Google Replacing G-Suite with Google Workspace

From: Brian Gowing, Business and Technology Manager for the Great Lakes District

For those district offices and churches that utilize the Google G-Suite please be aware that Google is discontinuing G-Suite and making a mandatory switchover to Google Workspace. This switchover will start by May 1, 2022, and will be completed by June 1, 2022. This affects users of G-Suite in several ways.

If you are using the free version of G-Suite (I know quite a few of my churches do), there is no free version of Google Workspace. That means you will start getting charged $6/month/user starting in June as Google switches existing G-Suite users over to Workspace. Here is additional information on what that means if you decide to keep Workspace: Google Workspace transition is happening now - Google Workspace Admin Help.

If you decide that you do not want to keep using G-Suite, you will need to cancel your account and delete your organization. There is a write-up here: Delete your organization's Google Account - Google Workspace Admin Help.

Be very careful if you choose to delete your G-Suite accounts and delete your organization from Google. There is NO ‘undo’ button and no grace period. Once you hit the delete button all your data will cease to exist. Not only will your G-Suite data be deleted but also any Google apps or services that you used the G-Suite email accounts on. That includes YouTube channels, Google Drive documents, Google Calendar, etc. Ensure that you have backed up all of your data prior to doing this otherwise you will lose all your data and will not have any ability to recover it. Keep in mind that this is an immediate DELETE of all your Google data as soon as you confirm that you want to delete your organization from Google.

If you use YouTube for uploading videos, create a new Google account and upload all the videos to that new account prior to deleting the organization. The same applies to any other data and apps that you want to keep.

You Can Help the People in Ukraine Now!

The assault on Ukraine has intensified since the initial military invasion. Over 1.5 million Ukrainian citizens have fled the country. If the assault continues with its current unrelenting fury, millions more are expected to seek refuge outside of their homeland.

In a vivid demonstration of Christ’s care and compassion, churches throughout eastern Europe have risen to meet the extraordinary need. Our Alliance church partners in Kyiv are currently evacuating women and children out of the capital city, as well as providing food, transportation, and shelter for those who have lost or fled their homes. CAMA Services, the relief arm of The Alliance, continues to partner with pastors in Kyiv as they care for the suffering and displaced. In crises of this magnitude, many fundraising efforts are launched to help victims. In times of war, government and nongovernment organizational infrastructure breaks down. This makes it challenging to get funds to places where the need is greatest.

Because of CAMA’s nearly 50-year history of assisting refugees and internally displaced people in times of war and natural disaster—and because of the pre-existing church network partnership within Ukraine─all gifts given to CAMA will be directed immediately to help Ukrainians. As of March 1, Alliance people have contributed more than $150,000 to CAMA’s efforts. On behalf of the suffering and Internally displaced in Ukraine, THANK YOU. You are making an incredible difference. But more is needed. As this crisis continues to unfold, will you join CAMA in coming alongside our church partners in Ukraine as they provide aid and relief to those who have been left in great need?

Click here to help NOW.

Please Pray:

• For those who have lost homes or loved ones, been forced to flee, or remain in harm’s way

• For much needed supplies/aid to reach areas most impacted

• For our national church partners in Ukraine as they do all they can to help those in dire need

• For the safety of congregations in areas of heightened military strikes

• For our sovereign God to intervene and put an end to the conflict

Also, give thanks to God that Alliance international workers from the region are all safe and accounted for

Testimony of God's Work in Our District

Continued..where the Monday Memo let’s off…

““may I tell you what the bible tells us about how to get right with God and have peace with him?” He said/nodded yes, and gripping his hand I talked about our sin, the impossibility of getting rid of it by any means on our own, God’s unbelievably merciful offer to let Jesus be our substitute if we will put our complete trust in him to be our savior, and that the Holy Spirit responds to our trust by uniting us to Jesus, putting us “into Christ” and “Christ into us” ( Rom 6, John 14) I asked if he wanted me to pray for him, and he nodded yes. I prayed his story, what I knew of it, back to God, acknowledging sin and wrong doing, rebellion, going his own way. Using his name I said that “Jim” knows he needs forgiveness and mercy. As he talks to you about his sin, Lord be faithful and hear him. As you hold out your hand to Jim, help him to repent and turn to you to be washed clean and receive your life to live in him. “ I also prayed for healing, for Jim’s fear, and asked the Lord would comfort Jim, give him peace, make Jim aware of his presence.

That was on a Friday afternoon. I didn’t have enough help that weekend, so I was on call on Sunday and was called in to the CCU for another Covid patient who had died and the family wanted a chaplain to come. As I was gowning up for that one, I asked how Jim was doing and the answer came that he was about to be intubated (put on a ventilator which requires the patient to be sedated because it is so uncomfortable). I decided to take a few minutes to see Jim again before going to the family I had been called for. Jim was struggling to breathe, very very afraid, he nodded yes when I asked if he had asked the Lord for forgiveness and mercy and new life. I reviewed the promises and assurances we have that when we believe we become the children of God. I asked the Holy Spirit to fill Jim and I asked Jesus to heal him I left and the respiratory team came and put him on the ventilator. He died, about 3 weeks later."

Orchard Alliance is Seeking Candidates for Next President!

Located in beautiful Colorado Springs, Colorado, Orchard Alliance (OA) has served The Alliance in the area of financial stewardship for more than sixty years—helping individuals, churches, districts, and ministry partners do immeasurably more with the financial resources God has entrusted to them.

The ministry services OA provides primarily to the worldwide ministry of The Christian and Missionary Alliance also support and advance like-minded ministries within the broader evangelical Christian community. The next two decades in OA’s future will have a significant impact on Alliance stakeholders and many other ministry partners.

OA’s president serves as its chief executive officer and is responsible for the development and execution of a broad range of organization-wide initiatives. At a pivotal moment in the organization’s history, the next president of OA will have opportunity to set a strategic direction that capitalizes on the ministry’s extensive history, experience, financial strength, and deeply respected reputation—both within its denomination and to the larger evangelical Christian community.

Orchard Alliance is partnering with AGORA Search Group to assist with identifying and evaluating candidates for OA’s next president. AGORA will be accepting applications through February 28, 2022. Please visit https://www.agorasearchgroup.com/singlepost/president-orchard-alliance for further information on the position and application process.

Chaplaincy Course at ATS

Alliance Theological Seminary will have a course for the spring 2022 semester for those interested in federal chaplaincy. Both onsite and livestream options are available. Please relay this information to current, prospective, and audit students who have a heart to serve in these areas of ministry. See image for more details.

Interested in becoming a federal chaplain? Email the office at chaplains@cmalliance.org.

New Challenges for a New Day

When will it be over? When will life return to “normal”? By now most of us are coming to the realization that normal as we have known it is unlikely to return anytime soon. We continue to live with the ripples of Covid-19 even as we are warned about variants that could cause another lockdown full or partial.

Dr. Henry Cloud noted in his recent presentation to the Global Leadership Summit that psychologists agree that about 40% of Americans are struggling with some form of mental illness. I recently saw an article that raised that estimate to 60%. People are frightened, anxious, experiencing varying degrees of depression and struggling with an uncertain future. The upheaval of Covid coupled with political conflict and the loss of trust in so many government institutions all have contributed to these feelings.

It is into this context we are sent to carry out our calling and the mission that Christ gave to his church. We are not the first generation of God followers to face such upheaval and uncertainty. The Psalmist describes the emotions of living in such times and offers insight in how to cope with it. Remember the book of Acts was written in a time of religions and political persecution.

We don’t get to choose our reality, but we do get to choose how we respond to it. Like the early church perhaps it is time to turn our focus from the institution of the church and instead focus on ministry to people in the 60% where and how we find them. Our churches may not look the same and our “pre-Covid” attenders may not return, but there is a great harvest of frightened and anxious people who are seeking some reason to hope. Our future lies not in returning to a “normal” from the past but in embracing the challenges of the present and pointing people to the God who is in control in the midst of this chaos.

40 Days of Prayer - Starting 2022

Each week, we are releasing a set of thematic daily devotions and prayer points authored by Alliance leaders and family members. Join your Alliance family as we bring our hearts and hands together!

Week 1: Reawakening to the Glory of Christ
Week 2: Reawakening to the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Christ
Week 3: Reawakening to the Spirit of Christ
Week 4: Reawakening to the Church of Christ
Week 5: Reawakening to the Mission of Christ
Week 6: Reawakening to the Return of Christ

Would you consider making these themes the focus of your weekly services? Click here.

Weekly Prayer Gatherings -

As we seek to see the Lord move during these 40 Days of Prayer, we believe that there is power in praying together. Join us for our livestream weekly prayer encounters as we seek the Lord together.

Click here for provided materials.

For All the World: All of Jesus -

In addition to providing devotional content, we invite you to join us for various livestream events including weekly 60-minute prayer gatherings on Wednesdays at noon eastern time, as well as a Prayer and Praise celebration on the closing evening of the 40 days—Live event happening on Thursday, February 10. More information coming soon.

Regarding Religious Exemptions for COVID Vaccines

From the Office of the General Counsel:

“Over the last couple of days I've dived deeper into this ethical issue of whether Christians should receive COVID-19 vaccines. The underlying concern is that some of the available and developing vaccines were derived from cell lines of aborted fetuses.

As you might expect, the Christian community is somewhat split with a definite lean by ethical experts to take the vaccine. For example, both the pro-life Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and the Catholic Church consider taking the vaccines morally permissible, even if fetal cell lines were used in production.

The good news is that the two most common vaccines, Moderna and Pfizer, do not use fetal cell lines in production. Both have used the cell lines in the testing process. The Lozier Institute provides a chart with updated information about available vaccines. I found this Christianity Today article to be the most helpful source to understand the issues.

The C&MA has not taken a position on this issue.

For those who wish to claim a religious exemption, my recommendation is to rely on the C&MA Statement on Sanctity of Human Life.”

EquippingU

EquippingU Council will be held Friday, June 4, as part of Alliance Council 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee. EquippingU is designed to equip alliance pastors and leaders to live spiritually healthy lives and lead healthy churches. This event is for those who are attending Council either in person or online. The theme this year is disciplemaking.

Register here to deepen disciplemaking efforts in your church.

Speakers:

Listening to Others Preach

I have always found it beneficial to listen to or read other preacher’s sermons. I am challenged by the way they understand a passage of scripture differently than I had ever considered. I am surprised by the applications they make that had never occurred to me. My soul is nourished by the Word of God that was processed by another member of the body of Christ using his/her gifts to edify the church. I am intrigued by the way preachers of other cultural backgrounds approach their audience with a theme that engages their congregations on a level that I would never have caught without their insight.

In the past few years (2020 especially), I am listening more often than I am preaching. I have listened online, on CDs, on Facebook, and a few times in person. I have been encouraged by the quality of preaching I have been hearing. The congregations of the Mid-Atlantic District are being well fed. If you preach regularly, you are probably a student of preaching and may already have your favorites. I want to invite you to be encouraged by a few of your colleagues.

Listen to the message “Carriers of Hope” by Pastor Rob Simone you can find the sermon at https://livestream.com/ndc/sunday021421/videos/217536877. The sermon begins at 32:05.

Pastor Julio Orozco has begun a Lenten Series focused on the deeper purpose of Lent. Listen to his message “Giving up Control”. The sermon can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOzc_Q5ia44. The sermon begins at 4:15. The video at the front end of this recording sets the tone for the message, so you may want to listen from the beginning.

Pastor Charles Fox addressed “Cancel Culture” and its impact on the Church. His message can be found at https://www.facebook.com/Christ-Community-Church-of-Bowie-Maryland-115766298472097/

Listening to other preachers stimulated my creativity, invited me to address subjects that I could have easily overlooked. I discovered new and innovative approaches for delivery and new ways to construct the message. Listen and allow your own soul to be encouraged and strengthened. You are not alone in your work. The Lord has others who are standing with you in the work of the gospel.

Rev. Doug Conley
District Superintendent

Love as God loves

In Colossians 3, Paul talks about putting off the old man and putting on the new man, "who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created Him" (v.10).

As born again believers in Christ, we have become, and are becoming different.  Being renewed in the likeness of Christ, we are enabled to think on a different level of understanding. It is a new kind of life:

"where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all (v.11).

That list above is quite a spread of cultural and racially different people. Greeks and uncircumcised are describing the Gentiles; "dogs" to the Jews.  And Scythians were an ancient cruel people.  Think of Isis, or Boko Haram in Africa. Just imagine some of these despised people converting to become followers of Jesus.  Cool, huh?   

Then one Sunday, they come to your church and want to join. Paul says here: in Christ, we are all the same. Christ is in all of us. And THAT means there is no "them" and "us". We're all "us".  He goes on describing how, in this new kind of life, we are to think toward others:

"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.  But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection" (v12-14).

In Scripture, perfection doesn't describe one who makes no mistakes.  (No, we keep doing that.)  Perfection means completeness.  And that is a description of what you are, not what you do.  Though the one should be influencing the other.

Thus Jesus tells us what godly perfection looks like:

"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:44-45).  

To "be sons of your Father in heaven" is a character description; you'll be like God in how you regard others.

"For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?  Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect" (v.46-48).

Perfection means to love as God loves. Depending on who you're dealing with right now, that could be a challenge. It helps to remember how He's loved you during times when you weren't as loveable as you are now.

Have a blessed day.

Pastor Dennis Whitmore

Way to Go, Mid-Atlantic District!

The year-end numbers are in and you crushed it. Giving to the Great Commission Fund from our District for 2020 totaled $1,105,282. That is an increase of $76,201 over 2019. In spite of every challenge we faced in 2020, you led our churches to an increase in giving to keep our missions efforts going full speed ahead.

I am pleased to let you know that 20 of our churches increased their giving over 2019. Three of those churches were church plants!!  A special shout out to those planters who led their churches to give sacrificially to advance the mission we share together as Alliance congregations.

As we kick off 2021, would you challenge your congregation to give generously and sacrificially for our worldwide work this year? We are well on our way to being able to give $1.5 million annually to the GCF and support those international workers from our district who are serving faithfully all over the planet. Let’s see how much closer we can come in 2021!

Proudly serving with you,

Doug Conley

A Story of Hope from Neighborhood Church

Neighborhood Church has an ongoing partnership with Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless.  One aspect of that is providing bagged breakfasts once a month and a hot dinner once a quarter to the local men's emergency shelter in our neighborhood.  This Thanksgiving Day, we committed to providing brunch for 150 men at the shelter, but we invited our surrounding community to partner with us.  Seven households from our church and six households from the community worked together to pull this off.  We also received a call from the local Lions Club, who heard about what we were doing, and chose to give a monetary donation. When we posted an update on "Operation Thanksgiving Brunch" on the local Facebook group (using a picture from someone in our community), it received over fifty "likes" and positive comments. We are grateful for the ways that God is giving us favor in our neighborhood, and are praying that this leads to conversations about Him and people saying "yes" to Jesus.

How to Multiply Your Church

As the U.S. population continues to grow, can the local church keep up? Ralph Moore believes it can by multiplying and strategically planting new churches that, in turn, plant new churches. Ralph is the founding pastor of Hope Chapel in Hermosa Beach, California, and in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Beginning with just 12 people in 1971, this ministry now spans more than 700 churches around the world. In this session of EquippingU, he will show why multiplication is the key to growing God’s Kingdom and will offer proven methods for implementing multiplication in your community. Join us for this LIVE online webinar and multiply your church!

ONLY A FEW DAYS TO GO—REGISTER NOW! Register at EquippingU.org.

Year-End Offering

PLAN NOW how your congregation will participate in the 2020 Year-End Offering this Christmas!  Here’s how!
CHECK YOUR MAIL. The following materials will arrive in your church by the end of October:

• Quantities of YEO bulletin inserts highlighting how your church can help fulfill our unfinished mission together this Christmas

• A Pastor’s Guide to help you promote and present this year’s offering

• Helpful instructions for your church treasurer

GO DIGITAL! Starting mid-October, visit cmalliance.org/yearend to download video segments, customizable graphics, and other Year-End offering resources.

View the Year-End Offering Digital One-Sheet for more details.
Look for more info in upcoming emails, the Alliance e-Newsletter, the Alliance website, and social media. Questions? Email us at communications@cmalliance.org

Unfinished: A Night of Missions and Giving

Please join the greater Alliance family Friday, October 23, for a live, virtual Alliance family event-Unfinished: A Night of Missions & Giving-as we celebrate what God has done, is currently doing, and what we trust He will continue to do through the pioneering missionary spirit He breathed into us. This virtual family event will include:
- A never-before-seen video of the Alliance entry into the Baliem Valley in Indonesia

- Compelling reports from international workers serving in the next gospel frontiers

- The debut of the new Alliance Worship single, All of Jesus for All the World, featuring Aaron Shust

- An inspiring message from Mark Ashton, pastor of Christ Community Omaha, about how we, together, can continue to fuel our Alliance pioneering Kingdom legacy through our generosity!

The event, hosted by John Stumbo, will be livestreamed at 7:15 p.m. Eastern Time on October 23 and accessible to the entire Alliance family. It will also be recorded, and a second streaming will be available beginning at 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time. REGISTER NOW!

Domestic Abuse Training

We are excited to announce our first virtual conference, PeaceWorks Live! Join us by smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop! This exclusive two-day domestic abuse training event will feature worship music, a survivor story, four plenary sessions with Chris Moles, along with bonus sessions from Joy Forrest, Darby Strickland, and Greg Wilson.

When: Friday, September 25, 2020, at 7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. EDT Saturday, September 26, 2020, at 9:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. EDT

Where: Online—Join us by smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop!

Cost: $97 per registrant

Plenary Session Descriptions

Plenary Session #1 - Domestic Abuse and the Heart of God— Four foundational elements found in every abusive relationship

Plenary Session #2 - Understanding Abuse— Common definitions that unpack the dynamics and impact of domestic abuse

Plenary Session #3 - The Heart of Abuse— Confront common misconceptions and reveal the root cause of domestic abuse

Plenary Session #4 - Theological Landmines— Most commonly mismanaged theological and biblical issues related to abuse

Presidential Nomination Form

From the Executive Office

See attachment for the Presidential Nomination Form 2021–2025.

As you may know, during General Council 2021 in Nashville, Tennessee (May 31–June 3), a presidential election will take place. The C&MA Presidential Election Sub-Committee consists of the three officers of the Council Nominations Committee (chairperson, vice-chairperson, secretary) and three members appointed from among the C&MA Board of Directors. This committee began working in May to gather information as directed by the Manual of The Christian and Missionary Alliance. The Committee appreciates your prayers for this very important task. We eagerly desire to be filled daily with the Holy Spirit and have the mind of Christ as we seek to serve the Lord in this capacity.

The Presidential Search Committee invites you to submit names to be considered for the Office of President for the term of August 1, 2021–July 31, 2025. We ask that you secure the person’s approval to enter the process before submitting his name. Submissions should include the name of the person being nominated, his current contact information, the name of the C&MA church where he is an active member, and a statement that the person nominated has indeed given his permission to be considered for the Office of President. Please also include your full name, your current contact information, and where you are an active C&MA church member. A form for the nominator to submit is attached.

Submissions of the names of persons willing to be considered need to be received no later than December 1, 2020. All submissions should be sent to the chairperson of the Presidential Election Sub-Committee, Robert E. Zimmermann, at robz@westgatechapel.org.

It is the understanding of the Presidential Search Committee that President John P. Stumbo is desirous of running for another four-year term as president. It is our desire to be faithful to the process as outlined in the Manual of the C&MA.

Sincerely in Christ,

2021 Presidential Election Sub-Committee:

Rev. Robert E. Zimmermann, chairperson
Ms. Jennifer K. Ashby, Board of Directors
Rev. Jonathan A. Wiggins, vice-chair
Rev. Tae S. (Ted) Kang, Board of Directors
Mrs. Kimberly R. Thomas, secretary
Rev. Scott G. Slocum, Board of Directors

All 600MHz Wireless Equipment Will Be Illegal

ON JULY 13, 2020, ALL 600MHz WIRELESS EQUIPMENT WILL BE ILLEGAL TO OPERATE IN THE UNITED STATES. As of July 13, 2020, all wireless systems (microphones, in-ear systems, etc.) that run in the so-called 600MHz service band ranges (617–652 and 663–698MHz) will be ruled illegal wireless equipment in the United States. Those in possession of these systems must cease from using them or be subject to fines of up to $10,000 for interfering with licensed operations. This will be the final communication on this issue. Many of our churches have heeded the call and changed out their wireless systems in the 600MHz range. However, there are still churches out there that have not. Sennheiser, one of our Alliance Purchasing Partners, is running a promotional rebate until July 13, 2020. With this rebate, any older system in the 600MHz band, whether operative or inoperable, will count toward a rebate for a new wireless system. For more information, go to https://en-us.sennheiser.com/600-mhz-promo. Sennheiser’s preferred vendor, ProAudio.com, is handling our APP interface. You can contact our dedicated sales manager at ProAudio.com, Barry Pike, at bpike@proaudio.com or (877) 223-2221 for our special Alliance pricing. Going through ProAudio.com also gives 5 percent of the total purchase price back to the Alliance Great Commission Fund. To receive the special pricing, please let Barry know that you are an Alliance church.

Summer Online Learning Opportunities: Navigating Post-Covid-19

As many of our Alliance pastors are attempting to navigate what the Post-COVID will look like, online courses are available to help better equip us to handle this new reality and will help us grieve the past and embrace the new future of Church Post-COVID. Here are some upcoming relevant online learning opportunities provided by the Made to Flourish Network and Chuck Proudfit from At Work on Purpose in Cincinnati. Please register for the helpful FREE online learning opportunities below.

Thursday, July 9, 11:00 a.m.–noon Cultivating a Generous Congregation in Uncertain Times with Nikki Sorum, senior vice president at Thrivent, and Dan Reed, CEO of Seed Fundraisers Register here

Friday, July 10, 11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Realigning in the Emerging Work World with Lisa Slayton, former CEO of the Pittsburg Leadership Foundation Zoom link here

Friday, July 17, 11:00 a.m.– 12:30 p.m. Post-COVID Church/Work Discussion with Dr. Ed Silvoso, author and international speaker Register here

Friday, July 31, 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. 2020 XL Summit—learn what it looks like to make choices at work that honor God and advance His Kingdom. Register here

Thursday, August 13, 1:00–2:00 pm Innovations for the Ice Age: Practical Ways to Pivot from Generous Relief to Holistic Sustainable Community Ministries at the MTF CIN/DAY virtual gathering with Dr. Amy Sherman, author of six books, including Kingdom Calling. Zoom link here