|
January, 2007 |
An electronic newsletter of the Michigan District Church of the Nazarene |
VOLUME 24 NO. 5 |
|
KEY CONTACTS
District Office Kings Pointe Business Park 15180 S. Wright Road Grand Ledge, MI 48837 (517) 622-8450 Office (517) 622-8451 Fax
Dr. John E. Seaman District Superintendent (517) 930-3491 Cell
Dr. Randall Rucker District Secretary Insurance Administrator (517) 930-3498 Cell
Dawn Stemen Office Manager (517) 930-3502 Cell
Dr. John Bowling President Olivet Nazarene University (815) 939-5011
Dr. Jerry Porter Presiding General Superintendent Nazarene Headquarters Kansas City, Missouri (816) 333-7000 |
|
Read the Michigan Nazarene in Printable Adobe PDF if available
Complete Michigan Nazarene (above in 1 file) These publications are available in Adobe PDF format and require the free Acrobat Reader available here:
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Welcome to 2007! We are just starting 2007 and the year is full of opportunities and excitement! Look at the calendar – it is wide open for us to fill with family items, church items, community service, vacations, work, and meetings. For some of us, the calendar already has many items on it. Let’s make sure that we have time for God. There are so many good things we can be involved in that we neglect the Source of our strength and the Reason for our wanting to reach out to others. Take time to spend in His Word, reflect on it, ponder it, apply it to your life. We are to “taste and see” that God is good, and when we taste, we draw strength and encouragement. Don’t let your life be so full of good things that you forget to feed yourself There are many good things happening this year on the District and in your local church, be a part of them, encourage others to be a part, but don’t forget to take time to feed yourself. A great time to do that is in a Sunday school class or small group! We all love to go out to eat with friends, think of these weekly times of fellowship and study just like that - a time to eat with friends! Make sure you “eat” this week! His for a Growing Sunday school! John TEAM DAY 2007 – February 24, 2007 8:00 a.m – 4:00 p.m. at Perry High School (exit 105 off I-69) We are so excited about our collaboration with the Eastern Michigan District to host the 2007 TEAM DAY! This day is scheduled for Saturday, February 24, 2007, from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Included in this special training day are plenary sessions featuring the music of the Olivetians from Olivet Nazarene University and the exciting message from our keynote speaker, Dr. Tom White, Executive Director of The Voice of the Martyrs, Inc. In addition to that, we have many exciting workshops in Sunday School Ministries, Youth Ministries, Missions, Church Administration, and Leadership tracks. (I am intrigued by the seminar about “Why Men Hate Going to Church!”) We have added a limited seating offering for technology ministries in the church, hands-on training in computer labs. And we are offering extremely exciting interactive, hands-on, participatory workshops for Children's Ministry leaders and workers that will feature actual ministry productions for children. Children's ministries will be available for all children ages birth through 6th grade at a very reasonable cost. Information has already been sent to each church with information on all of the information on each of the seminars. All of this takes place in Perry, Michigan at Perry High School. Children's Ministries will occur at Perry Church of the Nazarene, just a few miles from the High School. This year, registrations can be done completely online including payment by major credit cards. Registration cost is very reasonable, $20.00 per adult and $5.00 per child if registered online by February 1, 2007 (or postmarked by February 1, 2007 if sending in the regular mail). After February 1, 2007 you will pay an additional $5.00 per person, adults and children. The registration includes participation in plenary sessions and workshops, as well as lunch. The Nazarene Publishing House will be there to help you with curriculum items and you will be able to purchase resources to take home with you. Visit http://www.minaz.org/team_day_2007.htm for more seminar information and registration information. You can register directly at http://secure.emdnaz.org/teamday.php Spring 2007 Attendance Emphasis If you are looking for a winter boost for your Sunday school, check out the website for our 2007 emphasis “Making the Connection with God’s Word” http://www.nazarene.org/ministries/ssm/resources/spring2007/display.aspx This will be a great way to help your congregation to connect with God’s word. This also is a perfect way to lead into the 40 Day Listening Adventure (see below). There are a lot of ideas and helps to encourage your church to get into the Bible from Feb 11 – March 25, 2007. Denominational Study this Spring to strengthen marriages! Continuing Lay Training presents as the denomination-wide study book, "Making a Marriage," for 2007.We encourage pastors, SS teachers & classes, and lay leaders during the months of February & March to consider using this book for training in this vital area of ministry in our world. "Making a Marriage" addresses the issues faced by new as well as mature couples from a biblical point of view and offers the foundational principles that help build a strong and lasting relationship. Whether you're contemplating marriage, struggling with communication, stress, and intimacy issues, or just desiring to make a good marriage better, "Making a Marriage" will maximize your marital satisfaction and lay a strong foundation for the lifelong task of building a loving and lasting marriage. Be sure to order books far enough in advance to do the study together. There are free resources available online at www.clt.nazarene.org. The following discounts apply for the purchase of the book:
Sunday School Ministries is thrilled to partner with the American Bible Society and Faith Comes By Hearing to assist you in getting your people into the Word. By listening to the audio drama New Testament in the New International Version for 28 minutes a day, your people can listen to the entire New Testament over a 40-day period. There is power in the Word of God to give hope and to change lives. However, in our society and in many of our churches, people are becoming increasingly biblically illiterate. They are not spending time in God’s Word. They are not reading and applying God’s Word to their lives. Our desire is to ground people on the Word of God. The 40 Day Listening Adventure will begin the Monday after Easter and conclude on Pentecost Sunday. Every person in your congregation will receive a FREE MP3 disc when you call Faith Comes By Hearing to request the number of copies your church will need. It will transform your people and your church as they listen daily to God’s Word! Additional information will be sent to each church from the General Church in January. Information has been sent to the churches telling about an opportunity to obtain a MP3 player already loaded with the New Testament. The District is going to have approximately 800 of these available for $30 each. Think about the impact of giving one of these to your guests/visitors on Easter Sunday! Think about how they can be used to witness to unchurched individuals in your community! More details about how to order these MP3 players will also be sent shortly. |
||||||||||||
|
Nazarene Missions International “From the President” LEFTOVERS The holidays have passed, friends and family have returned home and it is back to the everyday grind. Somewhere in our homes and lives are the leftovers of the holidays. Check the refrigerator; you’ll see them there. They aren’t the best any more but what is left of the best we had. What does this have to do with anything you ask? Let me share this point. Read Malachi 1:6-8 and see what God has to say about “Leftovers.” The Israelites were good about giving their tithes and offerings to God. In fact, when calculated out, they were giving more than 20%. Imagine what we could do today if people in our churches were giving 20% to God. We would never have to ask for money. Unfortunately the problem for the Israelites came when they gave God the “Leftovers.” They went into their fields and selected not the best of the sheep, but the ones that were blind, lame or imperfect. It wasn’t the best they had to offer, but the “Leftovers.” How often have you heard someone say, “But I have bills to pay or groceries to buy for my family. I have to take care of that first and then I’ll give God His tithe.” “LEFTOVERS.” It’s the beginning of a new year. It’s the chance to start fresh with a new plan and new habits. Let’s clean out the refrigerator of our hearts and make the commitment to give God the very best we have; not the “Leftovers.” ”Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” (Malachi 3:10) We’re a little ahead of last year’s World Evangelism Fund giving, but we still have a long way to go. Let’s give God our very best and watch Him pour out blessings we can’t even begin to imagine. Your faithfulness in the best will bring real honor and glory to God. Do better than “Leftovers.” — Carol It hardly seems possible that we are half way into another convention year. Trust you have had a Great year. Reflecting on this past six months, I have often thought about the great messages we have had the opportunity to hear from our missionaries ----convention, zone rallies, Challenge Day. WOW! I'm excited! ARE YOU? But also challenged. How can we not be 100% after listening to how God has been working and IS working across the world? We need to stay on top, pay our WEF in full and support missions 100%. As long as the need to reach others is there, we should do no less then the very best to support in all ways MISSIONS! — Joy Thomas Ready for Construction – Translation, Please. Our missionaries around the world are ready for construction. They await the funds to begin or finish building churches, clinics, schools, dormitories, parsonages, etc. Our dollars get translated into these structures. Our dollars help to make opportunities grow and the Gospel more accessible to more people through ALABASTER. We need both people (missionaries) and buildings (through Alabaster). When you think of all the languages in the world, buildings are one of the best ways to translate our love for Christ, showing the permanence and consistency of the Church of the Nazarene in a particular area. Thanks for providing money translation! — Rev. Terry Turner |
||||||||||||
|
|
|
Published by
Michigan District Church of the Nazarene
For comments or questions about this page, click to contact
Webmaster Copyright © 2006 The Michigan District Church of the Nazarene. All rights reserved. |