Remembering General Superintendent Emeritus Orville W. Jenkins, Sr., 1913-2007

Olathe, Kansas--General Superintendent Emeritus Orville W. Jenkins, Sr. passed away on the morning of Monday, February 5. He was 93.

Born in Texas, Jenkins came to know Jesus as his savior in a small Nazarene church in Corcoran, California in 1935. He soon became a part of a Church of the Nazarene in Porterville, California and two years later was sanctified in that same church and called to preach. It was also in this same church he met and later married Louise Cantrell.

Jenkins studied at Texas Tech in Lubbock and graduated from Pasadena College (now Point Loma Nazarene University). He pursued graduate studies at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City and in 1957 received an honorary doctoral degree while a trustee of Bethany Nazarene College (now Southern Nazarene University).

Jenkins pastored several churches in his life of ministry, including Kansas City First Church of the Nazarene. He later served as superintendent of the West Texas and Kansas City districts before becoming executive secretary of the Department of Home Missions for the denomination.

Jenkins was elected general superintendent in 1968 and served as a member of the Board of General Superintendents until 1985.

In a letter written upon his retirement from the Board of General Superintendents, Jenkins expressed love for the church he served and his hope for its future:

"I love our church and am jealous for its preservation and its future. I believe that together, under God's anointing and great presence among us, we can have great revivals everywhere and in every land, and I believe we can be true to our God-given assignment of preaching, living, and leading millions of others into the Spirit-filled, wholly sanctified life."

Jenkins is preceded in death by his wife, M. Louise Jenkins, who passed away in May 2004.

Jenkins leaves behind a legacy in the Church of the Nazarene. His son, Orville W. Jenkins, Jr., serves as the superintendent of the North Florida District and son-in-law John Calhoun is superintendent of the Northern California District. Also, son-in-law David Hubbs is pastor of worship and music at College Church of the Nazarene in Olathe, Kansas.

He is also survived by his daughters, Jeanne (Hubbs) and Janette (Calhoun), and daughter-in-law Nancy Jenkins.

Viewing will be Sunday, February 11 from 3 P.M. to 5 P.M. at Park Lawn Funeral Home on Hillcrest Road in Kansas City. The funeral service will be held Monday, February 12 at 2:00 P.M. at Kansas City First Church of the Nazarene.
--NCN News

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Tornadoes rip through Central Florida; NDR responds

Orlando, Florida--On February 2, a rash of tornadoes touched down in Central Florida devastating numerous counties and leaving a path of destruction. Nazarene Disaster Response (NDR) is responding immediately in the affected areas; NDR National Director Steve Creech and National Coordinator J.V. Morsch are mobilizing teams and equipment in coordination with Roy Shuck, NDR regional coordinator for the Southeast U.S.

As a part of NDR's continuing response to the massive hurricanes of 2005, NDR has utilized this past year to train individuals, teams, and local churches on disaster response. In addition, NDR has been able to equip several rapid response trailers filled with supplies and equipment necessary to respond in times of disaster. These teams and trailers have been mobilized to affected areas of Sumpter County, Volusia County, The Villages, and Lady Lake, Florida.

Preliminary reports from Florida Emergency Management say more than 500 homes were destroyed. This is the second set of tornadoes in Volusia County in less than two months, having been hit with several storms on Christmas Day 2006. No Nazarene churches are reporting damage at this time.

The latest reports from Creech state power has been restored to most homes and businesses in the affected area, and state officials completed search and rescue operations over the weekend, confirming 20 fatalities as a result of the storm.

As of Sunday evening, February 4, 1,100 applications had been made to FEMA for individual assistance funding, and some applicants have already received funds electronically. The maximum FEMA grant available is $28,200.

FEMA dispatched five mobile Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC) to Florida. The regions where these DRC's were set up include Lake, Volusia, and Sumter counties.

Local long-term recovery committees have been activated to coordinate the response efforts of the various disaster partners. Coordination for debris removal and putting tarps on damaged roofs is being handled by Christian Contractors. Second Harvest Food Bank is coordinating all food donations. Distribution of food and other necessary items is being coordinated by the American Red Cross and Adventists Community Services Disaster Response, and more than 2,600 meals had been provided through midday on Sunday. The Florida Voluntary Organization Active in Disaster will be looking to open a warehouse in the Orlando area to manage and coordinate all disaster donations.

NDR is currently utilizing only trained rapid response teams for deployment at this time. However, registered NDR volunteers were alerted and placed on stand-by for possible deployment in the near future. Districts, local churches, and individuals interested in deploying to this or other disaster events are encouraged to take advantage of NDR training opportunities. For more information contact Nazarene Disaster Response at 252-793-6400.

Persons and churches wishing to make a donation can mark their checks "2007 Florida Tornados ACM1847" and mail them to the General Treasurer, 6401 The Paseo, Kansas City, MO 64131. In Canada, checks should be made payable and sent to the Church of the Nazarene Canada, 20 Regan Road, Unit 9, Brampton, Ontario L7A 1C3.

On-line donations may be made at www.ncm.org/needslist.
--NDR

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French Manual now on-line

Kansas City--According to World Mission Operations Director David Hayse and World Mission Department Director Louie E. Bustle, the French translation of the 2005-2009 Church of the Nazarene Manual is now available on the denomination's web site, nazarene.org.

"This is the first time in the church's history that a non-English version of the Manual has been made available electronically for download and we are proud to make this announcement," said Hayse. "This will be a major contribution to the global French Church, and the French Literature Advisory Committee is to be commended for their work."

The French Manual can be viewed by Clicking Here.

The Nazarene Missions International Constitution was also translated and will be added to the on-line Manual in the coming days.

Any translation of the Manual cannot be initiated until the English version has been released. Once this was done in March of 2006, the French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean language committees immediately went to work, and translations of the 2005-2009 Manual have been completed in French, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Hayse reports the Portuguese Manual was printed in Brazil and electronic versions are being sent to Europe and Africa for printing. The French translation is being printed and distributed in Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, as well as the U.S. and Canada. The Spanish Manual was printed in Argentina and is currently being distributed throughout the Spanish-speaking world. Also, disks containing the English Manual are being sent to Africa for printing and distribution there. Finally, the Korean Manual will be completed in time for their national assembly in March 2007.

According to Hayse, all of this has been done in record time.

He states: "Our goal is to have the Spanish and Portuguese Manuals posted online by General Board in February, and to add Korean by the end of March. Other languages will be added as they become available."

The 2001-2005 Manual was translated into 36 languages. In addition to French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean, the World Mission Department received notification of an additional 27 languages to which translation of the 2005-2009 Manual is in progress. The department anticipates several more as work continues in the various regions.

"Thank God for dedicated literature personnel around the globe who are pouring their lives into spreading the Gospel and building the Church," stated Hayse.
--World Mission Operations

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Oslo welcomes first Nazarene church to Norway

Oslo, Norway--Approximately 70 people met on December 3 in Oslo, Norway to celebrate the official organization of the country's first Church of the Nazarene.

Between 30 and 50 people, 23 of whom were accepted as charter members, now comprise the Portuguese-speaking congregation, which began as 15-20 people meeting in 2002 at the home of Jorge Rocha, a Cape Verdean pastor who works as a groundskeeper at the South African embassy in Oslo.

For years, the church in Greve, Denmark has been the sole congregation in Scandinavia, so it adopted the Oslo group as a church plant in 2003. In 2005, the Oslo body outgrew Rocha's home and began renting the local Salvation Army's facilities on Sunday afternoons.

Rocha, who pastored several home churches during the decade he lived in Brazil, was ordained at the Scandinavia District Assembly in May of 2006 after 15 years as a licensed minister. It marked the district's first ordination in 15 years.

Indicative of the city's large Portuguese and African communities, the Oslo church is populated mostly by Spanish and Portuguese-speaking immigrants, but also has individuals from as far as Nigeria and Bangladesh.

"This is one success story that I think could help [the district] look for another one," said Northern Europe Field Strategy Coordinator Philip McAlister. "We've been looking at that in Denmark for ages. That's what we needed. I'm hoping it's going to be a springboard for them to realize some significant things can be done and that they'd like to plant other churches."
--Simone Finney, Eurasia Region Communications

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NCN News Briefs for February 9, 2007

• Former missionary David Browning passed away Wednesday afternoon, February 7, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. David and his wife, Lucy Elizabeth, were missionaries to British Honduras, Guyana, and the Philippines. David was the son of the late Raymond Browning, prominent evangelist, pastor, and district superintendent in the Nazarene denomination. Services will be held on February 12 at the Rocky Mount Church of the Nazarene. (--NMI Prayer Mobilization Line)

• Allison Durham Speer, a product of Nashville First Church of the Nazarene, performed the U.S. National Anthem prior to the National Basketball Association game between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks on January 20. She also provided half-time entertainment at the game and during the Olivet Nazarene University game at the same venue, Conseco Fieldhouse, that afternoon. (--NCN News submissions)

• The Kenya Central District assembled together on January 27. Under the leadership of District Superintendent Gerphas Oure, pastors announced that six new churches were planted in 2006. (--NCN News-Africa)

• Recent heavy winds and hail destroyed income-producing crops and banana plantations in the Africa Region's Uganda Southwest District. Prayer is requested for those recovering, including Nazarene pastors and their families.
  (--NMI Prayer Mobilization Line)

• See ncnnews.com for new and updated Nazarene news stories and photos throughout the week.

Seattle/Tacoma KWPX (formerly PAX-TV)
Tuesday 2/13: 7:30 A.M.
Tuesday 2/20: 7:30 A.M.
Tuesday 2/27: 7:30 A.M.
--NCN News

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