Dear Pastor/Friends,

It has been a busy and exciting month on the WT district. I have been hearing about many wonderful things that the Lord is doing in your churches.

I want to congratulate our Plainview congregation on the election of their new pastor Rev, Kristi O’Riley. We are pictured here with Pastor Kristi and her son. Kristi comes to us from the Arizona district where she was the pastor of the Sun Valley Church of the Nazarene. Welcome to west Texas!

I want to thank our FW Northside church for hosting the DCPI church planting seminar with Dr. Mark Bane from the GMC on September 20-21. There was great participation and the feedback I’ve received was very positive. Our church planter in Decatur, Pastor Rebecca Aleman was very instrumental in setting up this event. Thank you!

It was a blessing for Susan and me to visit Gainesville Eastside on September 22 and be with our great pastoral couple there, Rev. Larry and Janet Classen. It was exciting to meet new people who are attending, and see all of the significant improvements that have been made on the property and buildings in Gainesville. They are definitely getting ready for company, as hundreds of new home are going up adjacent to, and across from, the church property. 

It was wonderful to travel with members of our district advisory board and office staff up to Cactus to tour the Cactus Nazarene Ministry Center and be hosted by their awesome director, Alshandra Visagie. I can hardly express how much the Lord is blessing the ministry of CNMC these days.

In addition to the outstanding compassionate ministries and immigration services, after school children’s program, educational services, and medical access, I’m so pleased that the Cactus International Church is flourishing under the leadership of Pastor Olbin Visagie and Associate Pastor, Kor Chakud. You Can CLICK HERE to see a brief video I recorded recently promoting their ministry.

Last weekend was especially exciting for us. We had the privilege on Saturday of attending the FW Filipino International Church of the Nazarene as they celebrated their first anniversary. Things seem to be going so well for this new congregation under the leadership of Pastor Marc, and Lillian, Katalbas. This new congregation meets at Renovation Community CoN under the direction of Pastor Chris Branigan.

Speaking of Renovation Community Church, they provided housing last week for Lee’s Bees…our district-centered work team that convenes twice annually to take on construction and maintenance projects for our churches. They are pictured here with Pastor Premal and Kavita Awarsamal after installing a new shower in their house. While in the Metro area they also replaced the living room floor in the Haltom City parsonage where Michael and Elizabeth Gatkek live and installed a new floor in our Fuente De Gracia fellowship hall in White Settlement. What a blessing!!

This past Sunday we visited Pilot Point Grace Point Church where pastor Dwayne Edwards, Debbie, and the congregation celebrated their 116th anniversary! Church of the Nazarene archivist, Dr. Ryan Griffith was the guest speaker. As you know, these are very exciting days in Pilot Point, the birthplace of our denomination. We are so grateful for all that the Lord is doing these days under Pastor Edward’s leadership. We are pictures here with the Edwards, Dr, Ryan Giffin, and Pilot Point Mayor, the honorable Elisa Beasley

Finally, I was able to preach at Amarillo North Beacon Church on October 6th, filling the pulpit for Pastor Steve Kochersperger, who is recovering from a major surgery. It was so good to be with Steve, who I hadn’t seen since visiting him in the hospital over a month ago. Several area pastors have filled the pulpit for NB since Steve’s surgery, but he will be back preaching very soon. He is on track for a full recovery. Thanks be to God! Also, I am very proud of our Amarillo Zone churches, and others, who raised offerings of around $5,000 to help cover travel and other medical expenses for Steve and Mary.

West Texas Nazarenes are part of an awesome district family!!

For you and with you,

Pastor David Downs

PS. Pastors please CLICK HERE to see the updated Funding the Mission report. With only 4 1/2 months left in the church year some of us have some catching up to do. :-)

The Calling

By WT District NMI Storyteller, Susan Downs

The first missionary speakers I ever remember hearing came to visit our church when I was seven years old. Don and Adeline Owens settled in South Korea as pioneer missionaries soon after the end of the Korean Conflict in 1954. (Don later served as a general superintendent in the Church of the Nazarene.) As they shared stories and showed slides of the impoverished Korean people and how the Lord was working among them, my young heart was deeply stirred…so much so, that I wrote in the front cover of my white-leather Bible, “Today, God called me to be a missionary to Korea.” Then, I pressed a folded hanky, which had been hand-embroidered with two Korean girls jumping on a traditional seesaw, over my declaration.

Decades later, as our family visited my mother in Oklahoma prior to our departure for the Korean mission field, she said, “I found something as I was cleaning out your old bedroom that I thought you might like to see.” My mom handed me that now dried-out and yellowed leather childhood Bible. Inside the front cover lay that same embroidered hanky with the seesawing Korean girls, and underneath the hanky, I could still make out my childish penmanship detailing my mission call—a call that we were then seeing fulfilled!

Growing up, I loved reading the children’s missionary books, with their stories of boys and girls in other lands who knew and followed the same Jesus that I did. I looked forward to the monthly children’s missionary meetings that our local NWMS (now NMI) president would provide for us. These educational opportunities provided more than information that expanded my young world view; they inspired me. They opened my eyes to the global possibilities of service in His Kingdom.

Time and again, when I’ve asked missionaries how it was that they were called to serve, they expressed that the Lord called them when they were just children. Each local church bears the responsibility of sharing our mission stories with our youth and children if we want to facilitate the fulfillment of the Great Commission in future generations.

While our denomination no longer publishes mission education books and materials, we now have access to free downloadable online missions’ materials. NMI Central and Kids Kaleidoscope are global publications, created to educate and inspire Nazarenes around the world. Nazarenes can register to receive a weekly NMI Central email at: www.nazarene.org/NMI-Central.

Kids Kaleidoscope is an NMI Central supplement for children, released on the first Wednesday of each month.  The material includes information, activities, recipes, crafts, games, and more to help provide missions learning, based on the needs and context of the audience. Each month has different activities, providing varied learning approaches for every type of learner. 

Please look for ways to bring MISSIONS to life in your local church. You never know how God might use your efforts to impact a young life and, in so doing, further His Kingdom around the world! 

Blessing our Community

Bridgepointe Church

I'm excited to share an update on our ministry at Bridgepointe. Every Saturday evening at 6, we gather for dinner church - a time of shared meals, fellowship, and spiritual insight led by Pastor Lucas [pictured here with his wife, Ana]. What started as a small group has grown into a weekly gathering of up to 25 people. Our evenings include enjoying a meal together, sharing Jesus stories, and praying for one another. It's been heartening to see attendees bringing dishes to share, truly embracing the community aspect of our gatherings.

The impact of this ministry is becoming evident in individual lives. One of our regulars, aptly named Jesus, warmly welcomes everyone to what he calls our "family dinner" each week. We've witnessed answered prayers, like Kris and Elvia finding housing for their new family. There's also Maria, who expressed gratitude for leftovers that ensured her next meal. While we're still working towards broader neighborhood change, these weekly gatherings are steadily becoming a source of hope and connection in our community. We're grateful for how God is moving through this simple act of breaking bread together.

Calvary Callender

Lantana Community Church

Bartonville, TX.

817.554.1203

www.lantana.church

A guide to open the riches of finance best practices.



In continuation of our conversations about our Annual Pastor’s Report (APR), we now move to the WEF and other Missions Giving. As defined in the APR instructions:

Nazarene Global Missions

39. Given for World Evangelism (WEF): Goal is 5.5% of Income from Tithes and Offerings. (This contribution can be received through various offerings throughout the year, i.e. Easter, Thanksgiving/Harvest, Faith Promise, or other general missions’ offerings.)

40.    Given by the church for Approved Missions Projects: Previously called Mission Specials. These are specifically approved designated gifts/offerings. Include funds given to Alabaster, deputation offerings, Links, NCM projects, Work & Witness, Nazarene seminaries, etc. Do not include funds given to WEF.

Total given for Nazarene Global Missions: This is the sum of items 39 and 40.

The reporting of line 39 depends on WEF giving, which includes special WEF initiatives such as Faith Promise, Easter, etc. These types of giving are listed as choices in the FTM contributions form attached.

The Approved Missions Projects (line 40) are represented by other missions giving and will include both Special Missions giving that is sent to the General Treasurer (but not categorized as WEF) and will include contributions that are Point-to-Point (like Compassionate Ministry Centers).

The calculation of WEF goal is impacted by the amounts given for Approved Missions Projects. Thus, it is imperative that these amounts are reported properly in FTM and APR. 

If you need assistance, please contact me and I will guide you through the WEF Giving Reporting process. My hope is that our church financial processes and controls run seamlessly and allow for more focus on Kingdom work in our communities.

Trusting in His grace,

Connie Lincecum District Treasurer

(cell) 817-240-4474

connie@westexnaz.org

MinistrySafe Update -

We need to work toward ALL of our WTX District Churches renewing their MinSafe training for anyone who serves in youth or children ministries. If you serve with kids 18 years old or younger your MinSafe training must be updated every two years. We had a district wide push for this in 2022 so it's that time again to get this all taken care of. Below is an updated MinistrySafe explanation letter for you to review.

• MinSafe team update - Jen Sommers is now serving the following zones: Abilene, Amarillo, Arrowhead, Denton, High Plains and Lubbock. Mary Brewer is continuing to serve the Fort Worth, Lamesa, Metro Mid-Cities and Wichita Falls zones.
• MinSafe new invoicing - church leaders requesting MinSafe training links will be invoiced when training links are sent. MinSafe now charges us when we send out links instead of when links are used. Please try to get these invoices paid as soon as you can. These payments come out of our WTX children's ministry budget that we use to run our events (BLAST, quizzing, Kids Camp, etc.) We want to respect our ministry budget and continue to use it in the manner it is intended for.

Because Jesus loves Kids!

Jen Sommers

WTX Kids Director

jsommers@gen-church.org