We are among the wealthiest people who have ever lived on the earth. God has blessed us richly. This Index is meant to help you respond to God's grace by supporting ministries of the General Board that help praise God by healing broken lives, sharing the gospel, and nurturing life and learning.
How to use the Project Index:
How to support a ministry:
Attn: Gift Processing
Church of the Brethren General Board
1451 Dundee Avenue
Elgin, IL. 60120
Be sure to identify the project in the memo line!
All gifts are tax deductible in the United States as allowed by law. If more money is received for a specific program than current budget requires, your gift may be applied to the following year's project budget or designated to a similar or related ministry. Thank you for your interest and support!
The General Ministries Fund
By far the largest program arm of the Church of the Brethren, the ministries of the General Board are worldwide in scope and diverse in nature. The General Ministries Fund makes possible all the life-changing work of the Board by providing direct support to program ministries, staff ministries, and necessary support ministries. Brethren Witness, Brethren Volunteer Service, Congregational Life Ministries, the Ministry Office, Communications, Publishing, Global Mission Partnerships, the Brethren Service Center, Emergency Disaster Response, the Emerging Global Mission Fund and the Global Food Crisis Fund all rely on the General Ministries Fund for direct funding or support in a variety of ways. See "Our Hearts Wide Open - 2001 Budget Income & Expense" on the General Board Funding website for more.
$5,695,000 will enable the General Board to continue its current level of ministry and mission in the year 2002.
Nurturing and Teaching God's People
Brethren Academy
The Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership is a cosponsored program of Bethany Theological Seminary and the Ministry office of the General Board of the Church of the Brethren. The Academy is an umbrella for several non-degree ministry training efforts within the Church of the Brethren, including Education for a Shared Ministry (EFSM), Training in Ministry (TRIM), and continuing education.
$96,000 is the General Board investment in this vitally important ministry training partnership.
The Ministry office at 1-800-323-8039 can help you learn more.
Curriculum Development
Heart, Soul, and Mind; Becoming A Member of the Church of the Brethren is the latest in a series of curriculum offerings by the General Board. Curriculum development is a long and costly process, but important to the foundational core of Brethren values and our understanding of the word of God through Jesus' example and teachings.
$80,000 will develop, create and produce an entire school year's curriculum for ages 6 to 600.
$800 will help create one grade level's appropriate activities.
$8 will print and bind a teacher's guide to inspire and motivate.
Contact Brethren Press at 1-800-323-8039 for more information.
KBC is the primary training ground for Nigerian church leaders in Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria-EYN (Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). Begun in 1961 the school is located just north of Mubi near the Cameroon border in northeast Nigeria. At any time about 85 families are living and studying on the campus. Farm plots are provided to students to help them provide for their families during the time of study. Agricultural training is also a part of the curriculum. Both degree and certificate programs are offered.
Typically a teaching couple from the US church serves alongside the Nigerian faculty, teaching Brethren beliefs and practice, New Testament, and similar courses. Lyall and Vivian Sherred (Denver, CO) recently completed service in this assignment (8/01), and a replacement teacher is being sought.
$50,000 supports US teachers and institutional development at Kulp Bible College.
See also: Nigeria-Church Leader Development, Nigeria-Mission Overview.
Contact Global Mission Partnerships at 1-800-323-8039 for more information.
Congregational Resourcing
General Board Congregational Life Team staff consultation and coaching are available to help congregations ground their common life spiritually, identify their strengths and areas for growth, build bridges with their communities, and develop a mission focus. The office of Congregational Life Ministries works toward these ends in collaboration with districts and local service agencies.
$50,000 will support one area office with staff and resources.
$5,000 will bring consulting help to one congregation for one year.
$500 will hold a workshop for training congregational leadership.
Contact Congregational Life Ministries at 1-800-323-8039 for more information or the area coordinator near you.
The Washington Office
The Washington Office serves as a bridge between members of the church and public policy makers, informing church members about current events and legislation and encouraging them to respond. The office keeps members informed with a written monthly newsletter and other office publications such as "Backgrounders" and "Legislative Updates." It also brings a Brethren voice to Capitol Hill, acting as advocates to impact national policy with the denomination's values as interpreted by Annual Conference and General Board statements.
$45,000 keeps the Washington office open and acting on our behalf in DC for another year.
Contact the Brethren Witness office at 1-800-323-8039 to learn how you can help make a difference.
Ministry Summer Service
A 10-week summer internship for college students who wish to explore the set-apart ministry. Selected pastors and congregations, or other settings, serve as mentors and a "teaching church." This is a joint initiative of the Ministry office and Youth/Young Adult office. Alumni often continue into the ministry.
$50,000 will fund this entire internship program for one summer.
Contact the Ministry office or Youth/Young Adult Ministries office at 800 323-8039 to learn more or to sign up.
Dominican Republic Theological Education
Church of the Brethren pastor Guillermo Encarnacion oversees this training program for preparing pastoral leadership, which produced its first graduates in 1999 using a specially designed Brethren curriculum. Ten Dominican ministers were ordained and seven more licensed during a special service in February 2000. The Ministry Office has continued to produce resources to serve this group.
$28,000 will cover the General Board's investment in developing this important Dominican Republic leadership.
Contact Global Mission Partnerships at 1-800-323-8039 for details.
News and Information Services
This office monitors and creates many of the communication avenues for the church. It produces a biweekly electronic newsletter called Newsline, oversees the www.brethren.org denominational website and maintains the General Board's portion of the site, develops news sections and features for Messenger and Agenda, sends out press releases to the public media, and provides coverage of Brethren events.
$5,000 will allow the creation of new resources on the General Board website.
$1,000 will fund the purchase of new digital photography equipment.
$250 will cover Newsline Internet fees for two years.
Contact Brethren Press/Communications at 1-800-323-8039 for more information.
Nigeria-Church Leader Development
The amazing growth and vitality of the Nigerian church means that it establishes about 12-15 new congregations each year, each with a minimum of one hundred members. This growth creates a constant need for an expanding supply of trained leaders. Global Mission Partnerships provides a scholarship grant for pastoral preparation enabling over 200 men and women to be in preparation at Kulp Bible College, the Theological College of Northern Nigeria (TCNN), and various other Bible schools and seminaries. Regional Bible schools have also been established and a small amount of financial support goes to these efforts at basis biblical training.
In addition, one or two Nigerian leaders are brought to Bethany Theological Seminary for study alongside US pastors-in-training. This is an enriching experience for both the American and Nigerian leaders, and builds greater sense of unity and common identity in our relationship as sister churches. These Bethany graduates are highly valued by the Nigerian church as they return to Nigeria and share their training with many others in positions as teachers, pastors, and church administrators. The seminary and the General Board jointly fund the Nigerian student scholarship at Bethany.
The latest Nigerian church leader to study under this scholarship, Rev. Mbode Ndirmbita, arrived in late August 2001 and will study until mid-2003.
$20,000 will fund the pastoral training for over 200 men and women in Nigeria and America.
$280 will support one student at the Theological College of Northern Nigeria for one year.
$24 will support one student for a month of biblical education and training
See also: Nigeria-Kulp Bible College, Nigeria-Mission Overview.
Contact Global Mission Partnerships at 1-800-323-8039 for more information.
Spiritual Formation
Worshipful Work, a fresh approach to seeking the mind of Christ in decision-making, is being introduced to congregations through a network of trained district leaders. The network hopes to "create space for the Spirit to move and transform decision-making throughout the church." Fifty trained leaders across the denomination stand ready to assist districts, congregations, and other groups in bringing together the worship of God and the work of God. In a related expression, the Youth/Young Adult office is piloting "The God-bearing Life" program, a spiritual development series cosponsored with Shepherd's Spring Outdoor Ministries Center.
$12,000 will make "Worshipful Work" accessible across the country.
$1,200 will fund teaching one week-long session in the "God-bearing Life" program.
$120 will purchase program supplies and worship center resources for one training session.
Contact Congregational Life Ministries at 1-800-323-8039 for more information.
Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation
The Brethren Witness office produces a host of resources on peace and justice issues and environmental concerns, equipping congregations and individuals to learn and become actively involved. Faith Expeditions are one expression of the equipping process and enable Brethren to examine these issues up close and hands-on.
$10,000 produces and distributes materials to challenge our thinking about living as Christian peacemakers and seeking justice for all.
$500 covers an entire reprint of The Peace Book, a 43-page resource for young peacemakers.
$100 will produce a brochure on the Equal Exchange Coffee Project or the SOS project for energy stewardship in congregations.
Call 1-800-323-8039 and ask for Brethren Witness to learn more about available resources.
National Youth Cabinet
The cabinet consists of senior high youth selected from across the country, who work with advisors and Youth/Young Adult Ministries staff to plan denominational events and programs. Cabinet members serve a two-year term. Every other cabinet serves as the main planning group for National Youth Conference. Cabinets serving in alternating terms help to shape workcamps, National Youth Sunday materials, and other programs.
$5,000 will support the entire budget of the cabinet as it carries out its work.
$400 will bring a cabinet member to a National Youth Conference planning meeting.
Contact the Youth/Young Adult Ministries office at 1-800-323-8039 to learn more.
Christian Citizenship Seminar
This week-long event is held each spring except National Youth Conference years, bringing together youth and advisors from across the country for a week of concentrated study on a domestic or international issue. The event, sponsored by the Youth/Young Adult office and Church of the Brethren Washington Office, focuses on the ways our faith and our role as public citizens interact. Youth hear from noted speakers, visit the United Nations, have meetings with congressional representatives, and engage in small-group discussion.
$5,000 covers the total General Board investment for one year of CCS.
$300 will cover the registration fee scholarship of a racial/ethnic participant.
The Brethren Witness or Youth/Young Adult Ministries offices can be reached at 1-800-323-8039.
Sharing About and Listening to God
Sudan Mission and Ministry
The New Sudan Council of Churches (NSCC) works with Christians in war-torn southern Sudan as it continues in a long civil war with the Muslim-controlled north. Currently three denominational mission staff working under the General Board's Global Mission Partnerships Office serve in key positions with the NSCC. Brethren Faith Expeditions have also traveled to Sudan recently, and in February 2000 a Bible in the Nuer language, made possible with the assistance of Brethren translators, was officially launched.
$155,000 will support this major ministry focus of the General Board for one year.
Contact Global Mission Partnerships at 1-800-323-8039 for more information.
Dominican Republic Mission Coordinator
This ministry is to provide accompaniment and support for the Dominican church during this time in their formation and development. It is to serve as a bridge facilitating the edifying of relationships between Brethren in the US/Puerto Rico and in the Dominican Republic. This work was initiated in 1999 by the General Board in response to a request made by the Dominican church. Included in this ministry are the mission coordinator'(s) salary, benefits, transportation, schooling, and ministry-related supplies. Jerry and Becky Baile Crouse are currently serving.
$89,000 will support this total effort for one year
Contact Global Mission Partnerships at 1-800-323-8039 for more information.
The Nigeria church relationship began in 1923, growing out of early mission efforts. Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria-EYN (Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) became an independent and autonomous church in 1972. In 2001, the Nigerian church is believed to be larger than the US church, with over 150,000 members in 424 congregations.
As sister churches, the Nigerian and US churches seek to nurture a faith-centered relationship that both nurtures and challenges each church and its members to live in faithful discipleship in our differing contexts. From the US side this partnership ministry consists of financial support, especially for leader training, exchange visits, an annual workcamp, and providing a few persons to serve in specific teaching and consulting roles.
Significant ministries include:
John and Janet Tubbs (Rocky Ford, CO) serve as mission coordinators in Nigeria, guiding this ministry and administering the US side of the partnership. They are based in Jos, Plateau State. They have served in Nigeria since 1995, having served at Mason Technical School in Garkida, and previously in the Pastoral Exchange.
$74,000 will fund this cluster of ministries with the Nigerian church for one year.
$4000 will provide building materials for one workcamp.
$300 provides the monthly support for a teacher at the Secondary School.
See also: Nigeria-Kulp Bible College, Nigeria-Church Leader Development.
Contact Global Mission Partnerships at 1-800-323-8039 for more information.
Brethren Mission House
The Brethren Mission House is to provide long-term volunteer teachers of English as a second language in each of the congregations of the Dominican church (La Iglesia de los Hermanos en la Republica Dominicana). This ministry is a joint effort between the General Board, the Brethren Revival Fellowship, and the Dominican church. Brethren Revival Fellowship will provide 75 percent of the funding, and the General Board will provide 25 percent of the funding for this ministry. Participants in the program from the DR will be asked to fund their books and a portion of the travel/meals expense of the volunteer teacher who is serving in their midst.
This project was initiated in May of 2000 after a request of leaders in the Dominican church, with the calling of a couple to serve as house parents for the Brethren Mission House (BMH). Two houses have been rented for the BMH in the city of Azua. A teacher trainer/coordinator and four volunteer ESL teachers are serving through Brethren Volunteer Service. The vision is that the ESL training will be provided as a ministry in the Dominican congregations to help equip their membership with English language skills while at the same time providing another outreach ministry for these congregations to the communities they serve.
$16,100 is the full annual share committed by the General Board to this work.
Contact Global Mission Partnerships at 1-800-323-8039 for more information.
Faith Expeditions
The Brethren Witness office offers opportunities to see the world up close and personal through a series of Faith Expeditions. These trips have varying purposes — from helping others build a better life, to gaining understanding of peace and justice concerns, to exploring God's creation in order to live as better stewards. In each instance, these experiences invite people to step out of their comfort zone and learn to know other Christians from around the denomination and world. They will experience life as it is lived in settings quite different from their own and to deepen their faith in the process. And in each case, there will be a chance to visit significant Church of the Brethren mission sites – BVS locations, hunger relief projects, new church developments, peace and justice ministry sites. The majority of the very reasonable costs are covered by participants.
$2,500 will fund the entire planning and logistics process for this ministry.
$750 will organize one life-changing trip to share faith and seek peace.
Contact Brethren Witness at 1-800-323-8039 for more information.
Youth Peace Travel Team
The first Youth Peace Travel Team was formed for the summer of 1991 as a cooperative effort of a number of General Board programs. The team, jointly sponsored by the General Board's Brethren Witness office, On Earth Peace, and Outdoor Ministries Association, Washington Office, and Brethren Volunteer Service, spends the summer traveling to Brethren camps and leading activities related to peace, justice, and environmental stewardship.
$3,000 will cover the General Board's share of this important ministry for one year.
Contact Brethren Witness at 1-800-323-8039 to learn more about the Youth Peace Travel Team ministry and opportunities.
Brazil
The General Board at its March 2001 meeting affirmed and approved a new church planting effort in the South American country of Brazil.
Contact the Global Mission Partnerships office for more details.
Showing Care and Compassion for Our World and Our Neighbor
Brethren Volunteer Service
"Sharing God's love through acts of service" is the core of Brethren Volunteer Service. The program is grounded in Christian faith and brings a spiritual dimension to: advocating justice, working for peace, serving basic human needs, and maintaining the integrity of creation. BVS has been a major ministry of the Church of the Brethren since 1948, building on previous service models by the denomination. Participants as well as projects served are changed through this process of service and faith exploration. Five training events are held annually preparing 50 to 100 persons for service and personal growth in projects around the world. This is another of the Church of the Brethren's unique offerings to a world in need of "another way of living."
$400,000 will fully fund the current ministry efforts of BVS.
$30,000 will support one training event and prepare up to a dozen persons to serve.
$3,000 will recruit, train, place, and support one new BVSer for two years of service.
For more information call Volunteer Service Ministries at 1-800-323-8039.
World Mission Sunday
World Mission Sunday is the annual October offering emphasis for the Church of the Brethren General Board. A wide variety of interpretive materials about mission and ministry work (usually overseas projects) are developed and offered free of charge to any and all Church of the Brethren congregations. These materials educate and inspire mission thinking and action by Brethren across the country. Giving that supports this work lays the foundation for ministry worldwide and is leveraged into thousands of dollars of support for the ministries of the church and a global Brethren presence.
$25,000 will underwrite the production and free distribution of all three General Board offering emphases for the year.
$10,000 will insure World Mission Sunday materials are available to those who desire them.
$1,000 will pay for a creative touch or a splash of color that gets us all to take a second look.
Contact General Board Funding at 1-800-323-8039 for more information.
Workcamps
Workcamps seek to provide an experience that connects faith, service, and spiritual growth. They invite junior and senior high youth and young adults to serve others and to reflect on their own lives. Youth/Young Adult Ministries staff offer more than two dozen of these experiences each summer, and most camps are filled every year. Sites are located across the US, in the Caribbean, and elsewhere.
$30,000 will support the entire workcamp program for the current year.
$3,000 will plan and promote one of this year's workcamp experiences.
$300 will cover the registration fee for one economically challenged racial/ethnic participant
For more information contact the office of Youth and Young Adult Ministries at 1-800-323-8039
Dominican Republic Health Services
The goal of this ministry is to provide medical care with physician services to sugar cane worker communities surrounding the city of Sabana Grande de Boya. In 1998, following the devastation of Hurricane Georges, the Commission for Dominican Ecumenical Work (COTEDO) established a comprehensive health project in the sugar cane worker communities (bateyes). Included in this project: home reconstruction, latrine construction, community health education, and physician/pharmaceutical services. Dr. Hilcias Ricardo, a member of the Peniel new church start of the Brethren in Santo Domingo, accepted the call to serve as the first physician on this project. She continues to serve in this capacity among the eight different communities around Sabana Grande de Boya. Needed: regular funding support for Dr. Ricardo's salary and benefits.
$10,800 will provide a full year of salary and benefits to a primary physician
$900 will fund this ministry effort for one month.
$90 will ship one clinic box of medical supplies to the DR
Contact Global Mission Partnerships at 1-800-323-8039 for more information.
Death Row Support
In 1978, concerned Church of the Brethren members formed the Death Row Support Project for the purpose of facilitating one-to-one correspondence with some of the many people who have been sentenced to death row. Since then, thousands of people from all over the country and around the world have responded to the challenge of initiating correspondence with death row prisoners.
$800 will cover all the costs associated with this challenging ministry.
Contact the Brethren Witness office at 1-800-323-8039 to get involved or learn more.