The Kerusso – February | 2024 Kerusso (Greek): “To publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done.”
Why Do We Have Leap Years?
International General Superintendent Max Edwards We’re all probably aware of it, right? 2024 is going to be an extralong year. February will be a long month. 29 days instead of 28. Why do we do this? We add a day to our year almost every four years so that we stay in sync with the earth’s orbit around our Sun. And yes, you read that right. I said “almost” every four years! The formula is actually more complicated than just having a leap year every four years. The time difference between the actual orbit of the earth and 365 24-hour-days is such that there has to be a way to compensate for the small but growing error. If the year is evenly divisible by 4, it is a leap year, UNLESS it is also evenly divisible by 100. If that is the case, it isn’t a leap year. UNLESS the year is both divisible by 100 AND 400, in which case it is a leap year. Wild, huh? By these rules, the years 2000 and 2400 ARE leap years, while 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, 2300, and 2500 are not leap years. If we observed a leap year EVERY SINGLE four years, after the passage of 6 centuries, the error would be so large that we would be celebrating Christmas in the middle of summer. Why the science lesson? Because as an analogy, it reminds me that if we are not careful, we can drift away from a truly intimate relationship with the Lord, and before we know it, we are completely out of sync with Him. It doesn’t take much - just a little deviation from His Word. Just a little lack of attention to the Spirit’s voice. Just a little compromise here, or a little rebellion there. The Leap Year plan is a systematic way of re-aligning our calendar with our planet’s orbit. And in like manner, it would be to our advantage if we employed a system to make sure we stay in sync with our Savior. Guess what? God has designed just such a system that if followed, will help us to routinely re-align ourselves with Him. Here it is: DAILY DEVOTION – prioritized time hearing His voice by reading His Word, and spending time in prayer. WEEKLY WORSHIP – a day every week that is set aside for reverence and worship. SEASONAL CELEBRATIONS – such as Passion Week / Resurrection Sunday, Pentecost Sunday, and Advent. FINANCIAL FOCUS – making sure that we honor God in our budget by faithful tithing and freewill offerings. If we do these things with a whole heart, we can more confidently remain in sync with the Father, Son, and Spirit.
The Kerusso - February | 2024
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Kerusso (Greek): “To publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done.”
Journey 2024 Begins! The JOURNEY REGISTRATION fee is $45 per person with a group rate of $40 per person for 5 or more attendees. Registration includes two suppers and one continental breakfast. There is no registration fee for children under 18 years of age, but please provide their name(s) and age/grade on your registration form to help us plan for their attendance. Click Here for a detailed Journey flyer. To register, please use this link for an online form: Journey 2024 Registration or email Karen Parsons (kparsons@emchurch.org) for registration/payment assistance.
Journey 2024 Begins with Arizona City EMC February 22 & 23 14350 S. Overfield Rd Arizona City, AZ 85123 Registration & Payment due February 8
Gilham Community Hosts in Eugene, Oregon March 7 & 8 3633 Gilham Rd Eugene, OR 97408 Registration & Payment due February 22
The Kerusso - February | 2024
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Kerusso (Greek): “To publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done.”
General Board of World Missions Co-Chairs, Bill & Lisa Walker
EMC and FullSpectrum Nearly every American Christian has some level of interaction with persons of a different ethnicity, cultural background, and language. Acts 17:26 teaches that God has ordained the places where He wants people to live (this applies to immigration). God did this so that people would seek Him and find Him (see verse 27). God has placed people from around the world in your path so that YOU can share Jesus with them! What an amazing opportunity! What a time to be alive! But how do you do it? Where do you start? Look no further! For over 20 years, the EMC has been a member of the organization, Ethnic America Network. Freshly rebranded and reinvented to stay relevant in the upcoming decades, EAN is now FullSpectrum. FullSpectum recently debuted its new monthly webinar ministry called FaithSpace. Bill was part of the rebranding and webinar development team. These sessions are designed as a safe learning environment and provide a rich opportunity to help you increase your understanding and skill set for cross-cultural witnessing and evangelism. No matter what level you’re at in ministering to people of other cultures, Bill and Lisa Walker are eager to help. Registering for FaithSpace is an easy way to improve! Go to www.fullspectrum.network to learn more and register—also email billwalkeremc@gmail.com with any questions. To learn more about the Walker’s missionary ministry in the EMC, go to https://emchurch.org/ministries/missions.
November Missions Offering We praise God this year, again for those who gave last Fall to the November Missions Offering! The EMC family collectively gave $5,721. This has already been distributed between our Global Conferences. Your gift to the EMC November Missions offering helps pay for national missionary salaries, church planting, pastors’ retreats, continuing education, training for new church workers, and many more things that a Global Conference might need. Don't forget to pray regularly for our Global Conferences. You can always join our Zoom prayer call, Wednesdays at 10pm eastern. Contact Bill Walker (billwalkeremc@gmail.com) for the list and link.
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Kerusso (Greek): “To publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done.”
G B Y A
EMC Youth Initiative
Brian Gordon, Board of Youth Activities
The EMC Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI) is committed to raising up the next generation of EMC leaders and pastors. There are currently 13 youth, representing 8 churches and 7 states, participating in the YLI! There’s room for even more! Board of Youth Activities and Children’s Ministries
Do you get excited about the potential of the next generation of leaders? I do because I’ve seen the fruit of cultivating leaders in my own congregation. Two of my board members were in middle school when I arrived as pastor 17 years ago. The church fostered and celebrated their potential, discipled them and released them to serve. Today Destiny serves as the vice-chair of our Board of Stewards and is heavily involved in Children’s Ministry and Outreach Ministries. Chris is a steady leader on our board and is a wonderful youth leader. Seth, one of our staff members, was in elementary school when I arrived. Today he is an integral part of the life of the church. They are just three examples of many in our church who are a result of a culture of investment in the next generation. That’s the heart of the Youth Leadership Initiative. We seek to invest in the next generation of leaders. We want to stand with our churches to help disciple and foster a culture of smooth generational leadership handoff. We have a lot of great things planned, from leadership retreats to mission trip opportunities. Get your youth involved today! In whom do you see leadership potential in your church? Send them to Youth Leadership Initiative. Your next pastor, church planter, youth leader, or Sunday School teacher could be sitting right in your own pew.
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Kerusso (Greek): “To publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done.”
Jason Swanner – Missouri
Excerpts from Pastor Jason’s 2023 Ministry Report This past year has been eventful to say the least. [I served part of the year] as the Executive Campus Pastor with Refuge Ministries, [Copperas Cove, TX]… In July I began a new adventure as the Senior Pastor of Crossroads EMC in Marshfield Missouri. This has been both a rewarding and challenging endeavor. Upon arrival, I had the privilege to participate in the Baptism of 3 new believers. We have taken in 6 new members with at least 5 more showing interest in becoming members. We completed upgrades to the sound system in the sanctuary, sealing of the parking lot and a face lift to one of the classrooms for youth. The youth group has grown from about 4 regulars prior to our arrival to 15 attending on a regular basis. We have also seen growth in our children's ministry and adult bible studies. The growth in the youth and children are largely due to the efforts and dedication of our youth and children's leaders. The Church participated, for the first time in a long time, in Operation Christmas Child, packing 64 boxes. Over the past few months, I have begun to visit members of the church as well as attempt to connect with visitors over lunch when possible. We have also made it a point to participate in, or host some type of fellowship event/activity outside of regular service times. It is our desire that the church be a family that is strong and healthy so that we can be effective in ministering to our community.
Trey Harris – Louisiana
Excerpts from Pastor Trey’s 2023 Ministry Report Ascension Methodist Church continues to gather each Sunday to worship and fellowship and grow deeper in our faith, knowledge of God and His Scriptures. AMC supports several outreach projects each year, including Samaritan Purse’s Christmas boxes, foreign missions as well as local outreach efforts. This year we supported relief efforts in Myanmar, Chosen People Ministries (a Messianic Jewish group) and others. We also baked and delivered cookies to our local fire department. We continue to answer calls for relief from local agencies and other churches. We believe strongly in AMC’s call to be a traditional, Wesleyan/Arminian worshipping community in our current context. AMC is reaching several hundred people each month through our Facebook broadcasts. While we may never know the full impact of this outreach, we trust that God’s Word will not return void and accomplish its intended purpose. The Prophet Isaiah declares: “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” (Isaiah 55:10–11 (NLT) We trust that God’s Word is as efficacious today as it was in Isaiah’s day. We pray the Holy Spirit uses our efforts to reach others with the Good News of Jesus Christ… Our members are generous and feel blessed to be able to support not only our church, but other Christian ministries locally, nationally and around the world. Our financial position is strong. Our members support the church well and give as a response to God’s grace and a belief in The Circuit EMC. While we are small, we believe we are filling a void in the community by offering traditional Methodist worship. As pastor, I pray for guidance and vision from God concerning the church. Several times, in prayer (or while mowing the church lawn) I sense God’s peace about the church and its future. We are strong in our faith, committed to our call and viable financially.
Lynn Malone – Louisiana
Excerpts from Pastor Lynn’s 2023 Ministry Report I began serving as the interim pastor at Lakeview Methodist Church in Minden, LA on July 15, 2023. Prior to that appointment, I served for the month of June 2023, as the interim pastor of First Methodist Church, Minden, LA. Both congregations were disaffiliated from the UMC. For the first portion of 2023, I served as pulpit supply for a number of congregations. Additionally, I made seven presentations throughout the year to UM congregations who disaffiliated from the UMC. I will end my service as interim pastor with Lakeview Methodist on January 28, 2024. As of now, Vanessa and I are praying about re-launching The House Church Movement in our new home community. Pray with us for God's direction in this matter.