link winter 2012
DESCRIPTION
The official publication of the New Mexico Ministry Network.TRANSCRIPT
MINISTRY DIRECTORS:Royal Ranger’sBart [email protected]
Girl’s MinistriesMary Helen [email protected]
Help us New Mexico byinforming us of ministry
successes in your church and community.
Send your submission to: [email protected]
Native American AreaWilliam [email protected]
AREA PRESBYTERS:
New Mexico Ministry Network 6640 Caminito Coors NW Albuquerque, NM 87120 505 899-5399 (phone) 505 899-5859 (fax) [email protected] www.nmministry.net
Northeast AreaDavid [email protected]
East Central AreaLemuel [email protected]
Southwest AreaDavid [email protected]
Northwest Area Randy [email protected]
Women’s Ministries Becky [email protected]
Secretary-Treasurer Marcus McClain
Assistant Superintendent David Vistine
Student MinistriesJeral [email protected]
Men’s MinistriesKent [email protected]
Network Superintendent Micheal Dickenson
Southeast Area Melvin [email protected]
West Central AreaBrenton [email protected]
EXECUTIVE PRESBYTERS:
Ministry NetworkThe New MexicoW
inte
r 20
12
Love LetterA Christmas
As most of you know, a few weeks ago my wife Becky led a missions trip to South Africa. I was excited to see the dream of this trip become a reality, but when we dropped them off at the airport i t was diff icult; I knew that I wouldn’t see my wife for almost two weeks. As theyflewoff toSouthAfrica, I returned home and to the ministry responsibilities I had. Now life consisted of me, our dog Chai, and our daily rou-tine. As I went to the mailbox a few days later, all of a sudden one piece of mail caught my at-tention. It was a card, addressed to me from…my wife! My heart was skipping beats as I opened it to read her words of love and it reminded me of all of those love notes we wrote to each other so long ago. As I sat down to write my communication to you in this is-sue of Link, I was reminded of Becky’s note to me and I thought, “That’s it!” I want to write a love note to you, the churches and ministers of our New Mexico Ministry Network.
We have almost 100 churches within our network that serve the communities of the state of New Mexico. Be-cause of you and all you do, children, youth and adults are ministered to week after week, throughout the year. Because you are there, the Kingdom of God is represented in your com-munity in a way that shares the message of hope and healing, of deliverance and eternal life to all who will respond.
Thank you for being the church and for being faithful to fulfill the assignment God hasgiven to you. Thank you for let-ting the light shine and for invit-ing people to a relationship with God. Thank you for not quitting when you’re tired, or small, or even in need yourself. You are the Church that God has estab-lished; and your efforts are mak-ing an eternal impact! We also have 237 minis-ters who serve within our net-work. Our youngest minister is
24 and our oldest is 98, and each of you personally pour your lives into people of all generations in some way week after week, throughout the year. I know that many of our churches celebrated Clergy Ap-preciation Day either in October or perhaps at another time of this year. (Churches, I sure hope you remembered to honor your pastors in this way.) However, I personally want to say thanks to each of you for simply being faithful to the calling God has placed on your life. I fully recognize that some of you serve in some pretty obscure places, and I under-stand that ministry, whatever your role may be, or the size of your church, is hard work. I know that there are lots of times when the harvest doesn’t seem to match up to our labor. But, I want you to know to- day that we really do appreci-ate you. You are the real heroes of the New Mexico Ministry Net-work. You are the people who make it happen throughout the year wherever you serve. Thanks for your vision and your passion; thanks for caring and just being there when people are hurting; thanks for preaching and teach-ing God’s Word; and thanks for just being who God has called you to be. Oh I know that this isn’t (Continued on next page)
You are the Church that God has established.Your efforts areare making an eternal impact!
“”
NETWORK SUPERINTENDENT MICHEAL DICKENSON
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Love LetterA Christmas
much of a love letter, and I realize that it doesn’t have that personal touch that I’d love for it to have. But I want you to know that we love and appreciate each of you; and it is such an honor to serveyou. By the time you receive this issue of Link, we’ll be in the midst of the holiday season with Thanksgiving and then Christmas.
Becky and I want to wish you God’s very best during this sea-son of the year and as we look forward to 2013. May God’s very best be yours today and every day! We love you and we ap-preciate you!
Micheal & Becky Dickenson
I want you toknow that we love
and appreciate eachof you; and it is
such an honor to serve you.
“”
NETWORK SUPERINTENDENT MICHEAL DICKENSON
High school seniors plan-ning to attend one of the 17 un-dergraduate Assemblies of God endorsed colleges or universities
may be eligible to apply for the Ralph Riggs Scholarship. This is a scholarship of $30,000 award-ed over four years to one female
and one male senior. Please visit www.agtrust.com for eligibil-ity requirements, details, and to download an application.
2013 RIGGS SCHOLARSHIP NOW AVAILABLE
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SECRETARY-TREASURER MARCUS McCLAIN
We recently acquired a palomino horse that was just a few months old at the time we got him. In preparation to bring him to our home we cleaned the barn and disinfected his stall. I personally got down on my hands and knees and scrubb-ed his feeder (or manger) to make sure that our new addition would not be negatively affected by the mess that was left fromthe prior horse that we had. While working the cleanup nec-essary for our new resident I soon began to make the natural connection of the place where our new horse was going to re-side to the place that our Lord Jesus was born. The advancements in sci-ence that we enjoy today help us deal with so many of the messy consequences of uncleaned envi-ronments. But that certainly was not true when Joseph and Mary were looking for a place to rest from their weary travels; and I am sure that they desired much better surroundings than a live-stock pen as a place for their son to be born. They literally spent
the night in an animal house with all of the environmental trap-pings (I will not upset you with a long list of stable stuff). I know that they probably did their best to find warmth, comfort, andcleanliness; but a livestock pen is messy and a manger is really nothing more than a piece of fur-niture covered with slobber. Now, bridging to a more current mess, as you are aware, we are finally past a nationalelection and are being bombard-
ed daily with all of the skepticism that has come from the tragedy in Libya. Add to that the recent upheaval between Israel and the Palestinians, the trauma due to Hurricane Sandy, a very un-certain economy, and it is easy to state that things are a really messy. But as I think about a young couple who—in the midst of a mess—placed God’s Miracle inamanger,Ifindcomfortthatin the midst of the mess that we are living in today that God’s Gift is still residing not in that feed box but in the Body of Christ.
Sure it can be messy where we are, but God has proven to us again and again that He special-izes in providing miracles during uncertain moments; and let’s not forget also that His light is still shining forth from the place that He strategically resides, the Church. The desire that Sharon and I have for all of you dur-ing this Christmas season is for you to be very aware that, even though things in your life might be a little messy, you would be attentive to our Heavenly Fa-ther—for He just might break open the heavens with singing, surprise you with a miracle from a very unusual place or person, and most certainly overwhelm you with the presence of His Be- loved Son Jesus!!! As always, “God Bless You Big” and “Have a very messy, oops, Merry Christmas!”
God has proven tous again and again
that He specializes in providing miracles during uncertain
moments.
“”
And the MiracleManger, Mess,
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FIVE RENEWAL REMINDERS
and Calendar datesResources, Renewals,
1) On-line renewals are avail-able this year to all our min-isters. The Secretary/Trea-surer is required to approve those ministers using the on-line system. Note: You are not considered renewed until our office has signed off.2) If you are not able to renew on line, hard copies of renew-als will be mailed from the National Office in November. Complete this form as usual and forward to the Network office for processing.3) The renewal fee of $25.00
is no longer a requirement.4) All tithes/dues to the New Mexico Ministry Network and General Council must be cur-rent at time of renewal.5) If you do not renew by the final deadline of December 31, a $50.00 late fee will be assessed. Those who fail to renew by January 15, 2013 must apply for reinstatement; the reinstatement application fee is $100.00. A mandatory background/credit screening will be required.
A HELPFUL RESOURCE FROM PASTOR MARCUS:The article, “18 Ways to Ruin Your Reputation on Facebook” at churchleaders.com is a powerful reminder that who we are in Christ is in constant view of the online community. “I would encourage all our ministers to read and apply it.”--Pastor Marcus To access, search “18 Ways Facebook” at churchleaders.comor click on the Facebook icon above.
Church Mutual has created a new copper theft prevention vid-eo on YouTube because of the in-
creased risk of copper theft from churches. Go to www.youtube.com/churchmutual to find this
and other safety videos to help make your facilities more safe.
AN INSURANCE WARNING AND TIP
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“The shepherds of my people have lost their senses. They no longer seek wisdom from the LORD. Therefore, they fail completely, and theirflocksare scattered” Jeremiah 10:21 (NLT). Can you imagine the challenge of taking a man or woman who is running a s m a l l “ m o m a n d p o p ” retail shop and suddenly plac-ing them in a mega-discount superstore and asking them to not only run things, but improve the bottom line, increase store morale, increase revenue, and continue to expand the orga-nization! In a parallel context, this is exactly what we are ask-ing of all ministers to transition their churches to multiple lead-ers, expanded campuses, and a greater community footprint. Our response to this challenge is to learn and implement “church growth principles,” which in and of itself is fine, relevant, andsorely needed, but may overlook one very important area: Let’s examine the spiritual art of lead-ing yourselves.
A “mom and pop” orga-nization in business terms is a “sole proprietorship.” This sim-ply means that there is a sole cul-ture, sole product, sole profits,and sole risks. It all rests on one person’s shoulder. The single greatest challenge in this con-text is the ability for you to lead yourself. If that happens, you will generally be successful. The corporation or large enterprise is quite the opposite. The focus shifts to leading, training, and developing leaders at many levels (although we still must lead
ourselves). That is precisely a primary focus of church growth principles, the skill of leading leaders. That being said, it will neverhappenuntilyoufirstper-fect the art of leading yourself. Jeremiah decries the loss of sen-sibilities in the shepherds of his people. The result being a scat-teringoftheirflock.Althoughitis true that you need a new set of metrics and skills to lead a grow-ing church, those new skill sets and mindsets must stand and anchor on the core sensibility of simply leading yourself. Paul the Apost le ad-d r e s s e d t h i s s a m e i s s u e :
“Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an over-seer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above re-proach, faithful to his wife, tem-perate, self-controlled, respect-able, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quar-relsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own fam-ily well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into dis- grace and into the devil’s trap” 1 Timothy 3:1-7 (TNIV). Without trying to mine everything in this passage, Paul’s instruction to Timothy can be summarized into basically fivecore essential sensibilities of leading yourself. Namely the sensibility of:#1. Connection – public teaching and personal authenticity#2. Gentleness – self-control#3. Trust – proven leadership#4. Humility – transparent; on guard against arrogance#5. Credibility – honesty and follow through
SOUTHWEST EXECUTIVE PRESBYTER: DAVID CRISPIN
The single greatestchallenge... is the
ability for you to leadyourself.
“”
of Leading YourselfThe Core Essentials
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There is not a mission statement, discipleship pro-gram, or outreach event that can be substituted for the imperative to lead yourself. When we fail to do so, we invite unnecessary, butjustifiablecriticism.Whenyou pay close attention to the discipline of these core essen-tials, your detractors will stay in a constant state of discourage-ment and your church will be po-sitioned to transition from a sole proprietorship to a partnership. To answer the question, “Could
a sole proprietor make the tran-
sition to a partnership or large
retail enterprise?” I’m not sure. I believe that there may be some w h o c a n l e a d t h e m s e l v e s , but struggle to lead others; but I know for certain that no one can lead others if they cannot lead himself. Finally, for a fresh new approach to church growth, let’s use a phrase that Paul penned when concerned about the Corinthian’s theo- logical drift: “Come back to your senses!”
SOUTHWEST EXECUTIVE PRESBYTER: DAVID CRISPIN
There is not amission statement,
discipleship program, or outreach event that can be substituted for the imperative to lead
yourself.
“”
of Leading YourselfThe Core Essentials Winter 2012
NEWLY CERTIFIED:Sharon Hassett, Ireland
TRANSFERRED IN:Joseph Hill (L) to Carlsbad, First Assembly of God
TRANSFERRED OUT:Roger Reston (O) from Hobbs, Bethel Assembly of God to Oklahoma
NEW SENIOR PASTOR:Randell Corley, Los Lunas Hosanna Assembly of God
The New Mexico Ministry Network
is proud to welcome Rev. Jerry Elliott as
the new pastor of Harvest Fellowship in
Albuquerque, NM.
Secretary-Tresurer Marcus McClain prays for Jerry and Gina Elliott as they are installed as senior pastors.
Superintendent Micheal Dickenson installs Randell and Jeannie Corley as pastors in Los Lunas, NM.
The New Mexico Ministry Network
is proud to welcome Rev. Randell Corley as the new pastor of Hosanna Assembly
of God in Los Lunas, NM.
CREDENTIAL AND MINISTERIAL CHANGES
PASTORAL INSTALLATION: HOSANNA ASSEMBLY OF GOD
PASTORAL INSTALLATION: HARVEST FELLOWSHIP
Network NewsNew Mexico Ministry
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G a i l Mc Wi l l i a m s wa s the featured speaker at Women’s Conference 2012. Her incredible testimony, her unique style, and her gift of encouragement, was simply McFabulous!
“This was definitely a conference NOT to be missed!”, said Becky Dickenson, NMMN Women’s Ministries Director. “Gail spoke from the heart of the Father into the heart of my circumstance. I am not stuck in my situation but rather, I am positioned!”
Many, of the over 200 women who gathered at Las Cruces First Assembly of God, were surprised not only by the transparency of Gail McWilliams, but also by the transparency they enjoyed when paired with face to face prayer partners. For some, these pairings proved to be pivotal moments of release, encouragement, hope and healing.
All those who attended indeed experienced love revealed!
WOMEN IN
McFabulous!
A wonderful ministry team: Gail and Tony McWi!iams!
New Mexico Ministry Network
MINISTRY Women’s Ministries Director: Becky Dickenson
South Africa 2012 Rustenburg,
The New Mexico Ministry Network Missions Team to South Africa returned from their trip on October 28th. The effort was a great success in the eyes of the team and Global School of Theology. Construction was done in the Library along with re-shelving almost every book and cataloging as many as possible.
A day at a children’s feeding center was also a part of the trip. The New Mexico Team helped to feed and entertain children of various ages. Additionally, members of the team ministered with a skit resulting in over 60 children receiving Christ!
To all who gave and to all who prayed, THANK YOU! This trip was a blessing to those who were able to go, to the students and faculty of Global School of Theology and to the children at the feeding center.
TOUCH THE WORLDIn order for your giving to go toward the annual Christmas check for our missionaries, please send your funds to the Network Office by December 14. Touch the World/Turquoise Trail funds must be received in the office no later than December 28 to be credited in 2012. Your gift is not only a show of blessing and appreciation but it is also vital to the continuation of the various ministries represented by our New Mexico (U.S.) and World Missionaries.
