The Church of God in Chile expresses its gratitude for support and aid given by brothers and sisters in the United States, Latin America and Europe following the 8.8-point earthquake that affected a large part of the country.

“We are very thankful for the gesture of love and unity,” writes Chilean national leader, pastor Alberto Martínez Jordán. “We value your prayers, your words of encouragement and your support.”

Warner Pacific College named to President’s Honor Roll, receives national recognition for its commitment to community service

PORTLAND, Ore.— The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has honored Warner Pacific College with a place on the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service efforts and service to America’s communities. This is the highest federal recognition a school can achieve for its commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. This marks the second consecutive year Warner Pacific has been so honored.

The first-ever postage stamp featuring Warner Sallman’s Head of Christ painting will be released March 24 by the Åland Islands, an autonomous province of Finland located between Finland and Sweden. The stamps will be available for purchase worldwide through Åland Post Stamps, while U.S. collectors may purchase stamps through Nordica, Åland’s distributor in New York.

With more than half a million dollars in donations received and the on-site assessments completed, Church of God Ministries (CGM) calls for individuals and congregations to sign up for work teams to go to Haiti as part of the relief and recovery operations. These teams will provide the labor force to work side by side with the Haitian people to complete the projects identified in phase two of the strategic response plan developed by the Disaster Relief Committee (DRC).

By Sam Collins

We Christians tend to pride ourselves on our devotion to the truth. Nevertheless, sometimes our truthfulness is a bit elastic, like people who write ad copy claiming that someone with the face of a pit bull can be transformed into a Penelope Cruz facsimile simply by glopping on generous quantities of some overpriced beauty goo.

Take the matter of seeking God and the things of God. To hear us talk and testify, one might think that our desire to bask in God’s presence never ebbs or wanes. And I think we are largely sincere in expressing what we wish were the case. But, in reality, we human beings are easily distracted. For that reason, our desire for God can rise and fall like the nausea-inducing deck of a ship at sea.

by Maddie Follis

The third time’s a charm, or so the old saying goes. That is the hope for the third annual Global Communion that will take place at this summer’s North American Convention (NAC) in Anderson, Indiana. The first two Global Communions were great, but this year the organizers hope to engage even more people in this powerful worship service of celebration and Communion; last year, people in thirty-two countries participated.

Hundreds are believed dead following a devastating mudslide that destroyed communities on the slopes of Mount Elgon, in eastern Uganda, on Sunday, February 28. To respond to this immediate need and help alleviate the suffering, Church of God Ministries is sending $5,000 in Disaster Relief Funds to career missionaries Tim and Colleen Stevenson.

By Che-Che Mobley

“Serving Christ through serving women and equipping them for ministry” has been a tag line for the women’s ministries of the Church of God for many years. Although this is a blanket statement that is all-inclusive, making a conscious effort to put these words into action requires intentionality and effort. Several countries in which there is a viable Church of God presence have their own productive and active women’s ministries. Yet the ministry to women through the Church of God in the United States has been focused mainly on those who are English-speaking.

By David Miller

Church of God believers in Chile spent several anxious days following Saturday’s devastating earthquake, unable to learn the fate of pastors José y Marcela Cisterna and their 3 children. The family had traveled to Los Angeles, Chile, a small city near the quake’s epicenter, to visit relatives. Due to damage to the country’s telecommunications and transportation systems, contact with both the Cisternas and their extended family was impossible.

By Rob Ginter—Staff Writer

Bluebank (KY)—First Church of God’s youth pastor has compassion for serving not only youth but also the addicted, downtrodden and disabled. Dallas McKinney is not only a youth pastor but is employed at the Morehead Inspiration Center (MIC) and Community Alternatives of Kentucky (CAKY).

“At first it was just a job with Community Alternatives but it quickly became more than that,” McKinney said. “They’re people that can’t take care of themselves and they are in situations that they didn’t really plan on. I feel like I’ve been blessed with more than enough. I’ve been blessed to have a good home, good parents, a good fiancée, and a really good life up to this point. I’ve been able to go to school and have been pretty financially secure; God has kept me pretty safe.