Across the nation: ‘The Creator’s Design’
MATTOON, ILL. — The more Dr. Don Selvidge learns abou the intricacies of God’s design of the human body, the stronger his faith becomes, he says.“Throughout my career in the health field, I have been awed by the way the human body is ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ by God,” he said.A chiropractor and part-time minister for the DeWitt Avenue church, Selvidge writes a regular column called “The Creator’s Design for Health” for the Coles County Leader.Selvidge said the column presents “the details of the Creator’s intelligent design of the human body” and explains “how God gave careful attention to the food supply created to give the body what it needed for health and healing.”
FLORIDA
GAINESVILLE
“Consider Jesus” was the theme of a conference Jan. 12-14 that drew 50 singles to the University City church. Johnny Moore from the 10th Avenue church in Gainesville, David Jefferies from the Cross City church and Bruce Simer from the University City church spoke. “The goal … was to encourage each to reexamine their relationship to Jesus Christ and compare the superior example of Jesus to what the world has to offer,” said Jim Miller, a Pensacola resident who is active in singles ministry. For more information, see www.launchsingles.org.
ILLINOIS
CHICAGO
The Northwest church is sending a shipping container filled with rice, medication, clothing, Bibles, songbooks, evangelistic materials and other necessities to Guinea. Guinean minister Francis Musa will receive the container and distribute it to churches throughout the African country, including the church at the Borea Refugee Camp, Northwest minister Patrick Odum said. Odum said Richard and Aicha Cooper and their four children, now members at Northwest, came from the Borean camp a year and a half ago and told of the dire situation there.
MICHIGAN
LIVONIA
The Livonia church oversees World Christian Literature Outreach, a Bible correspondence course aimed at people who use English as a second language.
The materials are written at a sixth-grade or lower reading level and used in 15 countries, director Russ Lawson said.
“In the second week of January, we were approached by a group in Cairo, Egypt, asking permission to begin translating these study books into Arabic,” Lawson said.
Also, the ministry is converting the books to Adobe reader files so that they can be read or printed off the Internet.For more information, see www.wclo.net.
MISSISSIPPI
PASCAGOULA
The Central church remains active in reaching out to its community in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, minister John Dobbs said. About 40 percent of residents still cannot live in their homes, he said.
Anyone interested in volunteering or helping with evangelism can call Dobbs at (228) 324-0576 or see www.123jesus.com.
NEW JERSEY
SEWELL
The Pitman church recently made a $1 million “Reaching Out in Faith” commitment to help pay for a new building, minister Dan Cooper said. In 2005, the congregation bought a 7.5-acre plot for a new building. The church, which averages total attendance of about 300 each Sunday, has outgrown its two assemblies.
WESTFIELD
A recent areawide singing, with the theme “Wonderful Story of Love,” drew 200 people from about 15 New Jersey congregations to the Echo Lake church, minister Brian Nicklaus said. Men from a dozen congregations led a hymn, prayed or read a Scripture. “With congregations being smaller and spread out in Jersey, it is a great time of fellowship in addition to worship,” he said of the annual event.
OREGON
DAMASCUS
The Kingswood Church of Christ is named for the street where Arlee and Mike Webb live. That’s because the church meets in their home.
The Webbs said they felt a need to leave their established congregation for a place where people could come together to worship outside of a more formal church setting. Each Sunday, plastic chairs line both sides of their living room, and their laundry facilities become an impromptu buffet table, the Gresham Outlook reported. About 25 people worship at the home.
OHIO
ASHLAND
Squeezed in tight, all 230 to 250 people who attend the Steele Avenue church might fit in one service. But when the church’s new building opens this spring, it will hold 500 to 600 people, preaching minister Jeff Slater said. “Our congregation has been having two morning services for many years now, due to the fact that we couldn’t all fit in one,” Slater said. “We’ve also had parking problems and a lack of classrooms. The new building will address all of those problems.”
TEXAS
HOUSTON
About 70 preachers and leaders from Churches of Christ and independent Christian Churches attended a Jan. 9 dialogue. Steve Sandifer, a minister at the Southwest Central church, said attendees came from mainstream congregations as well as black, Spanish, non-class and non-institutional churches.
“The program was instructive in revealing the wide diversity among churches wearing the name Church of Christ as well as the commonality between some of our more progressive congregations and the independents,” Sandifer said. “Many left the meeting on a positive note looking forward to more discussions, while others were condemning of the liberal tendencies of their brethren.”
FLORIDA
GAINESVILLE
“Consider Jesus” was the theme of a conference Jan. 12-14 that drew 50 singles to the University City church. Johnny Moore from the 10th Avenue church in Gainesville, David Jefferies from the Cross City church and Bruce Simer from the University City church spoke. “The goal … was to encourage each to reexamine their relationship to Jesus Christ and compare the superior example of Jesus to what the world has to offer,” said Jim Miller, a Pensacola resident who is active in singles ministry. For more information, see www.launchsingles.org.
ILLINOIS
CHICAGO
The Northwest church is sending a shipping container filled with rice, medication, clothing, Bibles, songbooks, evangelistic materials and other necessities to Guinea. Guinean minister Francis Musa will receive the container and distribute it to churches throughout the African country, including the church at the Borea Refugee Camp, Northwest minister Patrick Odum said. Odum said Richard and Aicha Cooper and their four children, now members at Northwest, came from the Borean camp a year and a half ago and told of the dire situation there.
MICHIGAN
LIVONIA
The Livonia church oversees World Christian Literature Outreach, a Bible correspondence course aimed at people who use English as a second language.
The materials are written at a sixth-grade or lower reading level and used in 15 countries, director Russ Lawson said.
“In the second week of January, we were approached by a group in Cairo, Egypt, asking permission to begin translating these study books into Arabic,” Lawson said.
Also, the ministry is converting the books to Adobe reader files so that they can be read or printed off the Internet.For more information, see www.wclo.net.
MISSISSIPPI
PASCAGOULA
The Central church remains active in reaching out to its community in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, minister John Dobbs said. About 40 percent of residents still cannot live in their homes, he said.
Anyone interested in volunteering or helping with evangelism can call Dobbs at (228) 324-0576 or see www.123jesus.com.
NEW JERSEY
SEWELL
The Pitman church recently made a $1 million “Reaching Out in Faith” commitment to help pay for a new building, minister Dan Cooper said. In 2005, the congregation bought a 7.5-acre plot for a new building. The church, which averages total attendance of about 300 each Sunday, has outgrown its two assemblies.
WESTFIELD
A recent areawide singing, with the theme “Wonderful Story of Love,” drew 200 people from about 15 New Jersey congregations to the Echo Lake church, minister Brian Nicklaus said. Men from a dozen congregations led a hymn, prayed or read a Scripture. “With congregations being smaller and spread out in Jersey, it is a great time of fellowship in addition to worship,” he said of the annual event.
OREGON
DAMASCUS
The Kingswood Church of Christ is named for the street where Arlee and Mike Webb live. That’s because the church meets in their home.
The Webbs said they felt a need to leave their established congregation for a place where people could come together to worship outside of a more formal church setting. Each Sunday, plastic chairs line both sides of their living room, and their laundry facilities become an impromptu buffet table, the Gresham Outlook reported. About 25 people worship at the home.
OHIO
ASHLAND
Squeezed in tight, all 230 to 250 people who attend the Steele Avenue church might fit in one service. But when the church’s new building opens this spring, it will hold 500 to 600 people, preaching minister Jeff Slater said. “Our congregation has been having two morning services for many years now, due to the fact that we couldn’t all fit in one,” Slater said. “We’ve also had parking problems and a lack of classrooms. The new building will address all of those problems.”
TEXAS
HOUSTON
About 70 preachers and leaders from Churches of Christ and independent Christian Churches attended a Jan. 9 dialogue. Steve Sandifer, a minister at the Southwest Central church, said attendees came from mainstream congregations as well as black, Spanish, non-class and non-institutional churches.
“The program was instructive in revealing the wide diversity among churches wearing the name Church of Christ as well as the commonality between some of our more progressive congregations and the independents,” Sandifer said. “Many left the meeting on a positive note looking forward to more discussions, while others were condemning of the liberal tendencies of their brethren.”
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