Dear NEO family,

Greetings in the strong name of Jesus. In these uncertain times, it is good to have our lives built upon the Rock, isn't it? I pray that you will lean into Jesus and experience His peace, hope, joy and love in abundance today.

Our youth begin their NYI Fall Retreat tonight. I understand that they already have 180 signed up to attend. Let's pray for director, Ryan Amey, and all of our students that this will be a time of great fun and spiritual transformation.

We had a District Advisory Board meeting last evening. As we looked at our financial reports and the faithful giving of the NEO churches, we had reason to give thanks. We also rejoiced in the good return we are getting in our investment in others. Last year our District churches paid $150,782 to Pensions and Benefits. In 2007, our District pastors received $221,937 in benefit dollars! Our churches paid $252,934 to Southern Nazarene University. The amount paid over 90% our educational budget is awarded back to SNU students from NEO. So, last month we gave $316 to each of our 27 students. Last night, David Fitzgerald reminded us that we consistently get more in scholarship and grant money for NEO students at SNU than our District pays in budgets each year. Your giving to the District is helping to start two new churches and train and develop leaders on our District. Your giving to World Evangelism is producing Pentecost type movements in many areas of the world. At a time when your investments in Wall Street are not doing so hot, isn't it good to know that your investments in Kingdom work are producing great dividends!

This week I have been finishing the editing of a devotional booklet that we will use in churches across NEO beginning January 1. This will be one part of a Spiritual Renewal Emphasis, "Back to the Basics". We also will have Zone Prayer Cluster Meetings in all five Zones (Jan. 3, 3pm—Muskogee ; Jan. 4, 5pm—Bristow: Jan. 6, 7 pm—Skiatook ; Jan. 7, 7pm —Claremore; Jan 11, 5pm—Tulsa Regency Park). What could be seen as a 25 day Spiritual Adventure will climax with our Spiritual Renewal Weekend on Januay 23 - 25 with Dr. Jack Eyestone and Leaving 99.


Last Sunday night, Gloria and I were blessed to be at Sapulpa for a revival service with Rev. Greg Rickey. I took a few pictures:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Abt2TZizYsWTFzA
Pastor Don Cowan told me, "we have raised $2643 for our Thanksgiving meals for Others. We anticipate that we will be able to feed almost 100 families. Wow! That truly is a God thing! We are working cooperatively with Sapulpa Community Care. This is the biggest offering ever from any one church." This is coming right after an incredible display of giving to others by the Sapulpa Church in the Centennial Celebration. When Don came to the church in April, 2007, his passion was "Others". It sure looks like that is now the passion of the entire congregation. Praise the Lord!

Churches, let's continue to be strive to be high impact churches. Our next session of "How to Grow a High Impact Church", will be Monday, Nov. 24, 6:30 pm at Tulsa Central Church in the Kannady Family Life Center. Chip Ingram will be teaching on the Law of Liberation and the Law of Structure. Call me if you have any questions.

The article below highlights the need for good planning. Let's continue to update and implement our action plans!

Small Churches Struggle with Planning
Small churches often get most of the equation right when it comes to making progress, but the one major mistake they make is poor planning, according to results from a recent study by LifeWay Research.
The study shows that an overwhelming majority of pastors of small churches (94%) say they see the need and problems in their community that the church has been called to address, and eight out of 10 say they share with their congregation a clear and compelling picture of what God is calling their church to look like in several years. But 67 percent of pastors of small churches — congregations that average fewer than 100 in primary worship attendance — say they are frustrated with how slow progress is being made at their churches.
Scott McConnell, associate director of LifeWay Research, says, "Understanding God's calling and the context of the church is important, but leadership requires knowing where you are, knowing where you need to go and knowing how to get there. Most pastors of small churches actively pursue the first two, but many struggle with the third."
Of the 350 Southern Baptist pastors surveyed, only 29 percent strongly agreed that they had a clear plan to transform their churches into what God wanted them to be. Thirty percent agreed that they are confused about where they should invest their own time and effort. And although 70 percent of the pastors said their church budget was enough to fund current objectives, 40 percent agreed that their church rarely has time to reflect and plan properly. For instance, two-thirds of the small churches rarely change the person in charge of certain work or responsibilities. And less than six in ten churches regularly review methods and results of events and programs.
McConnell encourages small churches to "stop and evaluate what they are doing and who is doing it." He added, "Pastors who candidly assess their own strengths and weaknesses can surround themselves with leaders who have the talents that they lack. Each local church should seek out and utilize members gifted in organizing people and processes." [christianpost.com]


Have a blessed weekend!

Dave McKellips