The Heartland Region

 IA/IL/IN/KY/MI/OH/WI

 SECOND ANNUAL REGIONAL CONVENTION

 June 29 - July 1, 2012

Nelson County Civic Center

 

Hotel Information:

Comfort Inn (Pretty nice. I looked at two rooms-they were clean and roomy)
89.95 per night (This is the best rate I could get out of him)
502 349 9400
I am pretty sure they are booked up, but if you want the special code for The Church of God convention delegates, email me @ pastorestep@gmail.com

Hampton Inn
502 349 0100
Pricier, but probably very nice.

Best Western General Nelson Inn
Pretty nice looking older place.
502 348 2977

America's Best Value Inn
502 348 1112
Probably less expensive than the others, but you get what you pay for. ;)

If you cannot find anything in Bardstown, Elizabethtown is only a twenty minute drive. There are several nice hotels right at the exit from I 65. I can get you that info if needed.
See you all soon!

Bishop Carl Neal Passes Away June 14, 2012

 

Bishop Carl Junior Neal

State Overseer of South Carolina

August 29, 1944-June 14, 2012

Bishop Neal was born August 29, 1944  and went to be with the Lord on June 14, 2012.
Carl Neal was born in Point Pleasant, West Virginia.  He received Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord in 1966.  In the same year he received the experience of sanctification, was baptized with the Holy Ghost, and joined the Church of God of Prophecy.
He married Gloria Ann Hardman on January 1, 1965 and began pastoring his first church at Sylvester, West Virginia in 1971.  After four years, he was transferred to Twilight, West Virginia, where he served one year.  He was able to renovate the Church building during that time.  He then moved to pastor in Giles, West Virginia, where he served as pastor for four years.  Next were Blue Creek, West Virginia, for three years, and then the campground church in Culloden, West Virginia, for two years.  He also served on the West Virginia Ways and Means Committee.
The Neal's moved to South Carolina in 1984, where he pastored in Ashley Heights, served as District Overseer and as a committeeman on the state Ways and Means Committee.  He renewed his covenant with The Church of God in October of 1993, and served as State Overseer of South Carolina from 1998 until his promotion to heaven.  
The Neal’s have 3 children: Karl Derrick, Michele Leeann and Stacie Lynn. They have 6 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.
Prayers are requested for Brother Neal’s wife, children, and other family members, that God will give them special grace and comfort during this time of sorrow.
The funeral service is being arranged with:

Parks Funeral Home
130 W First North Street
Summerville, SC 29483
Phone Number: (843) 873-3440

Information concerning funeral arrangements will be posted as soon as they are available.

***Although I have not had the privilege of knowing Brother Neal as well as others, I have known his reputation as a man of God for several years. It has saddened our hearts to hear of his passing and our prayers are with the Neal family and all the people of South Carolina. May God's peace and comfort be with each of them through this difficult time.
Donald R. Estep II
Regional Overseer, The Heartland Region (N. Central U.S.) 

The Church of God Heartland Region (N. Central U.S.)

Annual Regional Convention

June 29-July1, 2012

"GO YE..."

Guest Speaker Sister Betty Bishop, General WMB Coordinator

Regional Overseer Donald R. Estep II

 Nelson County Civic Center

317 South Third Street

Bardstown, KY

An Open Letter of Invitation from our Regional Overseer

 

Dear Friends,                                                                                                            June 2, 2012

 It is my great pleasure to extend this open invitation to each of you to attend the Annual Regional Convention of The Church of God in the Heartland Region (N. Central U.S.). Our region consists of congregations from Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. This weekend meeting is the best chance we have all year for all of our people to make their way together for worship in song, testimony, preaching and prayer! Each year God ministers to us in a special way and this year, as always, YOU are invited to come and be blessed as well.Keep an eye on this blog for program information, etc and make your plans NOW to attend. Everyone is invited, and EVERYONE is WELCOME!!

God bless you-See you there!

Yours in Christ,

Donald R. Estep II

 

Regional Ladies Retreat 2012

Here is a report from the region's recent Ladies Retreat, as reported by our retreat director Sister Sharon Griffin:

On March 16^th, 41 ladies from the Heartland Region gathered at the Brown County Inn, located in Nashville, Indiana for a wonderful time of preaching, worship, fellowship, and more! On Friday evening, Sister Sharon Griffin welcomed each lady to the Retreat and then preached a sermon on the theme: “Anchors Aweigh, Setting Sail with the Captain.” In her message she stressed the ‘Ole Ship of Zion was not intended to remain at the dock but her purpose is to sail to every port of the world with the Gospel message. She shared that God’s ship was designed for forward sailing only and there is no turning back. Following the Friday evening service, Sister DaVona Sallee and Sister Sam Flora hosted a Bon Voyage party where there was pizza, snacks, door prizes, and more. It was a great time of fun and fellowship. On Saturday morning, Sister Charlotte Ellison ministered to the ladies on the topic of “Weathering the Storm,” especially the White Squall, where she encouraged each one to trust God in the storms of life. Sister Shannon Worley then presented a workshop on, “Answering the Ports of Call” where she shared how the message must go forth and we should be willing to GO where God may send us. Each lady was then given time to visit the “Ports of Call” and to see the various displays of countries while learning interesting facts as well as the geography of the locations. Thank you to the ladies who did an excellent job of presenting their assigned country. This was a special time on program where a true spirit of missions was felt. Following our visits to the various ports, the ladies gathered at the Brown County State Park where we participated in a Prayer Hike and then enjoyed a picnic lunch. After free time to enjoy downtown Nashville, the ladies gathered once again for the evening service where our guest evangelist, Jada Nowling, preached about the weights that weigh us down. Each lady came up front and selected a weight as a reminder to never allow even the smallest of things to weigh us down in our relationship with God. Sister Nowling ministered once again on Sunday morning on the subject of the Glory of God. During the service, God’s presence was felt in a mighty way as the ladies were praying, seeking God, and rejoicing. During the retreat, we had 2 receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Praise the Lord! The ladies came to the retreat ready to worship God and as a result the presence of God was felt from the very beginning. We sailed with the Jesus, our Captain, during the week-end as it was a time of letting go of everything else and spending time with just Him!

Men's Retreat 2012

Here is a report from our recent Men's Retreat, submitted by the retreat director Brother Chris Newport. Enjoy!

On March 23 – 25, 2012 the men of the Heartland Region of The Church of God came together for our annual Men’s Retreat. The retreat was held at the Spring Mill State Park Inn at Mitchell, Indiana. There were men in attendance from Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, with one exception. Our Guest Minister was Brother Michael Jernigan from Trumman, Ark., and what a blessing he was to the men of our region.

The theme of our retreat was “A Quest for Truth”. As with any quest, this quest for truth has a series of challenges that, when met, will help us achieve the aim of the quest. The challenges of this quest can be found in 2 Chronicles 7:14, If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

The challenges for this quest are to first, humble ourselves before God, next to pray the prayer of faith, and then to seek God’s face. On Friday evening Brother Jernigan preached a powerful message on humbling ourselves. The message was taken from the 6^th chapter of 2 Kings when a man’s axe head fell into the water. The man humbled himself and went to the man of God who was able to cause the axe head to swim, or to float, and the man was able to retrieve the borrowed axe head from the water.

The next challenge is to pray the prayer of faith. On Saturday evening Brother Jernigan ministered to us from the 19^th chapter of the 2 Kings where King Hezekiah received threatening letters of an Assyrian attack and of their doubts that God will be able to deliver Judah from their hand. The bible says in verse 14 of 2 Kings 19 that Hezekiah took the letter and spread it out before the Lord, and prayed.

Also on Saturday Brother Jeff Wilcox preached an inspiring message entitled, What is Truth, and Brother Hazel ministered to us on What We do with the Truth once we have it. God truly anointed both of these messages and deeply ministered to the hearts of the men of the Heartland Region.

Brother Jernigan ministered us once more on Sunday morning with a message that stirred our hearts to seek the face of God. Brother Jernigan encouraged the men of our region to be the men God needs them to be for their families and for The Church of God.

We enjoyed some wonderful special singing from Brother Eric Barnard, Brother Bill Flinchum, and Brother Don Bolyard.

God was very present in every session of this retreat, and the heart of every man present was touched mightily. One brother testified of receiving a healing during one of the altar sessions from an affliction that has troubled him for quite a long time. Praise God that He is ever mindful of our every need.

We appreciate so much each one who attended Men’s Retreat this year. It would not have been the same had any one of you been missing. And we especially appreciate Brother Michael Jernigan coming all this way to be with us in retreat. He was a great blessing and it can safely be said that we now have a true friend in Brother Jernigan.

We are looking forward to the 2013 Retreat, and we trust that God will be as much a part of that retreat as He was at this one.

God Bless The Church of God, and God Bless the Men of The Church of God.

Chris Newport

Men’s Retreat Coordinator

New Church in Council Bluffs, IA

Following is a report written by Sister Eleanor Clemens, pastor of TCOG in Council Bluffs, IA. it gives a wonderful account of how the new church there came into being. Glory to God!

A New Church Established in Iowa

As pastor of this new church and an instrument of which God used to help bring this new work into to being, I was asked by my Regional Overseer to write a concise article for the Evening Light about how God worked to bring this local church to fruition! The word concise in itself is a challenge for me but I will try.

I have been an Evangelist in God’s church since 1958, my husband Theodore a Bishop and we both we in the pastoral ministry since we were licensed. I joined the Church in 1941 and had an active role in leadership from the beginning. From then until 1973-1976 we pastored in Minnesota for approximate 4years but the majority of our ministry was active and spent in building God’s Church in Iowa.

I believe because we were well known and had a proven track record God felt he could call upon me to answer the call to work toward the Revival and Restoration of God’s Church in Co. Bluffs, Iowa.

I have never been a fan or user of Face Book, but my Overseer at that time, E. Roger Ammons kept pressing me to participate and I finally succumbed and set up a Face Book page in my name. This I did after my husband’s passing and an approximate 2 years ago. From that came correspondence from two families that could no longer stay in the former organization and their lamenting that they had to draw from the past to have any source of good memories, happiness and strength. The future was bleak for them as they did not know that God’s Church was alive and well! And hence began the road to Restoration!

In time a visit was made to our local church in Des Moines where our Overseer, Bro. Donald Estep 2 was in charge of District Convention. They took knowledge that this indeed was the Church of God! Much correspondence took place, and meetings were held and in an October Meeting held in a meeting room at the Holiday Inn Express 3 renewed their Covenant and 1 backslider who had come back to God and 1 brand new member took covenant bringing total of 5 who were joined to God’s church that wonderful and glorious day. This was done by Speaker Phone with Overseer Donald Estep 2 administering the covenant! All of heaven’s glory came down. The meeting was moderated by Sister Eleanor Clemens, with Sis. Brenda Albizures Pastor of the Des Moines, Iowa church assisting. A total of 21 present of which 2 were visitors and now attending service in our local church in Council Bluffs.

That very day, November 6^th, 2011 was set as the day Bro. Estep would make an Official Visit to Des Moines church. After a lovely dinner prepared by Frank Cleaver,Jr we were on the road again to Council Bluffs with the majority going with us.

The meeting was held in the Sutton and Donalyn Christiansen home. At the request of Sis. Clemens a Communion and Feet washing service was conducted…followed by setting the church in order.

Pastor was installed…officers appointed and everything in place to function as a newly organized church. The church has a small yet a significant beginning. We have a baby grand piano, a beautiful pulpit, folding chairs, 50 of our favorite “ Blue” hymnals, A set of lovely large Church Flags, new flooring for a large room on the upper floor of the Christiansen home that has been newly painted to be used for church until God provides us with a building…please help us pray. God’s Church is dwelling temporally in the upper room!

We are a financial sound church, doing exceptionally well for our membership size and God is in our midst! We love God, we love his church the very one which Christ purchased on Calvary’s Cross with his own blood. We are excited and we have a mind to work!

All for God’s honor and Glory.

Eleanor Clemens :pastor

This was a wonderful scared and blessed service and music was enjoyable led by Sis. Charlotte Ellison pastor of Menominee, Wi. The Church of God.

Following dismissal a lovely and delicious luncheon which was prepared by the host church. It was enjoyed and fellowship lingered. A tired and happy group of warriors made their way back to their respective homes. Sis . Albizures and Sis. Clemens arrived in Gardner, Ks about 2:00 am. Sis Brenda was up at six and hit the road for Des Moines and work. She reported God wonderfully sustained her and she was not tired all day! To God be All Glory!

UPDATE

We head a great District #3 Convention in Sellersburg, IN yesterday! Full report and pics coming soon!