Eight churches are on the ballot for approval at tonight’s business meeting for the Charis Fellowship, the assumed name of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, Inc. They include Roseville Bible Church, Roseville, Mich.; Alexia Manor Church, Greenwich, Ohio; Windy Acres Church, Ashland, Ohio; Ocean View Fellowship, Indialantic, Fla.; Grace Church, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.; Journey Church, Warrington, Pa.; Grace Church at West Shore, Saint Leonard, Md.; and Household of Faith, Grandview, Wash.
The business meeting will be held tonight (July 28) at 7 p.m. EDT via the online video conference site, Zoom. Member congregations have submitted names and email addresses of their official delegates. These delegates have received links to a report and online ballot.
Roseville Bible Church, Alexia Manor Church, and Windy Acres Church are all the result of the SEEDnet church-planting ministry. Elders Andy Shank, Larry White, and Nathan Wells provide oversight for these churches.
Ocean View Fellowship is a daughter church of Suntree Grace Church in Melbourne, Fla. (Jason Brown, senior pastor). Suntree continues to provide logistical support for Ocean View. Both congregations share youth programs. Suntree continues to provide overall elder oversight while Ocean View is training men to be an independent council of elders. Bill Tweedale is the pastor.
Grace Church of Rancho Cucamonga is an excellent example of church revitalization. Charis Fellowship congregations in Simi Valley and Orange, Calif., partnered to aid and support the re-establishment of this church, which was formerly Grace Fellowship of Alta Loma. Under the leadership of Pastor Eric Durso, the church has grown, and local elders have been appointed and are functioning.
Journey Church is a release of a campus of Penn Valley Church in Telford, Pa. Beginning in 2008 as the Bux-Mont campus of the church, the congregation is making the transition from campus church to interdependent church. Adam Johnson is the pastor.
Grace Church of West Shore is a church plant from Grace Church of Calvert County, Owings, Md. (Dario Agnolutto, pastor). It is led by Pastor Jay G. McKinley, who previously served on staff at Owings.
Household of Faith, Grandview, Wash., was accepted into the Pacific Northwest District at their District Conference in March. Led by Pastor Dwight Cover, the church has been meeting for more than 15 years, when they separated in a positive way from a Charis Fellowship congregation that has since become independent themselves.
Also on tonight’s agenda are approval of resolutions that express the convictions of the Charis Fellowship on certain contemporary social issues, as recommended by the Social Concerns Committee. Adopted for a year at a time, they are non-binding and intended to be advisory and of teaching value. This year’s resolutions include a new statement on Covid-19, as well as a reaffirmation of positions on Human life – It’s Dignity and Duties; Governmental Responsibility; Religious Freedom; and Immigration Reform. Serving on the Social Concerns Committee are Mark Abel (chair), John Teevan, Rich Schnieders, Mark Combs, Kathryn MacMillan, and Mike Jentes.
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