October 2008

Koreans Unite to Sponsor a New Congregation
Despite heavy rains and flooded streets, members from six congregations gathered in Naperville, Illinois to celebrate the birth of the newest congregation on the Chicago Central District – Naperville Korean Church of the Nazarene.  Rev. Kim Eun-Ho leads this fledgling ministry in the suburbs of Chicago, which was sponsored, in unique partnership, by Chicago First Korean Church of the Nazarene and Antioch Korean Church of the Nazarene from the Kansas City area.  Naperville Trinity Church of the Nazarene is serving as the host congregation.  Across the Chicago Central District other congregations are answering the call to support this new work and its important ministry in and among Koreans.

Every morning at 6 am Rev. Kim and people gather for prayer.  Naperville represents the second highest concentration of Korean families in the state of Illinois where the Korean population is growing rapidly.  Naperville is the beginning of a strategic plan to reach the burgeoning Korean population in and around Chicago.  Rev. Kim had previously served as Associate Pastor at Antioch Korean Church of the Nazarene and moves to Naperville with his wife Jihee and three children.

Messianic Congregations Plan for Expansion
The Messianic Strategic Readiness Team celebrates the birth of the second organized Messianic congregation in the Church of the Nazarene.  Beth Echad, located in Akron, Ohio, under the leadership of Pastor Don Gainer, joins Beth Simchat, in Phoenix, Arizona.  The Strategic Readiness Team continues to meet with pastors and district leadership in preparation for more new congregations in Las Vegas, Nevada; Los Angeles and Anaheim, California; and Tucson, Arizona.  God has been faithful to provide leaders and partners throughout the country and the community for this important ministry.

Siloam Mission CEO meets with prime minister of Canada
Siloam Mission CEO John Mohan, along with eight other Winnipeg, Manitoba, community leaders, met with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in a 90-minute private meeting on Wednesday, August 6, at the Winakwa Community Centre in Winnipeg. The topic of discussion was Harper’s new federal drug and youth awareness campaign targeted at parents.

As a ministry which serves as a connecting point between the compassionate and Winnipeg’s less fortunate, the Church of the Nazarene's Siloam Mission was an excellent addition to this meeting. “It was a privilege to represent Siloam Mission,” remarked Mohan. “I appreciated the opportunity to bring a perspective for those youth whom this campaign may overlook—those coming from fractured families who now live on our streets and are at high risk to drug use.”

During the meeting, Mohan spoke on behalf of one young lady who has used Siloam’s services for three years. Through “Tanya’s” perspective, Mohan discussed youth drug abuse as a means of escaping painful childhood memories. He emphasized the influence of parents as role models, both positive and negative, on children, as well as the lasting effects of child abuse and neglect; the role of peers in replacing damaged parent-child relationships and the need for more youth-oriented emergency shelters.  (Courtesy NCN News)

Shepherd Community Center Continues to Expand Services
Nearly 1,000 children joined the Shepherd Community Center family earlier this summer. Shepherd Community is a Nazarene Compassionate Ministry Center serving the near east side of Indianapolis.  Shepherd offers programs for children, teens, adults, and families, helping to meet their physical, emotional, academic, and spiritual needs.

Since January of 2008, Shepherd Community has merged with three organizations, incorporating staff, volunteers, financial supporters, and families into the ministry of the organization.  With the pooled resources of these organizations, Shepherd is able to generate an even greater impact on those who live in Indianapolis’ near eastside neighborhoods. Shepherd, whose mission is to break the cycle of poverty, has began integrating these individuals into their existing continuum of care now bringing the number of individuals served to 3,000.

New Hispanic Congregation in Tucson
Southwest Latin American District Superintendent Dr. Roberto Hodgson announced that the congregation Rios de Vida Nueva with about 100 people joined the Nazarene family late this summer in a special service.  Rios de Vida Nueva will share facilities with the Tucson Palmdale Church of the Nazarene after complete renovations to the building.  The district has provided $10,000 for the remodeling project and one of the members of the new congregation has donated an air conditioning unit.  Dr. Hodgson commented, “I am so excited that next year, I'd like to have the district assembly at the Palmdale church.”
 
Sisler to Lead USA/Canada Work and Witness
George Sisler has been appointed as the Work & Witness Coordinator for the USA & Canada. In a unique two-year contractual partnership between World Missions and US/Canada Missions Evangelism department George would be responsible for coordinating and mobilizing teams of volunteers to serve churches and Compassionate Ministry Centers in the US & Canada. Barry & Charlie Carney who previously held this position have returned to the pastorate in Nebraska.

George has been organizing Work & Witness projects and volunteers for over a decade. Among his earliest assignments, in 1999 he volunteered in Mexico, assisting the Work & Witness Coordinators and leading teams while they were in Mexico.
 
In 2000, he joined the One Heart - Many Hands team in preparation for the organization's 2001 Work & Witness project, coinciding with the General Assembly of the Church Nazarene in Indianapolis.

More recently, George served as Project Director for "Restoring Hope," a multi-state project coordinated by Nazarene Disaster Response.  For almost two years following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, George and his team organized thousands of Nazarene volunteers, working on more than a thousand projects throughout the Gulf Coast.

George grew-up on the mission field in Chile where his parents served as Nazarene missionaries for more than 15 years. George attended Mount Vernon Nazarene University from 1989 through 1993, where he met his wife Heather. George is an Ordained Elder in the Church of the Nazarene and served as youth pastor in Central Ohio following college.
  
The Sislers, along with their six year old son, currently reside in Orlando where George is serving as Project Director for the One Heart - Many Hands 2009 Work & Witness project in conjunction with the 27th General Assembly of the Church Nazarene.

Immigration Information Resources Available to All Congregations
To meet the growing challenge of undocumented Christians among the ranks of Nazarenes in the US & Canada, the US/Canada Missions Evangelism department has entered a partnership with World Relief to provide legal counsel to district superintendents and ethnic ministry coordinators.

Effective October 1, 2008 district leaders would have access to a toll-free number and an email address directly linked to a World Relief legal team that would respond to the options available to them so that liabilities could be mitigated. These are crucial issues for the church. “We have to work in a very complex environment in order to do Kingdom work. I am grateful that you are helping us,” said general superintendent Dr. Jesse Middendorf about this initiative.

World Relief works with local evangelical churches to bring relief to suffering people in the name of Christ. Together, World Relief and partner churches are saving lives and restoring hope through ministries that address poverty, disease, hunger, persecution and the effects of war and disasters. We meet suffering people's physical, emotional and spiritual needs - showing them that the Church cares because Jesus loves them.
They believe showing suffering people that Christians care and that the Church wants to make a lasting impact on their lives is a powerful expression of our faith and love for God.

It is our prayer that this resource would readily help our leaders as they deal with the complexities of the immigration challenge.

Community of Hope Church of the Nazarene Finds a New Home
Community of the Hope Church of the Nazarene in Washington, DC celebrates the dedication of their new building with a weekend of festivities October 24-26, 2008.  The new building, in the Congress Heights section of town, is 2 blocks from the Congress Heights Metro Station in a neighborhood with a mixture of single family homes, townhouses, and apartment buildings. The property includes a 3-bedroom house and fenced, off-street parking for 25 vehicles, a commercial kitchen, fellowship hall, nursery area, baptismal, three offices, and a conference room. The sanctuary seats 250 with additional seating of 37 in the choir stand.  The Mid-Atlantic District will celebrate with four services over the weekend featuring previous pastors of the congregation.

Thom Recognized for Community Leadership in Dallas
Rev. Jennifer Thom recently accepted the pastorate at South Miami Heights Church of the Nazarene in Florida, but she will be dearly missed in Dallas community she called home for the previous twelve years.  On October 25, 2008, Thom will be among the honorees at the Pleasant Grove: Mission Possible Appreciation Awards Banquet.

Dr. Shirley Wesley King said of Thom, “On behalf of the Pleasant Grove: Mission Possible, Inc. board and Pleasant Grove community, we express great appreciation for the commitment, outstanding leadership and service Pastor Jennifer Thom provided in this community.  Pastor Thom represents the type of spiritual leader that Christ challenges us all to be.   For the past four years, she has participated faithfully as an active member of the Pleasant Grove Weed and Seed Steering Committee.  Beyond participation on the committee, her lone activism as a representative of the faith community gave us renewed hope in the faith-based community.”

Thom hosted the committee, funded through the US Department of Justice as a means of transformation and community development, at the Bruton Terrace Church of the Nazarene, where she served as pastor.  Throughout her tenure, Thom was a vocal community leader.

First Nations Ministry Continues on Vancouver Island
Herman and Cynthia Nells followed God’s call to move from the Navajo Reservation in Arizona to Vancouver Island off the West Coast of Canada to minister to fellow Native North Americans.  The transition from the desert to the rainy coastline has not been easy, but God has blessed their sacrificial efforts.  They are learning to love sea food and enjoy travel by boat, as many of the towns are only accessible by water.

From their ministry base in Port Alberni the Nells have travelled extensively, finding believers across the island from various tribes.  The Nells help to support two native ministers, preaching among their own people, as well as a number of small groups and bible studies.  The Nells report, “The First Nations people have a difficult time coming into the church.  They have been hurt by the church in their past history so it will take time to establish trust.  But we know that our Lord is able to do the impossible so continue to pray as the Lord brings down walls of separation.”

The Nells are supported by the Southside Community Church of the Nazarene of Port Alberni and the Canada Pacific District.  The Nells have been able to speak at various events and activities around the area, even cheering on their fellow Arizonans at the North American Indigenous Games.  One of the highlights of the summer was the Aboriginal Conference in which 80 participants from various tribes gathered to worship and strengthen each other in ministry.

Armenian Nazarenes Celebrate the Centennial
On October 5, 2008 the Armenian congregations in the Los Angeles area gathered to celebrate the denomination’s Centennial at the Bresee Avenue Church of the Nazarene.  Each attendee received a copy of the Nazarene Manual, which has been newly translated into Armenian.  Armenian Strategic Readiness Team Coordinator Habib Alajaji reports that every pastor participated in a service that included the singing of “Holiness Unto the Lord,” translated into Armenian for the first time.

African Congregation in Charlotte Poised for Growth
Pastor Paul-Jean Olangi leads Charlotte Holiness French Church of the Nazarene in Charlotte, North Carolina.  This congregation, comprised mostly of Congolese people, has outgrown the small Baptist Chapel in which they meet.  African Strategic Readiness Team Coordinator John Ndambuki recently visited the congregation to plan for further growth.  Pastor Paul estimates at least 3,000 Congolese live in Charlotte with most not connected to any Christian community. 

Like many congregations, Charlotte French Holiness is faced with limitations on resources and personnel as they attempt to meet the needs of this community around them.  Pastor Ndambuki challenged the congregation to remember the great plan God has for Africans in God’s kingdom and to live each day with the same energy and enthusiasm with which they worship on Sunday.

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