Nazarene response to Hurricane Katrina recognized by U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Baton Rouge, Louisiana-In a tally conducted by Nazarene Compassionate Ministries (NCM), Inc., the Church of the Nazarene contributed more than $18.5 million worth of services to the relief and reconstruction of last year's Gulf Coast hurricanes.

This assessment was made based on an on-line questionnaire made available to all churches in North America through May 1 of this year.

By that date, an estimated 282,744 hours of volunteer services were offered, primarily through the instrument of Work and Witness teams, estimated at a market value of more than $4 million. These volunteers worked as doctors, nurses, construction workers, counselors, attorneys, social workers and common laborers, priced at market value.

More than $3.4 million was given in the form of "gifts-in-kind", including every kind of provision imaginable - food, furniture, toiletries, construction tools, vehicles, storage containers, and children's toys. An additional 145,000 crisis care kits were delivered, $30 value each, amounting to more than $4.3 million.

Housing was offered long-term to 280 families and 764 individuals, with a market value of more than $250,000.

Donations of cash poured into the NCM from across the denomination, tallied to $4.3 million. Yet another $1.7 million was donated to other agencies and organizations or given directly on site by Nazarenes.

Sixteen churches and eight parsonages were rehabilitated, along with one thousand homes that were "mucked and gutted" in Louisiana, made "dry and tight" in Mississippi, and rehabilitated in Alabama.

Not included in the tally were teams of students, some 300 young people, from Nazarene universities, along with many non-Nazarenes groups and individuals who signed up to work alongside Nazarenes.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security was sufficiently impressed by the questionnaire, so they contacted NCM USA/Canada Coordinator, Dan Soliday and invited him, Kevin Lum of the Bresee Institute (who comprised the study), and Steve Creech, director of Nazarene Disaster Response, to attend a special Homeland Security gathering in Baton Rouge, Louisiana that brought together 250 faith-based organizations engaged in Katrina relief. At that time, the 8-page Nazarene report was distributed to all participating organizations and Soliday was presented in a panel discussion looking at the denomination as a model, not only of service, but of accountability.

The report highlights the services rendered, along with substantial visual images and quotations by participants and recipients. In addition, it offers the theological rationale for the Nazarene commitment: "Let your light so shine that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).

This report is a public testimony and a "thank you" to Nazarenes who need to know what has been done and needs yet to be done, to unbelievers who often cynically believe Christians to be self-interested, and to the government which offers non-profit, tax-free status to churches with the understanding that churches serve their community in practical ways that save taxpayers much in local services, with the add-on of grace which the government cannot offer.

Copies of this report are available through the NCM, Inc. office.
--Fletcher Tink (Note: All funds expressed in U.S. dollars.)

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JESUS film ministry tops 40-million mark for evangelistic contacts

Olathe, Kansas-JESUS Film Harvest Partners (JFHP) and the JESUS film ministry continue to impact lives as many learn about the story of Jesus for the first time.

Reported evangelistic contacts from January 1998 through August 2006 have now topped the 40-million mark (40,525,355). Of these contacts, 6,953,252 (17.2 percent of contacts) have indicated decisions for Christ. In addition, there have been 2,193,358 (31.5 percent of decisions) initial discipleship follow-ups. Also, 9,700 new mission churches have been started and 14,230 new pastors are in training.

One JESUS film team member in the Solomon Islands recently reported to JFHP, "The JESUS film is sweeping through Ulawa like a bull dozer. We have started two mission churches. One is on the island of Ulawa and the other one is on one of the Three Sisters, a group of three islands that look nearly identical. We have covered less than half of the island of Ulawa, but are receiving many requests to bring them the message of Christ. I have never seen people so eager to receive the Gospel message."

Another JESUS film team member in Argentina talks about a man who was physically changed from his experience. "Jorge is 72 years old and has suffered for some time with an acute pain in his side. When he heard about the JESUS film showing, he came to see it and accepted Christ into his heart. The Lord completely healed him of his pain. He told everyone in the community about the miracle that Christ had done in his life. Today he is meeting with other Christians at the new mission church that was started in La Pantalla."

JFHP and JESUS film team members ask for continued prayer as film equipment is shipped by an ocean container to teams working in six high risk gospel-resistant countries. The equipment includes video projectors, generators, sound systems, DVD players, and discipleship materials for 98 large screen teams. These teams have been using 16-millimeter equipment for more than 5 years. Additionally, 24 small screen teams will be launched. Some of them will use a "backpack" of equipment including projector, DVD player, and tabletop speakers. Some of them will use only a DVD player for smaller groups. Two "backpacks" contain DVD players that will be powered by solar panels.
--JFHP, NCN News

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Southeastern Europe hosts field's first NYC

Strumica, Macedonia-For many young people from Southeastern Europe (SEE), just being there was a big deal.

Between historical tension in the Balkans, visa challenges, travel expenses, and families in which Christianity is not accepted, gathering representatives from Albania, Bulgaria, Italy, Kosovo, Romania, and Slovenia was a feat in itself.

Watching friends and disciples develop was sort of a bonus.

From August 2 to 6, 62 young people, youth leaders, missionaries, volunteers and international friends of the SEE Field gathered in Strumica, Macedonia for the field's first-ever Nazarene Youth Congress (NYC).

"It was a great time to have rest, to stop everything," said Cezarina Cutaj, a young Albanian woman living in Florence, Italy. "I met new people, and it was great to share different experiences with them, to see that we are part of a larger family."

The week emphasized discipleship with Global Nazarene Youth International Coordinator, Gary Hartke, bringing the messages each night, and various field and global leaders leading nine seminars in various elements of discipleship throughout the week.

This summer's SEE NYC fulfilled a dream that the field's youth leaders have been working toward for nearly four years.

"We're a very different field from the rest of Eurasia," said Zhana Georgieva, the field's NYI representative. "So many different languages-even different cultures-getting together without having a Balkan war was actually kind of a big surprise for me, and I give thanks to God for everything he is doing in our nations."
--Eurasia Region News

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Even without a church, congregation aids homeless

Sumter, South Carolina-(The Item newspaper)When members of the Sumter (South Carolina) First Church of the Nazarene began feeding the homeless once a month last October, their purpose was to provide some regularity to those without much of it. They wanted to provide warm meals for those who do not regularly get them. They also wanted to minister to those in dire need of ministry.

Little did they know that they would soon understand, as a congregation, what it was like to be homeless.

"We began last October and have been faithful each month to provide a nutritional meal on site of the gazebo of Calhoun (Street) near the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce," said Cheryl Kammermann, pastor of Christian education for the church.

Less than four months later, Kammermann and her fellow congregants would be homeless themselves.

"We sold the building because of growth," she said of the church's old location.

The building, which would seat about 300 members comfortably, had served the church for 32 years.

"Our membership has grown to about 360 to 375, and we needed more space," she said.

The church had not completed its new building when they found a buyer for the old building.

"We found a buyer and they wanted to get in right away," Kammermann said. "We went ahead and moved out because it's sometimes difficult to find a buyer for a church, so when this came about, we knew we needed to move on."

Members will begin attending services in the new building at the end of October, she surmises. In the meantime, they have depended upon the kindness of other churches for their meetings.

"We have been meeting at Sumter High School on Sunday mornings and at Faith Presbyterian Church on Sunday and Wednesday nights," Kammermann said.

But even throughout the church's homelessness, the congregants have continued their ministry to the homeless.

"Even though we were out of a building, we did not want that to keep us from ministry," said Greg Pressley, pastor of the First Church of the Nazarene. He had little doubt that the church would continue with the aid.

"People have just rallied to it," he said. "It did not matter if it had fallen on Mother's Day or whatever, people still came out."

The church has fed the homeless on the second Sunday of the month since last October.

"A menu is planned and divided among the Sunday school classes who bring the food at 2:30 P.M.," Kammermann said. "A group of volunteers serve the men and women who gather at 3 P.M."

She said the atmosphere at the gazebo is lighthearted.

"We have had such a good time that it has been described as a party or a picnic and we hand out sack lunches to eat later in the day," she said.

Spiritual needs aren't overlooked, however.

"We begin with a prayer and I have added a chorus or Bible verse for everyone to say. During this brief time, we shake hands, talk, pray for special needs, and become friends," Kammermann said.

Other groups have also aided the church, including a "motorcycle group," she added. The Veterans of Foreign Wars will help them in September.

"Before we became homeless, we provided the meal at our old building and brought the homeless to see our Christmas choir cantata in December," she said. "We served them a holiday feast with gifts and clothing."

She said that the move has been stressful, but Pressley noted that it has helped them realize what's truly important.

"(The ministry) has made a significant difference in us not concentrating on the transition we are in," he said.

"I think it's a strength to use to remember why we are here - we are here to be involved in ministry, not just to build a building."
--Robert Baker, The Item (Sumter, SC)

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Do parents of college kids ask the wrong question?

By Gregg Chenoweth, communications professor at Olivet Nazarene University, for the Kankakee, Illinois The Daily Journal

Bourbonnais, Illinois-During the last two weeks, droves of parents nudged about 800,000 kids out of the nest and back to an Illinois college. But it appears Mom and Dad ask the wrong question once Junior calls home.

According to a University of Minnesota Parent Survey, parents communicate on average 10.4 times per week with their college kids by phone, E-mail, or text message. Around 30 percent of those conversations regard finances, 20 percent review career plans, and only 13 percent address academics.

Money. Career. Academics. I think there's an elephant in the room no one can see.

Sure, given the unprecedented pre-collegiate fervor characteristic of modern parents, you would talk 10 times per week, too. About 85 percent helped their children decide which school to attend, 69 percent filled out applications with their kids and 49 percent arranged for their child's SAT or ACT test, according to a survey by College Parents of America. They are co-purchasers of education.

And the bills they share understandably prompt a call. About half of all college students get financial help from parents for school, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, and for good reason. Average school debts upon graduation now range from $15,500 at state schools to $19,000 at private schools.

But here's the problem. Given this scale of investment, why chat so rarely about ... academics? I don't know. Do they also scan, scrimp, and secure fancy suits without discussing whether it fits?

Shane Saathoff's parents know his school fits. As a 19-year-old commuter student, he talks with his folks primarily, not incidentally, about mass communication studies at Olivet Nazarene University around six times per week.

But their resolute focus is unencumbered for a reason. Saathoff pays his own way. He expects to finish his degree with $24,000 in loans.

"Their philosophy is once you hit 18, you're on your own," he explained bluntly from a campus bench, waiting for a ride. "If you drive the family car, you replace the gas. If you live at home, you don't eat the food."

Jennifer Blaettler, his 20-year-old friend and Kankakee Community College student, pounced to illustrate.

"Yah, this morning they yelled at him for taking a bottle of water."

But Saathoff isn't bitter.

"Some students have parents who entirely back them (financially) through college, but know nothing [about their interests]," he said. "My parents don't, but they show interest in my work. It's OK. It teaches me to think for myself."

And that is the key, according to Richard Hersh, director of the Collegiate Learning Assessment project and author of "Declining by Degrees." He says parents miss the boat.

"People have thought there were two important issues: first, getting in and being able to afford college, and second, to finish and have a degree," he says. "But very few ask, 'What happens in the four or five years in between those two points? And we're beginning to find out that what's going on in that black box called college is less than we had hoped, that maybe the 'higher' in higher education is lower than we think."

In San Antonio last year, Hersh told a conference of academic administrators for independent colleges that "after 40 years of research, there is no difference where you go (to college)," if one looks only at the technical training an academic major provides, like Saathoff's mass communication.

A more critical issue is the extent to which colleges foster critical thinking and expression.

Hersh's data from 35,000 students at 135 schools show just 12 percent of schools actually achieve "significant gains proportionate to where the students began" in this area.

It's not whether Saathoff learns to run a radio station - many places teach that - but whether he can integrate psychology or history or business with that context. In fact, he's as excited about a Service Learning class as having interned at WKAN 1320.

"We read two books and had debates about our obligation to the elderly," he said. "Then we logged hours at the (assisted living) Bickford House (in Bourbonnais), just playing cards and stuff with them."

What responsibilities does radio have to the elderly? That's a very different question than how to record a commercial. And that's why parents should lay aside the bills next time the phone rings.
--Gregg Chenoweth, communications professor at Olivet Nazarene University, for the Kankakee, Illinois The Daily Journal

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