seeing Jesus as a real person, living among real people, living a real life, in a real historical setting. The background material and discussions of others helped in seeing the flow of the book, and why Mark wrote in the style that he did. This insight is helpful in comparing Mark to the other Gospels that address the same events. (Bill Roll)
Here is a video with pictures of a back-to-school outreach recently held by the GCI congregation in Cicero, IL (in the Chicago area). The lead pastor (shown in the last picture) is Israel Hernandez.
Here, from GCI President Joseph Tkach and GCI Vice President Greg Williams, is a Speaking of Life video that introduces GCI’s new Home Office in Charlotte, NC, and the staff members who work there serving GCI pastors and congregations around the world.
This report is from Hazel Tabin of Grace Communion Fellowship, one of GCI’s congregations in the Los Angeles, CA area.
We are beyond grateful that our first Vacation Bible School (VBS) was a success! Though only three kids were registered just a few days before the event, we ended up having 22 attend—12 five through eight years old, and 10 nine through twelve years old (pictured below).
The VBS theme was “Game On,” which focused on sports. It allowed the kids to talk about their favorite sports and warm up quickly to one another. The theme helped the kids understand how God wants every one of us to be a part of his team. The topics focused on Jesus—that he cares, gives us hope, helps us believe, loves us, and gives us joy. The children listened to stories, learned Bible verses, sang, danced, played team games, and created crafts. All these activities focused on the lesson for the day.
In one of the crafts, the kids decorated water bottles with the words “Jesus loves you” and the name of our church, its location, and the time our service starts. On our last day of the VBS, the older kids went on a “mission” and handed out the water bottles to people at a nearby park. It was great to see their friendly smiles as they joyfully gave these bottles away. One of the kids even emphasized the information of the church service and invited them to come!
The Sunday service following the VBS was different than usual. We invited the kids from the VBS and their families to attend. The kids performed in the service, telling about God’s great love. The VBS teachers shared a summary of what they taught the kids. The sermon expounded the message, “Let the little children come to me.” A primary goal of the service was to let the parents and everyone else know that we value children and want them to experience the love Jesus has for them. We were encouraged to hear the parents’ positive comments and invited them to return the following Sunday.
