December 2010

PLANNING AHEAD

Join the BIC family in prayer & fasting

In preparation for the 2011 BIC Week of Prayer and Fasting (Jan. 2–9, 2010), a calendar of prayer events and a list of prayer items from Brethren in Christ around the world are now available in English and Spanish.

Year-end reporting made easier

BIC churches across North America are required to complete year-end reports for their Regional Conference and the denomination. In the past, these efforts have not been coordinated, resulting in some repetition and confusion. This year, the General Church has been directly working with the Regional Conference to move to a more streamlined, user-friendly format that, after some extra initial effort, will ease future reporting. You can expect to hear more about this from your Regional Conference in early 2011.

UPDATE

Church mourns the loss of theologian and teacher Dr. Luke Keefer, Jr.

Dr. Luke Keefer, Jr., passed away on Friday, December 10, 2010, at Cleveland (Ohio) Clinic. Engaged with the BIC community on many levels—as a pastor, teacher, board member, speaker, and writer—Luke offered invaluable wisdom and direction to the Church. Learn more about Luke’s life. »

Conversation guides important Southeast Conference leadership decision

For 25 years, Eduardo Llanes has provided fruitful leadership for the BIC, initially as a church planting pastor, then as leader of a growing cluster of churches in Miami, and now as bishop of the Southeast Conference. As a result of his faithful efforts, 59 Spanish-language churches now enrich the BIC church family in Florida and North Carolina.

As Eduardo completes his final term of service, the question we are facing is this: In a cultural context that is relatively new to the BIC, how can we best serve our Spanish-language constituency in the Southeast Conference as we look to the future?

To answer this question, BIC leaders conferred with leaders from two other denominations with sizeable ethnic constituencies, the Mennonite Brethren and Missionary Church. On November 16, for a full day, nine leaders (including BIC representatives Eduardo Llanes and Rachel Diaz, and José Mendez of the Missionary Church) shared advances, mistakes, challenges, and insights with one another—all with the aim to discern together how to best serve the ethnic constituencies in our midst.

Denominational Name Study Group convenes for first meeting

In response to General Conference action "to initiate a process that considers a new denominational name to be brought to the 2012 General Conference," seven members of the Denominational Name Study Group, appointed by the General Conference Board, held their first meeting on December 2.

Group discussion centered around next-steps in a responsible process to conduct the study, including options such as: to determine what is actually involved in a name change (since the name "Brethren in Christ" is embedded in the denominational constitution), to identify the percentage of congregations that are presently using (or not using) the name, to conduct a survey of constituents to ascertain perspectives, and to initiate a review of the current policy on congregational names. The study group is also aware of the need to consider the views of leaders in the global BIC church family. The next meeting of the body is scheduled for January 13, 2011.

MONEY WELL-SPENT

BIC annual appeal

Earlier this month, the General Church and BIC World Missions mailed a joint year-end appeal to individuals in the BIC Church family. In this letter, we shared about the projected financial position of the Church, we celebrated the work made possible through congregational giving to Cooperative Ministries, and we asked people to invest in our ministries so that we can more fully pursue our Transformation 2020 vision plan. View a copy of the appeal letter or see the chart of our projected budget shortfalls »

RESOURCES

Job postings

Do you know someone looking for work? Or do you want to advertise an open position? Check out the BIC Employment Opportunities page to post your advertisement or for information on available jobs in BIC churches and affiliated organizations.

Two new teaching resources now available

The DVD- and discussion-based studies on “Women as pastors: The Brethren in Christ perspective” ($25 U.S.) and “Simple living” ($20 U.S. for a limited time only!) are ready to order. Reserve your copies now »

 

Go green with IN PART magazine

Sign up to receive In Part (starting with the spring 2011 issue) by email by sending your name, address, and email address to inpart@bic-church.org »

 

Stories of peace

In 150 words or less, respond to IN PART magazine’s next “To the Point” question:

In our Core Values, we say that we are committed to pursuing peace, an action whose reaches extend into both the seen (war and physical violence) and the unseen (emotional manipulation, psychological abuse, and interpersonal conflict). Have you ever been faced with either of these situations? If so, how did you respond to the conflict—with peace or with more conflict? What was the outcome, and what did you learn about peace from that experience?

Email your stories to inpart@bic-church.org by Friday, January 7th.

SPICE: Give the gift of hope this Christmas

For just 50¢ a day ($16/month or $185/year), you can provide a child in India or Nepal with clean water, nutritious meals, education, group housing, a nurturing Christian staff, and an opportunity to learn about Jesus. Sponsor a SPICE child today »

 

BIC WORLD

World Hunger Fund grant helps families recover in wake of devastating flooding »
Zambian women take action against AIDS »

Contact Information:
Email: bic@bic-church.org
Phone: 717.697.2634
Fax: 717.796.4781

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