Living with Evangelistic Passion Northeast Oklahoma was blessed to have Paul and Ann Stubbs move to Northeast Oklahoma after they ended their active years of ministry to the global church and its missionaries. They have served several churches as interim pastor and spouse in retirement and were deeply loved wherever they labored. I don’t know if I have ever known someone to continue to serve so tirelessly and fervently in retirement as Paul Stubbs.  In the 84th year of his life,  in his “Annual Report of Retired Minister”, he reported an incredible level of activity: Times Preached Nursing Homes – 156 John 3:16 Mission – 12 Fill-in at Churches – 9 Visits to Shut-ins – 206 Prayed with People to Accept Jesus – 346 I would say Paul helped a lot of people have a “fantabulous” day! Who would think that Paul himself was battling lung disease while he......

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“How about those Chiefs?” This was the greeting on my voicemail on Tuesday morning. The KC Chiefs had defeated the Denver Broncos the night before and my Dad was calling from his rehab center to rejoice in the win. Many of us will be greeting one another with “Boomer…Sooner” as we get ready for a Cotton Bowl win against Texas (I sure hope I don’t have to eat these words!). The truth is, when we are zealous about something, when we really love it, we talk about it. We invite others to experience it. We want to share the joy. Why is it that we can be more enthusiastic about a football team, a new restaurant or a new TV show that we are about Jesus? Almost a year ago, Kevin and Sherry Harney came to our District to help us learn to share our passion for God naturally.......

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The role of the District Sunday School & Discipleship Ministries International (SDMI) is to promote the work of making disciples through Sunday School/Small Group growth on the district, as well as for program-oriented ministries of outreach, evangelism and Christian nurture for all age levels. I am excited to be working with a great group of godly men and women across our district to fulfill this role and our church’s mission “to make Christlike disciples” here in Northeast Oklahoma and across the nations. The SDMI ministry teams are working diligently to bring opportunities for us to gather, learn and be equipped for this calling. Our Children’s Ministry Council, headed by Beckie Richburg, is getting ready for Kids Mission Day coming up on Saturday, October 13. They are also working with kids across the district and going deeper into God’s Word as they prepare for many upcoming Bible quizzes throughout the......

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Hello NEO Churches! Now that summer is coming to an end, NYI can catch their breath for just a moment and get ready for fall and winter events. The fall is my favorite time of the year because it’s football season. I love going and spending time together at our high school football games hanging out with our church people, our teenagers, and our community. This is my passion – living outside the church and being with the community that needs us. Wouldn’t it be great if we, the church body, get out and support our football teams and get to know the people around us so we can have a better idea of how to minister in our city? What is neat about this is that this is something that the different generations can do together. When different generations get together outside the church and do things together,......

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CHANGE This is the season that brings a lot of changes.  Children start a new grade, the weather is cooling down, trees are starting to change color, and the list could go on and on. I want to share about changes in NMI.  On the District NMI, one change is that President David Stevens asked me, Linda Holland, to serve as interim president. David is not leaving, but he needed a break, a sabbatical, to refresh himself.  If you need to contact me, send me an email. Another change in our District NMI is that Cynthia Hollingsworth is our new Work and Witness director.  If you have questions or want information, contact her through email. There are also changes from the General NMI Convention. We have a new logo, we changed the constitution a little, and we tried to make it easier for you in the local church to share......

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Francis Chan: If Everyone Knew How to Read the Bible, It Would Change Church as We Know It Francis Chan shares about the best gift he’s been given. He received it when he was 15 when a pastor taught him “how to read the Bible for myself.” And now, Chan shares, he’s made major, life-altering decisions with just him and the book. Tim Mackie of The Bible Project says something similar about the best gift he’s received. A teacher taught him to see how “every book of the Bible fits together as a unified story that leads to and points to Jesus.” This teacher also taught him to read the Bible for himself and learn from it. Chan says he’s frustrated about all the talk surrounding different speakers and the words they’ve spoken and the lack of talk surrounding what someone has learned for him or herself from the......

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Build on Your Strengths   We’re often told in business that we should work on our weaknesses instead of our strengths, but let me tell you about Jim Kaat, who pitched many years for the Minnesota Twins. Kaat went in to talk to his new pitching coach, Johnny Sain, during spring training before the 1966 season. Sain asked Kaat to name his top four pitches and what pitches he felt he should work on the most.   Kaat said his best pitch was his fastball, followed by his curve, slider and changeup. He thought if he improved on his slider and changeup, he would have a good season.   His coach disagreed. Sain told him: “I want you to take a different approach. Work on your fastball. I know it’s your favorite pitch so go out there in practice, warm-ups and during games and concentrate on your fastball. Throw your......

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If I do as Jesus asked and pray for laborers for the harvest, do I understand that He was asking people for thousands of years to pray for me? Am I willing to be an answer to their prayers?   And he (Jesus) said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. (Luke 10:2 ESV)   The Value of Encouragement   When Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play major league baseball, was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers, he became a target for racial hate mail and even death threats. Before one game, Robinson received a threatening phone call that left him so shaken that he was unable to concentrate on the game.   Robinson struck out in one inning with bases loaded. In another inning, he committed a fielding......

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The Heart of the Church ​ Every church needs to take an honest look at how they function and discover if there are patterns that are counterproductive to reaching out to those who are not yet part of the family.  Entire congregations can function in a way that says, “We are here for us.  Everyone else stay away.”  Or they can establish patterns that show warmth and an inviting spirit that says, “Everyone is welcome!” In an excerpt from his book, Seismic Shifts, Kevin Harney shares the importance of evaluating the heart of the church.  Read More Raising Highly Capable Kids – July 27 Search Institute has undertaken decades of research with more than 5 million children and found that there are 40 building blocks every child needs to grow and mature. And the more of these assets a child has in her life, the more likely she is to......

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Dear NEO Family,   We are only a few days away from our 2018 Advance. You may want to know more about a few of the speakers from off the District.   Drs. Chuck and Carla Sunberg   Carla Sunberg was elected 43rd general superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene at the 29th General Assembly in Indianapolis, Indiana in June, 2017. At the time of her election, Carla was president of Nazarene Theological Seminary. Previously, Chuck and Carla  served as pioneer missionaries to the former Soviet Union, co-pastors of Grace Point Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana and co-district superintendents of the East Ohio District. Carla was born in Germany, daughter of missionaries, ordained on the Russian North District, and educated in the USA (MNU) and England (Masters and PhD from Nazarene Theological College and the University of Manchester). Her heartfelt passion is a life of holiness and service for......

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