SPOKANE, Washington—The Spokane congregation moved to a new location in June, reported Pastor Glen Weber.

"The yard of the church is like the local park for the kids to play in, so we have met many of the children in the area," Mr. Weber said. The congregation was host for a neighborhood barbecue Aug. 3. Six people have attended church because of the invitation to the barbecue or the barbecue itself.

The congregation conducted a Five-Day Club through Child Evangelism Fellowship, Aug. 5 to 9, in the churchyard.

MINOT, North Dakota—On July 20, the Minot congregation heard messages from visiting ministers, Dan Fricke, pastor of the Portland West and Vancouver, Washington, churches, and Doug Johannsen, pastor of the Minneapolis North and St. Paul, Minnesota, churches.               

Dan Fricke

 
Doug Johannsen

Mr. Fricke spoke on 2 Corinthians 3, comparing the glories of the old covenant with the glories of the new covenant.

Mr. Johannsen’s message was about insights into listening to and responding to God, using the example found in Acts 8:26-40 of Philip and the Ethiopian.

After services, members enjoyed a potluck meal and fellowship before Mr. Fricke left to speak in Bismarck, North Dakota, and Mr. Johannsen left to speak in Dickinson, North Dakota. Harold and Charlotte Davis.

CALGARY, Alberta, Canada—Pastor Gordon Graham will be awarded a doctorate degree in adult and workplace learning Nov. 12 from the University of Calgary. It is the institution’s first such degree.

One of the field’s hot research topics examines how learning is transferred from the classroom to the workplace.

"There’s a growing amount of research to show that the money invested in training in the workplace is not resulting in beneficial outcomes," said Dr. Graham, who studied the transfer of learning phenomenon for both his master’s and his Ph.D. degrees. "Some researchers estimate that as much as 90 cents out of every dollar invested in training is lost because of inadequate understanding of the transfer of learning phenomenon."

PIKEVILLE, Kentucky—Sunday, Aug. 18, was a landmark day for the Pikeville congregation as Bob Taylor, district superintendent, officially commissioned Estil Stewart, Mike Stewart and Debby Bailey to serve as members of a pastoral team to shepherd the Pikeville congregation.

PASTORAL TEAM—From left:
Bob Taylor (district superintendent),
Estil Stewart, Debby Bailey and Mike Stewart.
[Photo by Eddie Bailey]

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho—Charles and Wanda Murrell have a prison ministry where they meet with 40 to 50 people each Saturday.

"As prisoners begin to come out of jail, they are attending with us," said Pastor Glen Weber. "July 30 we had our first baptism on the outside (baptisms are not allowed on the inside)."

About 50 percent of Coeur d’Alene’s attendance, which averages 45, has no previous WCG background.

"They are settling into our method of fellowship," Mr. Weber said. "They love our congregation and most of the ways we do things. However, since many of them have attended other fellowships, they also bring some wonderful ideas to the table."

SPRINGFIELD, Missouri—The Springfield congregation was host to 21 men from the Sho-Me-Statesmen Barbershop Chorus Aug. 24.

J. Davison, a church member and member of the Sho-Me Chorus, arranged for the day. Their performance consisted of a "Spiritual Medley"; "I’ll Fly Away"; "A Little Talk With Jesus"; and the "Lord’s Prayer."

After the sermon by Pastor James Kissee they performed two more numbers: "I Believe" and "Beautiful Savior." The chorus members are from various denominations. They perform a variety of music for different occasions but have a music ministry where they attend church services during the summer months. Myrna Davison.

FIVE GENERATIONS—From left: Mary Gibson and daughter Norma Fox of the Cape Girardeau, Missouri, church; granddaughter Lynda Ratliff; great-granddaughter Becky Toloson; and great-great grandson, Justin Michael Toloson. The gathering took place near Spartanburg, South Carolina, July 21. [Photo by Haydn Fox]

INDIAN WELLS, California—The annual regional directors retreat took place in Indian Wells, Aug. 25 to 29.

In attendance were Pastor General Joseph Tkach; Charles Fleming, Caribbean and Latin America; Gary and Tamara Moore, Canada; John and Pat Halford, England; James and Shirley Henderson, Africa; Rod Ruth and Rod Matthews, Australia; and George Patrickson, Canada. They attended along with other senior Church Administration staff.

A two-day workshop took place with Ray Anderson, professor of theology and ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary. The remaining meetings focused on the international areas’ transition into mission.

CLARKSBURG, West Virginia—After serving two years as vice president, Pastor Warren D. Wilson was voted president of the Harrison County Ministerial Association for the coming year.

"I was nervous when I attended my first meeting five years ago," Mr. Wilson said. "I wasn’t certain how I would be received. I explained to them about the changes in our denomination, and I apologized for our past exclusionist attitude. Afterward the then president told me that many denominations were guilty of the same thing, and she couldn’t imagine any of them apologizing as I had. Since then I have enjoyed getting to know and work with other pastors in my county."

DALLAS, Texas—Seven members of the Dallas Central church told the congregation Aug. 18 about their mission trip to New Orleans July 22 to 28.

Participating were Sherry Hebert, Cheryl Miller, Bible college student Debra Rand and teenagers Nnamdi Ford, Michael Lewandowski, Laniece Miller and Alexa Wilson.

The WCG worked on the mission in conjunction with Youth With a Mission, an Arkansas Assemblies of God group headed by Oren Paris, brother of Christian singer Twila Paris.

One activity included a walk through the French Quarter during which members prayed for people they met and passed out fruit and bottled water to the homeless. The members were told that voodoo and black magic were on the rise.

The missionaries also conducted carnivals for children at two housing projects, worked at a soup kitchen, visited a homeless shelter and a nursing home and conducted a church service at a juvenile detention center. As opportunities arose, they witnessed to the New Orleans residents about Jesus and what he has done for them.

Mrs. Hebert said the WCG group was surprised to learn "how easy and fun" it is to witness for Jesus. Mrs. Hebert spoke with a man who decided to accept Jesus as his Savior.

Laniece Miller and Michael Lewandowski talked with a man who gave up his material possessions to start a homeless shelter and live with the homeless. He hopes to open an additional shelter.

The Dallas Central members also found that the mission experience drew them close to the Assemblies of God members so that everyone felt like family by the time they left New Orleans. Frank Lewandowski.

MISSION TRIP—Debra Rand interacts
with New Orleans children during July mission trip.

Gerald Waterhouse, 76, who served in the ministry of the Worldwide Church of God from 1956 to 1995, died Sept. 4.

Mr. Waterhouse, a native of West Texas, graduated from Ambassador College in 1956 and was ordained a minister that year. In 1957 he was sent to London to expand the church’s British Office and to pastor the London church, the WCG’s first international congregation.

Mr. Waterhouse opened the WCG offices in Australia, the Philippines and South Africa. He was known for his numerous world tours speaking to WCG congregations beginning in 1966.

He was buried in Florence, South Carolina.

BELLINGHAM, Washington—The Bellingham small group congregation has been gathering faithfully at the senior citizens center in Bellingham for more than six years. Pastor Bill Miller and Lyle Davis share in teaching the group the gospel of Jesus Christ and Christ-centered living. Charles Gauvin.

BELLINGHAM GROUP [Photo by Don Stevens]

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana—On Sept. 8, 1962, the WCG conducted its first worship service in Indianapolis. To celebrate the 40th anniversary, New Life Christian Fellowship and the Indianapolis A.M. congregation will be hosts for an anniversary service Oct. 26.

The worship service will take place at 11 a.m. at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, 720 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., Indianapolis. Carn Catherwood, the first Indianapolis pastor, and his wife, Joyce, will be special guests, and Mr. Catherwood will give the main message. After the service, there will be a potluck meal and time for reliving the memories.

  Carn & Joyce
   Catherwood

We would like to hear from any members who were at the first service in 1962.

For more information and directions, please contact David Perry, pastor of New Life Christian Fellowship, by e-mail at Davskier@ aol.com Directions and further information can also be found at http://churches.wcg.org/indy-pm

BUFFALO, New York—"Our local church has been approached by Family Life Network, a Christian radio network in New York and Pennsylvania, about being their local support church for outreach in Buffalo," said John Knaack, Buffalo pastor.

"They told us they were impressed by our living out what we preach. They especially liked our church bulletin motto: Making a Difference for the Kingdom. We sense the Holy Spirit must have sent them to us, since we don’t think we have done too many remarkable things in Buffalo, other than getting involved in prayer and outreach."

SUMMERSVILLE, South Carolina— May 26 was a joyous occasion in Summersville at the United Missionary Congregation worship service.

The youth ministry led the service from the opening song to the closing prayer. This service was a part of an ongoing effort by Pastor Tommie Grant Sr. to be sure that the entire congregation has the opportunity to serve and "Make a Difference for the Kingdom," the theme for 2002 for the United Missionary Congregation. The service was followed by a potluck.

CHARLESTON, South Carolina— The women of the Charleston United Missionary Congregation (WCG) had a special service May 28 following a theme set for the year by Pastor Tommie Grant Sr. of "Making a Difference for the Kingdom."

The keynote speaker was Emma Iwok from the Orangeburg, South Carolina, congregation. Her topic was "The Lies That Christian Women Believe and How the Truth Shall Set Them Free." As said by the pastor’s wife, Josephine, "The Holy Spirit is definitely in this place today."

A potluck and fellowship followed the service.

Church Administration announced the following ministerial ordinations.

Thomas Davis, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Bill Guthrie, Opelika, Alabama.

John Stonecypher, Mason City, Iowa.

Robert Potvin, Medford, Oregon.

Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2002