To be and develop Disciples of Christ

• Love God with all of our being,
• Love people compassionately and unconditionally,
• Share the Good News of Jesus Christ in every way possible.
  

Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
It is my privilege to bring to you my 26th report, coming up on completing 27 years as your pastor. You are a wonderful, alive, healthy congregation and I brag about you any chance that I get.

Ministry Interns
I have very much enjoyed working with our three ministry interns, Connie Young with her District Minister’s License and Tonya Hockenberry and Robert Swedenhjelm with their Local Minister’s Licenses. Connie is almost finished with her preparation for ordination and has been approved for ordination at this year’s District Assembly on Friday evening, June 29th. She is currently serving as Supply Pastor at Meadville Nazarene doing their preaching and making hospital calls and other special visits. Tonya has served as our Children’s Ministry director and recently led another successful women’s retreat. Robert works with Worship and Technology and has developed our new webpage and been instrumental in getting our morning services broadcast live on the internet and available to watch anytime on YouTube. I enjoy working with all three of these ministers who have had their ministerial call recognized by our Church Board. It is an honor to work with these three fine ministers and I look forward to seeing where God is going to take them in their service for Him.
Discipleship
I especially want to thank Pastor Connie for her work this year as our Associate of Discipleship Ministries. She has led the Church Board through “Passages”, a small group discipleship Bible study and now many from the Board are leading their own groups. It is our prayer that many from these groups will then begin to lead new groups, both with people from the church and from outside of the church. We are seeing individuals growing closer to God and maturing in their faith as they study the Bible together and support each other in their faith journeys.
Prayer Ministry
We are also privileged to have Pastor Phil Gilmore and Deb as part of our congregation. Phil did his internship with us, then went to pastor our Corry Church of the Nazarene, and then moved back when he took early retirement due to his health. Phil has kept us updated on how to be in prayer for the needs of the church and community. We are stronger today because we have prayed. One example this year of answered prayer is with Jackson Ransom, who was born quite prematurely and has is now growing and gaining in strength. Every time we see Jackson we are reminded that we have a prayer answering God. There are many other examples of prayers answered this year. Continue to pray for Phil and Deb that he might receive the right kidney donation at the right time. Also, pray for them as they seek God’s guidance related to their future plans.
Changes
It looks like this is going to be a year of change in our congregation in several areas.

• Denise Hites is retiring as our Administrative Assistant after having served in that capacity for 30 years. Denise has done a wonderful job throughout those years and it has been my privilege to work with her. She will continue as our Church Treasurer, for which I am very thankful. Be sure to express your appreciation to Denise!
• The Church Board has hired Jenifer Crowl to be our new Administrative Assistant for 20 hours per week. Jenifer brings much experience to this position both in working with the public, with computer usage, and in promotion. She is working side-by-side with Denise this month and is quickly picking up on the job and trying to learn the many things that a church Administrative Assistant needs to know. Welcome Jen to the office!
• Dana Young has prayerfully chosen not to continue as our Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries (SDMI) Chairman as he is with his wife in Meadville every Sunday morning and he believes that he cannot adequately fulfill the responsibilities while in that situation. Further, we don’t know how long Pastor Connie may be preaching at Meadville. Dana has done a fantastic job in this area of leadership, leading the congregation into many new areas of ministry and developing ones that we already had. He has helped us to take the church out into the community and find new ways to bring people in to the church. Thank you, Dana!
• I am writing this report prior to our Annual Election, but since Pastor Tonya is the only one who has accepted the nomination for SDMI Chairman, I think that it is a safe assumption that she will be starting in this leadership role on May 1st. This will give her an opportunity to broaden her ministry experiences and further develop as a leader. Be in prayer for us to be led to the right person to lead in the area of Children’s Ministries (I’m NOT asking Tonya to do both!)
• I know that there will be other changes taking place this year, because change just naturally happens. We must embrace it and allow God to bless through the changes.

Willing to Serve
One of the clearest signs of the level of health and spiritual growth I am seeing in the church is in the willingness of people to step forward to volunteer. The response to nominations this year has been by far the best I have ever seen. We have just about twice the number we are electing agreeing to be on the ballot, including in the area of Church Board. We are electing 4 board members and have 8 names on the ballot, including 4 who have never been on our Church Board before! That is really exciting! As the makeup of the Board changes, we have new spiritual gifts, talents, and ideas brought to the table. There are other areas where people are stepping up to minister within the church and outside the walls of the church. God is growing His church!
50 Years!Niles Copeland chose not to be on the ballot this year, having completed 50 years on the Board of this local church! WOW! Thank you, Niles, for your faithful service. He continues to be committed to our church and will continue to serve with us in many areas.
Thank you, Shirley!
Thank you to Shirley Copeland for all of your work as Custodian. Shirley serves faithfully and certainly works “as unto the Lord.” It is great to know that when we walk into the church on Sunday morning it is clean and presentable to all. Be sure to thank Shirley for what she does.
Moving Forward
I am looking forward to our 2018/19 church year being one of our best!

• As we move into this year we will continue to develop our discipleship ministries. Start to imagine seeing your family and friends brought into the Kingdom, perhaps through a Bible study group that you are a part of or are even leading.
• We have not taken in new members this past year, as we have been developing our discipleship ministry. Going forward all who are wanting to join the church as new Nazarenes will be going through a discipleship small group as part of their preparation for joining the church. We will be looking at what else needs to be added to this to best prepare people for membership that is meaningful and fruitful.
• While this past year has been a positive one financially, we continue to not fully raise the monies needed to fund everything that the Church Board puts into the annual budget. All bills are current and we have fully supported Nazarene ministries outside of the local church at our goal levels. When you look in the weekly bulletin or the monthly newsletter and see “Unfunded Ministry” this is what it is referring to. It does not mean that the bank account is that much in the hole, but rather that there are ministries and developments that we have budgeted for that we not able to carry through on. Thank you to everyone who has given so generously to help us to do all that we have been able to do! I encourage everyone to discover the joy of tithing to the local church. God’s plan to support His kingdom is fair and equitable for all. Just divide what you earn or the finances you receive by 10 and support your local church with that money. You will be amazed at how much further 90% goes than 100% does when we allow God to be in charge of our finances.
• You have friends and/or family who are not Christians or who do not attend church. If you don’t, you need to make some friends who aren’t Christians, yet. Invite them to a discipleship Bible study group with you. Invite them to an event at the church or that the church is sponsoring. Invite them to watch a service online. In fact, invite them to come to church with you! We are such a positive, welcoming congregation that I believe they may really like coming to church with you!

Personal
​Thank you for loving Carol and I so much and for being our church family. You are very important to us and we do love you! I say it again, it is my privilege to be your pastor! We are a very fortunate pastor and spouse to have a people like you to join with on our spiritual journey. Let’s keep fulfilling our Mission and living by our Core Values.
Respectfully submitted,
Pastor Wayne Hennen

Dear Friends,
Jesus is Alive! We just remembered the suffering and sacrificial death of Jesus and then this past Sunday celebrated His resurrection! Because of His sacrifice for us, we can be forgiven of our sins and because of His resurrection, we know that we can have abundant life, a life freed from the power of sin, and an eternal life in heaven at the end of our earthly existence! That, my friends, is Good News! That is the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Have you confessed your sins so that his sacrifice is effective for you? Have you fully given yourself over to God for Him to be Lord of your life so that His Spirit can cleanse you and transform you without you getting in His way?
Our discipleship groups are up and running, studying the Bible together using a study entitled “Passages.” “Passage” is defined as:

1. Part of a path or journey.
   
2. An act or instance of passing from one place, condition to another; transit.
   
3. A portion or section of a written work; a paragraph, verse.
   

“Passages,” the study, is all these things. “It is a journey from one spiritual place to another and from one state of relationship to another. With the passages of Scripture as the map,” those in these groups are journeying further up and further into their relationship with God, themselves, and their traveling companions.
If you did not get into a group this time around, I encourage you to make sure that you get into one during the next round. Let Pastor Connie or me know that you are interested. Many, if not all, of those in the groups will be looking to start their own group once they complete Passages. We are growing spiritually through these groups, through our Sunday School classes, through our worship services and sermons, through individual and family devotions, and through serving God with our lives.
This past Sunday I announced the retirement of Denise Hites as our Administrative Assistant. She has served faithfully in this position for 33 years and we can’t thank her enough for all of her work through which she has gone above and beyond in the “job description” in service to God and this local congregation. Be sure to let her know how much you love and appreciate her! She will continue working as our church treasurer, for which we are very thankful.
I also introduced our new Administrative Assistant Jenifer Crowl, who started working with Denise on April 2nd in order to learn from her throughout the month of April. Jen and her husband, Steve, and their two girls, Faith and Eden, have been attending our church since VBS in 2016. Jen comes to us with excellent skills in many of the areas involved with being our Administrative Assistance and the Church Board voted unanimously to hire her for 20 hours per week. Steve and Jen have been really growing as disciples of Christ and she recently shared this praise with me:
Over the past few months a wonderful and amazing change has been taking place within me. I believed my whole life I WAS living for God and that I was so close to His understanding. Now I realize how far off I actually was! I’ve always, always known I was meant to do God’s work. I’ve always felt that was an honor! However, I never felt a clear assignment. When I went to God in prayer He told me, ‘You have a willing heart, but you’ve still never read the manual!’ So, for the first time I have been READING the Bible. Actually READING and studying. NOW, I understand what they mean by the ‘Living Word’! Something wonderful and filling happens while reading! I can’t explain it with words very well, yet I know it’s an amazing feeling that I suddenly can’t get enough of! I am excited because finally NOW God can use me more effectively in His purposes.
Jen states that she is excited to serve the church and help it to thrive and grow. Jen, “WELCOME”!
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor Wayne

Dear Friends,

Well, it is the beginning of a new year, Christmas is in the rear view mirror, and we have survived the blizzard of 2017, one that will go down in the record books (for Erie, Conneaut, and lakeshore, especially).  I am writing this on January 9th, so we have already had time to break at least some of our New Year’s resolutions.  Hopefully, yours are going better than that and some of you are doing very well with them.  I hope that you are using this calendar change to get a fresh start in life.  Please, let God be in control of your plans for 2018 and beyond.  I was going to say, “Let God be a part of your plans,” but that doesn’t cut it.  He wants to be in control of our plans. His guidance is perfect and His ways are best.  What changes does He want to bring about in your life this year?  In what areas of life does He want you to grow (or shrink)?

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV)

Above, I asked a question related to in what areas of life does God want us to grow (OR SHRINK).  My initial thought was related to shedding the holiday pounds, but even more important is what we read in John 3:30.  “He must become greater, I must become less.”  When it comes to who is in control of our lives, we must shrink so that He can increase.  There just isn’t room on the throne of our lives for both God and us.  We need to do more than just shrink, we need to come to the point where we believe and live the belief that God is fully in control and not us.  He will let us struggle along trying to figure out our own life, all the while waiting for us to come to our senses by turning over the controls to Him.  It’s not about us!  It is about Him!

Never start a new chapter in your life with the words, “I decided to _________________.”  Start that new chapter, that New Year, with, “I gave God control and He decided to _____________.” 

May God direct your life because you have given Him permission to do just that!

You will be hearing a lot about discipleship this year in our church.  Pastor Connie, whose ministry focus is on discipleship, is completing a series of discipleship lessons with the Church Board.  She and I will then be sharing several messages related to us being disciples of Jesus Christ and us then discipling others.  Pray for our church as we renew our emphasis on what the Great Commission from Christ tells us to do, “GO, make disciples!”  Matthew 28:19.  Our local church mission statement is based on that verse and is “to be and develop disciples of Christ.”  God isn’t looking for people to just talk about Him or read about Him or sing about Him.  He is looking for people who will follow Him!  He is looking for people who will dedicate their lives to living like Jesus, His Son, taught us to live.  Don’t pattern your life after your friend or after the latest Hollywood or media idol.  Don’t pattern your life after some messed up image of what society seems to propose we should be.  Pattern your life after Jesus Christ!  Be His disciple!

Join with us on this journey of spiritual development.  Support one another and pray for one another.  Share the Good News with those around you who desperately need to see Jesus.  They may only see Him in you!

In Christ’s Love,

Pastor Wayne