Dr. Henry Blackaby Speaks at POP for Pastors

Dr. Henry Blackaby, gifted pastor and author of Experiencing God, spoke to nearly 100 pastors and spouses from the Missouri and Illinois Districts on Thursday, November 20th. Dr. Blackaby spoke about living out the holiness of God and releasing the power of God in our lives. It was a very moving time. POP stands for "Pastoring on Purpose" and is a semi-annual event on the Missouri District.

Rev. Blankenship Installed at Jefferson City

Rev. Palmer installed Pastor Jake and Becky Blankenship as the newest pastor of the Jefferson City Church of the Nazarene on Sunday, November 9th, 2008.

8 Baptized from Division of Youth Services

Rev. Jami Kyonka reports that, "At our recent Ministry Team Retreat, I had the opportunity to share a vision of expanding the Division of Youth Services Ministry (DYS) to include baptisms following conversions. On November 2, we held our first baptism at Trinity, a local church for this DYS campus. We asked Rev. Kyle Rainbolt to baptize these young men so that they would meet a youth pastor and recognize the value of finding a church with youth ministry when they return home. Trinity responded in a wonderful way. We had 120 plus people there. When the bus arrived with the boys, it was followed by a caravan of cars carrying the families of these young men. Trinity lavished them with homemade cookies, hugs, cheers, laughter, personal notes, little gifts, invitations and pictures. The parents responded with appreciation, tears, thankfulness, and interest in the Nazarene church. I gave every family and every boy a card with pertinent information about us and our monaz website so they can find us later. This particular Harvester ministry was developed 6 years ago by Karol Ackerman (Trinity) and me when we asked the Lord to help us establish a Bible study ministry. We have methodically taught and trained 12 teachers, from various churches, to cover the campus of teens with weekly Bible studies, prayer and the message of holiness. Over the 6 years, we have lost count of their prayers, but we all agree we have witnessed at least 200 transformations."

PB & JAM Slam Children's Retreat a Success!

About 60 children and 30 sponsors and workers attended the first annual PB & JAM Slam Children's Retreat held last weekend at Pinecrest. The "PB" stands for Phineas Bresee, the founder of the Church of the Nazarene. The highest award in Caravans also bears his name. The "JAM" stands for "Jeremiah a Missionary". The retreat was a combined effort of the Missouri District Caravans and the Missouri District NMI. During the Friday night and Saturday retreat the children heard from missionaries Russell and Donna Lovett and each child earned two Caravan badges. However, even those children which were not involved in a local Caravan program still participated and took home badges just like the regular Caravan kids. As part of the event, the kids also helped pack 42 Crisis Care Kits (7 boxes), which will be eventually shipped all over the world in the event of a natural disaster.

Rev. Mike Poole Hired as South County Youth Pastor

The South County Church has hired Rev. Mike Poole has their youth pastor. Rev. Poole’s first Sunday there was November 2nd. Welcome!

Redford Celebrates Centennial

Rev. Palmer and Mary were among those who joined former pastors for Redford's Centennial Celebration on Sunday, November 2nd at the Redford Church. Over 100 people celebrated the morning service and potluck. There was also an afternoon service. The picture at left shows a portion of those in attendance.