On September 7, the members of The Shepherd’s Community Church feted their pastor and his wife, Willard and Brenda High, for their 15 years of sacrificial, compassionate, and dedicated leadership.

Dave Fiedler (our regional pastoral leader), his wife Linda, and Cliff Parks (our district pastoral leader) also attended, along with South Holland, IL, mayor, Don DeGraff, and his wife Nyla.

Festivities included a family-style dinner and a photomontage of events from the Highs’ life. Following these were worship services and the presentations of tributes. After a rousing beginning to services from the worship team, the guest speaker from Heaven’s View Christian Fellowship in Peoria, IL, Tony Pierce, exhorted the assembly to consider new methods for attracting people to Christ.

After the message, Pastor and Mrs. High received expressions of appreciation from the guests: a congratulatory book, several proclamations and poems, words of appreciation, and cards and gifts.

—Charleda Lane and Barbara Williamson; photo by Sterling Bolden

Sometimes we need to be reminded of where we’ve been, how far we’ve come, and where we’re headed. That’s what Loretta Clark (left) did for us at the 2008 Women’s Conference presented by The Shepherd’s Community Church on August 16.

After several inspiring praise songs, the nearly 60 attendees heard the main message by Evangelist Clark of the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago. Her words of encouragement and inspiration told us how God can bring us "full circle at the appointed time—not of ourselves but in the Spirit of the Lord."

Three breakout sessions were held after lunch. Frieda Roulds (right) facilitated a session on finding joy; Eugene Dumas led a session on confidence in Christ; and Herbert Saunders presented a session on God’s love. The conference ended with a gift giveaway, and remarks from Brenda High.

The Jacksonville, FL, and Brunswick, GA, congregations enjoyed a fellowship cruise with daily worship services, plus marriage workshops for couples, Sept. 25-29. Thirty-two members traveled from Jacksonville to the Bahamas aboard the Carnival Fascination cruiseship, returning to Jacksonville on the fifth day. Among the many highlights of the trip, 20 participants went onshore to join the Nassau WCG congregation for worship services. Members also won trophies on board the ship for performances in the Karaoke Talent Contest and dance activities.

Daily worship services were held in a private room on the ship, and featured sermons from Caribbean Missions Developer Charles Fleming and Jacksonville pastor Marty Davey. We plan to sponsor another cruise next fall; details will be announced next year on our congregation’s website at ChristianFamilyFellowshipJax.com or cffjax.com.

Church multiplication. Church planting. What are we talking about? We’re talking about one of the most important aspects of fulfilling our Father’s mission to live and share the gospel and make new disciples: starting new churches. But why do we need (yes, “need”) to do this?

Many of our members and established congregations are actively, and effectively, sharing God’s love with friends, family and communities. They are effective in their contexts. But America is a mosaic of racial, ethnic, generational and social groups. Most of the people who comprise these groups have not heard the gospel of Jesus. In addition, they need to hear the gospel and grow as disciples within their cultural context. It takes all kinds of churches to reach them. Most of our established congregations are not able to provide these varied contexts. New churches can.

But new churches need leaders—people who have a deep passion for unchurched people who are not being reached at this time. Church plant leaders are people who have specialized gifts and competencies that enable them to enter non-Christian communities and people groups to intentionally develop relationships, serve people, proclaim the gospel, and make disciples.

Church plant leaders know how to develop ministry teams that develop culturally relevant ministries and worship services. Church plant leaders are entrepreneurial—willing to work hard, take risks, and find creative ways to overcome obstacles. Church plant leaders follow Jesus’ pattern of sacrificial, incarnational living for the sake of reaching unreached people with the good news of God’s love and grace. Church plant leaders are driven by a vision and a relentless faith in God’s provision.

We are looking for church planters. Do you have a vision for a new church that can reach new people for Jesus? Do you feel the Spirit calling you to start a new church? If so, please contact CAD and we will help you clarify your calling, equip you for ministry, and join you on your journey with Jesus.

By Ronald Kelly, Group Tour Coordinator

As we wind down the year 2008, it’s time to look ahead for exciting fellowship cruises and tour planning for the upcoming year. In 2008, members enjoyed an inspirational Holy Land Tour in March.

Working with Travel Gallery, we are offering three divergent opportunities for 2009 that will make it difficult for you to decide exactly which one will be right for you.

We again offer a cruise to Alaska. It will have been three years since our last cruise to this part of the world. Previous groups have found this journey to be awesome. We will travel on Princess Cruise Lines’ Star Princess round trip from Seattle, WA, for seven days of fantastic scenery, fellowship and the always-popular extravagant meals.

The dates of this cruise are May 17–25. Pricing begins at just $724—a really good price for an Alaska itinerary. Ports of call will be Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and Victoria, B.C., Canada. The ship will also cruise through the Tracy Arm Fjord.

We chose these dates because Alaska cruising gets more and more expensive through each week of the summer sailing schedule. Also Seattle is easier to get to and less expensive than flying to Vancouver, B.C, Canada, where many cruise ships depart. If you have put off a long-standing desire to cruise Alaska, this will be a wonderful opportunity.

For the first time, this coming year we will partner with Globus Tours, one of the premier tour operators in the world. The advantage of this partnership is that those who sign up for this tour will be guaranteed a fixed price and tour dates. In the past, some of our planned WCG tours have not had a sufficient number of participants to form a group and we had to cancel plans. With Globus, we will be included in their group planning dates. If we have sufficient participation, a WCG minister will be along as a personal tour host and will conduct selected devotionals along the way. However, there is no minimum number of participants required and if there are fewer than we expect, members will not be disappointed by a cancellation.

This tour, "In the Footsteps of the Apostle Paul," includes visits to Athens, Corinth, Thessalonica, Philippi and Berea. There will be a stop at St. Stevens 14th-century monastery, which sits atop vast rocks and is one of the most breathtaking sites in the world. In addition to these remarkable sites in mainland Greece, this tour includes a three-night cruise from Athens that makes port calls in Mykonos, Rhodes, Patmos, and Kusadasi, with a tour of biblical Ephesus.

This fantastic tour is 11 days with round-trip airfare from New York to Athens. The departure date is October 6, with a return on October 16. Pricing for this group tour is $3,417 per person, double occupancy, including airfare from New York. Add-on airfares from your home city can be arranged. A land-only price is also available for those who prefer to make their own airline reservations.

Few travel opportunities offer more education and inspiration than to walk into the past in the footsteps of Paul.

Finally, we don’t want to neglect the extremely popular and very affordable cruises one can enjoy in the Caribbean. This year we will again be sailing with Princess Cruise Lines. The ship is the Emerald Princess. Departing from Ft. Lauderdale on November 1, 2009, the ship will put into port at St. Martin, St. Thomas and Grand Turk. There will also be a stop at Princess Cruise Lines’ private island, Princess Cays, Bahamas. The return date to Ft. Lauderdale is November 8. Prices start at just $569 per person for this cruise.

As with all WCG-sponsored cruises, worship services will be conducted on board and there will be ample time for fun and fellowship with fellow members.

For those who have never cruised before, these affordable Caribbean cruises offer a chance to experience a truly delightful vacation coupled with the worship and fellowship that only a WCG cruise can offer.

Travel Gallery is now accepting reservations and deposits for these 2009 activities. If one of them is of interest to you or you would like further information, please contact John Siston via email at john@travelgallery.com or call him toll free at 1-800-858-6999.

This advance announcement will allow you time to consider your travel desires for next year and lock in selected pricing. Early bookings also help us plan the tour hosts who will accompany each group. We hope to see you on one of the 2009 WCG programs.