North Central District News

@UPDATES Local Ministry Grant: Does your church have an idea for reaching the lost, impacting your community, or making disciples? Has that idea or vision remained just out of reach due to financial resources? The North Central District is offering a grant of up to $1,500 to help five churches put that idea into action! You can apply HERE. Applications are due July 15, 2016. Wakarusa Missionary Church welcomes Rev. Chris Knight as their new Senior Pastor. Chris is our former superintendent and has spent the last three years at Nappanee Missionary as an associate pastor. Chris begins at WMC on July 10. The North Central District would like to congratulate Rev. Gary Hinkle on 30 years of ministry at Bremen Missionary Church. Gary's last Sunday was June 26 and is now retired after 48 total years in ministry. We are so thankful for you, Gary! Congratulations to Rev. Jacob LaBounty (Zion, Elkhart). Jacob was ordained on June 19. Congratulations to Pastor Josh Fisher! He received his credentials on June 14. Josh is an Associate Pastor at Bethel Missionary Church. Regional Pastor's Meetings: 2017 Budget Discussion/Approval. Times and Locations will be announced at a later date. Be sure to mark your calendars and save the date! Thursday, August 18 - Central and Western Regional Meeting Friday, August 19 - Eastern Regional Meeting Prairie Camp giving is now available online! You can pay your pledges or give a donation by clicking HERE. @POSTINGS Chapel Hill Missionary Church, Jones, MI is looking for a part-time (20 hours/week) Director of Christian Education. Contact Rev. Ken Bontreger at kenbontreger@gmail.com if interested. Summit Church, Niles, MI is looking for a full-time Children's Director. Please contact Ann Feltz at ann@summitniles.com. Granger Missionary Church has Cave Quest Vacation Bible School materials that they would like to pass on to another church! If you're interested in the materials, call Pastor Brent at 574-272-2410. @EVENTS A special Prairie Camp Prayer Meeting will take place on Saturday, July 16 at 9:00 a.m. Rev. Joel Gentz (Bethel Missionary) will lead this event as you walk throughout camp and pray for the upcoming Family Camp. All are welcome! Whether you plan to attend Family Camp or not (of course we hope you do!) we encourage you to come and pray over the grounds and the hearts that will be impacted. Family Camp is coming! Join us at Prairie Camp July 16-24 for Family Camp! Check out the website for information about our speakers and a schedule of activities! You don't want to miss it! Teen Camp Youth Night: Wednesday, July 20 7:00-9:30pm Prairie Camp Teen Tent Speaker: Laura Bulgrien Worship: Bethel College Worship Band Bring your youth group and blankets to sit on! Stay after for...Night Night with Aaron Charles! Popcorn, pop, special guests and games! 2016 JOY Rally: 1:00pm on July 21, 2016 at Prairie Camp Speaker: Dr. Wayne Gerber, former Bethel College professor and pastor will be sharing about his missions trip to India. Music: Alisa Bennett, Granger Missionary Church Wonderful desserts will be provided before the program Looking Ahead: Teen Camp 2016 July 17-23 Register HERE. Pastor & Spouse Retreat September 12-13 @NETWORKING Refugee Sunday: In light of the international refugee crisis that is challenging our world, this is something that you might want to consider. The Willow Creek Association and World Vision together are calling churches to respond to this crisis. They are inviting churches to host a Refugee Sunday so that families in your church might fulfill God's call to alleviate suffering. Click HERE for more information. Missionary Church, Inc. recently reported that in a 2012 survey more than 40% of churches do not have an online presence. Church websites are a must these days. Click HERE and HERE for some helpful information if you would like to improve or create a website for your church. TESOL Informational Meetings: The world is coming to our doorstep in the many people that are immigrating to the United States. These newcomers to America are all around us. One of the open doors to minister to them is to help them to learn how to speak English. TESOL stand for "Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages." The Institute for TESOL Studies at Huntington University is holding informational meetings to help you learn more about teaching English as a ministry and the training opportunities that exist to better equip you. Those meetings will be held in Ft. Wayne on: Saturday, July 30, 2016 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at Emmanual Community Church (12222 W. Jefferson Blvd.) in Mark/Luke Room, enter door 3. Also on Saturday, September 24 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at First Assembly of God in Ft. Wayne (1400 W. Washington Center Rd). Room 45a/b, enter door 16. An RSVP is requested HERE. Center for Congregations Presents: Vibrant Youth Ministry in Indiana. This is a live online event that will take place on Thursday, July 28 from 6:30-8:00pm (Eastern) and 12-1:30pm on Friday, July 29. This workshop is free! You will learn about integrating youth ministry into the mission and strategy of the whole congregation, the role of sequential learning, the importance of matching curriculum to human development, the balance between safety and challenge, and the energy derived by creating memorable experiences that last a lifetime. For more information and to register click HERE. Global Leadership Summit is approaching! August 11-12, 2016 will be this year's Summit. Nappanee Missionary Church will again be a site for the Summit! If you still need to register, please click HERE. SPA invites you to join them for the Walk the Walk 5k Run and Walk on Saturday, August 27 at Island Park, Elkhart. SPA Women's Ministry Homes is a Christ-centered, residential treatment program that empowers women to address the root causes of life-controlling issues and addictions in order to live productive lives of recovery. For more information about SPA or to sign up for the 5k, please click HERE.    @PRAYER Dr. Al Beutler reports that despite some changes in his blood and white platelet numbers, his oncologist is pleased that his situation is stable and doesn't need to see him for another two months. He updated that the peripheral vision in his eye has been lost, but he continues eye drops  in an attempt to keep the pressure down. His right eye is performing normally. Dr. Beutler also reports that there is little evidence of the shingles that was on the left side of his wife, Barbara's, face. Fortunately, the spot on her left eye is healed and vision in that eye is similar to what it was prior to shingles. Praise the Lord! The Beutlers thank you for your continued prayer and support. Please continue to remember Ken Chupp (Warsaw) and his wife Diane as she continues treatments for cancer. Rev. Don Rohrer (Nappanee) has had four surgeries on his right eye over the past three weeks. Don reports that he last surgery was to repair a detached retina. He has been living face down for the last two weeks to allow the eye to heal. Don goes to the doctor this week and he is hoping that the doctor will remove some of his restrictions. He won't know about his eyesight for several more weeks. Please remember Don and his wife, Donna, during this difficult time of healing and recovery. We pray that his eyesight is restored and that the doctor gives him a good report! Rev. Lloyd George (Galien) had a prostate biopsy done that came back positive for cancer. He will be starting hormone therapy in the near future. Please pray for Lloyd, as he also lost his wife last month. May he experience God's strength and healing at this time.