As we prepare to send this issue of Momentum on its way, we are working through what seem like a mountain of follow-up details to last week's meetings of Leadership Council and General Conference Board. With health insurance, the pension fund, two leadership searches, Cooperative Ministries, and the visioning process for 2015 all on the agenda, there was a lot for the two groups to discuss. And there will be a lot for us to report to you next month. In the days ahead, please pray for the General Conference Board members as they seek God's direction in dealing with current challenges and in visioning future opportunities for our church.

Remembering Bishop Ken Letner

In the final months of his life and even as he continued to fight hard against the cancer that had invaded his brain, Bishop Ken Letner planned out the details of his memorial service. So when several hundred friends and family members gathered at the Grantham BIC Church on Tuesday, September 9 to celebrate Ken’s life and ministry, his voice was clearly evident in the music, the scripture readings, and in the choice of speakers. Continuing the theme of hope that he had communicated via frequent email messages during his seven-month-long battle with cancer, the service was Ken’s closing testimony to the joy that comes in loving and being loved by Jesus Christ. Read more >>

Health insurance initiative pushing toward
November 1 sign up

With less than a month remaining until the October 15 sign-up deadline, we are trusting God for participation by at least 90 percent of eligible congregations in the BIC Church Health Plan (note that the deadline has been extended by two weeks). Pray that General Church leaders will be able to provide good information, helpful counsel, and practical support for congregational decision-makers. We’ve made our best effort to post on the denomination website everything a church board, treasurer, or pastor might want to know about the plan. If you’ve not checked out the health insurance pages at bic-church.org, we encourage you to do so soon.

IBICA paves the way for global cooperation

When the members of the International BIC Association executive committee met in Toronto earlier this month, they continued on with the business they had begun last year in London: developing common statements on dogma (core doctrines), doctrine (distinctive convictions), and structures. The primary aim of this year’s meeting was to fine-tune a governing document for an international association of BIC churches, including criteria for local churches with an organizational framework that can be applied around the world. A late-breaking purpose was to develop a formal statement in response to the persecution in India.

The global BIC community has moved into a new day as nine of what were once mission fields of the North American BIC Church are now self-governing and self-supporting conferences or associations—and are themselves involved in mission outreach in adjacent countries. This is an exciting time as we transition from a parenting role to peer-to-peer relationships with BIC churches around the world.

The IBICA executive committee includes: Felix Rafael Curbello (Cuba): Thuma Hamukang’andu (Zambia); Warren Hoffman (USA); Don McNiven (USA); Danisa Ndlovu (Zimbabwe); and Bijoy Roul (India). Darrell Winger (Canada) supports the group with administrative assistance.

Reshaping MCC for the 21st century

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), the international relief and development arm of the worldwide community of Brethren in Christ and Mennonite Churches, is engaged in a visioning exercise titled “New Wine/New Wineskins: Reshaping MCC for the 21st Century.” The initiative is aimed at creating a common vision and revised structure for MCC. The process will incorporate the voices and best ideas of the entire MCC community around the globe. It holds the potential to unify MCC and increase its capacity for meaningful impact worldwide.

Three core questions are guiding the process: What task is God calling MCC to in the 21st century? (What is MCC's purpose?) Who is "the keeper of the MCC soul?" (To whom is MCC accountable?) What structure will ensure that MCC values and principles are effectively expressed at every level and drive exemplary programming? (How should MCC structure itself?)

MCC is desirous of receiving input from a wide audience and so has made it easy for people to speak into the process via a comment section on the New Wine/New Wineskins website. MCC is an important partner to Brethren in Christ Churches, and we encourage Momentum readers to participate in the visioning project.

Order guides for BIC Week of Prayer & Fasting

For the last decade, Brethren in Christ churches across North America have devoted the first week of each New Year to prayer and fasting under the direction of Bishop Rob Patterson, the denomination's point person on prayer. As a resource to walk participants through this year’s time of reflection, BIC Communications has created “Fruitfulness: Living a life worthy of the Lord,” a week-long guide filled with daily Scripture readings, meditations, and prayers from BIC leaders in each Conference.

Printed copies of the booklet are available in both English and Spanish and cost 25 cents each. Order guides for yourself and your church now by contacting the Communications Office at biccomm@bic-church.org. All orders must be received by November 14, though earlier requests are greatly appreciated!

Help in living with dual citizenship

The current issues of the denomination’s print publications, Shalom! and In Part, both address the challenge that followers of Christ face as citizens of two kingdoms, one of this earth and the other of God. Former General Secretary Darrell Winger, writing in In Part, reminds us that “individual Christians, congregations, and denominations must struggle to find the ‘right’ connection between the two, and the Brethren in Christ are no exception.” Read more >>

Leadership searches underway

Within the next few weeks, a search committee comprised of four representatives from the Susquehanna Conference along with the two General Church Leaders, will be convened to begin the sad task of naming a bishop to replace Ken Letner. In addition and as was announced when Chris Sharp was named as interim executive director for BIC World Missions, the search committee has been called together again toward the goal of naming a permanent ED. Please pray for wisdom on the part of committee members and for openness to God’s leading by those who are nominated to the searches.

A world of reasons for prayer

In the wake of continuing turmoil within the U.S. economic system, perhaps the greatest danger facing North American churches is that we will be tempted away from our global commitments. Within the BIC community alone, there is a wide world of reasons for prayer. Read more >>

Record enrollment in the Directed Studies Program

In mid-August, when only 45 students had registered for the fall term of the Directed Studies Program, Dorothy Gish, dean of Equipping for Ministry, told Donna Sturr, registrar for the program, that they needed to believe God for an enrollment of 70. Dorothy admits that she didn’t pray about it very much, but Donna did. And God answered with 71 DSP students. In addition to the expected strong participation by pastors, the current bumper crop of learners includes among other backgrounds an antique dealer, a car enthusiast, a daycare worker, and a teacher. In short, DSP isn’t just for pastors. It’s for anyone who wants to perfect his or her ability to serve.

If you’d like to get in on the learning, registration is now open for the spring term. Short descriptions of course offerings are provided on the denomination website, along with an easy link to online registration.

Church attendance makes for good students

If you want to boost your teenager’s grade point average, take the kid to church; or so suggests a study by Jennifer Glanville, a sociologist at the University of Iowa, and David Sikkink and Edwin Hernadez of the University of Notre Dame. The research team found that church attendance has as much effect on a teen’s GPA as whether the parents earned a college degree. In addition, students in grades 7 to 12 who went to church weekly had lower dropout rates and felt more a part of their schools. (The results of the study are detailed in the winter 2008 issue of the Sociological Quarterly.)

We’re thinking of putting a research team to work on the long term impact of YouthQuest. It could be interesting.

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