Allegheny Advance August
2010
Church Health
 Pastors
and Wives Retreat 2010The Allegheny District Pastors and Wives Retreat will be held October 1-3, 2010 at SpringHill Suites Erie by Marriott. Enjoy a cookout at a beachfront house on Lake Erie! Spend time getting to know other pastors and their wives. All district senior and solo pastors and wives are invited. We need your reservations by August 23rd. Please call the district office (800)365-4722 or email alleghenydistrict@verizon.net with your plans to attend! |
| Join the AD Forum! Pastor Matt Mitchell is the ADForum Moderator. His job is to moderate the ADForum which is a simple, free, and fast way to encourage inter-dependence through enhanced district communication. It is a broadcast email service. At any time one of the ADForum members can communicate with others in the district about prayer requests, upcoming events, questions, ideas, etc. Joining is simple. Just send a blank email to ADforum-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and you will have joined! To "post" a message to all of us, just send it to ADforum@yahoogroups.com and everyone will get it within minutes. We encourage you to share what God is doing, with others in the district through this email tool. |
| Church Pastors Network in Your Area Chances are, a Healthy Church Pastors Network is meeting in your area of the district. All pastors of the Allegheny District are welcomed. If you would like to get involved or would like more information feel free to contact these Healthy Church Network leaders: New York - Ron Linton, wccef@yahoo.com, (585)533-1172 Ohio - Jeff Powell, Jeff.adefca@gmail.com, (419)962-4586 Western Pennsylvania - Matt Mitchell, pastormatt@lansefree.org, (814)345-6500 Greater Pittsburgh Area - Jack Wilson, jack@waterdam.org (724)745-2158 |
| 3-Year Ministerial License Credentials Awarded Peter Morgante received his 3-Year Ministerial License credential with the EFCA on June 21, 2010. Congratulations to Pastor Peter and Jenna and CrossBridge Community Church on reaching this important mile-marker! |
| Workshops and Training Events The Allegheny District has more than 25 workshops and training events available to our district churches. Do you have something scheduled yet? Check out the district web site at www.alleghenydistrict.com/resources.html for a complete list of workshops. Contact District Superintendent, Jeff Powell for more information and to make arrangements, (419)962-4586 or email jeff.adefca@gmail.com |
Church Planting
| ReachColumbus
2010 to Plant Two Churches The newest members of our church planting efforts in the Allegheny District are Scott Burns and Ken Flower. The Allegheny District has been working with EFCAStartChurches and the Great Lakes District of the EFCA to prepare for two church planting works in Columbus, OH. Get acquainted with our new planters and what God is doing in Columbus. The Allegheny District church plant is slated to begin in December 2010. Please pray for their efforts and join the team! |
| Find
out the Latest Church Planting Happenings Sign-up to be a part of Jim's weekly prayer e-mail prayer army...the best way to stay informed regarding Church-Planting in the Allegheny District. E-mail Jim at alleghenyharvest@gmail.com and ask to be added to the Prayer Army! |
| KAP
TEAM (Kingdom Advancement Partners) KAP team is a supplemental support ministry being developed alone-side of the 3% support of our district's member churches. The strategy is 3-pronged in its approach. 1) Recession-proof giving - several hundred people giving smaller regular amounts over and above their giving at their local church (goal=1000 RP partners). 2) Large Special Gifts Donors - These are people who are faithful in their local church, but also have resources that they want to invest in a larger cause. 3) Legacy Gifts - helping people to plan God into their estates by designating their local churches and/or the Allegheny District. Our goal is to be able to provide health insurance for all of our planters and their families for the first 2 to 3 years, AND to be able to provide start-up funding grants. Again, if interested in learning more about this developing ministry, contact Jim Culbertson, or our Board Chairman, Mike McCormack at mike.mccormack@oh.rr.com |
|
Bill
&
Sheryl White (Action
Church, Akron, OH)
|
|
Joe & Val
Becker (Dansville Community Church, Dansville , NY )
DCC decided to shift from the traditional church plant model to the house-church model during the summer of 2009. Since then the Holy Spirit has helped the leadership team of Randy Arnold, Jim Harden and Joe Becker to create a new mission, vision & set of core values which they are doing their best to live out with each other daily. For more information please check the web site at www.dansvillecommunitychurch.org or contact Joe at (585) 278-0643 or at joe@beckerlearning.com |
|
Nathan
& Teri Childers (Youngstown, OH Area) August will be busy in debriefing with others from this past summer, meeting with various church leaders, forming a grant-writing team and completing paper-work in forming a "yet-to-be-named" faith-based non-profit. Three people have already committed to serve on the board that would facilitate partnerships with churches and provide leadership within the community that would best serve the needs of families in the valley. If you would like to learn more about this new ministry in |
| Mark
& Kendra Petras (Crossroads Community Church, Altoona, PA) Our summer outreach went well as we continue to work with our local YMCA. Three baptisms are postponed until the Fall. Please pray for growth groups starting back up in the Fall and for a men's leadership development group starting in October. We are also launching our first membership class in the Fall. September 12th we will be serving the YMCA again in helping with their BBQ dinner fundraiser, praying for Gospel conversations. Contact Mark at (814) 505-4611 or at mk4jesus@gmail.com Visit them on the web at www.crossroads-efree.org |
| Jason
& Janeen Oesterling (ikon church, Wadsworth, OH)
ikon church continues to pursue its mission of discovering together what it means to follow Jesus. God continues to bless, as we see individuals growing and excited about what they are learning from God’s Word. Pray that God would bless our efforts to reach out to friends, neighbors, co-workers and family with the great news of Jesus this summer. Church in the Park is scheduled for Sunday, September 12. Contact Jason at (330) 410-3445 or at jason.oesterling@gmail.com. Visit ikon church on the web at www.ikonwadsworth.com |
| Alex
& Jennifer Ielase (Redeemer on the Mount, Mt. Washington, PA)
Please be in prayer for leadership development,
caring for new folks coming in and our summer outreach events. Redeemer will
also be launching a more focused youth ministry this summer. Check out
Alex's interview on Cornerstone Television--http://www.ctvn.org/mediaplayer/Focus4/FS060410.asp
about 21 minutes into the program. For more information please check the
website at www.redeemeronthemount.org or
contact Alex at (412)352-8876 or at fisherofmen376@yahoo.com
|
|
CORE Community Church
(Shelby, OH - John & Lisa Stevens) |
| Crew
Community Church (Huntington,
WV - Josh & Sarah Perry) |
| Abundant
Grace EFC (Wellington/Oberlin, OH - Brent & Kim Ziegler) Abundant Grace EFC has completed their first membership class. Three families are in the process of joining the church and in recent weeks, they have seen many new visitors. They are starting their first new believer discipleship. Please pray that God will bring many seekers to their book/Bible study to begin in the Fall. Pray that God will bring a harvest of souls to the kingdom as a result. A permanent location is also a matter of prayer as they continue to grow. For more information contact Brent Ziegler, head of the church planting group, (440) 647-4700, kimz@ncwcom.com. Visit them on the web at www.abundantgraceefc.org |
| Other
Church Planting Contacts We are in the beginning phases of discussion with: Matt Beurhle--Rocky River, OH Doug Booher--Forest Hills area near Pittsburgh Tom Richards--Frostburg, MD Jeff Biddle--Charleston, WV Carl Matice--Ithaca, NY Keith Biddle--Huntington, WV Darren Gollon--Jefferson, OH Tim McGill--TBD Mike Rice--Paynesville, OH Neal Dorran--Harpers Ferry, WV Roy Burket--Akron Area Justin Racca--Morgantown, WV Scott Burns, Ken Flower--Columbus, OH Jay O'Brien--Columbus, OH Plus, we are working in many church-planting partnerships with existing churches and other contacts in the works. |
District News
| Pray for Our District Churches in need of Pastors - Christ Community Fellowship in Sarver , |
| District
Budget Shortfall Although giving to the Allegheny District has increased it continues to be behind the budget by 20% or more per month. As you schedule your annual business meetings for this year, please remember and prayerfully consider a significant increase in giving to the district ministries in your budget. We are asking you to consider giving 3% of your annual budget to the district. Your support allows the district to continue providing a wide variety of programming and resources for our district churches. Online donations to the Allegheny District--EFCA are now available at www.alleghenydistrict.com/donations |
| New Youth Pastor at Seth Roush began his ministry in Garrettsville, OH as part-time leading to full-time Youth Pastor July 15, 2010. Let's welcome Seth as he begins his new ministry here in our district. Contact Seth at sethcollinroush@ |
| Next
Allegheny District Board Meeting The next Allegheny District Board meeting is scheduled for Saturday, August 28, 2010 at Chippewa EFC in Beaver Falls, PA beginning at 10:00 a.m. Please contact the district office with your plans to attend at (412) 854-5620 or alleghenydistrict@verizon.net |
National News
|
The Allegheny District Church Planting Story
of CORE Community Church Pastor John Stevens and CORE Community Church are featured on the EFCA web site for ReachNational. Check it out: http://www.efca.org/church-planting/reachnational-church-planting/taking-it-streets |
| EFCA
Newsletters and Interactive Mailing Lists Want to stay connected with what's going on the EFCA? Join one of the EFCA's email groups such as: EFCAUpdate, BUMPUPdate, EFCA Urban News, EFCA ENCORE Prayer Team, Gift and Estate Planning eNewsletter, Worship Leaders Network, Pray ReachGlobal and many more at http://www.efca.org/about-efca/resources-and-services/newsletters-and-interactive-mailing-lists |