Compiled by Chris Moon
and Jim Nieman
Stephanie Freed, an Ozark Christian College alum who cofounded Rapha House, was named a “2019 Pathfinder” by J Mag, a lifestyles magazine published by the Joplin Globe.
According to the Globe: “The award honors individuals, couples or groups who have accomplished something unique and who have made it possible for others to follow in their footsteps.”
The entry for Freed reads: “Stephanie Freed . . . co-founded Rapha House International in 2003, after her father challenged her to research human trafficking. Today, there are safe havens in Cambodia, Thailand and in Haiti, where young children and women are given second chances.”
Freed’s father, Joe Garman, is president of American Rehabilitation Ministries, which seeks to bring hope to the forgotten among America’s prison population.
_ _ _
NEWS BRIEFS
The International Conference On Missions reported via Facebook Tuesday night that longtime director Walter Birney, who served from 1966–2009, has died. Services will be Saturday at the Sublette (Kan.) Christian Church.
_ _ _
Clarksburg (Ind.) Christian Church is grieving the loss of Carol Jackson—wife of pastor Jerran Jackson—who died last week after driving on flooded roads. She was 63. The funeral was held Saturday. One church member told CBS 4 news that “Carol was the light of our church.” A tribute to Carol Jackson was posted on the church’s Facebook page.
_ _ _
Christian Standard columnist Mel McGowan, chief creative principal with PlainJoe Studios, has written about Restoration Roasters, “a coffee shop with a purpose,” in an article for Outreach magazine. The coffee shop is located in a leased space that was a former nursery on the campus of Crossroads Christian Church in Corona, Calif., and helps fund the mission and provides vocational training for homeless folks associated with the Corona-Norco Mission.
_ _ _
Venture Christian Church, Los Gatos, Calif., is mourning the loss of Craig Jutila, 53, their pastor of family ministries, who suffered a heart attack and died while on a snowboarding trip with his family.
“This sudden and terrible news has stunned us all, and we are grieving with Craig’s family,” Tim Lundy, senior pastor at the church, wrote on Facebook.
Before joining Venture, Jutila served as a children’s and teaching pastor at the Grove Community Church in Riverside, Calif., for seven years and Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., for 13 years, the Mercury News of San Jose reported.
Jutila wrote multiple books, including Hectic to Healthy: The Journey to a Balanced Life and Faith and the Modern Family: How to Raise A Healthy Family in a “Modern Family” World.
A memorial fund has been set up for the purpose of establishing a retreat center for pastors who are broken.
_ _ _
The people of First Christian Church, Greensburg, Ind., donated more than $15,000 on “Give-Away Sunday,” Dec. 2, much of which was used to pay off delinquent lunch accounts owed by students at four local elementary schools, the Greensburg Daily News reported. Checks were given to principals of the schools during morning worship on Dec. 30.
First Christian also donated monies for repairs to the local Bread of Life van, and provided “thank-you” baskets to local first responders.
_ _ _
R.C. Wells, who was one of Marshall Keeble’s “boy preachers” at Nashville Christian Institute, was minister emeritus for the Harlem Church of Christ, and was a crusader for racial equality within the noninstrumental churches of Christ, has died at age 84, the Christian Chronicle reports.
Wells was one of 40 ministers who gathered in Atlanta in 1968 to discuss ways to improve race relations. The gathering took place at Simpson Street Church of Christ and was hosted by Andrew J. Hairston, whom we profiled in our September 2018 issue.
Another of Keeble’s “boy preachers,” Fred Gray, is interviewed in this month’s Christian Standard.
_ _ _
Ogilville Christian Church in Columbus, Ind., has received a grant to bolster its outreach to young people.
According to The Republic, the church received $7,500 from the Indianapolis-based Center For Congregations, which offers consulting, education, and grant assistance to churches in Indiana. The church, which will provide matching funds, plans to host meetings with young adults during the next several months “to determine their focus and interests,” the newspaper reported.
“We already know we’re reaching some of the young adults,” Zech Riggs, education minister at OCC, told The Republic. “So now we’re looking at how we can come alongside them, and disciple them and help them grow.”
_ _ _
Former Ozark Christian College trustee Harv Coons, 90, died Sunday, Jan. 6, according to a Facebook post by Meredith Williams, who served with Ozark for years. Coons, of Fort Smith, Ark., had been in ill health. The Whirlpool retiree had helped provide oversight to several Christian organizations, including: Pioneer Bible Translators, Christ on Campus (at the University of Arkansas), Gospel Broadcasting Mission, and Good News Productions International.
_ _ _
If you have a news item to share with readers, send it to [email protected].
0 Comments