Six new churches were voted into membership of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches during Vision2020, the national conference of the fellowship which was held July 23-27 at the Grace Brethren Church in Wooster, Ohio.
The new congregations include: New Horizon Church, New York, N.Y. (Michael Faulkner, pastor); Fuente de Vida Grace Bilingual Church, Elkhart, Ind. (Brian Baughman, pastor); Awaken Church, Virginia Beach, Va. (Michael Pumphrey, pastor); Sterling Grace Brethren Church, Mt. Sterling, Ohio (Mac Cordell, pastor); The Bridge, Tipp City, Ohio (Ron Sheranko, pastor); and Greensboro Grace Brethren Church, Reidsville, N.C. (Daniel Pierce, pastor).
Robert Fetterhoff, pastor of the Wooster church, was elected by delegates to a two-year term as moderator of the fellowship.
Caribbean Vision, a ministry largely devoted to Haitians and Haiti and directed by Dr. Chuck Davis, was recognized as a Cooperating Ministry with the fellowship.
Social Concerns resolutions were introduced by the retiring chair of the Social Concerns Committee, Dr. Donald Shoemaker. Continuing resolutions include sanctity of human life, religious freedom, personal commitment, and homosexuality. Resolutions new this year and passed by the conference delegates included statements on Seeking “The Peace of the City;” The Middle East, Heterosexual Monogamous Marriage; Religious Freedom and Same-Sex Marriage; Religious Liberty; God’s Creation; Prayer for Peace and for All in Authority; Concern for Suffering Humanity; and The Persecuted Church. Following passage of the resolutions, Shoemaker was honored by the conference for his leadership as chair of the social concerns committee since 1985An operating budget was approved for the coming year, and those elected to the Fellowship Council included Richard Todd, Western Region, pastor of Community Grace Brethren Church, Whittier, Calif.; Jason Carmean, Central Region, pastor of Grace Brethren Church, Lexington, Ohio; and Dan Thornton, Eastern Region, executive pastor of Maranatha Brethren Church, Hagerstown, Md.
The business meeting was only part of a conference that celebrated the future of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. Speakers included Brad Powell, Jim Brown,
Bartley Sawatzky, Dan Allan, Stephen Joyce, Jim Custer, Jeff Bogue, and Bob Fetterhoff.
Vision2020 West, the national conference of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, is July 27