December 1998 News Archive

12/30/98

Sunfield, Mich. Sunfield UB distributed the Jesus video to every home in town on December 19. Next came eight weeks of follow-up, surveying the community for responses to the film. "God has blessed our church over the last year," says Pastor Mark Ralph. "New people come almost every Sunday. We are expanding our parking lot for 30 more cars, and our building committee is studying the possibility of adding Christian education space."

Fayetteville, Pa. Cold Springs UB started a Wednesday night Good News Club in October. They've been averaging 16 children per week. Five young people accepted Christ as Savior during the third meeting. A balloon launch at a Chambersburg restaurant and a Sundae Night preceded the first meeting. In December, twelve young people and ten adults walked through Piney Mountain Home, talking with residents and singing Christmas carols for them.

Carson City, Mich. The Carson City Campground was struck by a devastating windstorm in July which downed scores of trees and caused major damage. Things are pretty well cleaned up now, though quite a few branches remain to be collected in the spring. Plus, a good gust can still topple weakened trees. One tree fell across the house of Charles and Doris Malson, who live on the grounds, landing on their bedroom and knocking over the chimney. "Fortunately, only roof damage was done, and we were not hurt--just awakened with a start," they report.

Walbridge, Ohio. Main Street UB held a Christmas Dinner Theatre during two weekends in December. Over 1200 people attended the six performances of No Time for Christmas, a dramatic musical with an evangelistic message designed specifically for the seeker. This major outreach event was presented to the public at no cost. Over 150 people from Main Street participated in the production, and the church is now following up on persons who indicated that they didn't have a church home or had questions about Christianity. "We are expecting a great harvest from the seeds of the Gospel that have been planted," says Pastor Ron Ramsey.

Orlando, Fla. Attendance at the new Haitian church in Orlando ranged from 15-65 during November, and there were three conversions that month.

Jerry City, Ohio. Pastor Randy Wickard of Jerry City UB reports that over 35 youth from the community attended the church's first Youth Night in December. They'll do it monthly.

East Liverpool, Ohio. Bonnie Cochran of Pleasant Heights UB writes, "Our Wednesday evening services are Praise & Prayer only--intercession for our children, our church, our town," writes. "We do a 6 p.m. to midnight prayer vigil a couple times a year. We have seen the husbands of some of our faithful women come to the Lord this year. A lot more is happening since we spend more time in prayer and praise."

El Dorado, Ks. John Hurst, pastor at El Dorado UB tells about 84-year-old member Bernice Faidly's prayer ministry. "She calls individuals daily to pray with them and encourage them in their day. It has allowed Bernice the assurance of knowing she is needed and used of God. Most of all, we have been blessed by her. In this fast-paced world, it is special when someone takes the time to call and pray for you as you start your day."

Findlay, Ohio. Faith Community UB of presented "Prime Time Christmas" at a local high school on December 6. The program highlighted the 15-member puppet team, a musical ensemble, and an adult drama team. Over 425 people attended this outreach event, which was held 10 a.m.--3 p.m. Twenty families indicated interest in getting more information about Faith UB, a young church which began four years ago.

Chambersburg, Pa. Over 2000 people attended the three performances of King Street's Christmas cantata the weekend of December 13. A contemporary worship service, meeting in the church's original sanctuary, began this fall and has been averaging around 175 people--about half young people, half adults (including many new people). Associate pastor Matt Sargent leads the service, and senior pastor Pat Jones preaches (in addition to preaching at the two services in the main sanctuary)É.As of December, the total Sunday attendance had exceeded 1000 for seven straight weeks.

New Albany, Ohio. Pastor Mike Brown and seven members of Franklin UB spent ten days in Israel during NovemberÉ. This year, the congregation begins a $964,000 project to renovate and expand their facilities. It'll include an 11,000 square-foot Family Life Center, a state-of-the-art youth center, and major improvements to the sanctuary.

Huntington, Ind. New Hope UB burned its mortgage on December 6.

June Brown Suffers a Stroke. June Brown, who spent over 30 years as a missionary in Sierra Leone, suffered a stroke at 7:30 a.m. while in Huntington, Ind., for a WMF meeting. She was taken to the Huntington hospital, and then transferred to Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne. June is currently in the Intermediate ICU, and is doing well (she can have visitors, but can't take calls). An MRI revealed that she had suffered a stroke at some previous time. The one on December 28 is what they call a "dry stroke." She lost feeling on the right side of her body. She has since regained that feeling, but is having terrible headaches and has trouble holding food down. It is expected that June will remain at Lutheran Hospital through the weekend. She is a member of King Street UB in Chambersburg, Pa.

12/3/98

An Update from Doug Weber on the Volcano: There is nothing new to report on the volcano Pichincha. We are still in a yellow alert. The mountain goes through periods of activity followed by quietness again. It has fairly frequent expulsions of gas and sometimes a bit of ash. It also quite consistently creates tremors (not strong enough for us to feel) in the area, but all of this activity is consistent with a yellow alert. It is not reducing it's activity however, so it is not likely that the mountain will be downgraded in the near future. No estimates still on when it might decide to erupt.

Ruth Ann Price Ailing in Togo: In mid-November, Ruth Ann Price headed to Togo, a little country in West Africa squished between Benin and Ghana. She went to do management training with her Wycliffe colleagues there.

After about a week in the country, one day, she bent over--and felt serious back pains. This happened just after a long car trip up-country to another center--a very long ride over rough road.

Ruth Ann spent the next two weeks flat on her back. Then, on December 1, she went into the hospital. And there she remains.

She is scheduled to return to the States around the middle of December. Pray for her as she contends with serious back pain while far, far from home.

Vicki McKeown Updates us on the New Haitian Church in Orlando: Worship attendance at the Haitian church in Orlando during the month of November ranged from a low of 15 to a high of 65 (there were 14 visitors from the Daytona church at the highest attended service). Best of all, Pastor Pierre reports three conversions during the month and the church has raised enough money through their offerings to open a bank account!

Some additional construction will be done on the building during December. During January, we hope to have several officials from Huntington visit the church and perhaps some of the Huntington College trustees will pay them a visit while they hold their meeting in Orlando the third week of January.

New Church Getting Started in Columbus: One of our latest church plants is in the fast growing quadrant of North Columbus, Ohio. Please contact Dan Kopp if you know of any families in that area who might be potential families for a launch team (Polaris exit, above I-270; Lewis Center; Powell; North Worthington and North Westerville -- Southern Delaware County).

Also: check out the new church planting site at www.churchplanting.org