Today’s service preview
Deyo
Caudill
JRA Youth Band
Bradford
Brogden
Wood
By Kara Chase
The closing service of the 53rd General Council begins tonight at 6:30 p.m., again uniting adults and youth for the evening.
Jeff Deyo will return to lead attendees in opening worship.
Recording artist and worship leader, Deyo is also co-founder of Pure Worship Institute in Nashville, Tennessee. Pure Worship Institute exists to train future professional worship musicians and singers through teaching, modeling, mentoring and building. Deyo shared his desire to train upcoming worship leaders this week while leading an Orland09 workshop on “The Heart of Worship.”
Following worship, Speed the Light and Student Missions Director Chet Caudill will take an offering for Speed the Light (STL). The youth band from James River Assembly of God in Ozark, Missouri, will perform during the offertory.
Caudill has 15 years combined experience serving as a youth pastor, evangelist and in various capacities in the local church and district. Prior to his appointment as the national Speed the Light and Student Missions director earlier this year, Caudill served as District Youth director for the Appalachian District. During his four-year tenure, the district’s STL giving grew significantly. In addition to experiencing a record-giving year in 2008, the Appalachian District now averages over $80 per student in STL giving, almost four times the national average of $23 per student.
Caudill and his wife Susanna have three children.
James River Assembly’s youth band is comprised of Josh Mhire, 17; Eric Mooney, 15; Josh Roberts, 17; Ari Biamonte-Stockl, 18; and Ellie Schmidly, 16.
Tonight’s STL offering has been entirely designated to expand the ministry of Unsion Television. Established in 2003 by missionaries Bill and Connie McDonald, Unsion is an award-winning Christian television station based in Ecuador.
Since its start, Unsion has impacted thousands of lives for Christ. The station documented 45,000 conversions in 2008. This year, Assemblies of God World Missions recognized Unsion as the International Spanish-speaking station of the AG.
The funds received tonight will be used to purchase time-sensitive transmitters for the cities of Maces and Tulcan as well as a satellite uplink for Unsion to reach over 100,000 more Ecuadorians.
Following the offertory, General Secretary James Bradford will introduce the evening’s speaker, missionary Dick Brogden.
The Executive Presbytery elected Bradford as general secretary in February 2009. Prior to his election, he served as senior pastor of Central Assembly in Springfield, Missouri, for nearly six years. Bradford has also served as pastor of both Broadway Church in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Newport-Mesa Christian Center in Costa Mesa, California.
Bradford holds a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Minnesota. While a student, Bradford led a Chi Alpha Bible study that eventually grew into a university church, where he served in full-time ministry following his graduation.
Bradford and his wife Sandi have two daughters.
A graduate of North Central University, Brogden has served among unreached people since 1992 and has developed a variety of innovative ministry methods. He is passionate about effectively sharing Christ with previously unreached peoples.
His message will seek to challenge a generation of glory bearers who are willing to passionately share the Gospel in unreached, and often dangerous, areas of the world.
Brogden’s challenge will be followed by an extended altar response time.
General Superintendent George O. Wood will close the service at approximately 8 p.m. with a benediction and the Fine Arts Festival Celebration service will begin soon after.
The Celebration service will recognize the top Fine Arts participants and feature performances by various Award of Merit recipients.