On March 29-30, pastors from the south half of Texas came together for their second annual "Gathering." Although these pastors have several telephone conferences during the year, this Gathering is their main opportunity for face-to-face time together.

The 12 in attendance got to know each other better on a personal level, shared challenges and successes, and got advice from each other. At this spring’s Gathering spouses were included for the first time, and it was wonderful for pastoral couples to be able to share this special time.

The group met in the Executive Suite of a Comfort Inn south of San Antonio, Texas. Meeting in an executive suite worked well because two attendees could sleep in the suite bedrooms, a full kitchen was available in which to prepare meals, and there was a large living room area in which all could meet. It had an informal, "homey" feeling that seems to aid in open, frank discussions. Other attendees reserved their own rooms in the hotel, so everyone was housed close together.

The retreat began at 3 p.m. on Saturday and went till 3 p.m. on Sunday. Since several of the pastors work full-time non-pastoral jobs, this gave them time on the weekend to make the long drive to and from the Gathering. Because Texas is a big area, several had to drive (or fly) over 300 miles one-way. The group had easy-to-prepare foods, and everyone pitched in at mealtimes to help prepare and serve—which added to the time of fellowship. (Some of the best conversations occurred during cooking, eating and washing the dishes.)

There were times of worship music, group prayer, short devotionals and open discussions about a wide variety of topics. Lee Berger, the district pastoral leader, covered two or three "business" subjects, the group talked some about coaching/mentoring principles, and had a lot of fun taking and discussing the results of a personality profile that the participants filled out. But the vast majority of the time was spent in talking about whatever subjects were on the heart of those in attendance. Each person shared some "icebreaker" information about themselves. This was a great way to open the door for some deep, helpful discussions.

The group shared a lot about themselves over their 24 hours together, so they ended the Gathering in an extended time of heartfelt, personal and tear-filled prayer for one another—for personal needs and for ministry work.

For the third summer, Crossing Borders mission camp brought a variety of people (ages 13 to 68 this time) together to share God’s love with people in another nation and of another culture. Twenty-five missionaries-in-training came to the Texas/Mexico border June 23-29 from six U.S. states to participate in a week of reaching into Mexico with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Proving to be a truly "family camp," we not only had spouses and siblings attend, but we had three generations of the same family sharing missionary work together.

Crossing Borders is a "sampler camp" of hands-on missionary work, with attendees immersed in a wide variety of endeavors. This year we

Each day was long, hot, dirty, and transformational.

Crossing Borders’ slogan is "Crossing national, cultural and personal borders with the Good News of Jesus Christ." It is shocking to see the dramatic difference in economic levels. Differences between U.S. and Hispanic culture are also enlightening. But being hit with spiritual heart-change as personal borders are crossed may be the most lasting effect of the camp experience.

While it is our goal to give of ourselves wholeheartedly and to bring about a positive change in the lives of those we come to serve, each year finds our camp attendees receiving more than we give—in a fresh understanding of the love of God for all his children.

If you’re looking for new challenges to stimulate growth in your Christian walk, if you’re ready to reach outside yourself and invest in the lives of others, if you can accept the challenge of operating in a different culture, and if you want to share your heart and testimony with others who need to know Jesus, this camp may be right for you.

For information or to apply,
go to www.cbmission.org, send
an e-mail to info@cbmission.org, or write to: Crossing Borders, P.O. Box 554, Round Rock, Texas 78680.
Tentative dates for 2009 are June 22-28.

On June 16, Living Hope Christian Fellowship of Atlanta, GA, hosted an event for Youth for Christ. The special guest that evening was international star gospel singer Babbie Mason. The event was billed as an "Evening of Celebration and Connection."

Living Hope partnered with Youth for Christ to provide an evening of food and fellowship for a group of teenage mothers. The purpose of the event was to connect these young ladies to a caring church family. After the evening meal and icebreaker games, three members of Living Hope (Hadiya Allen, Helen Garrett and Brieanna Garrett) shared their testimonies to encourage the teens. The event concluded with a mini-concert by Ms. Mason. She performed songs from her new CD as well as crowd favorites, "Stop by the Church" and "God Has Another Plan." Greg Williams of Youth for Christ said, "Last night the church was being the church—this will make more young folks willing to stop by!"

For the past several years, members of Christ Community Church—a WCG congregation in Cincinnati, OH pastored by George Hart—has partnered with Cincinnati Urban Ministry Outreach (CUMO) for an annual mission to children in an inner-city community in the Cincinnati area. This year the mission occurred over a four-day period. Each day 150 to 200 children experienced God’s love through fun, worship and food provided by dozens of mission volunteers.

The mission reaches out to children through games, activities, worship and meals—all at no cost to the kids. Worship includes drama, puppetry, an object lesson, and praise music—all designed for children ages 5-12.

Worship is always centered on a biblical theme. This year the theme was based on 1 Timothy 4:12: "Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity." Each day’s object lesson focused on an aspect of this theme—encouraging the children to be an example of God’s love to others.

An important aspect of the mission is to connect children to ongoing Christian community. The primary means for this is to point them to the local CUMO congregation. This year the mission registered more than 120 kids and provided them with information about contacting CUMO pastor Pat Pugh, who will provide follow-up.

The mission team experienced deep unity and cooperation. The entire team worked closely together to provide a great time of fun for kids in the community. Each evening the mission team shared a time of devotions—opening their hearts together to the Lord and to one another in close Christian community.

There were 11 baptisms at camp and several who have committed to Jesus and will soon be baptized at home. Even the facility staff is becoming interested in our ministry and taking part in our programming… Happily, our campers went home wanting more!

Of the 186 campers at SEP Southern California, 82 were junior campers, ages 8-12, and 104 were senior campers, ages 12-18. The majority of the campers were from Southern California, but some traveled from Northern California, Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky,  Nevada, Ohio, Washington State, Pennsylvania, and Tijuana and Guadalajara, Mexico. 

The theme for camp this year was “Returning to the Father’s Heart” and throughout the entire week, the message of the Father’s inclusive love was expressed in all the chapels, Christian living classes, praise and worship, dorm life and activities. The analogy of the blood flow through the four chambers of the human heart was used as an outline for the chapel series and teachable moments throughout the daily activities.

Activities included archery, riflery, dance, canoeing, water polo, swimming, Christian living, prayer journey, splashball and more. Some special activities for the junior camp were creative arts, bugs & reptiles class, theme experience and an afternoon at a water slide park in Big Bear Lake. Some special activities for the senior camp were the high ropes challenge course, a class on digging deeper into God’s word.

SEP Southern California is a place where God’s love is not only shared but it is lived out. It is a place where people come to believe in Jesus, learn how to follow Jesus more faithfully and develop into leaders. This year, 15 of the 69 staff members (22%) had been campers at one time within the last seven years. May God continue to use SEP Southern California to draw people to himself, grow believers in the maturity of Jesus Christ and develop leaders who advance his kingdom of grace. For photos, see www.sepsocal.org

The Irish Autumn Harvest Festival will be held in Kenmare, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland. In addition to worship services, the range of activities includes fishing, golf, sightseeing, dining at restaurants and seeing other venues in this beautiful area of Ireland. Kenmare is called the Jewel in the Crown of the Kingdom of Kerry. If you have not visited here before, your visit will be very worthwhile, and if you have been here before, you know the return visit will be most worthwhile!

Self-catering accommodation in Kenmare for the festival/retreat is inexpensive, and more so for anyone willing to share accommodations! There is a large range of hotels and guest houses in the Kenmare area. If you’d like information on any alternative accommodation, please ask, and we will try to advise you.

The rate quoted for the self-catering holiday homes is per house, based on occupancy of up to five or six persons, for up to eight nights. When booking, it is your responsibility to arrange to share the cost with others who may be willing to share with you. West Coast Holiday takes booking for the charge of only €339 (approximately $US 505) per week.

Below are the postal address, telephone and fax numbers, email and website address for further information about the self-catering houses and how to book accommodations:

West Coast Holidays
16a Whitethorns
Castletroy, Limerick
Republic of Ireland

Tel: 353 61 335 799
Fax: 353 61 335 919
Email: info@westcoastholidays.ie
Website: www.westcoastholidays.ie

Should you desire clarification in any area, let us know, and we will help you. For any further details, contact Vic Scott at vicscott@indigo.ie

Grace Communion Seminary is pleased to announce that fall enrollment is open to WCG members who have bachelors degrees.  Program details, including application, course descriptions, and schedules, are now available at www.gcs.ambassador.edu.  New students must complete the application process before registering for classes.

At GCS, three graduate programs are available.  New students should apply for the Certificate of Theological Studies, which requires two theology courses and two biblical studies courses.  The second level is the Advanced Diploma in Christian Ministry.  It requires three more courses (one in church history and two in ministry).  The third level is the Master in Pastoral Studies, which requires seven more courses (a total of 14).  Requirements for each program can be seen on the website.

Administrators and professors of GCS are members of WCG.  You can view their brief biographies on our website, which can also be accessed from the WCG homepage.

Grace Communion Seminary emphasizes God’s great gift of grace and the communion we have in Christ with the Father and Jesus and one another through the Holy Spirit.
 

High school and college graduates - for a list of name, schools, etc., click here.

For announcements, click here.