BMH Books, Winona Lake, IN, has released Volume 2 of Heroes Who Live On, featuring 13 men and women who have played a significant role in the development and history of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches.

The Heroes project was initiated by CE National under the direction of Ed Lewis, and his organization published Volume 1 in 2002. It features Alexander Mack, Florence and James Gribble, Estella Myers, Alva J. McClain, Russell Humberd, Homer A. Kent. Sr., Russell Barnard, Leo Polman, Harold and Ada Etling, Herman Hoyt, and Clyde Landrum.

Text for the 106-page paperback Volume 2 was created by Robert Cover, Sr., and his daughter, Viki Rife. Cover served for 10 years as a missionary in Argentina, where he pastored churches, managed a bookstore, and published a national church magazine. Upon returning to the U.S., he became an assistant director of the Midwest Association of Christian Schools International and was administrator of two Christian schools.

Viki Rife, a 1977 Grace College graduate in English and Journalism, directs communications for Women of Grace, the women’s affiliate of the FGBC. Sarah Pratt, a 2005 graduate of Grace College with an illustration major, created the pencil sketches of the featured personalities and also designed the book’s cover. She has a freelance and graphics illustration business in Crown Point, IN. Type for the book was set by the art department of Grace College under the direction of Prof. Arthur Davis, who chairs the department.

Written for an upper-grade-school audience, the book features personality traits of the 13 subjects, and includes discussion questions that may be used for individual, Sunday School class, or “Brethren History Moments” among churches. The discussion questions were created by Ashley Woodworth, a 2005 Grace College graduate who was a spring, 2005 intern with the Brethren Missionary Herald Company.

Individuals featured in Heroes Who Live On, Volume 2 include Henry Holsinger, L. S. Bauman, Mary Bauman, R. Paul Miller, W. A. and Frances Ogden, Allen Bennett, Orville Jobson, Charles W. Mayes, Jake Kliever, Noel Gaiwaka, Ralph Colburn, and Evelyn Fuqua.

Heroes Who Live On, Volume 2 is available for $9.99 by logging onto www.bmhbooks.com or by calling BMH Books division manager John Leonard at 1-800-348-2756. Volume 1 is also available for $6.99 and the set of two is available for a limited time at the special price of $15.

See related article, L. S. Bauman: Inspiring Others by Example.

 

The following article is excerpted from the new BMH Book BMH Book Heroes Who Live On, Vol. 2. The project was originated by CE National, and text was written by Robert Cover, Sr. and Viki Rife, with illustrations by Sarah Pratt. Written for upper grade school children, the book emphasizes character traits in 13 Grace Brethren leaders of the past, including Orville Jobson, Jake Kliever, W.A. and Francis Ogden, R. Paul Miller, and others. Heroes Who Live On, Vol. 2 is available for $9.99 at www.bmhbooks.com or by calling 1-800-348-2756.

Little Paul Bauman watched as his papa welcomed the visitors to their home. Paul was used to his father having important people come to the house, because Papa was well known in Brethren churches.

Paul turned and ran into the kitchen. He opened the silverware drawer and pulled out a fork. Then he ran through the door of the room where Papa and the guests were meeting. He ran up to Papa, held up the fork clutched in his fist, and stabbed his daddy’s leg as hard as he could. The visitors gasped. Paul stood still, looking up at his father. Dr. Bauman smiled faintly at his son. “Run along, Paul,” he said calmly. Then he reached down and pulled the fork out of his leg.

Paul smiled to himself as he left the room. It was so funny to watch the horrified faces of the visitors! Paul knew the secret that Papa was now explaining to his guests. Papa’s leg was an artificial one made of cork. He had lost his real leg in a farming accident long ago.

It wasn’t his cork leg that had made Paul’s father, Louis S. Bauman, great or famous. Dr. Bauman was known among Brethren people for his preaching, his wisdom, and the way he taught the Bible. He had accepted Jesus as his Savior when he was 11 years old, not long after he lost his leg.

Before long, Louis Bauman started preaching. He was so young that people called him “The Boy Preacher.” Years after he had become a pastor and a conference speaker, his mother told him, “Son, before you were two hours old I lifted you in my arms and dedicated you to the Lord for Christian ministry.” God had heard the prayers of this faithful mother.

After serving as pastor of churches in Indiana and Illinois, Louis Bauman was asked to become pastor of the First Brethren Church in Philadelphia.

While he was in Philadelphia, Louis became more and more concerned about people who had never had an opportunity to hear the message of Jesus. He worked hard to help plan a new missionary work in Argentina. He also became interested in reaching people in Persia (now Iraq and Iran). He decided to rent the third floor of his home to Persian students who had come to Philadelphia to study. This gave him a chance to know more about Persia.

His life motto, which anyone who heard him preach can remember, was, “It’s in the Book! What are you going to do about it?”

One person who accepted Christ in Dr. Bauman’s church was a young streetcar conductor named James Gribble. James was convinced that God wanted him to go to the center of Africa, to tribes who had never heard about Jesus. Dr. Bauman explained that the Brethren Church did not have a mission in Africa, and he encouraged him to pray. James found another mission that would send him to Kenya.

Eight years later James came back, now with a wife and two-year-old daughter. Again he went to Dr. Bauman and explained that he wanted to reach people who had never heard the message of Jesus.

Dr. Bauman sighed. “James,” he said, “do you understand what you’re asking? There is no established mission where you want to go. There are no other missionaries. There are no government representatives in the area to protect you from the fierce tribes. Some of them are head-hunters and cannibals! There’s a war going on right now, and it just isn’t wise to take a ship across the Atlantic Ocean. You have to get permission from the French to enter that area, and they aren’t likely to give it to their own people, much less to you. Besides, it’s not a place to take a small child.”

Dr. Bauman smiled at James. “I know you and your wife are people of faith. If you pray and prepare yourselves to go, I promise that our church will support you. I’ll ask others to help you too.” With those words of encouragement, the Gribbles began to prepare to go to the center of Africa. Because of their pioneer work there, that land now has about 900 established Grace Brethren churches, with about 230,000 baptized believers.

Dr. Bauman had married Mary Wageman, a lively, energetic woman who loved helping him with his church. They had three children—Paul was the youngest. When Paul was only 18 months old, a serious flu virus infected many people in the area. Mary and the oldest boy, who was six, died.

Their deaths were a terrible blow to Louis. He began to wonder what God was doing in his life. As he struggled to take care of two little children who now had no mother, he turned to God’s Word for comfort. The more he studied his Bible, the more interested he became in prophecy. When he started preaching again, he became one of the best-known speakers on prophecy, speaking in Bible conferences throughout the country.

Eventually he became pastor of the “Fifth and Cherry” Brethren Church in Long Beach, California. He served at that church for 34 years. Through his influence, many young people dedicated their lives to serving God in places all over the world.

He was a leader in the Brethren Foreign Missionary Society for many years, and also helped start Grace Theological Seminary. He was instrumental in helping clarify the theological controversies that led to the split with the Ashland Brethren and the founding of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches in the 1930s.

Dr. Bauman was 73 years old when he went to be pastor of the Brethren Church in Washington, D.C., but his writing ministry continued. Even when he had to be in a wheelchair, he still wrote articles and letters. In one of his last letters he said, “The Lord’s coming seems so very near, that I almost feel His breath upon my cheek.” He was buried on his 75th birthday in Germantown, Pennsylvania.

See related article, Brethren Heroes Vol. 2 Released.

Events of general interest among Grace Brethren Churches. Details and registration information are available from sponsoring organizations or through www.fgbc.org.
July 1-2 – Grace College & Seminary Summer Alumni Weekend

July 23-29 – Brethren National Youth Conference, Cedarville, OH (CEN)

July 31-August 5 – Equip05 Conference, Winona Lake, IN (FGBC)

Aug. 7-13 – Explorer’s Week, Mississauga, ONT (GBNAM)

Aug. 23 – Fall classes begin, Grace College & Seminary

Sept. 16-17 – Sibs Weekend (visit days for brothers/sisters), Grace College

Sept. 18 – Mid-Atlantic District CE Celebration, Hagerstown, MD (CEN)

Sept. 19 – Northern Atlantic District CE Celebration, Smoketown, PA (CEN)

Oct. 7-9 – Evangelists’ Gathering, Columbus (GBNAM)

Oct. 14 – A Day Away, Columbus, OH (CEN)

Oct. 15-18 – Fall Break, Grace College & Seminary

Oct. 17-19 – Central Focus Retreat, Pokagon State Park, Angola, IN (FGBC)

Oct. 24-27 – Grace College & Seminary Missions Conference

Oct. 24-26 – East Focus Retreat, Sandy Cove, MD (FGBC)

Oct. 30 – Urban Awareness Sunday (CEN)

Nov. 4-6 – Grace College & Seminary Homecoming

Nov. 10 – Micropolitan Church-Planting Summit, Columbus, OH, SW

Dec. 16-Jan. 9 – Christmas Break, Grace College & Seminary

Jan. 30-Feb. 2 – SW Focus Retreat, San Juan Capistrano, CA (FGBC)

Feb. 24-26 – Josiah Weekend (CEN)

Feb. 27-March 1 – South Focus Retreat, Haines City, FL (FGBC)

GBNAM = Grace Brethren North American Missions CEN = CE National FGBC = Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches
 

Ten Years Ago – July, 1995
Home Missions (now GBNAM) approved the beginning of a work in an eastern suburb of Philadelphia with Pastor Dan O’Deens.

CE National’s TIME teams began ministry June 5 in Navajo land and June 26 along the Mexican border in southern California.

National Conference convened in San Diego with Ed Lewis as moderator. The program included an evangelistic rally across the border in Mexico.

Twenty-five Years Ago – July, 1980
Ed Jackson, along with his other responsibilities, is pastoring the newest Florida GBC in Melbourne which was recently received into the Florida District.

Willa Henry was the first woman to be named the Alumna of the Year at Grace College. She had graduated with the college’s first four-year class in 1958 and was a teacher in the Warsaw, IN, school system. Tom Julien, missionary to France, was honored as the Grace Seminary Alumnus of the Year.

Mike Volovski resigned as pastor at the Altoona, PA, GBC to teach Greek and Hebrew at Manahath School of Theology in Hollidaysburg, PA.

Pastoral changes: Bud Olszewski from associate pastor at Wooster, OH, to pastor at Cuyahoga Falls, OH. Larry Edwards was installed as pastor at Berne, IN.

Fifty Years Ago – July, 1955
William Male was installed as pastor at the Philadelphia, PA, First Brethren Church.

Robert Griffith began his ministry as pastor at Grandview, WA, on August 1.

Ground was broken for the new Brethren Missionary Herald Building in Winona Lake, July 20.

Charles Ashman announced his resignation from the Rittman, OH, FBC to accept the pastorate in Phoenix, AZ, effective in September.

The Everett, PA, GBC purchased a building adjacent to their church edifice to be used as a parsonage and for a variety of church activities. Homer Lingenfelter, pastor.

A new GBC began in Rialto, CA, on July 17 as an outreach of the San Bernardino church, Lyle Marvin, pastor.
 

Mayor Honors Ohio Church

Andy Wirt (right), associate pastor of the Western Reserve Grace Brethren Church of Macedonia, OH, poses with senior pastor Jason Haymaker and the mayor's certificate of appreciation recently given to Wirt and the church.

The certificate of appreciation, presented by Macedonia mayor Donald J. Kuchta on behalf of himself and the City Council, cited the members of the church and Pastor Andy Wirt for dedicated service to the city.

The citation reads, in part, "Western Reserve Grace Brethren Church deserves special recognition for their charitable service and refreshment donations on Election Day, Family Fishing Day and the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. They also provided the Christmas caroling entertainment at the Lighting Ceremony."

Willow Valley Honors Officers

Grace Church at Willow Valley, the Grace Brethren church in Lancaster, PA, (John Smith, pastor) recently held its Annual Peace Officers Memorial Service, which recognizes police officers who have given their lives in the line of duty. Chet Barofski, NJ State Trooper and pastor of Grace Community Church in Hope, NJ, was the speaker. His message included police stories and a challenge to trust Christ as Savior.

A new addition to the service was a recognition of current officers for bravery, outstanding investigative effort, and outstanding officer awards. Local businesses donated gift certificates, savings bonds, TV’s, theatre tickets, and other gifts.According to Steve Doutrich, associate pastor of spiritual formation and administration at the Willow Valley church, nearly 600 people attended, including local politicians and many police officers and their families. Three TV stations covered the event.

Doutrich said, “Everyone heard a clear gospel presentation by Pastor Chet. This is another avenue to share the gospel with people.” (photo courtesy Steve Doutrich)

With the Lord
Laura Peugh, who faithfully served for many years in the Harrah, WA, Grace Brethren Church, died Thursday, April 28, at Grace Village Health Care in Winona Lake, IN, at age 91. Mrs. Peugh had been living in Indiana since 1989, and was a member of the Winona Lake Grace Brethren Church. Mrs. Peugh was married in 1938 to Harold Peugh, who died in July of 1987. Surviving are three children: Maurice of Yakima, WA; Roger of Winona Lake, IN; and Mrs. James (Maxine) Currie of Cheboygan, MI. Her son, Roger Peugh, is a former Grace Brethren missionary to Germany and is now on the faculty of Grace College and Seminary in Winona Lake.

Dr. K Marie Stolba, an internationally-acclaimed musicologist, music historian, violinist, music educator and composer who taught music at Grace College in the 1970s, died Wednesday, May 18 in Fort Wayne, IN. A professor emerita of Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, she had also served as a visiting professor and lecturer at universities and musicologists meetings all over the world. A prolific author, she was best-known for her book The Development of Western Music: A History, which enjoyed wide usage as a college text.

Glenn Roy "Coach" Johnson, 68, who coached baseball at Grace College from 1995-2000, died Wednesday, May 4, 2005, at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, IN, after suffering a stroke. Prior to coming to Grace College, for 11 years, Johnson was an assistant high school coach, along with being an associate scout for the Atlanta Braves.

Pastoral Changes
Dave Marksbury has accepted the position of seniors pastor at the Grace Brethren Church of Wooster, Ohio (Bob Fetterhoff, pastor).

Troy Seyfert is the new youth pastor at Blue Ridge Grace Brethren Church in Winchester, VA (Darrel Taylor, pastor) following his graduation from Grace College.

Jon Rauch, who formerly directed the Urban Hope Training Center in Philadelphia, has accepted a position as children’s pastor with Grace Community Church in Goshen, IN (James Brown, pastor).

Glen Sykes has been called to lead the Grace Brethren Church in San Diego, CA. Pastor Sykes has just graduated from Master’s Seminary and came highly recommended by Pastor John McIntosh and his staff at Simi Valley, CA, GBC where he has been serving while attending seminary. His preaching ministry began the first Sunday in June. Larry Intermill served as interim pastor the previous 15 months.

Pastor Ron Smals resigned from the Ocala, FL, Grace Brethren Church in June and began serving as pastor of the Mansfield, OH, Woodville Grace Brethren Church on July 1. Smals had been at the Florida church for almost 11 years.

Bill Smith concludes his ministry at the Maitland, FL, Grace Brethren Church on August 14, but makes it clear that he is not retiring. “This is not a retirement, as I am looking forward to future ministry,” says Smith.

Jonathan Damon has accepted the call to join the Gateway Church team at Parkesburg, PA (Dan O’Deens, pastor). Jon brings 20 years of faithful pastoral ministry. He has served as senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of South Whitley, IN, for more than 10 years. He will share the ministry in a "senior" level role of pastoral leadership with current Senior Pastor Dan O'Deens. Jon will be a teaching pastor and focus widely on shepherding the church.

Women Award Scholarships
Women of Grace USA leaders announce the awarding of two “Honor Her” scholarships to be used for involvement in short-term missions. The scholarships are designed to encourage young women in their desire to reach others with God’s Word and come from gifts of women who wish to honor other women’s lives of faithfulness and service to the Lord.

Kathryn MacMillan has been awarded $750 toward her Grace Brethren International Missions internship in Paris, France, this summer. She is working with GBIM missionaries Dennis and Jeannie Martin. A Grace College sophomore majoring in business and marketing, she is from Tracy, CA, where she is a member of the Tracy Grace Brethren Church.

Rebekah Pinkham was awarded $250 for a spring break missions trip to Urban Encounter in Chicago. A Grace College junior from Washington, IN, she has majors in business administration, finance, and international business.

BNYC Coming July 23-29
Brethren National Youth Conference, the annual national gathering of Grace Brethren teens, will be held at Cedarville University in Cedarville, OH, July 23-29, 2005. BNYC 2004 was at the University of Wisconsin in La Crosse, WI. At that event, more than 2,300 teens and youth leaders gathered to worship God and learn more about how to be "GodScent."

The theme for this year’s conference is “24/7,” based on 1 Peter 3:15-18. Speakers include Josh McDowell, Francis Chan, Ryan Dobson, and many others. BNYC is sponsored by CE National, the Christian Education Department of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. BNYC is open to any students in grades 7-12. BNYC also includes Fusion, a program for high school graduates through 24 years of age, and Generations for parents and adults. E-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , log onto www.bnyc.net, or call (574) 267-6622 for more information.