Ken Swisher, pastor of the Tyler, Texas, church, will retire Oct. 7.
"We deeply appreciate the many long, loyal years of service that Ken and his wife, Beverly, have given to the church," said Gerald Schnarrenberger of Church Administration.
Don Mears, pastor of the Big Sandy church, will also pastor the Tyler church.
Boyd Mansanarez, pastor of Tupelo and Columbus, Mississippi, churches, resigned from the full-time ministry to make a career change. Mr. Mansanarez will serve as a local church elder in his new area. Tupelo will be pastored from Memphis, Tennessee, and Columbus will be pastored by Bob Miller in Birmingham, Alabama.
Tom Heap, associate pastor in Kansas City, Missouri, resigned from the full-time ministry to make a career change.
Rod Devries, pastor of the Modesto and Stockton, California, churches, resigned from the full-time ministry to make a career change. He will continue to serve as a local church elder.
Mike Swagerty, pastor of the Sacramento, California, church, will be the interim pastor.
SUMMERVILLE, South Carolina--"Theprayers and well-wishes from people around the world have been truly outstanding, and our home has been filled with cards, plants and flowers," said Bill Whitaker, pastor of the Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, churches, who was injured in an automobile accident July 9.
"The outpouring of love and concern has been so voluminous that it is impossible to reply to each person individually. We thank God for his intervention and his people for Christian concern.
Mr. Whitaker still suffers from a broken scapula in his left shoulder, which may take a little while to heal. The other fractured bones, bruises, lacerations have healed and he is up and walking.
MOORES ISLAND, Bahamas--Fifteen teens, eight preteens and 20 adult workers attended a weeklong camp that began here July 3.
The camp included a one-night camp-out under the stars, a sing-along, several fishing trips, basketball, volleyball, daily praise and worship sessions, career planning classes and instruction on how to deal with negative peer pressure at school.
The teens shared an open service with the three other churches on the island. The theme for the evening was Come to Jesus. The three pastors spoke to the crowd of more than 250 people, more than one quarter of the population of the island.
Robert McKinney, WCG pastor in the Bahamas, was the keynote speaker. After his message, one of the pastors led an altar call, in which three people made a commitment to turn their lives over to Jesus.
Campers Rudolph Culmer and Rebecca Curling gave reports on camp at a worship service after they returned.
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama--The Huntsville church presented a praise and worship service June 22 that highlighted the John W. Peterson musical, I Love America.
Attendance was 227, including 50 visitors.
The service included opening remarks by pastor Donald Wendt, and scripture narrations interspersed with patriotic and inspirational music.
A picnic followed the service. Tom Dow.
KALAMAZOO, Michigan--Leo Armintrout, a member here, was hospitalized with excruciating pain and found to have an advanced stage of prostate cancer. The cancer had infected his liver, kidneys and pancreas.
At the next worship service pastor Jeff Molnar asked for Leo's close friends to lay hands on him as he led the congregation in prayer.
"Before long Leo began telling us all that he was sure that the cancer was gone and that he felt great," Mr. Molnar said. "As much as we were glad he was being positive, we felt he was in for a let down."
A further battery of tests showed that the cancer is gone.
"Our whole congregation, not to mention Leo, is absolutely inspired. Praise God!"
EAU CLAIRE, Wisconsin--Members had a campout weekend at Trails End Youth Camp near Bruce, Wisconsin, Aug. 9-11.
The brethren welcomed the congregation's new pastor, Karl Reinagel. John Fields.
GAYLORD, Michigan--The Gaylord church celebrated its 25th anniversary July 13.
Big Sandy pastor Don Mears, one of Gaylord's former ministers, conducted the worship service.
The worship service included a video from Gaylord's first minister, Felix Heimberg, and his wife, Connie.
A picnic followed services. Nancy Skinkle.
WASHINGTON, D.C.--Penny Cline of Wausau, Wisconsin, attended the National Young Leaders Conference here July 28 to Aug. 7.
The National Young Leaders Conference is a leadership development program for high school students who have demonstrated leadership potential and scholastic merit.
Penny, a senior at Wausau East High School, attended the 1996 Summer Educational Program as a helper, and is a member of the National Honor Society.
BEAUMONT, Texas--The Beaumont and Lake Charles, Louisiana, churches were hosts for a family life workshop July 20 presented by Karl Elkins of the Minirth-Meier New Life Clinic.
Morning sessions covered such items as assessing marital intimacy, understanding basic needs of men and women, experiencing forgiveness, and The American Family: Frontline in the Cultural War.
The afternoon session, conducted by Kevin Price, a radio talk show host, covered such topics as the external forces against your family, and equipping the family to survive and thrive in the culture war.
The event came about after pastor Don Engle appeared on several radio talk shows concerning the church. Gene Koch coordinated the event in its final stages after Mr. Engle was transferred. Charles Wyatt.
AUSTIN, Texas--Chanda Dancy, daughter of James and Bridgette Dancy, received a division one rating at the Texas State Solo and Ensemble contest in Austin May 27.
She performed Concerto in A Minor by J.S. Bach on the violin.
Chanda attends Dulles High School, where she is president of the orchestra, second vice president of the Spanish Honor Society and a member of the National Honor Society. She attends the Houston South church.
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