Northern California District Church of the Nazarene

2006 Report of the District Superintendent       

 

Dr. Warrick and friends and members of this 101^st Assembly, I extend warmest thanks to Jan; all staff; all district boards and committees for the great support in assisting me in this great task of serving Christ through the work of this District Church.  Most particularly, I thank the saints in the local churches (both pastor and people) without which there could not be any report of the District Church.   This is ultimately their report.

 

I thank God that two of our pastors, The Reverends Tim Isbell and Bryce Pelren, faced major illness and are now back at work in their field of labor

 

Most of all, I am humbly grateful for Jesus in calling us to follow Him as we invite many others to join us in this call.  This call to follow Him is our essential vocation.  All other duties and assignments are subordinate to this.

 

Typical Measurements of Fruitful Labor

·        308 baptisms

·         600 new Nazarenes

·        530 gain in SS Attendance

·        Improvement in all Budget payments

·        $700K for Global Missions (w/approved specials)       

 

 

Centennial Faith Projections

 

Dr. Warrick, our people have solemnly committed themselves to make our Centennial Faith Projections a reality in the year 2009.  Here is a progress report that demonstrates our belief that God will help us reach these great aspirations:

           

 

 

           

 

District Centennial Faith Projections

            Actual performance vs. 2009

	Actual 2006	2007	2008	2009
Members	6968			10277
SS Attendance	4852			6688
AM Worship Attendance	5108			7595
New Ministry Initiatives	105			70
New Congregations	4			10

 

 

 

Planting of New Works

 

One of the most encouraging signs of our commitment to fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission is the planting of new congregations.

 

New Congregations in Chronological Order:

            Fremont Spanish

            Sunnyvale Korean

Soledad Spanish

San Francisco Mission District

Berkeley

 

By now, it must be obvious that every report I have made to this body through the years of my service has been a variation around two themes.  Namely, we are called to fulfill Jesus’ Great Commandment and His Great Commission.   Here is a review of how we have expressed these themes as we serve Christ together.     

 

Review of strategic themes

• 2001-Pray for 10 the BLESS Prayer
• 2002-Share the Vision-Multiply
• 2003-A Missional Church Invents New Ways to Love Others
• 2004-1+1=Many,
• Each Christian-a New Christian;
• Each Pastor-a New Pastor;
• Each Congregation-a New Congregation
• 2005-Empowered Ordinary Practices

 

 

For the year 2006-07 I now challenge you to another variation on these themes.

 

 Be Healthy, Make Disciples!

 

 

Let us first talk about Church Health again.  Back in 2002, I challenged you to consider the value of Church Health and I want to review some of the principles that determine Church Health.

 

                        **Principles

                                    ( See Power Point Slides in next file)

1.      Understanding Church Health…

2.      Some Church Growth concepts are so focused on the Fruit…

3.      …that they fail to consider the root

4.      Mark 4: 26

5.      Mark 4: 27

6.      Mark 4: 28

7.      Mark 4: 29

8.      What Jesus taught we can and cannot do

9.      Survey Results: 

10.  The secret: the adjective

11.  The qualitative difference (declining)

12.  The qualitative difference (growing)

13.  A Church Profile

14.  The Minimum Barrel

15.  Church Growth in the Power of the Holy Spirit?

16.  (The Wind of the Spirit)

17.  The Key is Quality…

 

 

I asked each of our churches to conduct a Church Health Survey in order to evaluate our condition and then begin implementing changes to improve our health.  I offer my thanks to those churches that honored my request and ask the rest to fulfill it even though the result will not be included in this report.  With about half of our churches reporting, here is the collective picture of the health of the District Church:

 

Northern California District Profile of Church Health

Empowering leadership

Gift-Oriented Ministry

Passionate Spirituality

Functional Structures

Inspiring Worship Service

Holistic Small Groups

Need-oriented Evangelism

Loving Relationships

Average Score

 

Average District Score	48.76	52.81	55.62	49.38	46.52	56.24	58.67	57.57	53.20
% with this as minimum	14%	14%	0%	24%	43%	10%	0%	5%
Number with Minimum Factor	3	3	0	5	9	2	0	1

 

 

I have plans to assist our churches in implementing needed changes that will improve Church Health.  The first event for this is scheduled

                                      August 5, Kinzler Center (District Office)

(Sponsored by PRST)

CEU Credits available

 

 

Other events will be planned for regional accessibility as the year progresses.

 

 

We cannot control results, but we can control attitude which creates environment.

 

Let us improve each of the Eight Quality Characteristics toward a Healthy Church.

 

The other focus in this challenge to you points to:

 

Discipleship Making

           

 

The Board of General Superintendents has rightly placed this matter as one of great importance for us.

 

Jesus said, “I will build my church…,”

 And to us he commands, “make disciples!”

 

Let us keep the priority in line with Jesus.  Too often, we try to build the church and neglect making disciples.

 

Expect to learn of resources the District Church offers in assisting each of you in this grand endeavor.

 

 Let us then rise to this challenge:

 

Be Healthy, Make Disciples!

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

John Calhoun