CONNECTIONS
News from Converge
MidAtlantic
August 2008 - Vol 2, Issue
4
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| Greetings! |
 Thank
you for your continued partnership with and support of
Converge MidAtlantic. May God richly bless you in your
ministry as this summer season draws to a
close. In Christ, Dan
Peterson | | |
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Church Plants Launching this
Fall
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Three new
Converge MidAtlantic churches will be birthed this fall across
our region. Be praying for God's blessing and outpouring in
every possible way!
 On
September 28th, the third campus of New Hope Loudonville, OH
will officially be launched in the city of Ashland, OH as
Pastor Charles Hill and the New Hope team expand to yet
another location. A campus pastor for the Ashland campus has
been hired, and a growing launch team of 50-60 people are
meeting every week in preparation for launch Sunday on
September 28th. Pastor Charles Hill will bring most of the
teaching on Sundays through both video and live involvement.
Ashland is a largely unchurched community, and New Hope is
very optimistic that God will bless this campus outreach to
touch many people with the love of Christ. Pray for Pastor
Charles and his team.
 On Sunday,
October 5th, church planter Tommie Carter will lead the launch
Sunday of Spirit and Truth Christian Center in Mansfield, OH.
During the past 6 months, Pastor Carter has served as a church
planting intern at Berean Baptist, and has now recruited a
launch team of 40 adults from Berean and from the Mansfield
community. Through the partnership of Converge MidAtlantic, a
building in the heart of Mansfield has been purchased, and
plans are in place for an exciting ministry touching the
diverse needs of individuals and families in Mansfield, OH.
Pray for Pastor Carter and his team as this ministry
publically launches in the coming weeks.
 Later this
fall, CityLight Church of Roanoke, VA, under the leadership of
church planter, Derek Lam will also plan to launch. Derek and
his wife Stacy and their family of 6 children have been
building relationships in Roanoke for over a year. This is
Derek's home town, and God has given the Lams a burning
passion to see people in this city come to Christ and come
back to Jesus. A launch team is now meeting every Sunday
night, and plans are coming together for the upcoming launch
of this strategic church plant in Central VA. Be praying for
Derek and his family and team as they move forward to touch
many people with the love of
Jesus.
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| Celebrate Love Lift Ukraine Event Coming, October
25th |
Having
just returned from another awesome trip to Ukraine, I'm more
excited than ever about all that God is doing in Ukraine and
how we here in Converge MidAtlantic have the privilege of
sharing in this great work! And you have the opportunity to
become involved in a special one day celebration and training
event on Saturday, October 25th at First Baptist Church, New
Castle, PA.
As Converge MidAtlantic prepares to
celebrate 10 years of involvement as a District in Ukraine,
we're looking to see 2009 become a record year of involvement
in teams going to Ukraine and in overall ministry impact.
Plans are in place for both Spring 09 trips and Summer 09
trips. And to learn more about how your church can become
involved in sistering, or in how you can lead a children's
adventure camp, or in how you can lead an English camp, or in
other ministry opportunities in Ukraine, we're inviting teams
and leaders from every Converge MidAtlantic church to come to
New Castle, PA on October 25th to learn, to consider ways of
involvement, and to network with others who have been involved
in the past.
 A special
guest for this day will be Ivan Kunderenko, a gifted Ukrainian
leader who works with us in Love Lift Ukraine, and who also is
involved in helping deploy Ukrainians to serve Christ in other
nations through Wycliffe Bible translators. Plan also, to meet
Tania Martin and Natasha Parker, Converge missionary
appointees to Ukraine. For more info on this exciting day, you
can contact Anna at the Converge MA office, or check out the
Ukraine ministry section on our website anytime. Make plans to
join us on October 25th for a great day of learning and
preparation for possible short term ministry in this
country!
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| Converge MidAtlantic Financial Update
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We are
very grateful to every Converge MidAtlantic church for your
financial partnership in our movement. Church planting,
strategic church enrichment, mission involvement in Ukraine,
LEAD Team and LEADNet ministries, camping ministries, youth
leadership training, and much more are the direct result of
the consistent financial partnership of District
churches.
While the giving of many of our churches
remains very strong, and while several new churches are
beginning to partner financially, we are currently
experiencing a shortfall in overall giving, yielding a deficit
at the present time in both our general fund and church
planting fund. We are very grateful that many of our churches
will be involved in Obsession Sunday (church planting Sunday),
and a special offering for church planting seed money
grants. This is very encouraging! Please continue to
pray for God's provision, and seek to remain faithful in your
support as God enables your church to do so. We are confident
that God will provide for His work through His
people.
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| Upcoming Events and Opportunities |
October 25 - Celebrate Love
Lift Ukraine day at First Baptist Church, New Castle, PA -
9:30 am-4:00 pm (contact Anna at: Anna@bgcmideast.com)
October 14-15 - Next Steps
Conference at Grace Point Church, Newtown, PA for Pastors and
Church Planting leaders. (Register online or by calling Anna
at 330-757-7970).
November 6-9 - MVM Men's
Conference at Valley Forge Convention Center for men across
our region. Register at: www.menofvalor.com
November 11-12 - The Sticks
Conference at New Hope, Loudonville, OH - Small town-Big
Impact Conference for church leaders of small and medium size
towns. (For more info, check out: www.thesticks.tv)
November 17-21 - Church
Planters Assessment Center, at First Baptist Church of
Glenarden, Landover, MD (Contact Anna at: Anna@bgcmideast.com).
April 30-May 1, 2009 -
Converge MidAtlantic Biennial Leadership Conference in
Pittsburgh, PA. Circle these dates now and watch for more info
soon!
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| Thank You
for your prayers and your partnership in the work of Christ
through our Converge MidAtlantic ministry. The involvement of
so many in praying, in leading, in giving, and in caring and
serving is what makes this movement of churches alive and
growing for Christ. Our Overseers, executive staff, and
support staff all say thank you for the privilege of serving
Jesus together with you. You remain in our prayers and
thoughts consistently.
Yours in Christ,
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Dan Peterson
Executive Minister, Converge
MidAtlantic
Mideast Baptist
Conference
20 E. McKinley Way, Poland,
Ohio 44514 · 330-757-7970 ·
bgcmideast.com
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