The Global Advocate - Nov/Dec 2023

The

Region by Region: Midwest Region Conference

Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 3b).

THE GLOBAL ADVOCATE (ISSN 0009-630X) is published bi-monthly by the Churches of God, General Conference.

Vol. 188, No. 6

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Stubbornly Faithful

by Lance Finley, CGGC Executive Director

As we continue to explore the different regional bodies that make up the Churches of God, General Conference, we sat down with Bob Eatherton, Jeff Rockey, and Steve Johnson to gather their perspectives on the Midwest Region Conference.

The Midwest Region was formed in July 2000 when the Indiana, Illinois and Iowa conferences combined to create the new region. In the history of regionalization in the CGGC, the Midwest Region Conference stands out as a unique merger of three stubbornly independent local conferences. Bob Eatherton relates that one of the initial goals of forming the region was to develop a greater unity among the churches as well as the establishment of a regional office/director role who would be able to come alongside local churches and pastors. “Everything had been done by volunteer committees in the original state conferences and so every three years all the personalities and roles might change (depending upon conference elections) and there were times when you never knew who to call when you needed something.” Jeff Rockey adds, “Trying to merge three independent conferences into one was not an easy task. We are a stubbornly independent group of people. In many ways, that stubbornness has been what we’ve survived on and also what’s held us back at times.”

Eatherton adds, “Generally speaking, the farther west you go, the more independent the mindset. It was a pretty hard sell to convince independent minds that we even needed a region. We became a region, kind of kicking and screaming, but there were enough people who were passionate about it that we were able to come together and make it happen.” Steve Johnson observes that we see an independent mindset when we look through the history of the churches in the Midwest Region. “These were barnstorming individuals, like Frederick Kant, who founded Oak Grove Church of God. They didn’t need anybody’s permission to do this.” Eatherton notes that there might be less appreciation for the encumbrance of history in the Midwest mindset: “We don’t mind bringing in a bulldozer and starting from scratch if that’s what’s needed.” The first Midwest Region Conference annual gathering reflected that mindset in their theme, “Whatever it takes.” Eatherton reflected that, “We were going to do whatever it took to establish the region and help build the Kingdom of God."

Beyond Business as Usual

From the earliest days of the region, there was a desire to accomplish more together fueled by a conviction that business as usual wasn’t good enough. One of the first places this became evident was in the annual conference meeting. There was an intentional effort to transform a three-day business session to more of a convention mindset with training and equipping by utilizing nationally known leaders and exposing church leaders to the cutting edge of the Church in North America. Eatherton relates, “We wanted to raise the bar and give leaders practical training that they could take home to their local church. At one point I wondered whether we had made a mistake after a longtime conference attender came to me, fist shaking and informing me that she wouldn’t be back because ‘there aren’t any good fights anymore.’”

Eatherton continues, “One of the gifts of our independent mindset was the freedom to write a new script without being confined by what used to be. We could try new things.” Rockey adds, "In some ways, we’ve had the freedom to innovate or serve as a proving ground. We’ve been willing to try new things, even if they don’t all succeed.” Johnson sees the long roots of such willingness to innovate or risk in the region’s role in global missions. “The first Church of God missionary to India, Clara Landes, was a young woman sent from one of our Iowa congregations. She was followed by several others from Illinois. Even in the late 1800s we were willing to try something new for its time.

This posture of doing whatever it takes has held true over the two-decade history of the region. Around 2010, the leadership of the region wrestled with whether the region exists for benefit of our churches or if the churches exist for the benefit of the region. The conference should be about helping local churches. In a desire to make the same kind of training and equipping even more accessible and affordable to local congregations, the region made some significant shifts in how they gathered. They shifted to a bi-annual conference with the aim of helping reduce the burden of travel and the costs associated with that. In the offyears, the region began taking the annual conference to local churches in a series of one-day conferences designed to bring the same kind of training and equipping in closer proximity to groups of local churches, eliminating some of the barriers that might prohibit participation and increasing the potential to reach as many leaders and local churches as possible.

In a similar effort, the region built off the momentum of the Missional Leadership Initiative (MLI) offered by the General Conference and created the Missional Church Initiative (MCI) that works with teams of leaders from local churches to help them transition from an inward focus to an outward focus in their ministries.

Unintended Consequences: Both Good and Bad

When asked whether regionalization had been good or bad for the churches of the Midwest Region, the

resounding, tongue-in-cheek answer was, “Yes.” There have been both blessings and challenges.

In the old state conferences, every pastor served on a commission and had ownership in the overall mission of the conference. There was a sense of connection and cooperation that flowed out of that structure and some of that was lost with regionalization. Yet, regionalization also brought the blessing of freeing local leaders from some of their conference obligations, thus giving more time to focus on local ministry initiatives. The shadow side of this reality was the loss of connection and ownership in the larger work of the conference. While acknowledging the unforeseen fruit of regionalization, there’s still a strong conviction that the churches of the Midwest Region are better together, working collectively to advance the kingdom of God.

Present and Future

The Midwest Region Conference has three chief strategic goals that guide the work and ministry of the region. The first is to develop reproducible disciples. The second is to empower leaders who impact their communities. The third is to connect churches and leaders with cross-cultural ministries. True to its original ethos that the status quo is not sufficient, the region continues to innovate and develop ways to help local congregations. The Midwest Region is offering opportunities for leaders to grow in their ability to make disciples of Jesus who make disciples of Jesus. Whether it’s through the Missional Church Initiative or their partnership with Winebrenner Theological Seminary, they are equipping leaders who are able to engage their local communities in transformational ministry. They’ve taken the posture that cross-cultural could require a trip to somewhere else on the globe or it may be a walk across town to engage people who are different than us and regularly offer opportunities for leaders to engage in cross-cultural settings.

The brothers and sisters of the Midwest Region Conference continue to live with a stubborn faithfulness to do whatever it takes to carry the Good News of Jesus Christ to every man, woman and child across Iowa, Illinois and Indiana.

The Vision of the MRC: An Interview with Travis Bodden

by Jacob Clagg with Travis Bodden

What is the Midwest Regional Conference's vision and strategy?

The three strategy areas that we feel we need to make headway in are:

First, Developing Reproducible Disciples. We’ve often tried to do discipleship. We’ve had many things that we’ve called it. So, we keep pushing on that, and it’s a long trajectory of change.

Second, Connecting with Cross-Cultural Ministries. Recognizing the many cultures and subcultures within our given community, the hope is that we’ll begin to look more and more like our communities.

Third, Empowering Leaders who Impact their Communities. We’re trying to represent [that Kingdom of Heaven] here on Earth. How can we develop leaders so they can really make an impact within their community? These are the three areas we’ve been working on for about 10 years.

Why these three visions?

For discipleship, we recognize we have not been teaching people to teach people. Our discipleship is all one generation deep. We have the same Sunday school teacher who has taught the same class for 40 years. She has had the same students for 40 years. I think we’ve also realized that if we dropped someone into their lap, and said, “We need you to develop this person,” they would say, “We don’t know how.” For most of us, that hasn’t been something we’ve done for the last 40 years, 50 years, or 80 years. We’ve done a good job of grabbing people who are already good at teaching.

For cross-cultural, we are a culturally homogenous group. Often, we do not have a good representation of our community. But for us, we recognize that we can learn from some of the other cultures that are within us. Whether that’s rich/poor, black/white/Hispanic, democrat/republican, Harley rider/construction guy, blue collar worker/white collar, you pick. If they are all created in God’s image, we can learn from one another. I think we miss the completeness of God when we only have a small section.

For empowering leaders, we’ve found that we had a tendency to do almost anything we do inside of our four walls, and we recognize that the church needs to be outside of the building. If we were taken off the map, our communities should miss us. That they might go, “Oh man, we hate to know that they closed. That’s awful.” So, how do we leverage relationships and people so that we really impact our community for the kingdom of heaven? If we were gone, [the community] should notice. I want to know that we are making that kind of an impact.

How did this vision come about?

This started at a retreat we had, where, you know, we brought out the white paper, and we started asking questions. “Where are the areas that if we don’t change, that will not be good for our trajectory?” These were the three things that, for the group at the time, rose to the surface. These things, we think, are going to outlast us. Even in a year, two years, or ten years, we still need to focus on this, versus some latest fad that we need to jump on the bandwagon of.

Who were the people that helped to inspire this vision?

I remember Brian Miller (Interim Pastor at Crossroad Community Church, Sullivan, IL) was helping us do the whiteboard, and coaching us through that. He asked all of the questions and helped those things bubble to the surface. Brandon Kelly (Pastor at College First, Findlay, OH) was influential about how we do this directionally. Lance Finley (Executive Director at CGGC Office, Findlay OH) was a part of those conversations. Those would have been the three.

What are some of the changes you are seeing in the MRC?

I’ve watched a lot of churches try to pick a partner in their local community. I think it’s slow going. They say, “We are going to provide backpacks.” And eventually it moves to, “We are going to help with tutoring.” New Beginnings did their VBS at Durfee school in Decatur, Illinois, only because they were partnering with the school for six years before that. That finally led to the schools saying, “We don’t mind you doing VBS here.” That’s a big school district. That’s huge for us.

I probably hear more pastors saying, “Yes, yes, yes, but how do they get my congregation in on that?” More pastors are convinced, but they just have to figure out how to bring their leaders in.

Jacob, this is probably a 30-year trajectory change. The fact is, we’re only 10 years in. This is going to outlast me, if we’re talking about how long it takes to turn some of this.

What does this vision look like in practice?

How do you measure your success?

For discipleship, a goal for me is every member of a congregation could clearly identify who’s discipling them, and who they are discipling. That would be a success.

Cross-culturally, there is some awareness that the things we post online are speaking poorly of the people we need to reach. We often speak poorly and then we wonder why they don’t want to come to our church. What we are posting, and what we are sharing, other people are seeing and they are going to have a pretty good idea of whether you love them long before they come through your door.

In the area of empowering leaders who impact their communities, my longing is that every church has one partnership organization within their local community and one partnership in the global community.

Often, I think churches do too many [partnerships]. If you’re a church of 40 people, you can’t make 12 partnerships. You just don’t have enough people for that. Let’s just do one and let’s do it really well.

What about when the event/partnership doesn’t make more people come to our church?

The recognition that we are going to invest in a lot of people that aren’t going to come to our church is really hard to hear. I still believe it to be true. The way our current gatherings are, I don’t think most of the people we are trying to reach are going to come on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. I don’t think that’s their next step with Jesus.

Our first conversations about Jesus aren’t going to happen in the church. And that’s where churches are pretty disheartened. They are really hoping people will just start coming to their churches. They are going to want some pretty immediate results.

You’ve mentioned that this is a slow process.

How do you feel about that?

I’m not depressed about the local church. It still has a valuable purpose. But here is my disheartened part. When I go to the churches that are locked in, they dismiss the people that won’t come. “Well people just aren’t spiritual. It’s a sign of the times. Jesus is coming back, and we just have to hang on until he comes back.” Instead of saying, “We have got to reach the 50s, 40s, 30s, and 20s.” That’s not on their radar. They’ve bought into the idea that “this is the sign of the times. There’s nothing we can do.”

Maybe Jesus is coming back soon, but I also know that 2,000 years ago, as Paul was writing, people were quitting their jobs because they thought Jesus was coming back that soon. He might still be gone for another thousands of years. Even if he’s coming back in two years, our mission has not changed. We still have to connect with a generation that does not know the hope of Jesus and we’ve got to do whatever we’ve got to do to make that connection.

Ministry Happens when the Pastor Gets Grilled

with Pastor Steve Whetstone

It's

probably true that many pastors enjoy preaching in front of their congregations, whether they’d admit it or not. And it’s also probably true that those same pastors wouldn’t willingly let themselves be grilled with hard questions about their sermon. Yet, that’s precisely what Pastor Steve Whetstone from Zanesville Church of God does every Sunday. Directly after the worship service, about half of Zanesville’s congregation gathers for a meal made by volunteers and a time of Q/A that they call “Grill the Pastor.” Yes, it’s a little tongue in cheek, but that speaks to the lighthearted nature of the event. Sometimes they literally eat food from a grill while they “grill” the pastor with theological, pastoral, and hermeneutical questions, but it’s rarely heated or intense.

I asked Pastor Steve why he was willing to subject himself to every public speaker’s worst nightmare; the potential of being pelted with food in response to a poor performance. Pastor Steve said that it’s really about “giving people the opportunity to ask questions about what they heard, and how the Holy Spirit was speaking to them.” The initial idea came from Pastor Travis Bodden who often hears churches complain that “people only come if we provide food,” to which he is known to respond, “Well, why don’t you have food?” And so, Zanesville started having food.

Zanesville used to have Sunday school before every service, but the attendance was starting to wane. Once the church came back from Covid, they replaced Sunday school with Grill the Pastor, and they’ve seen the attendance to this ministry nearly double. Not only that, but the back-and-forth interaction has provided Pastor Steve with a way to hear where his congregation is at spiritually, how they are doing, and what they need. “Before, there was no good way of gauging or measuring engagement with the message,” Pastor Steve said.

“I do now because I hear how they’re answering my questions or the comments they make about what they heard.” Over time, this engagement has allowed Pastor Steve to better understand what his people are struggling with, because the patterns of their responses, the way they answer questions, or the way they respond to the sermon, often says more about themselves than his message. He said, “I’m at a place where I can ask, ‘Why did you hear it that way?’ Those are the questions that are running in my mind. ‘Why are you hearing that?’”

I suspected that a Q/A session after every sermon might change the way Pastor Steve prepares his message. Perhaps he spends more time on them, or double checks his facts, but that’s not the way Pastor Steve talked about it. “I look forward to in-depth questions, to be honest,” he said. “I’m okay with saying, ‘I don’t know,’ and I can always turn it back on them by saying, ‘Where did you find that in the Bible?’ or ‘Why do you feel so strongly about this?’ I don’t feel like I always have to provide the answer.” Based on Pastor Steve’s demeanor and response, it doesn’t sound like he’s aiming for another time of teaching, but rather a time for discussion and introspection. “I just try to facilitate a discussion that’s going to happen with other people anyway.” Being present in their conversations is a way for Pastor Steve to help cultivate and encourage deepening relationships in his church, and that’s his favorite take away from the experience.

This willingness to step out in faith and to try something new isn’t limited to Grill the Pastor. Zanesville Church also hosts two other ministries that target specific needs within their surrounding communities. “Let’s Read It” is a reading program for kids in Kindergarten through 5th grade, where the kids pick out a subject from among the 3,000+ books at the church, and a volunteer reading partner asks questions to help them pay close attention to the text. Likewise, the church also hosts a program called “Centershot,” which is an archery tutoring event, where kids can come out, learn the basics of archery at no cost, and compete with each other while also getting a brief devotional time beforehand.

Both outreach programs came out of a townhall council meeting where three pastors, including Pastor Steve, invited a Sheriff deputy, a school guidance counselor, House of Hope, and a family/ marriage counselor to answer questions, and educate the pastors about their community. Pastor Steve said that, “We had each one give a 30-minute talk about what the church could do in the community for each organization. We discovered it’s a poor part of the county, with a disconnect between parents and schoolwork. In Zanesville, kids don’t have constructive things to do. Both of these programs, Centershot and Let's Read It, came out of the statistics of poverty, reading, and education. That’s why we picked up some of [these ministries].”

In every issue of this “Region by Region” series we’ve been hearing about pastors who come to new ministry because they come to know their communities better. It sounds obvious, but it can be a real challenge. Somewhat paradoxically, reaching past the church walls is especially difficult if things are going well on the inside and that’s a sentiment Pastor Steve echoed. “When things weren’t going well... it gave us time and a desire to get out in the community and look at that stuff, to try and figure out what we need to do.” We’ve heard this idea

Saturday

4 Ask God to raise up leaders for His mission in the U.S. and across the world.

Friday

3 Request God for wisdom for the Project Help Executive Team as they meet each month to serve Haiti.

Global Advocate Prayer Calendar

Thursday

2 Pray for several GLC pastors as they hold teaching sessions at our India Mission .

Wednesday

1 Happy Birthday, Jenn Schlumbohm! Jenn serves the CGGC Communications and helps tell the stories of God’s work in and through the CGGC.

Tuesday

11 As the USA observes Veterans’ Day, give thanks for all who have served in the armed forces. Take time to thank individuals for their service.

10 Beseech the Lord in prayer for the nation of Haiti ! Pray for safety, sufficient food and national unity.

9 Join together in prayer for Rod & Mila Ayers for their oversight of the Sister Church and School ministry in Haiti.

8 Intercede for countries impacted by food insecurity and ask the Lord to provide the nourishment they need.

7 Pray for Dave & Kenda Kapaku as they help minister to the needs of their community recovering from the fires.

Monday

Sunday

6 Encourage Pastor John & Toni Thumma through prayers. Pray especially for their health and the provision for Hooghan Nizhoni church.

5 Lift up in prayer Jacob & Haley Day as they serve at Gamerco and the surrounding community.

18 Happy Birthday, Candice Shoemaker who serves as CGGC Executive Assistant and works with the Directors and the Ad Council in coordinating CGGC Activities.

17 Praise God for German & Silvia Quintero as they serve as field directors in Nicaragua.

16 Intercede for the churches in Mexico . Petition for unity and spiritual protection for those bringing God’s word.

15 Trust the Lord to provide opportunities for Dave & Kenda Kapaku to serve and share Christ with the people of Hawaii.

14 Many CGGC congregations participate in Operation Christmas Child. Pray for givers and receivers to be equally blessed!

13 The Global Reach Commission meets this evening. Ask the Lord to provide wisdom and discernment as they make decisions.

12 Thank God for our retired missionaries who continue to bless others: Geneva McNutt, Gordon & Annie Avey, and Mike & Dawn VanDervort .

25 Praise God for the renewed connections being made in Bangladesh as Dr. John Costa visits remote villages through medical camps.

24 Black Friday is famous for shopping frenzies. “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15

23 Happy Thanksgiving! “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good! His love endures forever” (Ps. 107:1). Praise God today for who He is and what He has done.

22 Ask God to continue to provide stamina and creativity for school children, teachers and staff throughout this 20232024 school year.

21 Pray for wisdom in bringing on a new Global Reach Assistant Director.

20 Ask God to help us follow the lead of brothers and sisters in Venezuela who regularly join hands to pray for their cities.

19 Ask God’s blessings on Samir Singha as he provides many educational opportunities to children through numerous child development centers in India.

30 Praise God for the beginning of Advent, the season of repentance and preparation. May Christ be born anew in our hearts! “Prepare the way of the Lord.”

29 Pray for Bryan and Katie Crabtree and their children as they answer the call to serve in Thailand.

28 On this Giving Tuesday , thank God for our International Field Leaders and their selfless dedication! Support them generously!

27 Unite in prayer for Fremio & Evelin Jimenez as they serve as field directors in the Dominican Republic.

26 Thank God for Victor and Alma Montalvo as they continue to introduce themselves to the different Regions within CGGC.

2 Intercede for Pastor Joseph Mwaura , Director of Voice of the Gospel in Kenya (our partner there). Pray for God to bless the pastors with solid teaching and vision for Kingdom impact.

Global Advocate Prayer Calendar

Friday

Thursday

Wednesday

Tuesday

Monday

Sunday

Saturday 31 At the end of 2023 give thanks for what God has done. Spend time praying about His plans for you and the CGGC in 2024!

9 Remember in prayer the students and staff of Winebrenner Theological Seminary . Ask God to encouragement and understanding.

1 “I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.” Psalm 89:1

8 Join in prayer for CGGC President Dave Odegard and Executive Director Lance Finley . Pray for wisdom as they work together for God’s glory in the CGGC!

7 Intercede on behalf of Pastors Fremio & Evelyn in the Dominican Republic , for opportunities to witness.

6 Pray that the peoples of India see the love of Christ in our brothers and sisters. Ask for courage for Samir Singha and Assistant Director Philip Das.

5 Ask God to richly bless Pastor Maria Grigioni , Argentina Field Leader, with wisdom and provision.

4 Trust the Lord to provide new momentum with the church planting efforts of the El Mango Limpio Church in Dominican Republic .

3 Remember Denis Droicin and Stanley Lambert as they lead Project Help and the hospital in Haiti. Pray for God’s intervention to bring peace to Haiti.

16 Happy Birthday, Travis Helm, Global Reach Director. Pray God’s blessings for another year!

15 Unite in prayer for the people of many countries under amplified financial strain resulting from the pandemic.

14 Rely on God’s power to serve as Jesus’ witnesses locally, regionally, and to the ends of the earth. Resist the temptation to limit your witness.

13 As Everett & Mary Teller pastor the Tsaile Church of God, be in prayer that more souls are being saved each day.

12 Keep John & Toni Thumma in your prayers as they are serving in New Mexico. Pray that they will continue to develop relationships within the community.

11 Thank God for the faithfulness of Pastor Dave & Kenda Kapaku in Maui, Hawaii. Ask the Lord to continue adding to His church those who are being saved.

10 Happy Birthday to Jacob Day! Delight in the blessings the Lord has provided for Jacob and pray for continued blessings.

23 Thank God for Pastors Liarxis & Mara who serve in Venezuela. Petition for the Lord’s protection.

22 Ask the Lord to empower the pastors in Bahia, Brazil, so that they will continue working together to establish new works in the Brazil Conference.

21 Pray that team visits will be possible to our India and Bangladesh Missions as traveling there has become more difficult.

20 Pray for the leaders of 2024 ACTS teams that they would have grace from the Lord to prepare their teams.

19 Happy Birthday to Katie Crabtree! Praise the Lord for her serving in Thailand and asks the Lord’s continued blessings on her life!

18 Praise God for Pastors Ricardo & Jeanette who serve in Latino Ministries in the USA. Intercede that they will stand firm in God’s truth.

17 Call upon the Lord for spiritual growth for new believers in west India.

30 Happy Birthday (tomorrow), Mila Ayers! Lift Mila as she seeks wisdom and direction from the Lord as she and Rod serve Haiti.

29 Happy Birthday, Winebrenner President Dr. Brent Sleasman! Ask the Lord’s blessings on Brent and his family as he continues to lead WTS into the future.

28 Pray for all international staff to find rest and peace as 2023 comes to an end and we approach a new year.

27 Intercede for Samir Singha and his daughter Madhumita as they serve in different areas of India.

26 Lift up Alycia Hodil, Coalition for Christian Outreach* , in prayer and ask for encouragement and restoration.

25 Merry Christmas!

“For to us a child is born, a son is given” (Isaiah 9:6a). Be sure to share the Good News in word and deed that God sent His Son to save the world!

24 As churches gather to worship on Christmas Eve, pray that all the CGGC will embrace our mission to be the salt and light for Jesus in the world.

before in 2022 at the CGGC Triennial Conference from the keynote speaker, Brad Brisco. While speaking about ‘post Christendom,’ Brad said, “Instead of operating from a place of privilege and power, we once again have to operate in the posture of a servant. Another way to say that is, we actually have to follow the way of Jesus.” The implication being that, while we’ve been preaching the message of Jesus for the last 2,000 years, we haven’t always been doing it in the way of Jesus.

Centershot, Grill the Pastor, and Let’s Read It, all came about because of a humble recognition that although Pastor Steve knew the right answer was always Christ, he didn’t always know the question, or who was asking. Whether it was allowing his own congregation to have a voice, or listening to key community members, hearing the issues that face the community, and serving them is a fundamentally mission-minded way of doing ministry. This is the posture that the church needs to continue to live into if we want to follow the way of Jesus.

Breaking the Ice with Pie

by Ann Kline, Fred Langohr, John Morr, & Brett Ohlwine with Jacob Clagg

Sugar Grove Church of God in Churubusco, Indiana has become actively involved in two new local mission opportunities. In both cases, God has rewarded small steps of faith and obedience with life-changing ministries that are reshaping their communities. Sugar Grove Church has found itself partnered closely with Chain O’Lakes Re-Entry Center (a correctional facility with capacity for 140 individuals) and Hickory Treatment Center (a 28-day recovery and rehabilitation center). The origins of each partnership, and their incredible impacts, are detailed below.

Chain O’Lakes Re-Entry Center

At a Community Advisory Board meeting for Chain O’Lakes Re-Entry Center in Albion, Indiana, the warden described the partnership between another re-entry center and a local church. A member of Sugar Grove Church of God sat in that meeting and wondered how the church might work with Chain O’Lakes to impact the men inside. Thus began a ministry and a blessing for both the church and the facility residents.

After reaching out to the men’s ministry coordinator, a few men displayed interest in this new idea. Fred Langohr, Associate Pastor Tim Miles, John Morr, and Brett Ohlwine joined Ann Kline for a meeting to brainstorm and pray.

Brett recalls that, “Prior to the meeting, I prayed and asked myself the question, ‘What was Jesus’ vision and mission?’ Immediately, I was reminded that Jesus fully engaged in discipleship and that His last will and testament, the Great Commission, centered on discipleship. When we had gathered to conduct the meeting, before I spoke, Fred brought up that he felt that “discipleship” should be an important component of what we do. This was confirmation, and I showed him what I had written down regarding a vision for discipleship.

At the warden’s suggestion, the introductory event was a “Pie Night” just before Thanksgiving. Many of the residents and 15 Sugar Grove volunteers crammed into the mess hall to sing a few praise songs and listen to a brief devotional on thankfulness. The men were thrilled with around 25 homemade pies donated by church members. The warden’s eyes lit up as he told a volunteer to look around at the men laughing and interacting with each other. They were witnessing something special.

“This was a highly effective means that God used to begin to forge relationships and activate many people in our church to be involved,” Brett said. “At the event, some of the men at the facility were begging for more discipleship… So, it seemed readily apparent that God was moving in the facility, and He was inviting me to join Him in His work.”

After Pie Night, the first goal was to begin a Bible study. After working several months to complete the paperwork and undergo required training, Sugar Grove had a crew of people approved to volunteer at the re-entry center. To announce the start to the new Bible study, 16 church volunteers hosted another special outreach event at the center – a “Spring Celebration” with a few songs, a devotional on ‘new life,’ and hundreds of delicious cookies. It surprised the volunteers that the jugs of “real” milk brought as much excitement as the platters of cookies! Later that month, with Brett Ohlwine at the lead, the Bible study began. Now, a typical Wednesday evening sees around 10 residents and 5 men from the church studying the Word of God together.

“The Lord brought everything together and the timing became right to launch a Bible study. A number of men from the church became interested in helping to conduct the Bible study. Meanwhile, I was asked to take leadership for this outreach. So, I began to consider how to structure in a way that best mobilizes our team and engages all of the men involved.

After the Bible Study was established, the next priority was to offer weekly worship services. Other local churches were committed to a worship service once or twice a month and John Morr worked with them to create a uniform time and place for services each week. He organized Sugar Grove volunteers to commit to the remaining open dates each month. Now, residents can count on a worship service every Sunday at 6 pm.

Special events a few times a year are another goal for the group. Fun, food, and fellowship entice a larger crowd from the facility to attend and volunteers are able to forge new relationships and build on existing ones. In July, the Sugar Grove Missions Team funded a “Summer Picnic” for the residents. The afternoon began with cornhole and volleyball. Around 70 residents, a few staff members, and 20 volunteers devoured quarterpounder hotdogs, watermelon, and more. Then our talented praise team impressed the residents as they led worship and praise for about an hour. Some residents quietly listened; others chatted as the band played, and some actively engaged in singing and worship. Towards the end of the event, one of the residents shared, “It didn’t feel like I was in here today. It felt like I was at a family barbeque.” Other residents wholeheartedly agreed with him.

Eventually, the team hopes to transport a vanload of men from the facility to church services on Sunday mornings. A group of ladies in the church are making plans for care packages for incoming residents, which will include an invitation to the Bible study and worship services at the facility. Furthermore, the core team would like to connect and collaborate better with other churches and groups who serve re-entry center residents through ministries like Celebrate Recovery, Stillwater Retreat, and Sunday evening church services.

Sugar Grove Team: Pastor Tim, Brett, Ann, John & Fred

Part of the ministry is to also support the staff who are “working diligently to promote the successful reintegration of lawful, self-sufficient, and productive citizens into the community.” For Correctional Officers week, the church donated gourmet cupcakes and magnet verses to the staff at the facility as a thank you for their service.

The current vision of the Sugar Grove ministry at Chain O’Lakes Re-Entry Center is to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the men, introduce them to discipleship, and empower them to lead each other closer to God. Ultimately, they seek the same goal as Sugar Grove Church of God founders, who penned over 130 years ago their hope that God’s church would “loom higher and that its light may be seen afar off and mankind press unto it.”

Hickory Treatment Center

Meanwhile, leaders at Sugar Grove had also established a ministry at a local nursing home. In order to build community with the residents, members of the church went to the nursing home and watched the church’s Sunday worship service through the livestream, effectively creating a satellite service. Unfortunately, the nursing home became set to close. John Morr, who was active in the nursing home service, recalls the story of how the closing of the nursing home opened the doors to a very different kind of ministry.

“We were disappointed when our ministry at the local nursing home ended abruptly,” John said. A group of Sugar Grove members met at the facility to pray and ask God to bring the facility back as a nursing home under new ownership. Those prayers went unanswered for 18 months. When they finally did hear something, it wasn’t what they were hoping for. John reflected, “We were again disappointed, this time because we learned it was going to become a privately-owned addiction recovery center, however, God had other plans.”

Through John’s involvement with the local Town Council, he met the new owner of Hickory Treatment Center. To John’s surprise, the owner said he was open to the idea of holding weekly church services there. Six men from Sugar Grove church volunteered to participate in leading worship services. In addition, pastors and ministry

leaders from four other local churches also began to participate in a monthly rotation for Sunday afternoon worship services at Hickory.

Fred Langohr, a Sugar Grove member involved at both Chain O’Lakes and Hickory, said, “Through the intervention of the Holy Spirit and the faithful efforts of John Morr, Sunday worship services were introduced to Hickory Treatment Center. Through that process, there was an interest in Celebrate Recovery (CR) for the facility too.” John and Fred met with the leadership at Hickory in February of 2023, they created a plan to start having CR meetings at the center. “Today,” Fred said, “we are meeting each Monday to bring the powerful ministry of CR to these men. The response of the men who attend meetings is nothing short of miraculous. We are humbled every time we see God’s Spirit at work in the lives of those desperate for healing and new life.”

Sugar Grove has been able to minister to the spiritual needs of the residents, and many have dedicated and rededicated their lives to Christ. Since Hickory is a 28-day program, Sugar Grove gets to share Jesus Christ with a new group of residents every month! While thinking about the bigger picture, John said, “As I reflect on our original selfish prayer for the facility to become a nursing home once again, I am reminded of Ephesians 3:20-21: ‘Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church of Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.’”

Global Reach Updates

Thank you for partnering with our friends and fields in Global Reach. The following are a few updates from some of our Global Reach fields. Please continue to pray for our leaders and believers as they serve God and share the Good News with seekers.

Bangladesh

Dr. John and his staff have been visiting many of the Mission churches to encourage the believers and children. He also spent several days conducting free cataract surgeries at the Khanjanpur campus. Dr. John has recently shared concerns about our Mission school buildings. More than half of the 18 structures need major repairs due to the age of buildings and the many years of harsh weather conditions. Pray for resources to update these structures to make them safe for the children.

Nicaragua

Latino Ministries Director, Victor Montalvo was able to visit Nicaragua recently and stayed with Pastor German and his family. He was grateful to be able to get to know them while he stayed with them and visited four field churches. Victor said he was very much blessed to see all the ministry happening in so many poorer places where there are few comforts. There is an active children’s ministry, community outreach, and prayer ministry. There is a newer area of ministry, Corinto, where several families gather in a house church setting. Pray for these families as they reach out to their neighbors to share the Scriptures. Victor helped secure and put in security windows at the church in Rodeo Grande. Pray for our brothers and sisters in Nicaragua as they pray for their communities and share the Gospel.

Southwest

Global Reach director, Travis Helm recently visited John Thumma and Jacob and Haley Day at the Southwest ministry in New Mexico. John and Toni are doing pretty well, but they appreciate prayers for their health. John continues to pastor Hooghan Nizhoni Church and sometimes fills in at Gamerco when Jacob and Haley Day are back visiting Pennsylvania.

Jacob and Haley co-pastor Gamerco and organize most of the teams that visit the Southwest. John still spends time fellowshipping with the teams. It is a blessing to have a field where many teams can visit to bless the communities of the Southwest while at the same time have a cross-cultural experience while growing closer to God.

It has become obvious that the Southwest needs a new passenger van. It is a crucial tool for when teams come, but it also serves the communities all year around. If you feel led to give for this need, give to “GR 2117 Gamerco Van Operations." We are researching pricing, but the minimum would be approximately $46,000.

Thank

700 E. Melrose Ave., P.O. Box 926

Findlay, OH 45839

Phone (419) 424-1961

Fax (419) 424-3433

www.cggc.org