For the people of Zimbabwe who have suffered for so long under the brutal government of Robert Mugabe, change seems within reach following the March 29 election in that country. And yet as BIC Bishop Danisa Ndlovu warned in comments to a reporter with Mennonite World Conference, “We have not crossed the bridge yet. We call upon the church around the world to be in prayer for Zimbabwe during this important time.” Read more »

Update on Bishop Ken Letner

With about a third of his radiation treatments behind him, Bishop Ken Letner met with his doctors recently for a routine check-up and received a medication to help alleviate the fatigue he’s been experiencing. After the first series of chemo and radiation treatments is over at the end of April, doctors will give Ken’s body the month of May to rest and regroup. More intense chemotherapy will then begin in June and continue through November.

Writing in an email communiqué, Ken expressed appreciation for the hundreds of individuals across North America who are lifting him up before the Lord, and also for family and friends who are helping with daily transportation to and from his radiation treatments. He notes that he is making good progress in strength and balance, and that almost daily he is walking two or more miles with his “four-legged buddy, Sydney.”

Please continue to pray for Ken, Linda, and their family. Pray also as General Church leaders work with Bishop Ken and the Susquehanna Conference to provide an interim bishop during the remainder of his treatment plan.

There's still time to register for Left, Right, and Jesus

This spring’s Impact Course, Left, Right, and Jesus, is especially timely, and best of all, there’s still time to register for one of the upcoming sessions. Listen to Bishop Perry talk about the course, review course dates and locations, and then register for Left, Right, and Jesus.

2008 General Conference program highlights

Members of the 2008 General Conference planning team know they have big program “shoes” to fill in follow up to the 2006 conference held in Miami, Florida. Fortunately, the great Toronto metroplex, one of the most ethnically diverse regions in North America, provides its own excitement and is an ideal setting in which to pursue the theme of Jesus worshipped in the nations. Read more »

Reading ahead for General Conference

In the March issue of Momentum, we posted statements of explanation and sponsorship for the first in a series of items that will come before the 2008 General Conference, which will be held June 27 - 30 in Ontario. As we introduce two additional action items—the covenant between Messiah College and the BIC Church and the covenant between Paxton Ministries and the BIC Church—last month’s materials have been posted on the denomination’s website behind the General Conference icon. We encourage congregational delegates to review the materials in advance of making the trip to Ontario.

Recommendations to General Conference 2008
Messiah College-BIC Church Covenant – Sponsor: Kim Phipps, President, Messiah College
Paxton Ministries-BIC Church Covenant

Partners’ Circle expands Cooperative Ministries participation

Although Cooperative Ministries is most often thought about in terms of congregational giving, the Brethren in Christ Church regularly benefits from the generous support of individuals whose vision for ministry extends beyond the local congregation. In fact, without much effort on the denomination’s part, individuals contribute an average of about $100,000 a year in support of church-wide ministries. (This is in addition to the close to $600,000 in personal gifts in support of BICWM programs and missionaries.) However, up to this point, the denomination has not been very intentional in its efforts to encourage individual giving to Cooperative Ministries. But that has changed in 2008. Read more »

From Friar Tuck and the Monks to a BIC pulpit

When Ron Bowell, founding pastor of CrossRoads Brethren in Christ Church in Salina, Kans, was inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame along with the other members of the 1960s rock band Friar Tuck and the Monks, he made BIC history as the first of our pastors to be so honored. Never one to rest on his laurels, as you can read in the story from the Salina Journal, Ron was quick to use the occasion to testify to the transforming power of God’s love in his life.

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Don McNiven and Warren Hoffman
General Church Leaders

Contact Information:
Email: bic@messiah.edu
Phone: 717.697.2634
Fax: 717.796.4781

Web: www.bic-church.org

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