NEO Team Update 3-31-23
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 of the second Core Church location in the capital city of Ethiopia. We now have 2 traditional churches and 4 house churches. We are also helping launch the very first Nazarene pastors training center in Somalia.
Daniel Surratt, Tulsa Central – We are focusing on community. Due to our building layout, we were struggling with people not interacting with each other before the service. So, we created a new coffee area for our people to fellowship in before the service. Once a month, we end Sunday Classes early and have coffee, donuts, cinnamon rolls, etc. for an extended time of morning fellowship. This has been a game changer at our church. It has increased the energy as people come in to worship and our congregation is more engaged during the service as a result.
Billy Harding, Meeker Country Faith – We have been doing a drive-thru prayer once a week for the last 3 weeks. We had a chance to pray with multiple people and encourage them in their endeavors. It has been a true blessing to our people involved and the church as a whole as we reach out to those in our world.
Dave McKellips, Miami New Life – David Frisbie has accepted a call to be Pastor at New Life and will be installed on April 16. We welcome David and Lisa back to NEO!
Dianna Potter, Pathways of Hope Immigration Center – An Open House is set for May 6, Noon to 3pm, with a ceremony at 1:30pm. Pathways of Hope will be housed by Tulsa Kaleo Church, 525 N. Oxford.
HALF-MILLION MOBILIZATION 2023
“God does nothing but by prayer, and everything with it.”
– John Wesley
We continue as a people that prays…
We enter into our second year with another Call to Prayer from Easter (4/9) to Pentecost (5/28). The feedback has been resounding after praying through Pentecost 2022, that we must pray again every year! Oh, the unifying effects of praying together.
We also heard from the Spirit; our church must focus on each of the elements below for our vision in the USA/Canada Region, Church of the Nazarene.
There emerged four heart-cries for the USA/Canada Region, Church of the Nazarene:
- The importance of “mobilizing all Nazarenes in unity” in the midst of a polarized world.
- The calling of our churches to engage in “blessing our communities,” to get out from behind our walls to be salt and light in our culture.
- A passion for “bringing people to Jesus,” especially younger generations.
- A longing for the transformation of the whole person, “becoming Christlike disciples” mobilized to make a holy, positive impact in our world.
1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
The next four years, the NEO District will focus on these “heart cries” from our people.
There will be a yearly emphasis on each one, but we hope to resource and challenge NEO churches annually in all four areas, what we call The Cycle to Resurgence, praying that the vision within the district becomes reality.
The Cycle to Resurgence
Praying The Spirit’s Vision to Pentecost
Join your church family across Canada and the United States in a prayer journey from Easter Sunday, April 9, until Pentecost Sunday, May 28.
Be inspired by a special section within the Holiness Today Mar/Apr issue devoted to prayer. Participate in the journey of prayer following a daily prayer journal called From Mission to Vision to Mobilization.
Click here to view and download a PDF version of the prayer journal. View it on your computer or mobile device, or get access to translations in Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, or French Creole. There are no restrictions on reproducing this prayer journal. Copy the hardcopy book or print the PDF versions from the website. It’s about the time in prayer above anything else.
Download the mobile app with daily reminders for the prayer journal on your phone or tablet. Search for “Half-Million Mobilization” in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. You can also follow along at www.halfmillionmobilization.org. Language translations are also available in the mobile app.
SNU Graphic Design Students Win Ten OKC Ad Club Addy Awards
Congratulations to the five SNU Graphic Design students who won ten awards at the 10th District OKC ADDY Awards Gala on February 18, 2023. The formal event was held at the Criterion Theater in downtown Oklahoma City with an attendance of 250 or more. Professor Phyllis Eagle, SNU Graphic Design department chair, has entered students in the competition for the past seven years. Each year SNU design students have placed in many categories, with this year’s entries garnering the most awards for the department so far!
Click HERE to read more about the award winners!
General Secretary Gary Hartke and Nazarene Research Services released the annual Church of the Nazarene statistical report for 2022. This detailed report documenting the missional activities of the denomination on a global scale shows growth for the Church of the Nazarene over the statistical year, as well as continued growth over the past decade.
Global reports show total current membership for the Church of the Nazarene at 2,652,756, a net increase of 501,873 (23.33%) from 2012.
The denomination welcomed in 113,272 new Nazarenes this year and saw a total of 89,328 new professions of faith.
The fastest-growing regions in membership were Asia-Pacific (6.27 percent), and South America (1.16 percent). It was a year of positive growth for ministers. While there was an increase in ordained elders (1.53 percent) and licensed ministers (4.72) percent, the largest increase came in the representation of ordained deacons, which saw a 26.13 percent growth in 2022.
The Church of the Nazarene has 19,104 ordained elders, 975 ordained deacons, and 11,382 licensed ministers.
To view the 2022 Report, click here.