LeadershipConnexion SPRING2023

PennDel Ministry Network | Spring 2023 

HEALTHY PASTORS THRIVING CHURCHES EVANGELISM CHANGED LIVES 

SAY NO TO ZERO 

WOMEN IN MINISTRY SALVATION SHARING CHRIST SPIRITUAL GROWTH 100X2030 

GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT SALVATION WATER BAPTISM KIDS MINISTRIES HOLY SPIRIT 

BAPTISM FELLOWSHIP GENEROSITY DISCIPLESHIP CONNECTIONS COMMITMENT 

PRAYER YOUTH MINISTRIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH SACRIFICE EXCELLENCE 

STEWARDSHIP MENS MINISTRIES KINGDOM BUILDING SOWING REVIVAL JOY 

FINE ARTS GRACE PEACE MIRACLES BIBLE QUIZ BELONGING HIGHER PURPOSE 

FRESH ANOINTING PURPOSE SPEED THE LIGHT OUTREACH KINDNESS LOVING 

PEOPLE LEGACY HERITAGE HOPE YOUTH ALIVE WORD OF GOD HEALTHY 

LEADERSHIP RURAL COMPASSION COACHING GROWING YOUNG RESOURCES 

SAY 

PARTNERSHIP PRAYER EMPHASIS ABUNDANCE INCREASE/GROWTH CULTURAL 

RELEVANCY HEALING PENNDEL WOMEN WORLD MISSIONS HOME MISSIONS SOUL 

CARE BIBLICAL LITERACY MINISTRY TRAINING NETWORK OF WOMENS MINISTERS 

YES 

GIFT ORIENTED MINISTRY REVITALIZATION FELLOWSHIP BGMC GENEROSITY 

PRAYER BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT CHAPLAINCY REVITALIZATION GENEROSITY 

WORSHIP CHI ALPHA EMOTIONAL HEALTH NEXT GENERATION STEWARDSHIP 

CHURCH RECALIBRATION VISION PURPOSE LOVE MINISTER CARE COMPASSION 

GENERATIONAL FAITHFULNESS CHURCH PLANTING ENGAGEMENT FAMILY 

WITNESSING EVANGELISM PDSOM UNASHAMED FIRE & WIND ROYAL RANGERS 

TRANSFORMATION LIGHT FOR THE LOST SERVING PURPOSE SPEED THE LIGHT 

OUTREACH KINDNESS LOVING PEOPLE LEGACY HERITAGE HOPE YOUTH ALIVE 

WORD OF GOD HEALTHY 

TO 

LEADERSHIP 

HIS 

RURAL 

CALL 

COMPASSION COACHING GROWING 

YOUNG RESOURCES PARTNERSHIP PRAYER EMPHASIS ABUNDANCE INCREASE/ 

GROWTH CULTURAL RELEVANCY MISSIONS HEALING PENNDEL WOMEN WORLD 

MISSIONS HOME MISSIONS SOUL CARE BIBLICAL LITERACY MINISTRY TRAINING 

NETWORK OF WOMENS MINISTERS GIFT ORIENTED MINISTRY REVITALIZATION 

SPIRIT EMPOWERED THRIVING STUDENTS GOSPEL-CENTERED GIRLS MINISTRIES 

FELLOWSHIP BGMC GENEROSITY PRAYER BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT 

BIG DREAMS MORE THAN CONQUERORS THE CALL MINISTRY RESOURCING 

CHAPLAINCY REVITALIZATION GENEROSITY WORSHIP CHI ALPHA EMOTIONAL 

HEALTH NEXT GENERATION STEWARDSHIP CHURCH RECALIBRATION VISION

SUMMIT23 

SAY YES TO 

HIS CALL 

WHEN MAY 1-3, 2023 

WHERE 

REGISTER 

CHRISTIAN LIFE CHURCH 

BENSALEM, PA 

penndel.org/summit 

FOR MORE INFO: 

HOTELS, EVENTS, SESSIONS, 

CHILDCARE, LUNCHEONS 

PLEASE VISIT: penndel.org/summit 

In a recent report, disappointing 

statistics were identified that in 

many (37%) Assembly of God 

churches, there were zero (0) 

people brought to faith in 

Christ during the year 2020. 

THE REPORT OF THE “AG 

Looking Forward” committee 

also identified that there were 

zero Water Baptisms in 

52% of our churches, and no 

Spirit Baptisms in 58% of our 

churches. From the AG 

Looking Forward committee 

came a theme: 


“Say NO to Zero!” 

God has not called His people to mediocrity! He 

has called us to excel, to prosper, to succeed and 

to THRIVE! I know that there are some who will be 

concerned about using language that sounds like the 

prosperity movement of the past. Let’s deal with that 

concern. When we are saying success or prosperity, we 

are not suggesting that it is God’s will that all believers 

are materially rich or wealthy. That position is both 

scripturally and historically unsustainable. However, we 

can say, with confidence, that God will help us prosper 

within any context that He allows us to experience. 

For example, Joseph prospered while being a slave in 

Egypt (Genesis 39-50). Daniel prospered while being a 

captive in Babylon (see Daniel 1-6, esp. 6:28). Paul framed out 

his personal prosperity as inward contentment regardless of 

external circumstances (Philippians 4:11-13). Although sacrifice 

and discomfort may be seasonal rhythms with which we must 

contend, we believe that God is able to help us THRIVE within 

unlikely circumstances. Dave Roever has led a massively 

successful evangelistic ministry despite the injuries that he 

sustained in Vietnam. Joni Ericson-Tada has led a robustly 

effective ministry despite being a quadriplegic due to a diving 

accident when she was a teenager. 

When Robin and I began our lead pastoral ministry in 

Uniontown, I noticed that there were no overtly effective 

Pentecostal ministries in our county. I heard multiple stories 

of ministries that were on track to break through the glass 

ceiling, but it seemed that once a church reached a certain 

numeric benchmark, it would implode. That was the case of a 

charismatic ministry across town. When it reached seventy-five 

or so, an affair stopped the ministry in its tracks, and the church 

never fully recovered. Just before arriving at Faith Assembly, 

the church was growing, a new building was erected, and it 

seemed that breakthrough was within reach. However, internal 

strife grew into significant division, and once again the church 

of seventy-five or so was cut in half. When we arrived at the 

church, we had a plan: care for the church family, and reach 

out to the community. We had a plan on how to execute our 

plan! We visited every church member in the first ninety days, 

then visited them again in the next three months. Connecting 

with everyone in the church was essential to building trust and 

confidence. Additionally, we planned creative ways to present 

a simple gospel message every other month. We promised 

our church that we would announce when the gospel would 

be presented simply so that they could, with confidence, invite 

their unsaved friends and loved ones to church and have an 

opportunity to respond. It worked! Slowly but steadily, the 

church family grew confident that in each service an invitation 

would be given and a clear path to responding to the gospel 

would be explained. We held Sunday evening outreach services 

in local parks and parking lots. We grilled hot dogs and enjoyed 

the stories from the men from Teen Challenge. Sometimes we 

planted, sometimes we watered, and many times we harvested. 

The church prospered, evangelism succeeded and our once 

divided church THRIVED in fellowship, community and mission. 

Although outreach and evangelistic methods may change 

in time and context, we are called to THRIVE as a missional 

community…as the Church! Each week we hear reports of 

churches that are seeing effective missional results as they 

present the gospel. They are prospering, and that excites me! I 

love a promise I came across in Isaiah 44:3 (NLTse): 

“For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and 

to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out 

my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing 

on your children. They will thrive like watered 

grass, like willows on a riverbank. Some will 

proudly claim, ‘I belong to the LORD...’” 

Some of us are serving in what seems to be “parched fields.” 

Be encouraged: God can water that which seems to be dry and 

wanting for life. Much of American culture has become dry and 

hardened toward Christianity…but God has the wherewithal to 

moisten the soil so that it is receptive to the seed of the gospel. 

In the process of moistening the soil, He will also “quench your 

thirst.” He will sustain us as we plow, plant and harvest. Jesus 

shouted out “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone 

who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures 

declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (John 

7:37-38) 

THRIVE – this is what God desires for His church. 

In the first century, the church faced tremendous 

opposition and persecution. Nevertheless, the church 

THRIVED. Time and again we read words like “the 

message about the Lord spread widely and had a 

powerful effect.” (Acts 19:20) 

As a Pentecostal fellowship, we as spiritual leaders must SAY 

NO TO ZERO! A spirit within us must declare “we will never 

be content with zero missional results from our labor!” God 

has called us to missional effectiveness. Saying YES to 

His call and standing in faith that God will anoint 

and empower us to His purpose, will enable us to 

participate in a great harvest. Our generation NEEDS 

the Gospel. Let’s pray and believe like the early church did, 

(Acts 4:23-31), so that we may see results like the early church 

experienced. 

“And through the hands of the apostles many 

signs and wonders were done among the 

people…And believers were increasingly 

added to the Lord, both men and women…” 

(Acts 5:12 & 14; NKJV) 

NETWORK SUPERINTENDENT | Donald J. Immel | 717.795.5921 | don@penndel.org 

LEADERSHIPconnexion | Spring 2023 3

ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT | Steve DeFrain | 484.686.4843 | sdefrain@penndel.org 

SAY YES TO 

BIG DREAMS 

1 2 3 4 

ASK THE DREAMER 

FOR A DREAM: 

God is a dreamer. He said, 

through the Psalmist, that 

while we were being formed in 

our mother’s womb, God was 

dreaming over our future and 

recording those dreams in His 

book. 

“You saw me before I was 

born. Every day of my life 

was recorded in your book. 

Every moment was laid out 

before a single day had 

passed.” 

(Psalm 139:16/NLT) 

Pray this, “God, I’m not sure 

what chapter of my life I’m 

supposed to be in right now. 

But I’m asking you to give 

me a new dream for 2023. 

Please help me see what you 

see in this year for my life and 

ministry.” 

What would make this a 

dream year for your ministry? 

A dream outreach? A dream 

project? A dream initiative? 

A recent newspaper headline caught my attention. It read: 

If you DREAM BIG, 2023 can be the year you always wanted. 

What if it’s true? The thing separating you from having an ordinary year and a great year is a big dream. In 

Jeremiah chapter one, God asks Jeremiah, “What do you see?” God asked him the same question twice. 

I get the impression that God is looking for some dreamers in 2023. But the best part is that God said back to 

Jeremiah, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.” (1:12 NKJV) 

WHAT SHOULD WE DO NEXT? 

BE OPEN TO 

BEING WRECKED: 

Nehemiah found his dream 

when he asked a few guys 

returning from Jerusalem, 

“How are things in the city?” 

They told him the city was 

in bad shape after years 

because they failed to rebuild 

the walls. At that moment, 

God broke Nehemiah’s heart 

over something that broke His 

heart. Over several days God 

gave him a dream to change 

that situation. 

That happened to me the 

day I watched a three minute 

video about African children 

walking miles to gather 

filthy, dirty, polluted water. 

When the words: “Every day, 

6000 African children die of 

water-borne diseases” came 

across the screen, I had my 

Nehemiah moment. I felt for 

the first time the way God 

felt about that situation. My 

heart broke over something 

that broke the heart of God. 

Out of my brokenness came 

a dream. 

I can tell you from experience 

dreams are often birthed in 

Nehemiah moments. 

TAKE ACTION: 

Lillian Trasher would 

tell people: 

“Once you know 

it’s God’s will – get 

moving!” 

So after that three-minute 

video, we step into a dream 

to dig fourteen wells over the 

next ten years. I didn’t know 

that some of those wells 

would cost us as much as 

$35,000 to dig. 

Someone said: 

“Yes, having a 

dream might take 

you out of your 

comfort zone, but 

having regrets for 

not acting will last 

a lifetime.” 

REMEMBER GOD’S 

BEYOND: 

“Now to Him who is able 

to do far more abundantly 

beyond all that we ask 

or think according to the 

power that works within 

us…” 

(Ephesians 3:20/NASB) 

Every dream you take action 

on will go beyond your wildest 

imagination. 

Nehemiah rebuilt the walls 

in fifty-two days! With lots of 

resistance from outside and 

inside, they did something 

they could not do for the past 

ninety years. 

Sunday, February 4, 2018, 

was one of those beyond 

moments at Morning Star. 

That morning we received an 

offering to dig another well, 

and $52,000 was received. 

That night the Eagles would 

win their first Super Bowl. 

Dreams challenge us with 

possibilities beyond our 

resources and abilities. 

It’s time to step into God’s 

“beyond.” It’s time to say what 

Bob Rhoden says, “My life has 

exceeded my dreams.” 

MAKE THIS THE YEAR THAT YOU ACT ON A BIG DREAM. 

FROM ISOLATION 

To CONNECTION 

On January 04, 2010 the tallest building in the world opened its doors. The Burj Khalifa in Dubai, a 

part of the United Arab Emirates, stands at 2,722 ft, just over half a mile. With offices and businesses 

occupying 37 floors, 900 residences, 39 hospitals/medical centers, multiple restaurants, and even its 

own gym/work out facility, this structure is designed so no one ever needs to leave the building. 

This self-sufficient building reminds me how many of us in ministry have built our lives and ministries to be self-sufficient. While 

we each enjoy more relationships than ever before, there is a growing epidemic of loneliness. It has only amplified during the 

pandemic. Our loneliness causes us to minister in isolation and isolation has weakened us and our churches/ministries. 

Saying NO TO ZERO means saying NO TO ISOLATION and saying YES TO CONNECTION. We teach about the need for 

connection from Ephesians chapter four to our people, but we miss it ourselves. So, if there is an epidemic of loneliness and 

isolation, what is the remedy? Thankfully, the Scriptures provide us with what we need, comparing us to living stones. 

1 Peter 2:5, “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, 

to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 

1. SPIRITUAL HOUSE: 

Our calling is not limited to a local 

assembly or a special assignment. 

While each of us have a unique 

assignment, we must never abandon 

the call to build the Kingdom. Isolation 

causes us to put our heads in the sand. 

Whether you are a pastor, associate 

or a missionary, let me encourage you 

to look around and see who you might 

bless. Lest our pride get the best of us, 

we must also be open to others being a 

blessing to you. When I was serving as 

a pastor, I also looked to find churches 

and the pastor in whom I could invest. 

(NOTE: The Thrive Fund provides such 

an investment opportunity.) In addition, I 

always reached out to well-established 

pastors in the region whose impact was 

greater than my church, and I sought 

their wisdom. You see, we are a part of 

something bigger than ourselves, let’s 

leverage it for a great Kingdom impact. 

2. HOLY PRIESTHOOD: 

The Assemblies of God was designed 

that we might be a part of a larger 

network of relationships with other 

ministers and churches. In a recent 

PennDel survey of our credential 

holders, 39% of ministers indicated 

that they do not enjoy the benefits of 

meaningful and consistent friendships 

outside their ministry context. Honestly, 

in anecdotal conversations, I have 

found that percentage to be MUCH 

higher. The term for priesthood refers 

to a priestly fraternity. It is speaking 

of the strength we gather from being 

connected to others. This priestly 

fraternity is where you can get your 

needs met. 

3. SPIRITUAL 

SACRIFICES: 

Those of us in ministry are no stranger 

to sacrifices. For the sake of the 

Gospel, we sacrifice our time, energy, 

finances and, at times, our bodies. 

Paul confirms the need for sacrifice as 

he wrote the words of Romans 12:2, 

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by 

the mercies of God, that you present 

your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, 

acceptable to God, which is your 

reasonable service.” “Even a living 

stone cannot build something great for 

God as it sits all on its own. What God 

does in us together is important. He is 

building something out of us together. 1 ” 

TOGETHER amplifies the impact of the 

sacrifice. 

1 

https://enduringword.com/ 

bible-commentary/1-peter-2/ 

As we move forward in the high calling of Jesus Christ, may we once again say YES TO CONNECTION. Let us, as 

ministers, tap into the power that resides in the Body of Christ. May we intentionally and regularly initiate relationships that will 

feed our souls. Perhaps we lead our church to connection with the greater body. Find someone in whom you can invest in 

their ministry expression, and explore those whom you can learn from as well. 

Let 2023 be the year to say NO to Isolation and YES to Connection! 

4 LEADERSHIPconnexion | Spring 2023 5 

MINISTER CARE & CHURCH RECALIBRATION | Jason Tourville | 717.795.5921 | jason@penndel.org

SECRETARY/TREASURER | Jeff Marshall | 717.795.5921 | jeff@penndel.org 

SAY YES TO 

HOLDING ON 

A recent Barna report stated that 20,000 pastors left the ministry in 2020 

and 50% of current pastors say they would leave the ministry if they had 

another way of making a living. Barna also states 38% of pastors want to 

quit the ministry all together. The three main factors in why pastors desire 

to quit are stress, isolation and political division. 

With the current culture of our nation today, moving further and further 

away from traditional Judeo Christian values, this should greatly concern 

us. People need Jesus! 

These findings, along with the concern of fewer individuals pursuing fulltime 

Christian ministry, add to the dire situation we find ourselves in today. 

Across the nation, Christian fellowships and denominations face the issue 

of more churches open than people to fill them; the Assemblies of God is 

included in this shortage. 

Has God stopped calling people into ministry? Has He stopped equipping 

and empowering people for the ministry? I think we will all proclaim – 

“NO.” With that in mind, why are we in the situation we are in today? I 

wish I had the answer. I would write a best-selling book and travel across 

the country promoting it. I believe there was a book written with all the 

answers already in it. 

For hundreds of years, people have been reading the best-selling book 

of all time. Is this book losing its influence and authority? Again, I say 

“NO.” This book, the Bible, declares to us in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that 

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, rebuking, 

correcting and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may 

be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” This book is profitable 

to us. We profit when we read it and put it into action in our lives. Yes, I 

know I am preaching to a bunch of pastors. But, I truly believe that God 

has given us all we need to change the world, if we just hold on. 

God has given us the example of His Son, Jesus. He has empowered us 

with the Holy Spirit. He has given us His Word to guide and direct us. We are 

encouraged in 2 Thessalonians 2:14-15 “He called you to this through our 

gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So 

then, brothers, STAND FIRM and HOLD to the teachings we passed on 

to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.” 

WITH THE LORD: 

(MARY) DARLENE FULTON, 77, passed away on 

September 12, 2022. She was preceded in death by 

her husband, Robert B Fulton. Together, they pastored 

the following Penndel Church as Lead Pastor: Shelocta 

Assembly of God. 

THELMA HARTWICK, 95, passed away on November 

3, 2022. Thelma was preceded in death by her 

husband, Reuben Hartwick. Together, they pastored the 

following PennDel Churches as Lead Pastor: Wellsboro, 

Ellwood City and Corapolis. Thelma was a vital part of 

her husband’s ministry wherever the Lord lead, including 

the University of Valley Forge, where she was the 

secretary to the Dean of Students and Library Assistant 

for twenty-six years. 

STANLEY M. NOLL, 74, passed away on Friday 

evening, December 2, 2022. He is survived by his 

faithful wife, Donna, who is an active Chaplain at the 

Lehigh Valley/Schuylkill Hospital. Stanley served in the 

United States Air Force on the Military Police squad and 

the Combat Photography teams. Later, he served as the 

personal photographer for David Wilkerson, founder of 

Teen Challenge/World Challenge Ministries. 

THOMAS HAMILTON, 91, passed away on December 

25, 2022. He was preceded in death by his wife, Joan. 

Together, they pastored the following PennDel Churches 

as Lead Pastor: James City, Shanksville, East Greenville, 

Pitcairn. Many of our churches were blessed with his 

specialized skills for over thirty years in his ‘Hamilton 

Church Builders’ ministry. Before retirement, Tom served 

as a MAPS volunteer with the Church Mobilization RV 

Teams. 

BETTY MARTIN, 99, passed away on December 31, 

2022. She was preceded in death by her husband, Asa 

Martin. Together they pastored the following churches in 

PennDel as Lead Pastor: New Kensington, Pottstown, 

Tunkhannock, Wrightsville and Wilmington DE. 

DELORES FLAGSTAD, 86, passed away on 

December 25, 2022. She is survived by her husband, 

Bertran Flagstad. Together, they served the following 

PennDel Church as Lead Pastor: Kutztown. Delores had 

a special gift of music and used it throughout her years 

at Praise AG, Newark DE. 

SAY NO TO $0 

I 

had a conversation with a missionary 

and he expressed his concern about 

the devaluation of missions giving at 

the church level. He was itinerating to 

raise support for his upcoming mission’s 

assignment and did some research on 

the churches he was going to visit. He 

discovered many churches had very 

little, if any, mention of missions on their 

website. Missions appeared to be a minor 

side project for the church. There was 

much written about building projects, the 

children and youth ministries (which are 

vitally important) but very little mention of 

missions. 

The Great Commission requires us to 

GO into all the world. That includes our 

neighborhoods, cities, states, countries 

and the utter most parts of the earth. Too 

often “out of sight – out of mind.” This 

Meet our Newly Appointed 

PennDel Missionaries 

Daniel and Sara Bricker 

brickers.agwm@gmail.com 

717-360-9006 

Asia Pacific – Cambodia 

results in missions budgets receiving the 

least attention, especially when there are 

limited finances. 

The delegates to the Second General 

Council (1914) committed themselves 

and the Movement to the “Greatest 

Evangelism the world has ever seen.” 

This has been a pillar of our Assemblies 

of God movement for over 100 years. 

I spoke with one pastor who told me he 

could not afford to give to missions. My 

response to him was “How can you 

afford NOT to give to missions?” 

I recently spoke with a pastor of a 

medium size church (100 attendees). 

He shared with me that a few years ago 

he made a commitment to increase the 

church’s giving to missions annually. Just 

a few months ago the church paid off 

Our Desire 

We have a heart to reach the never reached in Cambodia through 

developing relationships and planting churches where they have never 

existed. We love Cambodia and its people! We are so honored and 

humbled to be missionaries to such a special country. 

Who We Are 

Sara graduated from the University of Valley Forge in 2017. During her 

time there, God called her to missions. After graduating, she served 

in Costa Rica for two years as a Missionary Associate. When praying 

about what was next, God reminded her of the never reached parts of 

the world, some of which are in Cambodia. God opened the doors for 

her to serve as a Career Missionary in Cambodia for one year before 

getting married. 

a major mortgage on their church. He 

believed their mortgage payoff was a 

direct result of their commitment to their 

increased giving to missions. 

I receive the annual report on total 

missions giving for the churches in 

our Network. There are two reports, 

one for total giving and one for total 

giving per member. I am blown away 

by the response of some churches and 

heartbroken by the amount given by 

others. 

Would you consider increasing or adding 

missions giving to your church’s budget? 

Say NO to $0 in Missions giving and 

YES to changed lives around the 

world. You will be Blessed, Pressed 

Down, Shaken Together and Running 

Over, beyond your wildest dreams. 

“For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among 

those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” 

(2 Cor 2:15, NIV) Our theme verse for this year instructs 

us to be a “pleasing aroma” to all the world. Like Christ on 

the Earth and the Holy Spirit in the Church, our presence 

brings encouragement to followers of Christ and attracts 

those who do not yet follow Him. Christ calls us, and the 

Holy Spirit empowers us to live and minister among the 

whole world. In this way, we can be “Christ Among Us” to 

those who need Him. 

As a Network, our goal is to have “Healthy Pastors and Thriving 

ROWANN S. RAINBOW, 95, passed away on 

Our newest PennDel Missionary 

Churches.” We are here for you! We want to encourage you, support you January 4. She was preceded in death by her husband 

author, Lauren Perdan, has written 

and uplift you. You are not doing ministry alone. There are over 1,100 

Robert Rainbow. Together, they pastored the following 

Daniel served as a Youth Pastor for five years in St. Thomas, PA before 

her first novel that is available in print 

credentials holders in Pennsylvania and Delaware and 38,000 in the 

PennDel Churches: Clearfield, Latrobe, Moosic and 

hearing the call of God to reach the nations. In 2020 God began to 

West Chester. In additional to their pastoral ministry in 

or a digital copy. David and Lauren 

USA within the Assemblies of God. You are not alone! In fact, you are 

change the trajectory into a call to serving in Missions and he heard 

PennDel, they served at the Adult and Teen Challenge 

Perdan are Career Missionaries 

part of a fellowship with resources and support systems to assist you in 

the Holy Spirit simply say, “Will you go?”. It was through these quiet 

Training Center in Rehrersburg for thirteen years. 

currently itinerating that will be serving 

your ministry and in your personal life. If you find yourself in a place, a 

times with the Lord and meeting Sara that God began to put the puzzle 

in Japan on a special assignment 

lonely place, as Peter did when he was sinking after he walked on water, NORMAN W LASCHER, 88, passed away on January 

pieces into place that would open the door to serve in Cambodia. 

of working with the deaf ministries. 

REACH OUT. We serve as an extension of the arms of Jesus for you. 

19. He is survived by his wife, Patricia. Together, they 

We believe strongly that prayer will shift the spiritual climate in 

Contact information: david.h.perdan@ 

We will help you. Press on to the goal to which you were called pastored the following PennDel Church as Lead Pastor: 

Cambodia and more will come to know Jesus because of it. While we 

gmail.com or (440) 321-1339. 

in Christ Jesus. Not that you have obtained it yet, but keep 

Mckeesport. Norm was also a healthcare chaplain in the 

will be serving physically on the field, you can partner with us in prayer 

Pittsburgh area for several years. 

Pressing On and Holding On! 

for the Buddhist world. 


WORLD MISSIONS | Jeff Marshall | 717.795.5921 | jeff@penndel.org

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | DR. DUANE DURST 

DR. DUANE DURST 

is the Superintendent for 

the NY Ministry Network 

and our Northeast AG 

Executive Presbyter. He 

has served as a local 

church pastor and church 

consultant in the area of 

administration, planning, 

leadership development, 

and conflict resolution. 

Duane and Beverly have 

three children and eleven 

grandchildren. 

AN INTERVIEW WITH 

DUANE DURST 

What is the Awakening Prayer Meeting? 

When I was pastoring in Queens, I was part of the prayer movement there. It would’ve been 

the anniversary of the Fulton Street Revival in New York City. Jeremiah Lamper started with a 

handful of people who were praying and to his surprise it grew exponentially. There was massive 

revival across the metropolitan area, and it was born out of a prayer! 

At that time, many of our pastors contributed to a devotional encouraging people and churches 

to be active in praying for a great awakening, knowing that it starts in the pulpit with the pastor, 

then it goes to the congregation before it reaches the neighborhood and then the community. 

For the last twelve years, I’ve had a prayer group of denominational Superintendents: Southern 

Baptist Nazarene, Church of God, Christian Missionary Alliance, Salvation Army and Wesleyan, 

who would jump in with us. Every month we would meet by phone and then Zoom. We’d also 

get together for a two-day retreat at our conference center. I really felt prompted by the Lord 

that I needed to do more than just pray with these guys. So, I talked to them about calling for a 

day of prayer for the next great awakening. 

Believing God wants to do something spectacular in our region, I planned a day at Fountain of 

Life in Burlington, NJ last year. Pastor Russ Hodgins opened the church to us. We probably had 

close to 300 who attended this day of prayer. 

We prayed for six hours straight, no breaks. I had a couple come up to me afterward who said, 

“We’ve known the Lord, and we’ve served for forty years. We have never prayed six hours in 

a row in our lives. We can’t believe how fast it went.” We felt strongly that we needed to do it 

again. 

In talking with Doug Clay, our General Superintendent, we talked about the possibility of all of 

our districts coming together the day before. This year, on Thursday, June 8, all of the Network 

officers and all of our presbyters from the seven Northeast Districts, including Spanish Eastern, 

will join together for a day with Doug, 

followed by the day of prayer on that 

Friday, June 9. I think we’re going to have 

much higher participation. We’re hoping 

there will be over a thousand who will join 

together for prayer. 

We’re praying for church planting. We’re 

praying for revival. We’re praying for our 

college campuses, for our schools, for our 

ministerial leadership, our departmental 

outreaches, all of those things. 

We pray in twelve to fifteen minute 

segments for six hours. Each one has 

a scripture, praise, and then there’s 

corporate prayer to follow. Friday, June 

9, is our day of prayer for the next great 

awakening. We are believing God wants 

to do something spectacular in our 

region. As far as I’m concerned, the East 

Coast and West Coast are the two most 

needy mission fields in our nation. 

We need a move of God’s Spirit and it’s 

not going to happen by talking. It’s going 

to happen because we pray! 

How do you see us reaching 

the Northeast? 

I don’t know that it’s going to happen 

when we simply complain about 

the political climate and the cultural 

degradation that’s happening in our 

society. 

We’re going to come across as 

contrarians, perhaps. I’m afraid many 

of our constituency have more of a 

bunker mentality. They think we can’t 

change it, so we’re just going to hold 

our powder, retreat, and become a 

subculture. I believe God’s called us to be 

a counterculture, to be the light on the hill. 

That takes courage. It takes the 

empowerment of the Holy Spirit. It’s going 

to start, I believe, from the courage of 

believers trusting and recognizing that 

we don’t just need God to show up. 

He already dwells within us. He’s never 

absent. 

The problem is our lack of recognition 

of His presence and power in our lives. 

If my heart is renewed and revived and I 

recognize that 24/7, wherever I am, I’ve 

got the empowerment of the Spirit of God 

in my life, it gives me courage to face the 

challenges that the culture throws at me. 

When we talk about the vision 

for the Northeast, what do 

you envision happening? 

My vision is to see gospel transformation 

in every community in the Northeast. 

We identify our communities as every 

place that has a public high school. Our 

mission is to strengthen a network of 

healthy churches and healthy leaders. 

Part of our emphasis is to become 

more enabling than permission giving, 

more resourcing than controlling. If our 

individual congregations are vibrant, they 

are going to impact their culture and their 

community. 

If the rapture took place and a church 

disappeared would the community even 

know they were missing? That would 

mean we’re not having community 

impact. And my concern is we have too 

many congregations that are keeping the 

gospel within the walls and not getting it 

outside. 

OUR VISION FOR THE 

NORTHEAST REALLY IS REVIVAL. 

What is THE TEN initiative? 

I believe I’m a chronic malcontent. I’m 

grateful for what God’s doing, but I’m 

not satisfied. There’s always a need to 

change and adapt. 

Through our strategic planning 

committee, we revised our vision and 

mission statement and felt that if we 

were going to have healthy churches, we 

needed to resource them and identify 

what would bring health. We identified 

these ten key components. 

TEN CHARACTERISTICS OF 

A HEALTHY CHURCH 

• Theological Integrity 

• Spirit Dependency 

• Vision Clarity 

• Discipleship Strategy 

• Gift-Based Ministry 

• Authentic Biblical Community 

• Effective Systems 

• Empowering Leadership 

• Intentional Environments 

• Incarnational Living 

Our team has created an assessment, 

developed cohorts, made coaches 

available and built a video library to help 

resource each of these ten areas. We 

want to help pastors implement strategies 

to bring health to the local church and 

beyond that we want to develop the 

leader as a whole. 

As a spiritual father, what 

would you have told your 

younger self? 

RISK! It’s not a matter that there’s a 

shortage of resources or personnel, 

there’s a shortage of vision. I’ve shared 

with our constituency to dream Godsized 

dreams that you can’t accomplish 

by yourself. If you can accomplish it by 

yourself, you don’t need God and you 

don’t need faith. If God gives you a Godsized 

dream, it should scare you to death, 

drive you to your knees as you pray, 

“Oh God, if you don’t come through, I’m 

going to fail.” 

When God produces and demonstrates 

His presence through God-sized dreams, 

you can’t take the credit for it. You have 

to humbly say, “I’m a weak, flawed vessel 

that God chose to use to do something 

that none of us expected. 

THESE ARE THE DREAMS THAT I 

BELIEVE EVERY PASTOR 

NEEDS TO DREAM, GOD-SIZED 

DREAMS THAT SCARE THEM 

RISK. RISK MORE! 

8 LEADERSHIPconnexion | Spring 2023 9

HOME MISSIONS | TOM REES | 717.795.5921 | tom@penndel.org 

10 

2023 HOME MISSIONS PROJECT OFFERING 

GARY BELLIS is a graduate of 

Zion Bible Institute [now Northpoint 

Bible College (1974)]. In full-time 

ministry since 1975, he served as 

Lead Pastor of Newport Assembly 

of God for 47 years (1975-2022). He 

founded Perry Christian Academy 

(1978-2005), was co-founder of 

Special Outreach Siberia (1990- 

2005) and the Bread of Life 

Outreach, a compassion-based 

ministry (1993 to present). Gary 

provided oversight for the planting 

of Journey Christian Church in 

Thompsontown, Pa (2013), and the 

Dinner Table Church in Newport 

(2019). He is currently serving 

as Legacy Pastor at Newport 

Assembly of God. 

He is married to Mary and has three 

children: Jamie, Cory and Erica and 

nine grandchildren. 

SAY YES to loving 

the LEAST 

the LAST 

the LOST 

THE BREAD OF LIFE OUTREACH 

Call it compassion ministry, need based ministry, or investing in your community; 

the Bread of Life Outreach (BOLO) exists to build relationships through meeting the 

tangible needs of people. Our desire is to assist churches with material resources to 

express the love of God and create opportunities to 

share the transformational message of the gospel. 

Over the past thirty years, BOLO has provided a 

variety of products at no cost to recipients. Our 

inventory depends on what we receive from our 

donors. Food products generally include canned 

goods, meats, fresh produce, cereals, beverages 

and snacks. Nonfood items may include office and 

cleaning supplies, health and beauty aids and nonprescription 

medicines and vitamins. In addition, 

we offer strategies for churches to impact their 

community based on decades of experience. 

Currently, we receive, process and distribute over 

210 tons of product per month and serve over 160 

churches and nonprofit ministries. We will soon 

have an operational inventory system where we can 

send churches a list of currently available products. 

Orders may then be submitted and scheduled for 

pickup. 

The BOLO ministry functions with one part-time warehouse coordinator and over 300 

volunteers. We welcome churches to prayerfully consider partnering with us to support 

operational expenses. Expenses average north of $16,000 per month; this includes a 

$354,000 mortgage on one of our warehouse buildings. We occasionally receive some 

grant funding, but it is insufficient to support this expanding ministry. 

The BOLO team realizes God has blessed us to be a blessing. 

We look forward to partnering with our PennDel Network churches 

to enhance the mission of meaningful outreach to our local communities. 

Your financial support helps us to help others. 

There is this amazing story where Jesus feeds 5,000 people with just 5 loaves of 

bread + 2 fish from a boy’s lunch. This meal maybe could have fed seven people. 

God somehow managed to turn 7 into 5,000, with 12 baskets of food left over! 

Don’t you love God’s math? 

What if we GAVE MORE than we get? 

What if we TOOK CHANCES, left mediocrity behind, and lived all in for God? 

What if we HELPED the homeless, the weak, the poor, the drug addict, the hurting? 

Please partner with both of our Home Missions Projects this spring 

as we receive a special offering at Summit in May. Pray about how you 

and your church can reach out more to care for the least, the last and the lost. 

THE PHILADELPHIA DREAM CENTER 

On October 14, 2022, the Philadelphia Dream Center (PDC) settled 

on a property which includes four buildings, a parking lot and a 

courtyard. The property is strategically located to better serve 

children, youth, families and individuals. One mile to the east is 

I-95 and one mile to the west you will run into Kensington Avenue. 

Kensington is one of the largest open-air drug markets in the 

nation. Today the PDC is serving thousands of children, families 

and individuals through various outreaches, including: 

• Sidewalk Sunday School 

– Weekly children’s 

park outreaches 

in underprivileged 

neighborhoods 

New initiatives include: 

• VIP – Homeless Ministry 

• Neighborhood Food Drops 

• Human Trafficking Outreach 

• Adopt A Block 

• Medical Missions 

CHURCH: This year the Philadelphia Dream Center will be planting 

Dream City Church (the church of the PDC). This will be a lifegiving 

church that will equip PDC more effectively to disciple and 

see lives transformed for eternity. 

SCHOOL: The school will be an afterschool/summer program 

focused on Fine Arts. This will not only get children and youth off 

the streets and into a safe place, but through discipleship, the 

students will learn how to use their creative gifts for the expansion 

of the Kingdom of God. 

RECOVERY: Kensington had 1,276 overdose deaths reported in 2021. Through Philadelphia Dream 

Center, we will offer recovery programs that will help addicts be set free through Jesus’s power! 

Philadelphia Dream Center has been working diligently on the front lines. Serving children weekly 

through neighborhood park outreaches, providing much needed relief to families, building 

relationships with the homeless community and referring addicts to Christian-based drug rehabs, in 

many cases providing transportation to those programs as well. 

Would you prayerfully consider becoming a partner of the Philadelphia Dream Center? 

Your monthly mission’s commitment, as well as a one-time financial offering, 

will equip them to be a greater resource to the Birthplace of America! 

DAVID & SHIRRIE 

DOMINGUEZ moved 

from Florida to the innercity 

of Philadelphia in 

2016. They felt a call 

and heavy burden to 

reach out to individuals 

who have been 

traditionally overlooked 

or disenfranchised from 

the traditional church. 

Through the guidance 

of the Holy Spirit, 

they began reaching 

some of the neediest 

neighborhoods and 

hosting short term 

missions teams from 

around the nation. Out 

of this, the Philadelphia 

Dream Center was born. 

11

CHURCH PLANTING | TOM REES | 717.795.5921 | tom@penndel.org 

We’ve been taking Victory’s 

Journey into the county prison 

since November. We have seen 6 

salvations and women renouncing 

old life styles and feeling the 

power of the Holy Spirit as they’ve 

been prayed over. We’ve watched 

them grow in their faith. One has 

been to church after her release 

and we are expecting more. These gals were looking 

for hope and they found it. 

Laverne Weber 

LaverneWeberMinistries.com, Easton, PA 

We started doing what we call “Night of Hope Dinners.” 

So simple…where people invite unsaved family, friends, 

and whoever to a delicious dinner. We give away a few 

door prizes and then share a brief, hope filled salvation 

message. The key is church people not looking at 

this as a “church supper” but instead as a focused 

evangelistic event. It’s been wonderful. 

Greg Hubbard 

HubbardMinistries.org, West Lawn, PA 

We are seeing a tremendous amount of success in the 

area of evangelizing the recovery community. I have 

been visiting and ministering in different recovery circles 

and visiting several of the recovery homes in our area. 

We have seen close to 75 conversions in the past 6 

months and have had close to 300 come through our 

doors. As a result, we have now started a recovery 

meeting on Sunday nights. The way I preach and teach 

now is more evangelistic because this has transformed 

my audience in many ways. In addition, I have baptized 

30-40 of those and they are still going strong. Some 

have moved on from the recovery homes and now 

have been reunited with their families, and some have 

been able to see their children for the first time in years. 

Powerful Stuff. 

Josh Koss 

Crosspoint AG, Carmichaels, PA 

SAY YES TO EVANGELISM 

REACHING OUR COMMUNITIES ACROSS OUR NETWORK 

We have Friends Day every month, usually on the 

second Sunday. It involves a day that we just remind 

everyone to invite their friends to join them at church. 

We usually get 10 - 15 friends and many of them get 

saved that week. Many of them come back. There are 

of course weeks with only three or four friends, but 

even that is very valuable. 

Gerry Stoltzfoos 

Life Discovery Church, McSherrystown, PA 

We are having some success 

in non-traditional areas, most 

recently with mountain biking 

and skiing. We also probably 

gather more unchurched 

(regular attendance) men 

at AdventureFest than 

any other Christian men’s 

gathering. We’ve used the 

servant evangelism (Conspiracy of Kindness) approach. 

A cold bottle of water goes a long way on a hot day, 

then if they ask why, simply tell them you wanted to 

show them the love of Jesus in a practical way. 

Greg Nass 

AdventureFest.org, Bethel Park, PA 

On the Saturday before 

Easter our church held an 

Easter egg hunt at our local 

community park. Before the 

egg hunt I gave an open-air 

evangelistic message while 

standing on a step ladder. 

Eight people accepted Christ that day. Over 100 were 

given a Bible tract. During Christmas, we participated 

in the Angel Tree program and purchased Christmas 

gifts for kids who had an incarcerated parent. We 

invited them to our fellowship hall for dinner and then 

presented them with the greatest gift of all. Four kids 

and two adults got saved that night then we gave 

them their Christmas gifts. 

Matt Openbrier 

Christian AG, Bentleyville, PA 

During the summer 

we meet at the public 

park for our mid-week 

Bible study, children’s 

ministry and youth 

group. The youth meet 

at the skate park. 

They engage with 

the “town/skaters” in some games, refreshments and 

devotional. Through these gatherings they interact 

with some unchurched youth from the community who 

haven’t had the best reputation. Some of these kids 

have now become a part of our youth ministry. Some 

even joined the Bible Quiz team. It not only reached 

the town kids, it impacted our youth, and caught the 

attention of town council members and the police. It has 

been one of our best evangelistic efforts by far. 

Jim Pentz 

New Covenant AG, Montgomery, PA 

The great evangelist Billy Graham once said, “Mass 

crusades, to which I have committed my life, will never 

finish the job; but one-to-one (witnessing) will.” I have 

found that the best, most effective and Biblically based 

evangelism training comes from Ray Comfort and 

his ministry called Living Waters. Living Waters has 

a tremendous training curriculum called The Way of 

the Master: Basic Training Course. It is an 8-session 

personal evangelism training that has video lessons, 

complete study guides and other helpful training tools. 

Andy Lapins 

Highpoint Community Church, Ephrata, PA 

We have set up prayer 

stations and people actually 

come up to us for prayer. 

Recently, I prayed for a 

group of 4 Muslims and 2 

were healed. Because of 

their healings I was able 

to witness at length about 

Christ. I have been at prayer 

stations both in Philly and 

Norristown. It works just as 

well in both locations. In suburban areas, they could be 

helpful for ministry at fairs and other community events. 

Peter Bjornstad 

Trinity AG, West Chester, PA 

Our “Adopt-A-Block” is working best in this season. We 

have a block that we have adopted as our block. We’ve 

focused on this block for the last two years. There 

are 120 homes in this block and we have distributed 

milk, eggs, bread, blessing boxes of groceries, dog 

treats, light bulbs, etc. We get a lot of the stuff from 

food banks and connections around the area but we 

have also “invested” and bought items. We’ve seen 

2 different families come as a result and 2 people 

won to Christ. Discipleship is still ongoing and we’re 

still believing for life change! We’ve done about 9 

outreaches on this block so far and we have 3 more 

scheduled for this year. 

Garry Kipe 

Bethel AG, Chambersburg, PA 

We’ve had 1,801 people make a decision to follow Christ in 2021-2022. We had 1,297 first-time guests in 2022. These guests 

have predominantly come to our church through personal invitations, weekend services that are designed to reach both 

the church and unchurched, digital marketing, and special events (Christmas, Easter, spring buzz event, fall buzz events). A 

weekend buzz event is where we emphasize the invite culture and have something fun for young families after services. For 

example, our fall Sweet Sunday event would include the kick-off of a great series for families, and an after-party that would 

have: a petting zoo, candy tent, hay rides, carnival games, and rides. These events are all designed for our people to pray for 

and invite their friends, for the families to have fun, and for our team to be intentional about making personal connections with 

guests so we can invite them back. 

David Crosby, Jr. 

Pocono Community Church, Mount Pocono, PA 


GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | DICK BROGDEN 

SAY YES TO MISSIONS 

JESUS CALLS US TO THE DIFFICULT PLACES 

It’s never been easy to spread the gospel. The spread of the 

gospel has never waited for a smooth path. God has never 

been dependent on Roman roads or a trade language. 

DICK AND JENNIFER BROGDEN 

have served among Muslims for 

the last 29 years; Mauritania (1992), 

Kenya (1993-1995), Sudan (1996- 

2011), Egypt and the Arab World 

(2012 – 2018), and Saudi Arabia 

(2019 - Present). They helped 

found the Live Dead movement 

and now serve on the Live Dead 

Global Leadership Team. They 

serve now as Area Directors for 

AGWM for the Arab World. Dick is 

the author of Loving Muslims, The 

Live Dead Joy, his Gospel, Abiding 

in Jesus, Abiding Mission, The Live 

Dead Journey, Missionary God, 

Missionary Bible, and is the editor of 

The Live Dead Journal. Dick has his 

PhD in intercultural studies. Dick and 

Jennifer have two sons, Luke and 

Zack. 

Are you not glad that the Father did not wait until it was safe to send His Son? “Now, just 

wait a minute, Jesus. Romans are restless. If I send you now, Herod will kill thousands of 

babies, and you will have to flee to Egypt. Just wait a minute, Son. It is too unstable. It is 

too unsafe to send you as a missionary now.” Are you not glad that was NOT the discourse 

of heaven? Are you not glad the Father sent His son to a dangerous place knowing He 

would die? 

You ask on what authority, by what audacity, I dare to stand before you and ask you to 

send your own sons and daughters to places like Yemen, Libya, and Somalia, where they 

might suffer and die! It is not daring or courageous; it’s not even foolishness. It is merely 

obedience. We send our children to suffer and die because that is what God did with His 

only Son— and aren’t you glad He did? 

And so, we send our best, our children to dangerous places to join Paul in filling up the 

sufferings of Christ, not in a salvific way, but by testimony and by the glad song of the 

martyrs that says Jesus is worthy of it all, that says eternal life is worth temporary death. 

Jesus calls us to the hard places because He already came to one and He simply asks us 

to follow in His steps. The Arab world was thirteen percent Christian in 1900. Today, it is 

four percent and declining… We would need to lead 1,000,001 Muslims to Jesus annually 

just to gain an inch of ground. Never before in history, since the launch of the church 2,000 

years ago, has the Middle East been less Christian. 

Jesus is still calling to the difficult places. 

We have a Live Dead team in the area of radical Muslims. One Muslim came to Jesus and 

works in partnership with our team. Recently, he met with a fanatic, long bearded Muslim, 

and immediately afterward, the secret police arrested him. They covered his head with a 

sack and treated him roughly. He was told to stop that activity and leave the city. In fear 

he left, but felt convicted, so he returned to the city and the militant Muslim contacted him 

again. The Muslim asked to meet again, but in a village south of the city. Again, fear entered 

the believer’s heart, but he prayed and felt led to go. He entered the villa and to his surprise 

found a whole room of militant Muslims. They were all long bearded radicals, and again, 

fear mounted up within him. Then the Holy Spirit came upon this man, and he began to 

preach. For two hours, he preached the gospel to those radicals, and they sat in stunned 

silence listening to every word. When he left the villa, the radical that brought him said: “I 

want to tell you something that you should not repeat. I am actually not a Muslim. I 

work for the secret police. My job is to infiltrate all the radical Muslim groups in the 

area. This group brought you down here to kill you, but what you shared astonished 

them! I have never heard anything like that in my life. It is 

the only hope for this area. I want you to come with me 

to the other radical cells I have infiltrated and share the 

same message with them. Furthermore, I am a powerful 

person. I know your activities. I know the names of the 

missionaries you are working with. I know where you 

meet and when, and if you ever have any trouble, call me 

and I will help.ˮ 

Friends, our security is not in the safe places. Our security 

is not in our silence. If this man would have stayed silent, 

he would have been killed by the radicals. If this man 

stayed silent, the whole team would have been considered 

sympathizers with radicals and would have been thrown 

out. Because this believer went to a dangerous place with a 

dangerous message, not only is he alive today, not only is the 

team still there proclaiming, but whole radical Muslim groups 

will now hear the gospel! 

Jesus is calling us to difficult places. 

Samuel Pollard, a missionary to China, had seen no fruit after 

several years of language and culture learning. He became 

desperate. He began to seek Jesus and to be filled and 

empowered by the Holy Spirit. After a week of prayer and 

fasting, he writes: “I shall never forget it. Our room was 

filled with glory, and I had a manifestation such as I had 

never realized before. The glory came down and so filled 

me that I felt the Holy Ghost from my head to the soles of 

my feet. It was about as much as I could stand and for a 

minute I thought I should faint or die… I had the promise 

at that meeting that we are going to have thousands of 

souls… I believe that from the bottom of my heart.ˮ 

[W. A. Grist. Samuel Pollard: Pioneer Missionary in China 

(NY: Gassell and Co., 1920), 43.] 

No soul is won quickly or thoughtlessly. No 

great work of God is easy. Haste does not make 

disciples. Rush does not plant the Church. In this 

age of instant media, instant gratification, and 

instant results, missionaries will have to accept 

difficult processes in difficult places, and if this 

world is to be reached, we must commit to a long, 

painful and stubborn fight. 

Pollard’s biographer goes on to say: “When a soul yields 

himself completely to his Master, then He (the Master) 

undertakes to give the grueling training necessary to make 

him His yielded servant.” Pollard had his thousands, but this 

is how they came. He endured seven more years of weary 

toil before he could baptize his first two converts, and then 

nine more years of weary toil—sixteen years after believing for 

the thousands— and the Holy Spirit broke through. The Lord 

began to move among the Miao, a remote people group, and 

numbers swelled to 100. They invaded his home and slept 

on his floor. He tried to escape them and locked himself in 

his upstairs bedroom. Ten of them climbed the wall outside 

and into his bedroom window; they sat all around him on 

his bed and listened to him teach, pleased that they had the 

missionary all to themselves. The movement grew into the 

thousands. Sixteen years after the promise, sixteen years 

of diligent, resident, linguistically fluent, culturally relevant, 

back-breaking work, sixteen years of oppression, resistance, 

trouble and difficulty, sixteen years of being called to a difficult 

place, and then the breakthrough came. 

Jesus Calls Me. Jesus Calls Us. 

Jesus calls us to Himself. Jesus calls us to die to self. Jesus 

calls us to glorify Him in the difficult places and peoples. If you 

are willing to say “yes” to the call of Jesus, before you even 

know the specifics of the question, will you 

make an altar wherever you are right now 

and pray? 

(Edited from This Gospel, sermons 

by Dick Brogden) 


MEN'S MINISTRY | TOM REES | 717.795.5921 | tom@penndel.org 

PENNDEL 

MEN ON A 

MISSION 

Brothers, let me take a moment to introduce you to our new PennDel 

Field Reps for Church Mobilization and Missionary Associate, John 

Kennedy. John and his wife, Diana, help Church Teams, RV Volunteers and 

individuals take an active approach in the expansion of God’s Kingdom. 

In a recent interview with John, he provided the following insight on this 

ministry, the heart behind it and how you can support and join this mission: 

About this ministry… 

For over thirty-five years, Church Mobilization 

and RV volunteers have saved churches millions 

of dollars over the decades while changing lives 

across the nation and has been missions minded 

from the beginning! Our heart is for churches to 

BE MISSIONS by sending Church Teams and RV 

Volunteers to complete projects for AG churches 

and facilities across the nation. 

What projects do you 

currently have in PennDel? 

We are working locally in churches like Zion Haitian 

Church outside of Reading and Philly Dream 

Center. The University of Valley Forge continues to 

have projects. We also have been volunteering at 

the Bongiorno Conference Center and have space 

for more RVers to join us there. 

How does Men on a Mission fit with 

Church Mobilization? 

Jesus is the epitome of what it is to be a man 

and the perfect example of Spiritual maturity and 

servanthood. 

TO SERVE AND VOLUNTEER is an exceptional 

way that we can fulfill our role in ministry. God 

commanded us to discover our gifts and then use 

them. There is no one-size-fits-all for ministries in 

Church Mobilization. Our ministry is as diverse as 

we are. We can be inspired by what Peter writes, 

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have 

received to serve others, as faithful stewards of 

God’s grace...” (1 Peter 4:10). 

How can we connect with you about 

sending a team or joining as an RVer? 

We are open to Men’s Ministries Teams as 

well as coed Church Teams. We would love to 

have you join with us in becoming the hands 

and feet of Jesus through building projects, 

providing maintenance, extending hospitality, and 

evangelism outreach to the lost. You can email 

me at jrkennedyii@gmail.com or call me at 

862.354.4511. 

LOOKING FOR 

MEN WHO ARE 

GIFTED IN... 

Accounting 

Architecture 

Black Sealing 

Boiler Repair 

Cabinetmaking 

Carpentry 

Carpet laying 

Children’s Ministry 

Cleaning 

Construction 

Discipleship 

Drafting 

Drywall 

Electrical 

Evangelism 

Excavating 

Fire Alarms 

Flooring 

Food/Hospitality 

Grant Writing 

Heavy Equipment 

HVAC 

Landscaping 

Masonry 

Mechanics 

Media 

Painting 

Plumbing 

Preaching 

Project Management 

Roofing 

Security Systems 

Sprinklers 

Structural Engineer 

Stucco 

Teaching 

Tech 

Tiling 

Trucking 

Upholstery 

Vehicle Maintenance 

Wallpapering 

Welding 

Saying YES to my favorite person, 

place, or thing is easy, but saying 

yes to challenges, well, not so 

much! Most of us avoid difficult people, 

places, or things. However, could we 

miss out on a great future by being 

parked in neutral? There is a story of a 

group of women who happened to be 

sisters, who present a great example of 

what can happen when we say YES to 

what seems challenging. 

Their YES changed history, and I 

believe in 2023, we need some history 

makers to rise above our discomfort 

when things get complicated and we 

face the challenges at hand. So, who 

are these women? We refer to them as 

the daughters of Zelophehad. You can 

find their story in the book of Numbers, 

chapter twenty-six. 

When the Israelites were getting ready 

to enter the Promised Land, the land 

was to be divided between twelve tribes. 

During that time in history, only men 

were eligible to receive land. For one 

family, the Tribe of Manasseh, this was 

life-altering. Their father died during the 

forty-year wilderness journey, leaving only 

SAYING YES TO 

CHALLENGES 

five daughters. Without the possibility of 

inheriting land, their lineage would end. 

What a challenge! Give up or STEP 

UP! Five daughters, unwilling to see 

their lineage erased, stepped up where 

no women had gone before. Bravely, 

they went to the Tent of Meeting and 

pleaded their case before Moses, 

Eleazar, the priest, the leaders and all the 

congregation. Here is what they said. 

“Our father died in the wilderness. He 

was not among those who assembled 

together against the Lord in the 

company of Korah, but he died for his 

own sin [as did all those who rebelled 

at Kadesh], and he had no sons. Why 

should the name of our father be 

removed from his family because he 

had no son? Give to us a possession 

(land) among our father’s brothers.” 

So, Moses brought their case before 

the Lord. Numbers 27:3-5 AMP 

Moses came back with these 

words from the Lord. 

“The request of the daughters of 

Zelophehad is justified. You shall 

certainly give them a possession as 

an inheritance among their father’s 

brothers, and you shall transfer their 

father’s inheritance to them.” 

Numbers 27:6-7 AMP 

Their YES to face this CHALLENGE 

changed history! What challenge is in 

front of you that God is waiting for your 

YES? Get out of neutral and get going! 

Our theme for this year is FASHIONED: 

Created for Purpose. God has you and 

me here to take on new challenges at 

this moment in history. Don’t worry. His 

plans are good! 

“For we are God’s handiwork, created 

in Christ Jesus to do good works, 

which God prepared in advance for us 

to do.” Ephesians 2:10 NIV 

PennDel Women has a beautiful year 

planned! Join us and be challenged 

to grow in your faith, serving, and 

reaching your community! We love 

serving women! Find out more at 

penndelwomen.org 

PSALM 68:11 “The Lord 

announces the word, and the 

women who proclaim it are a 

mighty throng.” 

Men are called to rise above their own desires and 

follow the Great Commission. We are called to 

seek ways to serve as exampled by Jesus’ own 

heart, “For even the Son of Man came not to be Please keep us in your prayers as we 

served but to serve others…” (Matthew 20:28). continue momentum in building and 

16 expanding God’s Kingdom! 

Worship 

LEADERSHIPconnexion | Spring 2023 17 

PENNDEL WOMEN | Liz DeFrain | 484.686.4554 | liz@penndelwomen.org | penndelwomen.org

YOUTH DIRECTOR | Joe Cali | 717.649.6788 | joe@penndel.org 


“What if you brought home a Zero?” 

As a kid, whenever I brought home a test or a quiz, my parents would ask, “How did you do?” I would reply with my “okay” 

score, and each time, my mom would ask, “Why didn’t you get a 100%?” My mom was never malicious. She knew I could 

do better and sincerely wanted me to keep pushing to get that A+. I never wanted to bring home a Zero. I knew my parents 

would be disappointed if I did and I wanted to make them proud of me. The more I put in the effort, the more I also wanted 

to do better for myself. 

In ministry, there is one category in which I never want to have a Zero. As a Youth Pastor, there was a moment in one of our 

youth services when I was challenged by the Holy Spirit to look around the room. As I did, I noticed that we had Zero new or 

unsaved students in attendance. As the weeks continued, that number didn’t change. 

I was compelled by the Lord’s question, “Do you like having Zero new or unsaved students in your group? Do you want 

them here? Then go out there and let Me draw them in.” It was at this point that I couldn’t stand having Zero new or unsaved 

students at our youth or church services. I refused to be okay with just ministering to those who were already Christians. 

Please don’t misunderstand me, I loved the Christian students. I was always super glad that they were walking with Jesus 

and plugged into our discipleship tracks. But there were more students out there who had to be given the opportunity to 

experience a life with Jesus too! 

I began to seek the Lord and ask Him for the steps to take. I put myself in places and establishments where I could interact 

with the unsaved students in my community. The Lord led me to the local public school. I began to support our Christian 

Bible clubs and volunteer wherever the administration needed help. 

I also volunteered at my local community center. This became a place where I was able to interact with students who were 

not going to church or didn’t have a relationship with Jesus. I was able to bring Christian students from church with me and 

minister there together. It took some time, but those unsaved students eventually made their way to our church property. Not 

every one of them came of know Jesus, but some did! 

This step of faith helped propel a few things for me and my group: it helped us to keep our walks holy, it gave us a consistent 

missional mindset, and it helped us to develop deeper relationships. My youth group students began to catch the vision that 

we desired to have new people at our services each week. We wanted them to bring their friends and peers to not only be a 

part of our group, but to know Jesus as their personal Savior. 

My challenge to you is simple: Say NO to Zero new or unsaved students in your group/church. Take a step of faith outside of 

your church walls, get creative, put in the work, and bring others along with you to impact this generation with the Gospel. 

Penndelyouth is believing with you for an increase of new and unsaved students coming to 

Jesus in your churches this year! 


CHILDREN AND DISCIPLESHIP | Jeremiah Gruber | 717.795.5921 | jeremiah@penndel.org 

SAY YES TO… 

HEALTHY LEADERS 

AND THRIVING 

CHILDREN 

At our THRIVE Conference this past fall, I was blessed 

with the privilege of sharing a message titled “Well- 

Grounded and Well-Rounded Disciples.” During that 

message, I shared from Jeremiah 17:5-8: 

This is what the LORD says: “Cursed are those who put 

their trust in mere humans and turn their hearts away 

from the LORD. They are like stunted shrubs in the 

desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in 

the barren wilderness, on the salty flats where no 

one lives. 

But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and 

have made the LORD their hope and confidence. 

They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with 

roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are 

not bothered by the heat or worried by long months 

of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right 

on producing delicious fruit.” 

In this portion of scripture, we see two sharply 

contrasted ways of living: 

• The stunted shrub represents the person who turns away 

from the Lord and who has no hope: zero growth and zero 

results. 

• The “well-grounded and well-rounded” tree represents those 

who trust in the Lord and who continue producing good fruit 

even in times of drought: much growth and many results. 

If we want to see growth and results in our churches, 

specifically our children’s ministries, we need to SAY YES TO 

investing in healthy leaders and thriving children. As a 

Network, our goal is to help resource each of our churches by 

training and equipping your leaders and providing opportunities 

for growth and life-change in your children. 

We recently held our KidMin Summit in January, which was 

a three-day retreat for those who lead Children’s Ministry, or 

as we call it: KidMin. Beyond that event and training, we are 

building a team of KidMin Reps who will serve each section by 

helping KidMin leaders be healthy, connect and grow. Please 

help us make that connection with your key children’s leader(s) 

by sending their information to jeremiah@penndel.org. The 

Assemblies of God also has a year-long mentorship program 

for KidMin leaders called HYDRATE. For more information, 

visit: https://kidmin.ag.org/hydrate. We have scholarships 

available to help you invest in your leaders. 

We have several upcoming events to help develop and disciple 

well-grounded and well-rounded children. Two weekends of 

Kids Breakaway: GO365 will help empower kids to answer the 

call to GO into all of the world and make disciples, 365 days a 

year. The focus of the teachings will help kids realize and know 

that they can change their world now by saying “Here I am, 

send me”. The dates are February 24 – 26 and March 3 – 5. 

Our team has also made some new and exciting changes to 

help churches and parents SAY YES TO KIDS CAMP 2023! 

Normally the “NOs” are connected to churches not having 

chaperones during the week or the cost being too high. For 

2023, we are lowering the cost of camp and now offering two 

Monday through Thursday camps, as well as two Thursday 

evening through Sunday at noon camps. We are also helping 

churches partner with other local groups attending camp. So 

even if you only have one child who wants to attend, we will 

help them find a way to experience KIDS CAMP. To learn more 

about these exciting opportunities and the new format, please 

visit penndel.org/kids. 

SAY YES TO A 

FRUITFUL LIFE 

In Matthew 13:23, Jesus shares the Parable of the Sower and reveals the impact of seed falling 

on good soil. “But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and 

understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times 

what was sown.” 

Royal Rangers is a great evangelistic ministry for the church. One of the greatest benefits is that it disciples boys into godly 

men — from a very early age to adulthood. PennDel Royal Rangers supports churches across the PennDel Network by 

providing exciting events where boys not only have fun, but are challenged to a godly, fruitful life. We have a 134 acre camp in 

Honey Grove, PA where many events are held. Royal Rangers also provides help in start-up and leadership training for boys 

and leaders. Here are some photos from recent events and progress on the Shower House at camp: 

There are many more pictures of activities by quarter at the pdrangers.org website – look under latest news. If 

you want to help raise the next generation of godly men, you need Royal Rangers at your church and you need 

to send your boys to Sectional and Network RR events. We have leaders throughout the PennDel Network that 

can help you get started and assist you in training your leaders. Let us know how we can help you get this 

great program running and customized at your church. 


, 

AVIATION ACTION CAMP 

SHOWER HOUSE & WATER SLIDE UNDERLAYMENT 

FCF FALL TRACE 

ROYAL RANGERS | Steve Steffel | 302.379.1580 | pdrangers.org | Facebook: PennDel District Royal Rangers

GIRLS MINISTRIES | Sharon Poole 

sharonp@pdgirlsministries.com | penndel.org/girls 

SAY YES TO … I AM 

“Yes, Lord, I am listening. 

I heard you tell me time and time 

again that You love me. I know You 

have asked me to follow You, to be 

obedient to You. But God, I am living in 

a world that tells me to be all that I can 

be. Search deep in me and become 

anything I want…or anything that they 

believe would be good to explore. 

Lord, their voices are so loud. They 

drown out your voice. They tell me that 

I don’t “need” to rely on you. I have all 

that I need deep within me. I can do 

this…on my own. I will survive, I will 

thrive, and I will have no one to thank 

but me! I am capable. I am powerful. 

I am self-sufficient. I am enough. I 

am…” 

At a younger age than ever before, 

our girls are being taught to rely 

on anything but God. The spiritual 

foundation that helped to mold and 

build our nation has become infected 

with the disease of sin. That disease 

has turned our focus from our creator, 

our God, to a self-god. 

The reasons for this are too many to 

discuss in a short article. It involves 

politics, the economy, a reliance on 

substances, and on and on it goes. 

But, there is one answer. I am. 

In I Samuel 3, the boy child, Samuel, 

had lived in the Tabernacle compound 

with Eli, the Priest, since he was 

weaned. He ministered and served the 

Lord by assisting Eli. Even with such a 

dedicated lifestyle, he had not learned 

to hear the voice of the Lord. 

When God wakened the child, Samuel, 

in the middle of the night, he did not 

recognize God’s voice. It required 

insight and training from the priest, 

Eli for Samuel to understand who 

was calling to him. Samuel needed 

to not listen to whom he thought was 

speaking. He needed to acknowledge 

and actively listen to hear God’s voice. 

In our culture, our girls are searching 

for God. Even in our churches, they 

are searching and not always finding 

Him. It is our desire, our responsibility, 

to teach, to train, to be an example, 

listening and following our Lord’s voice. 

This June 15-17 at the Bongiorno 

Conference Center in Carlisle, the 

Prims & Stars Retreat (grades 1-5) 

and the Friends & Girls Only Retreat 

(grades 6-12) will take place. These 

Retreats will be dedicated to teaching 

our girls how to say, “Yes, Lord, I am 

listening!” More information will be 

mailed in the next few weeks to each 

church. I hope that you will see the 

value of ministry and training for our 

girls. 

THE NEXT STEP 

The most exciting leadership training tool 

in the Assemblies of God! 

PennDel School of Ministry is a PennDel Ministry 

Network sponsored and operated ministerial 

training program that enables individuals to fulfill 

the educational requirements of the Assemblies of 

God for credentialing. It also provides a learning 

forum for laity interested in increasing biblical and 

doctrinal knowledge as well as developing ministry 

skills. PDSOM features live instruction at four 

campus locations. 

BETHLEHEM, PA • FIRST SATURDAY 

Central AG, 1300 Eaton Avenue 

IRWIN, PA • SECOND SATURDAY 

Calvary Church, 8653 Pennsylvania Avenue 

WYNCOTE, PA • SECOND SATURDAY 

Calvary Assembly, 7910 Washington Lane 

CAMP HILL, PA • THIRD SATURDAY 

Christian Life Assembly 2645 Lisburn Road 

Individual, Couples and Family 

Counseling available to you, 

your family and your church. 

Accepts most forms of insurance • Online or In-Person 

www.Emerge.org/PA • 800-621-5207 

AROUND THE NETWORK 

Register online February 1-22 for March classes! 

FOR MORE INFORMATION: 

penndelsom.org or 724-689-3929 

Pastor Installation 

Newport Assembly of God, Newport, PA • Pastors LeRoy and Wanda Bunker 

We are now booking into 2024! 

If you would like to plan your next retreat with us 

please don’t wait, contact us today. How can we help 

you plan your Leadership Retreat, Women’s Escape, 

Men’s Weekend, or Youth Retreat? We are here to help 

and serve you! Know that our Network churches and 

ministries are our highest priority as your Conference 

Center. We will work to find you the best dates and 

times for your retreat or conference and will do our best 

to meet and exceed your expectations. It would be our 

honor to serve you, your family, and your church. 

For more information visit bongiornocc.com 

Pennsylvania-Delaware Ministry Network 

4651 Westport Drive 

Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 

Read online: penndel.org/connexion 

Editor: . . . . . . . . . . Donald J. Immel 

Managing Editor: . . . . . Carole Bongiorno 

Volume 69 Number 1–(USPS 165-700) is the official periodical published quarterly 

by the Pennsylvania-Delaware District Council of the Assemblies of God. Periodical 

postage paid at Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Circulation Stands at Approximately 

5,000. POSTMASTER, Send address changes to: Pennsylvania-Delaware District 

Council, 4651 Westport Drive, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055-4887 

Executive Presbytery 

Superintendent . . . . . . . . Donald J. Immel 

Assistant Superintendent . . . Steven DeFrain 

Secretary/Treasurer . . . . . . Jeff Marshall 

Timothy Bunney Southwest Suburban–SWS 

Mark Caston East Central–EC 

Ryan Coon At-Large Under 40 

Jeff Dyer Delaware–DEL 

James Goodman North Central West–NCW 

Wayne Jackson Southwest Metro–SWM 

Brad Leach Greater Philadelphia Area–GPA 

Dwan Newsome South Central–SC 

Kwaku Owusu-Boachie At-Large Ethnic 

James Pentz North Central–NC 

Randall Rhoads South Central East–SCE 

Lisa Rodriguez At-Large Female 

Wayne Schaffer South Central West–SCW 

Allan Thorpe Northwest–NW 

David Twiss Northeast–NE 

General Presbyters 

Donald J. Immel 

Jeff Marshall 

Jason Lamer 

Honorary General Presbyter 

Philip Bongiorno 

PennDel Superintendent Emeritus

Pennsylvania-Delaware Ministry Network 

4651 Westport Drive 

Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 

Find us online: penndel.org 

Join us on Social Media: 

PennDel Ministry Network 

PennDelMinistryNetwork 

#penndelag 

SAY YES TO INVESTING IN A 

HIS FUND 2 1/2 YEAR NOTE 

WITH AN APY OF 4.318%. 

IT’S GOOD STEWARDSHIP! 

Investment Interest Rates 

5 Year Note 4.00% 


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LeadershipConnexion SPRING2023

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