Meet the Board
God’s servants must be worthy of respect, sincere, temperate, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truth of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve. – 1 Timothy 3:8-10
Board Member Profiles
Thomas J. Calzone
Church Affiliation: St. Nicodemus Lutheran Church East Aurora, NY
Favorite Scripture: Isaiah 6:6-8 (NIV)
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Hope for The Better Place: To be a shining light upon the hill for those in need of a Savior and a refuge for the servant leaders of God to come together as one in mind and Spirit. Also to be rejuvenated to go into the world and share the hope and peace of Jesus Christ within their sphere of influence
Becky Cable
Church Affiliation: Panama United Methodist Church
Favorite Scripture: Psalm 63, John 15:1-17
Hope for The Better Place: To teach and encourage the body of Christ to grasp the importance of time spent in prayer and worship, both privately and corporately.
Favorite Scripture: Psalm 63, John 15:1-1
Nina Bell
Church Affiliation: REALiFE Church in Jamestown, NY
Favorite Scripture: Psalm 25:4 –“Make me know Your ways, O LORD ; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day.”
Hope for The Better Place: The Better Place is an extraordinary endeavor to bring people together to worship, pray, provide renewal experience and Sabbatical opportunities for pastors and leaders. It is by faith that we can dare to step out of the ordinary and step into the extraordinary. With millions of dollars spent in our community for sports, the arts, and tourism, we have an opportunity for the Christian community to pull together to bring the vision for “The Better Place” to fruition.
Walter “Mike” Trenchard
Church Affiliation: St. John’s Church, Cattaraugus, NY
Favorite Scripture: Romans 10:8-13 –“But what does it say? ‘The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,’ that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, ‘Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’ For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved!’”
Hope for The Better Place: “I trust our Lord will work many emotional and physical healings through the various ministries of The Better Place. With the concept of the campus, I believe and trust that folks in need of time apart will be welcomed and surrounded by the love of God.
C. D. (“Carly”) Moore
Church Affiliation: Associate Pastor at the Wiltsie Community Church, Russell, PA
Favorite Scripture: The Holy Bible, NIV… It varies from day to day. For now: Philippians 3:7-11 – But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ–the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Hope for The Better Place: It is my hope The Better Place will be on the cutting edge of ministry that brings renewal, revival and transformation to the pastors, the church and the entire region. It is my hope that The Better Place will be a model of empowerment ministry that gives pastors and churches a second wind, encouragement and a better understanding of communing with God. It is my hope that The Better Place will receive great blessings and multiply them by the grace of God many times over for others.
Marc Samworth
Church Affiliation: Pastor of the Alliance Church in Frewsburg, NY
Favorite Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:7 – For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
Hope for The Better Place: My prayer is that The Better Place Ministries fulfills the vision that God has given its leadership.
Mark A. Summers
Church Affiliation: Abbe Reformed Church, Clymer, NY
Favorite Scripture: Isaiah 55:11 – So shall my word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Hope for The Better Place: First, That the BP will be a place of rest, refreshment, restoration and recharging for pastors, missionaries, Christian workers, anybody working on the front line of spiritual warfare needing a place of rest.
Secondly, I hope that The Better Place will be the leader in our area for teaching, developing and discipling the area churches and church people about prayer. Whether this is creating training seminars, teaching seminars, creating multimedia presentations or beginning prayer groups throughout our area, whatever it takes to teach about prayer to our local area.
Kevin Costner
Church Affiliation: Pastor of Clymer & N. Clymer UMCs
Favorite Scripture: Romans 1:16-– “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”
Psalm 121 – “I lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip. He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you. The Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm. He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”
Hope for The Better Place:
God’s will be done.
God’s glory shine through.
God’s Son be lifted high.
God’s Spirit lead in all things well!
Roy L. Miller
Position: Organizing Director
Church Affiliation: Park U. Methodist, Sinclairville, NY
Contact Information
Mailing Address: 3373 Fluvanna Townline Rd., Jamestown, NY 14701-9011
Email Address: Roy@TheBetterPlace.org
Phone: 716/720-5123
Vita:
Dr. Miller served as a senior pastor for 22 years and then as a District Superintendent for the United Methodist Church before taking a step of faith and founding The Better Place in 2003. He graduated from the University of Nebraska (Lincoln) with a B.S. in Business Administration before earning a Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from Drew University School of Theology. – He is a frequent speaker in retreat and conference settings as well as in churches on Sunday mornings. – He is married to Valerie (since 1973). Together they have three children and seven grandchildren. – He enjoys gardening, hiking, biking, running, reading and playing with his grandchildren.
Favorite Scripture:
Jeremiah 17:14-16 – Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise. They keep saying to me “Where is the word of the Lord?” Let it now be fulfilled! I have not run away from being your shepherd. (NIV)
Hope for The Better Place
God’s word is true! God said, “If my people … will pray and seek my face… I will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14). When God’s people do his word, he fulfills it. On those rare occasions when God’s people have done what 2 Chronicles 7:14 calls them to do, God had shown the extent of his healing. Individuals are healed of physical infirmity, but also economies are healed, relationships are healed, attitudes are healed and governments are healed. When God heals the land he does not leave anything out. — Jesus prayed for those who would believe in him that they all would be one even as he and God the Father are one; then, he said, the world will believe that God’s Messiah has come. (John 17:20-21). The Church has yet to experience this oneness for which Jesus prayed.
My hope for The Better Place
My hope for The Better Place is that God will use it mightily to wake up faith in God’s people and, thus, in the Church to the end that the promises expressed in these two scriptures will be realized. The first promise will initially be realized in the immediate area where The Better Place campus is located and then throughout the states it serves (New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Ontario). The promise of the second scripture is literally a promise for the entire world. I hope The Better Place will be a big part of its being realized.
