April 10, 2013
Church of the Servant Bi-Weekly Newsletter Issue: 13.7
Believe s Belong s Become
Vietnam Mission 2013
This week, I will be traveling from Oklahoma City to Vietnam, where I will join with a group of United Methodist ministers from the West Ohio Conference, as well as a group of newly-ordained ministers from the Vietnamese Methodist Church. The trip provides the opportunity to teach and preach, but more importantly, the chance to build relationships between Church of the Servant and the flourishing church in Vietnam as we look for ways that we can be in mission together in the years to come. This mission began for me several years ago as I was invited to work with the West Ohio Conference in a consulting role, teaching Church Finance and Business Administration to groups of their clergy. What I found was a conference and multiple congregations, that much like Church of the Servant, have a deep passion for Christian outreach around God’s world. The West Ohio Conference has been deeply committed to helping the Methodist movement in Vietnam find their place and their own voice in a country hungry for the gospel message. At this time the Methodist Church is small as a percentage of the total population and it is primarily organized through a series of house and small community congregations. But in each instance, vital growth is occurring as families and communities respond to God’s call. West Ohio has supported this growth through training clergy, building churches and a Methodist Ministry Center, as well as providing for the support of pastors and their families in their work. My hope is that we at Servant can find our own particular way to join in this effort. ...Continued on page 2
United Methodist
Church of the Servant s 14343 North MacArthur, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73142 s (405)721-4141 s www.ChurchoftheServant.com