Chris DeWelt has retired as president of College Press Publishing, a company founded by his father, Don DeWelt, 64 years ago.
“For all of us there are times when seasons change and pages are turned,” Chris DeWelt wrote in announcing his retirement. “My health is good, and Carol and I are doing well, and this is a good time for transition.”
Karl Halverson, executive director of Literature and Teaching Ministries (CP’s parent organization) is the new president of College Press.
In 1992, Chris DeWelt founded LATM “to help Christian leaders worldwide publish Bible-based books in their languages, so that their people find, follow, and serve Jesus.” College Press, meanwhile, dates to 1959, when it began “partnering with churches, Bible colleges and Christians to bring relevant and challenging materials into the lives of growing Christians worldwide.” The DeWelt family gifted College Press Publishing Co. to LATM in 2016.
In addition to those changes, Angela Blethen was announced as the new director of production and donations for College Press and LATM, while Mark Feagins was named the new College Press customer service manager.
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News Briefs
SpireConference—slated for Sept. 26-28 in Nashville, Tenn.—has several preconference options planned for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 25. And if you sign up for one of these preconference events now through Aug. 15, you can receive an “early bird” priced registration for SpireConference. The preconference options include sessions for senior pastors of churches of 1,000 or more, executive pastors, children’s ministers, student ministers, campus pastors, worship arts leaders, discipleship leaders, connection and hospitality leaders, and “Women in Church Leadership.” Learn more at spire.network.
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Reggie Epps, 65, the senior pastor of Legacy Christian Church in Overland Park, Kan., since 2001, died late last week after a long battle with two forms of cancer. Prior to serving with Legacy, Epps was senior pastor with Mount Pleasant Christian Church, Greenwood, Ind., for 10 years.
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Hope City Church moved into their new building in Joplin, Mo., on Sunday, and the celebration included 28 people going “all in” by being baptized.
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Dr. Eddie Groover, chancellor emeritus of Point University—and president of Atlanta Christian College (as Point was formerly known) from 1993 to 2006—died on July 3 after an extended illness. The Alpharetta, Ga., resident was 77. A post at point.edu recalls his “kindness, intelligence and generosity. His knowledge of the Restoration Movement, including the founding of this university, was unparalleled.” He was a 1967 graduate of ACC. A funeral service was conducted Friday at Southwest Christian Church, Newnan, Ga. A complete obituary is available here.
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Our friend and “Preach” column writer, Chris Philbeck, senior pastor with Mount Pleasant Christian Church, Greenwood, Ind., has announced he will be retiring from full-time ministry at the end of June 2024.
“By the time that rolls around I will have served in full-time ministry for more than 44 years, with 22 of those years happening right here,” Philbeck says on a video available at the church website and Facebook page. “It’s going to be difficult for me to leave something that has never been a job . . . it’s been my life for a long time.” Still, he says, “I don’t believe God is finished with me yet.”
Philbeck said he and his wife, Sandy, have no plans to relocate.
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Pepperdine University, a noninstrumental Church of Christ school in Malibu, Calif., opened its sixth international campus on Thursday. Château d’Hauteville is a 90-acre, 18th-century estate overlooking Lake Geneva in Switzerland. The campus opening was the culmination of more than eight years of exploration, negotiation, and renovation, according to an article at www.pepperdine.edu.
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