| Global Weekly Summary |
| July
23, 2004 Global
News This Week
President
intervenes to aid construction of Madagascar Street Kids Center Or so they thought. Just two hours into the team’s work, after a complaint from a neighbor, a city official arrived at the site with orders to halt working until there was a signed building permit in hand. The team was told to shut down construction, which they did. The long awaited project, which had encountered one obstacle after another since early March, would just have to wait. The group then had a prayer meeting on site. Moments later team member Tom Nothstine received a call and was told tell the team to start up the cement mixer again and start work. The project was to be resumed, on order from none other than President of Madagascar, Marc Ravelomanana. After construction was halted, the project’s architect informed a close relative of the proceedings. That relative just happened to be President Ravelomanana’s wife, who, like her husband, has a compassionate heart for needy people in their country. He told her about the problems the team was having at the work site and she relayed the problem to President Ravelomanana, who called the Mayor of Antananarivo and instructed him to send someone to the work site to tell them, by his orders, to allow the team to continue working. The Mayor’s office not only told the local councilor not to interfere with the project any more, he also conveyed all of their appreciation for the interest the team had in helping the Malagasy people. In
the end, thanks to a little help from the leaders of the city, a lot of
help from the leaders of the country, but mostly due to answered prayer,
the work and witness team resumed work after what amounted to a short
“tea break.”
First
“Assembly of the Sudan Pioneer Area” held Shute reports, “When the pastors and zone leaders brought their reports to the floor (actually pavement) of the assembly, we counted...
To
read more about the work in Sudan, visit the Horn of Africa news web site:
www.thehoanaznews.org.
Korea
Nazarene University earns grant The Korean government recently developed a program called "New University Regional Innovation" (NURI). NURI required the universities to develop specialty areas that would help the communities and other educational institutions. Projects were submitted to the NURI and the Ministry of Education, universities were evaluated, and grants were designated. KNU
President William Patch commented:"Our goal for KNU is to be a university
in mission. This will be accomplished by challenging each person in our
family to be a ‘little Jesus’ in their world through expressing
the compassionate love of Jesus Christ to those who are often outside
the watch care of the society of which they are a part."
Portugal
sends first missionaries to the field "This is a significant turning point in the history of the Church of the Nazarene here in Portugal," says Western Mediterranean Field Director John Brickley. "Since its establishment in 1973, the Church of the Nazarene in Portugal has benefited from the missionaries that it has received, but now the Church has moved full circle to stand alongside those who are sending forth missionaries to spread the message of the gospel around the world." Fernando Almeida will be serving as the Theological Education Coordinator for the Western Mediterranean Field and Lilliana will serve as Nazarene Youth International coordinator. They will begin their assignments August 1. For
more pictures, see the NCN News Photo
Page.
Cunningham
emphasizes God’s power and perspective for ministry at MNU PALCON On Tuesday evening, Bud Reedy, pastor of the York, Pennsylvania Stillmeadow Church of the Nazarene, spoke from John 11, “Lord, if you had only been here...” to relate how we sometimes feel about God’s timing. On the subject of expectations, Reedy said, “The one thing harder than total surrender is staying the way you are.” J.K. Warrick, pastor of the host Olathe College Church of the Nazarene, led the communion service. When the service ended most people remained seated preferring to continue singing and worshiping in the presence of God. During the five-day gathering many pastors met at nearby Weatherby Chapel on the MNU campus to pray for the many requests that had been submitted throughout the week on PALCON prayer cards. One pastor noted, “It is a wonderful moment to see pastors praying as they knelt, sat and walked, crying out to God.” Other MNU speakers included church growth expert Kennon Callahan, evangelism expert George Hunter, grief expert Harold Ivan Smith, writer and speaker Neil Wiseman, psychologist Norm Henry, Sam Vassel, senior pastor of Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene, Tim Stearman, senior pastor of Denver First Church of the Nazarene, and Focus on the Family’s H.B. London, Jr. PALCON
will continue next at Point Loma Nazarene University from July 16 to July
30, 2004. For more about PALCON, visit the Clergy Development Website
at www.nazarenepastor.org. NYI’s
Q2004: Living the Word This biannual event, open to local, district, and regional teams, both experienced and novice, served as an opportunity to show quizzers how bible quizzing is changing the lives of youth around the world. According to NYI, quizzers and officials worked hard each day during times of competition; knowledge, speed, and accuracy are all key components of bible quizzing and participants definitely exhibited all three. Jim Chapman of Big Chap Ministries, along with ONU’s Zion’s Wake, led times of spiritual renewal each morning before the day’s events. Q2004 participants also spent June 24 serving a small community on the west side of Chicago known as the Austin community, at Reaching Out Community Church of the Nazarene. Quizzers cleaned the church basement that had been damaged due to heavy rains, participated in a Youth In Mission/YouthServe seminar, and assembled and handed out book bags throughout the community to children, inviting them and their families to a cookout held at the church. A highlight of the week was a ministry service where several students shared their thoughts and experiences about the Austin experience. The Q2004 event was a significant milestone in the NYI globalization journey as this was the first major event that involved only USA/Canada region NYI personnel. This is an accomplishment made possible by the many experienced and committed lay volunteers in the USA/Canada quizzing community who invested hundreds of hours into this great ministry. For
more information, please see the web site http://nyi.nazarene.org/quiz/mainpage.htm.
For more pictures, see the NCN News Photo
Page. Mission
Strategy launches new web site, releases video Oliver Phillips, director of Mission Strategy, said, “The ministry exists to develop strategies and provide resources to assist churches and districts in the task of holistic evangelism in the urban areas through starting, strengthening, and stimulating congregations that seek to transform broken lives and impoverished communities. With a comprehensive display of topics on the urban imperative, the site seeks to bring to the practitioner relevant tools for missional engagement.” The site provides links to information on resources, church planting (NewStarts), case studies, foundations, community development, leadership development, and Nazarenes in urban missions. The new site can be accessed by going to: www.urbannazarene.org. In conjunction with the web site, a new video, “The Urban Imperative,” has been released. Designed for districts and local congregations, the video highlights the emphasis that early Nazarenes placed on the urban mission field. According to Phillips, “Fifty-four percent of the 2002 United States census population lives in 49 major urban centers, but only one-third of active Nazarene congregations are in these areas, and only 30 percent of our members are.” Available
to all district leaders, "The Urban Imperative" can be obtained
by calling the Mission Strategy office at 1-800-738-7167. It will be available
in the future as streaming video on the web. The third of nine children of E.M. “Yack” and Bertie Hampton, Moseley was born at Coon Palace in Montgomery County, Texas, July 21, 1904. As a 20-year-old schoolteacher, she married Randall Lawton Moseley on October 12, 1924, in Pearl, Texas. Randall Moseley died in 1991. The Moseley’s had five children and lived in and around Pearl where they farmed and ranched and worked at other jobs until 1954 when they bought a laundry business in Stephenville, retiring in 1974. According to the Huffington Center’s web site, the Moseley’s were active members of the Church of the Nazarene, which Mildred had joined as a 16-year-old teenager. She taught Sunday School classes, sang in the choir, and “helped in any way she could.” Today, after more than a lifetime for most people, with health and weather permitting, “Mit” still goes to church every time the doors open, a practice taught her by her mother and one she taught her own family. Still singing those hymns of promise in her youth and which bring solace to her now, her faith in God and her prayer life have been assets for her and many others. Moseley’s daughter, Deletta Washburn, is a graduate of Southern Nazarene University (SNU). Her son in law, Phil Washburn, M.D., also an SNU grad, served as a trustee to the university. Mildred’s sister, Cleo, lived to be 103. Moseley was named a Centenarian for several reasons. Among the reasons listed by the Huffington Center was the fact she has remained engaged in life, still doing those things that were meaningful to her in her youth. Also, she exhibits some of the characteristics of other centenarians: a sense of optimism and peace within themselves, a strong network of friends and family members, a belief that their faith helps them and others, and finally, like her counterparts, she just doesn’t give in, give up, or say she’s no longer interested in the world. To read more on Moseley’s life and accomplishments, as well as to obtain more information on the Huffington Center, visit www.hcoa.org/centenarians/mildred_Hampton_Moseley.htm. For
more photos, visit previous link or see the NCN News Photo
Page. Regional
Resources: Church
of the Nazarene Ministry Links NMI
Prayer Mobilization Line: On-Line
Pastor's Calendar:
PLNU
announces new Center for Pastoral Leadership, Shoemaker to lead The founding director is Norm Shoemaker, who resigned June 20 as senior pastor at the San Diego First Church of the Nazarene to take the position. Shoemaker, a long-time member of the Clergy Preparation Initiative and a former administrator at PLNU, will rejoin the university on August 16. "The Center will be a dynamic partnership between the university and the church," said PLNU President Bob Brower. "Under Norm's leadership, and building upon what PLNU's director of church relations, Ron Fay, has already achieved, the Center will be a source of education, encouragement, and support for the regional church. We look forward to this new and promising resource partnership with you and the Church." The Center will focus on several things:
Shoemaker served in pastoral ministry and at the International Center for the Church of the Nazarene before coming to PLNU to create the university's spiritual development program for students. Now he returns to PLNU after a successful ministry at the San Diego First Church. He leaves San Diego First Church with some sadness, but says the fact that the congregation is close by (San Diego First Church abuts the PLNU campus) softens any grief. "It's the right time to do this. If someone had handed me a piece of paper and said write the perfect job, this would be it," said Shoemaker. "It pulls together so many pieces of my life." "Norm's
creative and innovative spirit, and his recent doctoral research, prepare
him well for this new project," said Brower. MidAmerica
receives $1.38 million Mabee Foundation challenge grant “We are extremely gratified by the confidence in MidAmerica Nazarene University shown by the Mabee Foundation,” said Richard Spindle, MNU president. “We’re honored and excited by the opportunity this challenge provides us to help reach our campaign goal. With the help of many supporters, I’m confident we’ll earn this grant through the additional gifts we must achieve by next July.” In order to receive the grant, MNU must complete fundraising for the new facility by raising an additional $1.87 million in cash and pledges within the next 12 months. So far, $6,747,978 has been raised in the campaign, including the Mabee challenge grant. According
to Dwight Douglas, vice president for institutional advancement, the generosity
of community donors, coupled with support from the university’s
alumni and friends, will be crucial in the final phase of the campaign. MVNU
to open regional campus in Cincinnati The Cincinnati campus represents MVNU's plan for growth and expansion. MVNU President E. LeBron Fairbanks commented: "My MVNU inaugural address in 1989 challenged the MVNU academic community to develop non-traditional programs for working adults who have completed at least two years of college or university studies. Adult and graduate academic programs have been offered by MVNU since 1993 and remain pivotal to the institution's vision and strategic plan." Research of the Cincinnati area revealed a significant market for a Christian institution of higher education among working adults. Academic programs to be offered at the Cincinnati campus are the associate of arts in general studies, bachelor of business administration, master of arts in education (Curriculum and Instruction, and Professional Educators Licensure), and master of science in management. Learners will progress through their programs in cohort groups, thus they will receive peer support while studying and create life-long relationships. MVNU's
Spectrum Towers facility will be equipped with state-of-the-art classroom
technology, including network and Internet access from each student desk.
Marla Oppenheimer was named as the regional director for the Spectrum
Towers campus. Randall Wells, MVNU associate vice president for Adult
and Graduate Education, stated: "With over 1,000 learners currently
enrolled at our Mount Vernon (main campus), Gahanna, Polaris, Lima, and
Newark campus locations, I am excited to be part of expanding MVNU's presence
to the greater Cincinnati/tri-state area. We are confident in the quality
of our facilities, our instructors, our curriculum, and our graduates." Nazarene
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