Oscar Chavez (Hope City Church in Norwalk, Calif.) was elected to begin serving on the Fellowship Council this year. Jeremy Bury (Marysville Grace Church in Marysville, Ohio) was affirmed to begin serving a full-term, and Trevin Hoekzema (Calvert Grace Community Church in Owings, Md.) was affirmed to begin serving on the Fellowship Council this year. 

The 2026 Charis Fellowship budget was approved. In addition, Spanish World Ministries and Steady Hands were both approved by delegates to be recognized as Cooperating Ministries of the Charis Fellowship. The ratification of the Fellowship Council’s appointment of Tim Hodge as Secretary and Doug Courter as Treasurer were both approved. Several excellent comments and suggestions were also received from delegates and will be further discussed by members of the Fellowship Council.

Thank you to all delegates who participated this year, and to all churches who submitted their statistical report and Fellowship contribution. Also, to the three men who completed their terms serving on the Fellowship Council, thank you for serving the Fellowship well: Laban Reeves who served a five-year term (2020–2025), and John McIntosh (2024–2025) and Jeremy Bury (2023–2025) who both stepped in to complete incomplete terms. If you have any questions or need additional information, contact the Fellowship Office here.

The post Charis Fellowship Annual Meeting Report first appeared on Charis Fellowship.

Q: How did you get connected with the trip to Florida? Why did you want to go?
A: My wife and I were showing our daughters pictures of the damage from hurricanes Helene and Milton, intending to give money and teach a lesson about charity. Our oldest daughter Elizabeth (7) asked me, “So when are you leaving?” I didn’t have a good reason not to go help, so I started looking for opportunities. Our board of elders told me about the Charis Disaster Response team. I contacted Todd Derry and was on my way down soon after.

Q: Share about your experience, what you did, and who you interacted with.
A: Our church sent a team of three — Ryan, Greyson, and myself. Greyson was placed with a chainsaw team from Texas for the first several days, and later joined Ryan and I. Ryan and I spent our time stripping down houses damaged by flooding. We removed flooring, cut out drywall, and generally stripped houses back to the studs before applying anti-mold agents. We got to work with other volunteers from states all over the U.S., including: Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and California. Outside of the people we served with, we also interacted with the people from the church who hosted us, got to meet several of the homeowners, and spent a significant amount of time talking to and working with two young boys named Joseph and Jakari.

Q: How was this trip personally rewarding for you? 

A: I got to meet a lot of good people, spend a lot of time in Christian fellowship, and do a lot of good work for people who were genuinely in need. The trip was like the ideal men’s retreat. It was my first mission-type disaster deployment, and I definitely want to do more. 

As noted above, I feel the trip was not only beneficial to those we were able to help, but it was a huge blessing to me and my friends as well. Jesus taught that if we want to be happy, we need to serve others, and I found this trip to perfectly illustrate His teaching. I would strongly recommend that anyone who is able to help in a similar manner give it a shot, at least once. 

The post From Anchorage to St. Petersburg first appeared on Charis Fellowship.

Mike Sciarra (Grace Church of Orange in Orange, Calif.) was affirmed to begin serving on the Fellowship Council this year. Gabe Yoder (Summit Mills Grace Brethren Church in Meyersdale, Pa.) and Billy Tweeddale (Ocean View Fellowship in Indialantic, Fla.) were also both elected to begin serving on the Fellowship Council this year. 

La Iglesia El Refugio in Elkhart, Ind., joining as a full-membership church and the 2025 Charis Fellowship budget were both approved. The 2024 Resolutions (unchanged from last year) were reaffirmed with a 94% vote. The ratification of the Fellowship Council’s appointment of Tim Hodge as Secretary and Doug Courter as Treasurer were both approved. Several excellent comments were also received from delegates, and several suggestions will be further discussed by members of the Fellowship Council.

Thank you to all delegates who participated this year, and to all churches who submitted their statistical report and Fellowship contribution. Also, to the three men who completed their five-year term serving on the Fellowship Council, thank you for serving the Fellowship well (Manuel Espinosa, Dave Holmes, and Desir Nonhomme). If you have any questions or need additional information, contact the Fellowship Office here.

The post Charis Fellowship Annual Meeting Report first appeared on Charis Fellowship.

Tim Sprankle (Leesburg Grace Church in Leesburg, Ind.) was affirmed as the executive director-elect to begin a two-year term in August 2024. Kip Cone (Winona Lake Grace Church in Winona Lake, Ind.) was affirmed to begin serving on the Fellowship Council this year. Dave Nicodemus (Grace Polaris Church in Westerville, Ohio) and Andrew Leasure (Bridge Church in Martinsburg, W. Va.) were both elected to also begin serving on the Fellowship Council this year. 

Conemaugh Valley Grace Brethren Church joining as a new member church and the 2024 Charis Fellowship budget were both unanimously approved. The 2023 Resolutions from the Social Concerns Committee, as well as the ratification of the appointment of Tim Hodge as Secretary and Doug Courter as Treasurer, were all approved with a 99% yes vote.  Updates to the Constitution and Manual of Procedure, as well as Artic Barnabas becoming a new cooperating ministry, were also approved with over 98% in favor. Finally, over 95% of delegates voted yes for the recommended extension of the current Charis Fellowship Position Statements. Several excellent comments and suggestions were also received from delegates, and they have been passed on to members of the Fellowship Council.

Thank you to all delegates who participated this year, and to all churches who submitted their statistical report and Fellowship Contribution. Also, to the three men who completed their five-year term serving on the Fellowship Council, thank you for serving the Fellowship well (Rex Rogers, Rich Schnieders, and Jonathan Wiley). If you have any questions or need additional information, contact the Fellowship Office here.

The post Charis Fellowship Annual Meeting Report first appeared on Charis Fellowship.

As one of three representatives from North America, representing not only our Charis Fellowship churches, but representing our network of pastors, I believe that our interdependence with our global family of churches and pastors has the potential to enrich our ministries and bless our souls.

As far as worshiping with Christ-loving brothers from around the world, of course the conference was spiritually incredible. How could your soul not long for heaven when you are singing praise to Jesus in three languages? In the words of Bart Millard, “I Can Only Imagine” what the worship of heaven will be like as the nations who have trusted Jesus as Savior and Lord sing songs of worship in the harmony of heaven!

But I was also encouraged by our continuing commitment to an old standard phrase, “The Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible.” The world is changing so fast, but I can assure you what I saw in Kenya is that the Charis Fellowship around the world remains committed to our founding ethos of discovering what the Bible teaches in its original context and how it can be rightly applied in our current context.

Profound evidence of our commitment to biblical truth could be seen in the unity and humility demonstrated in affirming our global conviction of male-only, biblically qualified elders. That’s what Scripture teaches and what every Charis association from around the world unanimously affirmed. Despite the various tensions we feel in our own North American culture, we are a movement committed to the biblical principles of complementarianism. We don’t have to be embarrassed by our position on this or any other position that runs counter to our culture because it’s who we are. We are free to be a movement of “YES” regarding women serving in local churches, because we’ve clearly stated that of all the wonderful ministry opportunities in the local church there is one ministry role God has reserved for men. So, we are free to explore the rest of the garden God has planted for us to enjoy and care for together. There is no doubt in my mind that our Charis Alliance is committed to biblical truth!

So, why does any of that matter, week in and week out, as we sit in our offices working on all that pastoral ministry demands of us? After spending a week learning about ministry opportunities and challenges from our Charis Alliance churches and pastors, I can report to you that we have so much to learn from our brothers and sisters in other countries.

What if my resource of wisdom extended beyond my local church, my district, or our national borders? What if my exploration of illustrations to help people understand theology in my local context could be enhanced by understanding the practical application of Scripture in another cultural context? What if I had access to a church who would be willing to gather for hours just to pray for a desperate need in my church? What if I could leverage technology to bring a church family from another continent into a special time of prayer with the church family God has entrusted me to lead in the living out the Great Commission?

I believe the Charis Alliance has the potential to benefit our ministries and give our ministries greater opportunity to be a blessing than we can even imagine. Yes, we are connected by a common history and a commitment to biblical truth, but also through biblical relationships. But like any other relationship in our lives, it only grows stronger if we do more than what pastoral ministry demands of us week after week. Relationships grow when I step out of my office and into my Grace Group, my district ministerium meetings, my regional Focus Retreat, and maybe even some future online opportunity with another Charis Alliance church or pastor. That requires effort and humility, but I have experienced the pay off and I assure you it’s worth it.

Thanks so much to those who entrusted me with the opportunity to be a part of the Charis Alliance conference in Kenya. It blessed my life and I pray that blessing will flow out of my life and ministry back into our Fellowship in North America.

Written by Mark Lingenfelter, president of Inspire Charis Pastors Network, for the Inspire newsletter. Find out more about Inspire on their website here.

The post Reflections on Charis Alliance Conference 2023 first appeared on Charis Fellowship.

Dear brothers,

It is with deep sadness that we inform you of the homegoing of brother Paris Peña, who represented Guatemala during several Charis International Forums, from COVID 19. He joins Pastor Ray Lobo, an influential and godly Brazilian who passed away a few weeks ago. Ray served as leader of the national ministerium. And Pastor Armando Vierya, older brother of Arnulfo (who represented Mexico at both regional and international Charis meetings). Armando served in Ensenada and was especially instrumental in mobilizing young couples into ministry, including into many church plants throughout southern Mexico. He passed away last year, as the pandemic was first invading Mexico. Psalm 116:15.

It seems we cannot bear to lose any more leaders!

While COVID-19 continues to bring pain and suffering to most of the world, the situation is especially severe in Latin America. Please mobilize your constituencies to intercede for our churches and leaders.

Committed to fostering a global movement!

Dave Guiles

Coordinator, The Charis Alliance

The post Charis Alliance Leaders Succumb to COVID first appeared on Charis Fellowship.

The prayer time was led by Dave Guiles, executive director of Encompass World Partners, and Tom Avey, coordinator of the Charis Fellowship. Participants included pastors, ministry leaders, missionaries, and parishioners from Charis Fellowship congregations.

These prayer meetings for ALL English speakers who identify with the global Charis Alliance will continue every week until at least the end of May. Below is information on how to access the prayer time.

Time: Apr 8, 2020 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Every week on Wed, until May 27, 2020, 8 occurrence(s)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/650671510

Meeting ID: 650 671 510

One tap mobile
+13126266799,,650671510# US (Chicago)
+19292056099,,650671510# US (New York)

The post First Global Prayer Call Involves More than 65 first appeared on Charis Fellowship.

New features include

• daily access to the 30 Days to a More Resilient Faith devotional
• select resources (more to come soon; feel free to submit more)
• direct link for churches soliciting assistance from our Crisis Response Network
• a global prayer wall for posting urgent prayer requests

The Prayer Wall feature will serve as a central location that allows any member of the global Alliance to intercede for others.

The French and Spanish language sites will be up within 48 hours.

The post Charis Alliance Website Updated During COVID-19 first appeared on Charis Fellowship.

At Grace Polaris Church, a Charis Fellowship congregation in Westerville, Ohio (Mike Yoder, lead pastor), a class was implemented to do just that – prepare members to prepare biblical messages.

In Spring of 2016, Dan Tinderholt, one of the nursing home worship team speakers, approached Tim Waggoner, care pastor and care team director, and asked about this opportunity to grow. Waggoner recognized the value of the idea, and that it was a vital need in the local church. Two years later, the first class has just been completed – and it was a huge hit.

“After much prayer, recruiting of presenters, and preparing the course description, ‘Preparing and Giving a Message from the Bible’ was launched on January 14, 2018,” says Waggoner.

The course was led by church leaders and pastoral staff, including Mike Yoder, Jim Custer, Beau Stanley, Zac Hess, Tim Waggoner, Gary Webb, and Rob Johnson.

The nine-week course covered several important aspects:

• The Role of Prayer, the Holy Spirit, and the Word
• Observing and Interpreting the Biblical Texts
• Structuring Bible Messages
• Illustrating and Applying the Biblical Texts
• Understanding and Addressing One’s Audience

• Praying through the verses you are studying
• Praying for the audience during study time
• Leading others to Christ, not just stating facts about the story
• Connecting everything back to God
• Dwelling on the context instead of jumping right to application

The post Jesus Preached first appeared on Charis Fellowship.

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