Voice of Hope

Here is a note from Pastor Gary Riley Hello Everyone! Just thought I would pass along this information. The Crossroads Church, in White Bluff, will be in a spring camp meeting with evangelist Brian Taylor of Springfield, TN and TV Gospel singer Betty Jean Robinson from Nashville, TN. The services are June 2-3 with services beginning at 7pm on Saturday and 10:45am on Sunday. We're looking forward to a great move of God's Holy Spirit. The church is located at 1002 Hwy 250N in White Bluff. For more information you can contact Pastor Gary Riley at 615-797-3778.

Over the weekend, the father of our District Presbyter, and Erin Pastor, Richard Neal was hospitalized for treatment of a stroke. I spoke with Brother Neal (who had spent all last night at the hospital) and he is requesting we pray for his father who is in need of a touch from the Lord. Please remember Brother Neal's father, and Brother Neal as he will be traveling back and forth from the Smithville area.

Last night, Debra and I traveled to Cleveland where we participated in the special activities for the Global Day of Prayer. Believers from across the world, an estimated 200 million, gathered in corporate prayer meetings to seek the face of God. This gathering was for the Cleveland/Bradley county area churches, and although I live in Sumner County, I was asked to participate in the program and lead prayers for unity. The Lord had touched my heart leading up to last night to lead the congregation (I am not sure how many were there, but the organizers were expecting 4,000) to pray for a unity of purpose to see Christ's prayer recorded in John 17 to be fulfilled, and to prayer for a unity of focus to see the harvest gathered in. We were well represented in the meeting from our churches, and pastor Winston Reid led one of the other sections. Thank God for what He is doing in our world! After the service we traveled back home because of work needed to be done in the office today and...

Yesterday, Debra and I were privileged to worship, and minister at the McMinnville (North Hills) church where Michael and Munice Harris serve the congregation. The service was lively and the house will filled with an expectant congregation. We thank the Lord for those who asked the Lord into their lives and for the rededications. Following the service, there was a great "dinner on the grounds" and the ladies served a wonderful lunch. Special thanks to the congregation and the pastoral staff for a wonderful worship service.

On last Thursday evening, Debra and I met with the majority of our pastors in the Cleveland/Chattanooga district for a time of fellowship at a local restaurant in Cleveland. This is one of the continuing meetings we have had with pastors and their companions across the State of Tennessee. Special thanks to Bishop A.J. Coalter for making the arrangements so that we could gather. Both districts were well represented, with the exception of just a few who were either on vacation or taking care of pastoral responsibilities. As I continue to say, we have wonderful pastors in the State of Tennessee and I am so honored to work among them.

Good morning folks, I just wanted to give you a final report on the ICM held in Cleveland. I personally think this is one of the most needed ministries we have, especially since we are working with the future leaders of our movement. Debra and I returned to Hendersonville yesterday to catch up on office work, since I will leave again tomorrow for church visits and to participate in a City-Wide Prayer Movement service tomorrow night at the North Cleveland Church of God. Here are a few photos that Debra took during the conference. There are great resources available. My son, Shaun taught several work shops and you can find his notes and powerpoint presentations at his website: CLICK HERE One there, you will find a link under the ICM portion of the website. I hope you enjoy the photos here, and I do hope you will plan now to attend or send representatives next year. God bless.

Pentecost Now: A Cooperative Prayer Gathering by Jennifer Wallace, Faith News Network, www.faithnews.cc On Wednesday, May 23, 2007, the Church of God and the Church of God of Prophecy joined together in a Cooperative Prayer Gathering. The Church of God and the Church of God of Prophecy have declared this week, the week proceeding Pentecost Sunday 2007, as a time of united intercession for a fresh outpouring of Holy Spirit power in our generation. The Church of God and Church of God of Prophecy have an Agreement of Cooperation for a joint global evangelistic initiative. The initiative is viewed as a practical demonstration of the common purposes and spiritual heritage of the two church groups. The Cooperative Prayer Gathering, which included both denominations' leaders and office employees, began at the Church of God of Prophecy International Offices. Brother Randall E. Howard, Church of God of Prophecy General Overseer, welcomed everyone and was followed by a scripture reading from...

While I have been in Cleveland for several meetings this week, e.g., Assembly Task Force, meeting with a local church about a pastor change, Administrative Committee, and District Pastor fellowship, I have also been able to participate in the International. Children's Ministries conference. I cannot stress enough how "special" this training is....registration is at an all-time-high and Tennessee is well represented. The enthusiasm is contagious and the quality of material far exceeds anything I've seen in other places. God bless Sister Kathy Creasy and all of those helping her with this conference....great things are ahead for our church.

Today, I find myself in Cleveland for a meeting of the General Assembly Task Force. One of the issues we are discussing today will be the location of the General Assembly in 2010. That seems to be a long way off, however, we have to make preparations years in advance. Here is a question for you... Have you thought about where you would like to see the 2010 General Assembly located? If so, I would love to hear it. Could you email me your suggestions by CLICKING HERE ? I would be happy to hear from you, and I will take your suggestions to the task force making the decision. God bless.

Yesterday was a special day at the Heartland Fellowship Church (COGOP) in Elizabethton, TN. The local church service in the morning a great one with a lot of fellowship, singing and excitement in the air. Pastor Marvin Slagle did a great job of moderating the service, which featured two special guests...District Presbyter Robert Ledford and Bishop Edsel Hartman, who had pastored the church there 50-years-ago. In the morning service, I brought the message, that, believe it or not was only 16-minutes-long. After the morning service, we reconvened at the location of the new church where several special guests from the community and other churches also attended to enjoy the celebration. After the ground was broken, the special guests and leadership team of the local church enjoyed a great meal and time of fellowship. I spoke with Pastor Slagle, and he told me the contractors heavy equipment had already started digging this morning, and they are expecting to pour the footer on phase one ...

Tonight, I was privileged to minister at the Lawrence Chapel church in Crossville. The special guest group for the service was the King's Messengers from Coeburn, Virginia. As usual, their ministry was greatly appreciated and added to the service. Tomorrow (Sunday) I will be with the congregation at Elizabethton to preach in the morning service, and take part in the ground-breaking service for their new church facilities. I am thrilled to be a part of such a special day.

I know that you've seen the posts here before concerning the upcoming International Children's Ministries conference in Cleveland this next week. I learned today that this is the largest registration in the history of this event. I challenge you to send your childrens workers to this conference if at all possible....it will be well worth the time and the effort, and allow our folks to minister to our children with excellence. God bless.

Yes, the time is rapidly approaching that our kids will be gathering at Camp Hickory Hills for our annual youth camps. Applications are ready for download at the state website. CLICK HERE to download your form.

Look, my grandbaby is athletic! Sorry, I couldn't resist!

Dear Bishop McKinley, I was wondering if you would post the challenge below from Jeff Jones, Bellshire's Youth Pastor. We here at Bellshire are passionate about Youth Camp and would love for this year to be the best year ever. In Christ, Shannon W. Bowdoin Senior Pastor Bellshire Church of God of Prophecy Hope everything is well with all of you. At the Bellshire church’s finance committee meeting last week, we felt challenged to invest in the mission effort to reach youth across the state of Tennessee . You may know it better as Camp Hickory Hills. God has richly blessed us with an outlet, a facility, and co-workers to impact the youth in our state. I am using 1Night as means to also invite kids to youth camp this year. Some of you may not realize a major plan that is taking place in our camps geared towards teenagers this year. Both the Senior Camp (15 to 18 year old) and Teen Camp (12 – 14 year old) have invited a gentleman from the state of Mississippi to bring h...

SPECIAL NOTE: THIS STORY WAS COVERED AT WVLT IN KNOXVILLE. YOU CAN SEE THE VIDEO AT THE TELEVISION'S WEBSITE: http://volunteertv.com Clinton (WVLT) -- For one East Tennessee family, today is more than a day to pamper Mom, its' a day to celebrate her survival. Theresa Noe's year long victory over breast cancer. Volunteer TV's Mike McCarthy tell us how the cancer was a chance to strengthen her bond with her teenage daughter. Teresa Noe and her 17-year-old daughter are close. We don't have anything that we don't do together," LeAnna Noe said. Today they sat, arms around each other, at a Mother's Day church service. According to Teresa Noe, the last time they sat in the service, doctors had just made a discovery. "They found cancer in the left breast," Teresa Noe said. "So within hours I was having a biopsy." A battle with breast cancer that began a year ago this week. "We were blessed enough that she didn't get real sick fro...

Just a quick update for those of you who check our blog on a regular basis. I hope you will take the opportunity to visit our state youth website, the work of Joshua Lynn. You can find his website at www.tennesseeyouth.org To see his calendar of events (which will include local church events) CLICK HERE

If you are like me, you get to Saturday and you look back to see what has been accomplished in the week you've just finished. I've been doing some reflection this morning on this past week, while I've looked forward to the next. This has been a full week of travel, meetings and planning for our State Convention and pastoral changes. In the early part of the week, I made a trip to Cleveland to deal with business for the International Offices, as well as dealing with one of our local churches pastoral change in that area. At the middle of the week, it was a state staff meeting at the State Offices. Let me say something about that... In that meeting, we worked on the State calendar for the period of June 1, 2007 through the end December 2008. I will be posting the complete calendar later on the state website at http://tncogop.org and sending it out in the W.H.I.T., as well as in State Convention program. We also discussed the formulation of vision for the work of our ch...

Good news Tuesday eve. Michelle spoke words and knew some folks. She was sent to a nursing home on Wednesday. However, still with trache in throat and feeding tube plus other hookups and not being restrained in any way plus not being watched she last night pulled out everything. She at this moment is back in St. Johns Hospital in Springfield, MO. Here is the kicker. They say they will not keep her and there is not any facility in 200 miles that they have contacted that will take her. They say they will not keep her as there is not any medical reason for so doing????????????. Greg is told to prepare to take her home. 24 hour around the clock is out of reason and logic to give her this type of care. He and rest of us are beside ourselves with ??????????????????as to what to do. All I am asking is prayer for the Lords intervention. God bless for all the prayers you have already prayed. Cliff and Joann. I just received word that the hospital is going to try to find out by running so...

Elizabeth Joy Bagley, daughter of Richard and Pamela Bagley, was nominated to be in the Ambassadors of Music European Tour for 2007. She is one of about 150 students chosen of all the Tennessee high school music departments. This is a great honor given to her. One shows the talent and integrity of the nominated student, as they will be representing the community, state, and the country. The Tennessee Ambassadors of Music have visited Europe for over thirty years, and is a life changing experience for each student. Elizabeth will be traveling to seven countries including: England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Austria, and Germany, from June 30 through July 15, 2007. Elizabeth will be singing with her Tennessee group in churches, park venues, and other destinations. The Tennessee Ambassadors of Music Tour is highly respected and welcomed to visit Europe by the local governments of each country. Although it is an honor to attend, eac...

Today, Debra, Shaun, Stephanie Reagan and I all attended the graduation ceremonies at Volunteer State, to see our daughter Lindsey graduate. We are all proud of her for her achievements, as she graduated magna cum laude with a Degree in Applied Sciences majoring in Radiological Sciences. Many of you have sent cards and gifts this last week and we are grateful for the love that you show us on a regular basis. Lindsey has been hired by Baptist Hospital in Nashville full time. Lindsey, we are proud of you!

Just a few-minutes-ago (1:30 p.m. cst) I learned that Mary Todd, former pastor of the Jamestown passed away. She has been extremely ill for some time. The visitation is tonight from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Munday Funeral Home in Jamestown and the funeral will be at the same location tomorrow (Sunday) at 12:00 noon. Please join me in prayer for the Todd family.

Inspirational Leadership News General Presbytery Meets in Cleveland for Time of Sharing and Planning by Clayton Endecott, General Presbyter of Europe/CIS/Middle East and Shaun McKinley, Administrative Liaison to the General Overseer, shaun@cogop.org Last week, April 21-27, the General Presbyters met for a time of sharing and planning. The General Presbyters, leaders representing the church's global work, meet twice yearly to discuss the advancement and challenges facing the church's work around the world. On Tuesday, Church of God of Prophecy General Overseer and General Presbyters along with International Office Ministry Directors were invited to join Dr. Dennis McGuire, General Overseer for the Church of God for a dinner of fellowship with the Executive Council of the Church of God. A time of celebration and fellowship was highlighted by encouraging testimonials of both Church leaders to the increased fellowship and mutual ministry between the two movements. The Councils of...

I am posting a prayer request on behalf of our pastor's family at Paris, Bishop C.C. Winchester. This past month, Cliff and Joanne's daughter-in-law was involved in a terrible automobile crash that put her in critical condition at a hospital in Missouri. Because of the server difficulties, I have not posted earlier emails that did not get to me, and I apologize to the Winchester family for the difficulty. I am posting a copy of an email that I received tonight....as it would be, our service has been down most of the evening, and just came back online. Please join me in prayer ---- This will be brief. Michelle stopped breathing 4 times today. She had been in a step down icu unit but is back in icu. Doctors do not give any hope in any way. Joann is with her as well as our son Greg, his family and Michelle's family live in Springfield. ( MO) We are fully aware of the greatness of our Lord. We trust the Lord and are depending on the will of God to be performed. Please pray...

Sharon Caruthers (spouse of Pastor Vernon Caruthers of Campaign) was discharged yesterday from Baptist hospital after undergoing a hip replacement surgery. I spoke with Brother Vernon today and he told me that she will be unable to put much weight on it for about 10 weeks, but that she seems to be doing well. Special thanks to everyone for your prayers.

This morning I left early to visit with Pastor Ken Dyer. I found him sitting up, and in good spirits at St. Mary's Medical Center in Knoxville. He did indeed undergo a procedure yesterday, and seems to be recovering nicely. If things go as planned, he should be moved to a regular room sometime today. He expressed his thanks for everyone who prayed for him. God bless.