Three churches had their first official worship service on Sunday.
Accelerate Church of Camden County, N.J., held its first service at the Marian House. The Orchard Group church plant is led by Ernest Grant (“Pastor Ern”) and his wife, Sarah.
Beacon Christian Church hosted its first worship service at the Greater Londonderry YMCA in southern New Hampshire. Lead pastor Calvin Daly and his wife, Tara, along with pastor Adam Brucker oversaw the launch. Restoration House Ministries/Orchard Group partnered in the startup.
Elevate Christian Church, Lexington, Ky., held its opening service at Lexington Christian Academy. Robert Harlamert serves as lead minister. Elevate is the first “daughter” church of Catalyst Christian Church in Nicholasville, Ky. Catalyst was the subject of a “Spotlight” article in our May/June issue.
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News Briefs
IDES (International Disaster Emergency Service) has established a new leadership fund in honor of Rick Jett, who with his wife, Nancy, spent many years serving the Indiana-based organization. The Rick Jett Leadership Fund is dedicated to funding global pastoral and church leadership training opportunities.
The last day in the office for Rick and Nancy Jett came earlier this month. Rick Jett has a 35-year association with IDES, serving as executive director from 2002 through the end of last year. Nancy Jett is the daughter of Milton B. Bates, who started IDES in the 1970s. (Read about “The Origins of IDES.”)
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Chong Chang Her, lead pastor with Hmong Christian Church in Eau Claire, Wis., shared his story about fleeing Laos as a teenager years ago with a local TV station. The Hmong refugee drew some parallels from his search for safety in 1980 with what people fleeing Afghanistan likely have been experiencing in recent weeks.
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OceanPointe Christian Church of Middletown, R.I., moved into its new building on Aquidneck Island on Sunday. The church started in a local movie theater in 2014, then purchased the Newport Athletic Club in 2018 and has been renovating it. Jeff Stalnaker planted the church and continues to serve as lead minister.
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Our friends at GNPI recommend the free Redux prayer discipleship app for folks who want to take steps toward sharing their faith by praying for people who don’t know Jesus. The app is advertised as a “personal prayer assistant.” With the Redux app, you can add names of people you want to pray for and get reminders to do so. Visit www.reduxpray.com for more info.
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High Lakes Christian Church in LaPine, Ore., which is nearing the end of a major renovation, recently showed off its new indoor gymnasium to a local TV station. The gymnasium, which includes a basketball court and a stage, will be a resource for the community.
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The $1,200 clue from the Double Jeopardy round of Monday night’s Jeopardy broadcast under the category “Seven Syllable Words”: “Type of church not affiliated with Baptists or Presbyterians, for example; it includes many megachurches.”
The night’s champion, 19-time winner Matt Amodio, gave the correct response: “What is nondenominational?”
Amodio won $67,800 for the evening.
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Author: Christian Standard
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