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GROW
Magazine The
Tsunami and Benevolent Nazarenes As of this writing, Nazarenes have contributed more that $200,000 through the internet alone to the victims of this unwelcome disaster, and there is more to come. In addition, tons of crisis care kits are being collected to complement the dollars that are being donated. In the aftermath of the disaster the Board of General Superintendents stated, “We call on Nazarenes around the globe to pray fervently for the people and nations so deeply affected. Our message of holiness.expresses itself in specific and concrete ways in tragedies of this nature.” In the past, World Missions and Nazarene Compassionate Ministries have had in place a ready corps of trained volunteers who were adequately equipped to make a difference in India, Thailand, and Indonesia. These volunteers are risking all to be the hands and feet of the Master to reach those affected. Words would never be sufficient to express gratitude to a denomination that is committed to be faithful to the essence of who we say we are. Several
students from the Indonesia Nazarene Theological College in Yogyakarta
have volunteered to give up a semester to be the church’s hands
to those who need help, and many are packing relief supplies for Nias.
Dr. Arun Noah from the Reynolds Hospital in Washim India is preparing
medical teams to help in Sri Off
the western coast of Sumatra on Nias Island, called “Ground Zero”
of this disaster, Pastor Zega had been lanting a Church of the Nazarene
when the tsunami struck. Plans now include distribution of medical supplies
and cooking utensils, counseling, reconstruction, and helping to structure
a community health care system. “This is the worst natural disaster
known in human history,” stated World Mission Director Louie Bustle.
“Local Nazarenes in the affected areas are doing an amazing, sacrificial
work of reaching out and loving their neighbors in Christ’s name. Much
more is needed! We will continue to depend on the unqualified benevolence
of a holiness people who put Another
New David Kyncl, Director of Secular College Ministry (SCM) for the Church of the Nazarene, reports another SCM has launched on the Wright State University Campus, sponsored jointly by the Beavercreek Church of the Nazarene and the Southwest Ohio District. In keeping with their ministries, including their new buildings. The
Southwest Ohio District will be partners with the coffee house ministry
by providing the rent for the next two years. District Superintendent
Dr. Carlton Hansen believes this new ministry will have a great impact
on the campus at Wright State. “If you look at the statistics of
this church under Kevenís leadership you will see how much the
church has grown. He is the kind of pastor who inspires and motivates
his staff and leadership team at the church to do some new things.”
Another New College Ministry vision of “Bridging Church to Neighborhoods,”
Beavercreek Church of the Nazarene in Dayton, Ohio has recently opened
this new coffee house ministry in the heart of the Wright State University
campus. Bridge Cafe is intended as a “bridge” to the WSU students,
while offering the The Beavercreek Church of the Nazarene came out of Dayton Parkview Church, formerly known as the Knollwood in its beginning. Under Keven Wentworth ís pastoral leadership, outstanding strides have been made in so many new Hispanic Works Grow in USA The
Hispanic Nazarene family in the USA/Canada has experienced significant
growth. In the last five years, more than 100 congregations were started
according to the official statistics from the research center of the Church
of
The growth of the Hispanic-Latino community in the USA/Canada offers a great opportunity to start new congregations to reach this population. The number one challenge that the church faces is an insufficient number of pastors to supply the requests for leadership of new ministries. The
Northwest Nazarene University, in collaboration with the Hispanic Ministries
office, has launched a new Resources for Women Clergy Coming
Soon from Clergy Development are two new resources promoting women clergy
in the Church of the The second booklet is a resource for district leaders, to help answer the tough questions about women in ministry, and to provide insights for encouraging women clergy on the district level, from the local license through a life-long career in ministry. Look for this second resource piece in the fall of 2005. Nazarenes Celebrate Martin Luther King Birthday Nazarenes gathered at the Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City on January 18 to express recognition of the achievements of the continuing struggle for civil rights through the inspiration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Had he lived, King would have been 76 years old. Judge Wavny Toussaint of the New York City Criminal Court in Brooklyn raised the question of the church’s duty to be an advocate for justice and mercy in a world where it is a precious commodity. In a particularly academic and prophetic fashion, Toussaint challenged the crowd of more than 400 to revisit the words of King and search for pragmatic applications to the continued life of the congregation. Recognition
awards were presented to those in the community who exemplified the ideals
of community transformation that King espoused. Among the recipients was
Buck O’Neil, 93 year-old retired baseball icon from the Negro Baseball
League. In solidarity with O’Neil’s commitment to the young
people in the Kansas City area, the In his remarks to the gathered crowd, Dr. Paul Cunningham paid tribute to King’s legacy of love and brotherhood, citing his own social reflections on the history of the struggle by Blacks and other people groups. The event represented the fourth year of celebration, made possible by the commitment of Mission Strategy USA/Canada, Nazarene Publishing House, Blue Hills Community COTN, Kansas City district, and Bresee Institute for Metro Ministries. Transition Charles (Chuck) Zink went to be with our Lord January 12th after a valiant battle with pancreatic cancer. Zink, 61, was elected Clergy Development Ministries director last year. Around the 2004 Easter season, Zink was diagnosed with cancer and began an offensive strategy toward survival. He was hospitalized for surgery at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Hospital in Houston, Texas in September where doctors engaged a radical procedure in hopes of combating his illness. Zink
was an effervescent leader, never allowing his own challenges to interfere
with his ministry to others. Valiantly, The
memorial service was held at the Wollaston Church of the Nazarene with
a large group of family and friends gathered for a celebration of Zink’s
life and ministry. The family has asked any memorial contributions to
be made Chaplaincy Workshop Held in Mexico This past fall, retired Navy Chaplain Tom Cook, and his wife Bobbie, were invited by Dr. Jorge Cordova, the District Superintendent of the Oxidente District in Guadalajara, Mexico, to conduct a workshop on the various types of chaplaincy ministries. Chaplain Tom Cook wrote “As a retired United States Navy chaplain, and now currently serving with the workplace ministry Marketplace Chaplains, I am well aware of the challenge and opportunities of chaplaincy ministries. But how could we train and mobilize Nazarene pastors to serve as chaplains in the area of Guadalajara, Mexico with over 7 million people?” Chaplain Cook soon discovered that God had already prepared the hearts of men and women serving in that district. For several years, Dr. Cordova had envisioned the local church reaching into the community with a ministry that few pastors could do on their own. With a new vision of ministry and the new role as “Chaplain,” a local pastor could now gain access to areas for ministry previously inaccessible. Initially,
Dr. Cordova thought we would have a small class of around 12-15 attendees.
Little did they know that God had been working in the lives of many people.
They were hungry to learn more about this very type of ministry. They While it may have just been a beginning, all were encouraged to see the growth of chaplaincy ministries expanding beyond the borders of the U.S.A. Revival Comes to a New Church The Armada Church of the Nazarene started on October 6, 2002 under the pastoral leadership of John Carr. After nearly two years of growth and blessings, the new congregation faced one of its greatest challenges when Pastor Carr accepted a call to start another new church in Petoskey, Michigan. The
Armada congregation selected Jason and Michelle Crum as their new pastoral
couple. The week after they This new church celebrates the arrival of their new pastor and a sense of renewal in these meetings. They are confident that “He who began a good work in them will be faithful to complete it.” District
Mission Growth: The
2004 church statistics for nearly 5,000 congregations in the 82 districts
of the United States and Canada are in. Five districts have been identified
for Mission Growth Recognition based on the number of
churches reporting growth in several key areas including: New Nazarenes,
membership, worship attendance, Sunday School
New
Church Recognition Best Practices Interviews Tom Nees, UCME Director, interviewed the DSs of the five size groups as well as Ken Mills of the Mid-Atlantic district. The complete interviews will be printed and distributed during the Leadership Conference when the districts are recognized. They are available online at www.GROWmagazine.org. The following comments were taken from the interviews: Interview with Ken
Mills Tom Nees – Starting 12 new churches in one year is remarkable. How did you do it? Ken Mills – We are always looking for ways to start new congregations or an opening to a group of people in a particular location. It’s not a big concerted effort where we say that this year we’re going to plant or start 12 new churches. It’s just this constant thing we’re always working on. TN – Do you train new church pastors? Ken Mills – We do assessments and some planning. TN – Are your new church pastors bi-vocational? Ken Mills – Yes, most of them are. We tell them that’s what they have to do because there is no way we can get enough financial support for everyone who wants to start a church. TN – Where do you find new church pastors? Ken Mills – All of ours are from within the district, within local churches. TN – Where do these new churches meet? Ken Mills – About half start in Nazarene churches. The rest meet in rented facilities or other churches. TN – On average how long does it take new churches to become permanent and self-sufficient? Ken Mills – I’d say a good five years – sometimes it’s a bit more and sometimes less. TN – Does the district have a strategic plan for starting churches? Do you identify areas or people groups underserved by the Church of the Nazarene? Ken
Mills – We used to do it that way. Now it’s more
spontaneous. I’m still struggling with a strategic plan. I can’t
get to first base. No matter what I do, what I try, I can’t get
there. Most of the success we have is based on TN – How many new churches have been started since you came to the district? Ken Mills – I don’t really pay a lot of attention to that. We started with around 70 and now we’ve got 83 or 84 organized, but then we’ve identified 105 or 106 if you count all the missions and NewStarts. TN – Do you promote new church sponsorship? Ken Mills – We do promote it. We don’t push it, but we do promote it. In other words we keep talking to pastors about the fact that they need to think outside their own congregation. And that’s hard for some of them because they are very survival-oriented at times. TN – Your success seems the result of spontaneous new church evangelism rather than from strategic planning. Ken Mills – Well it seems to work better for us. We may not get the mega churches but we’re reaching lost people. Interview
with Wayne Brown .TN – What has led to the recent growth of your churches and the district? Wayne
Brown – When I came as DS two years ago I discovered that
the district has 1.2 million population, 65 percent unchurched. And so
that’s what I really began to talk about. I think we get a mind-set,
because we have no large metro areas on the district that the population
is just not here, but with 65% unchurched, the fields are white TN – What are your goals? Wayne Brown – I started talking about doubling the attendance by 2008. The total district worship attendance has been about 2004 – so I began saying “4004 by 2008.” And I also talked about “8 by 8.” I want to start 8 new churches by 2008. TN – How many of your churches are growing? Wayne Brown – About 75 percent. When I got here it was somewhere between 40 or 45 percent. It’s beginning to catch on. We have cities with small populations where we seem to be growing the fastest. TN – What is your primary responsibility as a DS? Wayne Brown – It is maybe a little bit like coaching a sports team. It is to help pastors see that they can do it, to believe in them, give them the tools. I think every pastor on my district wants to grow. TN – What do you say to your churches about mission growth? Wayne
Brown – There are people in your community who do not attend
church. Each one of you can reach one. I went to Guatemala in August and
saw the growth. I just came back with no excuses. No longer do we have
excuses. And so I’m just excited and trying to excite our people
that this is our greatest day to win people to the church and to Jesus
Christ. TN – What’s happening on the district to create the growth in 2004? John Denney – I’m a little surprised with the gains. We feel like we’re just getting started. We have emphasized what it means to be a missional church. TN – How many of your churches are growing? John Denney – I think probably around half. We are trying to stop the bleeding in the churches that are declining. TN – What is the most important thing you do? John Denney – The number one focus is churches that are in pastoral transition. I take it as a real opportunity when there is a pastoral change. Not that I’m looking for any pastor to resign. I don’t look at it that way, but once that happens I say, “Okay, now this church is squarely under my responsibility.” TN – How do you conduct transition planning? John Denney – I try to spend enough time with the church board so that I get to know them and study the church and start having a series of discussions with the leaders. I help them to start defining some things that they could be doing. And we do all that before we ever even consider a pastor. TN – How do you find the right pastors? John Denney – I believe that God must call and lay it on someone’s heart to become a pastor of that church. And I’ve discovered that in most of our churches we have drifted into more of a secular or corporate headhunting kind of process . . . many times a church begins to feel that they deserve the best. They’ve got great buildings and pay a good salary and so they’re shopping for the best. And so I have to work with that board to let them know that when we look at the challenge of that church being missional, they don’t have enough money to buy the kind of pastor they want. TN – How many pastoral changes have you had since you became DS? John Denney – I’ve had about 30 in four years. I am completing four years this month and I have not yet been back to the same church twice. We have gone four years and we’ve not had one pastor that I’ve been able to place in this type of process that has moved. I think that’s an incredible statistic right there. Interview
with Jim Bearden TN – Congratulations on the great year that the South Carolina District had in 2004! How did it happen? Jim Bearden – I don’t know that I can point to any one thing that was done. We’ve just got a very strong network of pastors who year after year do a good job. TN – Are your pastors convinced of the need and opportunity to start new churches? Jim
Bearden – Oh I think so. We’re constantly struggling
with getting the larger churches into starting churches. But I TN – The reports indicate that 60 percent of your churches are growing. Jim
Bearden – Yes, I know that. And that’s what I was
saying. I think we’re beating the national average. And I primarily
lay that to strong pastoral leadership – a great team of pastors
who do not have to be driven all the time. TN – How do you work with your pastors? Jim
Bearden – We have reorganized our district into what we
call mission areas. Each of these mission areas have TN – Do you meet with the mission area directors? Jim Bearden – Rev. Scott Lowry, pastor of Sumter First Church is the district mission director. He meets with the mission area directors monthly. He gives full time to Sumter, but he gives about two days a week to the district. TN – You’ve announced your resignation. What have you learned in 18 years as DS? Jim
Bearden- I’ll be quitting the job in July of 2006. I will
have served as superintendent on the same district for 20 years. And I
think over that period of time you learn the churches. They know you and
you know them and you’re able to place strong leaders. But I don’t
know any one thing that stands out other than the strong leaders, strong Jim Bearden – At our last assembly I established some goals – challenging the district to start nine more NewStarts by 2008. We’ve got membership goals that would help us to accomplish the Centennial Goals that are fairly challenging. But my goal has been to leave the district with 70 churches – and we are right on target for that. TN – You’re resigning, not retiring. Jim Bearden – Amen! I don’t like that word retire. Interview
with Phil Fuller TN – The Virginia District had a very good year in 2004. You’ve been a pastor on the district and were elected district superintendent in August. What can you say about the growth of the churches that contributed to this record? Phil Fuller – The credit goes to the leadership that Charlie Thompson gave during his 18 years as DS and to local pastors who as leaders are passionate about loving lost people to Christ. TN – How do you describe his leadership? Phil
Fuller – He’s a godly man. He has a great deal of
discernment, which is guided by his prayer life. He has a tremendous gift
of encouragement that he gave to pastors. He just had this great ability
to give you a phone call TN – Where has the growth come from – any particular segment of churches on the district? Phil
Fuller – We’re one of the few districts that have
three churches averaging over 1,000 in morning worship attendance. And
every one of those churches grew and has grown significantly over the
last 10 years. But not all the growth took place in the larger churches.
Many smaller churches grew as well. Many churches, from the big ones to TN – What do see as your greatest challenge as a new DS? Phil
Fuller – I pray for discernment and ask God for wisdom
to try and be an encouraging, enabling coach to TN – What is your vision for the district? Phil
Fuller – I began asking the Lord to show me what impact
we Nazarenes should make in Virginia. Of the nearly 8 million people in
our state, almost 5 million do not belong to any church of any faith of
any kind. I have felt prompted that Virginia Nazarenes should assume responsibility
for at least 1% percent of those 5 million TN – How do you intend to do that? Phil
Fuller – Our strategy is threefold. It’s going to
take some churches with 5,000 in attendance – and we have the TN – How do you spend your time? Phil Fuller – Well, I’m learning. I’m listening. I talk to pastors regularly. I spend time going to be with pastors – call them to talk. I want to hear their heartbeat and catch their vision. I have spent time praying and asking God for vision. And early on I have had to spend a significant amount of time learning the ropes of a new ministry. For instance, I had to learn how to hold a church/pastor review. I have been on the job 12 weeks. I’m learning new things everyday. Interview
with Jerry Ferguson TN – In 2004 the Los Angeles District had the best growth record among districts with 80 or more churches. Jerry Ferguson – Thanks for the news. I am surprised. TN – How has this happened after several years when the district stats weren’t as good as this year? Jerry Ferguson – Part of it has to do with what we’re doing to create a team atmosphere. But also in past years we have reported the loss of churches in multicongregational sites. With separately organized churches in the same facilities I discovered that there was quite a bit of tension between those congregations. In my first year as DS I actually had three Anglo congregations evicting their ethnic congregations. And I felt that just can’t happen. TN – What have you done to remedy that problem? Jerry
Ferguson – The best approach, at least for us, was to encourage
churches meeting in the same location to consider becoming one church
with multiple congregations under one management structure so they’re
not competing against one another. So some of those churches that were
disorganized became part of larger TN – You’re trying to overcome the landlord/tenant mentality with multicongregational sites. Jerry Ferguson – Very much so. And we have found that by blending them into one church, there’s shared ownership, there’s shared vested interest in what happens to the total church not just a particular congregation. TN – How do ethnic pastors of these consolidated congregations respond? Jerry
Ferguson – The Manual allows for multiple pastors. They
are not considered associates or assistants. They TN – How does a consolidated congregation decide who of the co-pastors is the first among equals? Jerry Ferguson – I generally have the board make that decision. TN – How do you propose to have your churches reach all the people groups on the Los Angeles district? Jerry Ferguson – Over and over in all my churches they hear me say, “Look and sound like your neighborhood. You have a responsibility for the entire mission field.” TN - Have you organized district mission areas? Jerry Ferguson – I’ve organized 10 geographical mission teams. In addition, each language group has its own mission team. Language minority leaders are on the geographical teams as well as their language team. TN – The 2004 report indicates that 63 percent of your churches increased in membership and 50 percent increased in both worship and Sunday School attendance. Jerry Ferguson – I feel very good about that. Pasadena First received 262 new Nazarenes – that may be a record for a USA church in a given year. For the last decade the average annual number of new Nazarenes for the district was 800. This year we received 1,239 new Nazarenes. Across the board the majority of our churches were showing healthy growth. The
Tough Decisions: For the past 12 years, Dr. Stephen Anthony has served as district superintendent of the Eastern Michigan District of the Church of the Nazarene. Under his leadership, significant ministry milestones have been achieved on the district including:
These significant achievements prompted GROW magazine to contact Dr. Anthony for his observations about the district’s progress. GROW: You were one of the first district leaders in the USA and Canada for starting new churches in a major way. Why were new churches so important to you? Anthony:
I came into the Church of the Nazarene back in 1957 as a ten-year-old.
My family did not go GROW: Have you found starting new churches an easy priority to implement? Anthony: At first, it was like trying to push a chair uphill. But it has to begin with the leadership believing in the cause. Now, we’re finally moving the other way, with leaders seeking us out to start new churches. With new missional leaders emerging all across the district, the NewStart emphasis is moving forward. GROW: Sounds like you are saying the right thing isn’t always the most popular or easiest thing to do. Anthony:
The reality is today we still have a number of churches “on the
bubble.” We’re probably going to have to close a few more
struggling churches before we can open up any more strong new ones. One
of my first meetings as a new district superintendent was to meet with
a church board to close their church. We called for a board meeting and
had five elderly ladies show up. I said ‘We’re here to talk
about the future of your church.’ ‘Future?’ they GROW: Have all the new churches made it? Anthony:
No, we’ve had three new churches of the 16 we’ve started that
didn’t do well. As we reviewed what GROW: What else are you learning? Anthony:
We’re organizing around a missional zone concept that looks at specific
geographic and demographic concerns. We’re encouraging all our churches
to sponsor new congregations. The connecting point is: give and it will
be given unto you. We enlist the best leaders we can and then resist trying
to micromanage them. As God gives them a plan - that’s not my plan
- they’ll work harder at it. My role becomes breaking down any barriers,
encouraging The
Power inTeamwork: In
the effective multiplication of new Nazarene churches across the USA and
Canada, predictable patterns emerge. The
Eastern Michigan district projects over 20 new churches by 2008, in addition
to the 16 they’ve already started in the past decade. One of the
major strategies in their growing number of new churches involves the
“District NewStart Commission.” This team of leaders serves
as coaches for the mission zones across their district. In their Bob
Hunter – Urban Mission Zone Steve
Barkey – Detroit East Mission Zone Rob
Prince – Flint East Mission Zone Darrel
Harvey - Flint West Mission Zone Pastor
Vera Davis – Love Mercy Church of the Nazarene Jeff
Crowder – Ann Arbor Mission Zone Marv
Gerbig- NewStart Pastor Deer Park How
Helping One Really Matters: Each Sunday morning at Life of Christ Church in Winston- Salem (NC), a team of prayer partners gathers around those with special need. As the congregation enters for worship they pray together for God’s healing touch and sustaining grace for those asking for prayer support. On
Mother’s Day last year, one of the prayer team came to their pastor
and said, “You’d better come hear this.” The prayer
team was gathered around a young woman who had just walked into their
church for the first time. Through her tears, Pastor Bernard Walker heard
her story. The night before, her two year old boy C.J. had died. Evett
had been driving by this new church when she felt drawn to come in and
pray. After that day of the team praying for Evett, the child’s
grandmother and the rest of the family came to worship regularly at the
Life of Christ Pastor Walker says, “One day when we build our new church building, one wing of the property will be dedicated to little C.J. His family’s story is what our church is all about – offering God’s hope to hurting people.” That
attitude of hope reflects though the members and ministries of this two-year-old
congregation. On the day of their interview and photo shoot with GROW,
Pastor Walker and a team of forty volunteers loaded on their “We
just keep looking for ways to make a positive difference for others,”
says Pastor Walker. When the area’s youth needed some supervision,
Pastor Walker and his son Shawn decided to form a church basketball team
to compete in the “Late Night Basketball Tournament.” They
recruited at-risk youth to join their team that first year and In his message at the homeless shelter, Pastor Walker verbalized this new attitude. “I’m an example of the grace of God,” he preached. “You are all candidates to become disciples of Jesus Christ and we are here today to recruit you. You don’t need any money or a big job – you only have to believe that He is your God. You are called by God to declare His goodness. “Being
called by God doesn’t have anything to do with where you’ve
been, what you’ve done or what you don’t have. God does still
call and choose you. The journey of 1,000 miles begins with the first
step. Take that step As he closed his message, Pastor Walker revealed why his hope was so real. He said, “I was raised in a Christian home but I walked away from God. I ended up in a life of sin and crime, where I ended up in prison. But I remember the day God called to me and I prayed in that prison cell. “When
God calls us and we respond to Him, He changes us in the spiritual sense.
God is still looking for a new generation – not just the clean and
proper. But He calls a new generation out of the highways and the hedges. Helping just one has brought new hope many times over in Winston-Salem. Wichita
First Church: Guiding
a flagship church to new destinations requires skillful leadership at
the helm. For many older Nazarene Pastor Larry Morgan understands these challenges at Wichita (KS) First Church of the Nazarene. “The vision for Wichita First Church is an unfolding transition of an eventdriven flagship church in the typical changing, declining downtown neighborhood. God has led us to stay in this location, to continue to provide ‘front door’ ministry through events and ministries.” Pastor
Morgan describes their church’s vision statement building a ministry
that “brings hope and wholeness to Wichita and the world - with
special focus on our immediate setting. We have always been a mission
church,” Wichita First is not alone in this challenge. Last year fortytwo Nazarene congregations in the USA and Canada registered 1,000 or more in worship attendance or membership. This list continues to grow, with eight new congregations being added in the latest statistical reviews. Much of the reason for a larger number of large Nazarene churches has to do with the KChurch program that focuses on moving churches from 250 in worship up to 1,000 or more. Pastor Larry Morgan co-chairs that ministry along with Pastor Gene Grate from Colorado Springs First Church. The Wichita First Church is well over the 1,500 mark in membership, with worship attendance expected to surpass the 800 average this coming year. When
asked what changes had been implemented, Pastor Morgan described a number
of new ministries designed to “The
Living Waters Ministries Center is a new compassionate ministries center,
providing assistance of food and The
Crossroads House helps provide transitional care facility housing for
up to four individuals or families going through transitions. The church
maintains a partnership with “Choices,” a community crisis
pregnancy center. This alternative to abortion clinic sends residents
to the church’s community ministries. In January, Pastor Morgan One of the significant steps for outreach and evangelism this year at Wichita First included sponsoring a new church. First Family Church of the Nazarene, featured on page 29 in this issue, launched on Christmas Sunday with 141 in their first public worship service. Like many of the more effective new church sponsorships, Pastor Morgan gave a “fishing license” to his staff member Pastor Mark Pennington to recruit any interested member to go with them in starting the new work. Approximately 50 people joined Pastor Mark and Kim Pennington as they left Wichita First to launch this new work. While
some senior pastors are threatened with the prospects of that procedure,
Pastor Morgan made this observation: “On launch Sunday Wichita First
had 976 in worship while the NewStart had 141 in its “Sponsoring this new church,” says Pastor Morgan, “took the focus off of us and on to the kingdom in more personal ways. Sponsoring an Anglo NewStart as well as the new Hispanic church meeting in our building has been needed, necessary and a blessing for our own church’s spiritual health. We have invested some members, but have replaced with new folk looking for Christ and an opportunity to serve Christ among a genuine community ministry focus. I believe there is much more to come.” Another
Miracle Birth at Christmas: Christmas
2004 celebrated another miracle birth - this time in Wichita, Kansas!
First Family Church of the Nazarene Pastor
Mark and Kim Pennington have been serving on staff of the Wichita First
Church for the past year and a half. Now they’re starting this new
congregation located in the growing northwest suburbs of Wichita. The
new church “Our
Family Interactive Time is designed to help each family grow closer to
each other as they draw close to God.” As each family gathers around
one of the tables in the school’s multi-purpose room, Pastor Mark
begins with a teaching moment for the children that introduces a theme
each Sunday. Every table has a packet of materials for each family to
use, including the teaching theme discussion guides and a craft that illustrates
the story for the day. After
the “Family Interactive Time”, all the children are invited
to attend “Kid’s Avenue”. The curriculum and Intent
on making First Family Church of the Nazarene more than just a Sunday
worship experience, the new Pastor Mark was delighted with the birth of First Family. He expressed deep appreciation to Pastor Larry Morgan and their sponsor church, Wichita First Church of the Nazarene. Approximately 50 people out of Wichita First came with the Penningtons to launch this new work. All were grateful for the results of the launch, with over 100 new people joining with the core group on launch Sunday. A
Legacy of Faithfulness: After
the past 14 years of pastoral leadership, Katherine Widdifield is reflecting
more these days on her journey in She
has led the congregation through two major building campaigns and the
third expansion will complete a beautiful 3-million-dollar facility for
ministry. The church has grown in membership from 45 when she started
her assignment in October 1, 1990 to 213 members in 2005. Pastor Katherine
believes with the completion of the third building But her pathway toward pastoral leadership has not been easy. When GROW interviewed Pastor Widdifield, she seemed reticent to discuss the source of her greatest resistance. Looking back on her call and preparation for pastoral leadership, she said, “My pastor, Jim Stewart, offered to do anything he could to help me answer God’s call on my life. My husband, John, became my partner in ministry and said he had watched God’s call grow in my life. Even our congregations have been encouraging and supportive of my call to ministry.” “Dr. Eugene Simpson and Dr. Mark Barnes, my past and present District Superintendents in North Carolina, have always believed in my call and allowed me to follow that call. At our annual district meetings, the General Superintendents have often given me an encouraging word. They are such wonderful, godly leaders. “Most of the resistance came – and I really hesitate to say this – from other pastors and church leaders in my area. Some were not Nazarene, but a few of them were. I don’t know all the reasons why.” Thinking
back on some of those experiences, Pastor Widdifield provided this advice
to other women sensing God’s This
advice seems to have served Pastor Widdifield very well. In addition to
leading a growing congregation, a number of other younger ministers have
answered God’s call under her ministry. Presently, four student
ministers Pastor Widdifield has started thinking about her retirement in the next five years. She says so many have encouraged her along the way in her minisry. “I have been blessed by men and women who are more interested in Kingdom building than in gender bias. The issue has seldom been talked about in my journey and I seldom think about it—usually only when asked. I desire only to do the work of ministry and watch God do His work. My husband has been the most supportive, hard-working partner in life. John has an intimate relationship with our Lord and a love for God’s people. He believes in my call and we work the work of ministry together.” “Our
first association with the Church of the Nazarene came in 1972, when a
new church started in a school near “I just felt like God was going to do a good thing as I answered His call. I’ve been blessed to work with so many good lay leaders and members. I’m just trying to stay out of their way and let them also follow God’s call.” She ended her interview by noting, “I believe that one of the reasons God has blessed Penny Road Church of the Nazarene is the benevolent spirit of our people and the church as a whole. The church gives at least 10% for World Evangelism and reaches out in a number of area outreach ministries. Our lay leaders have a monthly ministry at Dorothea Dix Hospital, a mental health facility nearby, while also helping within the church family and outside the church fellowship in a wide range of monthly ministries.” All
Things Work For Good: The
2004 Statistics reveal Flint (MI) Central in the top five Nazarene congregations
in new members received by Pastor
Glen Gardner was quick to point out in his GROW interview that
he has only been in this assignment for nine Across
the years, Flint Central had always been missional in their purpose. In
1997, they called Gavin Raath for an interview as senior pastor. But three
days before the meeting, the church had to call Pastor Raath to reschedule Perhaps
more surprising than the fire was the answer Pastor Gavin Raath gave the
church board in that postponed But the second tragedy may have been even more difficult than the fire. Last August, while on a work and witness trip to South Africa with some of the church members, 52 year old Pastor Gavin Raath suffered a severe heart attack. The following Sunday, he had another heart attack in the hospital and went to be with the Lord. Dr.
Steve Anthony was serving Eastern Michigan as District Superintendent.
He rearranged his calendar to share the news with the congregation that
Sunday morning. He recalled how the church leaders responded in their
private meeting. He thought he would need to coach them in providing for
the pastor’s family in some transitional time. But Pastor Gardner believes God honors that kind of spirit in this church, and that’s why they keep reaching new people. “Flint Central members see themselves providing much of the ministry that happens for this community.” He said, “When people think of church in our area, they usually think of Flint Central.” Those words ring true with this seven-day-a-week ministry in multiple ways. Every
Wednesday, over 500 gather at the church for a community wide Bible study.
Another group meets for a women’s fellowship, regularly seeing over
100 young mothers gathered at Flint Central from various churches in Reaching
new people every week doesn’t just happen accidentally. GROW
asked Pastor Gardner what he’s Reaching
the Unchurched: Starting
a church for the unchurched carries multiple challenges, but the NewStart
in Loveland (CO) seems to be mastering them. Pastor Robin Rodgers began
the Hope Springs Community Church of the Nazarene in September, 2003.
Forty people joined Robin and her husband John from their sponsor church
at Loveland First Church. Early The first event was a “Family Fun Day” planned for Easter weekend 2004. With a team of 35 volunteers, they planned a community-wide event with individual contests like sack races, and an egg hunt for the children (with 15,000 eggs to find), a remote broadcast from the local radio station and a concert in the park by their new worship team. Their volunteers were thrilled when over 700 registered for the activities of the day. Their
second set of community events involved “Summer Sports Camps”
in the city parks around Loveland. The
third attraction event proved equally successful as a bridging event for
the new church. By the fall of 2004, the Pastor Robin and her energetic team now have a mailing list of over 1,300 prospective unchurched families in their ministry area. Every week new families are checking out Hope Springs Community Church of the Nazarene. And the congregation continues to grow in attendance and members. After starting with only 12 attending the first Bible study a year ago, they are now averaging well over 100 in worship each week.The delight to Pastor Robin and her core group is realizing that 60% of the people attending on an average Sunday were unchurched before attending this new church. “This
progress was possible because of several other Nazarene churches in our
area that helped us get started,” Pastor
Rodgers says “There is nothing to me that is more exciting or rewarding
than to watch God take nothing and “A
particular scripture began to well up within me – it describes how
passionate I am toward seeing the birth, growth “People
who need to know are like the Graves family. I met Andreas in a hospital
room about a year ago, as her family was preparing for her to die. Her
brother had called and asked that I come pray with them. Andreas was a
single mom of a 3 year old and a newborn baby, but was dying of liver
failure. We and many others began praying for her. The Lord touched Andreas
and today she worships at Hope Springs with her brother, sister and mom
and all of the grandchildren almost every Sunday. They are just one example
of how this church is reaching out to unchurched families. Jeanette, Andreas’
mom, told us that it is the first time that she and all of her children
have been “Another
miracle of God’s grace would be Ericka. Ericka and her children
began coming to Hope Springs about two months ago. Ericka had a very tough
childhood and difficult adult life. About one month ago she totally committed
her life to Christ and now so motivated and enthused to everyone that
walks in the door of Hope The
work is far from complete with many more unchurched families to reach
in their area. But if these days are The
Mission of Mentoring: From
his earliest experiences in pastoral ministry, Pastor John Whitsett discovered
the lifechanging effect of mentoring relationships. In the late 1980s,
he was pastoring a district sponsored new church in Texas. By his own Pastor Bill Duke was pastoring in nearby DeSoto, Texas. Whitsett recalls the day Pastor Duke gave him a key to his church and said, “Help yourself to anything you may need.” His mentoring friend offered his library for sermon preparation, the church’s offices and equipment - even the church building if the new congregation ever needed it. That generosity left a lasting impression on the young pastor. The
second pastor who impacted Pastor Whitsett in those early days was Larry
Dennis. He was pastoring in nearby When
a young pastor in Raleigh contacted Pastor John last year for some advice
and counsel, a genuine friendship quickly developed. Pastor Derrick Lemons
later came to realize the North Raleigh Church’s invitation to come
on staff had been the Lord’s leading in his life. The leadership
teams at the North Raleigh Church are now studying In the 1980s when Dan Boone was their pastor, they sponsored the growing Penny Road Church of the Nazarene. That church is pastored today by Rev. Katherine Widdifield, featured in this issue of GROW. In the mid 1990’s, an inner-city ministry called Tapestry was struggling to survive. The church leaders and Pastor Whitsett came to this conclusion: suburbanites trying to effectively connect in the inner city just weren’t working. So in 1998, North Raleigh decided to try a whole new approach and sent a core group of 50 members to start a new church connected to the Compassionate Ministry Center. Pastor Kevin Modesto had been on staff at North Raleigh and went to serve as director of the inner-city ministry. Since that time they have surpassed 100 in worship on several Sundays. For the past nine years, Pastor Royce Halfock has served as the senior pastor at Tapestry, which has become a thriving, inner-city ministry. Three
years ago, Andre Bouassa began a new ministry personal relationship with
Him and having the right balance of DEVOTION: Am I having a dedicated, personal encounter with God on a daily basis? DISCIPLESHIP: Am I an active part of a smaller group of believers where I can know & be known, love & be loved, and experience relationships of significance? WORSHIP: Am I a vital part of a weekly corporate gathering primarily set aside for ascribing reaching immigrant Africans in the Raleigh area. North Raleigh continues to assist Pastor Andre in his new church that runs approximately 75 each week in worship. But this list of mentoring ministry goes on. A
new Arabic Church has started Bible studies with Pastor Joseph Addo leading
the effort. A French African group has now made contact with the Raleigh
Church, looking for a holiness denomination for accountability and fellowship.
Pastor John admits that none of these new churches were formally planned
orpremeditated. “We’re only In a more candid moment he said, “I feel like what holds the church back too often is the insecurity of the senior pastor. I’m learning to be about building the Kingdom, even if it may be difficult for the church I pastor. North Raleigh pays my salary, but my job is to build the Kingdom, even though it may not be beneficial in the short term to this local church.” And apparently the North Raleigh congregation agrees with their pastor. Every week in their worship bulletin, the following statement is affirmed for their congregation: “At North Raleigh, we believe our job is to help you become the person God created you to be. This begins by establishing a praise, glory, and honor to God? SERVICE:
Do I have an identified local church based ministry that utilizes my spiritual
gifts and allows me to make a OUTREACH: Is there at least one unsaved person I’m cultivating a relationship with in hopes of earning the right to share what Jesus has done in my life? Our
belief is that a person who maintains involvements in these five areas
can’t help but grow and increasingly take on the likeness of Christ.”
For missional churches, mentoring new leaders isn’t a side issue:
mentoring new Military
Appreciation Sunday at Canton First Freedom is a great treasure and it comes with a price. Military service members make extraordinary sacrifices in defense of freedom and our prized way of life. Twelve
years ago, Mr. Harold Jackson, a member of the Canton, Ohio First Church
of the Nazarene and an army veteran from the Second World War, invited
his pastor, Larry White, to lunch. Harold had an idea that he wanted That
Military Appreciation Day (MILPAD) Service, twelve years ago, was such
a success that it has continued each year since during the month of November.
Former speakers have been Chaplain Barry Black, United States Senate Initially, twelve years ago, the service honored veterans who were members and attendees of Canton First Nazarene. Veterans who attended the first year so appreciated the service that they invited their friends the next year. As a result, the service has grown over the years to include veterans from all over Stark County, Ohio. In fact, the service is now a major calendar event on the Stark County veteran’s calendar. Freedom
is a great treasure and it comes with a price. Military service members
make extraordinary sacrifices in defense of freedom and our prized way
of life. Some are separated from family and loved ones. Some serve in Today,
military personnel are literally scattered all over the world. They are
in Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, Korea, Canton
First Nazarene is very appreciative of the great sacrifices made by the
men and women of this country who served in the armed forces, and this
military appreciation day service is their way of saying “Thanks.”
Over the |