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Mission RELAUNCH - Church in Azores gets new leadership,
opportunities
After the pastor of the Church of the Nazarene in Azores Islands retired, the leadership of the Western Mediterranean Field decided to focus new personnel and funds to relaunch the ministry forward.
By Gina Pottenger, Eurasia Communications
Ponta Delgada, Azores Islands –
Because of Nazarenes’ generous giving to the World Evangelism Fund, two new missionary families have arrived on Sao Miguel Island in the Azores to give the 25-year ministry there a relaunch.
The Azores, a nine-island territory of Portugal, is situated in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Church of the Nazarene planted one congregation, which has about 25 to 30 people, and which was led for more than two decades by a long-time faithful pastor.
Last year, he retired, and the ministry in the islands required new direction and leadership to move forward.
“We’re going to make one more big push in terms of personnel and
finances and try to make something that’s new and effective on the
island,” said Kyle Himmelwright, field strategy coordinator for the Western Mediterranean Field, of which the Azores is a part. “The missionaries there will help [the local church] realize who they are and who they’re called to serve. Then to help them think creatively how to use their local church facility in town and the big retreat center just outside of town to help facilitate some real creative
mission.”
Aaron and Falyn Theophilus, most recently from ministry in the
Valparaiso Church of the Nazarene, Indiana, arrived in May, and at the end of August, Danilo and Emily Aguilar joined them.
“The topmost priority for us is to find a local leader for the church,” said Aaron. “We’re not filling the role as pastors. Our presence is there to help them out, looking for future leaders
of the church, to mentor and equip them.”
The couples will spend the coming months assessing the church’s
strengths and resources and working alongside them to develop a vision and strategy for ministry, which may incorporate
compassionate ministries to the surrounding community.
With its economy dependent on agriculture and tourism, there are high rates of unemployment, alcoholism, prostitution and malnutrition in the islands according to Falyn.
“We live in an area that is very much known for its roughness,” she said. “It’s a fisherman village… the children are not having a lot of support at home. There’s struggles within the family. Children are only getting food at school. The high unemployment rate pushes
families to push their sons into prostitution, earning for the families.”
To lay the foundation for ministry, Aaron and Falyn turned their first attention to renovating the church’s retreat center, which was originally a battery factory that the church had converted into housing, apartments, a cafeteria and a house. There is also a large undeveloped plot of land behind the buildings.
The property had fallen into disrepair so several Work & Witness teams came this summer to improve the grounds and give attention to the buildings. It is hoped the property can serve as a base for future ministry.
“Part of the thinking is to help a local church be something that is valued by the community and meet some felt needs we’ve witnessed in our time there,” Himmelwright said.
The Azores have a long-time and deeply entrenched Roman-Catholic presence. In some parts of the Western Mediterranean Field, people who are Roman-Catholic oppose the presence of Protestant churches. That may also be the case in the Azores.
“It’s not an easy place for a Protestant church to exist; that’s one challenge for us,” he added.
Please pray for the relaunch of Nazarene ministry in the Azores, that the local congregation and missionaries can build positive relationships with the Roman-Catholic church in the area, and can catch a glimpse of how God wants them to partner with Him in
transforming lives and communities in the islands.
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Your Story
Our Story
God’s Story
Even in her darkest hour
By Jenny Ward
Tatiana* sat in her prison cell waiting for the next interrogation. This had been her life for the past 40 days in Macedonia and on this day she would find out she was banned from the country entirely.
Tatiana fell on her knees and prayed, “Lord, if you will take me out of this place I will never leave you again.” Five days later she was released.
This is Tatiana’s remarkable journey towards healing, fulfillment, and restoration in her relationship with God.
At the age of 12 Tatiana committed her life to Christ in a Bulgarian church with the support of her family and older brother, a devout believer of God. However, this was during the time of Communism and strict religious regulations were imposed by the church she attended, such as wearing long skirts, long-sleeved shirts and even head coverings in church. This resulted in weird looks from the teachers at school and kids making fun of her constantly.
“I was an outcast,” Tatiana said. As she got older she continued to disagree with some of the religious practices of that church and ultimately left. Tatiana said, “The next five to seven years were the most difficult years of my life…I started to spiral downward and get to the depths of human society.”
Throughout these years Tatiana became involved with dancing and escort services, which is what ultimately landed her in the women’s
prison.
“I’ve been in Serbia and Albania and in the sphere of prostitution, weapons, mobs, and gangs…where the girls are sold for drugs,” Tatiana said.
It was in the women’s prison in Macedonia when she prayed to the
Lord and on the 45th day she was released on bail. After everything she had experienced, she knew she wanted to turn her life around and returned to Bulgaria.
Her family, who, in the interim, had begun attending the Nazarene
Church in Montana, welcomed Tatiana home. However, due to the previous experiences she still had reservations regarding church.
“It’s different here. You are just a Christian. There are no things that are forbidden, it’s just important that you look at people’s hearts,” said Tatiana’s father to convince her the Montana Church of the Nazarene would be different.
With the encouragement from her father and mother she agreed
to give church another try. Through this decision she flourished. Tatiana completed a high school technical degree for cooking and restaurant management and used her skills to cook for the soup kitchen in Montana as well as the Nazarene Theological Education classes. She met a loving Christian man whom she married.
In addition to cooking, she sings in the praise team, is in charge of the church library, and is a mother to two children. She is also a candidate of the Nazarene Compassionate Ministry project “New Opportunities,” a mentoring center for new business enterprises and work solutions.
“It is my dream to own my own business, my own bakery… where it
would be close to a school so [the children] could buy the pastries,” Tatiana said.
Tatiana thanks the Lord that He never gave up on her; even in her
darkest moments, He was there. She has been attending the Montana
Church of the Nazarene for three years and is surrounded by family and actively working toward her dream of starting her own business.
“You might meet someone and they’ll say [Bulgaria] is not a good
place, but I am really good,” Tatiana said. “God has blessed me.”
*Name changed for privacy reasons
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India districts raise funds for Africa
By Heidi Bowes, Regional NMI Coordinator
“Done, 100 year NMI project” was the title of the email from the India East District. Early this year their district stepped out on faith to adopt two projects as part of the NMI 100th Anniversary. They had never done anything like this before and did not know how their churches would respond to the challenge of giving to a specific ministry in another country. The projects were to provide evangelism soccer balls and EvangeCubes for 17 JESUS Film teams in Africa.
The response surprised the leaders. “Our youth and Sunday school kids are raising funds for these projects. They are collecting money from their families, friends and neighbors. I found a small boy from my church, 6 years, collected Rupees 390/- from his neighborhood and deposited to the church. Like that there are many,” wrote District Superintendent Amitava Chatterjee. “Until now, we had never involved the children in giving to missions. But they are the best undraisers in our churches!”
The response was so good that the district adopted two more projects. This time they chose SD micro audio and video cards for three JESUS Film teams for the Asia-Pacific Region. These cards contain the JESUS film, The Story of Jesus Through the Eyes of
Children, and Magdalena (the JESUS film for marginalized women). They also contain an audio Bible in one of 500 languages, worship songs, and discipleship material. The JESUS Film teams in India East raised the money for these projects. Knowing the potential and impact these tools can have, the team members took full initiative to provide the same tools for teams in another country.
“The pastors and local NMI presidents are calling me saying, ‘When
will we receive the information about our district’s NMI 100th Anniversary project? We are excited to be a part of what God is doing in another part of the world,’” said India Karnataka
District NMI President Joyce Jothi. While their district has been giving to the World Evangelism Fund and Alabaster Offerings, this is the first time that their district is participating in direct and specific financial support for Nazarene ministry in another
country. Their district adopted two projects which will provide tents to allow Nazarene congregations in the Philippines to gather and meet out of the rain.
Many districts have accepted the challenge in Eurasia and there is
still opportunity to do so. For more information contact the Eurasia NMI coordinator or nmi.nazarene.org/nmi100. As with these examples, for some, it is taking a new step of faith to join God in His mission in a new way. Just by having the opportunity to give, children, youth and adults are responding to the call to take God’s
love to the nations.
Eurasia districts have adopted 28 anniversary projects as of the writing of this article. Sixty-five projects directly benefiting needs within the region have been adopted from all Nazarene
districts worldwide. The 100th anniversary of Nazarene Missions
International is an opportunity to celebrate how God has been using the Church of the Nazarene in taking his salvation message to the ends of the earth for 100 years. At the heart of the celebrations, the districts are doing that very thing.
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“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time
we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”(Galatians 6:9 (NIV))
All content in Where Worlds Meet is permissible to be republished within the Church of the Nazarene. Simply include this statement: “Reprinted with permission from Where Worlds Meet, October 2014 issue, available at eurasiaregion.org.”
http://www.eurasiaregion.org/
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Churches say ‘thanks’ by giving
This time of year signals the coming of the Thanksgiving/Harvest
offering: the Church of the Nazarene’s most comprehensive global emphasis on the World Evangelism Fund (WEF) and the Church’s global mission.
Every year in the autumn, churches around the world give generously to a harvest or “Thanksgiving” offering which fully supports our expanding global mission in more than 150 world areas.
Promotional resources are available to help make the Harvest Offering a success in your local church, district or field. Some of the resources are available in French, Portuguese, Spanish and English.
Visit: http://web.nazarene.org/site/PageNavigator/Thanksgiving_2014_
Resources_EN
The Nazarene denomination is a vast family of believers that covers the globe. Together, church members comfort the lost, nurture the found, and support the global mission of making Christlike disciples in the nations.
To be effective stewards of God’s resources, it is important to celebrate what God has done in our church with offerings of gratitude.
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Prayer Requests
• Pray for the relaunch of ministry in the Azores Islands. Pray for the local church
to seek and embrace a new vision from the Holy Spirit to reach their
community with Christ’s love. Pray for the missionaries as they adjust to the
new culture and language.
• Pray for the KiA church in Frankfurt, as they continue partnering with the church in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ask God to continue directing their passion and efforts, and also for the leadership in DRC.
• Pray for the Holy Spirit to empower local churches across the region for giving generously and sacrificially to the Harvest 2014 offering, which will help expand God’s Kingdom regionally and globally.
• Pray for Tatiana* as she continues growing in her faith and serving her church and community in Montana, Bulgaria.
• Christ commands us to pray for more workers for the harvest in Luke 10:2: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (NIV). Pray that God would raise up and equip new workers across the region.
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Where Worlds Meet is the monthly newsletter for the Eurasia Region of the Church of the Nazarene. To subscribe, e-mail
whereworldsmeet@eurasiaregion.org or visit www.eurasiaregion.org
We welcome stories, photos and prayer requests. E-mail submissions to communications@eurasiaregion.org
Brad Firestone, Communications Coordinator bfirestone@eurasiaregion.org
Gina Pottenger, Editor in Chief gpottenger@eurasiaregion.org
Jenny Ward, Communications Assistant jward@eurasiaregion.org
Zarah Miller, Video Producer zmiller@eurasiaregion.org
Arthur Snijders, Regional Director awsnijders@eurasiaregion.org
Transforming Our World: In Christ • Like Christ • For Christ
Eurasia Regional Office • Postfach 1217 • 8207 Schaffhausen , Switzerland
Phone (+49) 7734 93050 • Fax (+49) 7734 930550 • E-mail communications@eurasiaregion.org
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