On March 16th, 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!
Monday, April 16, 2012
Regional Ladies Retreat 2012
Men's Retreat 2012
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 6th 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 19th 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