On June 23rd, John Swonger and Grover Duling, members of the CBC Executive National Board, had the great privilege to meet with the membership of the Osage Church in McCune Kansas. One purpose of this trip was to formally bring this body of believers into CBC by having them sign our Covenant Church Agreement. Brother John brought the message followed by the congregation agreeing to the Covenant document, then as shown here, the pastor, Jim Therrien and Board chair, Jim Huff signed the agreement.
After the signing was complete, the two Executive board members called all the leadership forward and prayed for them. The membership of this church now looks forward to a future, working together with CBC to serve the Lord in their local community and around the world. Grover presented Pastor Jim with the welcome packets from CBC and our partner agency, Samaritan’s Purse.
These wonderful God-fearing people worked very hard to make this day happen. It was a spirit-filled service followed by a church photo to commemorate the event and a meal that was out of this world.
Another reason for this trip was to talk with some leaders of other churches in the area that questions about CBC. All in all, the trip was a wonderful success and we are reminded of the blessing of being a part of the CBC family that is continuing to grow across the United States and beyond.
But the story of adding churches does not stop there. On July 14th CBC leaders Grover Duling and George Bowers traveled to Linville, VA to welcome the Mt. Zion church into the Covenant fold. Following a wonderful service with a true spirit of joy in the midst centering on a message brought by Pastor Jon Prater titled, “Always, Only, Jesus”, Grover led in the covenant signing service and the ordination of Pastor Prater and associate pastor Andrew Thompson.
The agreement was signed by board chair Anthony Slater and Pastor Jon. The atmosphere in the church was almost like that of a homecoming, filled with joy and peace. This church joins a growing number of churches in the Blue Ridge Region and brings a wealth of leadership experience and energy. They are excited to begin working with like-minded churches to advance the Gospel’s message and make that the primary goal.
But the news continued when on June 2nd brothers Larry Dentler and Jim Nolt traveled to the now, Stone Bridge Covenant Brethren Church near Hancock, MD to ordain Pastor Harry Strite and sign the Covenant Agreement with the congregation. We are happy to welcome this body of believers into the fold understanding that this was a difficult decision and process for them to make this change. We stand firm with them on their commitment to the Word of God as our authority and Jesus Christ as the only means of salvation.
The continued growth of the Covenant Brethren church never gets old and is fueled by the desire to honor God in all that we do and say. Are we perfect, no, and don’t claim to be. We simply want to keep the main thing the main thing and that is sharing the truth of God’s word and the wonderful message of salvation by faith in Jesus and His love.
Submitted by Craig Howard – Publications Committee Chair
