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REMEMBERING THE ORPHANPAGE 4

LUMBER CITY CHURCH GROWS, FOCUSES ON MULTIPLICATION PAGE 3 • MORE SENIORS COHABITATING PAGE 7 • THIS WEEK IN AG

HISTORY PAGE 8

UPDATE: AG RESPONDS TO DISASTERSPAGE 5

A LIFETIME DEVOTED TO GOD AND THE AGPAGE 6

A COLLECTION OF THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES FROM PENEWS.ORG

SUNDAY,OCT. 15,2017

THIS WEEK IN AG HISTORYBY GLENN W. GOHR

Robert Cummings (1892-1972) and his wife Mildred (1892-1981) were sent out by the United Presbyterian Church of North America as missionaries to India. Through a series of events, the couple received the baptism in the Holy Spirit and then became appointed missionaries with the Assemblies of God.

The son of United Presbyterian missionaries, Cummings was born and raised in Punjab, India, and attended school there. At age 15, he attended a preparatory school in the U.S. and latter attained two bachelor’s degrees and two master’s degrees.

Cummings was appointed as a missionary with the United Presbyterian Church in 1920. He later became principal of the Landour Language School in India.

After reading the life of Charles Finney, Robert Cummings began praying to be filled with the Holy Spirit. His wife also sought the Pentecostal blessing. Mildred received the Baptism in April 1924; Robert in January 1925.

After being Baptized, Robert Cummings joined the AG. He taught at Central Bible Institute and returned to India as an AG appointed missionary in 1946, serving through 1961.

Read Robert Cummings’ testimony, “What God Taught Me,” on pages 4, 5, and 29 of the Oct. 14, 1962, issue of the Pentecostal Evangel online at s2.ag.org/oct141962a.

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TRIO OF LEADERS CONSECRATED PAGE 2

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Three national Assemblies of God officials, half of the Fellowship’s Executive Leadership Team, are working in new positions following a consecration service Tuesday in Springfield, Missouri.

Doug E. Clay, 54, is the new general superintendent. Rick W. DuBose, 60, takes over as general treasurer. Malcolm P. Burleigh, 66, is now U.S. Missions executive director. The trio received formal commissioning charges at installation ceremonies.

Clay, a third-generation Pentecostal preacher, becomes the 13th general superintendent in the 103-year history of the U.S. Fellowship. George O. Wood retires at 76 after a decade in the post. Wood read a commissioning statement to Clay, whose wife, Gail, joined him on the platform.

“You have been chosen to serve in a time of great opportunity and promise, but also a time of great need and challenge,” Wood said. “May you use the gifts and talents granted to you by God to lead this Fellowship in a spirit of

unity and compassion.”Thomas Trask, who preceded Wood

in office, prayed for Clay to be blessed with godly faith, a spirit of discernment, a tender heart, and courage to be strong in his convictions. Trask, 81, exhorted Clay to keep the gifts of the Holy Spirit operative in the AG.

“I understand the need to steward this sacred Movement and this sacred assignment,” Clay said in brief remarks after the dedicatory prayer. Noting that the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation occurs this month, Clay said he wondered what a Pentecostal reformation might look like. If he could nail theses on the doors of AG churches, Clay said the values would include:

· The Holy Spirit is a person, not an it.

· The Bible is absolute truth, not just a book full of pithy sayings.

· Character matters, regardless of title.

· Avoid getting sidetracked, and continue focusing on evangelism,

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T H E A B C s O F S A L V A T I O N

ACCEPT that you are a sinner, and God’s punishment for yoursin is death and separation from God forever.

BELIEVE that Jesus paid God’s price for your sin when He died on the cross.

CONFESS “Jesus, I believe You are who the Bible and historydeclares You are – the Son of God. I humble myself and surrender to You. Forgive me. Make me spiritually whole. Change my life. Amen.”

MORE SENIORS COHABITATINGBY JOHN W. KENNEDY

The group with the fastest hike — 75 percent — in cohabitation in the past decade is those aged 50 and over. Overall, 4 million people in that age range are living together without being married.

Wes R. Bartel, director of AG Senior Adult Ministries, says pragmatism is the overwhelming reason older couples choose to live together without benefit of clergy. Some elderly people are wary of comingling assets because they want to leave money to their biological offspring, not the relatives of a second spouse. The lack of a commitment to marriage may be spurred by an apprehension of relinquishing financial benefits being paid by the pension or Social Security income of a deceased spouse.

Even those who have spent decades attending church may be tempted to succumb to looser societal norms. Various movies, TV programs, and commercials all depict single seniors as satisfied while sexually promiscuous. Scott M. Stanley, co-director of the Center for Marital

and Family Studies at the University of Denver, says one party often is persuaded by the other to engage in conduct he or she really doesn’t think is moral.

“One wants to observe a line and the other one without moral boundaries wears that person down,” Stanley says.

“Procreation isn’t a factor for seniors, but scriptural principles are for all generations, not just one generation,” says Judy Pompineau Wick, co-founder of the ministry Young Enough to Serve. “Seemingly solid excuses for living together don’t hold up in light of Scriptures.”

Cohabiting couples separate more frequently than married couples, reconcile less, experience infidelity at higher rates, have higher levels of depression and substance abuse, and are more prone to physical violence with their partner.

TRIO OF LEADERS CONSECRATEDBY JOHN W. KENNEDY

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REMEMBERING THE ORPHANBY CIERA HORTON MCELROY

Around the world and at home, AG World Missions (AGWM), national church leaders and members, AG U.S. Missions, and Convoy of Hope are on the forefront as first responders and partners who will stand alongside victims of recent disasters throughout the recovery and rebuilding process.

Hurricane Irma left Cuba with 3.1 million people without running water and 26,000 homeless. Over 100 Cuban AG properties were destroyed. Hurricane Maria virtually leveled Puerto Rico. Officials believe many Puerto Ricans will remain without power for months.

However, Convoy of Hope is making sure people in the Caribbean receive the help they need.

On Sept. 19, an earthquake struck about 76 miles southeast of Mexico City. More than 366 people lost their lives. Just two weeks before, another earthquake had killed 90 people in southern Mexico.

AGWM was able to rapidly distribute $25,000 in relief funds to Mexico to accelerate recovery efforts. The Mexico AG’s National Missions Department is coordinating relief efforts in southern Mexico’s earthquake zone.

The South Pacific island of Vanuatu’s largest volcano threatened residents of Ambae (a northern island of Vanuatu) with burning ash, toxic gas, and acid rain.

Since then, crops have been threatened by acid rain, and many of

the island’s sources of drinking water have been corrupted.

AGWM quickly transferred $25,000 in relief funds to Vanuatu. The Sanma Bible Training campus was also modified to accommodate roughly 250 evacuees, and Convoy of Hope sent 400,000 meals to the island.

Massive floods have swept India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan following record monsoon rains. Approximately 1,200 deaths have been reported, at least 1 million homes have been destroyed, and vast areas of farmland and crops have been ruined.

“Pray for miracles of provision, restoration, healing, and peace for the people of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan,” urges AGWM Eurasia regional director Omar Beiler.

AG World Missions, Convoy of Hope, and AG U.S. Missions are bringing aid to hundreds of thousands of hurricane, flood, and fire victims in the United States. In just over a month, Convoy of Hope has distributed more than 7 million pounds of supplies to U.S. hurricane survivors.

UPDATE: AG RESPONDS TO DISASTERSBY KRISTEL ORTIZ

Allen L. Griffin is no stranger to the difficulties of the foster care system. Growing up in a home with 26 foster siblings, Griffin witnessed from a young age how the state shuffled children from household to household. To the state, the kids represented numbers in the welfare system. But to Griffin, they meant family.

“I never called them foster brothers,” he says. “I just called them brothers.”

Griffin and his wife, Hashmareen, have dedicated their lives to serving orphans and foster teens in Florida through their organization Excellerate, a 16-week program providing transferable life skills for orphans and teens in foster care. Their goal is to help students become successful and engaged community members before they age out of the foster system.

Through relational mentoring and group training, students learn about Excellerate’s five pillars: life skills, professionalism, financial responsibility, social skills, and spiritual growth. While the majority of state agencies advise about 10 hours of life-skills training

for foster teens, Excellerate offers upwards of 90 hours.

Students learn about time management, leadership, problem solving, and study methods. They figure out how to write a résumé, give a presentation, interview for a job, and be financially responsible.

One of the greatest gifts students gain from Excellerate is the key to a donated vehicle. The car is intended to give graduates independence and the ability to drive themselves to school, work, and church.

With their new skills — and transportation — Excellerate graduates are equipped to start their adult lives. Many teens, once abused and neglected, have since gone on to attend college and launch professional careers. Griffin estimates that 25 percent of Excellerate graduates go into ministry.

In the five years since the inception of the Excellerate program, the Griffins have seen over 100 orphaned teens enter the program, with 84 of them receiving automobiles so far.

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church planting, and compassion ministries.

“We’re called to minister to a fractured world,” said Clay, who had been general treasurer since 2008. “This fracture is a result of being alienated from God. Only Jesus can heal that fracture.”

Leadership changeovers in the recent past typically have occurred during a chapel service at the Assemblies of God national office. This consecration service, opened to the public and with a broader constituency invited, took place at Central Assembly of God, adjacent to the AG national office.

The 45-minute gathering looked somewhat like a family get-together,

with relatives, friends, and co-workers of the officials attending. A majority of executive presbyters and a smattering of district officials from around the nation also turned out, bringing the crowd to around 1,500 people.

Assistant General Superintendent L. Alton Garrison read the charge for both DuBose and Burleigh. DuBose arrives as general treasurer — replacing Clay — at the national office after a decade as superintendent of the North Texas District. Burleigh replaces the retiring Zollie L. Smith Jr., who held the U.S. Missions post for 10 years. Since 2009, Burleigh has been senior director of Intercultural Ministries, one of the seven departments of U.S. Missions.

A LIFETIME DEVOTED TO GOD AND THE AGBY DAN VAN VEEN

For anyone who connects with the national executive offices on a semi-regular basis, there is one non-clergy member whose name — or voice — will likely bring a smile to their face: Jewell Woodward.

Woodward, 71, served as former General Superintendent George O. Wood’s executive secretary since he was elected general secretary in 1993. Prior to that she was the executive secretary to General Secretaries Joseph Flower and Bartlett Peterson — 45 years as an executive secretary.

Originally hired as a teletypesetter in 1965, “out of the blue,” she was asked to work in the Secretariat Office in 1966, where her gifting began to show through.

In 1972, General Secretary Bartlett Peterson hired Woodward to be his secretary. In 1975, Joseph Flower became general secretary and he chose to retain Woodward as his secretary. Eighteen years later, in 1993, George Wood was elected general secretary. He, too, chose to keep her on.

Woodward has a well-established reputation in the national office, as well as within her church, for her gift of helping. She is renowned for her work ethic and connecting answers to questions.

But her gifting isn’t just used at work — she is also loved and appreciated locally.

“I served as a [Girls Ministries]

Prims leader for 25 years at Central Assembly,” she says, then adds with a laugh, “And I’ve catered more meals for special events at the church than I could ever count.” Woodward also served six years on the church’s deacon board.

Add in her hobby of cake decorating in addition to raising three sons and spoiling 10 grandchildren, it’s easy to see that a “helper” is who she is.

In 2015, however, the scale of Woodward’s gift became evident when she was awarded the General Superintendent’s Medal of Honor during the 56th General Council.

“Without a doubt, Jewell is one of the most extraordinary persons I have ever met,” Wood confirms.

But even though she’s retiring, Woodward has not exhausted her gift.

“I’m going to work part-time for Project Rescue with [missionary] David Grant,” she explains. “That is going to be a new page — a new adventure in life.”

Lumber City Church (LCC) in North Tonawanda, New York, was planted in 2012 with the help of Matching Funds provided by AGTrust members.

Today the church is thriving. Since its launch, at least 100 people have been baptized and the church is steadily extending its impact in the community.

LCC founding pastors Chad and Christina Rieselman recently stated that AGTrust, in partnership with Church Multiplication Network (CMN), not only provided $30,000 in Matching Funds to help open the church, but also helped the congregation implement creative ways to inspire multiplication and foster spiritual health in all areas of ministry.

“The provision of Matching Funds

did more than help us plant Lumber City Church,” Chad says. “It allowed us to replicate a local model for multiplication that continues to plant other churches today.”

A few months ago, LCC acquired a building to create The Hope Center. Offering a full court gymnasium, functioning school kitchen, and cafeteria/auditorium, these additional facilities offer more opportunities to reach out to the city.

Chad and Christina frequently remind their congregation that the church’s mission must also be turned outward. As a result, LCC has helped fund the planting of other churches in New York and overseas.

LUMBER CITY CHURCH GROWS, FOCUSES ON MULTIPLICATIONBY DAN KERSTEN