The Kerusso | 2023 April April

The Kerusso – April | 2023

Five Denominational Priorities (A Continuing Series by International General Superintendent Edwards)

As a reminder, I’ve been sharing a “Word for the Year” since 2019 that captures my heart for where we need to head in our thinking and leadership. The meaning and motivation contained in these words comes straight from the Scripture.

In 2019, the word was “Collaborate” because the WORD encourages collaborative teamwork, and extolls the value of unity in such places as Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4.

In 2020 the word was “Family,” knowing that we are called together to serve the Lord in a spiritual bond that is actually stronger than our biological connections. Jesus looked at his disciples, and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12)

In 2021, the word was “Trust.” In his second letter, the Apostle Paul admonished Timothy to “... Remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you.” (2 Timothy 3:14)

In 2022, the word was “Grow,” based on many Biblical admonitions such as "Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” (Colossians 2:7)

In 2023, the word I’ve been drawn to focus on and share is “Peace.” The inspired writer of Hebrews makes it incredibly plain ... “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Pretty strong language!

Unlike other years, this year’s word - PEACE - represents a set of priorities that will continue to be focal points for us throughout these next several years.

1 - Planting Churches

2 - Educating Ministers

3 - Aspiring to Holiness

4 - Connecting People and Churches

5 - Equipping Leaders

In this third of the five priorities, we find the very heart of God. Over and again in the pages of Scripture, we are told that God is HOLY. It is who He is, not something He does occasionally. And we were created in His very image, but marred the image of God in humanity at the fall.

Leviticus 19:2 echoes a theme that spans the pages of the Bible: “You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” Holiness isn’t primarily about our external traits; it is about those invisible character traits that make us like HIM. When we are transformed internally, the outward evidence will testify to the internal change. The Apostle Peter beautifully described how we must grow, recapturing the divine nature through ASPIRING to HOLINESS: He wrote:

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sin.” (2 Peter 1:2-9)

Kerusso (Greek): “To publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done.”

District “Journey” Meetings 2023 COMING UP: Lakeview Chapel Lake Elsinore, CA | April 20-21

To register and find more Lake Elsinore information click here: District "Journey" Meetings 2023

Peninsula Community

2403 W. Texas St.

Moses Lake, WA 98837

Registration continues for the three remaining district "Journey" meetings.

To register, find information, and for a printable flyer, click here:

District "Journey" Meetings 2023

Please register and make payment no later than 2 weeks before the meeting you plan to attend.

Quality Inn - 449 Melva Lane, Moses Lake, WA (509)765-8886 (from $100 per night)

Inn at Moses Lake - 1741 Kittleson Road, Moses Lake, WA (509)766-7000 (from $160 per night)

Best Western Lake Front - 3000 North Marina Drive, Moses Lake, WA (509) 765-9211 (from $160 per night)

Holiday Inn Express - 2300 South Maiers, Moses Lake, WA (509) 766-8000 (from $198 per night)

Comfort Suites - 1700 East Kittleson Road, Moses Lake, WA (509) 765-3731 (from $169 per night)

RESTAURANTS WITHIN 5 MILES OF THE CHURCH:

Subway, J’s Teriyaki Grill, Dragon Express (Take Out), Starbucks, and various fast food

AREA ATTRACTIONS:

Blue Heron Park, Moses Lake Art Museum & Art Center, Japanese Peace Garden, & more!

Please remember, we REALLY want you to bring your lay leaders. We deeply value our connection to the laity and especially look forward to them participating in the Leadership Summit on Friday morning.

Russ Cochran, Jeff Stockett, Tad Stinson, Max & Judy Edwards

Church Clippings

Excitement from around the EMC

Joshua Strunk

Joshua & Alissa celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary!!

And they celebrated at two weddings, as two of their kids recently married the loves of their lives.

In his report, Joshua says to his church body ... From my current vantage point, what I see are families who have invited me to be a part of their lives, to step in during their most sacred and scary moments, and to be their pastor. What I see are relationships that have only just begun to flourish, with multi-generational impact just over the horizon! Amen Josh!

Jon Tellifero

Jon Tellifero transferred into the EMC from the UMC as an ordained elder in March of 2022 and started a community bible study, The Fellowship, as well as working with several UMC congregations as they explore connectional options. Here are a few excerpts from the balance of Jon’s ministry report:

June 11, 2022, I began working with friends who wanted to start a new congregation named Mercy Chapel in DeRidder Louisiana… On June 18 we met for the first time in a small worship center called "The Ignite Center." We are using this space rent free! We have been able to incorporate, set up our leadership team, and meet all of our financial responsibilities, including putting up two billboards for our ministry. In 2023 we will be considering joining the EMC, expanding our worship team, and our ministry as is appropriate.

In January of 2022 I received a phone call from Faith UMC asking if I could meet with the leadership of this church about what disaffiliation would look like... From January to May we met in person. It became evident that Faith community needed to either leave the UMC or close its doors. In April I met with a small group of Methodists who wanted to start a new work and I suggested that they join the Faith community in its journey. Then in May another miracle happened for both Mercy Chapel and the emerging Faith Church, a CPA agreed to establish both congregations with the state of Louisiana and secure our tax identification number at no charge to either congregation…

By August 2022 Faith Church voted unanimously to leave the UMC and as of January 1, 2023 is Faith Church of West Monroe. The first worship service together was July 3, 2022. January through May, Faith UMC averaged 18 in attendance. On July 3 we had 58 in worship and have averaged 45 to 50 every Sunday since. On Christmas eve we had 70! … On January 8, 2023 I became the supply pastor for Beulah Community Church (EMC) in Calhoun Louisiana. Today I am re-living my first days of ministry. In those days I served three churches, worked as a salesman and a night watchman. We on January 8 will serve 3 congregations, sell insurance, and teach a community Bible study. These are exciting days!

Debra Miller

From Pastor Debra’s 2022 Ministry Report: We give God all the praise and glory for this year! There have been some difficult times for all of us, but God has kept us through it all. The church has started to rebuild its congregation with the addition of several families that have come to us. Families from many years ago revisiting and new families coming into our church.

The worship team is once again running at full strength, praise the Lord!! We are grateful for Leilani learning to play the piano and singing, Josh back on drums, Daniel back on the bass, Michael Jr back on guitar and Melinda and Ayla singing to the Lord. Pray for all these who volunteer. We thank Kory, Tyler, Joel and Michelle for all their dedication to making our sound and video a success.

I am excited about the new Stephen’s ministry program… we have 2 enrolled in that specific training and I am hoping for more this year. Children’s ministry is running very well. Alexis is enrolling in the Haggard School ministry track as she takes steps to become a youth pastor, and Melinda plans to also enroll as she explores which direction she wants to go. I will be going with Alexis to our camp in Virginia for their senior camp, to help expose Alexis to some of our Youth activities of our denomination.

CFAN Christ for All Nations

Keeping in Touch with our Global Partners

Submitted by, Revs. Bill & Lisa Walker, GBWM Co-Chairs

Christ for All Nations Mission Trip

Lisa and I have participated in several mission trips over the years. Between the two of us, we’ve been on trips to Bolivia, Mexico, Peru, Myanmar, The Philippines, Cuba, and Jamaica. One time we brought a group of Mexican EMC youth to Macon, Georgia for what we called a “reverse mission trip,” but most of our mission trip experience involves American EMCers visiting another country. However, mission trips don’t have to involve different cultures, passports, or international flights.

I am excited to share with you an experience that was very different. In fact, it wasn’t even our experience—we weren’t involved this time! This was a mission trip that took place within one of the EMC Global Conferences. Christ for All Nations (CFAN) pastor Rev. Théophile Mpetembe (aka Pastor Theo) leads an EMC congregation in Montreal. CFAN has a small cluster of churches in Canada (Montreal, Quebec and Toronto, Ontario). One of their new church plants is led by Rev. Henrique Dicoba in the town of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, about a 1-hour drive from Montreal.

In February of this year, Pastor Theo organized his Montreal congregation to go help the Saint-Hyacinthe church in their community evangelistic efforts. Here is Pastor Theo’s Facebook message to me:

“The mission went very well. It was in the city of Saint-Hyacinthe in the province of Quebec. I preached on the necessity of evangelization. We were 15 people. We also led the worship time. Afterwards, we encouraged the members to win souls and then to plan in 3 to 5 years to start a new [church]. They were encouraged and said that our presence pushed them to double their efforts.”

Praise God! Here is one church encouraging and helping another church. The Montreal congregation will visit again in April because the SaintHyacinthe church is moving to a new location. Pray for these churches and their pastors as they reach their communities in the French-speaking province of Quebec.

Board of World Missions

Each Spring, the EMC Board of World Missions promotes a mission-related offering that coincides with Resurrection Sunday. We encourage pastors and church leaders to receive this offering not only on Resurrection Sunday, but during the entire month.

The BWM uses the Resurrection Offering to help EMC missions; in past years it has been distributed among our global conferences. This year the BWM plans to invest it differently.

Bill and Lisa Walker are the only EMC missionaries serving in the EMC, and it is imperative that their account support level be flush—the income needs to be at least equal to the needed monthly draw. Presently, that is not the case. The Walkers' monthly ministry support is not sourced from the EMC's USA Conference budget in the same way as its elected officers, but rather comes from the missions account in their name, which is provided by targeted donations.

You will be hearing more from the Walkers and from International General Superintendent Rev. Edwards on this matter in coming weeks and months. In the meantime, your gift to this year’s Resurrection Offering will supplement the Walker’s ministry account as our only full-time EMC Missionaries serving exclusively in the EMC.

You may give by mailing a check to EMC Headquarters, PO Box 17070 Indianapolis, IN 46217, or by going online to Resurrection Offering. Alternatively, you may 1) go to www.emchurch.org, 2) select “giving” and log in, then 3) select “Resurrection Offering.”

You may also set up recurring support for the Walkers at the same online giving site.

Thank you in advance for your generosity!