Dear NEO family,

Thanksgiving is just a few days away, and we all have so much to be thankful for. W.T. Purkiser once said: "Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving." The apostle Paul seems to acknowledge the truth of that when he wrote: "God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8). Thanksgiving is about being grateful for our blessings, and blessing others through them.

In light of that, I want to encourage you in a way you can be a blessing to others this Thanksgiving season.

Thanksgiving Offering. Every year Nazarene Churches receive a special offering the Sunday before Thanksgiving to support the World Evangelism Fund (WEF). This is over and above our normal giving through tithes. Some of our people have chosen to support this endeavor through regular and ongoing World Mission giving throughout the year. Others have chosen to give once a year through the Thanksgiving and Easter offerings.

However, this year is unique in that the Church of the Nazarene is challenging every Nazarene church around the world to a WEF PLUS Offering:
OUR OPPORTUNITY:

• Something absolutely amazing is happening within the Church of the Nazarene!

• We are experiencing unprecedented growth around the world through numerous miraculous movements of God.

• In the last 3 years alone, we have recorded a net gain of over 300,000 new members. This is unlike anything we have ever experienced in the history of our church.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY:

• We must fully mobilize our resources for evangelism so that we can continue to take advantage of this extraordinary circumstance, i.e., we must strike while the iron is hot.

THE BARRIER:

• However, we are caught in the unavoidable financial crisis of a profound and extended worldwide recession.

• This crisis is compounded by the reductions that have resulted from our new World Evangelism Fund (WEF) formula.

• The effect of this crisis is that we are faced with an economic reality that threatens the very ability to even sustain our current mission efforts.

THE CHALLENGE:

• As God's people, we are unwilling to accept retreat in the midst of such astounding mission successes.

• Our general superintendents, with an unshakeable faith in the great generosity of our people, have issued a challenge to Nazarenes worldwide to raise the single largest offering for World Evangelism in the history of our church.

OUR RESPONSE - CHALLENGE 2010

• All across the globe, this WEF PLUS offering is being scheduled on and around November 21 (The Sunday before the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the United States).

I appreciate all the NEO Nazarenes for their support of this offering!


I WANT TO CELEBRATE...

Tulsa Southwest..."we have a new pastor--Rev. Wayde and Jena Normandin!!!!!"

David Stevens, Vinita... There are those Sundays that can dash a preacher’s hopes. On those days God is faithful. This month we had one Sunday in particular that was so low in attendance that it makes you wonder what is going on. The weather was fine. There was no reason. Now as I tabulate the numbers for the month we had an increase in both Sunday School and Morning Worship averages. It reminds me not to look too closely at the numbers and to instead focus on Jesus. We had a great Trunk-or-Treat with hundreds of people from the community coming through the Church property, and helping our Visibility in the Community. Several have testified that our revival services really helped them. Thanks to Dr. McKellips for his wonderful ministry to us in our Spiritual Renewal Weekend.

Claude Guy, Sand Springs... We began our new Sunday night ministry called “Sunday Night Life” – Worship for families this month. This ministry is focused on kids PreK-6th grade and their families. While are hopes are for families to discover life in Jesus Christ, what a great ministry it has been to our own church people by opening ministry positions for them to actively serve. It has also opened up wonderful opportunities for times of group prayer and fellowship.

Bartlesville Nazarene... The arrival of our new children’s pastor and her husband, Jan & Bob Wilton. What a special addition to the team!!

Jim Wilson, Pawhuska...We held Trunk or Treat on Oct 30, gave away 500 hot dogs and made contact with over 700 people. Revival Services with Rev. Randy Dority and Sufficient Grace starts Wed night and runs through Sunday.

Angela Bentley, Bristow... the joy of watching the church in action. Even with the pastor out ill, the ministries of the church have continued uninterrupted. In the midst of all of this, the church surrounded, loved and cared for two children who were basically abandoned by their mother, providing a home with a church family and meeting all their needs. Our church family is an active place of hope in our Jerusalem!

NEO DISTRICT LEADERS in Weekly attendance in October

Sunday School/DiscispleshipCollinsville +30
Barnsdall +27
Wagoner +25
Owasso Silver Creek +24
Dewey +19
Nowata +17
Drumright +12
Pryor +10
Cushing +9
Bristow +8

AM Worship
Wagoner +21
Collinsville +19
Barnsdall +19
Owasso Silver Creek +13
Coweta +7
Cushing +7
BA Connection +5
Collinsville +2
Tulsa Central +2
Tulsa Living Hope +2

I thank God for the wonderful partners in ministry I have in Northeast Oklahoma. You are loved and appreciated!
 
Dave McKellips

Dear NEO Family,


Happy Veteran’s Day! How grateful we are for the service and sacrifice of the men and women of the armed services.

Last Sunday Gloria and I had the chance to worship with Pastor Angie Bentley and the Bristow Nazarenes. It was great to see Pastor Angie able to be at church and making steady recovery from her recent surgery. And the church is alive and growing. They are praying fervently for God to provide a way for them to construct a new building on the land they own.

On Sunday evening over 200 youth and sponsors gathered for “Like Totally 80’s” event which included roller skating, food, fellowship and worship. Thanks, Nate Burns, Ryan Amey and our NYI Council for putting together a great event.

USA/Canada Regional Director, Bob Broadbooks, reports: We just received the preliminary statistics for the church year recently completed and have discovered some very good news. As the research department puts all of our 80 districts together, we see that our 4,993 churches in the United States and Canada have been experiencing productive days. During the last 12 months 64,647 people found Christ in our churches. Praise the Lord! That is an increase of almost 5,000 people over last year. Of these new believers, over 30,000 became members. God is helping us to be evangelistic and our pastors and people are serious about “making Christlike disciples in the nations.” 79 new churches have been started and 27 new churches were organized. We have 431 churches in the pipeline, many of them moving toward organization. This year we have a net loss of 15 churches but that is an improvement over last year when we had a net loss of 24. Research tells me that this declining number is slowing. This year we have seen an increase of 1,850 in membership and a decrease in worship attendance of 1,158.

Study Reveals Strong Giving to Religious Causes During the Recession
While the dominant headlines during the recession have focused on the decrease in giving to nonprofits, this is not the entire story. The first Annual State of Giving Report released today by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) reveals that the change in giving to its members was imperceptible during the recession. Pre-recession giving compared to two years later was $12.11 billion in 2007 and $12.10 billion in 2009. Large churches fared slightly better than parachurch organizations between 2007 and 2009. Cash giving to churches was up 0.2%. "It is very significant that this segment of the giving world was resilient and maintained itself during a difficult economic time," according to Dan Busby, ECFA's President. "The study suggests a strong commitment of givers to the Christian faith and the generosity of God's people."

The Board of General Superintendents is calling for a special Challenge 2010 World Evangelism Fund (WEF PLUS) Offering. We are asking that each member/regular attendee of the churches on your district be encouraged to give $10 to this special offering. This would be over and above Faith Promise and/or any other Thanksgiving Offering they might have committed to give.

We need every pastor to prayerfully lead their church to give generously and sacrificially in WEF PLUS. Again, this offering is in addition to Faith Promise and planned Thanksgiving Offerings, and it will provide immediate funding to Nazarene mission fields globally.

You are loved!

Dave McKellips