The Brethren Church

Dear Friends of Hope,

Spring is in full bloom in Ireland, and it seems like there is a freshness of new ideas and hope coming with it. Our winter was tough. In many ways, it seems like our spirits were as damp and windblown as the violent winter we had experienced this year. We’ve weathered some storms, faced some challenges, and made some decisions – and the Father is faithful to continually hold hope before us.

We have experienced a busy spring so far, with much to come in the next few weeks. Here are just a few highlights:

• Brenda and I will be attending a weekend conference for Operation Christmas Child (the shoe box collection for needy children). This is a project that we helped coordinate here in Co. Roscommon last autumn. The project was received by the community with overwhelming enthusiasm, and we collected over 7,500 shoe boxes filled with gifts for needy children in Eastern Europe. Plans are already underway for this autumn.
• We are saying farewell to a new and faithful friend, Doug Gravatt. Doug is from Virginia, and he has been on assignment with his job near us since September. He has been an incredible source of encouragement and a good friend. He seems to be best known as someone who has appreciated and enjoyed every aspect of his time in Ireland and with us. We will miss him.
• Two of our interns will be returning to the states in middle May. Blair Butler and CJ Varela have been an integral part of our life and ministry over the course of this year. We, along with the youth in Galway where they served, will miss them greatly.
• Our last youth event with Plumbline will be held the first weekend of May. Our theme for Spring 2 is “Myth Busters”. We will take aim at several myths that pervade our Christian thought and search the scriptures to see what the Bible really has to say on the subject. Pray for us and this event. We have really valued our youth work in Ireland, and this event marks a change in new directions for us in Ireland.

In case you haven’t heard, our adoptions plans are underway. We have concluded the first steps in the process and are now proceeding towards official documentation and the home study. Please be praying for our future son and for us as we move forward.

Thank you for your continued faithful prayer and support. Many of you have been a tremendous blessing to us, and you are greatly appreciated. We are here because of your love and support, and that thought is never far from our minds.

Check out our blog at http://hopeofireland.blogspot.com for more information on what’s happening with us here.

Adding our love to His,

Mark & Brenda Ray

A major role of the National Office is to maintain communication with our denomination. To keep all of our ministries up to date on what is going on in the Brethren Church, this “National Office Update” is a bi-weekly letter to inform pastors and leaders of the current events in our denomination.

It is our hope that by offering these updates, we will strengthen our communication as well as join together, so we may move forward in the mission of the Brethren Church. Please feel free to pass along this information to all of those in your church who are interested in staying up to date with the ministry of the Brethren Church.

National Office Updates

We have been providing you with a National Office Update bi-weekly now for two months. This is the last hard copy update that you will be receiving via the postal service unless you contact the National Office. These updates will still be sent out by e-mail as well as posted to our website.

Pastors & Spouses Retreat

Approximately 60 Brethren pastors and spouses gathered last week on top of South Mountain in Maryland at Skycroft Conference Center for renewal, refreshment, devotion and fellowship hosted by Southeast District. Deeply devotional talks were led by John Schildt, a retired United Methodist pastor and spiritual brother of Pastor Brian Moore. Evening worship was led by the Hosanna Praise team from the St. James Brethren Church while Mike Woods led us into the Lord’s presence in morning devotion. Individuals took the time to soak in the rich history of the area, especially the Antietam battlefield highlighted by the Dunker Church, a part of our spiritual heritage. It was from the steps of this church that Abraham Lincoln spoke following the battle. Executive Director Ken Hunn also shared with those gathered about initiatives and direction from the National Office.

India Pastors & Orphans

The National Office is beginning to work on another year of India Pastors and Orphans support. Individuals and churches who have sponsored this past year will be receiving renewal information the first part of May. Please be in prayer about renewing your commitment to these pastors and orphans, or joining this program for the first time.

BYIC Update

An update about the National BYIC has been sent to all youth contacts in the Brethren Church. Be sure to check with your youth advisor contact or youth pastor to find out about the changes that have taken place. An email to the pastor’s mail group will also be sent out next week explaining some of these changes.

District Conferences

District Conferences are coming up soon. Please be in prayer for these meetings.

Indiana District - Camp Shipshewana - April 21st
Ohio District - Trinity Brethren Church - April 21st
Southeastern District - Windhaven Church - April 21st
Central District - Lanark First Brethren - April 28th
N. California District - Northgate Community - May 5th

United States and International Council Updates

Enclosed in this National Office Update are highlights from the U.S. and International Council meetings last month. More information will be available in upcoming Evangelists.

Executive Director Update

Ken Hunn has been busy traveling the past couple of weeks, from the Pastors Conference in Maryland, to Argentina and now in Chile. Ken will be returning to the office at the end of this week.

Website Updates

If you haven’t kept up with the Brethren Church website, www.brethrenchurch.org, you’re missing out on all sorts of important information. Work trip to Argentina, May Mission Bulletin Spotlights and 2008 Pastors & Spouses Conferences dates are just a few of the new things that have been updated. Be sure to check the website regularly to keep updated on all that is happening.

Please let us know if there are any specific ministries that you would like to know more about, as we would be more than happy to discuss them with you.

This is the LAST National Office Update that will be sent in the mail. Please contact the National Office if you would like to continue receiving this hard copy; otherwise, updates will be published through the pastors email group and also published on our website: www.brethrenchurch.org under About.

There is nothing like the experience of being on a mission field firsthand, or to interact with our missionaries firsthand, to change the life of an individual or of an entire congregation. For the past several years the Milford congregation has experienced this transformation through having missionaries come to speak and spend time, through short term mission experiences, through building churches, supporting pastors, buying coins, and developing very close, personal ties with a missionary family. Believe me, our missionaries enjoy these things also. They truly need the contact, the support, the interaction, the relationships, the money and the prayers.

The depth of this transformation is most evident in a project that the congregation has recently undertaken. Long story short - the Molina family (our missionaries in Spain), have been on the field for over nine years with no furlough. Combine this with a desire from Ken Hunn and the International Ministries Council to have all of our missionaries home for the 2008 General Conference to celebrate our 300th anniversary with us. Mix in the creative thinking of the Milford missions ministry. The result is what you are reading about today. The Milford congregation is offering the gift of the 2008 conference experience and a family vacation to their home in Argentina to the Molinas, all at the expense of the Milford Church.

Now, the Milford Church is not large, nor wealthy. However, the congregation is willing to step out in faith, trusting God to provide what is needed. The total cost of this gift package is approximately $11,000. The budget is done for the year without including this project and we can’t simply write a check. What follows is how we are doing it, how others are getting involved, and a challenge to you and your church family.

The first step required doing a little bit of homework. Flight timetables and costs were checked out, hotel rates were examined and a tentative timeline was put together. After these prices and schedules were put into place, every logistical piece of making such a trip was examined. For instance, how do we get the Molinas to Madrid; do the flight schedules require some extra lodging; where and when can they eat; what will they do while in the states; how do we move them from place to place? Answers to all of these questions were put into the overall plan. Costs for all of these items were then determined and included. The goal now becomes three - fold: fulfilling our commitment in providing this experience for the Molinas (especially since they are aware of it), getting as many people as possible involved in the process, and not jeaporadizing our regular ongoing giving and ministry.

The next step involved a trip to Hobby Lobby to find items to make a bulletin board. Each logistical part of the trip was identified on the bulletin board and the cost was listed on a corresponding tag. There are 17 pieces in all. The congregation was then challenged to lay claim to any of these 17 individual tags and cover the cost of that tag. Items were as diverse as a $25 car ride to the train station up to the $3,200 tickets for a flight from the US to Argentina. The congregation will work together utilizing fundraisers such as silent auctions, concert concession sales and more to fund the larger amounts. Individuals, families, and SS classes then made commitments to fund specific parts of the trip. The only requirement is that any regular giving pattern is not interrupted to pay for the tag. At this writing, (4 weeks into the project), only 5 tags are not yet spoken for. There are 9 families, one SS class and four teenage boys working as a group, that have chosen to participate so far.

The rewards that come out of a project like this are many. First and foremost, the Molinas will receive a well deserved vacation. Secondly, the Milford congregation receives the blessing of being this driving force to not only make this trip possible, but to show and share with others about how to accomplish something like this. Thirdly, there is a unified goal for the congregation to pursue, to get excited about and to celebrate when it is brought to completion. Fourth, people are learning how to stretch their giving a little more, in turn trusting God to provide a little more. And finally, people get to learn that by working together and everybody contributing, no job is too large to tackle. Take the four teenage boys for instance. Only one of the four has a job. Their responsibility is to cover the $200 of expenses for moving the Molinas around Ashland and then to Richmond for the General Conference. They looked at the timeline for getting the money raised and realized that they each only need to find $1/week over the next year to accomplish their goal. Doesn’t sound too tough does it?
Here’s the lesson: too often we only look at the end product to decide whether or not we have what it takes to get there. If we were to all look at ministry projects in terms of how do we get there and what will it take from all of us to get there we would probably embrace more challenges and enjoy more successes. We do a lot of this at Milford. We look at a project and break it down into the smallest pieces and ask people to attack these small pieces. Doing things this way allowed us to give away over $40,000 to various mission and ministry projects last year, including our District and National apportionments, while still meeting all of our other ministry needs.

Friends, the blessings and the provision of God, since we have committed ourselves to significant over and above mission support in Milford, have been incredible. I believe that every church is capable of doing this same kind of thing. I believe that every church can step up and be a part of what is going on in the Brethren Church. As we say in Indiana, “we are better together.” Think about this: the average cost of building a church in India is $3,000. That’s only $58 each week. If any church of 60 families gave an additional $1/family each week towards building the church, those churches could build an Indian church each year. Even in the tightest of personal financial situations, there is a dollar a week floating somewhere. Now think about this: according to the statistical reports from conference there are over 5,700 family units involved with the Brethren Church. Lets say that on any given Sunday there are 4,500 of those family units in worship and each of those families gave an additional $1 for international ministry. By years end that would account for an additional $234,000. Think of what we could accomplish!

To close I would offer this challenge and invitation: the challenge is for other churches to bring a missionary family to the US for the 2008 General Conference. It would be great to celebrate with all of them. It is not difficult to put these trips together, but it does require some time, creativity and commitment to do right. Join with other churches if you simply cannot do it yourself. If you would like to join with the Milford congregation and claim one of the remaining tags for the Molinas, contact Pastor Billy and let him know. The invitation is this - we would love to have another 2, 3, 4, or more churches to be a part of the regular and ongoing support of the Brethren Church in Spain. The Milford church has been the sole local church supporter, in the US, of the Brethren Church in Spain. The Brethren in Cordoba, Argentina also provide monthly support. We plan to continue this support as long as it is necessary. $900/month is the total support money we’re talking about. Would your church like share a part of this amount with us? Contact Pastor Billy and let him know. He’ll answer all of your questions regarding the ministry in Spain. He will also welcome your involvement. He will even offer you a spot on the upcoming trip this fall.

The reality is this: God is using the Brethren Church to make a difference not only in the US but also around the world. To continue these efforts will require all of us to be involved at a deeper level. To continue these efforts will require our finances, our prayers, and our willingness to experience these mission fields personally. To continue these efforts will require us living out “we are better together.” To continue these efforts requires you.