CONNECTIONS
News from Converge
MidAtlantic
December 2008 - Vol 2, Issue
6
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| Greetings! |
 Thank
you for your continued partnership with and support of
Converge MidAtlantic. May you have the gift of faith,
the blessing of hope and the peace of His love at
Christmas and always. In Christ, Dan
Peterson | | |
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Church Planting Update - Jeremy and
Kimi Copeland
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 Having lived in NC
for only 4 months, now, Jeremy and Kimi Copeland, Converge
MidAtlantic church planters to Durham, NC, seem to be settling
in real well. Jeremy and Kimi have moved into a
neighborhood with a lot of other young families.
Friendships are being established, and already, a home Bible
study group has begun to meet.
Online networking has
been especially helpful as the Copelands have met other young
families, many of whom have recently moved into the area as
well. As they have shared their story and vision to
plant a church for their generation, several couples have
already shown an interest in this budding church plant.
Saturday night home group gatherings involve 8 to 12 adults
and just as many kids in the Copeland's home. More
contacts are being made every week.
Be praying for the
Copelands as they continue to expand their base of contacts in
the Durham community, at Duke University, and on other
campuses in this growing area. Pray for wisdom as they build
this launch team, as they organize preview services, and as
they seek to bless their community in the name of Jesus.
Pray too, for God's continued provision for all of the
finances that will be needed for their personal support and
for necessary work funds to plant this new baby church.
Thanks for partnering in a vision that is reaching into
Durham, NC, and young families who are looking for Jesus and
the life and hope that He offers to them. If you have any
contacts in the Durham area, or would like to connect up with
the Copelands, you can email Jeremy or Kimi at jcopeland@me.com.
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| Celebrate Love Lift Ukraine Highlights
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 On Saturday,
Oct 25th nearly 50 participants gathered in New Castle,
PA from all across the Converge MidAtlantic District for an
exciting, inspirational, and educational day focusing on our
short term mission ministry in Ukraine. Ukrainian guest,
Ivan Kunderenko, Director of Wycliffe Ukraine, and our onsite
coordinator for arrangements, talked in a compelling way about
the need for partnerships with U.S. churches in Ukraine.
He told us that the American church is highly esteemed in
Ukraine, and that the experiences that we have had here in a
secular culture, can be very helpful for the brothers and
sisters there in Ukraine. Ivan also spoke about the rich
history of the Ukrainian church, its traditions, and where it
needs to go to stay vital into the future.
In addition,
helpful breakout sessions dealt with things like: "how to
financially support your short term missions trips", how to
set up and lead English camps and English language classes in
Ukraine as an outreach, how to run children's and youth
adventure camps, and learning the language for
beginners.
 One of the
memorable highlights was the opportunity at the close of the
day, to lay hands on and pray for Tania Martin, new career
missionary appointee to Ukraine. Tania comes from our
First Baptist Church of Glenarden, and has been involved in
many of the short term trips to Ukraine.
Plans are in
place for teams to travel to Ukraine this Spring and
Summer. A Vision trip will be included in the summer
trip (July 22nd to Aug 4th). For more info on these
trips, you can contact Anna at the Converge office
anytime. Talk to her soon, though, as an initial deposit
for the summer trip is needed by Jan 5,
2009.
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| Converge MidAtlantic Biennial Leadership Conference
planned for May 15, 2009 |
Every
pastor and key leader in Converge MidAtlantic is encouraged to
mark your calendar now for this years' Biennial Leadership
Conference planned for Friday, May 15, 2009, in New Castle,
PA. A strong line up of presenters is being secured to
maximize the impact of this years' event for you and your
church.
Please note the change in date and location
from previous information. New date and location are
Friday, May 15, 2009, at the First Baptist Church of New
Castle, PA. Be watching for more
details.
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McNaughton Street Church closes its doors
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After
nearly 90 years of rich history and ministry in the Akron, OH
community, McNaughton Street Baptist Church held its last
service on Sunday, October 26, 2008. McNaughton St
Church was one of our heritage churches, having been planted
by Swedish immigrants who settled in the Akron area in the
early 1920's. Over the years, the congregation reached
out to serve the Akron and Cleveland areas in many ways.
It partnered in mission with the BGC and the MBC, and has had
a long history of involvement in sending children and young
people to Camp Burton. Several leaders have been raised
up in this church to serve the Lord in pastoral ministry and
mission work. Over the past 20 plus years, the
McNaughton St. community dramatically changed. The
congregation aged, and was unable to maintain a vital ministry
in its community. While the Converge MidAtlantic
executive staff has been consulting with the church and its
leaders over the past 18 months, it became clear to the
leaders and then the congregation, that this was God's time
for this congregation to die. A legacy of rich ministry
and impact for Jesus will remain from the life and story of
this congregation.
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| For
Your Calendar |
March 7 - Regional Generosity
Summit at Old North Church in Canfield, OH
Teams
from churches in NE Ohio, Western PA, NW PA and NY, and
Central OH are invited. Be watching for more info real
soon.
May 15 - Converge
MidAtlantic Biennial Leadership Conference in New
Castle, PA. More detailed information will be coming
soon.
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| Christmas Greetings from the Petersons, Schroeders,
and Sculls |
We want
to take this opportunity to extend to every Converge
MidAtlantic pastor, leader, and congregation a blessed and
Christ filled Christmas greeting. As we celebrate the
coming of Jesus into our world, what a powerful picture of
what ministry is truly all about. Yes, it is about
identifying with the pain, the heartache, and the struggles
that people in our communities in the 21st century are
experiencing. This is what Jesus was born to do, what
the incarnation is all about, and it is what we have the
awesome privilege of sharing in.
It is a rich privilege
to serve you and your church here in the Converge MidAtlantic
movement. We do not take this privilege lightly. We
consider it an honor, and we want you to know that you and
your ministry really do matter to us. You are in our
prayers regularly. Your challenges and struggles are
important to us. We are committed to standing with you
in any and every possible way.
May the Jesus who came
to redeem and to stand with us through our journey, be
especially near to you this Christmas season. As the
song writer put it: "O holy child of Bethleham, descend on us
we pray. Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us
today".
With love and gratitude,
The Converge
MidAtlantic Executive
Team
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Mideast Baptist
Conference
20 E. McKinley Way, Poland,
Ohio 44514 · 330-757-7970 ·
bgcmideast.com
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