July 2020
Newsletter
From the Desk of the Vice President
God himself told Jesus' disciples to listen to His son (Luke 9:35). There has never been a better time in my life that this advice has been more important. We're living in extraordinary times. These times call for extraordinary thinking. In order to maintain healthy thinking we all need to maintain healthy listening. What are we listening to? More importantly, who are we listening to?

We are being inundated with information from the world. It is nonstop. When one considers that much of what is being broadcast comes from thinking much different than ours, many of these sources believe that you and I have been putting faith in an archaic book filled with out-of-this-world claims and unrealistic expectations. Their information has concluded that our conclusions and hopes rest on nothing but foolishness.

It occurs to me that my Bible is perhaps more relevant today than it has ever been. It is the one thing that helps me to filter out what is truth and what is pointless. It helps keep my thinking on track. It is designed to help guard my mind and yours as we move through this swirling stretch of life.

Let me give you a 'for instance.' When I look at what is happening in our city's streets today; the Bible reminds me 'to make every effort to be at peace with all men' (Hebrews 12:14). That's good advice. That's even better thinking. Some might say it's 'novel thinking.' I'm so grateful for those mentors and teachers that God placed in my life. Some were there when I was little. Some of you were there when I got bigger. You taught me how to think and showed me where to go in the assembling of my thoughts. You were the folks who taught me songs like 'Jesus Loves the Little Children, All the children of the world, red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight.' That is not antiquated thinking. It never will be. Why? It's Scriptural: 2 Timothy 3:16 is still relevant for all of us today. So is everything previous to that verse and also everything that follows.

There is much out there today that will attempt to influence your thinking over the next few hours and/or days. Remember, God's Spirit sees your predicament (Ephesians 5:15,16). He's even given you His thinking for such a time as this (2 Corinthians 2:16). May the Lord bless all of us within the Eastern Region of Advent Christian Churches today with healthy thinking.

God bless you,
Rev. Frank Jewett
Can you guess which church this is? The first person to email the office (secretary@aceasternregion.org) with the correct answer will receive a small prize. If this is your home church, we ask that you refrain from answering.
The June Church was the Northwood, NH Advent Christian Church. Unfortunately, no one guessed it correctly.
Good News

The WalletHub looked at 53 safety metrics for all 50 states, with data touching upon crime, road safety, workplace accidents and deaths, among other indicators. I thought that it was interesting that 6 of the top 10 were New England States. The following in ascending order, were deemed the safest in WalletHub's report:

  1. Maine - Maine is first in both personal and residential safety and road safety. It has the fewest assaults per capita of any state in the Nation.
  2. Vermont - The state is second in the nation in personal and residential safety. It has the fourth-lowest number of assaults per capita.
  3. Minnesota - First in workplace safety and third in road safety.
  4. Utah - Fourth lowest losses from natural disasters per capita.
  5. Wyoming - Third in the most law enforcement personnel per capita.
  6. Iowa - Tied for first in lowest unemployment rate.
  7. Massachusetts - The state is first in financial safety and second in road system safety. The state also has the nation's lowest percentage of uninsured residents.
  8. New Hampshire - Seventh in personal and residential safety and tenth in financial safety. It also is tied for first in lowest unemployment rate and has the nation's second-lowest assaults-per-capita rate.
  9. Connecticut - Fourth in personal and residential safety.
  10. Rhode Island - Sixth safest road system. It ranks wights in personal and property safety and has the second-lowest rate of fatal occupational accidents.

Great News

God loves people. He created all human beings, not just whites, not just English speakers, and not just hose from a select socio-economic group. He has given all of us the opportunity to become is children. Romans 8:14-17 says, "For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."

We are all drowning in a sea of sinfulness. Lost, with no way of making it on our own. But Jesus died for our sins, providing a way of salvation by standing in our place and taking our punishment upon himself. When we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, receive Him as our Savior and Lord, and confess Him with our mouths, we will be saved (Rom. 10:9). I spent a summer at Sandy Cove Bible Camp in St. Davids, New Brunswick, Canada when I was 6 years old. Every week a new group of youth would attend the camp and every week I heard the gospel presented. One night at the end of the summer as we all sat around the campfire, I went forward and gave my heart to Jesus. I believed in Him and desired his forgiveness and wanted him to be the Lord of my life, to the best of my knowledge at the time. My life has never been the same.

This is the best news ever. Now I celebrate my new life in Christ with all of my brothers and sisters that I meet around the world, and down the street. Nothing about them matters except that we both are in relationship with Jesus. We all share in the unity of the teaching, the HOPE of Christ’s soon return, and eternity in His presence. What could be better to write about?

The Eastern Region's Family of Families
 "From no tech to high tech"

I called Pastor Charlie Downes to see how he was doing and gathered the following information from him about his life and ministry:

Charlie says that they suspended services under the guidance of the Governor of Maine and felt that he had to continue sharing the Word and connecting with his congregation. So, he learned how to use Facebook and zoom to present his teaching and connect all of his Facebook friends to his preaching and teaching. He had two services on Sunday morning and evening, and 2 Bible studies during the week. He has been reaching over 400 people weekly through the internet. He said, "as a small church pastor of about 35 people, I never imagined that God wold give me the opportunity to reach so many people with my teaching of God's Word." Two of the people he has made an impact on are his Vietnam War buddies who live in the area and are not believers.

Charlie has received many good comments about his services from all kinds of people, but especially his own congregation. He believes that, "people like seeing their own pastor speak to them and provide a weekly connection. They may not be as eloquent, but they know you and connect with you in a way that big name speakers can't."

Charlie says, "I am a product of the Promise Keeper's Movement of the late 1990's. They lit a fire under me that got me involved in ministry. This was a huge turning point in my life." Charlie went to the Eliot AC Church in 2000 and took some of the Lay Pastor Training that Superintendent Taber offered. In 2002, he became the Pastor of the South Eliot Advent Christian Church and served there until 2008. He thought his time there was fulfilled, but the Lord called him back to Eliot for a second season of ministry in 2011 and at age 75 he is still there effectively leading the church.

There are many gifted leaders in the church there who assist him in ministry: George Middleton, Bob Fisher, Kent Davis, and Joe Chambers all have some ministry training and preaching ability. They are a great asset to this little church as they make an impact together in their community.

Pastor Charlie decided to go back to services in the building slowly, allowing time for people to adjust and see what will happen. They plan to begin holding services again on July 1st. Pastor Charlie said, "Some people are in a hurry to get back to church as 'normal,' but we still don't know what 'normal' is going to be." Whether they are in a building on Sunday mornings or not, Pastor Charlie has found a new outlet to proclaim the truth of the Gospel and he is not going to abandon the connections that he has made on the internet.

Tune in to the Advent Christian Church of South Eliot on Facebook at 9:45 AM and 6:00 PM on Sundays.

Pastor Charlie entered the ministry at age 56; is a US Army veteran of Vietnam; has two degrees in Business Administration; managed Woolworth stores and had a career in the US Postal Service; came to the Lord at age 13 in 1958; felt called to ministry at 16, and 40 years later accepted God's call as a certified lay minister from the Maine State Conference; and grew up in the Rochester, NH Church of God.


A little History

The South Eliot Advent Christian Church was built in the late 1800's on the site of a burned down Baptist Church. Unfortunately, the church went through a split through the work of Satan. The first Sunday upon my return as pastor, there were 14 people in attendance. One day, I got a call from a family of 5 asking if they needed an invitation to attend the church. I had conducted a funeral for the grandfather a year or two before. I told them they didn't need an invitation, but invited them anyway. They came the following Sunday and have been become very active in our church. Their teen son asked if he could bring a friend, same answer. The two teens have attended Camp Washington for four years, and came to Christ their first year there.

When the cause of the church split was resolved in 2013, all of the folks who left the church returned. In 2014 I got a call from a family needing a pastor to conduct a funeral on very short notice. A week later, 10 people showed up for church, many who had attended the funeral.

The church is located directly on the Piscataqua River separating Maine and New Hampshire. During the Summer months, we keep our front church doors open. Three years ago, a young Greek immigrant was walking past the church. She saw the doors open, heard the singing and came in for the service. She is still attending. An exchange student from Japan came to our service. As she was leaving afterward, she asked for a Bible and information on the A.C. denomination.
There are many more stories to share.

Pastor Charlie is available to help with suggestions or answer questions, he can be reached at mlou01@comcast.net
Ministry Spotlight

Massena Church helps feed the hungry with "Blessing Box."

An idea became a reality at the Northside Community Church at 41 North Main Street in Massena, NY. During Wednesday night prayer meeting with Pastor Bruce Beckstead ideas were discussed on ways to help the community. Beth Kells had an idea for a Blessing Box Food Pantry. The ideas was taken to local craftsman Ron Roy and Uptown Glass that turned it into a reality.

Similar to those "Little Free Libraries" that have become popular a few years ago, the Blessing Box Food Pantry is a wooden box 2 1/2 feet high and 2 feet wide that sits on a post and is stocked with nonperishable food that is currently collected from our church family. Items could include pasta, bread, cans of soup, tomato sauce, cereal, canned fruit, vegetables or canned meat. During the warmer months fresh fruit and vegetables from gardens could be added to the box. Blessing Boxes are popping up mostly in front of churches and nonprofit organizations across the country. On the side of the box hangs a sign that reads, "Take what you need. Donate what you can. And God bless you."

Hunger is a community problem and we welcome the community to help. We would like to open food donations to anyone, neighbors, local businesses and other organizations. Donations can be placed in the box at Northside Community Church.
Monthly Devotional Thought

Choosing Sides

"He who is not with me is against me," Jesus once warned some skeptics who accused him of expelling demons by the power of Satan (Lk. 11:23). No one can encounter the Son of God and remain neutral about his identity. His radical claims will not go away, nor will his call to life-giving, life-absorbing and life-changing discipleship. To meet the Christ is to face a crisis. His very presence demands decision.

On another occasion, Jesus' disciples reported with alarm, "We saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to hinder him because he does not follow along with us" (9:49).

Jesus' reply was immediate and clear. "He who is not against you is for you," he tells his possessive and self-focused disciples (Lk. 9:50). Even then, Jesus' followers did not all run together. Jesus had some disciples whom the Twelve did not know - and who apparently did not join the larger band who trailed behind the Twelve. But they knew Jesus, and he knew them, and that was enough.

Do we hear the message in our own time? We are not called to preach ourselves or our group (2 Cor. 4:5). Not our denomination or our non-denomination. Not our brotherhood or our fellowship or our movement. We are called to proclaim Jesus and to win disciples for him. God still has other sheep outside our smaller folds. Sectarian impulses die slowly, but die they must. When Jesus comes again, we will see that loyalty to him is all that ever really mattered. If you are "for" Jesus, you and I are on the same side - whether or not you are part of my group in any other sense. To be for Jesus is all I can ask of you. And when I see clearly, I know that it is the best I can ever hope for myself as well.

Edward Fudge
GRACeMAIL
Visit our website to make a donation online
To the churches who have continued to give this year, THANK YOU!

Online Prayer Meeting Fridays from 12-1 p.m.
Previous copies of the monthly newsletter and helpful articles on Covid-19 are now on our website.

The Heritage Conference will hold their annual meeting via zoom on Saturday July 18, 2020.
Click the link below to visit the Advent Christian Voices blog. Where Advent Christians consider the past, examine the present, and define the future of the Advent Christian Church.
Leadership Development

Ed Stetzer said in his book Christians in the Age of Outrage , "I think we need to discipline-yes, to disciple-our minds (and the minds of our friends) to think more critically."

Mark Noll , a professor at Notre Dame, who has long cautioned Christians against a virulent strain of anti-intellectualism, warned, "The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind."

Recent statistics show that only 5% of churches have a disciple making movement in their church.

I believe that we need to grow personally as disciples of Jesus Christ and as Leaders within His church. But, it is not enough that some of our Pastors will attend a course or read a book on occasion. I believe that we all need to begin an intentional investment in the training of our church families to be well educated believers and well trained leaders.
There are many good programs within and without of our movement. Berkshire Christian and ACGC have teamed up to offer a program called MTI that bears exploring. Gordon- Conwell has partnered with the Lily Foundation to offer a Certificate program being offered in churches across New England. Within the Region we have been advocating Antioch School for many years, and many churches and individuals have benefited from the First Principles studies and the Leadership Courses. Here is a bit more information about those last two options.
We believe that as leaders and lay people in the local church are equipped (Eph. 4), churches will thrive. In partnership with Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Thriving In Ministry is committed to bringing seminary classes in local church contexts so that you can be better equipped to serve and lead.

"Are you eager for training in ministry but not yet ready for a full seminary degree? Try one of our new graduate certificates: Six courses per certificate, available 100% online.
Besides offering B.Min.; M.Min.; and D.Min. degrees, the Antioch School is now offering 4 Certificates in ministry:

Senior Leader Executive Education Graduate Level C.Min.
Pastoral Team Graduate Level C.Min.
Marketplace Leaders and Urban Professionals Graduate Level C.Min
Bi-Vocational Pastors Undergraduate or Graduate Level C.Min
Multipurpose Undergraduate Level C.Min

Leaders Series Courses will be starting in September for the Fall Semester. Please contact the Regional Office if you are interested in personal study, or in developing your leadership team for greater impact in your church/community.
The Eastern Regional Annual Convention is October 22-24, 2020.
"The Church in Crisis"
Keynote speaker John Tate

The 2020 Eastern Regional Convention will be held online as opposed to meeting at a physical site. After much deliberation, the planning committee, and Regional Board has decided that due to the size limitations, hotel restrictions, quarantining due to crossing state borders, we felt that it would be too difficult to have an event like we normally do. Our constitution requires us to hold a meeting annually, and we still felt led to put on a program. So we are working toward having an online program Thursday October 22 and Friday October 23 with a business meeting on Saturday October 24th.

We will have reports, articles, and videos to watch prior to these dates and will have awards, teaching, and business taking place as well. This is not ideal, but it should save all of our church delegates some money (food, hotels) while allowing us to convey all of the important Convention business. Please bear with us as we work out the bugs and try to make this a quality event for everyone involved.

Registration, of course, will still be online.

ERA Board of Directors  
 
Rev. George Karl, President - sumkarl@yahoo.com
Rev. Frank Jewett, Vice President - frankrjewett@gmail.com
Rev. Allen Latimore, Clerk - aclatimore@netzero.net
Mr. Howie Munday, Treasurer - mundayhk77@gmail.com
Rev. Doug Tourgee, Heritage Conf. President - dougin401@aol.com
Mr. Kent Davis, Maine State Conf. Vice President - kdavis@pgagnon.com
Josh Rice, Maranatha Conf. President - jrice.emmanuel@gmail.com
Rev. Derek Irvine, New Life Conf. President drick1221@gmail.com
Mr. Adam Facteau, New York Conf. President - afacteau@twcny.rr.com
Rev. Ken Perkins, Nova Scotia Conf. President - Ken.perkins@EastLink.ca
Mr. Charlie Merrill, ERA Representative to ACGC - cmerrill7967@gmail.com
Rev. Steve Lawson, ACGC Executive Director - slawson@acgc.us

The Eastern Regional Association Newsletter is published as a ministry of the Eastern Regional Association of the Advent Christian General Conference.
Eastern Regional Association
32 Four Rod Road, Rochester, NH 03867
Phone: 603-332-1412 / Fax: 603-332-1648
www.aceasternregion.org