Grace Bible Church

Issue 2, Winter, 2006--07

Greetings
It was nearly two years ago; a North Carolina family in a white Pontiac
mini-van drove up McIntyre Rd on the way to Grace Bible Church.
Evening had set, the snow was falling, and the van was slipping. Final-
ly, it was over; we were skidding in our tracks. Kind saints got be-
hind the minivan to push us out of our predicament. I remember
well when a gentleman, whom I referred to then as “Charles Spur-
geon,” but now know as “George,” asked me unabashedly, “Are
you really sure that you want to come here?”

Well, here we are entering our third December, and

wouldn’t you know it, last year it snowed only once. We’ll see what
this winter has in store.
We hope that you find this
newsletter informative, uplift-
ing, as well as entertaining.
Grace Bible Church is
going through an exciting period. partake of the greatest of joys as
The Lord has blessed us with new you hear the greatest story ever
leadership as three out of four el- told in reverence and awe.
ders and our deacon have just
completed their first year of min- We especially offer ourselves to
istry. He has provided us with a serve you and ask God’s blessing
blessing of new members with upon you in this season of
their varied gifts and vitalities. He Christ’s birth.
has provided us with an intern, a
fully-paid facility, and above all, For Him,
the gift of His own Son. Charles J. Busada
Pastor
We want to share this blessing Grace Bible
with you. If you have never vis-
ited our church, we invite you to
Church
[1 ]
 Amongst western Americans,

Pastoral Report
East Indians, Armenians, Roma-
nians, Russians, Greeks, and Arabs,
we enjoyed a fellowship of genuine
discussion and challenges.
For one, I was really impressed by
the genuine love for God and the de-
Over one year ago, we began our study into the Gospel sire to serve God and man that these
of Mark. In it I have learned to meet two persons in a new young men share as they prepare for
their ministries.
and refreshing way. The first is John As for me, I have really enjoyed a
Mark. I have come to know him as a continuing education course at St. Charles J. Busada
man of few words, but a genius with an Tikhon’s Theological Seminary in
action story to tell. No word is wasted,
and I know him as one who is deeply Our Services
concerned with me. He wants me to
see Jesus as he has come to know Morning Prayer 9 AM
Him. He has a story to tell, and he tells Sunday School 9:30 AM
it well. Sunday Worship 10:35 AM
Now, when we meet Mark, we also Evening Worship 6 PM
meet another Person. We meet the
Wednesday Gathering 7PM
Holy Spirit who guided Mark’s pen. We
realize that the Holy Spirit has a story to Youth Group: Wednesday
tell, and that He deeply loves the Son
of God, and tells us that His name is
Jesus.
Jesus is the third Person that we
meet. At times He is meek and mild, at East Canaan, PA. The course
times He has a holy anger, but He “Orthodox Spirituality” centered on
never fails to amaze us and the people the universal problem of man, and it
around Him. led us to the Garden and the Fall.
As first, as the token Protestant of
We are now entering Jesus’ dark
days as Mark takes us
through the 12th chapter on
the march to the Cross. My
prayer is that our hearts will
be broken to see this
amazing Person suffer our
fate, and that we will come to
the Cross at His feet and
realize that we crucified
Him. Only there will we be
blessed by the One upon
whom we esteemed not and
saw no beauty in Him. But
only there will we hear His
words, “Father forgive them.”
the class I felt somewhat out of
What is this “short story” of Mark? I place, but soon, the universality of OK, OK. This deserves an ex-
think that it is quite simple. Mark tells us Christian love overshadowed all of
that Jesus loved God and Man with all
planation, but you have to get to
our diversity.
of His Being, and He desires no less of Page 14 to get it.
us.

Grace Bible Church

Issue 2, Winter, 2006
[2] Page [ 2 ]

Dr. David and Mrs. Marlene
Hamilton
A mortgage burning—it happens
daily across our country in myriads of
churches. It marks a memorable day
in the life of congregations as it did for
us as we ceremoniously burned our
mortgage recently. Beyond the
comforts of knowing we have paid for
our facility, beyond the realization of
the dream of the church building,
beyond all of this, is there something
God would have us consider?
In 1 Kings 9 we discover a glimpse
of God’s heart for his people. Solo-
mon had just finished the building of
the Temple and offered up his prayer
of dedication. God appeared to Solo-
mon and spoke to him of the finished
work. In these words, we find our
exhortation also.
Jehovah God first spoke of his bless-
ing. He told Solomon:
“If you walk before Me as your father
David walked, in integrity of heart and
in uprightness, to do according to all
that I have commanded you, and if you
keep My statutes and My judgments,
then I will establish the throne of your
kingdom over Israel forever, as I prom-
ised” (1 Kings 9:4–5).
Grace Bible Church
Issue 2, Winter, 2006
Elders’ Message
Our Father looked
beyond the magnif-
icent Temple and
stared right into
Solomon’s heart!
Just as then, He
still yearns for the
integrity of our
hearts, our upright-
ness, and our obe-
dience. Our joy
and thankfulness
for a building free
of any mortgage is
good and right—
but, God would just as soon meet us Him, obey His commandments, and
under the shade of a scrub tree in the serve and worship Him alone. As for
African bush, if would walk in integ- the exalted Temple, God would make
rity, uprightness and obedience to it come to naught and even ridicule
His Son, it. Why would He do this? He would
do this because they would forsake
God had more to say on this occa- the LORD their God.
sion:
We give praise to God for the bless-
“But if you or your sons at all turn ings He has bestowed upon us. We
from following Me, and do not keep
give glory to Him alone for all He
My commandments and My statutes has accomplished in our midst, in our
which I have set before you, but go and
hearts, and in our lives. God’s church
serve other gods and worship them,
is His people purchased by His Son,
then I will cut off Israel from the land
which I have given them; and this
not a building. His church sang,
house which I have consecrated for My “Great is thy Faithfulness” after the
name I will cast out of My sight. Israel mortgage burning. The last verse
will be a proverb and a byword among reads:
all peoples. And as for this house, Pardon for sin and a peace that
which is exalted, everyone who passes endureth
by it will be astonished and will hiss, Thine own dear presence to
and say, 'Why has the LORD done thus cheer and to guide;
to this land and to this house?' Then Strength for today and bright
they will answer, 'Because they forsook hope for tomorrow,
the LORD their God, who brought Blessings all mine, with ten
their fathers out of the land of Egypt, thousand beside!
and have embraced other gods, and
worshiped them and served them; May we, the “pardoned” of Grace
therefore the LORD has brought all Bible Church, be as vigilant and ded-
this calamity on them’” (1 Kings 9:6- icated to our walk with Him to
9). Whom we owe everything as we
have been to those we owed our
Again, we see God’s heart for His mortgage. And to God be the glory
people; He desires them to follow for great things He has done!
[3] Page [ 3 ]
An Active Role
By Harold Brecht
As I sit in my tree stand on the
first day of deer season, I have
time to reflect on many things. I
enjoy the quietness and solitude,
punctuated with the occasional
gunshot. I enjoy God’s creation.
In between looking for deer, I
read John MacArthur’s The Book
of Leadership. It applies to every
church member as he discusses
the qualities of leadership. We all
lead in various ways and can all
benefit from the information he
shares. Time is also spent reflect-
ing, meditating, and praying.
Deut: 6:4-5
Hear, O Israel: The
LORD our God is
one LORD:
And thou shalt love
the LORD thy God
with all thine heart,
and with all thy soul,
and with all thy
might.
As I think about my role as an of-
ficer, I reflect on how I can better
serve the congregation of GBC—
and I contemplate my need to
spend more time in prayer for the
families of GBC. When I reflect
on GBC, I am thankful for the
volunteers who give of their time
and talents to help in many areas.
Grace Bible Church
Issue 2, Winter, 2006
Deaconal Message would be very limited. I would
encourage you to reflect, meditate
Then Haggai, the LORD• S messenger, spoke the
LORD• S message to the people, saying, "I with and pray as to how you can play
you, says the LORD." 14 So the LORD stirred up the
spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Ju-
an active role in the activities of
dah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the GBC.
high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the peo-
ple; and they came and worked on the house of the Harold Brecht
LORD of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty• fourth day
of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius. 1
¶ In the seventh , on the twenty• first of the
month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the
I would like to thank those volun-
teers that clean the church, mow
the lawn, take care of flowers,
teach Sunday school, lead wor-
ship, play musical instruments,
fold bulletins, supervise the nurs-
ery, lead youth group, serve on
various committees of the ladies
ministry, help with special church
projects and help with acts of Thanks Harold and Dave D. for
kindness. getting the cross on the steeple.
Also, I thank those who have
faithfully provided through tithes
and offerings in such a way that GBC Service Times:
enabled us to pay off the mort-
gage 19 years early. This has been Sunday Prayer: 9AM
such a testimony of God’s faith-
fulness through his people. Sunday School 9:30AM
In closing, I would like to encour- Sunday Worship 10:35AM
age you to continue to volunteer.
The ministry of GBC isn’t cen- Sunday Evening Worship 6PM
tered on the officers. They are
there to provide direction and en- Wednesday Fellowship
couragement. Without the help of And Prayer 7PM
each person, the ministry of GBC
[4] Page [ 4 ]

It’s been a busy fall for the ladies
ministry of GBC. Marlene and
Cathy, along with the chairwomen,
have completed the structure of the
various committees. The final drafts
have been given to our deacon, Har-
old, for final review. We are look-
ing forward to meeting in the near
future with the chairwomen of the
Events, Hospitality, Missions,
Church Care, and Outreach commit-
tees. They, in turn, will be meeting
with the ladies who have signed up
under their committee. We appreci-
ate the patience and loving spirit that
has been displayed by our ladies and
their willingness to help and get in-
volved. Most of all, we thank every-
one for their prayers throughout the
past year as we worked on this proj-
ect.
The Events committee planned the
church picnic in August, along with
the quarterly fellowship in October.
The ladies of GBC assisted Mt. Zion
U.M. Church ladies with the funeral
meal of Bessie Rohrbach by prepar-
ing jello salads and cakes. In Sep-
tember meals were prepared for Paul
and Lorraine, followed in October
with meals for George and Margaret.
In September Barbara Garvine led
the ladies Bible study with an enjoy-
able tea. Marlene and Ashley both
shared their personal testimonies
with the group. Judy Batdorf com-
pleted her study on humility in Octo-
ber.
Grace Bible Church
Issue 2, Winter, 2006
Bob and Kathy Selph were able to
community using the gifts that God
select items from the missionary box
has given us for His glory.
during their visit with the church.
Lovingly,
Our October meeting brought the
Marlene and Cathy
women up to date on the develop-
ments of the Ladies’ Ministry. A
calendar for the remainder of 2006
through December 2007 was distrib-
uted.
“Relationships” was the theme of the Charles Busada 570-752-6398
Carlisle retreat. Marge Tripp was the Busada@Gmail.com
guest speaker and several ladies from
GBC attended. The teaching was Ray Batdorf 570-799-0264
very helpful and the fellowship with Ray.Batdorf@gmail.com
women of like faith was wonderful.
David Hamilton 570-784-6156
No one went away hungry from the
Thanksgiving family fellowship Dkfytrtoo@aol.com
meal. It was an evening of sharing in
a meal of thanksgiving to God for Ron Rohrbach 570-356-07947
His goodness and for one another. Rohrbachfarm@gmail.com
Many participated in “Operation Harold Brecht 570-356-7962
Christmas Child,” bringing shoe Hbrecht@agrotain.com
boxes once again this year. Amy
headed up the collection of boxes.
For a nicer appearance, changes were
made in the church foyer. A lamp
was added to the table. In the fellow-
ship hall two tables were placed un- Mark 6:34 And Jesus, when
der the bulletin board for sign-up he came out, saw
sheets and other materials.
much people, and was
December’s events will include the moved with compas-
annual Ladies Christmas fellowship
on the 7th, at the home of Marlene sion toward them, be-
Hamilton, with a cookie exchange cause they were as
included for the evening. And, there
will be a fellowship time with light sheep not having a
refreshments following the Christmas shepherd: and he be-
program on December 17th.
gan to teach them
As we work together in the upcom- many things.
ing year, pray that we might minister
to one another and to those in our
[5] Page [ 5 ]
 HUMILITY
“Humble your-
self in the sight
of the Lord
and He shall
lift you up”
(James 4:10).
It would be
helpful to un-
derstand humility if we knew how
to recognize it. We cannot do this
personally, for if we think we see
humbleness in ourselves, it is the
next thing to being proud of our
own humility. A good definition
of humility is a modest, appropri-
ate sense of one’s own signifi-
cance. It is not so much having a
lowly opinion of one’s self as it is
being unaware of one’s self. God
desires us to have a humble spirit
because it is the exact opposite of
pride, and pride is the essential
ingredient of almost all sinful be-
havior. Pride seeks to promote
and please self.
James 4:10 tell us to “humble our-
selves.” Can we somehow bestow
upon ourselves the quality of hu-
mility? That is getting it back-
wards. We humble ourselves
when we praise others and desire
to see their needs met; when we
perform lowly and menial tasks
without praise or thanks; when we
take the place of lesser honor or
importance; or when we have the
courage to admit our wrongs and
ask forgiveness. An attitude of
humbleness acknowledges depen-
dence on God and gratefulness to
Him for His goodness.
quires that humbleness of spirit
that can say, “I am wrong.” We
can then repent of self-centered-
Sunday School
ness, ask God for a greater infill-
ing of His Spirit, and be obedient
to His leading. He will then cause
us to be concerned and thoughtful
of others. Selflessness is the
prime prerequisite to humility.
We can learn many things from
Jesus about humility. Though He
was King of Kings, He came to
earth as a helpless baby, and
“made Himself of no reputation,
Last Quarter, the adult class en-
… He humbled Himself and be-
joyed a “group-teach” in the book
came obedient unto death” of James. Here we learned that the
(Philippians 2:7–-8). Humility and heart of the faith is loving the
the fear of the Lord go hand in downtrodden, being slow to speak
hand, and by them God has prom- and quick to listen, and guarding
ised riches and honor and life. the tongue. Thanks to our teachers,
(Proverbs 22:4) Charles Busada, Scott Shaw, Kurt
Olivieri, and Howard Long.
By Judy Batdorf with help from
Emalyan Spencer, A Woman that This quarter we are looking forward
Feareth the Lord, Decatur, GA: to a study Love Walked Among Us:
Learning To Love Like Jesus, a
Committee for Christian Educa-
book by Paul E. Miller. David
tion and Publications (PCA). Hamilton will teach the course.

Humility and repentance go to-

gether, because repentance re-

Grace Bible Church

Issue 2, Winter, 2006
[6] Page [ 6 ]

Men’s Studies
The GBC men have continued to
view the Francis Schaeffer series, So
How Shall We Then Live. The atten-
dance has been low, but the rewards
are tangible. Don’t forget ladies,
you’re also invited (as long as you
bring food). We meet on the third
Tuesday of the month at 6:30PM at
the fellowship hall.
By Deborah Rohrbach
The second annual
college and career
retreat once again began with cloudy
skies and heavy downpours. The
weekend’s activities began when ev-
eryone came together to enjoy a time
of praise and worship music led by
Dr. Busada and Jonathan Busada.
Then Dr. Busada presented the first
of two sessions on the history of the
textual transmission of the Bible.
Approximately 25 people were in
attendance. The evening continued
with a time of fellowship spent re-
newing old friendships and forming
new relationships. Some attendees
chose to stay inside to play music or
games while others ventured out into
Grace Bible Church
Issue 2, Winter, 2006
the damp weather to enjoy a bonfire
built by Jason George. The evening
was enhanced by GBC’s generous
supply of snacks (a special thanks to
Dan and Kelly Renno, Nancy Krum,
and Judy Batdorf for helping setup
and serve the food)!
The Sunday school rooms
served as make-shift bedrooms for
some of our visitors, but several
brave guests camped outdoors.
Saturday morning brought
sunny skies. After a filling breakfast
and much deliberation over the plans
for the day, we decided on a trip to
Knoebel’s. It was fun to see several
people from a group of approxi-
mately 15 experience the park for the
first time. Thankfully, we only
briefly lost one person (seriously!).
He was quickly found with a little
cooperation from the group. The les-
son learned here is to always stay in
one place if you get lost…it speeds
up the search time! We returned to
the church for a late lunch and a
quick game of volleyball and our
second presentation of how the Bible
came into the English language.
With the weather now dry and
sunny, Mark Rohrbach provided a
hay ride to the corn maze, followed
by—yes, you guessed it—more food!
Our guests kindly made the clean up
process much easier by staying to
help out with washing dishes, vacu-
uming, and straightening up Sunday
school rooms before they returned
home.
The weekend was a great time
and truly a blessing to all. Many
commented on how much they en-
joyed the weekend and expressed
their deep appreciation to our church
for hosting this event. Planning the
weekend was a chance for me to
learn that no matter what the circum-
stances, God is truly always in con-
trol. No amount of worry or
[7]
preparation on my part can change
that. I was abundantly blessed by the
generosity of my family and friends
at GBC. God showed me the impor-
tance and significance of each mem-
ber of the body of Christ using his or
her gifts to work together for the
good of a project. Each task, no mat-
ter how large or small, was important
to make the weekend an enjoyable
and profitable experience for our
guests. THANK YOU to each one
who contributed for giving of your
time, resources, or self to provide a
blessing to your brothers and sisters
in Christ. My
prayer is that
you will be
greatly blessed
in return for
your service to
us and for
Christ!
On another
note, please
pray for this
ministry and
the direction
God would
take it. My
hope is that we
can have more
interaction
with students
from Blooms-
burg Univer-
sity while maintaining the
relationships that have been formed
with friends from the Bloomsburg
Southern Baptist church, Grace Fel-
lowship Church in Hazelton, and
other sister churches. If you would
like to be involved in any capacity
with this ministry, like to know
more about it, or have suggestions
for activities, please feel free to talk
with me.
Page [ 7 ]

Motto: 55 and still alive
The Prime Timers meet twice month-
ly, usually the first and third Mon-
days of the month.
Special programs this quarter in-
cluded a night when the Longs
shared the pictures and mementoes of
their trip to Hungary. We welcomed
Howard’s cousin and his friend as
special guests. The fall foliage in-
spired our Autumn Mystery Trip in
October. The weather was rainy and
very foggy, so part of the mystery
was trying to see where we were go-
ing. In spite of the inclement weath-
er, we were able to enjoy the colored
leaves when the fog cleared, and in-
dulge in our favorite pastime – eating
at a good restaurant. Our group has
such good fellowship, and we just
enjoy being together.
We are getting more involved with
our church’s Nursing Home Minis-
try. In November, Howard Long
spoke on the topic of being thankful.
Grace Bible Church
Issue 2, Winter, 2006
His son-in-law gave his testimony
about growing up in Communist
Hungary, and described his salvation
experience. It was a thrilling testi-
mony to the Grace and Mercy of
God, and the residents seemed very
attentive. Other Prime Timers helped
with singing, reading scripture, and
visiting with the residents. It is al-
ways a rewarding experience to go
there. We thank Deborah Rohrbach
for playing the piano for us.
Our special thanks go to John Rob-
erts who, along with Roy Bunger,
had the Nursing Home Ministry for
many years. We appreciate their
time, effort and faithfulness.
We would enjoy seeing some new
faces in our group, so those 55 and
older are encouraged to attend. You
do not have to be a member of this
church. Call Ray Batdorf at 570-
799-0264 for more information.
By Dan Renno
King of the
straw moun-
tain – that’s
right! I am
king of the
straw moun-
tain. Well, the
other guys
might not
agree, but I think it is safe to say
that at the Youth Group Fall Festi-
val I dominated—I think . The
youth group had a great time at
the Fall Festival going on a hay
ride, shooting apples with sling
shots (not at anyone of course),
going through the corn maze
(Mark didn’t get lost this year!),
[8]
playing king of the straw moun-
tain, smelling, I mean seeing
Mark and Ashley’s pigs, cows,
and other various animals, (or was
it just Mark?) and of course – eat-
ing.
But, out of all the youth activities
over the last few months, the
Road Rally topped them all. A
big thanks to Dr. Hamilton for
planning the Road Rally that took
us all over Columbia County –
including the Ferris Wheel at
Knoebels.
We have also been having a
great time on Wednesday eve-
nings singing (thank you Michael
for playing the guitar), studying
1st John, and playing games. We
especially had fun playing Char-
ado (charades with play dough – it
is actually more fun than you
think!), Pictionary, and Sardines.
The next youth activity is our an-
nual Christmas Party and
Christmas Caroling. We will
begin the evening singing our fa-
vorite Christmas Carols to those
in the community and will end
with a Christmas Party and White
Elephant Exchange (what ever
happened to those beaded cur-
tains?)
Page [ 8 ]

Don and Gail Donell
Children: Rachel Selph
(married), Ryan, Amy, Ian
Grace Mission in Carlos Paz
Argentina
Sending Church: Grace Baptist
Church, Taylors, SC
The Donells, RBMS missionar-
ies, have been in Argentina
preaching the gospel, planting
churches and training leaders
for five years. They have estab-
lished Grace Mission, and dis-
tribute Gospel literature in the
city park, and throughout the
region. Don has begun a Mon-
day Night Bible Institute that
provides additional theological
training.
Grace Bible Church
Issue 2, Winter, 2006
Prayer requests:
1. That Grace Mission would
achieve legal registration so they
can carry on the activities of a This year we plan to have two
recognized non-profit entity. Christmas ori-
2. That the church plant would be ented services.
able to constitute as a self-gov-
erning, local New Testament
church. Pray that men would be
On December
17, 6PM, we
raised up to lead this new assem-
plan a Christmas
bly as church officers.
3. Pray about other opportunities
Fellowship Ser-
which have opened up for possi- vice. Come and
ble preaching points and church enjoy the music
planting outreach: Laguna Larga, and refresh-
San Nicolas and Oncativo. ments.
Praise:
For the Palabra Fiel (Faithful
Word) Conference held
recently. The Conference costs
came to $3,000.00, and when the
total gifts were added, the amount
came to $3,000.00. Praise the Then, on Sunday
Lord! One man who attended the evening, 6PM, December 24,
Conference said it was like a (Christmas Eve) we plan on our
"stake driven into his soul and second annual Christmas Eve
ministry" to establish the truth of Candlelight Service. Come, enjoy
the gospel. the festivities, the music, the
Scriptures and the beauty of the
Light of the
World.
A New Look at Wednesday
Starting in January, our Wednes-
day gathering will take on a dif-
ferent format. We’ll have a short
time of prayer followed with a
Bible Study. Additionally, we’ll
devote a separate portion of our
evening Sunday service to Cor-
porate prayer.
[9] Page [ 9 ]
An inside look at an officers’ meeting.

The smile of a champion

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[ 10 ]
Page [ 10 ]
 More of a Baptist Thing

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Issue 2, Winter, 2006
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 A Pie and a Smile:
Happy Thanksgiving

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Issue 2, Winter, 2006
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 Grace Bible Church
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[ 13 ]
Page [ 13 ]
 I have no clue as to what this is.

Dear Abby letter.

Mephibosheth,

Little pink riding Ruth

Look up in the sky!
Just gleaning away.
It’s Betty Greene

Did the last supper have Grace Bible Church

eggs? Issue 2, Winter, 2006
[ 14 ] Page [ 14 ]
 For the Kids

Favorite Missionaries with

special smiles

Across

Down

Grace Bible Church

209 McIntyre Rd
Catawissa, PA 17815

Grace Bible Church

Issue 2, Winter, 2006
[ 15 ] Page [ 15 ]