November 16, 2022
Ben Merold, 96, a beloved minister in Christian churches and churches of Christ for almost three-quarters of a century, died Wednesday morning. Merold was known as a church builder and a friend of the small church.
By Jim Nieman Nebraska Christian College will close at the end of this semester. The announcement was made this afternoon after a decision by the Hope International University board of trustees. HIU and NCC had merged in 2016. “To give you an idea of our current challenge, our spring enrollment there [at NCC] has fallen to under 90 students, which is the lowest in 30 years,” said Paul Alexander, president of the combined university, via a video posted at NCC’s website. “The number of students required to cover our costs there is just about 200. So, that gap is simply
April 30, 2019
When Dr. Paul H. Alexander assumes the presidency of Hope International University in August, he will become the first alumnus of the institution to serve in that role. Alexander has been selected to succeed Dr. John L. Derry as president by HIU’s board of trustees. Alexander will begin serving as the institution’s seventh president on Aug. 16, upon Derry’s retirement. A presidential inauguration at the school in Fullerton, CA, is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 17. “I consider Paul one of my best friends and have had the privilege of working closely with him for nine years in his role as
February 9, 2018
By Kelly Carr Ben and Pat Merold—most folks seldom say one of their names without the other, and that’s just fine with them. When they talk, you hear their love for one another, the joy they feel together, and the immense pride they have about the other’s ministry. One could easily declare that Ben and Pat Merold are who we all hope to be when we grow up! Ben and Pat share their story of a lifelong love for serving the Lord and for each other. Jumping into Ministry The year was 1948. Pat, a freshman at Johnson
March 6, 2017
By Bethany Anderson When Solidarity started almost 15 years ago in a troubled neighborhood of Fullerton, California,1 we were simply an idealistic group of college students eager to change the world in the name of Jesus. That desire, although rooted in privilege and a slight savior complex, led us to a deeper understanding of Jesus, his heart for us, and specifically his heart for immigrants. It also led us to move from an organization that just runs after-school programs in immigrant neighborhoods to one that acts as a bridge between the local churches and immigrant neighborhoods throughout our city. As
November 13, 2016
By Justin Horey It took a gang member for Tommy Nixon to understand grace. In 2002, Nixon cofounded Solidarity, a ministry designed to “help churches transform their cities,” but after a decade living and working in the low-income neighborhoods of Fullerton, California, he was frustrated. Nixon”s work with Solidarity had introduced him to a number of local gang members, and he had been ministering to one in particular for 10 years””but the young man”s life wasn”t changing. Despite Nixon”s efforts to help him, the gang member wound up in jail, and even was deported. Nixon recalls turning to God in
December 20, 2012
By Jennifer Johnson In November, Eastside Christian Church (Fullerton, CA) moved into its new building, a former Boeing defense site (complete with helipad!). On the same weekend, more than 100 members from Community Christian Church in nearby Yorba Linda joined them. Community Christian launched 27 years ago as an Eastside church plant, and offered a strong ministry with intergenerational worship and a car clinic providing free auto services to more than 150 single-parent families each year. But the struggling economy, a building located far from its core members, and declining attendance prompted Community Christian”s senior pastor Greg Curtis and Eastside
June 5, 2012
By Darrel Rowland There are exceptions to the rule . . . there are rare exceptions . . . and then there is Ben Merold. Point to statistics showing that a long-term ministry generally doesn”t equal numerical success for a church, and those who disagree will more than likely point to Merold, in ministry for 63 years and counting. After a 12-year stint at an Indiana church, he spent more than 22 years with Eastside Christian Church in Fullerton, California, where weekly attendance grew from 185 to 3,000. Then, at age 65, he launched a 17-year stay as senior minister
April 12, 2012
By Jennifer Taylor Limerick, Ireland, currently has just a handful of Evangelical churches, but this fall the Orchard Group will help an Irish church planter start one more. Dermot O”Mahony, a native of Limerick, moved to the United States after college to work with a growing church, gain ministry experience, and extend his education. He and his wife, Marie, settled in Arizona, where Dermot served as an intern, and then an outreach minister, with Christ”s Church of the Valley in Peoria, and took classes at Hope International University (Fullerton, CA). When CCV decided to help the O”Mahonys start a church
August 31, 2011
On Sunday, Aug. 28, volunteers at Eastside Christian Church (Fullerton, CA) planted more than 3,100 small white flags in a dirt plot outside the church building. Each of the flags represents an individual who died on Sept. 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the plane crash in Shanksville, PA. Floodlights shine on the crosses at night and a sign at the site invites people to attend Eastside”s community memorial services on Sept. 10 and 11.
Sponsored
Sponsored
Sponsored
April 28, 2026
Rick Cherok
April 28, 2026
David Faust
April 28, 2026
Rick Cherok