Events of general interest among Grace Brethren Churches. Details and registration information are available from the sponsoring organizations or at www.fgbc.org.
March 3-11 – Spring Break (GC&S)
March 5-9 – MI700 Course on Church Planting in Dublin, OH (GBNAM & GTS)
March 17 -- NexGen, Grace Community Church, Goshen, IN (CEN)
March 18-19 – VIP Campus Visit Days (GC&S)
April 13 – North of 55, Wooster, OH (CE)
April 18 – VIP Campus Visit Day (GC&S)
April 19 – North of 55, Mid Atlantic, Rhodes Grove (CE)
April 20 – North of 55, Lancaster/New Holland, PA (CE)
April 27-29 -- HalfTime event, Grace Community Church, Goshen, IN (CE)
May 5 – Commencement (GC&S)
May 11 – 412 Classes end, internships begin (CE)
May 21-23 – Northwest Focus Retreat, Camp Clear Lake, WA (FGBC)
June 11-15 -- ACTS training (GBIM)
June 12 – Operation Barnabas begins, Lititz, PA (CE)
June 21-24 – DRIVEN07, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH (CE)
June 24-July 22 – MasterWorks Festival (GC&S)
July 10-14 – GBIM Missionary Family Reunion
July 21-27 – Momentum (BNYC) 2007, University of Southern Mississippi (CE)
July 29-August 3, 2007 – Equip07, Winona Lake, IN (FGBC)
Aug. 21 – Fall Semester Begins (GC&S)
Sept. 16 -- Mid Atlantic Celebration, Calvary GBC, Hagerstown, MD (CE)
Sept. 17 -- Northern Atlantic Celebration, Good ‘n Plenty Restaurant, Smoketown, PA (CE)

GBNAM = Grace Brethren North American Missions
GBIM = Grace Brethren International Missions
CE = CE National
FGBC = Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches
GC&S = Grace College and Seminary
GTS = Grace Theological Seminary

In Kristine Pappas’ book, Widow for a Season, she writes that in order for one to find their identity in Christ, one must find surrender and receive Him as Lord and Savior.

God has accomplished our salvation with the peace and power that accompanies it through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. But we must choose whether we want His salvation.

We choose salvation because we want to spend eternity with Jesus Christ. If we do not choose to receive Christ, we will spend eternity in hell with Satan and his host of fallen angels (Matt. 25:41). The torment of hell is not just hot fire or suffering, it is being totally separated from God and Christ forever.

To accept Christ, we must acknowledge we are sinners and recognize we are without hope. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

We must repent of our sins, confess that Jesus is Lord, and believe that God raised Him from the dead. “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation (Romans 10:9-10).

If this is the leading of your heart, pray the following prayer (or use similar words).

God, I want to find my identity in you. I realize I am sinful and without hope. I repent of my sins and confess that you are Lord. I recognize that salvation comes only through Your Son, Jesus Christ, and today I accept Him and commit to following Him forever. Please receive me as Your child.

If you have sincerely prayed that prayer, you are now a child of God, and your identity is in Christ. Find a good Bible-teaching church—perhaps the one from which you obtained this paper—and begin the lifelong discovery of the delights of being a Christian—a believer.

Also see Widow for a Season Helps More Than Grief Recovery.

Fifteen Years Ago – 1992
-- Bobbette Osborn Ridenour retired from the Brethren Missionary Herald Co. after 38 years of service at BMH and the National Sunday School Board and Brethren Youth Council (the latter two now combined as CE National).
-- Tim Boal accepted the pastorate at the Penn Valley church in Telford, Penna.

Twenty Years Ago – 1986
-- Tom Julien, FGBC moderator, convened a three-day consultation meeting of more than 20 pastors, Fellowship, and national organization leaders to discuss elements of FGBC identity, its strengths, weaknesses, and mission.
-- Gordon Bracker, a pastor in the Fellowship for 48 years, died on February 18.

Forty Years Ago – 1957
-- An organizational meeting was held for the beginning of a new church in Mabton, Wash., with 15 charter members.
-- The Columbus, Ohio, Grace Brethren Church held the first baptismal service in its new building with 12 candidates. Dave Hocking, pastor.

Fifty Years Ago – 1957
-- A new Grace Brethren Church was incorporated in Warsaw, Ind. Clyde Landrum led the congregation at the Community Grace Brethren Church of Warsaw and Bob Cover was the assistant pastor.
-- The March 2 Brethren Missionary Herald reported on a relief trip to the Grace Brethren Church in Dryhill, Ky., after devastating floods with water levels 10 to 15 feet above normal. Pastors Russell Ward and Clair Brickel delivered boxes of canned goods, dishes, kitchen utensils, beds, and clothing collected by the Southern Ohio District churches. Evelyn Fuqua was the missionary on site at the time.
 

By Ron Dorner
No one would hand out copies of their bank statements in front of the local department store. But some computer owners are doing something very similar without even knowing it!

If you have financial information stored on your computer and you connect to the Internet, your information is available to the world. You must take steps to protect it. Your computer has hundreds of points (ports) that are available to individuals who constantly search the World Wide Web to gain access to personal information. If you do not follow good advice, your information is up for grabs.

Every computer should have a good antivirus, spyware, and firewall package that automatically updates itself. If you do not understand these terms, get someone to help you “protect” your computer system.

Viruses can invade your computer and make it inoperable. Spyware is any software that secretly gathers information about a user while he or she navigates the Internet and transmits the information to an individual or company that uses it for marketing or other purposes. A firewall controls what comes into and goes out of your computer.

Do your children use the computer online? This is another way personal information about your family may be collected. Monitor what your children share about the family when they are on the Internet. (For more information, see www.cenational.org/techwatch.)

The computer found in most homes today contain the same capacity as a room full of computers 40 years ago. They are wonderful and powerful, but also can be vulnerable. If good protection software is installed and kept up-to-date, it is easy to transact business. Much time and money can be saved.

Some people say they wouldn’t use their credit card online. If your computer has the software mentioned above and you buy something at a website with a credit card, the website uses 128-bit encryption to transmit your data. That means your information is sent with any one of 34 quadrillion (15 zeros) code combinations! Basically, unbreakable (and safe). Yet this same person will hand his or her card to a waiter in a restaurant who might take it to a back room and collect pertinent information using a black-market card reader that costs less than $100.

“A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,” according to Proverbs 1:5. We live in a complex world and the goals of many are evil. My prayer for you is that you will be a wise steward and utilize the timesaving features of your computer while at the same time taking protective action.

Ron Dorner is director of Biblical Money Management. BMM has been helping believers handle their finances and estate planning since 1984. Online counseling is available at www.BiblicalMoneyManagement.com.
 

Grab a hammer and a paint brush! In the spirit of television’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Momentum 07 (Brethren National Youth Conference) will assist with special “makeover” projects during the conference, which will be held July 21-27 in Hattiesburg, Miss. Following the theme, Xtreme Makeover: Heart Edition, the conference will encourage teams of students, staff, and other guests to spread into the community each afternoon to assist with Hurricane Katrina recovery projects.

The purpose of the theme is two-fold; in addition to emphasizing makeover projects in Gulfport, Miss. the conference will also focus on the makeover of the heart, the fresh start God offers in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

CE National, sponsor of Momentum 07, and the Grace Brethren Disaster Relief Fund (managed by Grace Brethren North American Missions), are hoping to raise $25,000 to assist with the work projects.

The majority of projects will involve dry-walling and painting. Funds raised through the Grace Brethren Disaster Relief Fund will assist in purchasing necessary supplies. In addition, a portion will be used to provide transportation from the conference campus to the work sites.

An estimated 350-500 students and adults could be involved in this project each day, according to officials at CE National.

In addition, Momentum 07 is forming a team of 35 to 50 adults who will serve as work project managers. Each manager will be assigned to one project location in the Gulfport area and will oversee a group of 10 to 12 students and one to two youth workers each afternoon of the Momentum conference.

Momentum 07 is partnering with a local church in the Gulfport area to streamline all work sites and to provide orientation to the projects. Some of the managers will be needed during the week of July 16 to assist with preparations for the following week. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to indicate your interest in helping as a project manager and/or for more information. Momentum 07 (Brethren National Youth Conference), July 21-27, University of Southern Mississippi, Gulfport. For more information, see www.buildmomentum.org/.