General Superintendent's Medal of Honor Recipients Recognized

During Friday’s business session, General Superintendent Doug Clay recognized Bonnie Papendick and Timothy Strathdee, awarding each the General Superintendent's Medal of Honor, the highest honor in the Assemblies of God for laypersons.

This biennial award is presented at the national gathering of the Assemblies of God General Council to persons who have distinguished themselves through meritorious services to God, the Church, the community, and fellow citizens.

BONNIE PAPENDICK

For more than four decades, Bonnie Papendick and her family have been coaching, discipling, and instilling the Word of God in the youth of Calvary Church through local, regional, and state Bible Quiz programs.

Bonnie Papendick and her husband Dave began attending Calvary Temple of Naperville (now Calvary Church) in 1972. Several years later, their son Todd, then in 6th grade, was introduced to the Junior Bible Quiz (JBQ) Fact Pak, a bible-trivia game that had recently been released. Bonnie became curious and approached the pastor of her church about JBQ and how her son could get involved. This became the starting point of a lifelong journey.

The church’s JBQ effort, led by the Papendicks, began in 1982 and added Teen Bible Quiz (TBQ) in 1990. The program has been running at Calvary Church ever since and has seen three generations of Papendicks as quizzers, coaches, officials, and regional coordinators.

Calvary’s Bible Quiz program runs for nine months each year, meeting during the church’s first service, and requires countless hours of study, coaching, and preparation.

In 2021, Calvary became the first church in AG Quiz history to have teams from the same home church win both the National JBQ title and the National TBQ title in the same year. Other impressive records of Calvary’s Quiz teams, under the direction of the Papendick family, include 60 Bible Master awards, 46 district championships, 20 regional championships, and 7 national championships, although the church has advanced to the national level consecutively for the past 37 years.

Bonnie’s son, Todd, said of Bible Quiz, “Quizzing is not about matches and points scored, it is a family ministry – the young quizzer usually takes on a daily Word-study relationship with one or both parents and lasting results are born through that.”

Clay honored Bonnie, noting her “tireless dedication in bringing glory to God and this Fellowship.”

TIMOTHY STRATHDEE

Born in Canada, Timothy Strathdee has made a lasting impact through his faithful service and outstanding work ethic at the General Council of the Assemblies of God’s national office.

Hired in 1977 as a temporary worker, later finding full time employment positions in the mailing department, maintenance department, and in office equipment maintenance and repair, Strathdee has served in several roles and earned “too many courses and certifications to name,” according to Clay.

One of his most innovative roles came in 1987 when the company began to acquire personal computers; Strathdee became the personal computer support center coordinator. From there, Strathdee was promoted to technical services director and, in 1995, was appointed as the chief information officer of information services, reporting directly to the general treasurer. He states that he feels blessed to have been able to combine his interest in technology with his “desire to see the ministries of the Assemblies of God flourish.”

Strathdee has been part of several initiatives with the Assemblies of God’s national office including the installation of the first phone system and the first door security system owned by the office, the birth of the internet and the acquisition of the ag.org domain name, the introduction of eCommerce, and most recently, navigating the development of artificial intelligence (AI).

He said, “I’ve been part of some remarkable transformations, shared in many milestones, and worked alongside some of the most dedicated and talented individuals I’ve ever known. The support, camaraderie, and shared purpose of the National Office employees have made this an unforgettable and rewarding journey.”

His work ethic and dedication to the ministry of the Assemblies of God have earned him recognition as an “exceptional employee” who “excels in every category,” according to recent performance reviews cited by Clay.

“I can only imagine the hundreds of grateful national office employees who have been provided outstanding support and service from Tim and his team. It is not often that an organization is blessed with someone who is so technically sound yet capable of communicating that knowledge in a useful and productive manner,” Clay concluded.

LEAD PHOTO: Tim Strathdee

LOWER PHOTO: Bonnie Papendick