2015 GREAT COMMISSION MEALS

Transcription

1 VOICE OF THE APPALACHIAN CONFERENCE OF THE IPHC Vol. 76, No. 6 February GREAT COMMISSION MEALS (**Please RSVP Sandy Wood at x207 or shwood7@yahoo.com) EAST TENNESSEE DISTRICT Saturday, March 14 11:30 a.m. Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, 2608 N. Roan Street, Johnson City, TN BLUEFIELD/MCDOWELL DISTRICTS Saturday, March 14 5:00 p.m. Destiny Outreach Ministries, 106 Ireson Road, North Tazewell, VA ROANOKE/CENTRAL VIRGINIA DISTRICTS Monday, March noon Original Italian Pizza, 1128 E. Lynchburg-Salem Turnpike, Suite 300, Bedford, VA **SHENANDOAH VALLEY DISTRICT Monday, March 16 6:00 p.m. Ray of Hope P.H.C., 1450 Reservoir Street, Harrisonburg, VA GREENBRIER DISTRICT Tuesday, March noon Cucci Pizzeria, 566 East Madison Street, Covington, VA CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA DISTRICT Tuesday, March 17 6:00 p.m. Ryan s, 1320 N. Eisenhower Drive, Beckley, WV **NEW RIVER VALLEY DISTRICT Thursday, March 19 6:00 p.m. Harbor of Hope, 2720 Roanoke Street, Christiansburg, VA **SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA DISTRICT Friday, March 20 6:00 p.m. Baker s Chapel P.H.C., 3113 Ivanhoe Road, Wytheville, VA 24382

2 Bishop s Page PRESTON MATHENA 2015 IPHC GLOBAL ASSEMBLY TO BE HELD IN HONG KONG The 5th Global Assembly of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church will convene May 6-8, 2015, in Hong Kong. This is a gathering of IPHC members and leaders from around the world who come together for worship, inspiration and fellowship. The IPHC is involved in ministry in over 100 countries, and this event will be an opportunity to learn what God is doing on many fronts. Following the Global Assembly, a number of excursions have been organized for those who would like to extend their stay. Registration for the Global Assembly is $125. When you register, you will have the option of either paying all at once or paying half initially and the remaining portion by March 1, For more information, go to iphc.org. If at all possible, I urge you to plan to attend this event. 500 SLEEPING BAGS FOR THE HOMELESS The project began with a conversation with Amy Lambert-Frowine, founder of Hope Uprising & City Invasions, Charlotte, North Carolina. Amy ministers to the homeless through Kings Kitchen, as well as her citywide evangelistic rallies. Fred Kinder, salesperson for Ramey Motors, Inc., was touched with the vision of helping the homeless in Charlotte. It was decided that providing sleeping bags to those who are sleeping in the cold would be a worthwhile project. Crossroads Church, Bluefield, West Virginia, where Fred Kinder attends, was excited to help make this vision a reality. Pastor Travis Lowe announced the mission at Sunday services, and a collection point was established at the dealership where Fred worked. Messages were sent via Facebook, past customers were called, announcements were made, and the sleeping bags started coming in. A truck was parked inside the showroom of Ramey s, where the sleeping bags were stacked. One outreach center in Bishop, Virginia, donated roughly 250 sleeping bags, all handmade, to the mission. Other churches donated, and customers began bringing sleeping bags in. On December 6, before leaving Bluefield, the team met at Crossroads Church, where they prayed over the more than 500 sleeping bags on the truck. Upon arrival at Kings Kitchen, they were greeted by news stations from Charlotte, who were amazed that a church salesperson and car dealership had completed such a project for their city. We went onto the streets of Charlotte to hand out the sleeping bags with Amy Lambert-Frowine and her ministry team. We met several homeless people and were truly touched by their stories. One particular instance really touched me when I met a lady sitting off to herself on a bench. I had a sleeping bag and approached her to give her the bag and pray with her. She jumped up, smiled and said, I want to pray for you. It truly touched me that she, being homeless, had such a joy and wanted to share it. Words can t describe the experiences we had with the people of Charlotte and the mission. It reminds me of a message I heard once in service. You have to put legs on your prayers. I think what a joyous time we would have missed had we not gotten involved with this mission. Never underestimate what God can do when you step out on His Word to be His legs, eyes, ears and mouth. God will use a willing vessel; we have to be willing to follow Him. We would like to thank everyone involved in this mission. Rob Ramey, Crossroads Church member VOICE OF THE APPALACHIAN CONFERENCE OF THE IPHC

3 Change of Address? Please notify the Conference Office of any change to your mailing address, phone number(s), or address. We don t want you to miss any time-sensitive communication, and return postage can be costly for each issue of the Messenger that is returned. Thanks for helping us to be good stewards. MARCH RETIRED MINISTERS BIRTHDAYS MARCH 11 MARCH 23 Rev. Glenn Wright Rev. Ms. Ethel Swart 1426 Rockdale Road 513 Awaroa, RD1 Wytheville, VA Kaitaia North Island, New Zealand MARCH 23 MARCH 24 Rev. James LaValley Rev. Thomas Cochran 2856 Graham Road 204 Woodland Drive Draper, VA Buena Vista, VA March Events 1-6 Thailand Missions Trip 3 W.M. Day of Prayer 6 Prayer & Fasting for Our Nation 6 Deadline for Creative Writing to Double 7 Pinewood Derby 8 Women s Ministries Day 14 R.R. Training/G.M. Basic Training 14 East Tennessee/Bluefield/McDowell Districts Missions Meals 16 Roanoke/Central Virginia/Shenandoah Districts Missions Meals 17 Greenbrier/Central West Virginia Districts Missions Meals 19 New River Valley District Missions Meal 20 Southwest Virginia District Missions Meal 29 Palm Sunday 30 Capitol Hill Phone Prayer Partners 8 pm MESSENGER (USPS ) Vol. 76 February 2015 No. 6 EXECUTIVE EDITOR Preston Mathena STAFF Phone Oak Grove Avenue Dublin, VA EVANGELISM & WORLD MISSIONS MINISTRIES Larry Meadors 5847 Oak Grove Avenue Dublin, VA DISCIPLESHIP MINISTRIES Ron Fredericks 5847 Oak Grove Avenue Dublin, VA WOMEN S MINISTRIES Kathy Mathena 103 Windsor Circle Bluefield, VA Phone: WIN Donna Hankla 139 Ridgeway Drive Bland, VA Phone: MEN S MINISTRIES Quent Baria 1712 Vineyard Street Bluefield, WV Deadline for all script to reach the office: 1st of each month for the next month s issue to shwood7@yahoo.com. CONFERENCE BOARD Superintendent Preston Mathena Assistant Superintendent Mike Dodson Secretary Frank Neff Treasurer Gary Cope Board Member Larry Meadors Board Member Wanda Myers Board Member Jim Tunnell MESSENGER (USPS ) is published monthly by LifeSprings Resources, 2425 W. Main St., Franklin Springs, GA 30639, for the Appalachian Conference. Subscription price $2.00 per year. Periodicals Postage Paid at Franklin Springs, GA POSTMASTER: Send address changes to MESSENGER, 5847 Oak Grove Avenue, Dublin, VA WEBSITE: CREDIT GRAPHICS: Thinkstock.com FEBRUARY 2015

4 World Missions & Evangelism LARRY MEADORS Millennials for the Good (The insight from this article is helpful to all church leaders as we minister to this generation.) LM We are millennials. We dream. We don t just concern ourselves with the bottom line, but we are interested in a foundational philosophy. People matter. I think we d agree that the world is broken, yet beautiful. We adapt. We are spirited. We are older than the mid-teens but younger than the lower thirties-ish. There are the blights that come with such a word. We are narcissistic, entitled and sometimes lazy. The sting of defeat was never taught to us as children, but one thing that was taught to us was that we are special for the world further inflating our self-assured value and possibly fueling our yes or yes mentality. Despite these things, which I felt obligated to say, I choose to linger on the good (how millennial of me). Yes, these are generalizations educated ones. Yes, there is research pewsocialtrends.org (Millennials in Adulthood). As the adage goes, know your audience. When the church talks about relevance, this generation, and reaching out, they had better know to whom they are speaking. Else, the efforts lose their efficacy. Therefore, I ve created a list of the characteristics of us young uns and how they can be turned into strengths for the church. Independents. We are the largest demographic of independents and non-affiliated that you ll find. In relation to the church, imagine a generation of believers that loves Jesus. Period. We could really embrace a one church, many locations mentality. Unity would be second nature. Synergy would be implied. Expansion of God s Kingdom would be exponential. We would be one step closer to the singular Body of Christ, with Jesus as the head. We could more accurately focus on Kingdom building rather than building our own personal kingdoms, indirectly obsessed with name recognition and prestige. Accepting. To top that off, we are accepting. Compared to our predecessors, we shun cliques and would rather be friends with everybody. We want to be approachable. You know Jesus didn t come to exclude, but to include. He communed with the least of these, often to much criticism from the exclusive religious. His only divisive doctrine was that of the truth of the gospel (Himself). Besides this, He loved. Now, a church that understands the unquestionable command to love others is a church that will make a difference. Loving others doesn t mean you ve compromised the gospel, but it means you have done your part to love them and welcome them with open arms. It s now God s turn to step in and renew them from the inside out. Passionate. It s said that a millennial would wish more for a career with purpose than a job that funds a driveway car lot with the surrounding white picket fence. What does this mean? We are willing to settle for less if less is the result of living the life we want. There s a statement The life we want. Our generation is less likely to feel pressured to live up to a cookie-cutter standard. This doesn t make us slackers, nor does it mean we are chained to poverty. It means we ask questions. It means we haven t completely bought into the societal norms that pressure us. Connected. You know it. Facebook, Gmail, Youtube, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Skype, Snapchat, LinkedIn. Smartphones, laptops, Google glass, the internet, 3G, 4G, 5G, 3D, HD the madness! We are the connected generation. We want to be on and stay on. I choose to believe that our connectedness and over-sharing nature exposes the relational people we are. The need to be in relationship is the first calling of humanity, and it also happens to be one of the longest-standing holes in humanity s heart. It is, of course, filled with relationship to our Father. If you look at a graphic of everyone s Facebook friends and friends of friends mapped out, you would see an intricate web being spun. It s messy, but it almost alludes to a concept of a family tree a jumbled conglomeration of family trees piled on one another in an unsystematic fashion, granted. By embracing millennials, a church would resultantly further define its role as a safe place, a family. Our generation would make any congregation one that sees, interacts and cares for one another more than just two hours on Sunday. Remember, we want to be connected we pine for relationship. For me, this looks like thriving house groups, the church as a hub of activity (not an extension), a social safety net, true discipleship, development of friendships and no shortage of volunteers. Not to mention, millennials would probably try to incorporate the other part of their tangled web into their church family, given that we re inclusive as aforementioned. Growth, anyone? About the author: Timothy Meadors is an IPHC short-term missionary in Europe. Contact him at timeadors@gmail.com and read the article in its entirety at GREAT COMMISSION MEALS All pastors and mission directors and spouses are urged to attend a district Great Commission meal the week of March The meal is free and the information and fellowship are priceless! Exciting missions news will be shared. Please RSVP where noted in the schedule on the cover. VOICE OF THE APPALACHIAN CONFERENCE OF THE IPHC

5 Discipleship Ministries RON FREDERICKS As you may have heard, in 2014, IPHC Discipleship Ministries partnered with Dr. Ellen Moore in an effort to evaluate and implement a plan to reach more children for Jesus. Together, we have formulated a mission statement, evaluated resources, are recommending biblically sound curricula, and strategizing for the future of IPHC Kid Min. In 2015, the Discipleship Team is focusing on training and resourcing Children s Ministries leaders. We are offering two LIVE Kid Min Conferences in 2015 presented by Dr. Ellen Moore and her skilled team, along with some on-demand video training that will be released later in the year. The first Kid Min Conference is scheduled for February 21 in Oklahoma City, OK. The second Kid Min Conference is scheduled for March 21 in Goldsboro, NC. For only $35 you will receive a full day of training, special Q & A panel discussion, a breakout session with the speakers and a boxed lunch. As D.L. Moody said, If I could relive my life, I would devote my entire life to ministry to children. Please consider attending Kid Min: What s the BIG Deal? with your Children s Ministries workers. It will be worth your time and investment! Visit for registration information and details. FUSED: Over 300 joined together on New Year s Eve for Baker s Chapel Pentecostal Holiness Church s outreach event, titled Fused. Denominational, age and church lines were crossed as many of all ages attended a night of prayer, praise and worship. The event title FUSED was utilized because of the vision of Baker s Chapel to see spiritual revival, unity and passionate discipleship surge in their community. Fused can mean to join or blend to form a single entity, and/or to provide a circuit with a fuse. The vision for FUSED was a night that would UNITE believers, ignite the fire of revival and usher in the presence of the Savior while reaching out to the lost with a New Year s Eve event with eternal substance. As a prelude to service, a praise and prayer walk that circled the church grounds was a time of fervent prayer and praise while a drama by Baker s Chapel demonstrated intense praise and worship to the Lord. Special guests for FUSED included the popular worship band The Neverclaim, who provided passionate, anointed praise and worship, and speaker Beth Stephens-Johnson delivered a powerful word from the Lord. All praise and glory is given to God for an incredible night of worship. The presence of the Holy Spirit completed a mighty work with many souls receiving salvation, encouragement, deliverance and blessings yet untold. Submitted by Jessica Justus. FEBRUARY 2015

6 Women s Ministries KATHY MATHENA The Greatest of These Is Love And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13, NKJV) Faith something that we all must have in order to be a child of God. Hebrews 11:6 states, But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God, must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. By our faith in God, we become obedient to what He says, and it s by our faith that we receive from Him all that He has for us. Hope Proverbs 13:12 says, Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. The Bible kind of hope is great expectation that what we believe God for will surely come to pass. In a sense, hope is closely related to faith. The world would tell us, Don t get your hopes up. But with God it is what brings us to faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. Annual W.M. Tea Party The Corner Shop in Bramwell, WV May 30, 12 noon $18.00 per person Love But the greatest of these is love. Love is why God sent His only begotten Son into the world. Without love, there would be no plan of salvation. There would be no hope, and consequently, there would be no faith. Faith works by love. Perfect love casts out fear. God is love. In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Paul tells us, If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. This month, on Valentine s Day, let s remember to share the love of God with those around us. WOMEN S MINISTRIES DAY Please send your registration by May 23 to Martha Hall, 1240 Meadowlark Dr., Wytheville, VA VOICE OF THE APPA L ACH I A N CONFER ENCE OF THE IPHC March 8, 2015 Theme:

7 World Intercession Network DONNA HANKLA THE VIEW FROM THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN Three disciples received a fresh vision of God s glory when they followed Jesus to the top of a high mountain. In addition, the disciples heard a voice speak from a cloud. It was on the mountain that they saw, heard and experienced a powerful visitation of God s Spirit! And after six days, Jesus takes Peter, James and John his brother, and brings them up into a high mountain apart. (Matthew 17:1) HIKING ON MOUNTAINS Hiking on a mountain is a great experience for many people. On the mountain, one can view the beautiful valleys below and the streams that bring life. The sky is so blue and the wind blows so sweetly. Goodbye to stress when standing on top of the mountain! DO YOU NEED TO CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN? What do you see right now? Do you see debt, discouragement, disease? What do you feel right now? Do you feel weak, tired, trapped or even disillusioned? If so, you need to climb the mountain. IT S TIME TO CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN IN THE YEAR 2015! There is an invitation for all who desire a powerful visitation of the Holy Spirit in the year From the book of Song of Solomon comes the message to arise and come away (chapter 2:10-17). Will you be like the three disciples? Will you take the time to follow Jesus to the mountain and see the SIGHTS upon the mountain? And He was transfi gured before them: and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light. (Matthew 17: 2) Mark your 2015 calendar with times of prayer and times of silence. FEBRUARY 2015

8 MESSENGER (USPS ) 5847 Oak Grove Avenue Dublin, Virginia Periodicals Postage Paid at Franklin Springs, GA Address Service Requested NEW BEGINNINGS MINISTRIES PASSION STATEMENT Pastor Ray McDaniel from New Beginnings Ministries (NBM), Waynesboro, VA, became inspired following the Appalachian Conference s Fall District Meeting held in November. Churches were challenged to review and condense their vision statements. If the mission statement is too long, people won t remember it. In November, Pastor Ray presented a three-part series entitled, Say Yes to Jesus, in which he reminded his congregation that yes, they matter to God and to others, and because they matter, they are to evangelize their world and they are to serve with heart! Pastor Ray took this to heart and created what he calls NBM s Passion Statement. NBM had their first chance to say yes to Jesus on December 7. Over 30 volunteers were able to attend the church s neighborhood Christmas Box drive. Through generous, anonymous donations, members of NBM were able to feed 50 families in the Waynesboro area. Each box contained a handwritten card with an invitation to NBM Christmas Brunch. Several of the families who received their Christmas box accepted the invitation and enjoyed the brunch, which was held on Sunday, December 14. What a great way to start NBM s 2015 campaign to reach out to the Waynesboro community and let people know, Yes, you matter to Jesus. Joy Griffith, NBM Treasurer/Secretary NEW STANDARD MILEAGE RATES NOW AVAILABLE BUSINESS RATE TO RISE IN 2015 Beginning January 1, 2015, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be: 57.5 cents per mile for business miles driven up from 56 cents in cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes down half a cent from cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations ATTENTION, MINISTERS: Beginning January 1, 2015, we are promoting and giving ministers the option to begin reporting online through the Martus system. To take advantage of this service, you will need a login identification number and password. In the past, many ministers have taken advantage of the Excel file that would figure your annual minister s report. This saved a lot of time and effort for the minister at the end of the year. This system will do this as well, and keep up with your Continuing Education Units (CEUs). It also allows you to update your information and go back with a few clicks of a button and view any of your previous reports. In order to use this, you need an address and Internet service. Please call the conference office if you are interested in taking advantage of this or if you need more details. It is easy and very simple to use. Those ministers who use it are very satisfied with the reporting. Rhonda Smith, Business Administrator/Accounting Director