Vol.056.April.2009

Dr. John H. Calhoun, District Superintendent, E-mail: jcalhoun@norcal.org

Northern California District Church of the Nazarene

1866 Clayton Rd., Ste. 200, Concord, CA 94520,

Editor: Kay Clark, E-mail: kay@norcal.org, 925-680-0538 (District office)

Web page: http://www.norcal.org

Contents

Page 1 Dr. John Calhoun, Prayer Preparation for Assembly

Pages 2-5 104^th District Assembly, NMI and NYI Convention Schedules, Updates on Churches and Pastors

Pages 6-8 Sunday School /Discipleship Ministries International, Summer Camps

Pages 8-9 Nazarene Youth International (NYI)

Page 10 Nazarene Missions

Dr. John H. Calhoun, D.S.

Prayer Preparation for Assembly

Join the District Prayer Force and pray for all the events of the gathering of the District Church in Santa Rosa (see below for schedule.)

Find some way to remind yourself to pray for all the meetings and speakers. Believe with me that the Holy Spirit wants to renew and refresh us in our mission.

I use a prayer token in my pocket to remind me of my prayer work. Find your own way to remember to pray and let us expect to see a "shower of blessings."

JHC

104^th Northern California District Assembly/Conventions

Hosted by the Santa Rosa Church of the Nazarene

Rev. Rick Bassett & Staff with a Wonderful Congregation of Helpers

S C H E D U L E OF E V E N T S

Wed., May 6 at 7:30 p.m. “Celebration of Prayer” Service

Thurs., May 7 at 8:30 a.m. Nazarene Missions International Convention, with Rev. John Wilcox and Guest Speaker Rev. Howie Shute, from Africa

May 7 at 1:30 p.m. Opening Session of District Assembly, Dr. Jerry Porter, General Superintendent presiding

May 7 at 7:30 p.m. Ordination Service, Following service a

Reception for Ordinands and Retirees

Friday, May 8 at 8:30 a.m. -noon District Assembly continues

1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Assembly continues after lunch

4:00 – 5:30 p.m. Entertainment by the Blackwood Gospel Quartet

BBQ after entertainment

6:00 p.m. NYI Convention

Sat., May 9 at 9:00 a.m. NYI Business & and Service Project

Dr. Steve Redmond, Interim Chairman, and Sunday School Ministries have provided the entertainment with the Blackwood Gospel Quartet and the delicious BBQ dinner that will be served after the entertainment. Don’t miss it!

You’ll want to stay for the NYI Convention that follows the dinner.

Hayward First Church - Great News…Food for the stomach, food for the soul…Our food program has stepped up and has expanded… Not only are we giving out about 125 lunches after service on Sunday, we are collecting food and giving it away Tuesday through Friday, every week. We are giving food to families in our neighborhood; such items as: sweet potatoes, celery, bread, tomatoes, lettuce, squash, papayas, pastries, garlic, onions, carrots, steaks, salmon, lunchmeat, and many other items too many to name.

Along with the items we have given a way, we have been able to stock up our Food Pantry. We are giving away food boxes to new people who come and attend our whole Sunday worship service. Over the last two Sunday’s we have had 3 new families attend. That’s three new families to our church. One family is already getting involved with the food program and joined us with our worship team on stage on Sunday. Our initial goal is to acquire enough food that we can serve 30 families per Sunday. We are on our way. I believe we could serve 5 to 8 families right now with the food we have. That would be 5 to 8 new families attending our church and getting involved. We, also, have a chance to deliver the Good News of Jesus to their souls. Isn’t that what we should be doing anyway?

We are giving them “food for their Soul then food for their stomach”!

Pastor Karl Mason

Hayward First Church

Clearlake Park Church – David & Lori Kincaid

Hello friends,

Many of you know that Lori and I went to a conference and training seminar in January. This conference in Alexandria LA has had some very lasting effects on the shape of Lake Church. With all the local churches doing more or less traditional church models, we are prepared to do something different. We have been looking at the “Organic” church concept.

The “Organic” church concept is one where church is conducted however it works to reach people. This may not look like your grandmothers church. It may not look like the “Contemporary” church down the road either. In fact it may not look like any church you have ever seen. The same principles apply; worship, teaching, preaching, all the things that bring us closer to God. The way that this is done is all that changes, not the reasons we do them.

To give an example of how Lake Church will operate we plan on having a breakfast. During this time there will be some fellowship and prayer. A short lesson or a message will be presented during the meal, and if someone wants to lead us in song we will all sing. The difference will be that this will take place at a local restaurant, early on a weekend day. It will not include the entire congregation. The rest of the church may be with another part of the congregation that is hiking to the hill top for lunch. Wherever the congregation members are to meet, and no matter what they are doing, they will all be together so they can to grow closer to God.

There is a second part to Lake Church. Several times during the year all the congregation members will join together in events. This will be a time of great celebration. All the people coming together and give testimony to what God is doing in their lives. It will be an open event to the city as well. We will advertise to draw the people that would not normally be in church. This may look like a concert giving glory to God through song. As this is happening the children will be playing in the Jumpies, the barbeque will be cooking up some hamburgers and hot dogs. All this will be a celebration of God’s love for humanity. The events will be safe places for the lost to see that Christians can and do have a good time together. It will be a time when they can find others like themselves and find a place to fit in with a smaller congregation group.

As you may imagine it takes time to set this up, and we are working toward that time. September is still the expected launch date. We are well on our way and we have some celebrations to share with you. We also have some prayer requests. To make this happen we would love to have your prayers.

Here are some of the wonderful things that are happening at Lake Church:

1) We have had a family commit to helping us make Lake Church work.

2) More and more people are joining with us, and you, in praying for protection of His workers.

3) If God wills, we may see our first conversions in the next few weeks. Yes, some of the people we have been praying for are that close! Praise God!

4) Lori and I have been learning how best to do the work of God through the conference we went to in Alexandria LA.

5) We have contracted with a professional coach to help us launch Lake Church.

We have some prayer requests and our priorities are:

1) Protection, health and guidance for us and all of our co-workers in this ministry, including our prayer partners.

2) That the people that we are reaching out to hear God and respond to His call. Lake Church is on God’s mission; it isn’t about building a church, it’s about building the Kingdom of God.

3) The summer programs for children and adults.

4) A smooth transition for us as we shift from our “old” church to Lake Church.

5) That Lori and I will continue to learn how best to do this work of God’s.

We are well on the way. Lake Church is where it should be. It is on time and doing the things necessary to begin. Isn’t it exciting? What a privilege it would be to see what Peter saw. This is the message that Lake Church is taking to the people of Lake county.

“Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is targeted to you and your children, but also to all who are far away—whomever, in fact, our Master God invites.”

     He went on in this vein for a long time, urging them over and over, “Get out while you can; get out of this sick and stupid culture!”

     That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.

^[1]

New Nazarene Baby…Ella Danae Olson

This precious bundle is Ella, born to Jenna Olson the middle of February.

Pastor Mark and Lorrie Olson, (Antioch Family Church) have become doting grandparents and enjoying Ella to the fullest!

Willow Creek Church – Rev. Michael Bell

è Pastor Mike & Linda Bell Celebrated their 22^nd wedding anniversary.

è Our youth group moved to the local youth organization called Dream Quest to reach out to the youth in our city that would not otherwise come to a church.

è On March 22 we had Jews-For-Jesus here to perform the "Christ in the Passover" which was open to the city and 52 people came for this evening service, in which our small community gave a love offering of $775.

Northern California District Church of the Nazarene

Sunday School / Discipleship Ministries International

District SDMI Website

We have developed a resource site for every local church. This site will have announcements, discipleship resources, children’s ministry resources, General Church resources, Summer Camp information and a Sunday School Reporting portal. Please check here often for the latest resources. Visit the district site and then follow the Sunday School links or go directly to the site at: http://sites.google.com/a/norcal.org/sundayschool/Home

In the near future, you will be able to obtain some of the following from this site: Children’s Ministry Resources, Youth Ministry Resources, Discipleship Ministry Resources, General Assembly Information and Resources.

Link to the latest news and events.

Sunday School Reporting

You will now be reporting your Sunday School and Worship attendance on the district web site. Visit www.norcal.org and then click on the Sunday School link to the left. There will be announcements on the main page, but simply scroll down to the last box on the page and select the link…CLICK HERE TO ENTER SUNDAY SCHOOL AND WORSHP ATTENDANCE.

Enter in the information required, AND please take the time to share with us some exciting things that are happening in your ministry, AND nominate a teacher or worker for special recognition at the SDMI Convention on May 8^th. Every church is strongly encouraged to report. My office will be calling you to collect the information if you do not use this site for reporting.

SDMI Celebration

The Norcal District SDMI Council is sponsoring the Celebration on the Lawn with the Blackwood Gospel Quartet (Formerly Blackwood Brothers) in Concert. This quartet is famous for their southern gospel style with songs like Have a Little Talk with Jesus, Jesus is Coming Soon, and many of your favorite gospel quartet classics.

The original Blackwood Brothers Quartet was formed in 1934 in the hills of Mississippi, with Roy, Doyle, James, and Roy’s oldest son, R. W. Blackwood. Their dedication and effort to spread the Gospel in song has left a great heritage and blessed the lives of many people. Since that early formation, the group has won countless awards, sung thousands of concerts, and appeared on many television shows.

The dedication of Roy, Doyle, James, and R. W. Blackwood continues today through the hearts and lives of the Blackwood Gospel Quartet. They still sing the traditional close harmony quartet style music the Blackwood’s are famous for.

The singers are: Mark Blackwood, Daniel Blackwood Childs, David Mann, Brad Smith.

We will be giving special awards to Sunday School teachers and workers you nominate, door prizes, special drama presentations, and a Barbecue Dinner. This event will take place just following the dismissal of the afternoon session on May 8^th.

We’ve already been announcing this in our local church and will be renting vans to rendezvous in Santa Rosa with the rest of the Norcal family for this event. This is not just for delegates.

Summer Camps

Our Summer Camping program is, without a doubt, a crucial part of our children and youth evangelism goals and should be a very high priority for every church. We should be finding children in our neighborhoods that would like to go and do everything we can to raise the money to see that they attend. No child should stay home if they cannot afford it. It’s just too important.

I would like to ask every church to adopt a goal to send children and teenagers to camp. Ask your board to adopt a vision and put steps in place to get them there.

Here are the Summer Camping opportunities for 2009. Calendar them today and begin promoting them tomorrow. Car Washes, Bake Sales, Yard Sales, Worker Auctions or Student Adoptions all can help you reach your goal.

Children's Camp

· Kids Overnighter Camp

May 22^nd – 24^th at the Mission Springs in Scotts Valley, California. Cost is $125 before May 1^st, after that is is $140. For more information please contact Carol Kibler at 650-424-0425 or by e-mail: cjkib@sbcglobal.net.

· Blue Slide Camp (Eureka) - July 13-17, $110 - Grades 3 through 5 (Call Eureka First for Registration Information, 707 442-1703)

· Norcal Camp - July 27 - 31 Diamond Arrow Camp - (Registration information will be available on this Web page)

o 2nd Graders, Explorer Camp, July 27 -29

o 3rd - 5th Graders, Discovery Camp, July 27-31,

Middle School / Junior High Camp

· Norcal Camp - Rock N Water, June 17 - 19 (Registration information will be available on this Web page) - April 1^st

Blue Slide Teen Camp

· Blue Slide - July 6 - 10,  $110 Grades 5 through 9 (Call Eureka First for Registration Information, 707 442-1703)

High School Camp

· Norcal Camp - District Mexico Missions Trip, July 15 - 27 (Registration information will be available on this Web page and from NYI

by April 1^st.

District Family Camp

· Blue Slide - July 2-5,  $110 (Call Eureka First for Registration Information, 707 442-1703)

· District Family Camp - August 3 - 9, 2009 (Registration information will be available on this Web page) - April 1^st.

Speakers:

· Dr. Dan Copp, Director of Clergy Development, Church of the Nazarene/Kansas City, MO.

· Dr Vicki Copp, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology, Director of Supervised Ministries, Nazarene Theological Seminary/Kansas City, MO.

Worship and Activities for all ages.

Ending the Year Strong - I want to encourage you to finish your financial year strong. Please ask your treasure to make sure Sunday School, NMI and NYI are a part of your year end financial plans.

Steve Redmond

Interim Norcal SDMI Chair

Office: (510) 581-8377

Cell: (510) 331-9019

Elevate

Date: May 22-25

Location: Point Loma Nazarene University

Cost of Registration: $100.00

Information for Elevate is always received through the region. I hope that they will be sending that information to all of us soon. What I know so far are only the dates and location. If you have a complete sports team from your local church that would like to compete please let me know and we can talk about the team registration. If you have students from your church that would like to join a team let me know also so that w can connect them to the right teams. If you would like to coach a team let me know too so that we can let the district know that we are trying to put such a team together. Please contact me ASAP if you have any interest in any of these things.

Sr. High Camp - THERE IS NO HOUSEBOAT CAMP THIS YEAR!!!

Sr. High Camp/Mission Trip

Date: July 15-27

Location: Los Cabos (Southern Baja), Mexico

Cost $400-$450 (I am currently partnering with different groups to help subsidize this cost. In the information site it says that the price is $550, but I am hoping that we will be able to cut down the cost to $400-$450 per participant. I know that this seems a bit higher that what summer camp has looked like but do remember that we the trip is longer and further. If you know of groups that are able to help subsidize this cost please let me know and may be we can work with them, it would be tax deductible.)

Contact People: Curtis Lillie, Josh Johnson, Donabel Martin

We are partnering with PLNU’s Youth Works department. There is more information on http://www.pointloma.edu/youthworks, please check out the site and apply today. If you have any questions do not hesitate to call me, Josh or Curtis. Also Melissa Tucker is the contact person from Point Loma and she would love to hear from you and answer any questions you might have. One more thing… there have been questions floating around about safety in Mexico. I want to assure you that it is safe… where we are going is safe. Much of the uncertainty is happening in Tijana. We will drive right through TJ and work at the south end of Baja. NorCal and PLNU would be the first to pull out if we conditions are not safe for our students.

In the works: Sr. High Weekend

We are working to see if it is feasible to do a Sr. High Weekend. The purpose of this weekend would be to work with our students that were not able to make the Mexico ministry/mission trip. We know that there are several reasons that people might not be able to make the trip down to Mexico and we want to make sure that all our students have that special way of connecting with each other, with leaders and most of all with God this summer. More information will be coming soon.

I hope that this answers some of your questions and please do not hesitate to call or e-mail us with any question. Thank you so much with your partnership in ministry.

Donabel Martin, Dist.

NYI President

(donabelcmartin@gmail.com – note there is a new e-mail address for Donabel.

“The World: We’re in it to Win it”

This is the theme for your District Missionary Convention May 7^th! We will be thrilled to have Howie Shute, missionary to the Horn of Africa as our speaker. This is a morning full of enthusiasm and surprises as we have the opportunity to see and hear what the Lord is doing around the world.

Bring Your Tylenol to Convention

This year once more our District is collecting Tylenol/Acetaminophen for our Nazarene Hospital in Kudjup, New Guinea. Our goal as a District is to collect adequate Tylenol to supply the hospital with enough pain medication to last a year! If each church will also give $20.00, this will help cover the postage to send the Tylenol to this beautiful Pacific island.

Easter Is Coming!

Easter is April 12^th, do not forget your Easter Offering for World Missions. Jesus the Hope, a tremendous opportunity to give so the message can be shared with non-believers in 154 areas around the world. Our Easter Offering for World Evangelism supports the work of missions in the Church of the Nazarene. Make sure you take the opportunity to express your gratitude to the Lord not only in our praise and worship, but also in our monetary giving for missions.

Crisis Care Kits

There is an urgent request for more Crisis Care Kits. With all of the recent disasters the warehouses are nearly empty with less than 300 kits remaining. If your church could do something to help replenish the stock, it will help ensure that there will be a kit for someone in a disaster somewhere in the world sometime soon. Your gift of CCK’s will be matched up to ten times through a matching grant. That is, your one Crisis Care Kit can be multiplied into ten!

Send your kits to: Nazarene Relief Shipments, Hands of Hope, 1201 South Powerline Road, Nampa, ID. 83686

Please follow up with a check to the General Treasurer for $12.00 per banana box to help get the crisis care kits to the destination of the disaster.

Million Hours of Prayer

Have you prayed your two minutes a day to create a million hours of prayer? Continue to pray for our General Assembly and Conventions in June. Here are some suggestions to help you pray specifically:

• That all print items for the General NMI convention will be produced in a timely manner and that the information will be clear to those in attendance.
• For the Spirit’s anointing on the Board of General Superintendents and all of the speakers, worship leaders and musicians who will lead the evening and Sunday morning worship services.
• That our delegates from other nations will receive their visas and travel documentation in time for General Assembly.

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^[1]Peterson, Eugene H.: The Message : New Testament With Psalms and Proverbs. Colorado Springs, Colo. : NavPress, 1995, S. Ac 2:1