Top stories posted in 2015 at graceconnect.us again centered around the family nature of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.
The top story, A Life Dedicated to Service, featured Linda Kline, a long-time member of Grace Church, a Grace Brethren congregation in Wooster, Ohio (Bob Fetterhoff, senior pastor). She retired this past summer after 37 years of teaching Released Time Bible in area public schools. (This story originally appeared in the GraceConnect eNews.)
The second most-accessed story came in early November after delegates to the Charis International Leadership Encounter in Bangkok, Thailand, took an historic vote in which they unanimously agreed to the Commitment to Common Identity. Charis Delegates Unanimously Approve Commitment of Common Identity reported how the document provides an updated and consistent expression of what it means to be Grace Brethren. (It will now need to be ratified by countries in which there are Grace Brethren churches.)
Deaths of those related to the Grace Brethren family were also at the top of the list as most-accessed stories. Obituaries for long-time Grace College professor Don Ogden; Carol Hocking, the wife of former Grace Brethren pastor, Dave Hocking; and Randy Todd, former Grace Brethren pastor, all ranked at the top of the most-viewed list.
They were among many stories that were accessed on the site a total of more than 70,250 times during the year, with 59,363 unique page views (the number of visits during which a specified page was viewed at least once).
Also on the list was the Flinch Photo Wall, which includes social media images that contain the hashtag #flinch2015 and were taken at Flinch Conference, the national conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, which was held in late July at the Newark Liberty International Airport Marriott in New Jersey.
Several stories from previous years appeared in the list of stories most accessed. We are only including those stories that were posted in 2015. They include:
- A Life Dedicated to Service (10 Jul 2015)
- Charis Delegates Unanimously Approve Commitment of Common Identity (04 Nov 2015)
- Donald Ogden, Former Music Prof at Grace College, Dies (27 Jun 2015)
- Carole Hocking With the Lord (21 Nov 2015)
- Randy Todd, Former Pastor, Dies (22 Jul 2015)
- Photo of Stillborn Used in Videos (01 Oct 2015)
- Mutchler Announces Move (18 Jan 2015)
- Shearers Join Grow New England Team (03 Jun 2015)
- Dr. Dane Miller, Winona Lake and Grace College Friend, Dies (11 Feb 2015)
- Kitty Snavely, Former Pastor’s Wife, Dies (16 Sep 2015)
- Peggy Owens Retires from CENational (11 Sep 2015)
- Pray for Evie Wike (01 Jul 2015)
- Prayer Requested for Randy Weekley (01 Aug 2015)
- Janet Varner, Veteran Missionary, Dies (06 Nov 2015)
- Homer Waller, Leader in Sunnyside, Wash., Church, Dies (13 May 2015)
- Flinch 2015 Photo Wall
- Randy Haulk Honored with CE’s Faithfulness Award (11 Dec 2015)
- New Massachusetts Church Set to Launch (17 Mar 2015)
- New Seminary Grads Take Positions in Florida (27 Aug 2015)
- Randy Ryssemus, Former Pastor, Dies (09 Feb 2015)
- “Unbroken” Has Roots in Winona Lake (14 Jan 2015)
- Ryan Hulett, Son of Pioneer Missionaries, Dies (12 May 2015)
- Services for Mary Thompson Announced (08 Dec 2015)
- Leadership Changes Planned at Wooster (30 Jul 2015)
- Delegates Welcomed at Charis Meetings (02 Nov 2015)
Readers came from 125 countries throughout the world, the same number as in 2014. The top three on the list, United States, Brazil, and Canada, remained unchanged from last year. New to the Top 20 list were Russia, Thailand, and Switzerland, replacing Indonesia, South Africa, and Cameroon from last year’s top count. In 2015, the Top 20 included:
- United States
- Brazil
- Canada
- Germany
- United Kingdom
- France
- India
- Russia
- Italy
- Thailand
- Philippines
- Australia
- South Korea
- Argentina
- Japan
- China
- Netherlands
- Mexico
- Spain
- Switzerland
