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North Central District
FEBRUARY 2012
@PARTNERS
- Congratulations to Rev. Norm & Tara Dial (Koontz Lake Missionary Church) on the birth of their son, Brayden Matthew, on January 10th. Brayden weighed in at 10lbs 11oz! They are all doing well.
- Congratulations to Rev. Aaron & Kim Burdin (Hillside Missionary Church) on the birth of their second child, Evalynn Louise, on January 15th. Evalynn weighed 7lbs 9oz and brother, Keegan, welcomes her!
- Keller Park Missionary Church, (Pastor Ryan Yazel), hosted a Christmas store in December for their neighborhood families. They were able to minister to more than 25 families representing more than 75 children. Great conversation took place on that day and families that came to the store are now coming to church. They continue to impact the neighborhood as they love on them!
- Fairview Missionary Church, Rev. Norm Fuller, hosted "Bethlehem Marketplace" again this past December. Approximately 3,600 people walked the streets and about 75% of them were first timers. They have been hosting this event for 22 years!
- Crystal Valley Missionary Church, Rev. Chris Garner, held their fourth "Pass it Forward" Garage Sale the week after Thanksgiving. The church family collects donations throughout the year of coats, gloves, hats, winter clothing, toys, and shoes to give away. This year they had about 600 families come through in four evenings between their location and their partner site in Mishawaka. Pastor Chris shares, "We have had great opportunities to pray with many people during this time and have seen several families connect with us at church as a result."
- March for Life: Members from California Road, Chapel Hill, College Park, Gospel Center and Pleasant Hill Missionary Churches joined around 400,000 prolife people at the annual March for Life in Washington DC. The rain and cold did not hamper their resolve to continue the greatest civil rights battle of our time - the right of the preborn to live and have the full protection of the law. The March happened just a week after the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial was opened on the National Mall, and it was Dr. King who said, "There are two types of laws: there are just laws and there are unjust laws... What is the difference between the two?... An unjust law is a man-made code that is out of harmony with the moral law..." Those on the March for Life memorialize the over 54 million lives that have been lost to the unjust law of Roe v. Wade. Plan to join them for the 40th memorial of Roe v. Wade on January 25, 2013 in Washington DC.
- Rev. Chuck Lambdin serves Miami Village Church, an inner-city missionary endeavour to bring God's love to the people in South Bend, IN. They have seen miraculous events take place since they have started services in April 2011. God has healed a lady from cancer, healed a little baby who had misplaced organs in her body, delivered a man from alcohol, provided jobs for people who were unemployed and more answered prayers than could be written in this newsletter. They give the glory to God and as they continue their work in this very troubled area, they request your prayer support. For ways you can be involved you can reach Pastor Chuck at: chucklambdin1@gmail.com.
@INFO
- Pastors: Annual Ministerial Reports are due by February 15 for all credentialed persons. Only senior pastors need to fill out the district annual reports by February 15.
- The Missionary Church Historical Society would like a copy of each of our churches' 2011 annual business report. These will go in the individual church files in the archives for historical purposes. You can send them to the MCHS in care of Bethel College or give them to members: Wayne Gerber, Tim Erdel, Matt Yoder or Diane Howard.
- Think Spring, Women's Brunch: March 3rd at Beulah Missionary Church. Registration begins at 8:30am with brunch from 8:45-9:30am. You'll have the chance to attend two workshops, bid on great baskets, meet new friends and maybe learn something new! The event concludes by 1:00pm and tickets are just $7 - the workshops are free. All proceeds will go to support our missionaries. For reservation information: http://www.mcncd.org/#/ministries/women.
- Quizzing:
- Children's quiz: February 18 at Beulah Missionary Church
- Teen quiz: February 4 District quiz at Pleasant Hill Missionary Church, Bronson, MI, February 24-25 Michigan Invitational at Colonial Woods Missionary Church, Port Huron, MI.
- District Prayer Retreat for Pastors will take place on March 26-27 at the Amigo Centre, Sturgis, MI. Registration brochures have been mailed to you or you can find the information here: http://www.mcncd.org/#/pastors.
- conVERGE 2012: Student Leadership experience February 17-19 takes place at Gull Lake Conference Center. Register by Thursday, February 2: http://www.converge2012.com/.
- Pastor Peer Network (PPN): exists to encourage, equip and empower pastors to lead their churches forward in making disciples who, in turn, make disciples. This is accomplished as pastors of similar size churches from across the Missionary Church denomination meet together to learn from each other as they discuss common issues in ministry. "Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble." Ecc 4:9-10 (NLT). The next gathering of the Pastor Peer Network will be in October 2012 at Michindoh Retreat Center in Hillsdale, Michigan:
- Congregations under:
- under 75 October 1-2
- 76-150 October 2-3
- 151-225 October 2-3
- 226-500 October 2-3
- over 500 February 2012
- Looking ahead:
- Youth Worker & Spouse Getaway, April 13-15 at the Marriott Hotel, Ft. Wayne. Register and info: http://www.mcncd.org/#/ministries.
- Regional Pastor Meetings:
- April 19 Central Region meets at Granger Missionary Church, Granger, IN 9:00am
- April 19 Western Region meets at Damon's Restaurant, Michigan City, IN 1:00pm (EDT)
- April 20 Eastern Region meets at West Eckford Missionary Church, Marshall, MI 9:00am
- District Conference: May 4, 2012 at Nappanee Missionary Church
- Prairie Camp Dates:
- June 6-8 Rookie Camp
- June 25-29 Wilderness Camp
- July 16-20 Junior/Pre-teen Camp
- July 29-Aug 4 Teen Camp
- July 28-Aug 5 Family Camp
@NETWORKING
- Wakarusa Missionary Church hosts a Children's Clothing & Toy Resale on March 24 at their location: 202 W. Waterford, Wakarusa, IN. The event runs from 8:00am-1:00pm.
- The Center for Congregations is hosting upcoming 2012 workshops including topics on Spiritual Foundations of Congregational Leadership, A Practical Guide to Congregational Planning: Thinking and Acting Strategically, Reaching Millennials, etc. You can find the information here.
- Registration is now open for Leadership Network's next online event: groundSWELL. The topic is the future of the church and the speakers are all aged 13-19. The conference is Thursday, March 1, it's free, and it's online. Pre-register to attend: www.groundswell.tv.
- Bethel College announces scholarship changes: click here to see how students will benefit from the changes to the Missionary Church Scholarship and the New Alumni Legacy Award beginning fall 2012.
- Nappanee Missionary Church hosts Fanning the Flame services March 18-21, 2012. These are revival service events for youth, children, and adults. Everyone is invited to attend, so mark your calendars.
@PRAYER
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Rev. Paul Loucks (retired) will have glaucoma surgery on February 8th. His right eye has already been operated on and now his left eye is in need. Please pray for Paul as they perform this procedure to drain the eye pressure.
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Rev. Matt & Liz Yoder's (Liberty) and Tim & Kristin Stauss' (Bethel) families : Liz & Kristin's mother, Joy, suffered a stroke on Friday, January 6 and the initial prognosis was not good. She was in an induced coma in ICU in serious condition. The news spread to many churches and many were praying! By Saturday afternoon the doctors brought her out of the coma every couple of hours to assess her situation. They believed she would need to remain in the ICU in an induced coma for at least two - three weeks with another six months - one year of rehab. By Monday they had taken her completely out of the coma and she was up and talking to people. By Friday she was taken out of ICU and began therapy. They hope to bring her home within another week or so. Through a wide array of emotions they are praising God for his healing and thanking everyone who was praying for her recovery and for the family.
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Rev. Carl & Steve Galloway (LaPorte) following the passing of Carl's nephew (Steve's cousin) this month.
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Rev. Byron & Cindy Maynard (New Hope) as Cindy continues her blood tests at the University of Michigan to determine how her radiation treatments are going.
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Rev. Gary Hinkle's granddaughter, Chelsey, after the first 30 days of treatment is considered to be in remission, although she continues chemo treatments for several months. Continue to pray for this two year old and her family!
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Rev. Paul & Trish Woods (Sturgis) as they care for Trish's mother, Hazel Hicks, who is healing remarkably well from the pelvic fracture that occurred in November, but the time on her back has taken its toll. She's now able to sit up in a chair, but is so weak she can only take it for a few minutes at a time. She's having some struggles with breathing, likely a result of some congestive heart failure. They are still praying that the Lord will heal her - either here with us or at home with him. They appreciate all the prayers - they believe they're a big reason she's healed so well.
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Rev. Bill McVay (retired) is back in Arkansas undergoing chemo treatment again for the cancer that they believe has now moved to the liver. His heart went into afib two days ago so they admitted him into the hospital where it is now under control. He's currently 6 days on the other side of chemo and they think the chemo plus dehydration caused it. His numbers are dropping so he has no energy right now until they start coming back up in several days. Please continue to pray for Bill and Sandy.
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Rev. Bill McPhail (retired) will have his fourth chemo infusion today (Tuesday). They are scheduled every 21 days and the protocol planned for him calls for a minimum of six infusions. However, after this infusion he will have another PETscan in order to determine the effectiveness of the chemo in destroying the cancer cells. Obviously, they are praying the chemo is successful and they thank you for joining them in praying to that end!
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