Church Clippings

Excitement from around the EMC

Joshua Strunk

Joshua & Alissa celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary!!

And they celebrated at two weddings, as two of their kids recently married the loves of their lives.

In his report, Joshua says to his church body ... From my current vantage point, what I see are families who have invited me to be a part of their lives, to step in during their most sacred and scary moments, and to be their pastor. What I see are relationships that have only just begun to flourish, with multi-generational impact just over the horizon! Amen Josh!

Jon Tellifero

Jon Tellifero transferred into the EMC from the UMC as an ordained elder in March of 2022 and started a community bible study, The Fellowship, as well as working with several UMC congregations as they explore connectional options. Here are a few excerpts from the balance of Jon’s ministry report:

June 11, 2022, I began working with friends who wanted to start a new congregation named Mercy Chapel in DeRidder Louisiana… On June 18 we met for the first time in a small worship center called "The Ignite Center." We are using this space rent free! We have been able to incorporate, set up our leadership team, and meet all of our financial responsibilities, including putting up two billboards for our ministry. In 2023 we will be considering joining the EMC, expanding our worship team, and our ministry as is appropriate.

In January of 2022 I received a phone call from Faith UMC asking if I could meet with the leadership of this church about what disaffiliation would look like... From January to May we met in person. It became evident that Faith community needed to either leave the UMC or close its doors. In April I met with a small group of Methodists who wanted to start a new work and I suggested that they join the Faith community in its journey. Then in May another miracle happened for both Mercy Chapel and the emerging Faith Church, a CPA agreed to establish both congregations with the state of Louisiana and secure our tax identification number at no charge to either congregation…

By August 2022 Faith Church voted unanimously to leave the UMC and as of January 1, 2023 is Faith Church of West Monroe. The first worship service together was July 3, 2022. January through May, Faith UMC averaged 18 in attendance. On July 3 we had 58 in worship and have averaged 45 to 50 every Sunday since. On Christmas eve we had 70! … On January 8, 2023 I became the supply pastor for Beulah Community Church (EMC) in Calhoun Louisiana. Today I am re-living my first days of ministry. In those days I served three churches, worked as a salesman and a night watchman. We on January 8 will serve 3 congregations, sell insurance, and teach a community Bible study. These are exciting days!

Debra Miller

From Pastor Debra’s 2022 Ministry Report: We give God all the praise and glory for this year! There have been some difficult times for all of us, but God has kept us through it all. The church has started to rebuild its congregation with the addition of several families that have come to us. Families from many years ago revisiting and new families coming into our church.

The worship team is once again running at full strength, praise the Lord!! We are grateful for Leilani learning to play the piano and singing, Josh back on drums, Daniel back on the bass, Michael Jr back on guitar and Melinda and Ayla singing to the Lord. Pray for all these who volunteer. We thank Kory, Tyler, Joel and Michelle for all their dedication to making our sound and video a success.

I am excited about the new Stephen’s ministry program… we have 2 enrolled in that specific training and I am hoping for more this year. Children’s ministry is running very well. Alexis is enrolling in the Haggard School ministry track as she takes steps to become a youth pastor, and Melinda plans to also enroll as she explores which direction she wants to go. I will be going with Alexis to our camp in Virginia for their senior camp, to help expose Alexis to some of our Youth activities of our denomination.