Dear NEO Naz family,

I hope you are enjoying the season of Advent. It is wonderful to tell the old,old story of Jesus - God moving into our neighborhood to redeem us. It is crucial that we again invite him to come into our lives in a fresh way to shape us as Christlike disciples. And we look forward with hope to the return of Christ when his rule and reign will be manifest throughout the earth.

The return of Christ takes on new meaning to our family this week after the passing of Gloria’s father, Rev. Bobby G. Robison, on Dec. 2. A friend sent me this sentence: May the anticipation of heaven be greater than your grief. As the people of God longed for the coming of the Messiah, we long for his return and a day when there will be no separation, no sickness or Alzheimers and no tears.

Southern Nazarene University will be offering an MBA Health Care, both online and on ground, starting after the first of the year. Participants will have their choice of which modality they would prefer. The on ground program is still just one evening per week. Anyone interested should contact Dale Young at 664-1949 X235.

Luke Olson, a member of Family Church and a student at SNU in Bethany, was selected as Central States Football League All-Conference defensive back, as well as Academic All Conference. Congratulations, Luke!

January, 2010 is Spiriutal Renewal Month in Northeast Oklahoma, culminating in our weekend of services with Rev. Susie Shellenberger on January 29 – 31. We will have daily devotions sent out electronically during the month of January and special events for children, youth, women and primetimers. All Zones will have a service of worship and prayer for Spiritual Renewal on Sunday, January 10, 6pm. For more information about this exciting month, go to http://neonaz.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=55&Itemid=52

I love reading the reports of our pastors celebrating God’s work in our churches!
I WANT TO CELEBRATE…

Nathan Burns, Owasso Silver Creek...We gave 8 baskets full of thanksgiving groceries to families who otherwise would not have had a meal. Several new families coming and talking about how much Silver Creek feels like home. We had a fantastic Thanksgiving Banquet led by Pastor Brian & Sally Loderhose, and two incredible testimonies of God's amazing grace. We have also found a pianist! Praise God for all His blessings!

David Stevens, Vinita…The Lord is faithful! His Love and Mercy endure forever! A lady and her husband started attending our evening services a few weeks ago because the church they were attending does not have evening services. On Wednesday night 2 weeks ago she requested prayer for her eyes. She testifies today that God has touched her eyes and here vision has cleared. On Sunday morning a few weeks ago the Lord specifically touched a young man so clearly that it startled him. That morning the message was about God’s call of ministers today. I am praying for him that God will clearly reveal His will for him and his family.

Harold Johnson, Cushing… We have had a significant number of visitors over the last several weeks with about 20% of our attendance being first time and/or returning visitors. Most of these people come from an addictive life style.

Jim Wilson, Pawhuska… A Great Trunk or Treat, Hanging of the Greens, and New faces since my last report.

Gordon Smith, Dewey… God is doing a new thing at D-Naz. Services have been tremendous and challenging our hearts, and people are getting motivated to witness their faith. Step by step God is doing something new! We have been going out into our community on Wednesday nights instead of doing a traditional service. We are getting into groups and going to the homes of people in our church to pray, and we are going door to door to see if there is anything we can pray for with people in our community. God is helping us to minister beyond the walls of our church!

Brad Farnsworth, BA Connection… Moving volunteer service to be included in 11am service has been very successful; a new attendee said she was driving home wondering if she had ever asked God into her heart, so she asked Him into her heart and “instantly got goose bumps all over her body and felt God had come into her heart.” This individual is now active as a volunteer in our service.

Wayde Normandin, Chelsea… Even though our economy is going through some economic hardships we have been able to still stay current on budgets and other financial obligations.

Dwain Young, Horton Chapel…A highlight for this month was having the Steve Young Family Singers on Sunday morning November 22. Steve’s wife, Cathy Maynard, grew up attending Horton Chapel. The Young's and their five children aging from 10 to 25 blessed our church family with Blue Grass and Gospel music. Pastor had a short message. We followed this with one of our famous potluck dinners. We enjoyed a beautiful day and an increase in the attendance.

Casey Hollingsworth, Miami New Life…Welcomed 11 new members into New Life Church membership. Many have already begun to get involved in the ministry here at New Life. Can’t wait to see what kind of impact these individuals will have on God’s ministry.

Keith Cole, Chandler…We are thrilled to have three new families regularly worshiping with us in recent weeks. God is good all the time!

Gerald “J.J.” James, Claremore… We had an incredible Fall Festival called G.L.O.W. (God Lights Our Way) with more kids attending than ever. New families are beginning to get involved in the life of our congregation. On the Sunday before Thanksgiving our church family was able to share dinner with everyone together in our new Fellowship Hall. We’ve had two people receive Christ in the last couple of weeks.

Doug Gunsalus, Glenpool South County… Our services have been well received and there seems to be a stir among our people about Sunday mornings, even when we don't have all the attendance we would like to see. Glenpool Schools asked us to come and help them shovel pea gravel in their playground area. We did this for Be The Church Sunday this last week. They are talking about SOCO at their meetings!!! How wonderful! We also helped Cassidy "feed December." Last year we did a project and collected canned food for our local pantry. This year, one of our students was convinced that we could fill the church trailer with canned food. Her name is Cassidy. So, we let her run with that and supported her with our feed December campaign through feeddecember.com. Check it out sometime! We raised over 4,000 cans of food in November! Praise God!

Don Cowan, Sapulpa…Greatest Christmas Ever; New excitement & vision for student ministries; New families coming to church; Launching new worship venue on Sunday evenings

Angela Bentley, Bristow… We continue to have new families coming into our church. They testify to the love and acceptance they receive from the body of Christ here. There is also a continual increase in people becoming involved in the ministries of the church. We hosted a community Thanksgiving service, led by our new pianist and worship team, which resulted in 151 in attendance and 10 churches participating. It was a great service!

Dan Hazelton, Pryor… some making spiritual advances...decision to fix up house across the street for teens...a storage shed being purchased for my house.

Alan McBroom, Davenport… God allowed us to provide over 75 people with clothes last month. Many people donate quality used clothes in Davenport, which are then organized and offered to anyone.

Cole Weston, Okmulgee… The further work on our teen center – we’ve almost got the heat fixed and the pipes no longer leak! We’ve launched a kid’s play for the first time in years (according to the church). All the sets are done and the play is Sunday! A wonderful love offering for Christmas from Broken Arrow Church. We’re able to do so many things we’d put off. An experienced former Sunday School Superintendent is stepping forward to take over the position.

NEO District Leaders in attendance gain over 2008

Sunday School/Discipleship
Bristow +22
Wagoner +19
Horton Chapel +10
Skiatook +8
Chandler +7
Miami New Life +6
Tulsa Family +6
Drumright +5
Vinita +5
Hominy +3

AM Worship
Bristow +24
Owasso Silver Creek +23
BA Connection +19
Wagoner Cornerstone +16
Miami New Life +14
Horton Chapel +13
Barnsdall +8
Cushing +5
Tulsa Regency Park Hispanic +5
Mannford +3

Thanks for all you are doing in your church and community to bear witness to the Kingdom that is here now and yet to come! It is a joy to be a partner with you.

Grace and peace,
Dave McKellips

Dear NEO family,

I received an email today from a friend whom I have not seen for 30 years. He was trying to locate a former pastor to see how he was doing and to thank him for being such an encouragement to him as a teenager. I was challenged by what he was doing. Who are people who have helped shaped me and make me who I am today that I need to take time to locate and say “thanks”. Wouldn’t it make for a great week of thanksgiving if each of us took time to not only thank God for his abundant and amazing grace, but also to thank people who invested in us? Let’s do it!

Last Sunday was a wonderful day at Tahlequah. We thanked a wonderful couple, Don and Lois Nichols, for 30 years of pastoral ministry in the Church of the Nazarene, 14 of them at Tahlequah. Enjoy the pictures. Tahlequah, November 15, 2009
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0Abt2TZizYsWTMsg&emid=sharshar&linkid=link5&cid=EMsharshar

We come to God with our thanksgiving, but also our petitions:
Nick Vernier’s brother-in-law, John Griffis, fell off the roof last Saturday and died yesterday. John was only 43 and leaves behind a wife and four children.

Linda Gresham, wife of SNU President Loren Gresham, had two surgeries last week to remove cancerous tissue. A pathology report after the second surgery showed what the surgeon calls 'adequate margins' of healthy tissue surrounding those sections extracted on which to focus radiation for preventing return of the malignancy. She started the treatments Tuesday and is tolerating the effects of the beams well. If this protocol of treatment is successful she will complete 10 rounds of radiation on Monday the 23rd, and then will be monitored regularly in the future.

Diane Howard and Laura Farnsworth are still recovering from surgery.

Jerry Hollingsworth, Casey’s Dad, is in a difficult struggle with pancreatic cancer.

My wife Gloria’s Dad, Bob Robison, has pneumonia and is on oxygen.

People in our communities need Jesus.

Thanks for lifting up our brothers and sisters in prayer.

I saw a great column this week from Harvey Mackay. He is writing about business, but if you substitute the word “church” for “business”, I think it all applies. See what you think.

Building on the past to secure the future
One of the fastest growing hobbies today is genealogy—tracing your roots. It is fun to find out where you came from, how you got here, and what happened along the way. It can also help you determine your legacy.
I would submit that tracking your family tree is not just for families. It's also a good idea for businesses—how you got started, what accounted for your success, and where you are today. What is the root of your corporate culture? How did you become so successful from such humble beginnings? Or, on the other hand, when did the big happy family start to splinter?
If this sounds like an exercise in futility, consider this: Businesses come and go every single day. If businesses don't know why, or don't know how to adapt to changing requirements, the statistics will include them sooner rather than later.
Knowing the reason you are in business and what you plan to accomplish will help keep your doors open. Keeping an eye on long-term goals will help you build a solid foundation and stay in business when others are failing. Understanding your starting point, successes and failures helps prevent repeating mistakes. Remember the George Santayana quote: "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

Grace and peace,
Dave McKellips