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Dear
NEO family,
Greetings
in the strong name of Jesus! Are you ready for fall? We had a great summer in
NEO with outstanding camps and Bible Schools, but there is something special
that happens when school begins and our fall ministries kick into high gear.
I
love hearing good reports on the District. Pastor Mike Howard called on
Monday to tell me that they had 140 people in attendance at Drumright on
Sunday. Mike is always looking for ways to connect with and serve the
community. This past Sunday the church honored Walmart employees and had
almost 50 employees attend the service. As neighboring pastor, Keith Cole,
would say, “Good for Jesus!”
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NEO
August Statistics
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Attendance
for August
2012-13
2011-12
SDMI
2829
2858
Morning Worship
3775
3927
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I
Want to Celebrate. . .
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David
Stevens, Vinita. . . We are seeing the fruit
of years of prayer and work. Our average for the month is a new high, at
least since the Stevens have been serving as pastor. Also, the church people
took charge of the service while we were at M&M Retreat, giving the
Pastor a much needed break.
Brad
Farnsworth, Tulsa Connection. . . An overwhelming
majority vote of 93% to join Connection Church and Family Church into one
church.
Scottie
Behm, Chelsea. . . the desire our congregation has in
wanting to put the Word of God in our hearts. We have been doing a Bible
study on Wednesday nights over the book of Matthew, using a Trivial Pursuit
game as part of our children's study and the adults have been doing a verse-by-verse
study. During our Sunday Morning Sunday School, the teens have been exploring
a chapter a week. In the middle of August, we had a church-wide kids against
the adults quiz night that was a great success. The teens took an early lead
only to fall a few points behind in the end.
We
have continued our Articles of Faith series with a special emphasis on our
children learning what it means to be part of the Church of the Nazarene. We
a have seen some significant breakthroughs on behalf of certain members’
finances and physical healing, and the power of the Lord is evident in
working through some important spiritual challenges.
We
appreciate Pastor Jim Reeves for his work in helping with visiting the sick
and providing pulpit supply during the Pastors and mates retreat weekend. It
is such a gift and joy to be able to participate with our fellow brothers and
sisters in Northeast Oklahoma in district-wide events.
Don
Engie, Grove Lakewood Community. . . God is really
bringing a strong core group of people here. We have seen people leave – and
we have watched God bring people who were lost - or who have had bad
experiences with church in the past. I am thankful to see a couple who have
come to Christ in the past few months go from being lost to found – and are
now going through membership and wanting to serve here!
God
has also developed a strong sense of unity on the church board itself, which
I am extremely grateful for. We have seen God bring a family of four to our
church this week, men are coming here from a transitional living facility
hungry to hear more about this Jesus, and we have two families of 11 people
who are on the verge of calling Grove Nazarene their home!
John
Hazelton, Horton Chapel. . . Still praying for a
true "new beginning."
Steve
Brown, Cleveland. . . Installation service
went very well with some people attending that have not been in a while.
Through follow up they indicate that they will be coming back on a regular
basis.
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Family
Church and
Connection
Church Uniting
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Sunday, September 16, Family
Church and Connection Church will be uniting with Brad
Farnsworth as Lead Pastor. Some may ask, “Why are these two churches joining
together to become one church?” The answer given by the leaders of Family and
Connection Churches: “We believe we can have a greater impact for the Kingdom
of God by joining together. Independently, we are two good churches. But,
together, we can be one great church. We are better together. By utilizing
the best of both churches, we can have a greater impact in our community and
in the world.” May God bless this effort to expand His Kingdom!
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This
fall, from September 30 through November 11, 2012, the Church of the Nazarene
Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries office is delighted to provide a
40–day Bible reading emphasis especially for you. Available in print, online,
and via your smartphone, Engage
the Word is an intergenerational Bible reading plan designed for
everyone in your church family. There is no cost to sign up and participate.
Engage
the Word is easy, but it will make a difference! Visit
www.engagetheword.nazarene.org
for a full list of available resources to help with this transformational
emphasis.
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TEACH
2012
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We
are less than a month away from the TEACH Conference of the South Central
Educational Zone. This conference has an outstanding line up of speakers -
Hal Perkins, Woody Stevens, Corey Jones, and Greg Love – and will be
simulcast to four sites on our zone, including Tulsa Central. How
blessed we are to participate in these inspirational and educational
sessions. If you can’t commit for the entire conference, come when you can
and be inspired!(Friday 7pm; Saturday 9am and 1:30pm) Registration is free:
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SNU’s
Commission Unto Mexico is a “Work and Witness adventure for all ages.” This
year we are going to a northeastern Mexico city called Monclova and
surrounding towns for our annual over-the-New-Year’s-holiday trip. We’ll have
construction work, Vacation Bible Schools, medical clinics and soccer
outreach ministry. Check out all the information at: www.snu.edu/mexico
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God’s
Not a Spare Tire...
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Pastor
Bob Ritter of Eastside Baptist Church in Nebo, North
Carolina, says our country often treats God like a spare tire:
"When a crisis comes, we pull God out of the trunk and we call for
pastors to come to schools when there's been a shooting; we called for prayer
after 9/11," he said. "But then the sad thing is when it all works
and God gives our country peace of heart and protects us, since 9/11 we've
put God back in the trunk.... "... God's not a spare wheel," stated
Ritter. "He's supposed to be the steering wheel."
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Grace and peace,
Dave
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