July 2023 Newsletter

President's Column

I don't want to write too much this month since we have so many excellent spotlights and highlights from various ministries across our region. I want to thank everyone who sent in articles for this newsletter. If you have a ministry highlight that you would like to share in an upcoming newsletter please send it to Kathleen Irvine at acerasecretary@gmail.com.  We would especially like to hear about the ways the Lord has blessed during our various camp meetings across our region. If you have camp information please send it on.

In His Service,

George

Laura and I spent part of our 4th of July at the Green Mountain Bible Camp in Bethel, Vermont. It has had a long history with our denomination which has included such speakers as Larry Ross, Barry Tate and many other Advent Christian pastors. Due to the fact that there are no Advent Christian Churches in close proximity, that connection has waned. We did have a tour of the campground with it's president Joe Gordon and spent time talking to a longtime Advent Christian Joe Trottier, who is not only a member at GMBC but also a member at the White River Junction campground. We enjoyed a wonderful BBQ, followed by the evening service. We were blessed by the amount of activities for all age groups and to see their love and dedication for the Lord.

On Saturday July 8th beginning at 9am there will be a work day at the ERA residence/ office. We will be removing all items from the property in preparation for selling it. Rev. Josh Rice will be heading up the work day. We recognize that most people reading this announcement will be quite a distance away but anyone who is in close proximity, please come. We need your help! Lunch will be provided. Thank you.

The address is 32 Four Rod Rd. Rochester, NH.

Pastor Spotlight

Russell Carle

Biography: Russell Carle was raised on a farm in eastern Maine. He attained a degree in Biblical studies at Wheaton College. He and his wife Noelle have mostly served churches in the Eastern Region including his first church in Bear Point, Nova Scotia. They also enjoyed time in churches in New Zealand and Oklahoma. From 2007 to 2013, he was the African/European Missions Director and Coordinator of Stewardship and Tithing for ACGC. Russell and Noelle now minister at the Goodwins Mills Advent Christian Church in Dayton, Maine. They have 3 children and 4 grandchildren.

Devotional

Our Friday night banquet speaker will be Rev. John Tate, Senior Pastor at Emmanuel Church, Rochester, NH. Additional Convention information, including registration information will be coming in the near future.

We have secured an agreement with the Fireside Inn in Waterville for lodging at $115 per night plus tax. You may reserve your room by going to the link below. Be sure to select the number of nights and the total will adjust automatically.

Board Member Spotlight

Rev. Doug Tourgee

Douglas W. Tourgee was born, raised and now pastors a church in the Pawtucket Valley area of Rhode Island. He grew up attending Phenix Baptist Church in West Warwick with his family. Pastor Doug graduated from Coventry High School, then attended Lee College in Cleveland, Tennessee where he received a Bachelor of Science in Bible and Christian Education graduating in 1975. 

While in Tennessee he traveled throughout the Southeast holding Christian Education Seminars in churches. His love of Southern Gospel Music also saw him touring as pianist for the Gospel Tone Quartet. He also worked in a mission church in an impoverished Appalachian area in Bradley County, TN. 

Once back in Rhode Island, he continued his education and earned a Master of Art in Christian Education from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in 1995. With this degree in Christian Education, he taught in a Christian School and was the administrator.   His post graduate work was in counseling, becoming a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He has been to El Salvador three times to do short term mission work.  

He has served as Christian Education Director, Associate Pastor and has pastored in both the Church God and Assemblies of God before becoming Pastor at Riverpoint Advent Christian Church in 1993. 

He continues to speak and play the piano at various church events locally. He coordinates the National Day of Prayer event in West Warwick and is active in various ministerial groups in Mid-State RI. He also is on the board of Galatians 6:10 Project, which is a Christian social service response group in time of emergencies. After having served on the Heritage Conference Board for about 20 years and Doug is now Conference President.   

His heart is to see people come to and grow in the saving knowledge of Jesus and show others the love of God. 

One of my favorite hymns is “O To be Like Thee”. The words to the chorus are “O to be like Thee! O to be like Thee, Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art! Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness; stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.” 

This chorus came to mind a few weeks ago while at a friend’s birthday party. One lady, from a Catholic background, wanted to talk about the things of God. And that is all she wanted to do. So, we did and it was joyous. As the conversation progressed, she told me she felt the Lord spoke to her to “link your sufferings with Mine.” As she spoke at length about this, the Lord prompted me to speak of Philippians 3:10 which says; “O that I might know Him, in the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings being made conformable unto His death.” 

It is exciting to know Him in the power of His resurrection: the new life in Christ, passing from the Kingdom of this world into the Kingdom of God. How that power is manifested in a new nature, the Fruit of the Spirit, His sanctifying power, and even in the miraculous. However, the fellowship of His suffering is not so exciting. We want to connect our suffering, trials, difficult times of life with Him. According to James, It is in the struggles of life, the testing of our faith, that develops maturity and completion. As Philippians put it conformable unto His death. I am convinced that as we see the “Day of the Lord approach” there is a call to connect our sufferings to His sufferings, so we might be a glowing ambassador of Christ. Our character as a Christian will often have more effect than our words in bringing people to Christ.   

My new Catholic friend was quite excited to hear there was a reason God would speak to her about linking her suffering with His. It made sense to her. The excitement is no matter how young or old we are in Christ, He is always at work to make us like Him. Let us allow him to make us conformed to His character, “stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.”   

Justin Nash

Justin has lived in Monroe, NC his entire life. He came to faith in Christ at the age of 19 under the ministry of John Gallagher while attending Shiloh Advent Christian Church. He began working for a small IT company after graduating high school. He worked at that company for approximately 20 years. He succeeded Keith Wheaton as the Director of Communication at ACGC in January of 2009. In addition to that role, he began serving as Director of Church Health in 2018.

He has been married to his wife, Joyce for 27 years. She is a third-generation Advent Christian and has spent the last three decades teaching high school history. They have a 15-year-old son, Nathan, who is a rising sophomore. Justin has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Marketing from Thomas Edison State College and a Master of Theological Studies, with an emphasis in church revitalization, from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

He Must Increase

John the Baptist was in the midst of a very successful ministry and he and Jesus were also in close proximity to one another. This proximity caused some friction with John’s disciples. Perhaps out of concern for John, perhaps out of self-interest, they came to John and basically said, “John, we’re losing business to Jesus. This guy whom you so generously told everybody about. Now he’s repaying your kindness by taking all our followers. Pretty soon, we won’t have any disciples left!”

John has a major decision to make here that would reveal his true character, and his reply to this is one of the noblest and most poignant utterances that ever came from the lips of man. John responds to this comment with three main points:

1.      Successful ministry comes from God (v. 27) – John credits God with any success he has had. John understands who it is that equips and empowers for service. John knew God is sovereign in bestowing His blessings on one’s ministry. If Jesus’ movement was expanding, then it must have been in the will of God. Ministry is about God, not the minister.

2.      Successful ministry proclaims and glorifies Christ supremely (v.28) – In essence, John said, “My job is to proclaim Christ and to prepare the way for Him.” He understood that his ministry was about Jesus, not himself and he uses the analogy of the bridegroom and the friend of the bridegroom to express this. For John, it didn’t matter what was said about him as long as Christ was proclaimed and the Gospel was preached.

3.      No minister or ministry is indispensable (v.30) – John understood that there would be a time when he would no longer be necessary to the work. All he cared about was that the work would proceed. John knew that graveyards are full of indispensable people! Any minister or ministry would do well to have this as their motto. A time is coming when our work will be done, but the kingdom of Christ will continue.

John understood it would not matter if anyone even remembered him when he died. What mattered was would anyone remember Jesus. If I die today, it does not matter if anyone remembers me tomorrow, but what does matter, is will anyone remember Christ because of me. The same is true for any church, minister or ministry. What most glorifies Christ, advances His kingdom and shepherds His people? That is what is most important.

Green House Update (As reported in the Summer 2023 ACRC Crossroads)

Our development team continues with slow but steady progress toward replacing Vernon's current nursing facility with the transformative "Green House" model of care. Funding, to be partly supplemented with gift income, is being negotiated through a specialized loan program designed for purposes like ours. Site planning with engineers and architectural renderings are well under way.

Significantly, after months of preparation we've recently filed the required "Certificate of Need" - a 180-page document with in-depth clinical and financial data - with the state of Vermont. If all goes as hoped for, we look forward to breaking ground sometime in the first half of 2024.

For any unfamiliar with the Green House Project, it's a model of long-term care that has gained ground as a national movement in the recent decade as an alternative to the traditional, clinical nursing home. The physical environment and staff approaches are modeled to be resident-centered and "real home" as the Green House philosophy advocates. Years of data collection indicate that the approach yields measurable improvements in resident care outcomes.

Details about the revolutionary Green House model can be found at our specialized website: www.greenhousevt.org

Consider a "Family Campaign"

In support of the Green House vision, we've kicked off a campaign through which donors can take part in a revolution in senior care. Family units may come together with a group gift in the name of a beloved family patriarch or matriarch who will be remembered by naming an area of the new community in their honor. Anyone interested in this opportunity should contact us at (207) 747-9264

Prayer and Praise List

*Pray for Rev. Clayton Blackstone as he serves the ERA as Interim Superintendent.

*Pray for the ERA Executive Committee as they plan the ERA Convention.

*Pray for the ERA Board as they will work at constructing a new superintendent job description.

*Pray for Vernon Homes Director Brad Ellis as he continues to direct the Green House project.

*Pray for the many camp personnel across our region as they prepare for summer camp ministries.

*Pray for the ACGC Transitional Committee as they begin the process of searching for a new ACGC Executive Director.

*Pray for the sale of the ERA residence/office.

*Pray for the various committees and ACGC personnel as they prepare for the Triennial Convention.

*Pray for successful recruitment of BICS students for the 2023-2024 year

*Praise the Lord for His blessings during SPAM Camp

*Praise the Lord for a blessing filled service at the Annual Miller Chapel Service

William Miller Chapel Service

On a warm muggy June 25th Sunday afternoon, 16 people from Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts gathered together at the William Miller Chapel in Low Hampton, N.Y. for the annual service. The service began with Floyd McIntyre giving a brief history of the chapel. This was followed by Rev. Don Plummer, Pastor of the Northwood, N.H. Advent Christian Church, leading us in the singing of second coming hymns including “Gleams of the Golden Morning.” Following the hymn sing, Don then preached a message concerning the second coming of Jesus Christ from 2 Peter 3:3-14, emphasizing the certainty of Christ’s coming! As we stood talking in the parking lot, it was suggested that we walk to Ascensison Rock. A highlight of our time at Ascension Rock was Don playing “Coming Again” on his trumpet. It was a blessed way to end this service. We all left with a greater desire to see the face of our Savior at his coming! Even so Lord Jesus, come quickly!

Campmeeting Dates

Scholarship Opportunities

Dubois Scholarship - Sponsored by the Maine State Conference, amount awarded depends on number of applicants and funds available; This scholarship is given in loving memory of Rev. Wendell DuBois, Tammy DuBois and Virgene Hughes. It is designed to assist those seeking a call to vocational ministry in achieving their academic goals. The application needs to be postmarked by August 31 to be considered. The scholarship monies will be disbursed during the 2nd semester of the academic year.

Berkshire Christian College Scholarship Fund - Scholarship amount varies depending on the program of study. The purpose and description of the scholarship is:

• Seminary education in partnership with Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary at four campuses - two in Mass., one in Fla., one in NC. (www.gordonconwell.edu) Advent Christian students receive up to a 50% tuition reduction. (Additional scholarship assistance may also be available.)
• Theological formation through the Ministry Training Institute (MTI). Students enrolled in MTI are eligible for scholarships through Berkshire Christian.

Castle Hill Scholarship Fund - The Castle Hill Advent Christian Church closed its doors in December of 2019 due to declining numbers and the difficulty of finding pastoral leadership. Through a generous donation, a Ministry Scholarship will be established in their name. It is their desire that this ministry scholarship be established to help fund individuals who are seeking vocational ministry training either from a ministry training program within the Advent Christian constituency, or if a person chooses to seek to prepare for vocational ministry outside of the Advent Christian constituency, the Christian institution must be accredited.

Applicants are required to fill out the application and have all of the required information turned in to the Superintendent’s Office by September 15th in order to be considered by the Eastern Regional Board of Directors. The Board will present scholarships to qualified applicants by dividing $2000 dollars among them per year. If only one applicant applies, the cap for an individual scholarship is $1000 dollars made out to the school of their choosing.

Eastern Regional Association

P.O. Box 214 Winchester, NH 03470

Phone: 603-332-1412