The Latest News from Around the Fellowship:

With the Lord Elaine Bearinger, 87, passed away August 5, 2005, in Bradenton, Florida, after a brief illness. She was the widow of Rev. Ernie Bearinger, former National Youth Director, pastor in Southern California and missionary to Brazil. She is survived by a daughter, Carolyn Bearinger Solomon, retired missionary living in the Bradenton Missionary Village, and son Dr. Charles Bearinger, […][...]

Leo Boyer, of Winona Lake, Indiana, has designed and is distributing this Christmas lawn display designed to draw attention to Christ, the true meaning of Christmas. A portion of the proceeds from each sale will provide scholarships to African Bible and pastoral students. by Theresa Clark When Leo Boyer of Winona Lake, Indiana, searched for a yard display that would […][...]

By Ron Dorner This winter will be difficult.Your heating bills may increase by 75 percent. Now is the time to address the issue. Act now to avoid busting your budget. The dynamics of heating a home require a look at the amount of space heated, insulation factors, temperature maintained, and the heat source. Analyze your home. Can you reduce the […][...]

Gerald Polman points to the photo of Billy Graham that triggered an unusual discovery during one of his guided tours at the Reneker Museum of Winona History in Westminster Hall on the Grace College and Seminary campus. Retired Grace Brethren pastor Gerald Polman was giving tours of the Reneker Museum of Winona History in the historic Westminster Hall in Winona […][...]

Rich and Kathy Barnhart of Winona Lake, Indiana, have found a way to combine an 8,000-light Christmas display in their yard, synchronized with FM radio transmission to car radios, with distributing a presentation of the gospel and and invitation to attend church. (photo courtesy Rich Barnhart) By Ashley Woodworth Presenting the gospel at Christmas has never been easier or more […][...]

DeWitt and Caroline Powell, of Hagerstown, Maryland, use their unique car, ‘Born Again II,’ as a means of sharing the gospel with car-lovers at shows and cruise-ins. DeWitt Powell, of the Hagerstown, Maryland, Maranatha Brethren Church (Jay Fretz, pastor), has found a perfect way to combine his love of cars and body work with a way to share Christ with […][...]

Goshen, Indiana, pastor Jim Brown (left) leads his blue-shirted chainsaw gang in helping Katrina victims clear their properties of trees and brush. This team assisted 145 homeowners on one trip. (photo courtesy Jim Brown) The Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, though it has fewer than 300 churches in the U.S. and almost none in the deep south, responded heroically during […][...]

Dr. Keith Shearer A significant new book by this year’s Moderator of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches (FGBC) on interpreting the Bible “as it reads” has just been released by BMH Books of Winona Lake, Indiana. Childlike Faith, subtitled “Hearing God in Your Bible,” is authored by Dr. Keith Shearer, senior pastor of New Beginnings Grace Brethren Church of […][...]

Ten Years Ago[...]

Roger Peugh (left) and Tammy Schultz (right), both faculty members at Grace College and Seminary, have authored a significant new book on the need for prayer in counseling. By Theresa Clark When Dr. Tammy Schultz asked Roger Peugh-both faculty members at Grace College and Seminary–to speak to her graduate students about the importance of prayer in counseling, Peugh was shocked […][...]

Events of general interest among Grace Brethren Churches. Details and registration information are available from sponsoring organizations or through www.fgbc.org. Nov. 4-6 – Grace College and Seminary Homecoming Nov. 4-6 – Women of Grace Leadership Summit, Berlin, OH Nov. 10 – Micropolitan Church-Planting Summit, Columbus, OH, SW Nov. 16 – Operation Barnabas 2006 and OBI application deadline (CEN) Dec.[...]

The final chapter of the new BMH Book Childlike Faith by Dr. Keith Shearer is entitled “Reading Someone Else’s Mail.” Shearer points out that the Bible is primarily the message from God to those who have trusted exclusively in His Son, Jesus Christ. Anyone else who tries to understand the Bible is, essentially, “reading someone else’s mail” because the reader […][...]

Pastor Dan O’Deens of Gateway Community Church in Parkesburg, Pennsylvania, played a key role from the start in the Grace Brethren response to Hurricane Katrina. As the Fellowship’s “point man on the ground,” he recruited, trained, and deployed managers from all over the Fellowship. Here is an edited version of a report he recently gave his church. Hurricane Katrina had […][...]

Fred Plastow By Ashley Woodworth and Theresa Clark How much do Christians really know and understand about Muslims and Islam? Grace College, Winona Lake, Indiana, has sought to break down the barrier of ignorance that surrounds the Islamic faith by bringing known Muslim experts Fred Plastow and Jay Smith to speak to students and the community and to teach courses […][...]

Archer Baum, pastor emeritus of the San Diego (CA) Grace Brethren Church, went to be with the Lord Friday, September 23, 2005, after a three-year battle with cancer. Several years ago a personal memoir he wrote at age 77 was posted on the Internet. Because it involves so many Grace Brethren historical places and people, we share here an edited […][...]

A team of relief workers led by Winona Lake (IN) Grace Brethren Church is currently in Gulfport, Mississippi, working to assist families from WLGBC’s “adopted” church, First Baptist Church of Gulfport, and its daughter church, Cross Point, with cleanup. Here are excerpts from team members’ reports: The damage here is indescribable. The pictures don’t do the devastation justice. Sunday A […][...]

The following article, which appeared in today’s Akron Beacon-Journal newspaper, focuses on hurricane relief work being done through the Grace Brethren Church of Norton, Ohio (Bob Combs, pastor). Helpers needed to load suppliesTwo trucks of donations will go to Katrina reliefBy Kymberli HagelbergBeacon Journal staff writer A group that set out to adopt survivors of Hurricane Katrina is seeking volunteers […][...]

The following story appeared in this morning’s Gaithersburg, Maryland, Gazette.news.Future pilot leads Eagles by Ted BlackStaff Writer Long after her high school playing days are over, Grace Brethren senior Shelly Engel plans to follow in her parents’ footsteps and fly military fighter planes. Engel gained an appreciation for fighter planes while growing up in California, where her parents, Richard and […][...]

The internationally-acclaimed Harlem Ambassadors 2005-2006 Tour, covering Europe, Asia, and North America, will include a stop in Winona Lake for a game at Lancer Gym tonight, Wednesday, September 28 at 7 p.m. “It’s amazing, but with eight overseas tours each of the past four seasons, the Ambassadors actually cover more of the globe than that other ‘Harlem’ team that has […][...]

The following article appeared in this afternoon’s Warsaw (IN) Times-Union newspaper: Grace Administrators Back From Helping With Hurricane Relief BY TERESA SMITH, Times-Union Staff Writer WINONA LAKE – With the ideal of service foremost in their minds, Grace College managers left their regular jobs for 10 days to volunteer in hurricane-ravaged Louisiana. A call for people with managerial skills from […][...]