District Superintendent's Report

Transcription

1 District Superintendent's Report God has a plan and a promise for us to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. (Luke 1: ) Personal Please help me celebrate Jon s graduation from Midlothian High School next Saturday. Cheryl is a great prayer warrior who loves God and has great faith that God can do anything. She prays for you, believes in you, and supports you and me in the work we have for God. She is moved to compassion. I enjoy having my mother and father, Dr. Roy and Nina Fuller, here with us. My family means so much to me and I thank them for their love and support, and I thank you for loving and supporting them too. We sense your love and support. Your many expressions of love have encouraged us and uplifted us. Thank you for your calls, s, letters, cards, and gifts to us on the occasions of our birthdays, our 25 th anniversary last year, and the eight week sabbatical granted to me this past winter which refreshed me and renewed me. Your constant generosity overwhelms us. You are all so kind. We are humbled and grateful. I love Jesus. I am more aware of his love and his provision for me than ever before. I am deeply grateful for the privilege of serving you, the great Virginia District. I have enjoyed preaching, offering assistance, encouragement and promoting the organization of churches everywhere. 2 I look to Jesus, the perfect leader, and know I have so much to learn. Christ is not the only teacher I have though, for all of you are great teachers to me. I love you. I believe in you. I am grateful for the honor to serve you. When I see your faces and when I pray for you, I know your stories. You are an inspiration to me and proof to me that the kingdom is truly His! Thank You I express my very special thanks to Ronda Lawson who concluded 13 years of work in the District Resource Center office this year (including 14 assembly seasons). She has been a great help to us, and we miss her while wishing her the very best in her new work. Thankfully, she is continuing to serve as the administrative dean of the District Training Center. Special thanks to Rigoberto and Martha Acosta. Rigoberto is a brother indeed, a visionary leader whose 1 New International Version. BibleGateway.com: A Searchable Online Bible in over 100 Versions and 50 Languages. Biblica. Web. 11 July < 2 From the Manual of the Church of the Nazarene: We are agreed on the necessity of a superintendency that shall complement and assist the local church in the fulfilling of its mission and objectives. The superintendency shall build morale, provide motivation, supply management and method assistance, and organize and encourage organization of new churches and missions everywhere.

2 story is so powerful. Pastors, if you want to inspire your people, have Rigoberto come and share with you his story of transformation in Christ. Special thanks to George and Glorice Stevenson who as assistants to the DS have traveled, preached, encouraged, installed pastors and been a real help to us all. Special thanks to Mike Brown who, with his three hats as treasurer, Newstart coordinator, and camp manager, stays busier than anyone should have to. He and Sue are a special gift to the district. Thanks to Sue Brown and Tracy Tucker for their superior efforts as NMI President and SDMI Chair. They exemplify service to Christ and the Church. I want to single out Bobby Kemp for his three years of service as our District NYI President. Bobby and Sarah, we love you and your girls, and we hate to see you go to Indiana; however, we know that you are a vessel in the hands of God himself, and we bless you as you go. There are so many great leaders on our district that I hate to start a list, but let me say thanks to Kerry Willis for leading the Teaching Church events; Marvin Rankin, Multicultural Ministries; Charles Tillman, Black Ministries; the directors of our many camps and retreats; the district advisory board members; and the leaders of our Ministerial Credentials and Ministerial Education Boards. Finally, I have a special thanks to Kristopher Adams. Kris stepped into a challenging assignment to assist me in the DRC office just as we were ramping up for District Assembly our busiest time. He has taken quickly to the task and is a tremendous help to me. Kris, thanks for your assistance. Missional I spent a little time alone with the Father this morning, and he reminded me of something I ve been thinking about lately: Lost, broken, hurting, and lonely people matter to God; therefore - lost, broken, hurting, and lonely people must matter to us. There is something else I have been thinking about lately as well: We must PRAY, PLAN and EXPECT a supernatural invasion of God s presence in our churches as well as our personal lives. Our mission, vision, priorities, beliefs, and values point us to Jesus who compels us to move forward! Our Mission: To make Christlike Disciples in Virginia and Beyond! Our 1% Vision: To reach 1% of the 5 million (50,000) unclaimed people of Virginia s 8 million population. One percent because God is counting on others too to get the job done. And one percent because that represents major growth for us (currently 11,500 in attendance, 29,800 responsibility list). Our Five Missional Priorities: Envision a more effective and vibrant tomorrow Equip the called and the laity Evangelize through personal relationships and starting of new works

3 Encourage one another Excel through accountability Our Agreed Statement of Belief: The Church of the Nazarene is composed of those persons who have by their own choice associated themselves together according to certain beliefs and practices, and who seek holy Christian fellowship, the conversion of sinners, the entire sanctification of believers, their upbuilding in holiness, and the simplicity and spiritual power manifest in the primitive New Testament Church, together with the preaching of the gospel to every creature. (Manual of the Church of the Nazarene). 3 District Accomplishments Today we celebrate just a glimpse of what God is doing through the Nazarenes in Virginia: More than 500 baptized. More than 500 new Nazarenes. Growth in membership, responsibility list, attendance, and number of congregations. Abundant generosity: We ve been generous achieving 100% for WEF, P&B, ENC and high percentage for DUB while transitioning to a new system to fund the mission. For the first time we achieved a month with all churches reporting attendance then we promptly ran off a string of 7 months of 100% attendance. More than 2500 people attend one of our district sponsored camps/retreats. Inaugural Hispanic youth retreat with 103 in attendance. Installed pastors at Madison Heights, Orange, Victoria, Bloxom, and Eastern Shore First. Helped the Philly district start a new work in the city of brotherly love with a pledge of support from Virginia Nazarenes. Transitioned leaders for the Credentials Board (Wynne Lankford); Studies Board (Greg Norwood); District Statistician (Bradley Billet); and appointed a District Secretary Elect (Bill Dillon) to step into the role being vacated by our beloved District Secretary, Earl Robertson. Approved a child safety policy plan for our churches. Held 7 team huddles for missional effectiveness with an emphasis on purity and leadership. Deployed Rapid Response teams to disaster areas. Touched thousands of lives with acts of compassion. And personally I have preached; held board and district meetings; conducted numerous reviews; attended meetings of the USA/Canada DS Advisory Committee, the USA Pension Board, the Benefits Advisory Committee to the Pension Board; served as a Trustee to ENC and NBC and its executive board; and taught one class as an adjunct instructor for NBC. I have recently been asked to serve in an advisory role to the Italy district. 3 Manual Church of the Nazarene , paragraph 25. For more on the Statements see paragraph 26. Language update and emphasis mine.

4 Organized Churches-- 79 New Nazarenes: 582 NewStart/Venues-- 22 Baptisms: 504 Number of congregations WEF Giving: > $867,043 (100%) Blue Ribbon Churches-- 7 Mission Specials: $830,249. District Membership-- 12,919 ENC Giving: $339,226 (86%) Attending Worship-- 11,505 DUB Giving: $721,814 (92%) Discipleship Ministries-- 7,366 P&B Giving: $306,428 (97%) Responsibility List-- 29,312 Total to others: $3,064,760.. Adjusted Church Income: $17,460,700 % Income 17.6% Vision 2012 Part II At last Assembly, I shared a dream from God to launch 12 new Church Type Missions between now and I wondered, maybe you wondered, if we could do so. With God s help and your generosity, we have started seven new church type ministries, with an additional several ministries in the prayer and fasting stage. I cannot explain it. I only know how to celebrate it. Starting new works is essential to the health of every local church. Earlier this year someone gave me an original copy of the district finance committee report from Sixty years ago, at 10 years of age, our district had 28 churches. By comparison, today we have 101 congregations. Thank the good Lord we have started new works. Let me ask you, What would our district look like if we had not been starting churches? You might think, That is easy, we would have 28 churches. But if you think that you would not be correct. If, since 1951, our district had never started a new work then today we would be a district of only 18 churches. Of the 28 churches we had in 1951, only 18 are still in existence. Many of those remaining 18 have changed locations and names or otherwise reinvented themselves. For instance, Arlington Glebe Road is the forerunner of Annandale Calvary. Richmond First exists now as Hanover. Norfolk First is really Virginia Beach First. But you understand the dilemma. We cannot and we must not rest comfortably on what we have achieved. We cannot rest at all. If we do not start new churches we will slowly and surely die. We must start new churches, not in order to save a denomination, but in order to fulfill the mission and purposes of God. In the same way that generosity is in our DNA, so too is the starting of new churches. To the glory of God, we have 101 congregations. In the past year, 7 new Church Type Ministries were launched with several others in the prayer and fasting stage, which is the most aggressive push for new start churches in a number of years (maybe ever) on our district. Will the pastors of our new start churches please come forward. These men and women of God represent the powerful leading edge of our battle for the soul of Virginia. Gary and Elaine Narron (Living Water); Clifford and Alene Lewis (Fort Belvoir); Williamsburg Hispanic; Virginia Beach/Norfolk Hispanic Randolf and Nirki Paulino (2 new ministries); East African Ministry Solomon Mirach; Richmond Stratford Hills (Scott and Melanie Campbell); Rigoberto Acosta (Woodbridge Hispanic New Start); and Jerry and Christine ViPond have agreed to some prayer drives in Warrenton. We are also praying for developing possibilities in Chesapeake, Williamsburg,

5 Wythville, Salem, Stafford, Gordonsville, Rocky Mount, and other locations. Remember the 101 congregations on our list today, as every one of them was a newstart at one time. Some of you here at this Assembly are hearing the prompting of God to dream the dream of a new congregation. More than a geographic strategy or a demographic study, we have relied on the still small voice of God to bring us the leaders we need for just a time as this. Lest you are yet unconvinced, Mike Brown, our NewStart director, reported to me recently that our not-yet-organized churches have given more than $22,000 to others last year through WEF and the DUB, even though these churches do not have assigned budgets. These churches represent the increases we have experienced as a district recently. In nine years of starting Spanish language congregations, Rigoberto Acosta, Hispanic Ministries Coordinator, reports that this year those churches alone accounted for 1,132 in attendance; $629,671 in funds raised; and $60,451 given to others. The plan this year is to organize 6 of these Newstarts into fully-organized, selfsupporting congregations. This is a year of gathering the harvest, a year of dedication, prayer, evangelism, and sacrifice. The organizing of each church will be a grand celebration, and we will publicize them through the Virginia Team Update so that you can be part of the celebration. The Present Future I am not satisfied to reduce the work of God to a three step formula, yet my simple mind is helped by simple analogy. My father says that one of his jobs around the farm growing up was to milk the old cow. I am nearly certain he used a sturdy and steady three legged stool. Our future rests on three important parts of a three-legged stool: Generosity! Passion! Clarity! Generosity! Let us continue to be a generous people. Do not give in to the world s way! Generosity with your time, talent, treasure and attitude is vital. Generous people are salt and light for the good news of Jesus Christ. Let us be generous with our buildings, our resources, our time, and our influence. One creative church decided that offering its building for weddings was more missional than charging rent. Imagine that kind of generosity! Passion! Lord, give us passion, a passion with pastors and laity that are on fire. John Wesley said this about his preaching, I set myself on fire and people come and watch me burn. Lord, set us on fire for the gospel. In visits around the district, I find passion just about everywhere. But in some places it is waning. Let it not be. Renew your commitment to the mission of the church. Something as simple as planning a baptism service could be the spark! If you lack passion, ask Jesus for it. Evidence of passion usually shows itself in conversations that begin with, Have I told you about the new ministry we just started?," Have you heard about the new opportunity we have?, and Have I told you how faithful God is? Passion is the spiritual ambition that pushes on even when times are tough. God wants you to have passion. Lord, give us passion for new works. Give us passion for vibrant congregational renewal. Give us passion for the message of full salvation. Give us passion for genuine and authentic relationships. Clarity. Let me be clear. There has never been a more relevant time for the message of salvation the central message of the Gospel. We still believe in a moment of conversion where repentance leads to justification, regeneration and adoption into the family of God, and that this moment is accompanied by the witness of the Spirit a know-so faith. The message of heart holiness is alive and well. Our pastors preach it. Our people are living it. I thank God that we have people attending our churches who still need to respond in full surrender. Yet I urge

6 you to preach and live this message with greater fervency. Teach this doctrine with greater clarity. Testify to it with greater conviction. Most of all, live it with great abandonment to the will and way of the Father. Three legs to a stool are not enough. The saddle is as necessary as the legs themselves. No saddle, no stool. The saddle that holds everything together is prayer. Lord, give us generosity, Lord give us passion, Lord grant us clarity, but most of all make us a people of prayer. Teach us to pray with missional intensity. Teach us to pray sacrificially. Invade our prayer meetings. Invade our pastors' meetings. Invade our assembly. No great revival has ever come except where preceded by fervent and persistent prayer. This year, Cheryl and I will be hosting 4-5 Prayer Gatherings in our home with district leaders. We have already held two of these gatherings, and we believe God is already answering prayer in remarkable ways. Pastors, we encourage you to pray all the more. Remember Oswald Chambers enjoinder, Prayer is not preparation for the work of ministry, prayer is the work of ministry. Goals for the year by the numbers o 10 :: An additional 10 churches to make use of the NCD survey for health. 4 o 5 :: An additional 5 new church type ministries launched. o 6 :: Celebrate the organization of at least 6 of our New Start Churches. o 8 :: More training for missional effectiveness (through events such as TEAM Huddles), intentional mentoring and strategic interventions. o 1 :: Appeal to every pastor and every church to start something new, a new ministry, a new compassionate outreach, a new Sunday School class, a new Bible study, a new small group, or even a new Church type ministry. o 1 :: Clear and unified message of full salvation. o Overwhelming :: Generosity. o More :: Passion for the mission of God in the world. o More :: Genuine love for God and others. o More :: Authentic relationships built in Jesus name. o More :: Prayer Respectfully Submitted, J. Phillip Fuller 4 NCD Natural Church Development Church Health survey is a tool. More information is available online at