The Latest News from Around the Fellowship:

Fifteen Years Ago[...]

Nick Vujicic, who was born without arms and legs, gave a powerful message to teens on Sunday night of the youth conference. He laced his talk with self-deprecating humor. Brethren National Youth Conference, the annual gathering of more then 2,500 teens sponsored by CE National, met on the Biola University campus in LaMirada, California, the week of July 22-28, 2006. […][...]

With the Lord Harold D. Painter was promoted to his eternal home on June 8, 2006, at the age of 95. Painter committed his life to Christian service at about age 36 when he left a managerial career in Ohio with his wife and four children to enroll in the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. While a student at Biola, […][...]

BMH Books has just released Antioch Revisited: Reuniting the Church With Her Mission, by Tom Julien. This 119-page paperback discusses one of the greatest tragedies of church history: the divorce between churches and their mission. Julien, a veteran missionary and former executive director of Grace Brethren International Missions, tells the fictional, but true-to-life story of “John,” a missionary who comes [&helli[...]

Treasures of Wisdom: Studies in Colossians and Philemon, the latest in the revised and re-issued New Testament commentaries in The Kent Collection, is now available from BMH Books. Written by Dr. Homer Kent, Jr., president and dean emeritus of Grace College and Seminary, the 208-page paperback brings Dr. Kent’s extensive knowledge of the Greek language and the culture of the […][...]

Events of general interest among Grace Brethren Churches. Details and registration information are available from sponsoring organizations or through www.fgbc.org. Sept. 6 – 412 Classes Begin (CEN) Sept. 12-13 – Mission Leader Roundtable (GBIM) Sept. 13 – Children’s Worker Conference, Delaware, OH (CEN) Sept. 15 – VIP Campus Visit Days (GCandS) Sept. 17 – CE National Mid Atlantic Celebration[...]

Pentagon firefighter Larry Everett faced a physical wall of fire on 9/11. (See 9/11 Firefighter Remembers ‘Taste of Hell’ at Pentagon.) But the Bible says that anyone who has not received Christ as Savior will experience a very real “lake of fire” forever. Because of man’s sin, the bond that had existed between God and humankind was severed. In our […][...]

Lester Kennedy (left) was presented with the “Lifetime Achievement Award” commendation and plaque by Whitey Willard (right), one of the young pastors Kennedy mentored. The Association of Grace Brethren Ministers, meeting during Celebrate06 national conference in Indian Wells, California, honored three of its members. Lester Kennedy was selected for the “Lifetime Achievement Award,” Glen Shirk was named [...]

Pike Grace Brethren Church combined with the Grace Brethren Church of Johnstown, PA, to bring the gospel to the children of Flood City this July. More than 130 children participated. (Dave and Brenda Ciner photo) by Cindy Clark It began as one person’s dream to reach out to the inner city of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Once that dream was shared, God […][...]

Larry Everett Larry Everett had a taste of hell that day five years ago. Everett, a firefighter, was called in to assist when a hijacked Boeing 757 slammed into the 29-acre Pentagon complex on September 11, 2001. Everett vividly recalls entering the third floor of the massive facility and being met with a wall of fire. Temperatures exceeded 2,500 degrees–he […][...]

by Paul Hoard Paul Hoard “It was my first year and I was blown away! My husband and I will be back every year and are going to spread the word of how much we learned and changed because of DRIVEN,” said one attender of this year’s Grace Brethren conference for twenty-somethings, held at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, June […][...]

Fellowship Coordinator Tom Avey has announced dates and theme for five regional Focus Retreats during the coming year. Open to all pastors, elders, and leaders in Grace Brethren churches, the Focus Retreats have become a combination of learning, fellowship, and spiritual refreshment time for many. Specific information and locations for all retreats, including registration information, is available at www.fgbc.org/focus. The [&[...]

Pastor Jim Cymbala of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, spoke twice on Tuesday on the “Power of the Word” and the “Power of the Spirit.”Celebrate06, the annual adult conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, was held July 29-August 3, 2006, at the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort in Indian Wells, California. The week’s theme, chosen and directed by FGBC moderator Keith […][...]

The September/October, 2006, issue of FGBC World is now arriving in homes and churches and is already available online at www.fgbcworld.com. The lead story, about a Grace Brethren firefighter who was a first responder to the Pentagon crash, is especially powerful and poignant in light of the five-year anniversary of 9/11. Read and rejoice that God has His people in […][...]

Norm and Ginny Rohrer, along with about 48 mentors and board members of the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild, met today in Denver for mentoring updates and strategy meetings. Best-selling writer Jerry Jenkins (center) purchased the Guild from founder Norm Rohrer in 2001. Rohrer, who worked his way through Grace Seminary in the mid-1950s by writing and selling articles […][...]

Grace Theological Seminary recently announced the hiring of Dr. Matt Harmon as a full-time faculty member at Grace Seminary effective this fall semester. He was unanimously approved by both the Grace Cabinet and the Board of Trustees. Harmon will be Associate Professor of New Testament Studies. His undergraduate degree is a B.S., Ohio University; and graduate degrees include M.Div., Trinity […][...]

Events of general interest among Grace Brethren Churches. Details and registration information are available from sponsoring organizations or through www.fgbc.org. July 2-8 – Great Canadian Adventure Teen Week, Vancouver, BC (GBNAM) July 22-27 – BNYC, Biola University (CEN) July 29-August 3 – Celebrate06 National Conference, Indian Wells, CA (FGBC) August 6-12-Canadian Adventure Adult Week (Toronto) August 13[...]

Just as this issue was going to press, word was received of the tragic death by drowning of 17-year-old Jered Pyle, a junior at Worthington Christian High School, affiliated with the Worthington (OH) Grace Brethren Church. This edited piece was written by his football coach, Mike Stanley (featured in the Sept/Oct 2005 FGBC World, see Crusader Football Seeks to ‘Honor […][...]

The following news briefs are from the appropriate year’s July-August issues of The Brethren Missionary Herald magazine. Ten Years Ago[...]

by Ashley Woodworth and Paul Hoard Mark Sharp maintains a strong faith while fighting the effects of Parkinson’s disease.Exhausted, Mark Sharp finally crossed the finish line of the grueling triathlon. Though he came in last for taking almost two hours to complete the race, he was thrilled. Why? Mark Sharp has Parkinson’s disease, and for him, just finishing the event […][...]