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Dear
NEO Family,
Many
NEO Churches are becoming true houses of prayer! Pryor is certainly one of
those. Two weeks ago the Pryor Church had a daily prayer meeting, believing
God was interested in answering big prayers. Pastor Dan Hazelton shared some
of the ways God worked that week: “We have had four people saved, one man
released of a lifetime issue with anger, another releasing unforgiveness and
another in the hospital with neurological damage receiving instant help.” The
week was so productive that the daily prayer continued a second week. We
rejoice with Pastor Dan and the Pryor Church!
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Spiritual
Formation and Discipleship
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Another
key emphasis of our movement is discipleship and Christian education. In Carl
Bangs' book, Phineas Bresee, Pastor to the People, he speaks of the
Methodist classmeeting: “The Methodist 'classmeeting' was a time for personal
testimony, soul-searching, and spiritual counsel. It was led by a layperson –
a 'class leader' – who faced the members and asked each in turn about his or
her spiritual experience of the past week.”
It
is still vital that we get people together in classes or small groups to
“watch over one another in love” (John Wesley’s phrase). What is working
in adult Sunday School, Small groups and discipleship in NEO in 2013? A
few pastors have expressed interest to share best practices, methods and
resources. If you would like to be a part of this discussion, contact me dmckellips@neonaz.com.
Living
the Life: Spiritual Formation Defined, Monday, August 26th, at
7:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time. This webinar with Dr.
Mark Maddix will explore a definition of spiritual formation and the
associated practices needed in order for someone to be formed and transformed
into faithful disciples. Attention will be given to engaging in a holistic
approach to spiritual formation that includes inward, outward, and corporate
practices.
Click here to register. Once you register, you will receive an e-mail with all the information you will need to join the webinar. |
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District
News
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·
Congratulations to Pastor Wayde Normandin and Tulsa Southwest for getting
permission to occupy and use their new Family Life Center.
·
Pastor David
Smith accepted a call to be the Sr. Pastor of the Seward
Nazarene Church in Seward, Alaska. His final Sunday as Youth Pastor at
Claremore will be August 18, 2013. We love David, Frances and their
children, Jesus and Frances-Nicole, and pray God’s best for them in
Alaska.
·
Pastor Mike
Howard will soon begin 7 and a half weeks of radiation
treatment for cancer and will continue hormone treatment for 2 years. Mike
will have an MRI on his back plus a bone scan before he starts radiation treatment.
Let’s continue to pray for Mike and Diane.
·
57 NEO pastors have signed up to attend our District Ministers and Mates retreat, August
23–25 in Branson, MO. Stan and Linda Toler will be our
special speakers. Pray that God will make this a great time of renewal and
refreshing.
·
NEO Primetimers
are invited to join us for dinner and Guy Penrod concert on August 30 in
Claremore. Dinner reservations must be PREPAID by August 25. Contact John
Williamson at johnw10021@yahoo.com
or 918-859-3600 with questions or reservations.
·
Broken Arrow First Church is taking a Work & Witness
team to the Dominican Republic August 29 - September 3.
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NEO
July Statistics
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Attendance
for July
2012-13
2013-14
SDMI
2880
2362
Morning
Worship 3755
3379
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I
Want to Celebrate. . .
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Bill
Hilton, Tulsa Living Hope. . . We had a great
3-day (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning) VBS with a total of 29 different
children and 12 adults working in various capacities. We averaged 25 children
per day and had several children and one adult respond to the invitation at
the end of the Jesus
Film for Children presentation. Praise God from whom all
blessings flow. The Jewish blessing is true: “Blessed art thou oh Lord
God, King of the universe."
Mark
Hiehle, Claremore. . . We had a terrific VBS
in July. During VBS we had 5 children pray to receive Jesus for the
first time. At our concert with Steve Ladd, a man recommitted his life to the
Lord with a public confession and gave a wonderful testimony during the
morning service. God is moving!
Tony
Siebels, Pawhuska. . . This month was exciting
as we welcomed the Wests to share on the ministry in Indonesia. The
Cleveland Church joined us that night and we had a wonderful time of
celebration and education. We have seen vast improvements in finances
and overall approach to ministry. The vision meeting on July 28th was
exciting and affirming as there is a newfound sense of hope and passion for
reaching the community for Jesus.
Scottie
Behm, Chelsea. . . We want to celebrate taking 5
children to Kidz Kamp, for us that was 100% of are kids in that age group. A
special thanks goes to the one couple in our church and our church board who
intentionally helped make this accomplishment possible. Our children and the
adult leader shared their testimonies from camp with our congregation.
We had our second Saturday morning VBS - our kids had great fun
using the new outdoor classroom and planted three raised beds,
fall, vegetable gardens with the help of two master gardeners. We had a free
breakfast, a worship service, horseback riding, a small group focused on
witnessing/safety and we ended with a watermelon spitting contest. We had 15
children, 17 adults, and 4 horses participate. We have a new family of four
participating. Dennis stopped one day to help me work in our outdoor
classroom. We together now celebrate the birth of their son. Another
family has returned and is taking an active role in leadership and sent a
grandson to Kidz Kamp with us.
Claude
Guy, Sand Springs. . . We just finished a
6-session study with Tammy Slaymaker on Spiritual Gifts to help believers
identify their gifts and learn ways in which their gifts can be developed and
used in His Kingdom's Service. We had a great turnout of adults and
teens for each session.
David
Stevens, Vinita. . . I am thankful for God’s
faithfulness to reveal His presence in our services. I am thankful for
faithful people who not only attend, but love God’s Church and His people. I
am thankful for workers who labor week after week to teach, clean and prepare
the Church property, pray, and share God’s love with their neighbors.
Brad
Farnsworth, Broken Arrow Core Church at Aspen Creek. . . We
dedicated 10 children, and baptized 1 teen and 2 adults.
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Blessings
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Want to
get blessed by some really fun numbers from the USA/Canada Region?
· 53
districts achieved 100% or more of their World Evangelism Fund (WEF) goal in
2012
· 13
districts achieved 100% or more of Pension & Benefits Fund goal
· 33
districts were at 103% or more of goal for the World Evangelism Fund
· Several
USA districts were able to lower their district percentage; the regional
average is now 5.75%.
· The
region gave $36.2 million of its income to WEF, $11.9 million to P&B,
$14.6 million to the schools, and $30.6 million to district operations.
· Including
mission specials, the region gave $ 63.6 million to missions!
The
Northeast Oklahoma District gave $ 382,710 to the World Evangelism Fund last
year! (105% of goal). NEO Churches also gave 103% of the goal to the District
Fair Share Fund, 100% of the giving goal for Pensions and Benefits and
96% of the Education Fund to Southern Nazarene University.
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FURNITURE
OUTREACH REQUEST
Sponsored
by International Community Outreach
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The
world is here at our doorstep and you can help touch them for Christ. Your
furniture and presence can be a blessing to international students at TU
through the FurnitureFest. Used furniture (beds, chairs, desks etc) suitable
for apartments will be picked up each week on SATURDAYS beginning July
27 - August 17. Contact Jerry at jerry@icotulsa.org, 918-345-2062
or Terry at terryligon@gmail.com
918-504-3489. Gifts are tax deductible. Thanks! (ICO also provides
opportunites for hosting or mentoring international students.)
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Join
us at Clary Fields Golf Club on September 23, 2013 in support of sending our
district students on a mission trip to Nazarene Indian Bible College in 2014.
All proceeds of this tournament will go to supporting that mission.
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Guymon
Church of the Nazarene
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Guymon
Church of the Nazarene is inviting any and all to a Prayer Encounter on
September 19 – 22. Cory Jones and Daniel and Carol Ketchum are facilitating
and leading this Encounter as we pray: “Lord, Teach Us to Pray.” For more
information, go to www.guymonnazarene.org.
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