Three congregations will be considered for membership in the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches during the business meeting at national conference in July.
Grupo Amor Cristiano, a church based in Dublin, Ohio, serves the immediate Spanish-speaking community in both Dublin and Columbus, Ohio. Lead by Pastor Phil Guerena, Grupo Amor Cristiano provides English as a Second Language (ESL) classes through the church and hosts celebrations on traditional Hispanic festival days, such as Children’s Day and Posada. Pastor Guerena and his team write extensively for Hispanic publications and websites that reach a wide array of Spanish-speaking churches in both the U.S. and abroad. The church focuses on reaching out to those churches and their pastors with encouragement and discipleship.
Woodside Church meets inside of Woodside Trailer Park in Mansfield, Ohio. It originated out of SeedNet and VisionOhio almost two years ago, when Nathan Wells began praying and evangelizing park residents. With the help of two residents, Wells founded the church, which meets in Woodside’s office trailer. Each week, they worship through prayer, preaching, teaching, and fellowship and meet again for individualized Bible studies. Woodside focuses on teaching authentic biblical leadership and offers an elder training process for its members.
Living the Word Church, a church based in Jennings Apartments in Mansfield, Ohio, also began through SeedNet and VisionOhio. Nathan Wells and Andy Shank worked two years ago to bring the Gospel to Jennings Apartments. They met Thomas and Evelyn Jordan, who became the founding church planters. “We just named the church Living the Word this year,” said Wells, “because it captures the servant heart of the people.” Living the Word brings together several families from the apartment complex, and they have also welcomed several new believers into their midst.
This article first appeared in the Summer 2014 issue of GraceConnect. If you’d like to receive the magazine, mailed directly to your home at no charge, click here.
