Six congregations were welcomed into the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches (FGBC) during the annual meeting of the fellowship on Thursday morning. It was the final meeting during a week of sessions focusing on outreach and evangelism.
The six churches are:
- Brighton Chapel, Howe, Ind.,
- Grace Connections Church, Englewood, Ohio,
- Catalyst Church, Kent, Ohio,
- Life Spring Church, Brownsburg, Ind.,
- Spring Valley Grace Brethren Church, Elyria, Ohio, and
- Community of Hope, Surrey, Canada.
Tom Hocking, pastor of the Grace Brethren Church of Bellflower, Calif., was voted as moderator-elect. He will join the Fellowship Council and will serve as moderator of the fellowship in 2010. Also joining the Fellowship Council are Doug Courter, pastor of the Calvary Grace Brethren Church in Hagerstown, Md. and Bob Wagner, senior pastor of the Grace Brethren Church of Owings, Md., representing the Eastern Region; Nathan Bryan, executive director of GBC Canada, and Jonathan Carey, pastor of the Ellet (Ohio) Grace Brethren Church, representing the Central Region; and Dan Thornton, chief operations officer of Integrated Community Development International, and Chris Ball, senior pastor of the Dimond Grace Brethren Church in Anchorage, Alaska, representing the western region. Also the appointment of Steven Joyce, pastor of About My Father’s Business in Washington, D.C. and Jason Carmean, pastor of the Lexington (Ohio) Grace Brethren Church, to the fellowship council was ratified. They had previously been appointed to vacant seats.
Go2 Church Planting Ministries received provisional approval as a National Ministry of the FGBC. The fellowship council will review the status of Go2 at its winter meeting in 2010 with a view towards recommending a permanent status for approval by delegates at the 2010 conference.
Vision Ohio, a church planting ministry in the state of Ohio, received provisional status as a Cooperating Ministry until annual conference 2010. The fellowship council will also review its status at the winter meeting in 2010 with a view towards recommending a permanent status for approval by delegates at the 2010 conference.
In other action,
- conference delegates approved proposed changes to the make-up and terms of service on the Fellowship Council, the group that acts as the board of directors of the fellowship. First considered at last year’s conference, the changes increase the size of the council, enlarges representation from various regions of the country, changes the length of terms of the moderator, and elects a moderator and vice moderator on the same ballot. (Click here to see a complete explanation of the changes.)
- affirmed resolutions brought to the conference by the Social Concerns Committee. Click here to read the resolutions dealing with current issues, including same sex marriage and the definition of marriage, home schooling, the ‘Jeremiah principle,’ religious liberty, God’s creation, prayer for peace and all in authority, and the election year.