The new student population at Warner University for the 2010 academic year has increased by 33% compared to the fall 2009 academic year for traditional undergraduate students.  This represents the largest incoming group of students in the history of Warner University. 

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When I boarded the plane to head to Berlin, Germany, with a group of students from Anderson University, I knew my life would change. I knew I would be seeing a part of the world that I had only read about, that I would see what it feels like to be a stranger in a foreign land. I knew that I would have to eat new foods and stay in a stranger’s house. I even knew that I would be serving those in desperate situations in the name of Jesus Christ.

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By Sam Collins

I have never been very good at being in step with the times. This was as true in my adolescence as it is in my dotage. While my Beatles-influenced high school brethren were growing their hair long and shaggy, my cranium was so closely cropped that my head looked like a mobile peach-fuzz farm.

Not that that is a particularly praiseworthy characteristic. There are occasions when being behind the times can be a considerable problem. For example, using leeches to reduce a fever (an approach that Greek physicians used way back in the fourth century BC) could leave your brow sizzling and your cardiovascular system three or four quarts low on precious red bodily fluids.

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On August 4, Karen and I began our fourteenth year serving as missionaries to Ecuador. At times it seems that we have been here our whole lives, but at other times it seems we just arrived yesterday. We were, and are, sure of our call to serve here. We have been so privileged to watch a growing vibrant church mature and expand.

We were attending the Ofelia church one Sunday in July. They were having another baptism. This time eleven new converts were following the Lord’s commandment to repent and be baptized. Two things moved us as we participated in the service that day.

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The World Ministry Advance team at Church of God Ministries announces the release of the 2011 stewardship/faith promise missions resource material with the theme:

Global Transformation:
A Vision That Captures Hearts and Inspires Passion.

As congregational missions leaders prepare and plan for 2011 faith promise or missions emphasis events, we stand ready to partner with the local church by providing stewardship resources. The vision and mission of Church of God Ministries to “transform culture by being the body of Christ” challenges us to join together in reaching the lost for him. Our partnership allows us to accomplish far more together than we could by working independently.

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“It’s funny that I’m a nursing major because I know that I don’t want to be a nurse,” said Sarah Boesing, a junior at Anderson University, “I know what I want to do: Break the Grey.”

Break the Grey exists to show the love and hope of Jesus Christ by serving and supporting families facing childhood cancer or other life altering illnesses.

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The Anderson University School of Theology recently launched a new website offering a fresh look for the seminary while adding a number of new features. The site may be accessed at www.anderson.edu/sot/.  New features include seminary news and events integrated throughout the site; links to the seminary’s presence on social network sites including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn; improvements to navigation; free sample classes; seminary videos; and convenient access to chapel audio podcasts.

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Church of God Ministries is pleased to announce the appointment of Terrence and Christy Van Dam as special assignment missionaries (SAMs) to Japan. They are scheduled to return to western Tokyo in January, 2011, where they will support the ministry of Sei-ai Gakusha (a collection of Christian preschools/community education centers) and serve with Nishi-Kunitachi Church of God.

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Anderson, Ind.  --- Anderson University earned a place in the top tier among Regional Universities - Midwest in the 2011 edition of Best Colleges by U.S. News and World Report. The exclusive rankings, which include more than 1,400 schools nationwide, are available today online, and will also be published in the September issue of U.S. News & World Report, on newsstands starting August 31. This marks the seventh consecutive year AU has ranked.

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Barney Warren would be proud. Proud, of course, of his God, who gave Warren the gift of songwriting. This year in particular, Warren would be amazed at the reach of his ministry. Yes, Church of God people continue to be blessed by his songs today, but there’s more. What appears to be a first of this magnitude is one example of how the Reformation Movement is seeing its original message of unity and holiness come to pass. While there is much work yet to be done, Church of God influence has permeated other traditions, denominations, and cultures—and, it continues to do so today.

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The tassel’s worth the hassle! Forty-five students from Kima International School of Theology recently reached an important milestone in their lives: graduation. It was the fifteenth graduation ceremony at KIST, the Church of God institute for higher education in Kenya. Located in the highlands of the country, only thirty miles from the equator, KIST has an enrollment of about one hundred students. Current students, former students, family, and friends all joined in the event, which lasted about three hours on Saturday, July 24. The ceremony and celebrations featured the formalities that usually come with such an event but were carried out in a style uniquely beautiful to the culture.

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“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others,” (2 Timothy 2:2). This is the verse of scripture that Dave and Kathy Simpson, missionaries to Bulgaria for the past five years, used to conclude their July 2010 edition of Plovdiv Perspectives, a newsletter of excerpts from Kathy’s journal, which chronicles the couple’s experiences on the mission field. It also captures the heart of the education and training that two of their friends from Bulgaria were able to receive at the International Youth Convention of the Church of God, which was held in Orlando, Florida in early July. Tsonka, experienced leader in the Plovdiv congregation, along with Gabriela, 18-year-old developing leader, were blessed to attend IYC 2010 with the Park Place Church of God group. The entire journey with Dave and Kathy included time spent across much of the eastern half of the United States, two Indiana churches, and a camp meeting at Yellow Creek Lake in Indiana.  For Tsonka and Gabriela, it was the adventure of a lifetime.

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The love of God must be shown through action. It may be easy to say, “I love you,” or “Jesus loves you,” but how will people ever experience this love if it is not accompanied by action? When disaster strikes, communities are often caught off guard and left with tremendous needs. The Church of God has a resource that enables God’s love to be shown through action when the unexpected occurs. Church of God congregations and individual donors replenish the Disaster Relief Fund and the Hunger Relief Fund to provide immediate response to tragedies, such as the earthquake that struck Haiti in January.

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Author Donna Thomas has a dare for Christians.

“This challenge is for the Christian today not to be ordinary – not to just do what’s been done before,” Thomas said. “God tells us to sacrifice ourselves and that means to take chances in obedience to our Lord.”

Thomas’ new book, The “Why Not?” Factor: Chuck Thomas, Trailblazer, is the latest offering from MACU Press. Thomas hopes the book stirs Christians to be bold for their Savior.

Thomas knows about risks for the Lord. She and her late husband, Chuck, escorted more than 6,000 people on mission trips...

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By Carl Stagner

It was a disaster of unparalleled proportions. The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that rocked Haiti caused the deaths and injuries of hundreds of thousands of citizens, the destruction of homes and businesses, and severe emotional wounds. Because of the massive volunteer turnout and the funds that Church of God Ministries and other organizations have sent to the area, the healing process for the church community and beyond has begun. While there is much left to do, much has already been accomplished by God’s grace and through the outstanding leadership of the Haiti disaster relief effort. Phil Murphy, Church of God Ministries’ field coordinator for the work projects in Haiti, has led with the heart of a servant for the past five months. Now Art Clawson, who alongside his wife was a missionary in Haiti for four years, will be stepping up to manage the relief effort.

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By Sam Collins

Many of us would sooner admit to being Lucifer’s double-first cousin than fess up to harboring prejudice of any kind. As the offspring of children of the Old South, over the years I’ve heard a number of kin and acquaintances stoutly maintain that they did not have a prejudiced bone in their bodies. Their self-defense has been adamant, in spite of the fact that I know some of them well enough to be pretty certain that if prejudice could be converted into calcium that they would have a bone-density factor that would enable them to withstand a sledge hammer assault without sustaining so much as a hairline fracture or a chipped elbow.

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When students from around the world gather at the International Youth Convention of the Church of God, the floors on which they stand had better be sturdy. As the worship begins, thousands of feet begin pounding the floors in time with the music. Keep in mind, it’s not your lazy, toe-tapping variety—it’s thousands of students jumping into the air, lifting their hands and their hearts to the Lord in worship. Yet a physical workout is not the only kind of fitness these students pursued while in Orlando in early July.

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By Linda Teeple

If you live in the Midwest, life tends to revolve around basketball, whether or not you’re interested in the sport. The excitement is contagious—just ask the members of Living Word Church of God in Flint, Michigan.

In 2007, Pastor Tim McKenzie was asked to coach basketball for Mount Morris Alternative High School. His formidable team of athletes won back-to-back Class A State Championships. While both players and parishioners proclaim McKenzie an outstanding coach, he and his team had an enthusiastic Living Word cheer-block filling the bleachers.

A “Real-Time Redemption Story”

McKenzie recognized that his coaching experience could open up an avenue for his congregation to reach out to the community. Parishioner Elgie Bright coined the term Avenue of Possibility for the two-way street that allows their congregation to experience a “real-time redemption story.” Seven teammates have accepted Christ and been baptized at Living Word.

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If you have not yet submitted your church or minister registration to Church of God Ministries, we encourage you to please do so as soon as possible.

A late fee will be charged for registrations postmarked after August 13, 2010.

The final deadline for registering is still September 17, 2010. All registrations must be completed by or bear a postmark with that date.

To register online, please visit www.chog.org/AnnualReg.

To register by fax, send your registration to 765-642-5652.

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The presence of the Holy Spirit was felt in a powerful way by those who attended this the 124th North American Convention of the Church of God, June 25–30. As people from across the country and around the world once again gathered in Anderson, Indiana, for the annual event, the fresh wind of the Spirit continued to blow across the church. In a post-convention online survey, 95 percent of respondents indicated they felt the Spirit of the Lord moving during the convention. It was a powerful worship experience, and if you were one of those who were unable to attend, you can still participate.

In spite of the third venue change in recent years, conventioneers seemed to enjoy the return to the traditional convention grounds, with the services held in Reardon Auditorium and at Park Place Church of God. The establishment of the pedestrian mall on Fifth Street was a welcomed addition to the convention experience, creating a gathering point for people to fellowship with one another.

The North American Convention of the Church of God (formerly known as Anderson Campmeeting) is a memorable tradition and has served the church well. However, as times have changed so have the needs and interests of our society. Recognizing the declining trend in attendance at the convention, the 2009 General Assembly formed a study committee to examine the viability of the convention. This committee has contracted for a detailed research program to be conducted that will seek to obtain the representative thoughts and opinions from across the Church of God regarding this important event in the life of the church.

Efforts continue to restore the Church of God Web site (www.chog.org) following the critical hardware failure experienced on July 7, 2010. Church of God Ministries has been working with the service provider in an attempt to recover the information, products, and data previously displayed on our Web site.

Over the next few days and weeks, we will rebuild the Web site, restoring the information previously available and posting updated news, information, and materials to support the ministries of the church.

We appreciate your patience in this matter and request your supporting prayers as our IT department works through this challenging issue.