General Conference Board

Bill Strausbaugh was appointed chair of the General Conference Board in 2007 and has served as a member-at-large since 2006. A member of Mechanicsburg (Pa.) BIC Church, Bill has served on his congregation’s church board for over 20 years, and has also been part of the Susquehanna Conference Board.

A graduate of Messiah College, Bill holds a master’s degree in computer science and doctorate in higher education, which he has put to good use first as a professor, then as a basketball coach, and finally, as an administrator at Messiah College.

In the coming years, Bill prays that our denominational goals for church planting and evangelism will be realized and that our uniqueness will be an asset in welcoming all.  As he reflects on who we are as Brethren in Christ, Bill particularly resonates with the fine balance between right belief and right living that characterizes the life and thought of our denomination.

Bill lives in Mechanicsburg, Pa., with his wife, Sandra and their four children.

Wanda Heise is the assistant chair and member-at-large of the General Conference Board, serving that body since July 2006. She is deeply involved in her home congregation, Harrisburg (Pa.) BIC, and also served on the Atlantic Conference Board of Directors for more than a decade.

A registered nurse who has served for a number of years in a private counseling practice and at Paxton Ministries (Harrisburg, Pa.), Wanda has a passion and a gift for ministering to marginalized people. She also brings a concern for maintaining clear, careful, and appropriate communication of our faith to her position on GCB.

Brethren in Christ since birth, Wanda particularly appreciates the denomination’s peace position and our careful, consensus-building, grassroots approach to decision-making.

Wanda lives with her husband, Glen, in Harrisburg, Pa. They have two adult daughters.

Elizabeth Brown has worked as the general treasurer of the Brethren in Christ Church since 2000.

An active member of Chambersburg (Pa.) BIC Church, Elizabeth has been involved in many areas of ministry over the years, including music ministry, youth work, and prison ministry. In addition to her role as treasurer, Elizabeth has served in various areas at the denominational level, such as the Board for Stewardship Services, the BIC Foundation’s board of directors, the 1998 YouthQuest planning committee, and the Counsel on Women in Ministry and Leadership.

For over 20 years, she has owned her own accounting business, and brings a very high view of integrity to her position as general treasurer. Involved with the BIC since 1979, Elizabeth particularly appreciates our emphasis on living simply, which frees us to love, give, and serve.

A graduate of Penn State University, Elizabeth lives with her husband, Allen, and four children in Chambersburg, Pa.

Deborah Wiles, a pastor of the Rock Island Church in Herington, Kans., and the Midwest Conference representative to the General Conference Board since 2008, has served the BIC Church for almost a year. She has previously served on the Midwest Conference’s Board for Christian Life and Church Health Team and currently sits on the Midwest Conference Board of Directors.

Passionate about preaching and teaching the word of God, Deborah has given of her time and energy as a Christian education teacher and youth leader, enlightening and discipling others. Drawn to the denomination’s firm love of Jesus Christ and its commitment to sound biblical truth, Deborah has actively participated in BIC life for 23 years.

She lives in Ramona, Kans., with her husband Stan.

Rachel Diaz has served on General Conference Board as a representative for the Southeast Conference since 2005. Now an attorney, Rachel has been an active participant in the development of the South Florida cluster of BIC churches since childhood.

A member of La Roca Firme BIC in Hialeah, Fla., Rachel previously volunteered in a number of BIC congregations in the areas of worship, youth work, small groups, translation, and legal assistance. She also served for four years on the BIC Board for World Missions.

Rachel’s unique perspective as a bilingual, urban attorney is an asset both to the churches in South Florida and to the larger denomination, and it is her prayer that the BIC Church would become a prominent presence in its surrounding society—strengthened, united, and growing to become better at reaching out into the world for the sake of God’s Kingdom.

Rachel and her husband, Hamlet, live in Miami.

Becky Mashinteris passionate about the local church. Having served in ministry with her husband, Charlie, for 27 years, Becky was appointed to the General Conference Board as a member-at-largein 2006.

Since 1992, the Mashinters have pastored the Wainfleet (ON) congregation, where Becky works as the director of women’s ministries. Gifted in administration, Becky is always working to support families and women of all ages, while finding creative ways to talk about Jesus with lost people.

A particular prayer of hers is that small, rural churches will grow, be encouraged, and bear fruit. When asked what she likes most about the BIC, her answer is both theological and relational: the combination of Anabaptist and Pietist values and the strong brotherhood/sisterhood that we Brethren in Christ share.

Becky lives in Wainfleet, ON, with her husband. They have a daughter and two sons.

Fred Milleris the senior pastor at Cumberland Valley BIC (Dillsburg, Pa.) and has represented the Susquehanna Conference on the General Church Board since his appointment in August 2006. With 25 years of pastoral experience in the Evangelical Free Church and the BIC Church, Fred works ardently to foster discipleship and authentic spiritual community.

His passion for growing believer’s hearts led him to write You & God: An Invitation to Radical Living (2006, Evangel Press), a book on discipleship with a distinct Brethren in Christ flavor. In his nine years of experience with the BIC, Fred has taken part in denominational consultations on both stewardship and marriage.

A graduate of Drexel University (Philadelphia, Pa.), Fred worked as an electrical engineer before entering into full-time ministry. He and his wife Cathy are the parents of three adult children.

John Reitz, pastor of The Bridge Church in Hummelstown, Pa., has served on General Conference Board as a representative of the Atlantic Conference since 1998. With a particular concern for healthy families and marriages, John holds a Master of Divinity from Ashland (Ohio) Theological Seminary and a doctorate in ministry to marriage and family.

A pastor with the BIC since 1979, John has served on both Atlantic and General Conference Boards for Congregational Life. A trained marriage and family therapist, John advocates for teens as a member of the Lower Dauphin “Communities that Care” Key Leader Board.

A visionary, John is not afraid to innovate and take risks for the sake of the Kingdom. He especially appreciates the Brethren in Christ emphasis on down-to-earth, practical discipleship, and believes that, with our relational dynamics and core values, we are positioned to reach many people for Christ.

John lives in Hummelstown, Pa. with his wife, Teresa.

Don Shenk, a member of Chambersburg (Pa.) BIC Church, began serving on the General Church Board on behalf of the Allegheny Conference in 2006. A graduate of Messiah College, he served with BIC World Missions in Zimbabwe for 12 years. Now the director of Gospel Tide Broadcasting Association, Don serves his local congregation as an adult Sunday school teacher and as a deacon.

To his position on the GCB, Don brings a great deal of experience in cross-cultural ministry. As the world becomes more and more of a global village, Don’s greatest passion is to reach people for Jesus Christ and to bring them into the Church. Toward that end, he particularly appreciates the Brethren in Christ commitment to the Great Commission, which is reflected in our denominational mission statement and our vision for Impact 2010.

Don and his wife, Becky, live in Shippensburg, Pa. They have three children.

Tennyson Sider, a member of Stayner (Ontario) BIC Church, has represented the Canadian Conference on the General Church Board since 2002. In addition to numerous leadership roles in his local congregation, Tennyson has also served on the Canadian Conference leadership team, as well as Niagara Christian Community of Schools’ board of directors. He and his wife, Marsha, also volunteered for two years at the Timber Bay Indian Children’s Home in Saskatchewan when it was owned by the BIC.

Tennyson believes strongly in the mission of the denomination to support and sustain 325 healthy churches by 2010, and also appreciates the brotherhood of the denomination, which he feels welcomes the thoughts of all those involved while submitting to God’s leading.

Born into a BIC pastoral family, Tennyson has owned his own businesses for nearly 30 years, working as a plumber and as a turkey farmer.

Tennyson and Marsha live in Duntroon, Ontario. They have four adult daughters.

Steve Smith pastors the Upland (Calif.) BIC congregation and is the Pacific Conference representative to General Church Board. Brethren in Christ since birth, Steve ministered in a variety of church roles before his appointment to GCB in 2003.

He has led an Atlantic Conference pastors’ cluster group, and has also served on the board of directors for the Atlantic and Pacific Conferences, as well as BIC-affiliated Mile High Pines Camp.

Steve’s passion for leading people toward spiritual growth has characterized his 12 years in the pastorate, as well as his ministry as a worship leader, youth director, and founding member of a church plant.

Steve lives with his wife, Phyllis, and their five daughters in Upland, Calif.

Darrell Wingerhas a rich history of leadership within the Brethren in Christ Church. Having served as a pastor, missionary, bishop of the Canadian Conference, and general secretary of the denomination, Darrell currently works as community develoment pastor for The Meeting House congregation in Oakville, ON. He was appointed to GCB in 2006 as a member-at-large.

With gifts in leadership and organization, Darrell’s fervent desire is to see the BIC become an “emerging church” in the postmodern world. Committed to holistic outreach, Darrell prays that we will grow and expand into many new cultures and urban centers of North America, effectively moving into our culture with the message of Jesus.

A Doctor of Ministry candidate at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Darrell and his wife, Anna, live in Oakville with their three children.