International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church Sunday, November 8, 2015

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1 SWO NMI NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2015 JANUARY 2016 International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church Sunday, November 8, 2015 Since the church began, there have been some who want to stop the Gospel from spreading. They will harm and sometimes even kill Christians. This treatment of Christians is called religious persecution. In many places around the world, religious persecution still happens. In some countries, the governments have made it against the law to be a Christian. In these places, Christians may suffer for sharing the Gospel or preaching in public. Churches must meet secretly. How do we help the persecuted church throughout the world? The best way is to pray for them. On November 8, churches all over the world will participate in the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. This annual day of prayer is a great day to pray with your family and your church for Christians who are persecuted around the world. If you, your family, or your church missed this special time of prayer, you can always plan your own time of prayer for the persecuted church and encourage your friends and church to join you in prayer. Here is a prayer guide to use with your family or children s mission education class to help you pray for persecuted Christians all year long. You can use it to pray throughout the week. Sunday Pray for pastors of persecuted churches. Monday Pray for church members who are persecuted. Tuesday Pray for Christian children who may be persecuted for their faith. Wednesday Pray for Missionaries who help those who are persecuted or may be persecuted themselves. Thursday Pray for those in your own country who help the persecuted. Friday Pray for those persecuting Christians, that they may eventually come to Christ. Saturday Pray for all persecuted Christians around the world. Important Dates to Remember November 8 International Day of Prayer November 22 Thanksgiving Offering World Evangelism December Compassionate Ministries Offering Emphasis

It is overwhelming to me to think that God is doing a work in 159 world areas through our missionaries, while at the same time, doing a work in places where the church is not yet.

2 P A G E 2 Words from NMI President Elaine Mahaffey A God Thing Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the task at hand? I have. I often think of the mission of the Church of the Nazarene and begin to feel that way. It is overwhelming to me to think that God is doing a work in 159 world areas through our missionaries, while at the same time, doing a work in places where the church is not yet. It is overwhelming to me to think that I am to be the hands and feet in overseeing the NMI for our district. There is so much going on. How can I possibly know and be supportive and lead with vision and purpose this God thing that is happening all around us? But then I remember. God calls each one of us to specific tasks. No church or individual can accomplish it all, however as we each are obedient to the vision and tasks He calls us to, together we accomplish His will and purpose by making Christ-like disciples in the nations. Somehow our perspective becomes more realistic and we no longer have to feel so overwhelmed by the task. God could certainly work without us but sometimes we get to partner with Him to see amazing things happen! Your prayers are heard. Your offerings are blessed and used by Him in the most remote places around the globe. And by you educating and discipling others, God will continue to advance His Kingdom beyond expectation. Let s work together and be overwhelmed not by the task, but by His presence and work among us! Edie Baker Reports. Crisis Care Kit Update We delivered the SWO District Crisis Care Kits and School Pal Paks to Logan, Ohio. The semi truck came to begin loading up all of the boxes they have had stored there in Logan. They will be taking them to the Fawn Grove warehouse. Our SWO district churches brought 133 Banana Boxes of CCK's and 45 boxes of SPP's. They were very appreciative of all that we delivered to them. Thank you for your generosity!

with special speaker: Missionary--Monte Cyr Additional Info to follow Nazarene Southwestern Ohio District Children are invited to our 2nd exciting missions-themed event at Pump It Up West Chester

3 P A G E 3 SWO Missions Council invites all SWO children to our 2nd: Pump It Up For Missions! Saturday, March 5, :45 & 11:20 a.m. with special speaker: Missionary--Monte Cyr Additional Info to follow Nazarene Southwestern Ohio District Children are invited to our 2nd exciting missions-themed event at Pump It Up West Chester located just off of I-75 at the Liberty Road exit - across the street from Voice Of America Park. Children will have a pizza lunch with the Missionary and learn about Nazarene Missions after they play on giant inflatable slides, bounce houses and obstacle courses in the private, indoor, climate-controlled arenas. For more information contact Pam Carroll: pamcarroll@fuse.net or (H), NAZARENE COMPASSIONATE MINISTRIES DECEMBER IS NAZARENE COMPASSIONATE MINISTRIES MONTH Please remember to give. There are many projects listed on the NCM website. To find out how to give and the many needs go to

4 SWO Work & Witness August 6-14, 2016 Halifax, Nova Scotia Registration Open! Registration is available online at: Please note that registration is not confirmed until your $100 deposit has been received at: Work & Witness 5768 Fairridge Lane Hamilton, Oh We are travelling to Halifax, Nova Scotia to help the Dartmouth First Church of the Nazarene with much needed renovations and support. We will have room for a large number of people, but there will be a limit, so you will want to get your registrations in early. For more details: Contact Kurt Johnson (513) kurt@kdconsulting.com Dates We will be arriving in Halifax Saturday August 6 th. Those driving will go straight to Kings College while those flying in will be picked up and brought back to the College. We will check in on Saturday, check out the area, run by the church and prepare for the week. Sunday will be a great day to meet everyone at the Church, really get to know the rest of our team and work out all of the week s details. Monday through Friday are our work days. We will start each day with devotions and breakfast at the dorms. Then make our way by car to Dartmouth (across the harbor) and spend the day at the church. Most evenings we will be heading back to the college, park the cars, and take buses downtown to eat. Parking is terrible downtown! Wednesday will be an all-community dinner which we will prepare, serve and get to meet many people from the community. Saturday will be a free day to check out Nova Scotia, explore, and possibly head to Prince Edward Island. It is possible to get up early and make it across the bridge onto Prince Edward Island in just over 3 hours of driving. Once on the Island, you could check out Charlottetown, Avonlea, Anne of Green Gables, enjoy a PEI lobster dinner, and make it back by late Saturday night. Projects We have a complete set of projects which cover the entire family and range of skills. These include construction, VBS, food, clothing and food pantries, and a music/it team. Our construction teams will be working in the Church, mainly downstairs. Our main focus is the floor in the downstairs which will require removing all flooring, patching, possible skim coats, and then installing vinyl plank flooring. The downstairs includes the nursery, which will receive all of the above and then an extra set of the rubber foam flooring to make it extra safe. We have a restroom downstairs which requires a new tile floor and toilets installed. The Kitchen is our secondary construction project which will require removing all of the very old cabinets, and all appliances. We will then install new cabinets, possibly put-togethers from IKEA, and reassemble the kitchen. If we have a large enough crew, we will split off and make a flooring crew to work upstairs refinishing wood floors. Finally, there will be opportunities to help with many other items, there is many items we can help with. It all depends on how we do, how many are working, and the priorities set by the Church. Our food team will be feeding our group for every lunch at the church. Lunch will be for our team, as well as all church members working with us. It will be a varying group every day. We will be doing a special All-Church, All-Community dinner one evening, probably on Wednesday. This will be a chance to share with the community. Our food team may be doing the cooking, but we will all help in serving and sharing. This will be an amazing evening. The church has food and clothing pantries which always need help. The clothing pantries have a set of clothes on new racks. The problem is that people try items on, and don t put them away correctly. So we will be helping arrange, clean, reset, etc The food pantry is always in need of supplies to hand out. I would like to challenge team members to help raise funds for the food

5 pantry. We will NOT be taking food items with us as it is difficult to take those items, instead we will go shopping at Costco or comparable locations in Halifax. The Church has a list of items required and we will be able to purchase all of them there. It will be exciting to see what we can do to fill their pantry. The church has one older computer and a small projector which they use to show music information. They use PowerPoint to do the music and do not have an easy way to do the accompaniments. The church has no musicians and is looking for solutions they can afford which would allow them to project better, include a screen at the back of the church, and make it easy to manage the worship service. I m looking for suggestions, material, donations etc This will be a great project for those with the right skills. We will be putting a VBS on for the church. This is a great opportunity for teens to share their joy at being Christians with kids from the neighborhood. We will have many needs including sports, music, bible quizzing, stories, crafts and just plain fun. Expenses The cost for the trip is broken into two pieces. The onsite cost is $700 for the 8 nights and 9 days in Halifax. This covers all housing, food, local transportation, insurance and all other local expenses while in Halifax. It does not include the cost of any special sight-seeing, fishing trips, ferry rides etc. Travel is a separate expense, and not included in our pricing, as I expect half of our group to drive and half to fly. We are not including or scheduling the travel as those who drive will come up and return on their own schedule. Many of those who fly will want to continue their time in Canada by going to Prince Edward Island for a vacation after the Work & Witness. Car rentals are available in Halifax right by the church which could be picked up to continue your trip and vacation. Great flight connections are available from Cincinnati ending up in Halifax, and for the same price can return from Prince Edward Island. Passports Either a Passport or Passport Card is required to travel from the United States to Canada. A full Passport is required for air travel, and recommended if you plan on travelling outside the United States in the next 10 years (as it s valid for 10 years). The cost for a Passport is $135 and its valid for 10 years, and for travel around the world. Minor Passports are $105 and valid for 5 years. There is a lower cost option for those who are planning to drive to Halifax. A new Passport Card is available, which is only valid for driving to Canada and Mexico or by boat to Bermuda or the Caribbean islands. It is not valid for air travel. The advantage is that it s significantly lower in cost. Adults are $55 and valid for 10 years and minors are $40 and valid for 5 years. Travel Driving is a great option for those who have the time to travel the 1500 miles from Southwestern Ohio to Halifax. There are two major routes which will make a great experience. One route is the Canadian route covering Toronto, Montreal, Quebec, and down through New Brunswick into Nova Scotia. The second is coming back through Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, and back home to Ohio. Plan on at least two and a half days to complete the drive. Housing We are staying at Kings College in Halifax. This is a small college on the grounds of Dalhousie University and will be providing us with two person rooms. The first 20 who sign up will be in the newly renovated dorm which includes a private bathroom for each bedroom. Those who sign up later will be in the dorm next-door which is also nice but has traditional larger single-sex bathrooms on the floor. This is good reason to sign up and send in your deposit sooner rather than later. The dorm package includes breakfast each morning served by the management. All of the rooms will include a mini-fridge so that you can pick up drinks and snack to keep cold. Please note that dorms do have elevators inside the dorm. However, there are stairs to make it inside each dorm, so you must be able to manage one set of stairs to walk into the dorm. Sight Seeing We will have sight-seeing opportunities many evenings and on the weekend in Halifax. Halifax has a great harbor and Nova Scotia is a beautiful island, great for sight-seeing and viewing the natural beauty. The harbor has great opportunities to go fishing, boat cruises, etc.. These are not included in our costs, but are not terribly expensive. Relationships We will have wonderful times to build great relationships with members of the Dartmouth First Church of the Nazarene. They are excited that we are coming, and we are excited to be joining them in the Work. Each day will be a great day to meet others, share what God is doing in our lives, and see what God is doing here in Canada.

Page 6 Thank you for supporting our recent district missions tour. Lindell and Kay Browning appreciated your deputation offerings and gifts of love.

6 Page 6 Thank you for supporting our recent district missions tour. Lindell and Kay Browning appreciated your deputation offerings and gifts of love. They received over $4,600 while on our district, and your support was an encouragement to them. Special thanks for our churches that hosted our zone rallies: Middletown (President Debbie Bake), Blanchester (President Janice Hamilton), Fairborn Wrightview (President Arlen Shelton), and Georgetown (President Tiffany Stanley). You are appreciated! The NMI Council is THANKFUL for you! "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:3-6 A Message from The Board of General Superintendents To Nazarenes around the world: Developing the Future is the theme of the 2015 Thanksgiving, or Thank, Offering. As we remember the Lord s unfailing love, the psalmist calls on us to sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy (Psalm 107:22). We join you in prayer and preparation for this annual emphasis in the Church of the Nazarene. Through this offering given to the World Evangelism Fund, we do more together than we ever could alone. God receives our humble gifts and uses our generosity to accomplish amazing things in language schools, church plants, mission hospitals, and many other ministries. Every time we choose to serve God by giving back, we become a part of God s future a future that spreads into eternity as people around the world come to a saving knowledge of Christ. The 2015 offering celebrates how our gifts help spread the gospel, both now and in the future. In Psalm 22, the writer praises God and calls on all people to worship the Lord. He declares that the greatness of God will be obvious because of what God will do. Through the World Evangelism Fund, the Church of the Nazarene is able to share His greatness and goodness with people everywhere. Praise God for how He has used our gifts in the last year: 702 missionaries and 310 missionary kids were deployed from 35 world areas. 378 people joined the Church of the Nazarene every day. That is 16 people per hour! 143,870 students were enrolled in Nazarene preschool, primary, and secondary schools. Let s reflect on the many ways in which God has blessed us, and imagine what God will do through our generation and those that follow as we continue to serve Him.

7 A Note from Joyce Campbell - Thanks so much for the great response to the "Do Something Project" of sending cards to missionaries, at the District Convention. The Southwestern Ohio District sent over one hundred cards to missionaries around the world, and we have received responses of appreciation for these notes of encouragement. This was a wonderful way to celebrate the 100th birthday of NMI! Please keep our missionaries uplifted in prayer, for this is so important. Also don t forget that Sunday, November 22 is the day set aside for the Thanksgiving Offering. This money goes towards the World Evangelism Fund. WHO TO CALL YOUR SWO DISTRICT NMI COUNCIL Elaine Mahaffey President/Deputation bemahaf@fuse.net Country Oaks Station West Chester, OH Kurt Johnson Vice President/W&W kurt@kdconsulting.com Lana Roe Secretary ljroe@fuse.net Emberwood Ct West Chester, OH Mark Emerson Treasurer mse3031@gmail.com Donham Dr. Middletown, OH Pam Carroll Children pamcarroll@fuse.net Nicki Bays Youth nbays@springdalenaz.com Dan McLean Mission Call dr.daniel.mclean@gmail.com Edie Baker Compassion danbakerauctioneer@gmail.com Ted Collins Educating Coordinator az0272t@gmail.com Joyce Campbell SW Zone/Giving e.campbell1@juno.com Phyllis Davis NW Zone momandpopdavis58@aol.com Carolyn Hamilton NE Zone/Prayer chteach123@yahoo.com Denna Pence SE Zone dennac@roadrunner.com Paige Graves LINKS paigemichele19@yahoo.com Katie Sabo Web/Technical jediknightkt@gmail.com Matt Wagner Praying Coordinator mattandfay@fuse.net

SWO NMI NEWSLETTER JANUARY-MARCH

SWO NMI NEWSLETTER JANUARY-MARCH 100 th Anniversary Project Don t forget your offering for the 100 th Anniversary Project! We are providing funds for the house that Ben and Katherine Radcliffe will move