• Homeless services: In a recent gathering of WCG members at a district event in Myrtle Beach, SC, members led a service of worship and prayer at the Streets Reach Homeless Shelter. After the message by Howard Blakeney, pastor of the Myrtle Beach congregation, an invitation was extended to accept Jesus Christ, and five of the people at the shelter accepted Christ. Bibles and brochures about baptism were given to the new believers. The WCG members who were involved in the worship were from the Harvest church (Myrtle Beach, Marion, SC), the Chesterfield, VA, church (pastor Charles Adams), and from Charlotte, NC (pastor Martin Manuel). Howard Blakeney

• Celebrating Jesus: A very joyous celebration honoring the risen Lord was held at the New Hope Fellowship church in Las Cruces, NM on April 16. Pastor Armando Soto welcomed the guests, including some of the family members of Nancy Lelevier (a beloved deaconess who had passed away a week earlier). The celebration was also attended by some family members and friends who were warmly welcomed back to church after being away for quite some time. There were many new faces as well. It was an intergenerational Easter service. Rosie Martinez, a teen, assisted Pastor Soto with scripture readings, followed by a medley of songs by the children's choir under the direction of Tony Contreras and Alice Garcia. One of the songs was performed in sign language. The service was followed by an ordination ceremony: Alice Garcia was ordained a deaconess. What added to this special day was that three of the children pictured in this photo were also baptized on Easter Sunday (Roman Garcia, Desiree Estrada, and Krista Martinez). What a fitting tribute to a new life in Jesus! The celebration ended with a potluck and much fellowship. Gloria Soto

• Welcoming spring: The Fountain of Life Church, in Washington, PA, welcomed spring with a "Garden Party" potluck dinner April 2. Members were encouraged to decorate straw hats anyway they liked. All the hats were put on display for a contest. The hat receiving the most donations won the prize. All money collected was given to the church social fund. Shirley Collins

• Persecuted Christians: At the April 9 service, Grace Family Church (Dallas, TX) interim pastor Bob Persky wore a cap that said: “Jesus Inside.” "You couldn't wear this in many parts of the world," he said. "In 40 countries, Christians are persecuted for their faith."

• Celebrating the Resurrection:

In an auditorium decorated with the tomb of Jesus on one side and a life-sized cross on the other, Grace Family Church celebrated the resurrection of Christ on April 16. Worship team members Corrinne Brunet, Andrew and Stephanie Gordon and Niall Quinlan presented slides of traditional Easter symbols and took turns discussing their meaning: An egg, the tomb from which Christ emerged; the cross, a symbol of hope; candles, Jesus as the Light of the world; a lily, symbol of purity; a dogwood tree, the tree with a cross-shaped blossom with a red dot symbolizing a drop of blood; and the lamb, a symbol of Jesus.

Curtis Berger and David Hebert appeared in a skit about Pilate ordering a scribe to write the sign that was posted to the cross labeling Jesus as King of the Jews. Matthew Hard and Mark Miller played Caiaphas the high priest and Joseph of Arimathea in another skit, detailing the plot to promote false information about Jesus' resurrection.

Interim Pastor Bob Persky said the resurrection was the sign of the prophet Jonah that proves Jesus is the Messiah. "Seeing the resurrected Christ transformed the disciples," he said. "There are miracles constantly taking place in our lives. Ask God to open your heart, to wipe away the doubts and fears." He explained that Jesus' neatly folded grave clothes were evidence of the bodily resurrection of Jesus. "Lazarus came out of the tomb with his grave clothes, but he came back to a physical life," Mr. Persky said. "Jesus left his grave clothes in the grave as witness."

The pastor showed a video clip depicting the resurrected Jesus appearing to the women as recorded in Matthew 28, then played a song about Christ telling us to speak about him to the nations. During the service, Mr. Persky asked members of the Pastor Search Committee to come onstage, where he prayed for them. Frank Lewandowski

• Music ministry: Ross Jutsum, former director of the Young Ambassadors, repeatedly pointed the congregation to Christ as he led worship at Grace Family Church on April 22. Whenever the crowd applauded, he pointed upward to give God the glory.

A number of audience members raised their hands when asked whether they had taken one of his Music Appreciation classes at the former Ambassador University.

Bob Persky, Grace Family interim pastor, recalled that their son, Bradley, was a Young Ambassador and that the group had sung for Bradley in the hospital in 1994 when he was seriously ill. "I got very close to Ross at that time," Mr. Persky recalled.

Dr. Jutsum spoke of serving at a Billy Graham crusade at the Rose Bowl in which Michael W. Smith provided worship music backed by a choir of 7,000. In the audience was Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in the movie, "The Passion of the Christ." Mr. Smith called Mr. Caviezel up onstage. The actor sat next to Mr. Smith on the piano bench while he performed his song, "Above All," with Mr. Caviezel symbolizing Jesus' presence. After sharing that experience as a prelude, Dr. Jutsum led the Grace Family congregation in singing "Above All." "Jesus was thinking of your name and my name when he was on the cross," he said.

Dr. Jutsum told of praying for the young adult son of a friend, Daniel Johnson, from Grand Prairie, TX, who was in the hospital with pneumonia. At first, doctors thought they might need to remove a lung, but within one day, the family learned that the surgery was deemed unnecessary and that the son, Danny, was "healing too fast."

The Grace Family service was marked with joy, energy and humor as the director of State of the Heart Ministries passed out percussion instruments to adults and invited children onstage. He performed a song about Jesus welcoming the little children and that he always has time for us, his kids. Another song invited us to lay all our cares and worries upon Jesus.

Dr. Jutsum spoke of his daughter, Heidi, 21, and how she had adopted a village in Guatemala three years ago. She visited there several times and made many friends. Her adopted village was devastated by Hurricane Stan, which triggered severe mudslides. The Guatemalan government was ready to write off the settlement, but Heidi arranged for medical supplies and food to reach the beleaguered residents. A star college volleyball player, she missed a key game to stay behind in Guatemala so her friends there would continue to see the love of Jesus in a personal way. The Philadelphia, PA, Inquirer ran a front-page article about Heidi's selfless decision with the headline: "Care Over Competition." Heidi and her fiancé plan to do humanitarian work in Bolivia and Ecuador.

Dr. Jutsum said that in the nine years since he began his music ministry, he has visited over 500 cities and over 100 denominations. Following the Grace Family service, he stayed for some time, meeting and talking with the members. Frank Lewandowski

• Teens navigate with Jesus: “Navigating with Jesus” was the theme for 73 campers and staff at our March 24-26 Gateway to God youth retreat held at Logan Valley Christian Retreat in Ellington, MO. Campers came from Alton and Belleville, IL; St. Louis, Springfield and Joplin, MO; Omaha, NE and Paducah, KY. Activities included team building, basketball, volleyball, Christian dance, dance revolution, design-your-own baseball cap and a workshop on preparing to enter the mission field, by Jon Reinagel and Carla Cotita.

• Ambassador Center honored at Azusa Pacific University: On April 18, Jon Wallace, president of APU, presented a Stuart-Austin quartz clock to the Ambassador Center and Russell Duke in appreciation for the service and the relationship the Center had with APU from 1997 to 2006.

Upon the close of Ambassador University in 1997, Russell moved from Big Sandy, Texas, where he served as President of AU, to work for Azusa Pacific University under a joint project funded by APU and WCG. Over nine years, we have been able to assist 55 WCG students with their Christian education at APU. More than 30 students have graduated, and many are serving today in WCG congregations, with some of them leading worship and other ministries in our churches. We closed the Ambassador Center in favor of putting greater effort into serving the educational needs of ministry leaders and members. 

In June, Dr. Duke joined the staff in Glendora, where serves as president of the Ambassador College of Christian Ministry and focuses his time on developing the ACCM Advanced Diploma program. "I'm looking forward to developing courses in theology and pastoral leadership for ministers and members. Many of the courses I taught at Ambassador and at APU can be adapted for our online program, and now I can have more time to focus on that part of my ministry."

• Project New Orleans: “Kingdom Kids’ of the Seattle/Bellevue, Washington Children’s Church set the goal of raising $500 for Project New Orleans, assisting hurricane Katrina victims. After watching a power point presentation from the Cincinnati, Ohio Church regarding their December mission trip, the children prayed over the city and asked for God’s blessing on their project. They also packed a care package of goodies and sent cards to surprise the mission team arriving in New Orleans the next weekend.

From March 1st through May 6th the 15 children, ages 4-12, looked for ways to earn money doing odd jobs like picking up pinecones, watering plants, washing cars, doing laundry and giving back rubs. The children’s goal was to make $25 each to enable another WCG congregation to travel to New Orleans to work with Pastor Mike Horchak.

One church member donated $5 to each child to get them started. Sean Quinn, a third grader, earned $35 by working with researchers helping blind children. Dulcinea Hatch, a 5th grader, donated a surprise thank you gift of $35 she received for sending audio tapes of her and her brother singing to a nursing home in Oregon.

A special jar was made available for the congregation to donate to on behalf of the babies. One of our little girls thought she should charge a dollar to people to hold her baby brother. The group also decorated cakes and offered them for a donation

The DJ’s(Disciples for Jesus), Seattle/Bellevue’s teen group, earned $100 by cutting up a downed tree. They also collected used books which earned $30. DJ’s that helped out were Dylan Hatch, Kristen Fowler, Taya Amplyeyeva, Patrick Quinn, Austin Dean, and Megan Robinson. Kristen also earned money by washing the car of her grandfather, Pastor Bill Miller.

The collection was gathered May 6th during Friendship Day, an outreach planting event hosted by Children’s Church. During the activity each child had a chance to assist in counting the money that was turned in. By the end of the day they counted $756.00. Once all donations were received the children had collected $833.00. Another surprise came when the Olympic Peninsula congregation sent us a check for $1000 to add to our donation.

What was so exciting to the children was that the congregation agreed to match their funds, making every dollar they earned worth two dollars to New Orleans.

The “Kingdom Kids” are partnering with congregations from the North Dallas, Texas area who did a missions trip June 4-10. These are the same congregations that received the children’s care package back in March. The funds will allow more people to be able to go and help provide for a possible 2nd trip later in the summer.

The children also sent the mission team a box of stuffed bears with notes of encouragement. The “Bearable Bears” were to be shared with people they minister too. Each child wrote a note and prayed for the person who would receive their bear. The children and their families were encouraged to pray for the mission team and the recipients of their bears each day during the mission trip. Sarah-Ann Woodfield

• Mission trip to New Orleans:

• Another mission trip to New Orleans: Some college students indulge in wild partying during spring break. Others go on mission trips to help people in need.

Grace Family Church member Michael Lewandowski participated in a mission trip to New Orleans March 13-17. The trip was sponsored by the Baptist Student Ministry in Commerce, TX, where Michael attends college. Also involved were five students from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD.

Before going on the trip, Michael spoke briefly to the congregation and asked for volunteers to sign a list agreeing to pray for the trip's success. This was a requirement of everyone who would participate in the mission.

The group assisted two ladies whose homes were close to one of the New Orleans levies and thus were severely damaged by the flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina. Michael was sobered to note that six months after the hurricane, there was still widespread evidence of destruction. He spoke of boats sitting on highway medians and large quantities of junk cars that had been piled up under overpasses.

One of the homes where the students worked had been flooded up to the attic. The volunteers removed ruined furniture, carpeting, insulation, appliances, fixtures and doors, completely gutting each house because the water had ruined everything but the studs, outer walls and floors. One home belongs to Nicole Jones, a New Orleans police officer. The other homeowner is a lady in her 80s known as “Ms Jean.” It is estimated that the volunteers saved the homeowners $2,000-7,000 each.

Michael said the students were not only on hand to work but, more importantly, to empathize with the women’s trials and to provide a listening ear as needed. "The ladies were very gracious" and tremendously appreciated the labor and care the students provided. Frank Lewandowski

• A baptism to remember: New Beginnings WCG in San Antonio, TX, is pleased to announce the baptisms of Kimberly Cotton, age 19, Ivy Lopez, 19, Kristin Orth, 16, and Mason Schuler, 13. Mason was re-baptized because a grand mal seizure took his memory of his previous baptism in Big Sandy, TX. “A person should remember his baptism,” said Mason when asked why he wanted to join the others.

Ivy, Kristin and Mason all grew up in the WCG; Kimberly began attending as a high school student. The baptisms were done in the cold Guadalupe River, with a reception at the Rick’s Ranch afterwards. Almost all the New Beginnings congregation joined in on the celebration. Rodney Schuler

• Camp directors plan for growth: Generations Ministry camp directors and some of their key assistants met May 4-6 at Camp Cotubic near Columbus, OH, to share successes and challenges from their past camp experience and to plan for future growth.

One of the high spots for the WCG over the past four decades has been our denominational camp program—in the U.S. and around the world. In the United States, our main national camp was located for 35 years in Orr, Minnesota. After 2001, it was decided to sell the Orr property and start regional camps.

Beginning with five camps in 2002, WCG (under its Generations Ministry umbrella) now has 14 camps spanning the country from coast to coast with anticipated attendance of almost 1,000 this year. Several of the camps are specifically oriented toward teenagers, some are for pre-teens, and one camp is for cross-cultural outreach into Mexico for teens and adults.

Ted Johnston, national director of Generations Ministry, facilitated the Ohio meeting. As the 30 attendees arrived, there were excited greetings, laughter and hugs all around as these men and women shared in the bond of a common goal: “To provide nurturing camp environments where the Holy Spirit transforms children, teens and young adults into disciplemaking followers of Jesus Christ.”

The meetings began with musical praise and worship, and we shared Communion to remind us of the key spiritual foundation of our camp programs.

Early in our discussions we reviewed our mission and goals: “Why do our camps exist, and how can we best accomplish our purposes?” We then shared many ideas of what worked well and what needs improving at our various camps. It was wonderful to be able to learn from each other’s experiences so we can duplicate ideas that have proven successful and avoid repeating ideas that didn’t achieve desired results. We also covered some of the more “mundane” (but important) aspects of providing a safe camp ministry, such as legal matters, insurance needs and medical policies.

Throughout the two days, the camp leaders shared many stories of individual lives that have been positively transformed within the camp environment. For camp staff, it is amazingly rewarding to recall the names and faces of campers whose lives have been changed forever at our camps. And while most of the camps focus on helping teens toward spiritual transformation, it turns out the staff who faithfully serve the youth also have their lives changed forever by the camp experience.

Summertime is a busy season for our camps, so we appreciate your prayers that God will use these camps to multiply disciplemaking followers of Jesus. Lee Berger

“FEARLESS” is the theme for our September 21-24 event in the Wisconsin Dells. Everyone is welcome, from all over America and the world, to meet at one of the world’s largest indoor water parks, the Kalahari Resort, for four days of worship, fellowship and fun. “Fearless” will be the focus of our four worship services and nearly a dozen workshops. This is not about behavior modification—it is about Jesus transforming each and every one of us.

Workshops during the event include:

All rooms and suites include waterpark wristbands for every registered hotel guest (a $35 per person value!), at least one 27” color TV, coffeemaker, iron, ironing board, microwave, mini refrigerator, in-room safe, hair dryer, internet access and On Command Movies (pay per view).

Bruce Marchiano to speak at Seaside:

Seaside, Oregon Celebration of Christ announces Bruce Marchiano will be special guest speaker!

             Many people know Bruce Marchiano from his portrayal of Jesus in the Matthew Video.  Bruce has publicly said and written that Jesus talked so much about joy that he wanted to portray Him with as much joy as possible.  Anyone who has watched the video knows how Bruce shows Jesus having a smile on His face and often being playful with the disciples.

            During our planning times for Seaside the pastors felt our focus this year should be “The Joy of the Lord”.  With that as our focus, asking Bruce Marchiano to come was an obvious next step. Bruce has agreed to put us in his schedule.  He will be speaking several times throughout the weekend.  One of Bruce’s main presentations will be at the Saturday luncheon mentioned on the registration form.

            Our services are being designed to express and experience the joy of the Lord, including humor, drama, joyous worship and various short presentations from the Word by pastors from our district.

            As previously announced, we have also invited Christian ventriloquist, Steve Cadwalader, who will lead the majority of the children’s church services.  He has experience working with hundreds of children through churches and schools and teaching them about Jesus through the use of his many “friends.”  This is a great opportunity for children.  Maybe bring some of the neighbor children to hear about Jesus in a fun and loving environment!

            To register click on the Events Calendar tab at wcg.org, then go down the events list to “Celebration of Christ” Seaside.  You will be sent a housing list upon registration.

            This will be a joyous time for all members of the family.  We hope you and your family will join us!  Glen Weber

For further information, see the May/June Together, page 5, or www.wcg.org/events  

Fall women’s retreat: Do you ever feel like you are running on empty, spiritually? Well, maybe it’s time for spiritual renewal and a chance to have fun with lots of “girlfriends”! This October, the Good Hope and Birmingham, AL, congregations are sponsoring a retreat at the Saint Bernard Abbey Retreat and Conference Center in Cullman, AL. This is an easy-to-find location off of I-65 in north Alabama. The dates are October 6-8. The cost for the retreat is $85 per person, which includes two nights’ lodging and five meals. This is based on two people per room. The theme for our weekend is “More Joy for the Journey.” Our guest speaker is Ginny Rice, and our guest singer is Ann Hartmann. You can hear samples of Ann’s music on her website (www.annhartmann.com). For more information or to register for the retreat, contact Ruth Miller at ruth.miller@wcg.org or call (205) 979-7321.

• David Orth, San Antonio, TX

• Kevin Phillips, Charlotte, NC

• Benjamin Martinez, Spokane and Kennewick, WA

• Miles Johnson, Glendora, CA

• Charles Norris, Winnipeg, Manitoba

• Alaric Kurzawa, Melbourne (South), Australia