Traveling Creation Museum Comes to Sheridan Christian Church

A traveling dinosaur museum hosted by the Creation Truth Foundation, based out of Oklahoma, came to Sheridan Christian Church during Defiance Day weekend, starting on Friday and finishing on Sunday. There were fossils of various dinosaurs on display as well as other fossils.

Matt Miles, the President of Creation Truth Foundation (CTF), gave various talks at Sheridan Christian Church, including one Saturday evening. He said that everything we were taught in school was wrong, that the Biblical view of creation was true, that scientific evidence points to a 6,000 year old earth and a catastrophic flood that permanently altered the planet, and that humans and dinosaurs co-existed at one point.

Mr. Miles spent most of his life as a Christian and became a youth minister. But one time, he said that he could not satisfactorily give an answer to a young person about the origins of creation, which he said haunted him for years. “I wonder what happened to that person,” he said. “I hope someone else was able to reach them.”

In 2009, Mr. Miles went to a youth leader conference, where he heard the late Dr. G. Thomas Sharp, founder of GTF, give a talk on dinosaurs and the Bible. “I trusted the Bible as the Word of God, but I could not reconcile it with the fossil record,” he said. When he heard Dr. Sharp speak, Mr. Miles asked, “Why have we never been taught about dinosaurs and the Bible? My wife knew some of this stuff, but I had never heard any of this. And here I am 20 years later.”

According to CTF’s biography, in the late 1960’s, the late Dr. Sharp, who was an experienced science teacher and a pastor of a church in Alabama, came face to face with staggering domestic problems with the lives of his church members. Divorces were rising exponentially. 60-70% of kids in Bible-believing families decided to leave the faith by the time they were 15. Christian fathers were abdicating their roles as leaders of the family. Over 12 years of research, Dr. Sharp came to learn that the root cause was that Darwinian evolutionism came to overthrow the Biblical worldview of creation, leading to the Supreme Court ruling in 1962 ending school-led prayers, the separation of God from public life and practice, and the consequent moral and educational decline throughout the country.

In 1989, Dr. Sharp came to found Creation Truth Foundation, whose mission is to return America to a Biblical Creationist worldview as found in Genesis 1-12.

Mr. Miles said that it started with trusting what the Bible says when it speaks of a six-day creation. Instead of “prehistory,” as taught by secular science, Mr. Miles said that history in fact began when God created the Heavens and the Earth. He said that humanity knew deep down inside of its connection with dinosaurs, as evidenced by popular cartoons like Alley Oop and the Flintstones, movies like the Jurassic Park series, the Year of the Dragon that comes up in the Chinese calendar every 12 years, an ancient Stegosaurus found on a Cambodian temple, depictions of dinosaurs in Native American art in 1000 AD, and other examples.

He said that dinosaurs were even depicted in the Bible, such as Job 40, when God presented the leviathan to Job as an example of his creation.

Mr. Miles had a negative view of Jurassic Park and talked about what he saw as disturbing scenes from the series, including one where a gigantic dinosaur turned out to be just a bird, and one where a raptor had feathers on it to depict transitional forms. “I’ve had students who thought it was real when it wasn’t,” he said. “Whatever you think is true, it guides you. It’s a movie, not a documentary.”

Turning to the scientific theories for dinosaurs, Mr. Miles said that they were always changing; for instance, when he recently went to a natural history museum in Kansas, they had changed the 65 million date for the asteroidal impact that caused the extinction of dinosaurs to 66 million. And he asked how did all the other animals survive if an asteroid struck the Earth. “That’s an awfully selective asteroid,” he said.

Other aspects Mr. Miles questioned included the 252 million to 66 million year timeline for dinosaurs. However, he says that dinosaur remains have been found both above and below the layers where they would be expected to be, suggesting a catastrophic flood instead. “And we have full-sized mammals coexisting with dinosaurs,” he said. “The older I get, the more I get tired of being told that science cannot support the Word of God.”

Turning to the 5th day of creation, Mr. Miles focused on the Hebrew words “Tanniyn” and “Behemah.” He noted that on over 21 occasions, “Tanniyn” was translated to “Dragon,” suggesting that the Biblical writers were familiar with dinosaurs.

Turning to a specimen named “Sue,” Mr. Miles noted that her head was crushed and she was folded in half, meaning that only a catastrophic event like a flood could have caused it.

Mr. Miles said there was a basic philosophical problem with evolutionary science. He said that if death was in the world before the Fall of Adam, then that would make the crucifixion of Jesus of no account. In fact, pointing to Genesis 1:29, he noted that God gave the animals, including Tyrannosaurus   Rex, plants to eat while Adam and Eve were given seed-bearing and fruit-bearing plants and trees to eat, while they were forbidden to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. He noted that the kind of teeth that creatures have do not necessarily prove that they are carnivores; for instance, he noted that Panda Bears are not.

Mr. Miles said that he believed dinosaurs went on the Ark with Noah when the Flood occurred. One of the most common questions he got was how the animals on the Ark avoided eating each other or taking up too much space. He believed that baby dinosaurs would have been taken on the Ark; for instance, one specimen on display at Sheridan was 30 feet long, but was only 11 inches at birth. “Think of animals who were young,” he said.

Following the flood, Mr. Miles gave this timeline for the various events in history:

—An ice age following the flood;

—Drastic climate changes following the flood;

—Continental divisions;

—Drastic changes in habitat, leading to extinction events;

—A human population explosion.

He pointed to First Corinthians 15:21, which says that since death came through man, the redemption of creation must come through man. “It doesn’t matter who the President is; Jesus is our only hope,” said Mr. Miles. “Don’t take my word for everything, check out what you hear in the Bible.”

 

God’s Squad on Running the Race at Sheridan Christian Church

Unionville-based singing group God’s Squad performed Sunday evening at Sheridan Christian Church, teaching a lesson on running the race. It consists of sixteen performers, all from ages 12 to 18.

The play consists of a group of athletes who sign up to run the race after accepting Jesus as their savior. Entry is free, but there is a catch — they have to leave their baggage behind. One who didn’t found out the hard way that he couldn’t go on and had to leave it behind.

Other rules are simple — they had to periodically drink water at the stations provided, and they had to follow the compass. Various scenes depicted what happened to people who didn’t. One girl was exhausted because she had not been drinking the water provided.

Throughout the race, there were unscrupulous people who tempted the athletes to make bad choices. One tempted them to stray off the path. Another tempted them to stay a while and play cards instead of running the race. Of course, one game easily turned into many. Another person tempted them to despair because she had seen it all and there was nothing new under the sun.

There were no winners or losers in the race, because the goal was to finish the race and overcome all the different temptations and obstacles thrown in the way.

 

 

Ashley Heideman Talks About Work at The Source

Ashley (Blaine) Heideman gave a talk at the Sheridan Christian Church VBS about her work at The Source Medical Clinic in Maryville. They offer medical, mental health, and pregnancy care along with Christian counseling. They encourage pregnant mothers to carry their babies to term and offer help.

The talk had the attention of the kids, who asked a lot of questions along the way. Heideman showed the kids how a fetus develops in the womb and showed ultrasounds. She passed around mannequins of a 10 week fetus, which was around one inch in height but which looks just like a baby.

“You guys are special, and God brought you each into the world for a reason,” said Heideman to the kids. “God knew your name, the number of hairs on your head, and the color of your eyes before you were brown.”

There were 50 kids at the VBS on Sunday and Monday. Several years ago, the number got down into the 20’s, but it has made a comeback over the last two years.

The lessons were on Jonah and the Whale in the Old Testament. Jonah was disobedient to God, who told him to preach to Nineveh and call them to repentance. He ran off to the ends of the earth, got caught in a storm, and was cast off the ship by the other passengers, who deemed him to be a bad omen. He was eaten by a whale as chastisement, but then repented and was cast out of the whale. His preaching was successful, and the people of Assyria repented.

Later, in the New Testament, Jesus held up the men of Assyria as an example against the religious authorities of his day, who knew that Jesus was the promised Messiah from the Old Testament yet chose to reject him.

There was a water tag game in the park where most of the kids were pelted by water balloons. In one classroom, Jeff Blane gave a talk about Jonah and used a blanket and a ball to reenact Jonah’s ship getting caught in a storm and Jonah getting eaten by the whale. Downstairs, Clint Rowen led a lesson where the object was to tie a ball to a tiny cup with a string, to reenact Jonah getting eaten.

 

In 1893, Surprise Party Thrown for Sheridan Christian Church Pastor

From the February 3rd, 1893 Sheridan Advance:

One of the most pleasant social events of the season occurred last Sunday, at the Diagonal Hotel. The members of the Christian Church were notified to bring their dinners and repair to the Hotel after the morning service, to which 90 persons responded, and after all had arrived and exchanged greetings, Elder W.A. Chapman, who assisted in the protracted meeting here last fall, and who has just begun a year’s work for the church, was invited into the parlor, wither all followed, where in a neat speech by J.M. Simons, the Elder was presented with a beautiful silk, crazy quilt. The quilt was made by the lady members and friends of the church, and is indeed a work of art, and pronounced by all who have seen it as surpassing in richness and beauty anything they have ever seen.

Bro, Chapman was taken completely by surprise, but responded in a brief speech, in which he succeeded in convincing all present that the souvenir was duly appreciated. Someone said, “That is the first sermon I ever heard with a bed quilt for a text.”

The dinner, as all connected with the gathering, was a decided success, and the occasion is one long to be remembered by all the participants.

There seems to be the kindest Christian feeling between the members of the church and their new pastor, and we predict a prosperous year’s work.

 --One who was there.

Gabriella Rowen Honored at Graduation Party

Around 100 people came to Sheridan Christian Church Sunday to honor Gabriella Rowen at her graduation party. Gabriella, or Gigi, showed a lot of talent as a homeschooler as she sang a gospel song at the gathering. She plans to go to Northwest to study pre-veterinary studies. She works part-time at Dr. Gerald Myers at Pickering. She also plans to be in the Northwest Choir.

Her grandfather, Huey Rowen, spoke at the graduation party. He told a story about how she went to a t-ball game and asked a group of kids if she could play with them, which they did. Later that evening, she kept wanting to go somewhere and her mother kept having to jump up and bring her back.

Every kid looks forward to driving, but Gabriella was more insistent than most. Huey talked about how she was with him one time and she insisted on driving his truck sitting on his lap one time without him holding the wheel even though she kept driving into a hay bale.

Ever since she was able to do so, Gigi always helped her dad, Clint, with the calves. If Clint said something had to be done a certain way, she would do it that way no matter what anyone else told her. She took her job so seriously that one time, one calf fell through the ice and she jumped in frantically trying to rescue it. Luckily, her dad and grandpa were around, and they were able to help her rescue the calf, which survived.

There was also the time where Gabriella was bound and determined to make a cake just right, and after three years and going through numerous boxes of cake mix, she finally won first prize at the church with a cake that looked like a llama. There was also the time where she was knee-deep in mud working calves and she was smiling and singing her favorite hymns.

Huey had plenty of advice for her granddaughter, such as:

—Life is a continuous testament;

—Nothing in this world is going to last;

—Make good choices, have few regrets;

—Go above and beyond.

“You’ve done well, worked hard, and there is no reason why you won’t be successful in your next season of life,” said Rowen. “Faith makes you special. I don’t want the world to take that from you.”

 

High Road Draws Several Hundred to Sheridan

Several hundred people came to Sheridan Sunday to hear High Road, a bluegrass and gospel band which has traveled all over the country and internationally and which has played before as many as 15,000 people. It was put on by Sheridan Christian Church. People from Sheridan, Grant City, Ravenwood, Hopkins, Parnell, and Maryville came. There was even a girl from Norway, Elisabeth, whose family provided High Road a barn to perform in while they were in Norway and who is accompanying the band on their current trip. There was a cowboy church group out of Clarinda who performed with High Road in Clarinda the night before and who came with them to Sheridan Sunday night.

The Gentry/Worth Cattlemen’s Association provided the meal. The event drew comparisons to Jerry Clower, who drew around 3,000 people to the area north of the Sheridan School in 1987, where the Rodeo Grounds are now. He dressed up in a bright orange/red suit and talked about how, “I love y’all!” 

High Road is a band consisting of four girls, Sarah, Kristin, Rachel, and Nicole. The band has local ties; Sarah Davison, the founder, was originally from Braddyville. The rest of the band members are from Montana, Kentucky, and North Carolina. One of the bass players for Sunday night’s concert was Andy Wiederholt of Maryville. 

Davison has toured with Country Music Hall of Famer George Jones, performs regularly on the Grand Ole Opry, and has written pieces performed by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. Since the group’s genesis, Sarah and bandmates have already garnered a Grammy Nomination for the album, "Gonna Sing, Gonna Shout", the Singing News New Artist of the Year, two Dove Award nominations for Bluegrass/Roots Album of the Year, and Singing News Band of the Year for 2022.  They regularly perform at leading country and Gospel music events including 40 Days at the Ark Encounter, Singing In The Sun, Women of Joy, The National Quartet Convention, Dollywood, and more. 

Obituary -- Dorothy Biehle 1937-2023

Dorothy Eileen Lundgren Biehle, 86, of Maryville, MO passed away on February 22, 2023, at her home.

She is one of 5 daughters born to her parents, Henry Lundgren and Helen Sirena Stull Lundgren, on February 16, 1937.

Her hometown was Bayard, Nebraska, where she graduated from high school as an honor student.

She accepted Christ as her Savior and was baptized.

Dorothy’s minister, Owen Wilmont, was instrumental in her decision to attend Nebraska Christian College, later Norfolk Junior College, in Norfolk, Nebraska.

It was at college that she met Delbert John Biehle, who became her husband on August 21, 1957.  They have been married over 65 years.  She and Delbert have 2 sons who survive her.  Gregory and his son, Tayten, and Kevin, his wife, Elisabeth, and their children, Hannah, Sophia, Isaiah, Victoria, and Lydia. 

Also surviving are 4 sisters, Delores Couch, Darlene Gollihare, Zelda Sanchez, and husband Jess, and Janice Sanchez, and husband Larry. 

While in college she was employed at J.C. Penney’s.  After graduation Dorothy and Delbert moved to Sheridan, Missouri for their first full time ministry. 

Following this ministry of 17 years, they moved to Maryville where they ministered at Countryside Christian Church for 26 plus years.  At Maryville she was employed at Maryville Shoe Store. 

Later she became secretary for Charlie Baird at Maryville Housing Authority.  When Charlie retired Dorothy became the Executive Director of the Housing Authority.

She also served on committees at the State and National level for HUD.  She traveled a number of times to Washington DC as a member of a working committee on the Section 8 program.  She had given presentations about this program at State and National Housing Conventions.

Following their retirement, they accepted a call to serve in ministry at the Isadora Missouri Church of Christ.  This ministry has exceeded 12 years. 

Dorothy’s hobbies include counted cross stitch, crafts, collecting snowman figurines, making flower arrangements, and cleaning the house.  You could even hear her singing as she cleaned.

Her interest in flower arranging and decorating landed her a job at Jamie’s Secret Garden, in St. Joseph. 

Dorothy had a love for music.  She sang with Christ’s Crusaders, a mixed quartet while at Nebraska Christian College.  She and Delbert sang at many Church and funeral services. 

Her specialty ministry included planning for crafts for vacation bible school all their years at Sheridan Christian and Countryside Christian in Maryville.  Often planning for over 100 children on several occasions. 

Her greatest ministry contribution was being a Godly wife and Godly mother, making her goal of raising a Christian family by example.

It goes without saying that our family will miss her input in our daily lives. 

Services will be at 10:30 AM, on Saturday, March 4, 2023, at the Bram Funeral Home, Maryville, MO.  The burial will follow in the Nodaway Memorial Gardens, Maryville.

The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Friday, March 3, 2023, from 7-8:00 PM

Memorials are suggested to the Isadora Church of Christ, Isadora, MO, c/o Pam Hunt,, 18239 Holly Trail, Grant City, MO 64456.

Clive Rickabaugh’s Work Still Standing at Sheridan Christian Church

Clive Rickabaugh’s artwork is still standing at the Sheridan Christian Church today. In the first grade, in 1912, he handed a drawing to his first grade teacher at Sheridan school; she saw his potential and encouraged him. He attended Sunday School at Sheridan Christian Church as a child and wanted to give back to the church that had molded him into what he was. All of his artwork was given to the church at no cost.

Rickabaugh did paintings of the Last Supper, Moses and the 10 Commandments, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, among other things.

His best work was the Nativity Scene that is still on display during every Christmas at the church. Anetha Girling, one of the congregants, suggested the idea to Rickabaugh. He asked Dale Hennegin to build a cabinet for the sculpture, and Hennegin turned out to have talent himself as an artist. He did more than what was asked, building a cabinet and a table that turned out to match the sculpture perfectly. Marion Rickabaugh, Clive’s wife, who was the Art Director at a Chicago advertising firm, did the lettering, and it took her a month to design the lettering. 

Clive went to Drake University. He originally intended to become a minister; Sheridan Christian Church has produced several ministers over the years. However, as he progressed in his studies, he was drawn more and more to art, and one of his professors encouraged him to pursue it. He went on to the University of Chicago to study art, and became a professional artist.

Rickabaugh went on to do paintings, wood, stone carvings, clay, bronze, and design. At one point, he was the designer for ABC’s “Super Circus.” He also designed scenes for the Grand Opera in Chicago, wrote a children’s play that ran for 33 nights in Chicago, and wrote a puppet play that he sold to a trope in Denver (CO). 

But Clive frequently came back to Sheridan to give back. In 1930, on his father’s farm, he saw a fence post that he liked and carved it into a bison. During World War II, he came back home and built a stone cottage south of the Sheridan Cemetery. He began to do artwork for the church after it began remodeling, starting with the Last Supper.

The first grade teacher at Sheridan who had believed in Clive saved all of his artwork that he had handed in during his first grade year in 1912. She lived to be over 90, and when she passed away, her niece found the artwork and gave it to Clive.

The story was told by Bill Findley, who wrote a lot of stories about the land and history of Worth County during the late 1960’s for Joe Stocks.

Sheridan Christian Church has Cookbooks for Sale

Sheridan Christian Church has cookbooks that are available for mail order. Go to www.cookbooks4sale.com and go to Community Cookbooks. It will list cookbooks by state, then follow the directions on that page. Cost is $15 plus $7.20 for postage and handling.
The cover is elaborately decorated and there are many different recipes. One is for chicken and noodles for a crowd. Another is for crock pot chicken spaghetti. Another is for BBQ crockpot chicken.

Second Harvest Holds Sheridan Food Drive

A food drive was held in Sheridan yesterday. It was held by Second Harvest, which supplies the Worth County Food Pantry. Volunteers from Second Harvest, the Sheridan Christian Church, and the Food Pantry all helped in the effort. It was open to anyone regardless of income.

The effort was made possible by a grant from Mosaic. Second Harvest will hold similar drives in all 15 northwest Missouri counties that they serve along with the four northeast Kansas counties that they serve. The goal is to have these food drives more often in the future.

The drive attracted a lot of interest, with traffic in Sheridan being backed up to the water tower at one point.

Sheridan Christian Church Seeks VBS Volunteers

Cave Quest VBS is coming soon!  And we need your help.

VBS dates are July 10th thru July 14th
Time:    6PM to 8:30PM

Would you like to help or have questions?  Contact  Amber Monticue at monticuehouse@gmail.com  or   (660) 254-3398

Areas needing volunteers:

Spelunker Crew Leaders
We typically have 50 kids attend our VBS each year.  I like to have approximately 6 - 8 children in a crew, led by a crew leader and a helper.  The helper can be a jr/sr high student.

I plan for 7 or 8 crews.  There will be preschool crews (PreK) and crews with a mix of children ranging from Kindergarten thru 6th grade.

We put the crews together as the kids come in the first day, we do have some pre-registration but most of the crew make up is done the first night.

You may also help the kids in the stations, but the station leader will lead the activity/lesson.


CAVE QUEST STATIONS
All Stations are provided a leader book with exactly what to do, what you need for supplies and what to say to the crews visiting your station.  SuPer SImPLe!
I can help you gather anything you need and I might already have it.
Teenagers are encouraged to help lead crews, lead a station or help anywhere!  You are important too!

Cavern Café Station
Crew leader/co-leaders and helpers - located in the kitchen

Spelunker Sports & Games
Crew leader/co-leaders - located at the park

Imagination Station
Crew Leader/co-leaders - located in the fellowship hall (church basement)
This is the sciency gizmo station.  All the supplies have been ordered and received.

KidVId Cinema
Crew leader - located in the sanctuary (but could be relocated, if the leader wanted)
Video where crews meet 5 real kids who are following Jesus as they face life's challenges.
** Our VBS mission project has been presented during this time, in the past it was Blessing Hearts International.

Nursery Care
This is as needed - if our volunteers need nursery care for young ones, we would like to have the option available.


Filled Volunteer Positions
      -  Tech Booth - Jeff Blaine
      -  Sing & Play Rock Daily Opening/Closing - Denise Rowen
      -  Deep Bible Quests - Amber Monticue

THANK YOU!

Also watch for decoration dates!  We will be transforming SCC into a cave!

Thank you for considering to volunteer, it is a great time!

Amber Monticue

Gateway Singers Bring Patriotic, Christian Music to Sheridan

The Gateway Singers brought their brand of patriotic and Christian music to Sheridan Saturday evening to conclude Old Defiance Days. The Centerville (IA) based group is a regular visitor to the area and will come to Blockton in August. The joke is that anytime Sheridan needs rain, all they have to do is call the Gateway Singers. They have been to town five times in recent years and nearly always, the event has been moved indoors due to the rain.

The singers are Don & Vikki Hunt and Dave & Jan McSpadden. Together, they have performed for 45 years and have enjoyed 12,000 church dinners as they have traveled all over the Midwest. They know a wide variety of songs including the popular Lee Greenwood song "Proud to be an American" to old-time gospel songs such as "Turn your Radio On" and timeless classics such as "He Touched Me" and "I'll Fly Away."

There were plenty of lighthearted moments during the performance, such as "1st Jereboam Drive," a satirical look at the King of Israel who led his country to sin. Instead of going to Jerusalem to worship, Jereboam instituted what the song called easy-believism, where people did not have to make changes to their lives or do what was commanded in the Mosaic Law in order to follow God. The comparison was made to what the song referred to as drive-through churches, where people did not have to make drastic changes in order to follow Jesus.

But the service also included challenges for people to become more committed. Jeff Blaine spoke during the intermission, while the singers were taking a break. He said that the biggest problem in our society is boredom and said that we were so fixated on cell phones that when we are alone for five minutes, we don't know what to do. He noted that the reason that the creature in heaven in Revelation had eyes all over his body so that he could always keep his eyes on God no matter what he was doing.

He contrasted this with the story of Albert, a young man who fought for the Confederate Army during the Civil War. While the rest of the soldiers treated the war like it was a holiday, Albert read his family Bible knowing that a serious battle was at hand. During Sharpsburg, he was wounded and amputated in an unsuccessful effort to stop the hemoraging. During that time, as William Cromley, a chaplian, spent time with Albert, the latter was constantly focused on the Bible in an effort to find comfort and solace in those final hours. Blaine encouraged the audience to live a lifestyle of worship, not boredom.

Garrett Hawk Continues Sheridan Christian Church Tradition of Training Ministers

Sheridan Christian Church has a whole history of training young people for the ministry. Jason Hawk, Jonathon Mitchell, and Mike Moser come to mind. Now, Garrett Hawk, the son of Jason and Joni Hawk, has entered the ministry; he is now in his second year as Christian Campus House's minister at Northwest Missouri State University. Garrett gave a talk about his work at Sheridan Christian Church on Sunday. SCC has supported Campus House substantially over the years; they have contributed $27,000 to their work over the last nine years.

Hawk's entire life has been leading up to this moment. For many years, he was a fixture at CCH as his dad came and preached there regularly when he was back in town. Starting his freshman year in college at Northwest, he saw a need and began transporting college students who had too much to drink back home late at night. This has allowed CCH to form partnerships with organizations and people that would have been unthinkable a few years ago.

The goal of Campus House is to equip people to be missionaries for Christ wherever they wind up after they graduate. Hawk said that one person is teaching English in Thailand while another is working for a seed company. But he said both are important mission fields.

Garrett's work in giving drunk college students a safe ride home found him some unlikely partners on campus. The sorority Phi Mu is now partnering with them in various projects, including one in which 100 of their girls took nothing but water for two weeks and donated their savings to a clean water project in Haiti. International students are another partnership that CCH values; they have a Chinese service where a minister comes up from Cameron and preaches to Chinese students and authentic Chinese food is served.

Hawk noted that 85% of international students never set foot in an American home while they were there; to change that, he has formed a partnership with Countryside Christian Church to host Indian students and share hospitality with them. He once brought three Indian students out to a farm, where they freaked out at the large combine present. There are 500 Indian students at Northwest, of which 495 are Computer Science majors; the university is having a challenge housing and accommodating them all. The university reaches out to Maryville area churches to house international students over the winter break, but Hawk said there was a great need for more.

CCH has a regular meeting every Tuesday night at 8:04 while school is in session. There are multiple small group Bible students, mentoring, and regular fundraising with area churches. Frequent points of emphasis are finances, Bible interpretation, family, and church leadership. These efforts all bear fruit; they have baptized seven students into Christ this semester. They have a satellite ministry at Missouri Western; currently, it is in transition with Jason and Joni Hawk ministering down there currently.

Being a young man with so many responsibilities can be overwhelming, but Garrett said that getting away for one day and shutting out the world helped keep him going. During the other six days, he makes time for prison Bible studies at Nodaway County Jail as well as his regular duties at CCH. But much of the time, he walks the campus, prays over it, and meets new students. For him, it is not about any elaborate theology, but about forming relationships with people. That is something he is natural at; during his high school years, he was always going into the Trails End Cafe and buying snacks for people and striking up a conversation. "Students can smell a phone a mile away," he said. "The key is authenticity."

He said that the biggest challenge of his job was to balance the needs of the ministry with the fundraising needs of CCH. His duties require him to go to at least one church a month, but he usually makes time for a lot more than that.

Dean Trune Gives Talk at Sheridan Christian Church

Dean Trune, life coach, teacher, and author, gave a talk at Sheridan Christian Church over the weekend. He had a simple message for members -- prayer drives everything else, including church growth. He told the Express that God had called him to his vocation. He is coaching 10 people and is working on his fourth book. He travels a lot speaking to interesting churches and organizations. He is from Okemos, Michigan, near East Lansing. That town is named after an Indian chief from that area.

Trune graduated from the University of Michigan, after which he worked for General Motors for 12 years. After that, he received a calling to go into ministry; he was a campus minister at Michigan State for many years.

He encouraged people to pursue God passionately and to be obedient to God and to let God take care of the consequences. He met current minister Jeff Blaine at a workshop at Ozark Christian College. Among topics of discussion were spiritual warfare as well as the church's greatest need. There was also a concert of prayer. Trune said that the difference between a praying church and a church that doesn't pray is simple -- in one, God is honored; in the other, people are trying to get themselves honored. "It all has to be about God," he said.

He is married to wife Bonnie. They have two children and two grandchildren. He said that he was planning to retire and move to Phoenix, where he can be closer to his children and grandchildren.

30 Attend Sheridan Christian End of Summer Celebration

Around 30 people attended the Sheridan Christian Church's End of Summer Celebration Saturday evening at the Grant City Pool Park. There was a free meal along with kids games and swimming. The weather was unseasonably cool, so few kids braved the pool. However, there were plenty of other things to do. Yard bean bag games were popular along with the swings and volleyball pit. While the weather was too cold for swimming, it was perfect for horseshoe pitching; several of the men set up a horseshoe range just north of the park and played some rounds of horseshoes.