CONTENTS:
San Bruno Celebrates 60th
Anniversary
Evidence of God at Work:
Gaddy Mailyn Barbero-Reyes’s
Testimony
The Nazarene Messenger: July 5,
1906
"Jan and I thank you for the generous love
expressed in your kind gift to us this Christmas. It is a great privilege for
us to serve Christ with you in this mission field. May each of you revisit the
Babe in the Manger and find God has given us a great hope that will not
disappoint us."
John Calhoun, Norcal District
San Bruno Celebrates 60th Anniversary
by Rev. Steve Brown,
San Bruno
On November 2nd, the San
Bruno Church of the Nazarene celebrated its 60th anniversary of ministry in the
San Bruno area. The day began with a lovely morning concert by Lowell and
Deanne Bassett. Lowell was music minister at the San Bruno Church in the
mid-50's just before the present facility was built.
The celebrations
continued with an afternoon service. Special music included long-time members,
the Perdomo family and Lowell and Deanne Bassett. Former Pastors John Wilcox,
Selden Nutt and Howard Mosely relayed greetings. Dorothy LeBaugh, NMI President
for 13 years, was remembered with a plaque presented to her son Steve and
through many memorial gifts which included a MIDI keyboard, drum set and a new
pair of glass entranceway doors. Sunday School teacher and Superintendent Ella
Harris was honored for 40+ years of teaching children.
The service closed with
an inspiring message from District Superintendent Rev. John Calhoun who spoke
on the importance of vision. Following the service, there was a reception
downstairs and a Heritage Table set up with memorabilia from the past 60 years.
Included on the table were bulletins from important services throughout the years,
old picture albums and the original minutes from the first 15 years of Board
meetings.
The day was a reminder of
the debt of gratitude that the present church owes to those who labored
faithfully and sacrificed much to provide us with the facilities and the
experiences that help make us who we are today. It was also a day of looking
forward with great anticipation to all that God wants for us in the future of
our ministry in the San Bruno area. We are confident that He who began a good
work in us will continue to bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
(Phil 1:6)
The Calhouns with Pastors
Steve and Annette Brown, San Bruno
by Gaddy Mailyn
Barbero-Reyes
Student, Nazarene
Theological Seminary
Oakland Bayview Church
When I hear these lyrics,
"How can I live without your gentle soothing voice/Where can I go to know
the fruits of love and joy/Lead me to the Father," I cannot imagine now my
life without that sweet and gentle voice in my daily life. But for many years
that was not the case.
I grew up in a Christian
family. My parents were called to the ministry during their young adult life.
By the time my twin sister and I were born they had established their ministry
in South Central, Los Angeles.
As a Pastor's kid, my
life was complicated and at times really difficult, not only did I have to be
an example for my twin sister but for everyone else at Church. My parents
expected so much of me that by the age of 9 years old I was preaching and teaching
Sunday School. At the age of 10 a new member arrived in the family, my youngest
sister. I now had to be an example to one more person as well as a mom. By the
time I was 12 years old I was wondering who this God was. I could not
understand why He had placed me in a pastoral family and that had me angry and
frustrated.
I started feeling
abandoned and unloved. If God was so loving, why did He let people, so-called
Christians, harm my family and me? If God was so rich why did we suffer hunger
and many difficult times? Why was the question I kept asking God over and over
again. I started building walls on top of walls. It was the only way I could
survive in that environment. I simply was not going to allow anyone to harm me,
not even God.
My High School years came
and my heart was getting harder. But God had a plan for me. He gave me the
opportunity to attend the University of California at Berkeley on a full
scholarship. I suddenly found myself lost and abandoned once more. It was
devastating. But I remembered what my mom had told me before I left home,
"Your only true friend will be found in Jesus Christ" and so I found
myself at a cross-road turning to God wondering if He would rescue me.
That same week I met a
young lady who invited me to Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. I decided to
check it out-why not? I needed a friend. To my amazement the people were
worshipping a loving and caring God. People were living in a community, loving
one another like Christ loves us. Now that only question was where had He been
all my life? I began to learn that I had formulated a god in my mind. One that
did not love, who did not care and would not even forgive me. One who expected
me to become someone that I hated.
God started to bring
people into my life, people who would impact my views about who He really was.
I remember resisting that entire first year. Yet, God in His goodness knew that
too many people in my life at once would overwhelm me. He gave me one person
that I would eventually trust. That was my prayer partner, now my husband. Even
though he was looking for God as well, God gave him wisdom to show me what He
was really about-that He was as REAL as my prayer partner.
For the first time in my
life, I had a relationship with him, God. I could not understand why my prayer
partner and the rest of Church were so caring towards me since back home people
were only nice to me when they wanted something or they wanted to harm us. I
see now that the position that I was in made it difficult for me to see God's
love, mercy and His forgiveness.
I started learning the
meaning of these lyrics, "For in your house I find your embrace/You set in
my head a garland of grace/When I raise my hands you fill me with more/Oh how I
love to live in the house of the Lord." God poured His love and grace on
areas that I was struggling with. He began to fill me up with His love; I
started to feel Him embrace me with His grace in my life. God began to be REAL
to me. Then one day I started to see a break-through in all areas of my life. The
feeling of abandonment started disappearing from my life. I began to feel the
person God intended for me to be for the first time in my life. At times I
simply did not know what to do. And that scared me, so I kept going back to my
true friend and asking Him for help. Sure enough, He would come and rescue me.
He also made sure I had Christian friends around me for support. I began to
learn what living in a community in Christ meant. People who are committed to
love God with all their hearts and love others like Christ loves us.
God was so REAL in my
life that I just could not keep it to myself. We started a Chicano/Latino
ministry in school mainly for all the freshmen and sophomore students. To my
amazement many students were at the same point that I was that first day of
school. God was using me to help others in their walk. I also got involved in
worship. Worship is so important to me that it has become a style of life. It
is a place where God meets you and you meet Him. It is an opportunity to let Him
know how good He has been to you, or just a time to come as you are, so that He
can meet you in your time of need.
Humbertoo and Gaddy Reyes
We attend Oakland Bayview
Church of the Nazarene in California. I am active with the women's
ministry-impacting one woman at a time; prayer ministry-praying for each other
as a body; and worship ministry. During the last year God gave us the privilege
to lead His church as we searched for new pastors and in the process he changed
our lives once more.
In my walk with the Lord,
God has given me people who have forever impacted my life and made a difference
in me. But most of all they made me see God's love for me. That is the type of
impact God wants me to bring to a community, neighborhood, friends and family
members. And by furthering my education in Urban Ministries it will give me the
tools and foundation that I will need to be God's instrument.
I have been the onion
that God has been peeling for the past 10 years. Layer by layer He has been
molding me with His love. He has brought my heart to a point of less resistance
for Him to work in me that He can then work through me. Today, God has a
journey for us, in Kansas City.
Evidence of God
at Work
by Jason Potnick,
Livermore Discovery Church
Before this Spring, I had
never set foot into a Sunday church service. Growing up, I was taught there was
a God, but my family never practiced any religion and we never went to Church.
I never understood what or who God was, and for many years doubted His existence.
I have lived a good life, and my ignorance of the Lord made me believe I did
not need Him. I believed that I was capable of doing anything on my own and
that I could control my life.
I cannot tell you that
life was bad from this standpoint. I did well in school and got a decent job. I
kept my family proud and was relatively happy. Still, I came to realize that
there was something missing in my life, a hole I could not figure out how to
fill. Of course, without me knowing it, God was moving in my life. He gave me
my loving wife Leesa, who patiently helped me walk this path. He brought into
my life Christian friends that have shown me what it is to follow and love
Christ. Finally, He helped Leesa and I find a church that has fit our needs and
helped lead me to Him.
After being here at
Discovery Church a couple months and attempting to tackle religion analytically
and failing (always the engineer, I figured reading and reason would get me
there), God was able to use Pastor Dave to finally get through. I'm a
procrastinator by nature, so when Pastor Dave challenged me to accept Jesus as
my personal savior while eating dinner in front of Quiznos in June, believe me
I was hesitant. Still, I was convinced to take my first step of faith, and that
night in front of Quiznos, I prayed and invited Jesus into my heart. The
parable of the mustard seed continues to be my favorite parable, as I have felt
my faith in Jesus grow larger each day since.
Since becoming a
Christian, I have changed in quite a few ways. I think most of the little
changes have revolved around the fact that I am now a much more optimistic
person. Sure, there are times that really suck now and again, but my faith in
God has been a wonderful guardian from the pain life can put on us. I think that
this optimism has expanded into other areas of my life, and I have had many
friends and family members take notice that I am a lot less cynical and just
"nicer."
Along with this new found
optimism, I have great desire to live my life for the Lord. After taking the
Discovery series of classes, I am now working on what my ministry should be,
and how to fulfill my mission in life. There are things I do now for God like
tithing, fasting, praying that six months ago I would never consider doing. My
desire to please God has pushed me to change my ways so that I might better
live my life for Him.
As I began thinking about
how I would write my testimony for today, I was reminded of many of the stories
and testimonies I've heard over the past few months. On many occasions I've
listened to a testimony and thought, "wow, that's me" or "I was
just like that too." While trying to figure out what to say today, I kept
coming back to fellowship and its role in my Christianity. There have been
times already as a Christian when I have wondered if God is listening, or if I
am making the right decisions for Him. Time and time again, I have been
reassured by the words and acts of fellow Christians. I have even been able to
reassure and help other Christians and non-Christians alike in their times of
need. It amazes me how God works through each and every one of us every day.
by Brian Zimmerman, Livermore Discovery Church
When I was young - well younger, I am not that old, I
did what I wanted to do. I was in control of everything in my life. During
college I swam competitively. I swam a lot more than I really went to school,
but that was what I wanted to do. Everything was about winning and performing
well. Schoolwork, friends, even family were put aside many times in order to
practice just to get better. This same attitude carried over into my career
after college. Having a successful product was the most important thing in my
life. I worked unbelievable hours to achieve this. Again, other parts of life
were left behind whether it was my health, my friends, or my family. Work was
everything.
God was always in the back of my mind. I attended a
Methodist church when I was young, but never really learned anything or came to
know Christ. God was always hinting at me that maybe there was more to life
than what I wanted to do. God brought my wife into my life. I certainly never
would have met anyone with the work schedule I had. This turned out be a lot
more than a hint from God.
My wife wanted to find a church to attend. I decided
it was ok for me to go with her, but I think someone else really decided I
should go with her. We tried a church that was recommended by a friend. God was
starting to take control already. The service that day really opened my eyes to
a better life. It was a difficult service for me. It was in Korean, and I do
not speak Korean. In fact, I only know two words in Korean. One is bathroom,
which was not really used. The other is "abaji". Amazingly, this word
was used throughout the service. It is hard to imagine so much can come from a
service where you only know one word. "Abaji" means father in Korean.
To hear father, father, father, over and over and to see how the Father was worshipped
that day certainly made me rethink my life.
Even while just starting to know Christ I could see
how empty my life was when I was in control. All that swimming has only left me
with nerve damage in my arm and bone damage in my shoulder. All that work which
should have provided me some money was all lost in the stock market because I
was too busy working to track the market before it was too late. Nothing in my
life while I was in control has lasted.
God found us a new church where I could grow to know
Christ. How God brought us to this church will have to wait until another
story. I accepted Christ one morning in service. I do not know why it was that
day. Maybe it was an extra firm handshake as I was greeted at the door, or
maybe I had a blueberry muffin someone had set out for me, or maybe my chair
was set out just right, or maybe something was said during the message, or
maybe something from the worship team, or maybe it was just someone passing who
said hello.
My life was changed.
No longer do I live for the temporary. No longer do I
have control over my life. God has complete control over my life. My priorities
are now for the eternal. I can always get another job. My children will move
out. My wife will be with me after they leave. And finally, God will be there
forever.
Now, hopefully I can return the favor like some many
of those people did that day and with God's direction change someone else's
life.
Evidence of God
at Work
by Rev. Steve Redmond,
Castro Valley
We have had a great
month!
Four people found
salvation for the very first time; one an 88 year old woman. One woman
wondered into our church on a
Wednesday night after not being in church for many years, she says, "If I
hadn't come to church that night, I would be dead." That night she
recommitted her life to the Lord and had an absolute miraculous life change. A
few weeks later another lady walked in on Wednesday night with nearly the same
story. She recommitted her life to the Lord. 6 People were baptized and we
received 19 new Nazarenes into membership. On Veteran's Sunday we had 22
veterans join us in a very moving service. Our special guest speaker, Dr. John
Calhoun did a great job. Last Sunday was international Sunday when all of our
ministries came together. The church was nearly full with more than 160 in
attendence.
Evidence of God
at Work
by Rev. Jim Cooper,
San Jose First Church
We just completed our
"40 Days of Purpose" emphasis. Our goal was to establish small groups
as a part of the fabric of the church, launch the first phase of our evangelism
action plan, and announce the coming "ministry fair" to connect
people with places of faith expression and service.
We are thrilled at the
results! Our goals were too low!
We established 18 small
groups with 218 involved in groups. However, the deepening of spiritual life
and the focus of the church body on intentional Christ-like action were the big
take-aways.
Here is a story of
transformation that comes from the "40 Days". We shared it along with
many other stories on "Celebration Sunday"...
A student named Allysa
was participating in the "40 Days of Purpose." She asked one of her
friends at school who was not a believer to do the study whith her. After
reading and talking through the discussion questions for three weeks, Allysa's
friend, Samantha, decided she wanted to experience what they were studying. She
wanted Jesus. So in the living room of Allysa's home Samantha asked Jesus into
her heart. She joined the student group and now both students and the new
believer's mother are involved in a weekly Bible study.
by Dawn Stueckle, Executive Director, Sunset Youth
Services
Some say miracles can't happen. I say a miracle has
happened at 44th Avenue and Judah Street this year. Twelve years ago Ron and I
moved to San Francisco with very little understanding of what waited for us.
Many people told us were crazy to move to this feared and often hated city.
Someone even said if he were a bird he wouldn't fly over San Francisco! But we
loaded up our little U-Haul truck and drove up the 5 and across the Bay Bridge
to our new home.
God had a plan for us that far surpassed our greatest
dreams.
In the years to follow God faithfully led us through
doors that only He could open. As I look back now I realize that only God could
have brought us here and sustained us through these years.
On Saturday, November 8, 2003 Sunset Youth Services
celebrated over a decade of serving youth and families at our Open House. The
celebration was a great time of eating and reminiscing while youth performed.
We honored Supervisor Fiona Ma, Artina Lim from the Mayor's Office, Bill
Shameiah (new landlord), and Britt Benton a youth volunteer. The honorees were
chosen based on their support and contributions to the youth and families of
the Sunset through Sunset Youth Services. The event was attended by 200+
friends of Sunset Youth Services and was a wonderful day of celebration.
A big thank-you to the Nor-Cal District for the
support you have given Ron and I through our years of ministering here in the
city. We know we are not alone! If you come to the city give us call and come
by and see what God has done on our little corner.
Solo Domino Gloria (All for the Glory of God),
The Nazarene Messenger: July 5, 1906
As the NorCal District
prepares for our Centennial Celebration, we want to take a look back at how we
got where we are today. Here is an article that appeared in the July 6, 1906 issue
of The Nazarene Messenger. You can also download 3 pages (pdf version) with
photos and an editorial about visiting San Francisco only a month after the 1906
earthquake by visiting http://www.norcal.org/.
San Francisco District (page
8)
The San Francisco
District comprises geographically all of the State of California north of Santa
Barbara. But up to this time the church is confined to the cities around the Bay
of San Francisco. At present there are only four preaching places, namely:
Alameda, Berkeley, Oakland and San Francisco; Bakersfield having been
abandoned. Our influence, however, reaches much further than this little circle
of preaching places. Calls have come to us for the Nazarene work in other
cities, and as the Lord opens the way we shall go in and possess the land. We
are persuaded that there are many places where holiness should and can be
planted if we had the men to go into these needy fields.
We held our first
District Assembly March 6th and 7th, at which time Dr.
Bresee was with us. This was a most interesting and profitable meeting. We saw
more real salvation in those two days than we have previously seen in an Annual
Conference of a week’s duration with 300 preachers present.
The San Francisco
District is on the forward march. All the churches report at least a few souls
saved and sanctified. Our preachers believe in, preach and experience the
blessing of entire sanctification as a second work of grace, subsequent to
regeneration; and that this work of grace eradicates sin from the heart through
the blood of baptism with the Holy Ghost.
Our people have no
difficulty in believing the Bible, even the story of Jonah and the whale. Amen.
Holiness Today Campaign
Did you know that each
district is assigned a month to hold its campaign for Holiness Today
subscriptions? It’s true! For the NorCal District, our subscription campaign
month is February.
Each Church is also given
a subscription goal of 20% of its AM worship as reported in the previous year’s
District minutes. There is probably already someone in your Church who has
agreed to help with the campaign. If not, ask your Pastor. Don’t let your
subscription expire!
While you’re getting
ready to renew your subscription, why not get an extra subscription for someone
for Christmas? You don’t have to wait until February and our District will
still get the credit toward our goal. A year’s worth of reading about God’s
work today makes a great gift!
For more information,
visit www.holinesstoday.com.
