04
May 2023
Dear NEO Family, I love this season of year. Of course, I love the beautiful Spring days, the flowers blooming, the trees budding and the grass turning green. But I especially love Holy Week and the chance to focus on the key acts of redemption history. I pray this will be a time for every NEO participant to experience anew the amazing privilege we have of being children of God and walking free of guilt and condemnation, made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus! Let’s exalt his name together! Here are a few more reasons to celebrate: Scott Moore, Broken Arrow – We have changed our name to Broken Arrow Connect Church of the Nazarene and have renovated the outside of our building. We are seeing growth spiritually and numerically as well. God is moving in Connect Church. Brad Farnsworth, Broken Arrow Core – We are celebrating the launch......
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16
Mar 2023
Exponential 2023 Nineteen members of the NEO Family attended Exponential 2023 in Orlando last week with our New Start Coordinator, Ronnie Baker. They joined close to 400 other Nazarenes and 3500 participants in times of worship, prayer and teaching. The focus of Exponential every year is on the church multiplying through church planting. This year’s emphasis was on a renewal of evangelism and disciple making. We pray that those who participated will come home with new vision, new passion and new insights for helping us reach the lost and make disciples in NEO! God is at work in our world. Our desire is to join Him in what he is doing. For that reason we are taking seriously the call to prayer from Easter to Pentecost. How appropriate that that takes us into the month of General Assembly and NEO District Assembly. Our District Assembly theme will be “Mission......
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23
Feb 2023
Church Camps are Life Transforming Church Leaders caught up with Toby Mac on the red carpet of the Dove Awards, where he shared that he wouldn’t be a Christian today if it wasn’t for a youth pastor inviting him to a summer camp. “I just want to say to all the church leaders out there that I would not be a Christian if a youth pastor did not reach out to me and love on me and invite me to a camp one summer,” he said. “He invited me, and it’s why I’m a Christian, and it’s why I make music that talks about the King.” NEO Summer Camps are only a few months away: Youth Camp, Completed Grades 7-12, May 30-June 2, New Life Ranch Primary Kids Camp, Completed Grades 1-3, July 14-17, Camp Bond Junior Kids Camp, Completed Grades 4-6, July 18-22, Camp Bond You can find......
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02
Feb 2023
He Gets Us The He Gets Us Campaign is sparking a nationwide conversation, and millions are discovering, rediscovering, and taking a fresh look at Jesus’ message of radical love. Now, thanks to FREE resources made available by the campaign, over 15,000 churches have joined the movement. These resources are designed to give churches new ways to understand the culture they encounter every day, and engage with their people and communities in conversations about Jesus. So, if you’re looking for new ways to: Strengthen your message Keep small groups fresh Encourage online spiritual practices Or connect with a rapidly changing culture You’re going to want to go to https://hegetsuspartners.com/ to learn more about how you can leverage the movement and the moment in your ministry. District News Okmulgee Church had a water line routed through the attic to service an icemaker and during the cold snap the line burst in 4 places and......
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05
Jan 2023
Exchanged Life Prayer Years ago, Mainstay Ministries introduced me to “The Exchanged Life Prayer”. As a part of a 50-Day Spiritual Adventure, participants were encouraged to pray these words at least daily for 50 Days. I found the practice extremely practical and helpful and have returned to the prayer over the years. Probably around a decade ago, we used this prayer across the district as a part of our Radical Together 40 day emphasis. I am pulling the prayer out to use personally during the month of January. I would encourage you to join me in using it to offer yourself to God as a living sacrifice to use as God desires, in awe of what the prayer affirms at the conclusion, “that the Creator/Lord of the universe now chooses to accomplish much of his work through people like me. Indwelling Christ– I consciously present my body to you to......
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19
Dec 2022
Sunday I saw this “We are better TOGETHER” sign on the platform of our Hominy Church. But even better, I saw evidence of the truth of this as I visited three of our churches that day! It started at the 9am service at Tulsa Audacity Church. Pastor Ronnie Baker didn’t know I would be there, but he shared a video about Abba Ministries, one of the District Compassionate Ministry Centers, in the service. He highlighted the church’s giving to others, including Abba, World Evangelism Fund, Pensions and Benefits, Southern Nazarene University, and NEO District. He told of the church’s goal to give more than 20% of all they take in to others in the year ahead! Aren’t you thankful that our newer churches understand the importance of our connection! We are better together. It continued as I surprised Pastor Carl Brown and the Hominy Church by joining them for......
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14
Nov 2022
5 Prescriptions for Building Thriving Churches By Kevin Harney, August 25, 2022 How we can bring life and health to our church and community I do not consider myself a prophet or a futurist. I am a local church pastor who longs to see the good news of Jesus permeate the church and transform our world from this day until Jesus comes again. As I focus on the future of the church, I write with humility and hope. These five reflections are not meant to be predictive but optimistically prescriptive. I have a suspicion that our changing world needs a church that will look both the same and very different from the church of the past. My prayer is that these reflections help you dream and work toward a future where the spread of the gospel actually increases and expands in the church and the community around us. READ MORE New Arrival......
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