|
|
Building Community on the Journey of Grace
During my time at Nazarene Theological Seminary (1998-2001), I attended a leadership and personal growth event in the Kansas City area. As a young man and new minister, this three-weekend experience had a great impact on my life. I remember one person challenging me to "create what you need in life." Those words have stuck with me throughout the years and have helped me in times of crisis.
When the COVID-19 pandemic came on the world scene in March 2020 and society began to shut down, many people began to lose connections with one another. Some people dropped out of loving and caring discipleship groups immediately due to fear of contracting the virus. Others lost discipleship connections over time as they simply got out of the habit of meeting together. Recently, I spoke with a longtime friend who said, "Our small group has completely stopped meeting. I feel very disconnected from my church." It is a sad, and potentially dangerous, thing when believers feel isolated and alone.
By September 2020, my wife and I decided to start a small group in our home. Why? Because we needed it! With all of the upheaval of COVID-19, racial tensions, and the election cycle, we didn't want to be isolated from fellow believers who would lift us up before the Lord and to whom we could pour our lives. Bringing a group of less than 10 people together became a life-giving experience to us. We created what we needed. I have seen others do the same thing, even without gathering in person, by relentlessly continuing to gather online, never missing a session. Why? Because they need it.
| |
The Journey of Grace is best traveled with others. We are disciples, and we make disciples in community. We need each other. As we continue to move toward a post-COVID world, consider the need to build community. Prayerfully create what you need! So what connections do you need to make to position yourself to grow in your relationship with Jesus?
Relationships are always at the heart of discipleship. Whether we are joining a pre-Christian in his or her journey toward the cross, establishing a new believer in the faith, or helping mature believers give their all to Christ, we always make disciples along the Journey of Grace in community!
Later this week, the Board of General Superintendents will launch the new framework for Nazarene Discipleship at the General Board meetings. Resources will be released at the same time to help every local church around the world engage in this vital ministry of disciple-making. In this new paradigm for discipleship, one thing remains the same… the need for relationships. Let's be intentional to build community with one another, never giving up meeting together "as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:25).
| |
|
Scott Rainey,
SDMI Global Director
| |
|
|  | Launching a Digital Church
There are many new concepts to embrace in digital communications and setting up an identity where the physical church and online church are separate but connected. Read more | |  | Looking at the Celebration of Easter around the World
As we prepare to celebrate Easter this year, let's think about some of our fellow Nazarenes in our six world regions. Read more | |  | The Ministry of My Grandmother's Hands
I recall looking at my grandmother's aged hands and thinking about all the tasks those hands had performed over the many decades of her long life. Read more | |
| | |
| | Nazarene Educators Worldwide Expand Ministry Opportunities
Due to the COVID-19 virus, educators are struggling to find the best methods to educate their students. Schedules have changed, methods have changed, and many children, parents, teachers, and administrators are frustrated. The Nazarene Educators Worldwide (NEW) Council is praying for you and hoping you found creative ways to educate students in the setting God has placed you. Read more
| | |
| | A Kids Reaching Kids Offering Update
Bangladesh Nazarene Mission (BNM) initiated the Rohingya Children Project in 2019 to make a friendly space for the children of the world’s largest refugee camp in Ukhia, Cox's Bazar. Among various vulnerable groups who live in the camp, BNM focused on the children in order to spread the love of God. Read more
| | |
| | SDMI's Global Resourcing on the Wesleyan-Holiness Digital Library (WHDL) is Growing!
WHDL was initiated by the global Church of the Nazarene in response to the worldwide need for access to resources for ministerial preparation, education, spiritual development, and lifelong learning. We hope WHDL can help you meet your digital discipleship resourcing needs.
Learn more
| | |
| | 2021 Children’s World Quiz Update
In quizzing, we are enjoying following Moses and the Israelites on their journey. Even though we are not traveling through the wilderness or making altars of stones and offering up burnt sacrifices, it is my prayer that we are experiencing the presence of God as we submit to Him and follow His commands and perfect plan for our lives. Read more
| | |
| | New Lent Resources available from The Foundry
The purpose of the Lent season is to help us orient our lives toward the central theme of the Christian faith: the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. Easter is so much more than just another religious observance. It is the recognition that the resurrection of Jesus changed everything. God has issued us the sacred invitation to join Jesus on the journey toward the cross.
These resources use scriptures from the Book of Common Prayer to prepare the church to grasp the life-changing reality of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. As we journey through Lent, may we find our place in that grand story. For more information, click here!
| | |
| | Save the Date for SDMI's Leadership Conference (LC2021) November 9-11, 2021!
LC2021 will be held in a beautiful mountain setting at the Ridgecrest Conference Center, just outside Ashville, North Carolina on November 9-11, 2021.
Planning for LC2021 has already begun. The new program and schedule are available on the SDMI website, and additional details will be communicated through your SDMI field and SDMI district representatives. Please be praying with us for this key leadership and discipleship-equipping conference.
You can expect inspirational speakers, informative workshops, transformative worship sessions, and refreshing fellowships. Don’t miss this crucial event for your discipleship ministry! To view a video invitation from the SDMI Global Director, click here.
| | |
| | 2021 VBS – The Journey of Grace!
In 2021, the Church of the Nazarene's Vacation Bible School will invite children to follow in the footsteps of a girl named Grace. In this free, downloadable VBS, children will join Grace as she embarks on a journey that is open to all who are brave enough to travel with her. Each leg of the journey will help the traveler understand God's prevenient, saving, and sanctifying grace, which leads them to grow to their potential.
More information about The Journey of Grace Vacation Bible School will be available March 1 at nazarene.org/vbs!
| | |
| | Grace Webinars Now Available Online
Dr. Frank Moore, Dr. Scott Rainey, and Dr. Sam Barber facilitated a series of three webinars for Sunday School & Discipleship Ministries. Each webinar discussed an aspect of God's grace. In September, they talked about God's prevenient grace, in November, they discussed God's saving grace, and in January, they discussed God's sanctifying grace.
Participation in the webinars included 1,353 registrations and 617 attendees from 35 countries. You can find the playback of all three webinars here.
| | |
|
|
|
|
