RECOGNIZING AND EXERCIZING SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP

September 2012 Dr. Larry W. Leonard District Superintendent tnnazdist@aol.com RECOGNIZING AND EXERCIZING SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP Our nation is at the height of what seems to be a constant campaign to elect a leader as President of the United States who can exert influence that will result in positive change, lifestyle improvements, and economic stability. We all recognize the necessity of strong, positive leadership at every level of society, government, business, education, health, and religion. In our churches, that leadership focuses on the God-called pastor and lay participants who govern, guide, and nurture the members and attenders. In the months of September and October we have opportunity to recognize our pastor-leaders and to provide our lay-leaders an opportunity to exercise their influence by attending a very timely training event on our Mission Areas. PASTORS APPRECIATION MONTH: This October has been set aside to recognize our pastors for their faithfulness to Christ and to His Church. These God-called leaders are commissioned to be the shepherds of Christ s chosen children, the preachers of the Bread of Life, and examples of Jesus, the great Shepherd. All of our churches are encouraged to make the month of October special for the pastors of all roles of ministry. You can use your creativity to express your love and appreciation. Some churches have sent pastors on special vacations, have given gifts to them and their families, have given them extra time off above and beyond vacation, and have had members of the congregation send appreciation cards with checks or money gifts included. Generosity toward our spiritual leaders will never go unnoticed by our God. He will bless the churches and people who appropriately recognize His messengers of the Good News. Please make your plans now to show your pastor-leaders how much their efforts mean to you. MISSION AREA LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT TOUR: Lay leaders exert great influence on the local church. To have the knowledge, wisdom, and guidance that God wants to give to each of them, it is important to continually find areas of enrichment and education in areas that will enhance that influence. This fall we will conduct a tour that will feature the number one key to influence, leadership, and church growth. I will be teaching on the subject of Prayer: The Heart of All Spiritual Development. It is my conviction that we can practice a system of prayer that will move the heart of God to transform our pastors, leaders, attenders, and community. Please plan now to enlist as many of your people as possible to come to this very important movement to ignite the spiritual fervor of our churches. September 24, Nashville South/East Mission Areas at Nashville Bethel September 25, Nashville North Mission Area at Hendersonville September 27, Waverly/Clarksville Mission Areas at Waverly October 1, Fly/Columbia Mission Areas at Fly October 2, Memphis North/South Mission Areas at Memphis Calvary It is a tremendous blessing to work beside all members of the Tennessee District Church of the Nazarene! Connected to hope, Pastor Larry

SDMI: Sunday School Discipleship Ministries International Rev. David Hill, SDMI Chairman 403 Page Place Mt. Juliet, TN 37122 E-mail: dcnaz3@comcast.net Sunday School Make the Connection Something that took me a long time to grasp was just how important daily being with God and His Word was to spiritual growth. In fact, no one taught me how to do that. I guess we in the Church have been guilty of assuming people automatically know how. Imagine if we prepared people for driver licenses assuming they just know how to drive. Do you think a tool that promotes daily devotional practices is important? A tool to disciple someone and help them to read the Bible? Engage the Word is an exciting and easy way to deepen our congregations connection to God through His Word. And it is free! This 40-day emphasis is uniquely designed to help people develop life-long habits of daily Scripture engagement. The plans are very adaptable to any congregation for families, youth, and adults. Access to them, along with other resources and ideas, can be found at http://engagetheword.nazarene.org. This might be the method that helps people on all spiritual levels develop their Bible reading and most of all, their relationship to God. We on the Tennessee District have been blessed for 15 plus years by the ministry of Rev. Larry Spraker as our district SDMI chairman. He led us well and will be missed greatly. We request your prayers for the SDMI board as we endeavor to carry on the good work he encouraged all of us to accomplish. Thank you, Larry! God bless you! CHRISTMAS IN SEPTEMBER WOMEN S MINISTRY RETREAT SEPTEMBER 14 ~ 16 TOP TEN SEPTEMBER SUNDAY SCHOOL 1. Nashville First...788 2. Nashville Trevecca Community...687 3. Columbia Grace...507 4. Hermitage...454 5. Goodlettsville...408 6. Memphis Calvary...339 7. Clarksville Grace...237 8. Gallatin...226 9. Nashville Grace...225 10. Erin...207 NUMERICAL GAIN 1. Memphis Calvary...78 2. Nashville Trevecca Community...60 3. Nashville First...44 4. Jason Chapel...38 5. Goodlettsville...26 6. Woodlawn...18 Memphis New Hope...18 8. Brentwood First...17 9. Dover...14 Franklin Community of Faith...14 PERCENTAGE GAIN 1. Dickson Lighthouse... 88.89% 2. Memphis New Hope... 69.23% 3. Nashville Trinity... 66.67% 4. Sumner County Living Springs... 43.48% 5. Nashville New Life Korean... 38.10% 6. Memphis Hope Tabneracle... 36.36% 7. Jason Chapel... 35.19% 8. Nashville Westwind... 33.33% 9. Madison... 31.58% 10. Memphis Calvary... 29.89% MORNING WORSHIP 1. Nashville First...1042 2. Nashville Trevecca Community...966 3. Columbia Grace...735 4. Hermitage...683 5. Clarksville First...555 6. Goodlettsville...550 7. Clarksville Grace...483 8. Memphis Calvary...444 9. Nashville Grace...358 10. Gallatin...312

NMI: Nazarene Missions International Mrs. Becky Hancock, President 504 W. Angela Circle Goodlettsville, TN 37072 E-mail: mhbethel1@juno.com Summer is such an important time for our district as we come together for camps, convention, and assembly. I always anticipate great times of warm fellowship and worship and encouragement. The Holy Spirit is present with us! I hope you were inspired and challenged by our missionaries at convention. Our generous offerings will be a blessing to them as they go back to Africa and buy their 4x4 vehicle. We also want to send a Jesus Film Backpack that is a $4,000 project. We are over halfway there and would like to encourage some more of you to give to that project. I know you always leave convention with no more cash in your pockets, but isn t it fun to give?! Thank you for your generous love offering and for your vote of confidence to me personally as your president. Here are some NMI happenings that are so exciting. Did you know. That we have begun the adventure of forming a Nazarene Disaster Response Team? This group was trained in June and several more expressed interest in this ministry at convention. Thank you, Michael Rhodes, for your initiatives in this area! That you have opportunities to have volunteer missionaries speak at your church? Please contact me at mhbethel1@juno.com or by phone (615) 851-1122 and I will share some who are looking for a place to speak this fall. That local NMI presidents are KEY to our NMI ministry? Thank you, presidents, for your passion that you share with your church. That your district NMI council is here to serve you? Please visit the district webpage at www.tnnaz.org and click on District Ministries/NMI to find our contact information, so we can assist you. Dates to remember... Alabaster Offering ~ September District Prayer Retreat ~ October 19 & 20 at Camp Garner Creek Welcome New Nazarenes Columbia Grace ~ Pastor Mark Lindstrom Billy & Michelle Bryant; Danny Willard; Frank & Judy Hope; Holly Heard; Carol Fuller; Tom Park; Barbara Riley Erin ~ Pastor Jeff Stark Brian & Joy Hooper; Jeremy Hankins; Sandy Griffin; Shelli Furman Magan Mitchell; Clay, Laura & Bubba Mills; Austin Glass; Angie Tabb; Ricky & Wanda Taylor Fly ~ Pastor James Lunsford Garrett & Taryn McCaleb; Carter & Lucas McClanahan; Danielle Taylor; Stephanie Totty; Rodney & Candi Adams; Natalie & Kevin Alderson; John & Carolyn Myers Highland ~ Pastor David Scott Evelyn Quick Woodlawn ~ Pastor Tracy Hoskins JoAnn Green Baptized Crossroads Community ~ Pastor Adam Rischer Adrian Mitchell King; Coby Greenwalt; Kelsey Max; Daniel & Gina Ware; Joyce Howard; Kathy Pittman; Teri Risher; Jimmy Cothran; Betty Wilson Erin ~ Pastor Jeff Stark Chase Haines; Olivia & Katie White; Dustin Rutledge; Trey & Micayla Smith;Vanessa Baker; Kayla Woods; Angelina & Samantha Eliott; Aubree Byler; Hailey Lindsey Gallatin ~ Pastor Tim Hancock Kara McCullough

NYI: Nazarene Youth International Rev. Jason Underwood, NYI President 584 Franklin Road Franklin, TN 37069 E-mail: pastorjasonunderwood@gmail.com It is sad to say goodbye to such a great year for the TNYI. It has been an eventful summer that has put an exclamation point on a fantastic year. With school starting back and the Fall just around the corner, it s time to look forward to the year ahead and what God has in store for us. At our annual TNYI convention we saw a record number of our TNYI family. Over 400 TNYI supporters heard reports of the year s progress and plans for the upcoming year. The convention also concluded with a night of pizza and all you could play Lazer Tag in downtown Nashville. Here are your newly elected Council Members for this year. President: Jason Underwood Members at Large: Vice President: Daniel Meadow Daniel Medders Kelli Hamilton Treasurer: Jimmy Wright Matt Taylor Jamin Wentworth Stephen Kihnley The convention also elected delegates to the NYI convention next summer in Indianapolis IN. They are as follows: Ministerial delegates: Lay Delegates: Student Delegates: Daniel Meadow Jennifer Jones Hannah Christianson Matt Taylor Laura Meadow Mac Maguire This year the Southeast region is offering a new event for youth workers. It is a training seminar to be held September 14-16. Information for Reload will be available on our website www.tnnyi.com as well as emailed to our TNYI distribution list. If you have any questions please contact me for more informa- I love you and there s nothing you can do about it! RETREAT September 11-13 Make plans now to join us for Ministers & Mates retreat in Pigeon Forge. This year we will also enjoy a night of fellowship together at the Dixie Stampede. American Red Cross Shelter Team Training Saturday, September 8th 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Location: TNU Quick Lecture Hall (Waggoner Library) For more information and registration visit www.trevecca.edu

TENNESSEE DISTRICT PARTNERSHIP WITH CUBA The Tennessee District will be the first U.S. Nazarene district to send a Work and Witness team to Cuba. After many years of not being able to go, Nazarenes and other denominations are now able to send work teams to help repair and rebuild old church properties, some dating back more than 60 years. This opportunity is made possible by changes in U.S. government regulations that now permit teams to go to Cuba under a general license for "full-time religious activity," including construction work on church properties. This partnership with Cuba highlights an interesting historical connection. The Cuban field began in 1902 as a mission of a parent group merging with the Church of the Nazarene in 1915, bringing its mission work into Nazarene history. The parent group that started the work in Cuba and joined with the Church of the Nazarene in 1915 was the Pentecostal Alliance, later called the Pentecostal Mission, with its roots in Nashville, Tennessee. The Tennessee holiness movement was right at the heart of the early outreach to Cuba. Our partnership with Cuba is coming full-circle with a Work & Witness trip 110 years later. We continue to fulfill our mission "to connect people everywhere to the hope found in Jesus Christ." This Work & Witness project began when memorial funds given in memory of Dr. Larry Leonard s father reached the $20,000 threshold for funding materials for a Work & Witness trip. The Lord directed him to establish a memorial church in Cuba, and District Work & Witness coordinators Mic and Melanie Holcomb made an onsite visit this summer to the Church of the Nazarene in central Cuba. They discovered a building that had been started 30 years ago, worked on by two Canadian teams several years ago, but never completed. The Holcombs quickly determined that the condition of this building and the faith of the people will require not one but three teams and an additional $20,000 in project funds. The entire district is now needed. We will send three teams over the next few months: the first team December 3-12, 2012, and two more teams with dates to be set in February and March, 2013. The Cuban congregation was in the middle of a 20-day fast asking God for some way to finish their long-delayed construction when the Holcombs arrived to say that the Tennessee District was committed to helping them complete the project. The worship service they shared that Wednesday night was an old-fashioned camp meeting time with tears of rejoicing for answered prayers. Now they are praying for us and for the members of our Tennessee teams as we prepare to go and join hands with our Cuban brothers and sisters. We urge every church on the Tennessee District to be involved at some level. Pray. Take an offering to help meet the additional project funds needed. Urged skilled laborers, people who speak Spanish, and medically trained individuals from your church to go. Contact the District Ministry Resource Center for more details. For specific information on the teams going to Cuba or to complete an application to go, contact the Holcombs at melanie.holcomb@wildblue.net or at 615-446-5554. For information reagarding the trip we are also providing a PowerPoint presentation attached with this newsletter. Paperwork for the December trip is going to be due near the end of September, so it is vital that those interested respond quickly!

Attendance Report for August Clarksville Mission Area SS AM Clarksville First... 152...555 Clarksville Grace... 237...483 Clarksville Korean... 25...70 Clarksville Park Lane... 116...171 Dover... 68...90 Gray s Chapel... 67...70 Long Creek... 22...22 Woodlawn Community... 121...156 Columbia Mission Area Brentwood Concord Comm... 139...226 Brentwood First... 145...238 Columbia First... 30...57 Columbia Grace... 507...735 Franklin Community... 75...167 Franklin Hispanic...-...10 Lawrenceburg Grace... 33...62 Lawrenceburg Vaughan... 13...15 Lewisburg... 31...49 Nashville New Life Korean... 29...35 Pleasant Point... 20...31 Fly Mission Area Elmore... 48...63 Fly... 15...89 Jones Chapel... 26...52 Mt. Wesley-Akin Chapel... 20...39 Savannah... 15...21 Summertown... 8...27 Memphis North Mission Area Covington... 13...15 Crossroads Community... 36...61 Dyersburg... 26...31 Memphis Calvary... 339...444 Memphis New Hope... 44...38 Memphis Word Alive... 36...47 Millington... 23...24 Memphis South Mission Area SS AM Memphis Christ Like... 15...50 Memphis Eastside... 26...38 Memphis Emmanuel... 17...57 Memphis Faithful Believers... 11...27 Memphis Friendship... 28...47 Memphis Grace... 174...216 Memphis Holiness Tabernacle... 66...138 Memphis Hope Tabernacle... 30...39 Memphis Refreshing Springs... 8...34 Nashville North Mission Area Ashland City Faith Comm... 69...109 Gallatin... 226...312 Goodlettsville... 408...550 Greenbrier New Walk...-...60 Hendersonville... 65...141 Highland... 19...32 Joelton... 9...10 Portland... 98...174 Springfield... 40...57 Sumner Cty. Living Springs... 33...54 Nashville South Mission Area Kingston Springs... 22...31 Nashville Bell Road... 18...39 Nashville Blakemore... 25...60 Nashville Calvary Korean... 26...69 Nashville Christ... 0...42 Nashville Community Fellowship... 16...26 Nashville Donelson... 34...42 Nashville Glencliff Hispanic... 68...124 Nashville Kaleo... 17...17 Nashville Immanuel... 0...21 Nashville Trevecca Comm... 687...966 Nashville Trinity... 25...50 Nashville Westwind... 20...25 Waverly Mission Area Camden... 8...19 Dickson Lighthouse... 17...43 Erin... 207...244 Fulton... 40...54 Griffin s Chapel... 82...109 Jason Chapel... 146...180 Paris... 45...42 Pine Hill... 75...140 Waverly... 156...225 TOTAL... 7334...11492 Thanks to ALL churches for 100% reporting for 80 consecutive months. Nashville East Mission Area Hermitage... 454...683 Madison... 25...34 Madison Hispanic... 54...104 Nashville Bethel... 74...106 Nashville First... 788...1042 Nashville Grace... 225...358 Nashville Inglewood... 24...61 Nashville Whites Creek... 32...54 Old Hickory... 103...144

Funding the Mission giving 2012-2013 Unified & TNU as of Aug. 31 World Evan. & P & B as of Aug. 31 Funding the Mission Funding the Mission Unified TNU WEF P & B Reported Income Income Updated Ashland City Faith Comm. 0 0 0 0 0 Brentwood Concord Comm. 3,518 1,978 6,812 2,029 Brentwood First 72,287 7/30/12 2,891 1,626 3,584 2,609 Camden 7,949 8/27/12 301 169 414 172 Clarksville First 0 306 0 715 153 Clarksville Grace 0 2,109 1,186 0 7 Clarksville Korean 11,733 7/29/12 469 264 376 152 Clarksville Park Lane 88,950 8/27/12 2,497 1,405 3,433 1,405 Columbia First 15,947 8/16/12 665 395 870 150 Columbia Grace 206,472 7/31/12 3,761 2,116 10,447 4,274 Covington 0 180 135 216 135 Crossroads Community 0 624 340 1,182 340 Dickson Lighthouse 0 0 0 0 50 Dover 30,995 8/15/12 1,234 694 1,582 671 Dyersburg 0 0 0 473 290 Elmore 0 395 222 542 222 Erin 60,947 8/13/12 2,298 1,292 3,159 1,292 Fly 14,024 7/29/12 561 316 771 316 Franklin Community 0 1,451 907 900 327 Franklin Hispanic 0 0 0 0 0 Fulton 8,542 7/31/12 324 214 444 192 Gallatin 0 4,696 2,115 4,765 2,113 Goodlettsville 266,310 8/29/12 8,947 5,046 13,837 5,660 Gray s Chapel 0 0 0 0 0 Greenbrier New Walk 0 0 0 0 0 Griffin s Chapel 19,845 7/31/12 728 410 1,026 410 Hendersonville 21,672 7/29/12 867 542 1,127 475 Hermitage 0 1,399 0 0 699 Highland 9,584 8/26/12 361 203 326 133 Jason Chapel 39,712 8/1/12 0 0 1,567 837 Joelton 3,396 8/29/12 128 82 84 35 Jones Chapel 0 0 0 0 0 Kingston Springs 0 330 206 773 220 Lawrenceburg Grace 0 514 322 707 258 Lawrenceburg Vaughan 0 0 0 0 0 Lewisburg 12,000 8/18/12 561 350 771 280 Long Creek 0 390 244 536 195 Madison 10,818 8/12/12 421 237 197 85 Madison Hispanic 0 0 0 0 0 Memphis Calvary 244,325 8/31/12 5,500 3,094 11,282 4,555 Memphis Christ Like 0 0 0 0 0 Memphis Eastside 0 141 85 198 85 Memphis Emmanuel 4,649 7/31/12 172 0 242 105 Memphis Faithful Believers 0 0 0 0 0 Memphis Friendship 22,528 8/27/12 572 380 787 343 Memphis Grace 152,001 8/27/12 4,676 2,630 6,169 2,630 Memphis Holiness Tab. 0 0 0 187 0 Memphis Hope Tab. 0 0 0 0 0 Memphis New Hope 7,345 7/30/12 709 355 780 314 Memphis Refreshing Springs 0 0 0 0 0 Memphis Word Alive 0 0 0 0 0 Millington 0 182 101 251 114 Mt. Wesley-Akin 8,630 8/31/12 154 87 201 87 Nashville Bell Road 0 0 0 300 0 Nashville Bethel 0 2,000 1,166 2,666 932 Nashville Blakemore 22,744 9/2/12 778 438 1,070 438 Nashville Christ 0 0 0 0 0 Nashville Community 7,361 7/31/12 279 157 384 162 Nashville Donelson 21,895 9/2/12 655 407 1,215 460 Nashville First 586,585 8/28/12 12,117 6,816 18,372 7,556 Nashville First/Calvary Korean 0 0 0 0 0 Nashville Glencliff Hispanic 6,863 7/18/12 575 360 710 258 Nashville Grace 143,187 8/6/12 5,727 3,222 6,958 2,931 Nashville Immanuel 3,529 8/21/12 134 75 184 79 Nashville Inglewood 13,631 8/30/12 517 291 710 291 Nashville Kaleo 2,598 8/31/12 0 0 0 0 Nashville New Life Korean 8,482 8/31/12 237 141 308 125 Nashville Trevecca Community 338,635 8/31/12 8,145 4,576 10,875 4,576 Nashville Trinity 23,407 9/2/12 950 556 1,049 450 Nashville Westwind 0 204 102 0 127 Nashville Whites Creek 15,707 7/30/12 588 368 1,643 331 Old Hickory 52,015 7/31/12 1,993 1,121 2,740 1,121 Paris First 16,592 8/31/12 458 257 860 348 Pine Hill 46,183 8/31/12 1,045 588 1,418 588 Pleasant Point 2,402 8/24/12 45 26 59 26 Portland 79,830 8/27/12 2,965 1,668 4,191 1,675 Savannah 0 0 0 0 0 Springfield First 11,179 8/14/12 452 254 621 254 Summertown 6,159 8/31/12 204 127 320 131 Sumner Cty. Living Springs 2,489 6/30/12 0 0 0 0 Waverly 63,723 8/13/12 2,223 1,251 3,067 2,501 Woodlawn 42,565 8/27/12 1,631 957 2,242 879 $2,858,423 $98,958 $54,672 $143,698 $60,659 We appreciate churches utilizing Funding the Mission and reporting the monthly income. If you need any assistance, please contact the District Office at (615) 255~2929 and we will be glad to assist you.