BRIDGETOWN, Barbados—The church in Barbados celebrated its 35th anniversary on the weekend of Feb. 8 with a thanksgiving service.

Millie Bass, widow of Stan Bass, was the guest of honor. Mrs. Bass was given a gift in appreciation for their many years of service. Mr. Bass, the first pastor, served from 1968 to 1972. The Basses continued to serve the Barbados church as regional director for the Caribbean for nearly two decades more.

The service was marked by singing and a dance performance by the children of the B.C.C. ministry (Bringing Children to Christ). During the service, two commissioning ceremonies took place. Clifton Charles and his wife, Pearl, were given new responsibilities. Mr. Charles will serve as regional pastor to seven WCG congregations in Barbados, Trinidad, Grenada, Guyana and Antigua.

"Over the past seven years, Mr. and Mrs. Charles have effectively pastored these same seven congregations, so the geographic scope is not new to them," said Charles Fleming, mission developer for the Caribbean and Latin America.

"What changes is the nature of the job. Instead of being personally responsible for fulfilling the pastoral functions, they will now be primarily responsible for mentoring, training and supervising pastors and pastoral teams to serve the seven congregations."

Mr. and Mrs. Charles then joined Mr. Fleming in commissioning the new pastoral team that will serve the Barbados congregation. Charles Lowe and Henderson Jones will serve on this team.

"I challenged them to pray about planting new congregations on the island," Mr. Fleming said. "I told them that by the time the church celebrates its 40th anniversary I hope there will be more than one WCG congregation on the island. Charles Fleming.

BARBADOS COMMISSIONING SERVICE—
From left: Pearl and Clifton Charles, Avis and
Henderson Jones, Jean and Charles Lowe
and Charles Fleming.

BUFFET LINE—Barbados anniversary service.

HOUSTON, Texas—The Community of Hope lay chaplaincy ministry commissioned six lay chaplains Jan. 26. Those commissioned are Chris Alder, Lee Ann Evans, Lue Ennis, Bill Meisner, Colleen Verdun and Harris Verdun. Four of these are WCG members.

Bob Wells, director of Community of Hope, officiated at the commissioning service. Rev. Wells shared the vision of lay chaplain ministry and gave certificates to the graduates, assisted by Chris Beam, training coordinator.

Mr. Beam and Sally Meisner led a ceremony called "The Blessing of Hands" where all of the lay chaplains had their hands covered by warm clothes, and were blessed. The blessing consisted of asking God to bring healing to whomever their hands touched, and that they would be appreciated and valued for their work as lay chaplains.

Community of Hope provides 42 hours of training in pastoral care for those who want to minister and visit in compassion ministries. For more information, send e-mail to Community of Hope at coh@sleh.com or call 1-832-355-8756. Training centers may already be established in your area.

CHICAGO, Illinois—The Chicago South-Southeast congregation conducted an evangelism outreach service Feb. 22 onboard the Spirit of Chicago cruise ship.

Members, families and friends met at Navy Pier with a panoramic view of the Chicago skyline for an 11:30 a.m. worship service. Pastor Willard High delivered a message from 2 Kings 5—encouraging members to seek God’s blessings while humbly trusting in his leadership.

The praise team led the church in worship, and the choir, under the direction of Douglas Bragg, music minister, and Gerard Matthews, choir director, sang four selections. Then the ship left for a cruise on Lake Michigan complete with buffet lunch. Britannica Reed and Ephphatha Hicks organized the activity.

"This is very nice, we should do this again," said Billie Moncure, American Sign Language interpreter. Elder Jesse Bellamy commented: "This was a pleasant change of pace. Our guests had a chance to see the church in a different light today."

"We thank God for inspiring and blessing this evangelism outreach," Mr. High said. "Inviting new people to join us in worship and leading them to Jesus Christ is becoming more natural as our members learn to view the great commission as an everyday commission."

CRUISE—Praise team leads worship.
[Photo by Jesse Bellamy]

DALLAS, Texas—Greg AIbrecht was guest speaker at the Dallas North worship service Jan. 18, speaking on grace and truth. The Nuclear Family band (Jeb, Barb, John, James and Brittany Egbert) led the congregation in praise and worship.

Members ate dinner together after the worship service. Lighthouses on the serving tables and candles on the dining tables brought to mind that we are lights in a darkened world. After dinner, the Nuclear Family band led a second praise service, and door prizes were awarded. Nancy Bydlon.

ARNHEM, Netherlands—Ina Post was installed as chair of the Dutch church board Feb. 21. Mrs. Post, who succeeds outgoing chairman John Halford, is a longtime member of the church, and the wife of Joop Post, pastor of the Zwolle congregation.

Jesse Korver, national director, said that the Dutch board has made great progress the last few years and that he thinks the new chair will have the competencies the board needs for future challenges.

DUTCH LEADERS—From left: Joop
Post, Ina Post and Jesse Korver.
[Photo by John Halford]

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines—Most recipients of a WCG feeding program here are Muslims, reports member Carmen Manalo. The feeding program is funded by IRIS ministries, made up of WCG members in the Orlando, Florida, church.

Pastor Nilo Belarmino noted, "We need wisdom in reaching out to them." Carmen attends to their needs daily, and sometimes with WCG members’ children around, she sings Christian songs without forcing the Muslim recipients to join.

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina—"Each month (except last October) for the past 20 months, members of our congregation have participated in a two-hour Fishers for Christ ministry meeting designed to equip us to become disciplemakers," said Pastor Martin Manuel.

"We started this ministry with the goal of becoming a disciple-making congregation," Mr. Manuel said. About 25 to 30 people, men and women, attend each meeting.
Martin Manuel

"Visible evidences of our emergence as a disciplemaking congregation are appearing," he said. "During this past year in particular, members have been more bold about inviting friends and family to attend church services or small groups with them."

Twelve new people began attending in 2002. Only two of them had any previous association with the WCG, attending with parents during childhood. Besides these, nine former WCG members or associates started attending again during 2002.

"I do not attribute the attendance of all of these people to Fishers for Christ, but the ministry has at least enabled us to be more responsive in welcoming them," Mr. Manuel said.

The Sonlife Ministries Everyday Commission workbook suggests that every congregation needs growth programs, ministry training programs and outreach programs. The Charlotte congregation’s growth programs are worship services and discipleship classes. Their ministry training program is Fishers for Christ.

In 2002, they participated in several outreach programs, and with guidance from a seminar on the Everyday Commission, given by Dan Rogers, superintendent of U.S. ministers, they are engaging in their first cultivation outreach events.

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina—The Charlotte church conducted a Super Bowl party outreach cultivating event Jan. 26 for about 55 people at the University City YMCA.

Thirteen of these were non-WCG members. They were all friends or relatives of church members. More than half of them were teens.

The goal was to "help believers build friendships with their peers," as it says in the Sonlife Ministries Everyday Commission seminar.

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines—The Tacloban City church conducted its first Bible study visit to 74 abused girls Feb. 8 at the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) compound in Palo, Leyte. The WCG team made friends with the girls, whose ages range from 9 to 18 years.

Pastor Art Reyes introduced the team members as Titas (aunts) Goring, Angie and Inday and himself as Lolo (Grandpa) Art. Mr. Reyes said the team was there to share the love of Jesus Christ for them, and despite their traumatic experience and lonely situation, Jesus promised and offered hope and healing. All they had to do now was to accept Jesus and trust in his words. He said they should treat the team members as their relatives as they really are spiritually related.

Mr. Reyes then encouraged the girls to attend nearby schools and to study hard, especially now that they have newly found temporary parents. The girls responded by singing enthusiastically.

The team is also conducting a church school for about 35 abandoned children housed in another building inside the same compound. Judy Reyes.

CLARKSBURG, West Virginia—When Pastor Warren D. Wilson became president of the Harrison County Ministerial Association, one of his goals for the year was to start a weekly study for area clergy members.

"I wanted to do something that would be helpful to all of us in our speaking responsibilities, and I also wanted to spend more time with my clergy brothers and sisters," Mr. Wilson said. At the December 2002 meeting, he proposed getting together each Wednesday to discuss the Revised Common Lectionary texts for the next Sunday.

Warren Wison

Mr. Wilson says that the differing perspectives of the group members add to the discussions. When they discussed the gospel text related to the baptism of the Lord, it was interesting to hear an Episcopal priest discuss baptism from a sacramental point of view and to hear a charismatic pastor discuss his beliefs about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

"The wonderful thing," Mr. Wilson said, "is that members of the group feel free to share their views with one another about subjects that have divided the Christian community for many years."

SEAL BEACH, California—At 7 p.m., Feb. 24, Patches, fondly known in Seal Beach as the city cat, padded into city hall council chambers and curled up on the tape deck for just another city council meeting.

But for Pastor Richard Parker and his wife, Sally, co-producers of Just Another Religious Program, this council meeting was significant. For the second year in a row, they received the Western Area Video Excellence award. The WAVE awards recognize outstanding achievement in nonprofessional video production. Three of the five awards won this year by SBTV3 (Seal Beach’s public access channel) went to the Parkers.

Their shows have covered a broad range of topics, from doll-collecting and auto maintenance to the incarnation and resurrection of Jesus. Mr. Parker is a familiar figure to Seal Beach residents who tune in to his program. The Parkers’ volunteer crew, most of whom are unaffiliated with any church, have been known in unguarded moments to refer to him as their pastor.

Mr. and Mrs. Parker received awards in the innovative, inspirational/religious and live-to-tape categories. The live-to-tape entry featured caricature artist Lora Lee, a WCG member in the Orange County, California, congregation. Belinda Falk.

AWARD WINNERS—Pastor
Richard Parker and his wife, Sally,
hold awards for their television show
Just Another Religious Program.
[Photo by Georgia Masiewicz]

MIAMI, Florida—Family Worship Center, the WCG Miami North congregation, will be host for a praise and worship conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, May 23 to 25.

The conference is for pastors, worship leaders, musicians and instrumentalists, praise dancers, worship team members, vocalists and ministers of music.

Housing is available at the Fort Lauderdale Sunrise Hilton Hotel, 3003 N. University Dr., Sunrise, Florida, 33322; telephone, 1-954-748-7000; website, www.fortlauderdalehilton.com Call the hotel direct to make reservations. Ask for the Key of David conference room rate, which is $69 a night plus tax. Parking is free.

The following sessions are planned:

• Got God?—a thirst for God. My soul thirsts for the living God. When can I go and meet him? (Psalm 42:2).

• Worship and the Instrumentalist—giving the gift back. It’s not about performance; it’s about worship.

• Creating a Worship Set—tips for developing an effective, flowing worship set.

• Expressions in Worship—foundational biblical concepts for deepening the understanding of praise and worship

• The High Calling of the Worship Leader—the value God sees in you as part of his work on earth.

• Effective Worship Team—working together to create an atmosphere conducive to worship.

• Worship Out of the Box—Techniques to enhance your worship service for the worship leader without a team or musicians.

• Creating an Effective Sound System for Worship—step by step methodology for determining when and how to assemble a sound system that will serve your congregation’s needs.

• Passion and Pruning for His Presence—incorporating drama in your worship walk. Drama can bring a sense of reality to a lesson and make a powerful impact on a group.

• Multicultural Worship Celebration—a time to share your gifts and talents in praise and worship. Bring your instruments and make a joyful noise.

If you have any questions, contact Keysha Taylor at 1-954-433-7227 or Lisa Barker at 1-954-655-7529 or send e-mail to keyofdavid@cs.com Charles Taylor.

Charles Taylor

PIKEVILLE, Kentucky—The annual community retreat will take place June 6 and 7 at Pikeville College.

SERVE is the theme. Mike Stewart, a member of the WCGpastoral team, will moderate the two-day event. Mike’s wife, Christine, will lead the community praise team assembled for the occasion. The event begins Friday evening, June 6, with a Southern Baptist pastor speaking on "Surrender to God." A Christian and Missionary Alliance pastor will lead participants to "Enter God’s Presence."

On Saturday evening another Southern Baptist pastor will teach participants to "Re-Order Our Priorities." A Church of God pastor will speak on enduring. In the concluding message, a Full Gospel pastor will give a message titled "Enter the Harvest Field."

The heart of the Pikeville congregation is to see the denominational walls come down by cultivating opportunities for Christians to fellowship together. The SERVE retreat is free and open to everyone.

For more information call 1-606- 639-6102 or send an e-mail to mike.stewart@gci.org Debby Bailey

BIG SANDY, Texas—The Big Sandy church will celebrate its 50th anniversary this summer. Details are scheduled to appear in the next issue of the WN.

RICHARDSON, Texas—Hector Barrero, pastor of the congregations in Colombia, spoke at Grace Family church March 9.

Mr. Barrero pastors congregations in Bogota, Colombia, and several other cities as well as making occasional visits to congregations in Ecuador, Chile and Puerto Rico. As he spoke, photos of Latin American members were projected onto a screen.
Hector Barrero

Mr. Barrero said that the church has a daily, three-minute radio program in Colombia and asked members to pray that the air time could be increased.

Mr. Barrero spoke of the various conflicting forces in Columbia, including guerrillas; right-wing militia funded by the wealthy; the military; and criminals such as drug lords. He noted that pastors and members of churches are often targeted by the guerrillas and that in 2000, 56 pastors were killed.

However, he said the unrest has had one positive effect: "The people are so much in need they are looking for God. The church in Latin America is growing."

After the service, Pastor Lynn Hebert and many of the members prayed over Mr. Barrero and the Grace Family missions team that stays in contact with and gives moral support to members in other nations. Frank Lewandowski.

DAVAO CITY, Philippines—No Worldwide Church of God members were hurt in the March 4 terrorist bombing of the Davao International Airport that killed 20 people and injured more than 100.

"The airport is about five minutes from our home," said Len Joson, Mindanao area superintendent. "Because of the peace and order situation at the moment, my mobility in visiting all the local churches around Mindanao may now be a little bit hampered."

    Len Joson

War with Muslim groups continues to rage in some areas, Mr. Joson said, even during their prayer and planning meeting. "As we went home, there were a lot of military checkpoints all along the way from Cagayan de Oro City to Davao City."

Joe Salvador, a ministerial trainee, reported that members in two areas in Sultan Kudarat are only six kilometers from the battlefield. "They are affected by the loud sounds of armaments," Mr. Salvador reported. "Our Kidapawan members are OK, but the area is also affected at the moment.

Pastor Nilo Belarmino of Zamboanga City was unable to attend the meeting because of a red alert in his area. Mr. Belarmino works at the Zamboanga airport, which is being used by the U.S. military for the joint U.S. Philippine military exercises.

"Please remember us in Mindanao, where peace continues to be illusive and war seems to be the norm in the southern parts of Mindanao," Mr. Joson said.

GRANDVILLE, Michigan—The Grand Rapids church will celebrate its 40th anniversary at 2 p.m, Sunday, May 25, at the Grandville-Jenison Congregational Church, 3900 Henry St. in Grandville.

The church was established in Grand Rapids by Lester McColm, May 25, 1963. The first service took place at the Ladies’ Literary Club. Grand Rapids was the first congregation of the Worldwide Church of God in Michigan. In January of this year the congregation changed its name to New Life in Christ—Grandville.

Current and former members and ministers are invited to attend. Festivities include fellowship hour, worship, a meal and celebration. "This will be a wonderful time for renewing friendships and celebrating 40 years of the church’s involvement in Grand Rapids," said Pastor Sam Butler.

For more information or to let us know that you plan to attend, contact Mr. Butler at New Life in Christ, P.O. Box 295, Grandville, Michigan, 49468, by e-mail at sam.butler@wcg.org, or by phone at 1-616-662-0913.

TOKYO, Japan—After nearly seven years of "tentmaking" in Japan, Rob Long returned to Canada Feb. 10 to join his wife, Lori, and son, Jeremiah (who had returned to Canada a year before).

The Longs came to Japan in 1996 to serve as tentmakers while teaching English to Japanese students. They assisted Eugene Guzon, who is based in the Philippines, but also served as pastor to WCG members in Japan.

During this time, God used the Longs as instruments for serving and organizing church members, along with planting a WCG church in Japan.

Shunsuke Nakagawa currently serves as WCG pastor in Japan.

During Mr. Long’s farewell message, he explained how the WCG in Japan was an outpost established through love. On behalf of the church, Mr. Nakagawa gave Mr. Long a Japanese-English Parallel Text Living Bible. Melvin and Carla McKee.

PEARLAND, Texas—Community Christian Fellowship (the Worldwide Church of God congregation in Pearland), along with St. Mary’s and St. Dunstan’s, invited 79 senior citizens from area elder-care facilities to a recognition luncheon March 4.

The luncheon included a church service, communion, entertainment by a choir made up of 17 members of various churches and door prizes.

Many lay chaplains and volunteers helped with the event. Pearland members Debbie and Becky Glover and Joan Wilson provided cookies. John and Becky Flores.

TEXARKANA, Arkansas—"Today, March xx, I just returned from our first Sunday service in our new location at the Four Points Sheraton in Texarkana," said Sonny Parsons, pastor of the Big Sandy, Texas, and Texarkana congregations:

"It was an awesome service," Mr. Parsons said. "We have been averaging about 35 people each Saturday, and today when I walked in I was amazed. I wasn’t sure how many would show up, but to my surprise, we had 49 in attendance. Everyone was excited," and the Sunday service went well."

DALLAS, Texas—The women of the Dallas North church enjoyed an evening planned just for them Feb. 15.

The women entered the room decorated in red and pink with hearts, flowers and balloons, and they were seated at tables set for dinner. Trish Clauson read a devotional written by Max Lucado, "I Choose Love." Gwen Ray read Galatians 5:22-25, and Deborah Barrington asked a blessing on the dinner and the evening.

The women dined on a variety of salads. Red velvet cake made by Jeannie Jennings was served later in the evening.

After dinner, the women enjoyed winning small prizes while playing, Let’s Make a Deal, Unwrap the Package and Friendship Bingo. There were several surprises as Secret Pals were revealed. Lavelle Petranek won the door prize of a bouquet of carnations.

The evening was planned by Nancy Bydlon and Joy Schellenger. Nellie Ternquist, Jeannie Jennings and Jennifer Guiette were also involved in implementing the plans. Joy Schellenger.

QUEENS, New York—The Living Hope Christian Fellowship women’s ministry from the Washington, D.C., West church visited New York City for a retreat Jan. 4.

The group visited historical points in New York, such as Ground Zero and took a driving tour through other parts of the city. The women attended the "Christmas Spectacular" at the Radio City Music Hall.

The highlight of the trip was visiting One in Christ Community Church, the WCG congregation in Queens, pastored by Craig Bacheller.

The women lifted their voices in praises to Jesus Christ while conducting a praise service led by Kathy Glass. Sherry Bellamy.

LONG FAMILY.
[Photo by Narumi Hatori]

Copyright © Grace Communion International, 2003