Oklahoma OUTLOOK | Summer 20024

Oklahoma Outlook SUMMER 2024

Embracing the

Call to CHURCH MULTIPLICATION www.okag.org

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ADVOCATES NEW

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Oklahoma OUTLOOK

Contents A Message from our Pastor 6 Embracing God’s Vision for Church Multiplication 8 Before You Can Multiply Something Must Die 12

Oklahoma Outlook Oklahoma Assemblies of God The Oklahoma Outlook is published by the Oklahoma Assemblies of God. Publisher: Dr. Darryl Wootton Editor: Phil Taylor Designers: Jayson Evans, Chris Ainsworth Contributors: Doug Clay, Cynthia Dobbs, Jayson Evans, Dr. Charles Kinman, Cody Phillips

Something Different 17

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For advertising inquiries, email outlook@okag.org.

©2024

Oklahoma District Council of the Assemblies of God

Are You Meant to be a Church Planter?

24 Serving With a Clear Conscience 28 Mission Focus 32 Be the Buffalo 34

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UPCOMING EVENTS AUGUST

OSSOM Graduation Girls Ministries Celebration STL Mud Run PK Retreat

SEPTEMBER

Labor Day (Office Closed) Century Leadership Roundtable Credential Deadline–Ordination Daughters Conference Nationwide Girls Ministries Events Hispanic Pastoral Leadership Retreat Men’s Conference

August 10 August 17 August 24 August 31–Sept 2

September 2 September 5 September 6 September 20-21 September 25-26 September 26-28 September 27-28

OCTOBER

Pastor Appreciation Month OSOM–OKC Renew Minister’s Retreat OSOM–Muskogee Hispanic School of Ministry–McAlester OYM–Youth Fest Women of Valor Seminar Light for the Lost Night Seek & Save (Tulsa)

October 5 October 7 - 9 October 12 October 12 October 18-19 October 19 October 20 October 22-26

NOVEMBER

Global Workers Appreciation Month Youth Pastors Retreat November 1-2 OSOM–OKC November 2 52 Conference November 8-9 OSOM–Muskogee November 9 Hispanic School of Ministry–McAlester November 9 Church Multiplication Launch–Tulsa November 12-14 OCM Made for This Retreat–Camp Cargill November 15-16 Century Leadership Roundtable November 21 National Evangelist Conference November 21-23 Thanksgiving Holiday (Office Closed) November 28-29

DECEMBER

Evangelist Appreciation Month OSOM–OKC Senior Ministries Heritage Christmas Hispanic Ministers Christmas Party OSOM–Muskogee Hispanic School of Ministry–McAlester OKAG Faith Promises Due Christmas Holiday (Office Closed) Ministerial Credentials Renewal Deadline

December 7 December 7 December 7 December 14 December 14 December 13 December 24-25 December 31

ALL DATES, LOCATIONS, AND ANNOUNCED SPEAKERS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

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Oklahoma OUTLOOK

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Let’s

MULTIPLY! A Message from Our Pastor

Extinction is the complete eradication of a species. Dinosaurs, the Sabre Tooth Cat, and the Wooly Mammoth became extinct thousands of years ago.

Oklahoma’s state animal is the buffalo or bison. 120 years ago, the buffalo almost became extinct. Bison are extraordinary creatures. They can weigh around 1800 pounds but can still jump a 6-foot fence and run 35 miles per hour. What is your excuse?

DESTRUCTION

Crossing the Southern Plains in 1806, Zebulon Pike described herds of bison that “exceeded imagination.”[1] It is estimated that as many as 60 million American bison roamed the grasslands and plains of North America at the beginning of the 1800s[2] 100 years later, the number of bison remaining alive in all of North America declined to as low as 541, with as few as 300 in the United States.[3]

Division, drought, destruction, and disease devasted the important bison herds of North America. The closeness to extinction cannot be overstated––from 60 million to 541.

How could millions of bison in the United States be reduced to hundreds so quickly? There are four reasons.

DIVISION

In the 1800s, railroads multiplied. The railways made it easy to devastate herd conditions, and the railroad split the large bison herd into the southern and the northern herds. In just 40 years, from 1830 to1874, the southern herd was wiped out.[4]

DROUGHT

After several centuries of wet weather in the North American plains, a major drought began in 1846. As a result of this lack of water, the bison herds suffered.[5]

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In the 1860s, the railroad needed fresh meat daily to feed their 1,200 railroad workers, and the vast buffalo herds supplied the meat. During this time their hides also became valuable. The infamous Buffalo Bill once bragged that he killed 4,200 bison in 17 months to feed rail laborers.[6]

DISEASE

European settlers and the beef industry caused the introduction of bovine diseases to the bison herds. In addition, it is difficult to tell how wolves impacted bison populations. Trappers poisoned wolves and may have inadvertently poisoned the grasslands, the food source of the buffalo.[7]

The slaughter of the buffalo was an unconscious, unplanned oversight of human expansion. However, today, there is a well-calculated plan for extinction. I am not talking about a mammal, species, or vegetation in the rainforest. I am talking about THE CHURCH. Devised in Hell and coordinated by evil, there is a strategic plan to make the Church of Jesus Christ extinct. You do not have

to have the IQ of Einstein to view the hostility towards the Church in much of our culture. You don’t have to listen long to hear the verbal attacks on the Church from certain political circles. We live in the end times. The headwinds are strong, and the giants are big. But I am here to declare: THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST WILL NEVER BE EXTINCT! The very gates of Hell cannot prevail against the CHURCH. We are here to stay. We will not be caught napping. We will not be caught on the defensive.

The evil one comes to steal, kill, and destroy. The evil one wants to see our churches extinct. The evil one wants to see your personal faith extinct. The enemy wants to see your family’s spiritual heritage extinct. But we are the Church. We won’t give up. We won’t let up. Our resolve is unyielding, our spirits unbreakable, and the Church is unstoppable. We will never, ever give up.

However, we must learn from the buffalo. We have the same four seeds of extinction.

DIVISION

Listen to me: EVERY FAITH MOVEMENT, EVERY DENOMINATION THAT STOPS PLANTING CHURCHES STARTS DYING. LOOK AT HISTORY. SHOW ME ANY GROUP THAT BECOMES INWARDLY-FOCUSED AND NOT EXTERNALLY MOTIVATED, AND I WILL SHOW YOU A GROUP THAT IS IN DECLINE OR DOESN’T EXIST. The forecast is bleak. According to Rick Reinhard, we could see as many as 100,000 of the nation’s estimated 384,000 churches close in the next few years.[8] That sounds like the buffalo herds of the 1800s.

But our network is strong! In the United States, the extinction of the buffalo was EVENTUALLY thwarted because preservation became a priority, resources were allocated, legislation was passed, and seeds were sown.

In Oklahoma, may multiplication happen because we make it a priority, resources will be allocated, our policies are enhanced and seeds must be sown.

We have a choice: extinction or multiplication. Let’s Multiply!

Occasionally someone says, “We do not need any more churches in Oklahoma.” Who gets to make that death decision? The Church is the hope of the world.

Oklahoma’s population is multiplying. If we are going to be faithful to the Great Commission, we must plant churches. We must not be territorial. We must not be inward-focused. We must be unified.

DROUGHT

In 1846, the buffalo ran out of water. Do you remember drinking that living water for the first time? We must plant churches that offer the living water of Jesus.

Dr. Darryl Wootton OKAG Superintendent

DESTRUCTION

The caretakers of the bison were distracted by dollars and profits. We must not get our attention off the purpose of the Church and on to silly, financial distractions.

DISEASE

When we are not focused on our purpose we wither, we become arthritic, we become inflexible, we become diseased, and our flocks pay the price.

[1] https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/what-happened-to-the-bison.htm [2] https://www.ozarkbisons.com/aboutbison.php [3] ibid 1.

[4] ibid 2.

[5] https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/what-happened-to-the-bison.htm [6] https://www.ozarkbisons.com/aboutbison.php [7] https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/what-happened-to-the-bison.htm [8] Reinhard, Rick. “Churches Are Closing. It’s a Challenge for Local Governments.” Governing, Governing, 28 Apr. 2021, www.governing. com/community/churches-are-closing-its-a-challenge-for-localgovernments.html.

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Embracing God’s Vision For

CHURCH

MULTIPLICATION Doug Clay

This article originally appeared as a message given during the Church Multiplication Network Conference on March 4, 2024.

A congressman recently said in an interview, “America is on an irreversible decline, and no one seems to care.” I screamed, “I care,” and I am confident that pastors and churches all over America care. That’s why I am challenging the Assemblies of God. It’s time to move beyond missiological strategy, missiological mapping, and missiological talking, and move into missiological action: planting and multiplying churches.

I believe we can see a healthy church in every community marked by spiritual and numerical growth. This will require that we move beyond strategic thinking and take tactical action.

HERE’S THE PICTURE:

US Population: 331,658,341 8

US AG Churches 12,634

Ratio of 1 AG Church per 25,993 people Oklahoma OUTLOOK

Church and social missiologists say one church per 10,000 residents allows the Assemblies of God to begin reaching the population. I’m well aware that getting to one church per 10,000 is a lofty goal, but I think we can do it in increments of 5,000. Getting to one church per 20,000 is doable. That’s what I want to focus on.

How are we going to do it? By calling on everyone who has the potential to open the door for a new church plant to reach for the door. When we release people to sow in other fields, God multiplies new people in our own.

We do church planting because we believe all people matter to God, all people have the ability to respond to the gospel, and all people can discover their God-given purpose. I recently was challenged to consider evangelism, not just from the great commission passages of scripture (Matthew 28:18, Mark 16:15, John 20:21, Acts 1:8) but from Genesis 1:26, “All of us are made in the image of God.” The image of God has been stamped on everyone.

All people matter to God. This has to be at the core of why we do church. When we become convinced that the image of God is stamped on everyone, then we will not be selective in our missional efforts. Neither will we be so critical about their label. Lost people are not our enemy. All people can respond to the gospel. I don’t ever underestimate that all people will have the capacity to say “yes” to Jesus. I am seeing more people come to Christ in church than ever before. The church’s success in evangelism is not counted by people’s response (which is out of our control) but by giving the opportunity for people to respond (which is in our control).

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GOD’S PERSPECTIVE ON MULTIPLICATION There are many great tactical models for church planting and church multiplication, but I’d like to step back for a moment and consider a practical theology of multiplication modeled by Jesus. Remember the story of the feeding of the 5,000? One of Jesus’ most familiar miracles and, I think, a significant one for us to understand because it is recorded in all four gospels. The miracle is more than an example of how Jesus feeds a large crowd; it is an example of multiplication.

DON’T LET LARGE OPPORTUNITIES INTIMIDATE YOU.

Twice in John’s account of this story, the word “GREAT” was used to describe the crowd. We know there were 5,000 men, but we can assume that many women and children were there too.

A conservative estimate would be about 12,000 people altogether. That’s a big group of people to feed all at once—especially when there is almost no food.

I would say over and over again the Church of Jesus Christ has faced this kind of situation, these kinds of “odds,” as it has sought to fulfill the Great Commission—”to go into all the world and make disciples.” On the Day of Pentecost, there were only 120 Spirit-filled disciples, yet the world they were called to reach in the first century had about 250 million people.

That’s one believer for every 2 million people.

They had no modern means, yet they turned the world upside down in one generation. They were not intimidated by the size of the opportunity.

The Assemblies of God—this network of churches you are a part of—began in the United States in 1914. At one of our first organized conventions held that year, 300 people adopted this resolution at the close of the meeting, “…we commend ourselves and the movement to Him, for the greatest evangelism that the world has ever seen.” This mission statement came from a handful of pastors and missionaries who were not wealthy, powerful, or even well-educated.

But, they were full of passion and spirit, and today, 110 years later, there is an Assemblies of God presence in 153 countries and provinces, where every 30 seconds, 1 new believer is added to the church; in 66 minutes, 1 new church has been planted; in 90 minutes, 1 new minister is enlisted.

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DON’T LET SMALL RESOURCES DISCOURAGE YOU.

Not only was the crowd twice described as “great,” but the resources were twice described as “small.” Five small loaves; two small fish. No wonder Andrew spoke up and said, “How far will they go among so many?” When it comes to the work of God, Satan’s tactic is always to maximize the difficulty we are facing and accentuate the minimal resources we have. On the Day of Pentecost, the 120 had very few resources. Christ didn’t leave them with

a hefty endowment to expand ministry; He didn’t leave them with discretionary funds or even seed faith offerings.

The only thing the Lord left behind was instruction for the disciples to meet in prayer until they had received the Holy Spirit and were empowered by Him. In every country, in every church, in every Christian—the opportunity will always be greater than the resources visible to our own eyes. For some of you, the most significant thing you can do for your church is lead them into this kind of God Sized endeavor of multiplying or planting and watch it build faith.

ball cap hung over his head with sunscreen flaps.

When the starting gun fired and the runners took off, the crowd laughed at the contrast between the young contestants with their disciplined strides and Cliff, who had an odd gated shuffle. Five days, 14 hours, and 4 minutes later, no one was laughing when Cliff Young crossed the Melbourne finish line almost 10 hours ahead of the second-place runner. The astounded press descended on him in mass. How did this aging farmer accomplish such a spectacular run?

DON’T LET CALCULATED THINKING KEEP JESUS OUT OF THE EQUATION.

When they did their research, two things emerged. First, he was a shepherd who was too poor to own a horse, so he often would herd his entire flocks of sheep alone, running day and night. Second, he didn’t realize that runners in ultra-marathons stopped at night to sleep, so he ran the entire distance without sleeping!

I sometimes wonder if we miss a miracle because we over-calculate and under-exercise our faith.

Us “There’s not enough in our basket.

We wait to start once the baskets are full.”

Jesus “Start with your baskets empty and then end up full.”

I want that kind of focused determination, persistence, and unwavering commitment to see our Fellowship have a healthy church in every community. It’s time. Everyone who has the potential to open the door for a new church plant: reach for the door!

You may not always know where the resource comes from, but you know the source. As long as they kept distributing, they had enough. Actually, more than enough.

CONSIDER GOD’S PERSPECTIVE ON EXCUSES The raw materials needed to fulfill God’s dream are faith and obedience. We just considered the part faith plays in the feeding of the 5,000, but what about obedience? Stepping out. Doing it. Going for it! One step of obedience is better than a year of strategic planning! And if God is in it, you can be sure…Psalms 32:8-9 (CEV) says, “You said to me, “I will point out the road that you should follow. I will be your teacher and watch over you. Don’t be stupid like horses and mules that must be led with ropes to make them obey.” At every next level of advancement, there will be natural excuses for not proceeding. Please evaluate the source of those excuses. If we say no to God because we don’t have it all figured out, we might miss a huge blessing. If we say yes to God, even without having everything figured out, we position ourselves for divine blessing.

The Australian ultra-marathon is a foot race of 544 grueling miles from Sydney to Melbourne. In 1983, a rather odd competitor showed up. Everyone in this race was highly trained and commercially sponsored, but this particular participant, a guy named Cliff Young, was a 61-year-old farmer who, unlike the others who were outfitted in professional running shoes and cool athletic wear with sponsored logos, Cliff wore a loose white shirt over baggy overhauls.

He had rubber goulashes over his boots, and a white base-

Doug Clay was elected chief executive officer of the General Council of the Assemblies of God at the 57th General Council in August, 2017. As general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, USA, part of the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world, he is a member of the denomination’s Executive Leadership Team and Executive Presbytery. The church has close to 13,000 congregations in the United States with nearly three million adherents.

Church Multiplication Network Empowering Church Planters

The Church Multiplication Network exists to develop leaders and build the church.

The vision of the Church Multiplication Network is to see a healthy, spirit-empowered church in your community marked by spiritual and numerical growth. We provide the training, resources, and relationships you need to turn your church-planting dream into reality.

For more information, visit churchmultiplication.net

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Oklahoma OUTLOOK

Before You Can

MULTIPLY Something Must

Matt Nelson In 2008, I was serving as the college and young adult pastor at North Church in Oklahoma City. From an early age, I had felt the call to plant a church, and thankfully, I had a pastor, Rodney Fouts, who believed in multiplication and sending.

He wanted to help prepare me, so he invited me to join him at a church planting conference where I could meet other church planters and be exposed to available resources. After one of the evening conference sessions we were talking with Matt Keller, pastor at Next Level Church in Fort Myers, Florida, and he invited us to a local restaurant after the evening session to spend time with him and some other church planters. As we walked into the backroom of that restaurant, we noticed that it was full of pastors, leaders, and church planters whom Matt and his team had either sent from their church or championed on their church-planting journey. Matt and his team had been coach, trainer, encourager, pastor, fundraiser, and friend to each pastor and team in the room.

Something shifted in me that evening in the backroom of a restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida. It wasn’t a sermon, an altar moment, or an audible voice, but it was a deep, undeniable knowing that God was calling me not only to plant a church, but to plant a church that planted churches.

It was a realization that my legacy may not be pastoring the biggest church, but that God was calling me to give my life to developing, loving, and launching other leaders

DIE

and church planters into the call of God on their lives. In fact, the backroom of that restaurant became a small window of what I would give the next two decades of my life developing.

What I didn’t know was that multiplication is painful.

This is why the majority of leaders naturally default to a ministry scorecard that never moves beyond addition. We want to be multiplying leaders until the pain threshold becomes more than we are willing to bear. Over the next few years, I would learn the painful lessons of becoming a multiplying church and leader.

City Church was only a few years old, and I knew God was specifically calling us to send out leaders, people, and resources to plant churches and make a kingdom impact, but I was fighting it inside. I was saying “yes” on the outside, but on the inside, I was telling God we needed these leaders and people in order to grow City Church. “How can we send out healthy churches if we’re struggling ourselves?”

I’ll never forget one evening as I was wrestling with God; I remember hearing the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit speaking to me: “Matt, do you trust me that if you build my kingdom, I will build my church?” I knew this was a lesson I would only learn through faith and obedience. If you didn’t already know, sending out your best leaders is not exactly a church growth strategy you find in any books or manuals. It can be one of the most painful and gut-wrenching things you will ever do. God was asking for something to die inside me so that something significant could occur in and through our church.

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Jesus embodied what it looked like to be a multiplying leader. If Jesus had been an addition-minded leader instead of a multiplying-minded leader, he would have spent more time with the crowds than the disciples. He would have focused all his attention on bringing in the masses and growing his audience. But Jesus realized his time and energy were limited and that there was an entire world that needed to hear the good news of the Gospel.

Please don’t miss this! For Jesus, the time was too short, and the need was too great to settle for anything other than multiplication. As a result, Jesus did something both difficult and counterintuitive. He developed and sent the few in order to reach the many. He invested in the three, the twelve, and the seventy-two. Jesus realized that one true disciple has a greater impact than hundreds or thousands of casual fans.

celebrated becoming a church-planting grandparent. This is how the kingdom of God works. This is exponential multiplication. North Church sends people and resources to help me plant City Church. City Church helps plant Midtown Church. Midtown Church is now stepping out to plant Neighbors Church. This is the power and potential of one seed!

Jesus teaches us the Kingdom principle of exponential multiplication. In Matthew 13, Jesus gives us picture after picture of this principle of exponential multiplication. God takes a mustard seed or a small amount of yeast and exponentially multiplies its effectiveness and impact.

It’s not a principle of addition but a principle of multiplication. When we plant a seed, we don’t just get that one seed in return; we get a plant capable of producing hundreds and thousands of new seeds. Our one act of obedience, our one step of faith, our one leader sent, our one church planted can have a ripple effect for the kingdom of God that goes beyond anything we could ever imagine.

In 2021, we helped plant Midtown Church in Kansas City, Missouri, through Pastors Alex and Cassie Ferren. I remember in our coaching/ training meetings leading up to the launch of Midtown Church, Alex and Cassie expressed their desire to be a church-planting church.

They were committed to planting a new church out of their church plant within the first five years of existence. Just a few months ago at City Church, we brought Justin and Sam Roberts on stage and celebrated that in the spring of 2025, they will launch Neighbors Church in the Marlborough area of Kansas City, Missouri.

Neighbors Church will launch a coffee shop this fall that employs children aging out of the foster care system in their city while they build their launch team and prepare to launch in the spring. Justin and Sam have been on the leadership team at Midtown Church from almost the very beginning. Alex and Cassie saw their leadership potential and the call of God on their lives, and although it would have been easy just to move, Justin and Sam into high-level leadership roles, they were driven by a vision for multiplication. At City Church, we

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A few years after we started City Church, I stood in front of our church and gave everyone in the room an acorn. I had just taught a message on the principle of multiplication from Matthew 13 and asked our church: “Can you see a forest when all you have is a seed?” Can we believe that God can take a small group of people who set up and tear down a church every Sunday morning in the Tulsa Ballet

Theater and use them to impact a city and a nation? I told our church that although we wanted to continue to reach as many people in our city as possible, we were not trying to be the tallest tree but a tree that planted as many seeds as possible. That Sunday morning, we collectively agreed as a church to launch Seed Network and plant 40 churches over the next ten years.

During this same time, God gave me a passage that would become one of my life verses: “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (John 12:24). Once again, Jesus teaches us about the principle of exponential multiplication using his own life. Did He want to die? No! Did He want to leave His disciples? No! And maybe this is why there is no multiplication without pain. Before something can multiply, it has to die. Although everyone wants to be a multiplying church or leader, few actually cross over the pain threshold it takes to get there.

I believe in order to be a multiplying leader or church, a few things must die:

OUR EGO MUST DIE

In a world where everyone wants to be known, recognized, and labeled a “success,” a multiplying leader rarely gets the credit. A multiplying leader moves from the one receiving the praise to the one giving praise. We move from chasing our dreams to championing the dreams God has placed in others. If we don’t crucify our egos, we will inevitably revert back to a ministry scorecard that benefits us more than the kingdom of God.

OUR DESIRE FOR CONTROL MUST DIE

We don’t control outcomes, no matter how tightly we grasp them. Any sort of control we believe we have over people or situations is simply an illusion. Kingdom leaders who are multiplying leaders have learned to hold people and outcomes loosely. Think about two church models we find in the book of Acts. The church in Jerusalem was more hesitant to develop a multiplying philosophy of ministry, so God used persecution (the diaspora through the martyrdom of Stephen) to take the Gospel to new and unreached places. In Acts 13, we see the church in Antioch who were attentive to the leading of the Spirit and ready and willing to release those in ministry when God called them. They

lay their hands on Paul and Barnabas and release them into the call of God on their lives. What if we modeled the church in Antioch and learned to hold people loosely before God?

OUR SAFE VISIONS MUST DIE

God has not called us to simply survive, occupy our territory, or settle for addition. He has called us into the Kingdom life of radical multiplication. There are too many people who need to hear the good news of the Gospel for us to settle for anything less. It’s possible that the breakthrough many pastors and leaders are looking for is found on the other side of a radical step of obedience.

In 2014, we launched Seed Network, a church planting network committed to creating a safe place for radical church multiplication. In September 2024, we will celebrate church plant number thirty-four in our network and also celebrate the launch of a new Hispanic church plant in our building.

God is taking the single seed we have in our hands and exponentially multiplying it for His kingdom. But don’t forget: Before it can grow, something has to die!

Matt and his wife Lindsay have been married for 17 years and have four children (Jaxon 14, Selah 12, Sophie 11, & Jude 9). They are the Founders and Lead Pastors of City Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which was started in 2010. Matt also serves as the Director of Seed Network, a church planting network with a vision to create a safe place for radical church multiplication.

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Something

DIFFERENT Jayson Evans Sunday Services at Iglesia Nuevo Vida are vibrant experiences full of joy, love, and the Holy Spirit. When pastors Joel and Anahy Garcia embarked on their journey to plant the church, they had no idea how it would transform their lives and the lives of those in their community.

Joel Garcia’s entry into ministry was as unexpected as it was transformative. Recounting the moment he felt called to preach, Joel shared, “It was a little nudge from the Holy Spirit and my mother-in-law. We were not planning (to go into full-time ministry) by any means. I know my wife prayed, and she told the Lord, ‘Give me a man that loves you and that serves you, but that is not a pastor.’”

Despite their initial reluctance, Joel and Anahy found themselves at the forefront of a spiritual journey that would lead them to minister to many.

The Garcias’ journey from that initial call to establishing Iglesia Nuevo Vida in Pryor, Oklahoma, moved fast and faced many challenges. They had their first service a few weeks after the vacation, meeting in their home with family members. Joel remembers, “It was the most exciting, stressful, and scary time. We were growing in our faith and trusting the Lord He would provide.”

Anahy recalls, “When we started the church, we faced a couple of challenges. The first was the space. When we started in our house, very quickly, we started growing, and

Their first experience in preaching was daunting. In 2014, while on vacation in Mexico, Joel’s mother-in-law scheduled him to speak at a rehabilitation center and several small churches. He vividly remembers his trepidation.

“The whole plane ride down there, I was fighting with the Holy Spirit saying, ‘I am not preaching. I don’t know how to read in Spanish. I don’t know how to preach in Spanish.

I don’t want to have anything to do with this.’” However, the moment he began preaching, Joel witnessed a miraculous transformation. Men were on their knees, giving their lives to God, and Joel knew he had found his calling.

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so my husband would give the teaching; it was more like a Bible study, in the living room. And I would take the kids to our dining room, and I would teach the kids there. But as we started growing, we started seeing that there wasn’t enough space.”

One of the most significant challenges they faced was financial. Joel remembers a pivotal moment when he prayed over their bills and mailbox, asking God to provide for their needs.

“I told the Lord, ‘If you’re calling us to this ministry and if you’re calling us to be pastors, I don’t want to have to depend on the church for my family’s needs. I’m going to depend on You for my family’s needs.’”

While Joel was praying at the mailbox, he also felt the Lord burden him to return to his original profession as a plumber. Before his call into ministry, an accident badly injured Joel, preventing him from continuing his work. “I was plumbing, but the doctors had told me I could never plumb again. So when God had moved us to start the church, that was about the same time that the Holy Spirit had led me to go back into plumbing to finish getting my license and my contractor’s license.”

Although it wasn’t easy, Joel’s business picked up as the church started to grow. He remembers, “There would be days where I had to be on call, and I would get to the church all dirty and in my uniform, and I would start preaching or giving a Bible study.”

The Garcias could feel the Lord’s hands in their ministry as the church grew. They prayed for volunteers to take some of the ministry load off their shoulders, and God brought families to help with the kid’s church, worship, and other vital areas. As the church quickly outgrew the space in their home, Pryor First Assembly of God offered their space for use. During this season, Joel and Anahy became Assemblies of God ministers, and their church joined the Fellowship. The Garcia’s business also continued to grow as God provided for their family. They committed to supporting the church with their business because “the plumbing business is God’s business.”

Although the space at Pryor First Assembly served their needs, the Garcias envisioned a place for Iglesia Nuevo Vida to call their own. A retiring doctor in Pryor was closing his clinic, and Joel was called on to do some plumbing. While on the job, he felt the Holy Spirit give him a vision that this clinic would be their new church home. When the Garcias reached out to the bank for a loan, they were denied, but the retiring doctor offered to carry the note on the building.

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Oklahoma OUTLOOK

The church immediately began remodeling and repurposing the building into a church. Through the hard work of church members, financial gifts of neighboring Assemblies of God churches, and youth missions teams, Iglesia Nuevo Vida had their first service in their new building on January 1, 2024.

The life of a church planter can be fast, tiring, emotional, and fulfilling. Joel recommends that bi-vocational pastors “get as much sleep as you can if you plan on planting a church and having a full-time job. It is exhausting, but the reward to see somebody give their life to God is all worth it.”

as a glimpse of heaven. “When I stand there, and I’m worshiping, and I open my eyes and see all these different people from all these different walks of life...I just see us in Heaven doing the same thing. Nobody’s going to be different. We’re all going to be the same, all of us worshiping, glorifying, and exalting God.”

Both Joel and Anahy also realize the importance of having communal support to endure the journey of ministry.

Anahy recalls, “When we started, we didn’t have a mentor, and we struggled. When we had personal situations, we knew that we could not go to the same people who are in the church.” Joel advises new church planters to reach out and build connections. “Don’t be afraid to reach out to other pastors and other leaders to let them know how you feel, to let them know what’s going on in your heart and your mind and what God has called you to do. Because there are people that God has put in their hearts to go out and help people that are planting churches.”

As Iglesia Nuevo Vida continues to grow, the Garcias remain focused on their mission and the needs of their community. They encourage others to step into ministry with faith and perseverance. Joel’s advice to new pastors is clear: “Plug in. Plug into the Assemblies of God and reach out because there’s so much help out there for everybody that is pressing towards the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Iglesia Nuevo Vida is not just a church; it’s a vibrant, multicultural community. Joel describes their congregation as “something different,” with members from various ethnicities and backgrounds. “We have people from different countries, different walks of life. We sing in different languages. I preach English and Spanish at the same time.

We don’t have an interpreter. I interpret as I’m preaching, so some people get a different message than others.”

This diversity reflects the church’s mission to serve a broad community and create an environment where everyone can worship together. Joel envisions their church

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Just Be

FAITHFUL Jayson Evans

The journey of church planting stands as a testament to divine calling, resilience, and the power of community. Chad and Jill Randleman, planters and pastors of Community Culture Church, embody this journey with their compelling story of faith, determination, and the unwavering pursuit of a vision to serve their community.

Chad’s path to ministry began in his teenage years.

“I was called into ministry when I was a teenager.

I felt it in my heart,” he recalls. Coming from a background without a lineage of ministers, Chad’s calling was a transformative experience, steering him towards a life dedicated to spiritual leadership.

“God changed my life early on in high school, and I felt like I was going to be in ministry of some kind,” he shared.

Pursuing his passion, Chad played football at Evangel University, earning a Biblical Studies and Psychology degree. His journey continued at Kanakuk Kamps in Missouri, where he combined his love for sports and ministry.

“I loved sports ministry and started my own for a good little stint,” Chad says. During this period, he met Jill, marking the beginning of their shared journey in ministryJill’s background was rooted in the Assemblies of God (AG) tradition. “I probably started in an AG church when I was about four days old,” she quipped. Her upbringing instilled in her a sense of calling, though she initially pursued a career in education, earning an English degree

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and teaching high school English. During her first year of teaching, she and Chad began dating, and they married soon after. Shortly after marriage, Chad and Jill became youth pastors in McAlester, OK and fell in love with the ministry. “I never thought I would be anything else, honestly. I was going to be 80 years old, still pastoring youth,” Chad said.

Five years into their ministry, Chad and Jill felt called in another direction, although they weren’t sure what it was.

Chad explains, “We were youth pastors for five years.

I never thought I would be anything else. The call to become a lead pastor was a journey of faith.” Jill adds, “We loved what we were doing, but God started stirring something in our heart for something more.” Although they weren’t sure what God was stirring, Chad felt an

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urge to put their house up for sale. He remembers explaining to Jill, “I just feel like God wants us to take a step of faith because He wants to tell us something. I feel like we are supposed to sell our house.”

Having just had their second child, Chad and Jill began praying for direction. Both felt confirmation to put their house on the market, and once they did, Chad remembered the Lord telling him, “I want to start a new work. I want you to plant a church.”

The confirmation to plant a church came with its challenges. “We didn’t know how to plant a church, and we hadn’t heard of Church Multiplication Network (CMN) or ARC (Association of Related Churches) at that time,” Chad admits. Their initial steps were filled with uncertainty, but their faith remained steadfast.

The Randlemans connected with ARC and began learning the tools and terminology of church planting. “ARC was a breath of fresh air. We were able to see some healthy dynamics of the church,” Chad recalls.

They connected to the Oklahoma Assemblies of God through a divine Sunday in McAlester. While visiting Northside Assembly and Pastor Brian Smith, the Randlemans discovered that Darren Pilcher, the then OKAG Church Ministries Director, would be the guest speaker.

After the service, Chad introduced himself and revealed their call to plant a church. Darren (now the pastor of Spring Creek AG in Edmond and an Executive Presbyter) invited the Randlemans to the Network office to discuss

the church planting process in the Assemblies of God fellowship. “We knew we wanted to be connected to something. We didn’t want to just plant on an island,” Jill emphasizes. Their meeting with Darren Pilcher and subsequent interactions with CMN leaders provided the guidance and support they needed. “We loved the idea of having family around us. We are a fellowship of churches,” Chad reflects.

While taking the ARC courses, Chad and Jill considered Bentonville, Arkansas, as a potential location. Being from Arkansas, the Randlemans knew it was a great place with potential, however, they never felt peace about planting there while visiting.

Although not initially on their radar, Eufaula, Oklahoma, became the community they were called to plant in. After selling their home in McAlester, the Randlemans had been staying in a family member’s guest house in Eufaula.

“Eufaula was not growing. It was like a sleepy little town,” Chad recalls. However, as they prayed and sought direction, they felt a burden for the town. “We started feeling like this place needs something and we started feeling that burden for it,” Jill says.

Chad and Jill established Community Culture Church (CCC) in 2014. They started raising a launch team, preparing for a portable church setup, and navigating the complexities of church planting. The Randlemans worked with the school system to use their auditorium to meet on Sundays. Although the rental price was great, the auditorium was without heat and air for the first year and a half. Jill remembers, “It’s funny because when we were on this church planting journey, and we wanted something authentic and that God was moving in, Chad once posed this question, he said, ‘Would people even come if they’re uncomfortable? People go to a church in Africa with dirt

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floors and walk miles, but would people do that here?’

And so God was like, ‘Okay, here.’ No heat or air, let’s see this.”

CCC launched on October 5, 2014, with 120 people in attendance. For a rural church plant, it was historic in the OKAG. It was especially meaningful to the Randlemans due to the community’s resistance to a church plant.

Due to years of broken trust, Chad feels the church must still work to bridge the gap. “We had to walk this line of being trustworthy. We do things right, and we care for the community. We did that for so long, and praise God, now people defend us without us even knowing it.”

As is often the case with planting a church, the road has been full of highs and lows for the Randlemans and the church. Chad remembers a summer service when a key volunteer asked why they don’t “give up.” His answer was one of faith: “Maybe God just wants us to be faithful. And success looks different in His eyes; success is being faithful, not successful in our eyes.”

everybody in the town hears transformation, and children ask their parents, ‘What is baptism?’ I think what is really communicated is our church serves our community really well,” Chad said.

Since the church began, Chad and Jill have seen God perform miracle after miracle. Whether it was providing the finances for facility needs or helping them plant a second campus in McAlester, God has always provided.

The volunteer who asked why they didn’t “give up” is even serving in a vital role again.

“It’s a story of constant faith and protection. We just kept moving forward, trusting God’s direction,” Chad says. Jill adds, “God put us here to fulfill a need. We are grateful for the journey and the impact we are able to make.”

In 2015, CCC purchased a former car dealership in the middle of town. It was a 70-year-old building that needed a complete remodel. Chad remembers that season as being incredibly hard. He had to work three and sometimes four jobs, pastor a newly planted church, and lead a renovation of their new church home. “So it’s not always pretty, but you can make it into something great in the process.”

On Easter Sunday, 2017, CCC moved into its newly renovated location in the heart of Eufaula. “We moved in on Easter Sunday, and it was standing room only. It was like this beautiful picture of what God can do. It also was a monsoon of rain that came through our doors, and our toilets overflowed with water because they backed up, which then came out of the bathrooms. You have to laugh instead of cry,” Chad joked.

One month later, the church opened a coffee shop open to the public throughout the week. Jill refers to the shop as a modern-day well. “People come in for coffee, and then they get to experience the love of God, and then if they’re unchurched or haven’t been in church in a long time, they find out that this is also a church.”

Today, Community Culture Church is a beacon of hope in Eufaula and the surrounding areas. CCC has several community outreaches yearly and Easter services at the high school football field. The community comes to their Easter Egg drop and witnesses water baptisms before the drop begins.

“We might be baptizing 20 people or something like that. You get to hear their stories, and

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Are You Meant to

PLANT A CHURCH? Cody Phillips

Am I called to plant a church? How do I know if I’m called to plant a church or pastor an existing and established church? I had the opportunity to spend time with two leaders who have done both. Dr. Len Tang and Dr. Tim Morey have planted and pastored churches. Dr. Len Tang describes church planting as “a tangible expression of God’s missional heart throughout Scripture, a demonstrably effective form of leading people to faith in Christ, and it opens up creative new ways for God’s people to engage with and impact the culture.” Here are a few questions to consider when attempting to discern if you are to plant a church.

ARE YOU EXPERIENCING HOLY DISCONTENT?

Sometimes, we all can feel discontentment or frustration in our journey through ministry. However, this “holy discontent” refers to the church planter’s conviction that an absolutely crucial aspect of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is missing in the church or among a particular city or people group. The church planter feels dissatisfied, brokenhearted, and even indignant that a whole dimension of Christ’s mission in the world is absent from people’s lives.

Having identified that discontent, the next step is to bring it to the Lord. Holding on to anger and frustration is unproductive. Instead, allow the Holy Spirit to harness, redeem and refine that discontent to become holy, godly, and sustainable. Allow the Lord to turn discontent and frustration into a clear, compelling, God-honoring vision for the church and the church planter.

ARE YOU WIRED/GIFTED AS A CHURCH PLANTER?

The basic premise here is: know thyself. As Paul writes, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment” (Rom. 12:3).

Some who are gifted as pastors are not gifted as planters, and knowing the difference is crucial. The better you know and understand yourself, the more you can lean into those strengths as a planter and recruit a team that shores up your weaknesses. Yes, even church planters have weaknesses. It’s a lesson in humility and emotional security to be aware of our shortcomings.

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Charles Ridley has researched the common traits of effective church planters, establishing 13 characteristics associated with fruitful planters. Each network or denomination uses its own prioritized list of characteristics, but nearly all church planting leaders would agree that the following characteristics are typical in fruitful church planters:

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Spiritual Life: A vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ; passion to make the gospel known.

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Relational Life: Track record of mobilizing people to start new things; strong vision casting.

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Personal Life: Self-motivated and self-starter; emotionally healthy and resilient.

an unholy alliance of mere marketing and sociology.

Instead, faithful church plants must reflect God’s character and nature as revealed in Scripture, not simply what “works.”

It’s crucial to remember that context matters. Church planters are not called simply to plant a generic, black box, storefront church in Anytown, USA. Church planters (and even church pastors) need to let the Holy Spirit cultivate a burden to plant in a particular city and people group such that the kingdom reflects every nation, tribe, people and language (Rev 7:9).

Pastor Jim McNabb has constantly reminded me of the difference between having a “passion” and having a “burden”. Your passion will always burn out when ministry/life gets hard or will be redirected into another area that is more interesting at the time, but a “burden” is something God has sealed upon your heart that you can’t shake, even when ministry/life gets hard.

ARE YOU EQUIPPED?

In his article “Formed, Not Found,” Tod Bolsinger writes, “One’s calling in life is not so much found as formed…our vocation is not truly found until we are fit for it.” You do not simply wake up one day and decide to plant a church; if so, that should be a cause for concern. Bolsinger’s type of “equipping” can come through various avenues: life experience (particularly suffering), friendships with unbelievers, internships, church staff experience, short-term missions, seminary, etc. Tang and Morey have three quick tools for an equipping analysis:

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Spiritual Formation: Because the call is difficult, we need the Holy Spirit to deepen our life in Christ, to allow ministry to flow out of freedom and not performance, to reveal our brokenness, and to strengthen the emotional foundations of our lives. We seek to form people personally, spiritually, and globally so that they can live out their calling in a changing context.

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Theological Reflection: Planting a church without reflecting biblically and theologically can devolve into

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•

Missional Competencies: The skills to think like a missionary to the West and to contextualize the Gospel to a specific city and people group are crucial in determining how relationships are built, how outreach is structured, and how sermons are prepared.

In addition, there are many current models of church planting (house church, missional/incarnational, multi-site, launch large), and each deserves theological and missional reflection and consideration.

Each city must be studied and reached differently, as evidenced by the various ways that Paul approached each city in Acts.

These three tools (formation, theology, mission) help form a spiritually healthy church planter who can, in turn, lead a team that makes disciples, establishes a healthy church plant, and even gives birth to a church planting movement.

God calls us to be good and faithful servants where He has placed us. Galatians 6 reminds us not to grow weary in our ministry season because, in God’s timing, that promise and dream will come to pass.

WHAT IS YOUR NEXT FAITHFUL STEP?

There is often a “gestation period” between God conceiving the idea of church planting in our hearts and the Holy Spirit birthing a new church through us. It is normal and healthy not to act in haste and a hurry. What’s “next” for you may be church planting, but it may not be “now.”

Rather than focusing on a certain time frame, consider the following developmental steps toward planting a church:

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Missional Experiments in the Local Church: The best place to begin is right where you are now.

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Have conversations with other planters: Do these conversations increase your burden or make you grateful for what you are already doing?

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Contact the Church Multiplication Network and learn more about what it takes to plant a healthy church.

Cody is a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary (MATM). He and his wife, Lindsay, serve as Executive Campus Pastors at The Bridge Bricktown in Oklahoma City. But their favorite role is being parents to their daughter, Eleanor.

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Serving with a

CLEAR CONSCIENCE Rev. Charles W. Kinman, PhD, LMFT (retired) My most difficult moments in ministry were those when I served with a conscience cluttered with guilt. The Accuser walked up and down my brain night and day, shouting about my failures. It would not have been so bad if he had not been right some of the time.

I would give what I knew I should to others in compassion and encouragement, but it seemed impossible to receive the truth of which I spoke for myself. Or worse, I felt unworthy to feel joy and worshipful praise for my Savior.

I would become discouraged to the point my thoughts would say I was not supposed to be in ministry. In those dark moments my prayers lacked a confidence of faith. It left no space for the Holy Spirit to guide or encourage me.

In those moments, I clearly saw, felt, and heard that I had fallen short of the Glory of God. Then I would remember that this was the very condition of my soul when I met Him. While serving in a post-graduate residency for family counseling, I learned that our mental fatigue could contribute to these discouraging thoughts. The accumulation of lactic acid on the brain’s frontal cortex, caused by concentrated study and work, produces a thick, cloudy feeling that settles in just behind the forehead and above

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the eyes. At times, I would feel nauseous from the dizzying sensation. The uneasiness distracted me and brought stressful ideas, affecting me physically and making me vulnerable. Then, as if my mental state and discomfort were lightly glowing embers, the devil would attempt to fan them into flames of shame. Thus ensues the battle for the mind, that for which Paul so arduously warns.

Fortunately, God equips us for both physical and spiritual challenges. For the physical, lactic acid is a by-product of synaptic activity generated from tiny electro-chemical reactions in the flow of neurotransmitters. Accumulation is the problem; unchecked, this chemical can produce other physical and mental difficulties. As pastors, we exemplify being good disciples by studying and managing the tasks of our calling for many hours a day—a lot of synaptic activity. To prevent this build-up of lactic acid, one should take a ten-minute break each hour or five every half-hour to stretch and exercise. Rapid oxygen and increased blood flow help clear the cloudy feeling. I used to get up to do fifty pushups and some jumping jacks; now, I just walk around the building. Also, during the break, let your mind be still by not allowing distracting thoughts (Ps. 46:10). It is like tithing brain time. Either way, you return to work more refreshed and less distracted by unnecessary brain activity that continues producing the suppressing chemical.

For the spiritual, Jesus invited us to securely abide in Him (John 15:1-8). His gift of eternal life frees us from the shame and worries that produce unnecessary brain activ-

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ity. The passages from Hebrews state the blood of calves and bulls foreshadowed what Christ would ultimately do in the sanctuary in heaven. Those who repeatedly offered the earthly sacrifices hardly comprehended that one day a sacrifice would be made “once for all” and that sacrifice would take place in the eternal as well as in the temporal (II Cor. 4:18). Leon Morris stated that the phrase “once for all” was “an emphatic expression underlining the decisive character of Christ’s saving work. There can be no repetition. ‘Redemption’ is the process of setting free by the payment of a ransom price.”[1] Jesus made the payment in His death.

The writer of the Hebrews letter graciously, yet powerfully, attempts to explain the immeasurable importance of this to his audience so they would be free from a guilt-laden conscience. He knew that a servant would not have confident faith to serve our God while entangled in sin, guilt, and shame. We will not serve lovingly if our conscience must constantly defend itself against the accusations of the Accuser (Rev.12:10).

However, the writer encourages us that the blood of Jesus sprinkled on the heavenly mercy seat cleanses “our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God” freely and confidently, without questioning our worthiness to receive His anointing. He advocates five endorsements that give us confidence to enter not only the most holy of places before the throne of God but also into the most holy of servitudes.

“LET US DRAW NEAR TO GOD WITH A SINCERE HEART IN ASSURANCE OF FAITH.”

In His precious love for us, God provided each of us a measure of faith upon which to act (Rom. 12:3) and an invitation in which to respond (Isa. 55:1-13; Matt. 11:25-30).

In Matthew 11:28, the word ‘come’ is in the present tense, indicating an invitation of continual coming. From that context, Jesus presents His authority to choose whom He invites into the relationship between He and the Father to share in knowing and being known. He spoke it to folks like us who are weary of our shortcomings and burdened with remorse. Such pain forms our “sincere heart” to receive the assuring faith to come to Him. Therefore, we can come close to our holy, sovereign God by virtue of Christ’s sacrifice, believing confidently that God does not hold our guilt and shame against us; our conscience is clear. We can be assured that He not only allows us, but desires us to be close to Himself because He loves us even as He loves Jesus (John 17:23). I often feel so unworthy to be loved as the Christ is loved, yet I have assurance from the Lord that it is true. I am free to draw near.

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“LET US HOLD UNSWERVINGLY TO THE HOPE WE PROFESS.”

Our measure of faith emerges as self-organizational properties act functionally toward purpose. In considering the concept of “purpose,” we might say a goal or destination must be placed in front of or out before us in order to generate an incentive for design or how to get there.

Without destinations, we have no place to go. To fulfill a purpose, one uses energy and resources to apprehend what can only be imagined in the future. We call such an exercise hope. God designed our brains to use all our senses, thoughts, and strength to search for Him somewhere else. God placed His love before us to apprehend (Isa. 46:10; I Pet. 1:21).[2] We must believe that which is not yet fully seen, heard, or understood. We hope for something invisible because of the promises made to humanity throughout the Scriptures. The writer affirms, “He who promised is faithful.” It is a way of being like Him and living out our hope that the whole story is true. As we become a community of hope, even against opposition, we will reflect God’s presence among us. We confidently tell His story to the world. Our confidently holding to our hope is evidence of what will come. I am free to hope.

“LET US CONSIDER HOW WE MAY SPUR ONE ANOTHER ON TOWARD LOVE AND GOOD DEEDS.”

There is no question whether we ought to, but rather “how” we should teach others to behave as a reflective community of God’s kindness. For example, if we believe people want to obey Jesus, then an objective of ministry should be helping people remove obstacles that keep them from being able to fully surrender, sin not being the least of these obstacles. Seekers of Christ desire to know Jesus better. Operating from this belief suggests perhaps shifting focus from “ought to” sermons to concentrate more on “how to” sermons that deal with removing obstacles. We are free to treat people as though they also have a right to a clear conscience. I am free to teach.

“LET US NOT GIVE UP MEETING TOGETHER.”

The church today, as we know it as an institution, does not fail or succeed because the organized church is a by-product and response of covenantly faithful people.

The organized church does not control or define God’s people because it is the outgrowth of a culture following a covenant promise in fellowship with one another and in relationship with God our Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. Our purpose in gathering is to nurture and be that covenant culture.

Each congregational body is a new creation, cultivating differing forms of style and practices suited to a particular group. Thus, a group’s diversity is guided by constant

faithfulness and accountability to covenant relationships with one another. God’s love can only be understood in a context or institution where people are invited to be themselves while belonging to His truth, love, and promise. It has been said that hurting another makes us feel isolated in our guilt. Within the covenant promise, we are forgiven of even our darkest moments and allowed to be with one another in the freedom of that forgiveness. The presence of others embracing such a promise invites the freedom of a clear conscience. I am free to belong.

“LET US ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER.”

Belonging to a covenant promise, we then suspend judgment about another as we walk in the same promise of forgiveness. As we walk in freedom before our God, in the light as He is in the light, then we encourage each other with the hope that we all share and embrace, no matter from where we come. The freedom of our clear conscience empowers us to live out the gift of our salvation before those gathered. When I see, hear, and feel another cling to the promise despite what is seen, heard or felt by them, I remember I am accepted and belong in the midst of a hopeful, free people. Then, I am encouraged.

darkest moments are forgiven. Yet, He still blesses us with the privilege of anointing, service, and grace. Trust in the power of the blood that sets us free—live unselfish, confident and hopeful. Live knowing you are loved as Jesus is loved so others will know they are loved.

Dr. Kinman recently retired from 30 years as a pastoral marriage and family counselor and 20 years as a professor at Northwest University. He is a nine-year military veteran and now serves the Oklahoma district as an encourager. The Kinmans live with their family in Newalla.

[1] Morris, L. (1981). Hebrews. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 12. Frank Gaebelein, General Editor. Grand Rapids, Michigan: The Zondervan Corporation [2] I recommend you read these two verses in context. They are thematic about His sovereignty, care, and power, to which we trust and submit.

As servants and keepers of such a marvelous hope, we of all people should live and walk daily in the freedom and power of the clear conscience given to us. It empowers us to stand in holiness and against our temptations. We are to exemplify a living body of believers representing that freedom because we should be most convinced—our

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ITINERATING MISSIONARIES THANK YOU FOR PRAYING FOR OUR OKLAHOMA MISSIONARIES! FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE MISSIONS OFFICE.

David & Mindy Bright

pastordbright@yahoo.com

Church Mobilization

EB

Contact OKAG Missions for Contact Info.

**Sensitive Country

KC

Contact OKAG Missions for Contact Info.

**Sensitive Country

Destry & Cynthia Dobbs

dobbs@tulsaxa.com

Tulsa Chi Alpha

Kirk & Karla Ford

kirk@nexusministries.org

Nexus Ministries/Church Planting in Europe

Tim & Lynley Hatcher

tim_hatcher@wycliffe.org

Wycliffe Bible Translators

BH

Contact OKAG Missions for Contact Info.

Latin America Caribbean

Joleta Nash

joleta.nash@gmail.com

Chaplaincy–Pastoral Care

Adam & Sarah Quinn

Hello@TheQuinn.Family

Latin America Caribbean

Isiah Smith isiah.smith@eu.agwm.org Netherlands, Europe Stephen & Kimberly Snow

sk3ksnowfamily@gmail.com

Intercultural Ministries, Hispanic

Micheal & Jaylynn Sperry

sperry1232@gmail.com

Chi Alpha UCO

Melliza Taylor melliza@saveone.org SaveOne DB

Contact OKAG Missions for Contact Info.

**Sensitive

AS

Contact OKAG Missions for Contact Info.

**Sensitive

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Be The

BUFFALO Part One: Brace Up and Go Through the Storm Did you know? Unlike other animals that move away from snowstorms, the buffalo goes through them by turning into them in order to get to the other side. Most animals behave reclusively in snowstorms, staying home, hunkering down, sitting it out, and hoping for the snow to blow over, but not the buffalo. The buffalo, also known as the bison, leans into the storm.

Bison Central (bisoncentral.com) says this about this peculiar buffalo behavior: “While bison are similar in some ways to cattle, there are significant differences. For example, bison will turn into a snowstorm rather than drifting with the wind because they instinctively know that walking into the storm will get them out of the weather quicker. Their massive heads serve as a type of snowplow; by swinging their head to and fro, the animal can sweep away deep snow to find forage below.”

The bison intuitively knows that the fastest and easiest way to weather the storm is through it. It takes resilience, fearlessness, and going against the grain to lean into storms. It can be a lonely proposition to watch all other animals move away from the storm while the buffalo presses on to go through it.

We can be like the buffalo by following what Paul says about embracing suffering so it can turn into greater hope in God: “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5 Ponder: In what areas of your life is the Holy Spirit inviting you to brace up and turn into the storm so you can more quickly get to the other side?

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Cynthia and her husband, Destry, live in Tulsa with their son Obadiah. They lead Tulsa Metro Chi Alpha. She is an award-winning writer and speaker who loves encouraging everyone to embrace their Kingdom identities. Cynthia also serves as the Director of the Network of Women Ministers for the Oklahoma network.

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