Five organizations will be considered as cooperating ministries during national conference. A cooperating ministry is an organization that recognizes a mutual obligation of encouragement and cooperation with Grace Brethren churches, districts, national ministries and/or other cooperating ministries. Prospective cooperating ministries include:
Design Outreach (DO) combines humanitarian engineering with Christian non-profit work by creating and implementing life-sustaining solutions for the world’s poor. Partnering with a number of non-profits and NGOs, including WorldVision and Water For Good, DO is currently concentrating on providing clean drinking water for people in developing nations. Their Hundred Pump Project will implement a LifePump, a hand-cranked water pump that reaches deeper and lasts longer than other pumps, in 100 African villages by December 2015. In order to ensure the sustainability of their projects, DO consults closely with field agents, who identify each community’s unique needs and wants. Then, when DO develops teams to implement each product, they can be sure that the community receives the best and most sustainable solution to its problem. DO founders, Abe Wright and Greg Bixler are members of Grace Brethren churches and both are professional engineers. doutreach.org
Founded in 2005, the Grace Commission Bible Institute (GCBI) offers a one-year intensive study of all 1,189 chapters of the Bible in a residential, dormitory setting. More than 100 students have graduated from GCBI over the last ten years. The students are “thoroughly equipped for every good work,” according to the institute’s mission and philosophy. GCBI places students in “life-learning laboratories” as another aspect of their curriculum, where students work closely with local churches in order to sharpen ministry skill sets. Graduates have gone on to lead ministries, such as Urban Hope and the Bible Institute in Philadelphia, and churches, several of which are Grace Brethren. GCBI is based at Grace Church, Sebring, Fla., a Grace Brethren congregation pastored by Dr. Randy Smith. gcbi.net
Grace Refuge Outreach Worldwide (G.R.O.W.) seeks to rescue children and youths living in Southeast Asia from the threat of human trafficking. They accomplish this goal by taking the children out of their environment and placing them in small, safe houses. As the children grow, two Christian guardians guide the children in education and faith. The ministry started when Grace Brethren pastor Ivanildo Trindade (now at Grace Church, Lititz, Pa.) met Faa Choemue, who had begun a small children’s home in Chiang Mai, and caught her enthusiasm and love for the children of Thailand. Now, in cooperation with Grace Church, Wooster, Ohio (Bob Fetterhoff, pastor), Faa and two other staff members raise nine children, who are all from abusive backgrounds. Faa and her team teach the children about Jesus Christ and the hope they can have through Him. grow-worldwide.com
MetroGrace has been incorporated since 2003 to gather, train, send, and coach church-planting teams throughout urban Philadelphia. In partner- ship with the Crossroads Grace Brethren Church and the Northern Atlantic Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, the ministry’s goal is to develop gospel-centered, community-based churches in low-income areas. Already, three congregations have been established in the neighborhoods of Frankford, Holmesburg, and Wissinoming. In addition, MetroGrace hosts short-term missions trips and summer and semester internships for those interested in working with the ministry. Grace Brethren pastor, Dr. Jim Brown, is the executive director. Kurt Miller is the director of strategic partnerships. metrograce.org
VisionAlaska Inc. brings Christ to Alaska through church planting and church growth workshops, Christian conciliation (or mediation), and legal counseling for Alaskan churches. Since its inception in 2013, VisionAlaska Inc. has hosted Dr. Tony Webb from VisionUSA, orchestrated a week-long chaplaincy school for military chaplains, and is now planning a youth canoe trip for area churches. Roger Holl, VisionAlaska’s president, holds a doctorate of jurisprudence and certification of mediation from the University of Washington. His background as an attorney enables him to give relevant legal counsel to Alaskan churches on matters ranging from elder disputes to congregational rifts. visionalaska.org