Link Winter 2014

Winter 2014

Merry Christmas

Winter 2014

NEW MEXICO MINISTRY NETWORK Network Pastor/ Executive Director Micheal Dickenson

mdickenson@nmministry.net

Help us New Mexico by informing us of ministry successes in your church and community.

Send your submission to:

Assistant Executive Director David Vistine dvistine@nmministry.net

info@nmministry.net

Executive Administrator/ Chief Financial Officer Marcus McClain mmcclain@nmministry.net

New Mexico Ministry Network 6640 Caminito Coors NW Albuquerque, NM 87120 (505) 899-5399 phone (505) 899-5859 fax info@nmministry.net www.nmministry.net

MINISTRY DIRECTORS:

EXECUTIVE PRESBYTERS:

samburgey@nmministry.net

pastor@theoasis.us

Men’s Ministries Shawn Amburgey

Royal Rangers Bart Garrison

Women’s Ministries Becky Dickenson

Girls Ministries Mary Helen Gonzalez

bdickenson@nmministry.net

Student Ministries Jeral Dickenson

jdickenson@nmministry.net

bgarrison@nmministry.net

mhgonzalez@nmministry.net

Northwest Area Randy Joslin

Southwest Area David Crispin

pastordave@oneworship.org

AREA PRESBYTERS: East Central Area Lemuel Perry

Native American Area Carlos Baki

Southeast Area Melvin Suttle

West Central Area Brenton Franks

arbidee@plateautel.net

kdmdsuttle@yahoo.com

baki69@hotmail.com

Northeast Area Randall Floyd

pastor@claytonag.org

pastorbrenton@evangelchristiancenter.org

NETWORK PASTOR MICHEAL DICKENSON

found myself considering that transformed by grace, delivered simple, yet profound truth, by grace, encouraged by grace. I “Grace at work!” That’s the think you get the point. It really story of my life and yours, and is “Grace at work!” it’s even the story of those who Grace…It has often been have yet to accept Christ as sav- defined simply as “The undeior. It’s God’s grace, extended to served favor of God”, and for us before we ever understood or those of us who have experiresponded to it, and continuing enced it, we are forever grate A few days ago Becky and to work in our lives every sin- ful. For those of us who grew I were in Sarasota, Florida for gle day. It really is “Grace at up in the church, I suppose that the annual Leadership Confer- work!”

“Amazing Grace” really is the ence for Network leaders across Grace…depending on the anthem of the church. But it’s America. We had a little free version of scripture you use, this so much more than a word, or a time while there, and I thought word grace is found 159 times in song; and in a world that so ofit would be really nice to take ad- scripture. In Genesis 6, “Noah ten doesn’t even acknowledge vantage of the beautiful found grace”. In Romans, we God, His grace is still at work. weather and scenery and As we look towards the We are saved by grace, em- to do a bike ride. As I made holidays in the coming weeks, I braced by grace, sustainedencourage you to be reminded my way to the local shop to rent a bike, my eyes by grace, strengthened of God’s grace at work. John 1 were drawn to a flyer advertising reminds us that “The Word beby grace, transformed by the 40th Annual Gulf Cyclefest came flesh and made his dwellfor the weekend. So, a couple of grace, delivered by grace, ing among us….the glory of the days later, my friend Monty and one and only Son, who came encouraged by grace.

I were joining over 600 riders on from the Father, full of grace an amazing ride. find Paul beginning his letter and truth.”

As we rode through the with “Grace to you”, and later, May God’s grace be more beautiful landscape surround- proclaiming that “where sin real to you than ever before, and ing Sarasota, we rode past really abounded, grace did much more I pray that in each of our lives, nice homes, cattle grazing in the abound.” In 2 Corinthians, we’re we will continue to live the testifields, small lakes, and the occa- reminded that “My grace is suf- mony of His “Grace at work!” sional church. As we rode by one ficient”, and in Ephesians “for Have a really wonderful Thanksof the churches, the message on by grace are you saved through giving, and a Merry Christmas! their sign caught my attention. faith.” And then the book of We love you!

The words simply said, “Grace Revelation ends with “The grace at work!” of the Lord Jesus be with God’s Grace!

In that moment, and people. Amen!” throughout the day as we rode, We are saved by grace, and almost every day since re- embraced by grace, sustained turning to New Mexico, I’ve by grace, strengthened by grace,

“

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Winter 2014

GRACE THAT WORKS

Winter 2014

SAME SEX MARRIAGES EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATOR MARCUS McCLAIN

I would like to take this opportunity to share with you a very important article from our

Legal Counsel, Richard Hammar. Please take special note of the fifth item which outlines the use of church facilities for same sex marriages. Churches should give careful consideration to the commercial use of their facilities. I trust you will find this article helpful in navigating obsticles the church may face.

I also want to take this opportunity to remind you that credential renewals are due no later than December 31. I have

included special information in the Link to guide you in this process.

Sharon and I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Please know we are here to assist you with any of your needs. We appreciate each of you and count it an honor to serve the ministers and churches across the network. We pray that God will bless you big in the New Year!

GUEST ARTICLE: SAME SEX MARRIAGES

Richard Hammar, Legal Counsel of the Assemblies of God

In the past year, several federal courts have ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. It is likely that the United States Supreme Court will do the same, making same-sex marriage a legal right in every state. How would such a ruling affect churches and pastors? Consider the following points:

First, every court and legislature that has recognized a legal right on the part of same-sex couples to marry has recognized that

clergy remain free to marry, or not marry, any couple based on their theological convictions.

Second, no court has ever suggested, much less ruled, that clergy can be liable for not performing marriages that violate their religious beliefs. Note that there are many kinds of marriage that clergy will not perform on the basis of religious considerations, including bigamy, polygamy, polyandry, incest, immaturity, unequally yoked, etc. and not one court in the history of our country has ever found a pastor liable for not performing such marriages. Same-sex marriages would be in the same category.

Third, at this time there is no reason for churches that are doctrinally opposed to same-sex marriages to add a provision to their bylaws or other governing document defining marriage as a union between a man and woman.

Doing so is not inappropriate, and may be warranted based on future rulings by the Supreme Court and

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other state and federal courts, but for now there is no compelling reason to do so based on existing precedent. Further, note the following two considerations: 1. Many churches’ bylaws already contain ample language of scriptural authority that make a “marriage provision” redundant. To illustrate:

• The very first tenet of the Assemblies of God Statement of Fundamental Truth states: “The Bible is our all-sufficient rule for faith and practice.”

•Article VIII of the General Council Bylaws states: “Marriage was established by God in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:18, 21-25) and confirmed by Jesus Christ to be a permanent relationship between a man and a woman (Matthew 19:4-6).

2. Amending a church’s bylaws to define marriage as a union between and male and female is no guaranty of protection. In the highly unlikely event that activist courts in the future will compel ministers to marry

will depend on the wording, application, and exemptions of a veritable patchwork quilt of thousands of local, state, and federal laws forbidding discrimination by places of “public accommodation.” This makes it impossible to generalize.

A church must determine (1) if it is a place of “public accommodation” under applicable local, state, or federal laws; (2) if so, are exemptions available; and (3) the constitutional protections available to churches based on applicable judicial precedent. The answers to these questions will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. I suspect that the courts ultimately will conclude that the greatest constitutional protection would apply to churches that allow their premises to be used for weddings only among members.

But any constitutional protection likely will be diminished or eliminated in the case of churches that rent their facilities to the general public as a revenue-raising activ-

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ity. Church leaders should carefully consider the potential downside of entering the commercial marketplace in order to raise needed funds. I will be monitoring all court rulings pertaining to these issues.

A number of churches will be between the two extremes in the sense that they allow community groups to use their facilities at no cost or for a nominal fee designed to cover expenses. Again, there are no answers since no court has addressed this. But, I think that such churches are closer to those that allow marriages for members only. The key consideration is that they are not engaged in a commercial transaction (i.e., charging rent to community groups as a way of earning income).

I trust that this information is helpful to you.

Richard Hammar Legal Counsel

Winter 2014

same-sex couples, they would almost certainly ignore such bylaw provisions.

Fourth, Article IX, Section 6, d.(3) of the General Council Bylaws provides: Same-sex ceremonies. No minister shall perform any type of marriage, cohabitation, or covenant ceremony for persons who are of the same sex. Such a ceremony would endorse homosexuality, which is a sin and strictly forbidden in God’s Word. Any minister . . . who performs a ceremony for these types of disapproved relations, unless innocently deceived into doing so, shall be dismissed from the Fellowship.”

Fifth, let me address the related question of whether a church is legally required to allow same-sex couples to use church facilities for a wedding ceremony. The answer to this question is complicated by two factors. First, the courts have yet to address the issue, and so all we can do is speculate. Second, any answer

Winter 2014

NMMN NEWS

PASTOR INSTALLATION: FAMILY WORHSIP CENTER RATON The New Mexico Ministry Network is proud to announce Rev. Josh and Emily Wood as the new pastors of Family Worship Center of Raton, NM.

MINISTERIAL NEWS CREDENTIALED: Lanessa Amburgey (C) Los Alamos Adrian Apodaca (C) Las Cruces Michael Holland (L) Albuquerque Frederick Long (C) Pine Dale Abby Rodriguez (C) Las Cruces

TRANSFERRED OUT: Michelle Redhouse, (L) AZ Terry Bell (O) CO

DISMISSED: Ed Rimer (O)

REINSTATED: Nick Rogers (O)

NEW CHURCHES IN THE NMMN Harvest Espa単ol Albuquerque, NM Pastor Obed and Veronica Galindo

The Grove Santa Fe, NM Pastor Eric and Sincerity Montoya

Registration deadline for next semester: December 27, 2014 Contact Devonna Cummins at 505-899-5399 for more information.

Forms online at nmministry.net 04

Winter 2014

NMMN NEWS

CREDENTIAL RENEWALS

The on-line renewal process is up and running! You may go to www.ag.org., click on “Ministerial Renewal� and follow the instructions to complete your renewal. We are encouraging those who are able to use the online system; however, hard copies have also been mailed out if you need to use this avenue.

The FINAL deadline for renewals to be completed is December 31, 2014. Renewals received after this date must pay a $25.00 late fee and credentials will lapse if not received before January 15, 2015.

It is important to be aware renewing online is a two-step

Northwest: Aztec 1/23/2015

process. The General Council forwards all renewals to our office for final approval. You must meet your tithe/dues responsibilities to the General Council and the NM Ministry Network prior to your renewal being approved. If there has been a change in your stance regarding our Statement of Fundamental Truths, you will be required to address those prior to your renewal being processed.

If you have further questions or need additional assistance, please feel free to contact Devonna Cummins at (505) 8995399 or dcummins@nmministry. net.

GIVING CREDIT FOR 2014

Please note any giving to be credited for 2014, must be postmarked December 31st or prior. Any on-line giving or funds delivered in person after December 31, will be reflected on your 2015 giving statement. **Our office will be closed December 31st and January 1st.

ANNUAL CHURCH MINISTRIES REPORT (ACMRs)

Forms will be mailed from National office in December. The deadline for completion is January 31, 2015. Please assist us by completing this vital information for your church.

Northeast:

East Central:

Native American:

Las Vegas 1/19/2015

Clovis New Life 1/20/2015

Crownpoint 1/22/2015

West Central: ABQ Revival Church 2/3/2015

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Southwest:

Southeast:

LC Abundant Life 2/5/2015

Carlsbad Calvary 2/6/2015

Winter 2014

THE STATE A CALL TO OF THE CHURCH DISCIPLESHIP

ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DAVID VISTINE

Just recently I had the opportunity to attend the Executive Leadership conference with the Assistant Superintendents across the nation. It was a wonderful time of ministry as well as an eye opening experience. We sat down with Alton Garrison, our Assistant General Superintendent, and he shared with us some concerns about the health of our churches across the nation!

Are we winning the lost and developing healthy believers? What does a person look like after getting saved and attending our churches for five or ten years?

Alton has done some research off of our ACMR’s and was able to do some evaluations of our churches.

It was great to know that the New Mexico Ministry Network was doing well in many areas but we were falling short in some other areas!

Here are some of the findings of the report: • In winning people to Christ, our reports show that it is taking 4.3 believers to win one person to Christ each year in New Mexico.

• In assimilation, it showed that in New Mexico we are baptizing one out of every two people being saved which is great!

• Also, the reports showed that

we are doing well in growing our churches through conversion growth and not just transfer growth.

• One of the weaknesses that the report showed was in the area of discipleship. We are not getting people filled with the Spirit and mobilizing them to serve in ministry!

• One of the greatest shortcomings was, that comparing the ratio nation wide, we are not seeing as many people baptized in the Holy Spirit.

• The average of church size in New Mexico is 166, which is taking a total of the overall attendance in our churches and then dividing that by the number of churches.

• The median attendance on Sunday mornings in New Mexico is 75! That is if you took the 95 churches or so that we have in New Mexico and found the church in the middle of those 95 churches that would be its size!

Right now, in the Assemblies of God in USA, two thirds of our churches are in plateau or declining. The only groups that are growing are the larger churches and the churches that average 50 in attendance on Sunday mornings. It is predicted that unless we see a change in developing and maturing the church we will see 25% of our churches close in the distant future. In churches of under 200 in attendance it’s taking 6 people to win 1 person to Christ each year.

Larger churches are winning people to Christ, but the greatest weakness is we are not

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helping them become Pentecostal or leading them to be filled with the Spirit! One of the great concerns is that reaching a lost world is dependent upon Spirit Baptized believers that will be willing to go and reap the harvest whether it is in New Mexico or around the world. We need to pray for an outpouring of the Spirit and seek for the wisdom of God to lead our people to experience the power of the Spirit. Let’s ask the Lord to burn Acts 1:8 into our hearts again and realize that without the Spirit’s power, we can do nothing!

One other stat is that 45% of our churches are in communities of fewer than 10,000 people.

Over 450,000 of our people worship in small communities across America and there is a desperate need to raise visionary Pastors and Evangelists to win and reach rural America!

There are four lessons we can take away from this study: 1. Lost vision is the primary cause of church decline!

2. Inward focus is another leading cause of church decline!

3. It will take a team to turn a church in a new direction!

4. Only a new vision will lead to new life!

Every Church has its potential and every church has its challenges so let’s pray that God will touch our churches and bring fresh new vision and a new visitation of the Holy Spirit to churches in New Mexico!

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Winter 2014

A HEART TO KNOW HIM

WOMEN’S MINISTRIES DIRECTOR BECKY DICKENSON

WOMEN’S CONFERENCE 2014 A HEART TO KNOW HIM

His voice. Friday night was a beautiful time of getting still before the Lord while the Holy Spirit ministered and mended to further us in our journey to know Him. Saturday morning followed with women filling the altars and experiencing a dynamic move of the Holy Spirit, some for the first time.

Building on the ground work of “I AM – The Tour”, Women’s Conference 2014 brought together NM women eager to continue the vision stirred in their hearts this Spring. To add to that momentum, Renay West spoke on finding our I.D. in the Lord, getting alone with God, having “Chair Time”, and focusing on listening to

Rebecca Holland brought training on spiritual strongholds and warfare in a practical session where women examined their hearts and told the enemy – No More! We then took this training and met at the NM State Capital building in Santa Fe where we canvased and prayed for strongholds to be broken and righteous-

Becky Dickenson

Rebecca Holland

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ness to reign in our State.

In this centennial year, we were also privileged to have our NM World Missionaries Julie Bell and Michelle Orantes take a role in the conference, as well as U.S. Missionary Beverly Clindaniel. Together with our speaker, Veteran Missionary Renay West, who was just appointed to be the first woman Missionary Evangelist, we tapped into the roots of the women’s ministries movement of the Assemblies of God. Women’s Ministries began with a Missionary focus and New Mexico is carrying that torch of Missionary support and focus into the next century!

Renay West

Winter 2014

NM State Capital

Julia Stubbs, Worship Leader & Team

Prayer walk at the State Capital

God at work!

Julie Bell, Missionary to Panama

TOUCH THE WORLD DEADLINE Make sure your TOUCH THE WORLD giving is included in our Missionary Christmas checks this year. Please send your funds to the Network Office by December 1 to bless and support our Missionaries who look forward to this every Christmas season.

All TOUCH THE WORLD funds need to arrive in the Network Office by December 29 to be credited for 2014 giving.

SAVE THE DATE

Your giving is vital to this arm of Women’s Ministries. It is a hand-extended to so many and a blessing that answers needs that otherwise go unfulfilled. Thank you for your contributions and your heart to touch our world!

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New Mexico Minisry Network Women’s Ministries presents: “I AM FREE” WOMEN’S ENCOUNTER Friday, March 27 & Saturday, March 28, 2015 Albuquerque, NM Watch for more details!

Winter 2014

New Mexico Ministry Network 6640 Caminito Coors NW Albuquerque, NM 87120 (505) 899-5399 www.nmministry.net