Across the Nation, mid-December 2014

The church plant just celebrated its fifth anniversary.

Members meet at the Holiday Inn in Bridgeport but hope to move into their own leased space in early 2015.
MICHIGAN
LAPEER — The Lapeer Church of Christ’s recent fourth annual community carnival and car show drew more than 1,200 people, event coordinators Katy Weiss and Dave Wright said.

Weiss said the free event offers a safe, fun environment for families.

“Our congregation is service-oriented, and we like to make a difference in the community, so we thought doing something  like this would allow us to reach out to the community and touch lives,” she said.

This year’s carnival featured a prayer tent, and a woman with terminal cancer asked to be baptized, church member Jerry Brackney said.

“After a short Bible study, a group of us went inside to complete her obedience to Christ,” Brackney said. “She continues to attend as her health will allow.”

Children enjoy a pie-eating contest at the carnival hosted by the Lapeer Church of Christ in Michigan. (PHOTO PROVIDED BY JERRY BRACKNEY) NEW YORK
ROME — “Looking Beyond the Lens: Reading and Interpreting the Bible” served as the theme for the recent Northeast Bible Conference, hosted by the Rome Church of Christ.

Organizers and keynote speakers were James Glasscock, minister for the Early Church of Christ in Texas; Rob Shaver, minister for the Utica Church of Christ in New York; Clarence Campbell, minister for the South County Church of Christ in Wakefield, R.I.; and Will Spina, minister for the Rome Church of Christ in New York. Glasscock spent 10 years in the Northeast before returning to Texas.

“People came and went all weekend, but at our peak, we had about 45,” Spina said. “By Southern standards, that is not a lot of people, but by New York standards, that was an excellent turnout.”
OHIO
DAYTON — Two neighboring Churches of Christ on the west side of Dayton have become one.

The Collegiate Heights and Gard Avenue congregations recently held their first combined service.

Both congregations had been losing members and recognized the opportunity to merge after the Collegiate Heights minister resigned a few months ago, said Leslie Garvin, daughter of Collegiate Heights elder Alvin Jones.

The new Church of Christ at Germantown Pike will worship in the Collegiate Heights building, as it is bigger, with Roger Henderson, the current Gard Avenue preacher, assuming the role of lead minister.