No Night Too Dark “Light dawns in the darkness for the upright: He is gracious, merciful and righteous.” Psalm 112:4 On television, in newspapers, online and in real life, all of us see more tragedy and heartache than we care to. We have all witnessed the devastating effects of both nature run amok and humankind gone savage. But if you look closely and watch long enough, you will also witness something else, something incomparably precious… You will see God at work… You will see light shining in the darkness. Even in the midst of suffering and death and disease and worry and hunger and thirst and nakedness, you may see a sudden stab of light through the clouds… and inexplicable reversal of circumstances…a fragile flower of matchless beauty pushing its way through the rubble and devastation. My prayer is that this Advent Season will be one where we see......

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Let’s Show Them Jesus At the 56th Annual GMA Dove Awards, Jelly Roll received the Song of the Year award for “Hard Fought Hallelujah” and delivered a speech urging the audience to “show them Jesus” through actions like feeding the poor and visiting the jailed. He said, “I am standing here because people cared about the least.”  Jelly Roll said the world is hearing about Jesus like they haven’t in decades. Now it is time to put feet on your faith and go show them who Jesus is. In his State of the church 2025 article, Editor of Outreach Magazine, Ed Stetzer, quoted I Corinthian 16:9, “A wide door for effective ministry has opened for me – yet many oppose me.” Stetzer said what is needed is a combination of gospel proclamation and gospel demonstration. Pope Leo XIV, in his first document as Pope, criticized economies that marginalize the poor.  He......

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NOT YOUR DADDY’S NEW STARTS We thank God for the creativity of his people. As we Bless Our Communities and seek to Bring People to Jesus, God’s people find creative ways to start new churches. The Church of the Nazarene in North America seeks to have ALL KINDS of churches with ALL KINDS of people in ALL KINDS of places. What is the definition of a church? Any group that meets regularly for spiritual nurture, worship, or instruction, with an identified leader and aligned with the message and mission of the Church of the Nazarene may be recognized as a church and reported as such for District and general church statistics. On September 13, it was my privilege to lead an organizational service for Tulsa Ecclesia Church and Pastor Josh Duell. This church, started with a house church model 2 ½ years ago out of Tulsa Audacity, is aspiring to......

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Making Evangelism Matter   Evangelism has become a taboo word in some circles. Barna Research found that “56% of practicing Christian’s report having two or fewer conversations about their faith with a non-Christian during the past year.” How do we make evangelism matter again? What will it take for NEO Nazarenes to prioritize joining Jesus in his mission of seeking and saving the lost (Luke 19:10)? I’m praying for God to give me and to give you three things: Passion, a Plan and Perseverance.  1. Passion. By that I mean a burden for those separated from God by sin. The early church had this passion and the church prospered, even through trial and persecution. Michael Green writes in Evangelism in the Early Church: “Here were men and women of every rank and station in life, of every country in the known world, so convinced that they had discovered the riddle......

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District Assembly 2025 We are thankful for a wonderful Missions Convention and Assembly on June 6 & 7. Bartlesville First Church modeled hospitality and excellence as our hosts. Special thanks to On-site coordinator, Sonya Jenner, Lead Pastor Steve Spangenburg, Office Administrator, Karen Dimond and the dozens of BFC volunteers who served us so well.  Dr. Crocker preached and led with distinction. Jason Pierce and the worship team led us into the presence of God.  The delegates showed great flexibility as they adjusted to the use of a District App to follow the agenda and reports. Christy Thornton was our leader is use of the Toolbox and App and deserves immense thanksgiving.  District Secretary Jim Thornton, along with the NEO staff of Gloria McKellips, Katrina Schuber and Michelle Proctor all worked with efficiency and determination to make everything go smoothly. And best of all, God was with us! For the......

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2025 Assembly and Missions Convention June 6 – 7, Bartlesville First Church Why District Assembly and Conventions? encourage and recharge celebrate what God is doing build a sense of unity and team recall us to mission focus and alignment connect us all to something bigger than our local church Additional Assembly Information: Lodging. The Bartlesville Fairfield Inn and Suites, 2107 Southeast Washington Blvd., Bartlesville, OK 74006 still has a few rooms with one King bed available. Call the hotel at 918-331-2100 and tell them you are with the NEO Nazarene group to get our rate. Saturday Chick-fil-a Lunch. No one is required to eat on site, but to make it more convenient for you to eat without rushing to find a restaurant and rushing back, we have some Chick-fil-a options on site. Please order as a church, reserving and paying for the meals before June 2. Nursery. Nursery for age 3......

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God is at work in and through NEO Nazarenes! I hear testimonies every week of God’s activity in our midst. We need to celebrate it! We will do so at Assembly in six weeks, but below is a little appetizer as some of our pastors respond to  “I Want to Celebrate…” Dale Fillmore, Okmulgee New Day: Our Sunday morning class has a jar in which we put marbles or glass stones to celebrate our answers to prayer.  This week we had to put a large one in. My nephew had to have surgery on his foot.  They took off some toes and a large portion of one foot.  Infection was a real concern – diabetes.  They said he would never walk again.  Praise the Lord, his mother told me this week that he is up, about, and walking! Bret Metcalfe, Claremore: We had a great Resurrection Service with four people......

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Message from the DS Dear NEO family, “The NEO District Church of the Nazarene is made of up of 45 interdependent local churches, organized to facilitate the mission of each local church through mutual support, the sharing of resources and collaboration.”   I love seeing the way we collaborate and join together in fellowship and mission! In March, we have already had two outstanding district events – Kid’s Mission Day and  Prime Time Spring Fling. Our host churches, Regency Park and Sapulpa, were outstanding. The events were fun, inspirational and allowed us to time to interact with others on the District family. Today we will have two other gatherings for our District family. Our youth will be going to Southern Nazarene University for Extravaganza, an annual gathering for worship, talent, Bible Quizzing and Sports. I am thankful for a church that invests in our children and youth. And some......

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