By Chris Moon
KCU Grad Uses Art for the Kingdom
A Kentucky Christian University graduate is putting his art to work for Jesus.
Cody Sabol always loved to paint. After his freshman year in college, he asked God how he could use his art for the kingdom.
God began to answer that prayer when one of Sabol’s friends asked him to paint during an event where the friend was performing. Sabol initially resisted, but then relented after being offered two Taco Bell tacos. (College students can be bribed.)
“The paintings turned out awful. A-W-F-U-L,” Sabol wrote on his website, codysabolart.com.
They apparently got better, however.
Sabol eventually founded Revelation 5:5 Ministries and has raised more than $55,000 for charity through his art.
“If there was ever a time where I felt God’s presence the most, it was in the moments I was in front of everyone, throwing paint on a canvas,” Sabol wrote. “I am here to reach people in a much different way. I love the way art allows for conversation. Conversation that draws people to the inner workings of your heart, and in my heart is a fiery passion for Jesus Christ.”
Sabol graduated from KCU in 2017 with a preaching and biblical studies degree. He currently serves as a youth pastor at The Bible Chapel in Robinson, Pa.
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Church Conducts ‘Unfinished’ Capital Campaign
Lifepointe Church in Raleigh, N.C., is in the midst of a two-year capital campaign aimed at relocating two of its campuses and expanding a third.
The church has titled the campaign “Unfinished” and outfitted it with its own website—www.weareunfinished.com—and regular video updates from the staff on the progress of the work at each campus.
The “Unfinished” theme has become a mission for the church.
“It’s what we’re saying to each other, to God, and to the community,” pastor Donnie Williams told The News & Observer in Raleigh. “We’ve got a lot more to do here. We are going to declare ourselves unfinished, and we’re going to do something bigger than we’ve ever done before.”
“Bigger” means trying to raise $9 million during the two-year campaign, which began in the fall of 2017.
The church is working to secure permanent homes for its Cary and Wake Forest locations. Both campuses meet in schools. Lifepointe also wants to expand its North Raleigh campus.
In one “Unfinished” video update on the church’s website, Lifepointe executive pastor Todd Fischer stands in front of a chicken coop in the snow and explains the latest news from one of the facility expansion projects. The church is looking to put community gardens at each of its locations, and an already-existing one included a chicken coop.
The church also is creating the Lifepointe Adoption Fund to help parents who are seeking to adopt.
“Adoption is something to do for the next generation,” Williams told The News & Observer. “There are so many young families that feel called to adoption, but the big obstacle is finances.”
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Maurice Named 4th MACU President
Mid-Atlantic Christian University has a new president.
John W. Maurice Jr. in February was selected to lead the college in Elizabeth City, N.C., after serving seven months as MACU’s interim president and three years as MACU’s vice president for institutional advancement. Maurice is the fourth president of MACU.
He replaces D. Clay Perkins, who now serves as executive vice president of Irvine, Calif.-based Financial Planning Ministry.
Maurice has a long military background. He served 24 years in the U.S. Navy as a commander and chaplain. He served on board the USS Savannah, USS Saipan, and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.
The Roanoke Rapids, N.C., native is a graduate of MACU and Cincinnati Christian University and is seeking his doctor of ministry degree from Regent University’s School of Divinity.
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TICKER // TAPE
Bo Chancey’s passion for Mexican food—particularly the fare served at Puerto Vallarta Mexican Grill in Manchester, N.H., which is relocating—earned him some unexpected press in January. Chancey, senior pastor at Manchester Christian Church and author of Pray for One, told the New Hampshire Union Leader that he eats at the restaurant “three or four days a week” and joked that “we paid for this expansion.”
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Legacy Christian Church in Senoia, Ga., put its cooks to the test with its “Taste of Legacy” cooking contest. Some members prepared hundreds of samples of appetizers, entrées, and desserts while other members served as taste-testers. Prizes were awarded to the winning chefs.
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LifePointe Christian Church in Elk Grove, Calif., sent its youth on a murder mystery adventure. The classic “whodunit” event loaded high school students into cars and sent them out to interview “suspects” in the community.
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Legacy Christian Church in Overland Park, Kan., hosted a “Q&A Night” that allowed members of the congregation to ask questions about faith, the Bible, the church, and Jesus. Answers were offered by Legacy pastors Reggie Epps and Luke Wright. The event, which was streamed on Facebook, was tied into a sermon series at the church called “Reasons.”
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Crosspoint Christian Church in Cape Coral, Fla., celebrated its new facility construction by inviting people to help “lay the foundation.” Members watched as the church contractor placed a Bible in the foundation of the new church lobby—meant to be a reminder that the building was constructed on the Word of God.
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Dorothy Thompson, widow of the late Emmanuel Christian Seminary President Fred Thompson, died in January. The Thompsons served as president and first lady of Emmanuel from 1970 to 1984. The Thompson Center, a student housing facility on Emmanuel’s campus, is named in their honor.
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Miamisburg (Ohio) Christian Church hosted a “Find Your Anchor” women’s event that featured speaker Kenda Moss. She spoke about women anchoring themselves in Christ, their community, and their world.
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Ozark Christian College will be hosting a Creative Arts Academy for high school students in June. The weeklong camp will feature music, visual arts, and performing arts tracks.
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Valley View Christian Church in Littleton, Colo., hosts a nontraditional food bank that functions like a grocery store. Clients who come to “Valley View Cares” can shop for nonperishable food as well as fresh produce, milk, meat, and eggs. The food bank is operated in partnership with Southeast Community Outreach, a faith-based nonprofit organization. The church says each client has the freedom to choose his or her own food.
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Wentzville (Mo.) Christian Church is hosting a summer drama camp for elementary and middle school students that will culminate with a performance of Peter Pan Jr.
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Hikes Point Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., hosted a free “Winter Clothes Closet” that offered gently used winter clothing. The church served a pancake breakfast during the event.
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Twin Oaks Christian Church in Woodhaven, Mich., hosted a pancake breakfast fund-raiser to benefit the Gems Girls Club, an organization with a mission to “help bring girls into a living, dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ.”
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Tri-Village Christian Church in Pataskala, Ohio, held a health and safety fair as part of their SOUL Series (SOUL stands for Spiritual, Outreach, Understanding, and Learning). The fair featured booths on health and safety topics, like home safety and hospice care.
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South Side Christian Church in Springfield, Ill., is sending its high school students to a summer conference in Holland, Mich. To raise money, the church hosted “South Side’s Trivia Night” in which people were encouraged to gather seven friends and team up to prove their intelligence.
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Nexus Church Planting teams gathered in February in Dallas to focus on eldership formation. Gary Johnson, pastor of Indian Creek Christian Church in Indianapolis and cofounder of e2: effective elders, led the group.
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Members from Orrville (Ohio) Christian Church participate in the “Laundry Love Project” on the second Saturday of each month. A team from the church goes to the local laundromat to help people pay for their laundry and build relationships.
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Manhattan (Kan.) Christian College has named James Johnson as associate professor of youth and family. Johnson is an Ozark Christian College graduate and the former pastor of Osage Hills Christian Church in Tulsa, Okla.
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Members of Libby (Mont.) Christian Church attended “The Mystery of Marriage” retreat in Fairmont Hot Springs, B.C., Canada.
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Jim Pierson, 80, an expert in disability ministry, died Jan. 4 in Tennessee. He was the founding director of the Christian Church Foundation for the Handicapped (which became Christian Churches Disability Ministry, and now Ability Ministry) in 1984 and served as its president until 2009. He taught at Christian universities and directed seminars and workshops on how the church can minister to persons with disabilities. (His obituary is available at christianstandard.com.)
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Andy Schroeder has been named the new senior pastor at Seymour (Ind.) Christian Church.
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Hope International University has been designated a “military friendly” school by MilitaryFriendly.com, which rates schools for their efforts in recruiting and serving post-military students.
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Members from Indian Hills Christian Church in Danville, Ky., have a library ministry at their local county jail. Inmates can check out two books each week, and Bibles and copies of Our Daily Bread are also distributed as requested.
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Valley Center (Kan.) Christian Church has named Michael Martinez as its new associate pastor.
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Johnson University Florida has received state approval for an elementary education bachelor’s degree program.
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Harmony Christian Church in Georgetown, Ky., offers a “Love Matters Marriage Ministry” that strives to give spouses the tools and hope to reconcile and enrich their marriages. Classes include pre-marriage mentoring, marriage enrichment, and “Marriage 911.”
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