NEO Team Update 1-23-23
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 soaked the ceiling tiles (drop in) and insulation in part of the facility and ruined sheetrock over the kitchen area.
NYI Winter Retreat
On the weekend of January 13-15, NEO NYI had over 250 students and leaders participate in Winter Retreat. The weekend was focused on discipleship, spiritual growth and group bonding. Our theme Renew focused on the spiritual life as heart, mind, strength and soul. Following Jesus is a whole-person experience. Please pray for these teens as leaders work to keep the momentum of their experience moving in their lives at home.
Pastors’ I Want to Celebrate…
David Stevens, Vinita: We baptized four children and youth; God has blessed us with His presence in our services; our bills and budgets are paid!
Steve Spangenberg, Bartlesville First: I want to celebrate that lives are being transformed and new people are coming to church!
Brady Thelander, Sapulpa: We want to celebrate 10 teens at Winter Retreat, 3 new people serving in children’s ministry, and first-time guests joining us in worship nearly every Sunday.
Ron Biddle, Bristow: Our Sacred Assembly. We are praying and fasting for 21 days (January 1-21). Folks are telling me they are hearing God’s voice like never before. We will end with an Anointing Service on the 22nd. Several have asked for healing for self, or in proxy for another. God is so faithful!
NewStart Christmas Project in Cushing
Pastor Ben Finkbeiner reports that Kinetic Church partnered with Love INC to bless our community through a Christmas Outreach event. I was prayerful and hopeful that this event would be a blessing for as many children as possible. I must say that I was blown away at the scale of which it grew. I am confident God blessed this event in so many ways!
Together Kinetic and Love INC spent 2 months collecting donations, marketing, vetting applicants, and planning for this event. I am so glad they were involved because without them we couldn’t have accomplished nearly as much!
On December 17 we had families come into the church building who would shop for toys for their children. We greeted them with prayer, snacks, drinks, and good conversation as they waited to go shopping. Below are some of the wonderful things God did through this event:
- Over $11,000 of brand-new toys were donated from 29 donation centers across the city (businesses and churches).
· 152 Children received $75 of toys for Christmas plus stocking stuffers (these gifts were not from “us”, but they were labeled from their parents).
- Almost 60 low-income families came into the church building that day.
- Kinetic used 35 volunteers, Love INC had 20.
- We had 2 people from our prayer team pray for over 6 hours straight during this event. They were praying for each person who came in the door, as well as requests that came in.
- We wrapped more gifts than I could count!
- 5 women that we first met at this event have since returned to Kinetic for the Diaper Closet.
- 3 families have regularly attended Kinetic since they were first served at this event.
We are so thankful God chose us to help out in this way. We are celebrating His work through this event!!!
IT’S NOT JUST WHAT YOU DO, IT’S WHO YOU’RE BECOMING
Friday, January 27th / 1:00 – 7:00pm
Identifying how God wants to use us can be a process. It’s easy to forget in a performance-driven culture that we have value beyond what we can do. Who we’re becoming is what determines our impact, and that’s what really matters.
At this year’s conference, we’ll explore our gifts, our true value, and how to look forward to the future with hope and expectation. Together, we’ll be inspired to define, discover, chase down, and live out our God-given purpose.
During this one-day conference for high school junior and senior girls, you’ll experience guest speakers from diverse backgrounds, life experiences, and perspectives. We’ll lead you through a hand-lettering workshop to challenge your creativity, and you’ll meet like-minded friends. We hope you’ll join us!
NTS Praxis is excited to offer a 6-week webinar with Dr. Glenn Miller. We hope that local church pastors, their church treasurers, and others charged with oversight of resources will come together to learn best practices for managing these resources for effective ministry.
Topics include:
- Handling Income Funds with Integrity and Accountability
- Handling Expenses and Meeting IRS Requirements
- Building a Budget and Managing it Through Helpful Reporting
- Managing Facilities to Better Facilitate Ministry
- Understanding, Embracing, and Dealing Effectively with Risk Management
- Understanding Today’s Legal Requirements for Ministry
Class will meet online via zoom on Monday nights from 6-7 CST from January 23rd-February 27th.
You can register for the class here. The cost is $50, and this includes Dr. Miller’s book, Pastoral Helmsmanship.