Outreach to Syrian Refugees in Lebanon

TIDINGS WINTER 2018

OUTREACH to SYRIAN REFUGEES in LEBANON

WINTER 2018

TIDINGS Asbury Tidings is a quarterly publication designed to tell stories of lives being transformed by the power of Jesus Christ.

You may read back issues by visiting www.asburytulsa.org.

CONTENTS

Donate to SPRING BREAK MISSIONS 2018 OUR GOAL IS $150,000

Kelsey Hausam..................................................... 4 Ending the Foster Care Crisis......................... 6 Send Me! Send Me!............................................ 8 International Outreach—Even In Tulsa...... 10 My Stephen Minister Saved My Life............ 12 A New Face in AsburyKids!............................. 14 Standing in the Gap (For Our Widows)....... 16 Respect from a 7-Year-Old Perspective..... 18 Asbury Outreach to Syrian Refugees in Lebanon.......................................... 20 From the Cross to the World.......................... 22 Never Too Young.................................................. 24 Small Group, Big Growth.................................. 26 Offering Hospitality........................................... 27 Turning Our Wandering Hearts to the Lord.............................................................. 28 An Act of Obedience.......................................... 30 Construction Zone.............................................. 32 A Gift of Hospitality............................................ 34 Cornerstone, Giving Birth to a New Congregation.............................................. 36 Special Announcements................................... 37

We need you! Do you have a story of what God has done in your life?

Please contact us and tell us a little bit about what God has done. We will all be encouraged by hearing stories of what God is doing in the lives of those around us.

Are you a writer or someone who enjoys writing? The Communications Department is always looking for someone to do an interview and write a story for us for Tidings.

Have you noticed that we’ve been making some changes in Tidings? Please give us your feedback—both good and bad. Email kmains@asburytulsa.org or call 918.392.1140.

Editor: Asbury Communications Department, 918.392.1140, kmains@asburytulsa.org Photographers: Mark Moore (mark moore.photo.net) Guest Contributors: Chris Campbell, Bonny Coats, Madison Cotherman, Lucienda Denson, Howard Dunlap, Amy Ghere, Susanne Johnson, Andrea Livingston, Marilene Long, Jessica Longaberger, Shantel Nelson, Jon Odom, Sarah Pradhan, Melissa Renkema, Andrea Stephens, Lisa Witcher, Steve Wood, Brian Wortham

PASTOR TOM

A WORD FROM TOM HARRISON Asbury intends to HELP OTHERS FOLLOW JESUS because we believe that Jesus is the key to life, both existentially (here and now) and eternally.

Even if heaven did not exist, I think living by the “fruit of the Holy Spirit” (Galatians 5:21-22: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) is a far better alternative than living by the “flesh” (Galatians 5:18-21: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like). These are not desirable qualities. Following Jesus here and now intends to move us from the flesh to the Holy Spirit. Following Jesus means we want to exemplify His character and intend to live as His disciples. It means denying myself and learning to live in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God extends beyond this life. Jesus said, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36) Paul said, “In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

(1 Timothy 6:19) We want people to find the life that is truly life, not forfeit their souls.

You will see evidence of the Holy Spirit inside this edition of Tidings.

We are trying to reach children, students and adults with the message that Jesus is Lord and we are His disciples. Some of these stories will warm your heart, engage your mind and stir you into action. We want YOU to participate here. There are next steps for you to take. We pray that this Tidings will help direct you to where you need to be.

In Christ,

Dr. Tom Harrison, Senior Pastor

COLLEGE

Kelsey Hausam

By Shantel Nelson

A wise person once said, “The deepest level of worship is praising God in spite of the pain, thanking God during the trials, trusting Him when we’re tempted to lose hope and loving Him when He seems so distant and far away. At the lowest, God is my hope. At my darkest, God is my light. At my weakest, God is my strength. At my saddest, God is my comforter.”

This description truly highlights the famous lyrics written by 4

Louisa M.R. Stead in 1882, “‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, Just to take Him at His Word, Just to rest upon His promise, Just to know, ‘Thus saith the Lord!’” Even though these lyrics were written so long ago, it still echoes in the hearts and minds of believers today. Worship and trusting in the Lord propelled a young lady, who is a faithful member and worship leader of Asbury, through the rough waters of life, just like in the song.

COLLEGE

My name is Kelsey Hausam, and I would like to share my testimony with you. Growing up, I never knew the power of worship or trusting God. This all changed at 13, when my life intersected with a group of teenagers from Asbury, for whom I am forever grateful, convinced me to attend a summer camp. I will never forget the love, peace, joy and freedom I felt when I walked through the doors of that summer camp. I encountered God on so many levels. Oh my, the worship was out of this world; I truly felt the presence of the Lord. As I was caught up in worship, I had a tap on my shoulder; it was the youth pastor, Mark Fowler, motioning me to follow him outside of the sanctuary to share some encouraging words with me. As I listened to him speak, tears started to fall uncontrollably down my cheeks. Now that I think about it, his words sounded a lot like the scripture, Matthew 17:20 “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” When Mark finished exhorting me, I returned to the sanctuary to continue worshipping with the others. In this atmosphere of worship, I accepted the Lord and vowed to live for Him the rest of my life. I can’t believe how my life started rapidly changing. I started seeking out various ways I could serve Him. I started leading worship at Asbury, making lasting friendships, continuing to attend summer camps and serving on various mission trips. Oh, the joy I felt within my spirit.

Then there came a traumatic turning point in my life, with an untimely death of someone I loved. When I was about to enter my senior year of high school, I lost my best friend, Travor Brown. He was in an unusual accident and suddenly passed away. I felt tried beyond what I could possibly bear. During those dark moments, I turned to God and asked, “Why? What have I done to deserve this? Why was I being punished? Why did I have to go through this?” Even though I asked such questions, I still wanted to be closer to the Lord like never before. I understood that listening to the Lord does not prevent the trials of life, but it does prevent collapse. When the storms of life beat on me, I needed a solid foundation to keep me steady, and that is found through worshipping Him and just spending time with Him. I vividly remember an intimate time of worship sitting in the corner of my room playing songs on my guitar and crying out to the Lord with joy, feeling unashamed and unbroken. As I sat there, tears fell off my cheekbones, and my hands were open on my knees. In that moment, the encouraging words of Mark Fowler came back

to my mind. “The smallest amount of faith, it could one day move mountains. As I was with the Lord, I felt a strong nudge to go, serve and love on others. As I continued to heal and grow, I knew I needed to go on the Guatemala mission trip over spring break with other friends from Asbury.

As the team and I arrived in Guatemala, I will never forget the people, the sights, the sounds and the smells that surrounded us. I was moved to tears to know some Guatemala areas are built on garbage dumps; knowing many families lived and worked inside these dumps was hard to digest. I saw so many barely clothed men, women and children with no shoes living in this midst of this garbage dump, scavenging it for personal items to be used for housing and food. I recall seeing so many dogs with mange. I saw hurt and brokenness in ways I had never seen before. Loving on the kids and listening to their stories brought great peace and joy to my spirit. Ironically, in the middle of what appeared to be darkness and poverty, I witnessed the smiles on the peoples’ faces. I saw how humble and thankful they were every day, no matter how trying their circumstances. Just experiencing the level of gratefulness amongst the people, I knew that the Lord was using that to start the healing in my own heart. I remember a heart-toheart conversation I had with the leader of the Guatemala trip, Nathan Hardeman, about how beautiful it is to know that someday soon all sorrow will be joy. I shared with him how much I wanted to mourn, but I felt like laughing knowing that the best is yet to come. This mission trip showed me a sense of what heaven was going to be like, when sorrow meets joy for the last time, when death, pain and grief won’t exist anymore. How amazing to really know our Savior died for us so that we could live together with Him. Over the course of my life, Romans 8:38-39 has been etched into my heart “For I am now persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Through each trial I have experienced, I can faithfully say, “Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him! How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er, Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! Oh, for grace to trust Him more!” Be encouraged knowing, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is His faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-24

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LOCAL OUTREACH

ENDING the FOSTER CARE CRISIS

By Chris Campbell In thinking about any sport like baseball, we often think about the teams involved. Sports quickly become about us vs. them. Like sports, challenges as the child welfare crisis lend themselves to an “us vs. them” debate more than real solutions. In child welfare, it often feels like foster parents vs. biological parent, or church vs. state. When we go to the Bible and look at what Jesus said in Ephesians 6, this battle is not of flesh and blood, but it’s against principalities and rulers of darkness. This battle isn’t about us being against each other; it’s about what’s best for a child and what Jesus would have us do.

Tonight, I’d like to have a little conversation with you about a field we play on in our community. That field is the child welfare space. And the field is not an “us and them.” I think the field really is about what God is doing in His Kingdom versus the enemy. As a pastor, I am afraid the church is often fighting in the dugouts over issues and the devil is wreaking havoc on the field. In church, we often talk about all the things that happen on Sunday morning as the World Series when, actually, Sunday is spring training. The real game should be happening out there.

Most good baseball guys know their stats, so let me share a some with you. There are now a little under 9,000 kids in state care. They are there because of about 18,000 substantiated cases of abuse and neglect in the state of Oklahoma. Substantiated means something referred was evidenced in some way. Of those 18,000 cases, it is important for all of us to understand that they are not often abuse

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as we think of based on what we see on tv. About 80 to 90 percent of the cases that come in are because of substance abuse. It’s not people who are child molesters necessarily, or someone beating up their kids that are the result of all our kids in care. This is not an issue any of us are far from.

The other thing we need to understand is that some of us have certain jaded and misconceived perspectives. If you look at the majority of child welfare cases, it’s very reflective of the population - but it’s reflective of the population that are really heroes to most of us. That population is moms.

Statistically, most of our substantiated abuse and neglect cases are connected to moms, who are 31-years and older, and white. When we talk about abuse and neglect and who causes it, we might have wrong perspectives. Sometimes, it’s the white mom that we are not thinking about who can do something to her child. Now don’t misquote me, we have cases from every ethnicity and some percentage-wise more than their percentage of population. If I’m looking for the most valuable players to help us, it’s with our tribal community. We have a disproportionate amount of tribal kids in state care in Oklahoma, and we don’t have enough tribal families stepping up to the plate to help.

LOCAL OUTREACH

We need more tribal families.

Five years ago, I was introduced to this issue at the Laura Dester Shelter right down the road. When I went to that shelter, one of the things that really messed with my heart was that there were babies in that shelter. There were babies in our community with no place to go. Those babies had no place because we had a bad “offense” in the state of Oklahoma.

At the time, we were not recruiting enough foster and adoptive families and getting young children out of the system.

Now guess what? If you go to that shelter, there aren’t babies anymore because our community is fixing it. So much so that now DHS in the state of Oklahoma is not taking adoptive families who are just willing to take children 6 and under because we fixed that. Despite improvements, however, there are still 45 children sitting over there in that shelter.

There are still 100-plus children in the state of Oklahoma in shelters, so we need a better offense. Another perspective I want to challenge you with is, who are the best recruits for that offense. The best recruits, the MVPs, are our emptynesters. When we talk to children and ask what they want, they don’t want to be a child in a crowd. They want to be a child with a parent who is going to love them without having to share them with other children in the home. We need people of all sorts of backgrounds, tribal, black, Hispanic, whites, but we need empty-nesters to step up to the plate because we need a good offense. We need help with those 700 kids who need to be adopted right now, who are legally clear to adopt.

We love a good “defense,” too. In every church, there’s an opportunity to support foster and adoptive families. What are some ways we can do that? We can pray for them. We can recognize them. We can talk about them. One of the things I have heard from foster and adoptive parents is that they feel embarrassed to ask for help. So sometimes, they need someone to come over and mow their lawn without asking. They need someone to come over and bring them a meal.

But the other area that is underserved more than anything else is with biological families. Yes, some bio families are not safe. But there are families who are doing everything they can to change. They want to change, but rather than cheering for them, they are made out to be the enemies.

All the time in Oklahoma, we see families who want to bring

their child home. They are in this process of reconciliation and restoration, and it’s a car seat that prevents them from picking up and bringing their child home. It’s a car seat, a simple car seat. The state of Oklahoma can’t send a child home with a parent and say they are safe when they aren’t going home in a car seat.

The last thing I want to talk to you about is a crazy idea.

And that crazy idea is -what if we could “tee up” significant opportunities for the community so everybody could participate in ending this crisis. I have a strong belief that people want to help but they just don’t know how.

Through a platform that we’ve implemented called CarePortal, we are uniting churches and local communities around an idea. What if everyone could do something in seeing that every child has a home? Right now, case workers are making requests they believe will significantly help their clients through this CarePortal. The requests go to local churches in a geographical radius of the need, and they have an opportunity to meet that need and potentially relationally connect. It might be a need to support a foster family, help a bio family, an adoptive family or a child aging out of the system.

Just this last week, we saw a church help a bio mom that had a fuel pump go out in her car. She had worked hard for a good amount of time to be in reunification with her child.

Because this church stepped up to help that mom, she was able to keep her job, stay on her plan, and stay away from her past destructive pathway. The crazy thing about that specific request is, when the church offered to help, they didn’t know was the mom went to their church. They didn’t know about what she was going through.

Our belief is that if we had 750 churches in the state of Oklahoma that would respond to one need a month, that is about 18,000 children assisted every year in the state. This creates empowering help for about half of all the child welfare cases every year. We could touch almost every case that needed help. It is a solvable crisis, and what we need from you is not just a good offense or defense, but for you to be a raging fan for those involved. We need to be cheering for our families on the front lines of restoration. They need our support. Thanks for being a part of the team.

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GLOBAL OUTREACH

SEND ME! SEND ME!

By Andrea Livingston

As a young girl, I remember hearing stories in Vacation Bible School about people who travelled to far-away lands to help women and children who needed food, clothing, education and to know the love of Jesus. Somewhere in there, I remember seeing Mother Theresa on the news, and I put two and two together. I wasn’t raised in church, and to most people it wouldn’t seem like the summer VBS influence would tug at my heart. Yet when someone would say “I could never do that, or I could never go ‘there’, I wanted to jump up, raise my hand and say, ‘send me, send me.’” In my heart of hearts, I knew that someday I wanted to be on the mission field and help others.

“Life” happened, and it was many years later, after marriage, after my kids were grown and had families of their own that the tug of the mission field was reawakened by the story of a missionary home on furlough. I began to ask questions. I began to earnestly seek God’s will for my life, my spiritual growth and teaching others. All the while, I was doubting that I would ever really be able to ‘go.’ I attended a mission’s informational meeting, and they challenged us to get our 8

passports because “you never know where God might call you.” That was the open door I needed to spur me on, the beginning of the “possibility.”

In a few months, I ran into Marilene Long in the hall at Asbury and told her I now had my passport, I was ready to “go.” In just six short weeks, I was serving at Agape Church in Parnu, Estonia, for Vacation Bible School. What a blessing it was to bridge the gap with the teen helpers who enjoyed the opportunity of conversational English discussions while I was there. They laughed at my enunciations singing “Jesus Loves Me” in both Estonian and English.

This fanned the flame of that long-ago call. I enrolled in Perspectives that next semester. I was encouraged that it wasn’t too late; I wasn’t too old to begin this journey. I learned how important it is to be able to share my faith, what I believe and why I believe it, with those I meet here in this county before being comfortable to share it with others in another culture and/or another language. I learned about networking with others interested in missions. I began attending Tulsa Mission Movement luncheons which happen

GLOBAL OUTREACH

to be held at Asbury. Finally, I couldn’t hold it in any longer, I had to quit tiptoeing around and let the cat out of the bag.

I met with Jim Davis and Marilene to tell them that I wanted to pursue long-term missions and what that might look like and to possibly partner with Asbury UMC. God’s timing is perfect as it was about that same time that the announcements were made for 1Nation1Day Nicaragua and the new partnership with Horizon’s International for missions in Lebanon. After much prayer, I agreed to join the Nicaragua trip as a stepping-stone to partnering with not only the Asbury medical team but a global mission agency trip to a third-world country. I was also blessed to see how God had orchestrated many things throughout my life to prepare for just this opportunity. I learned “muy poco espanol” and joined the largest-ever single missionary team sent to reach a nation.

The people of Nicaragua were so gracious, so thankful we were there. The days were long as we saw more people each day than the anticipated quota set each morning. We saw miracles of provision of medications showing up that we had run out of, physical healing right before our eyes as we laid hands upon them and prayed. Some people gave up their place in line for someone else in their family to receive help, while others put up a ladder to climb over the wall into the pavilion area in an effort to get registered to receive treatment. One of the most touching things to see was how hungry the people were for prayer. I am not aware of a single person refusing prayer no matter how long they had been there.

We joined hands, patients and their families, translators and the medical team, in a huge circle inside the pavilion to pray over the day ahead of us. As possible or needed, we prayed with patients at triage and/or at treatment stations, we prayed blessings over them in the optical area and sent them on to the “prayer team.” Every person, more than 800 documented patients, received prayer. As we prayed, there didn’t seem to be a language barrier, whether there was an interpreter praying with us or not. The Holy Spirit was strong, and the patients joined in our prayers, each in our own tongue.

My primary station was the optical area. We gave out almost 200 pair of readers. To see the light in their eyes and the smile on their faces as they held a scripture card or the New Testament and put the glasses on to see clearly, to read it for themselves was PRICELESS.

All this culminated in the final night, a huge service of celebration of all God had done and continues to do in that nation. About 6,000 people joined in worship and praise in the pavilion where we had served all week. A very clear message of God’s love ended in an altar call to give their lives to Jesus Christ. The front was filled with people making decisions as we spread throughout the crowd to lay hands on them again and pray with them. I count it as joy that the main translator who assisted me all week rededicated her life to Jesus Christ, and one of her sons along with his best friend were among those who prayed to accept Christ as the Savior.

Coming through customs to depart Nicaragua, the officer said to my roommate, “I don’t know why you people think you need to come over here. There’s no y’all in the Bible.”

I beg to differ!

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.” Matthew 28:18-20 As for me, I am praying for and planning toward the next opportunity to go in obedience to God’s call and to be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks me the reason for the hope I have in Christ Jesus. I Peter 3:15

ONE NATION, ONE DAY STATS

538

63,000

new homes built for families

books given to teachers and students

270,000

19,832

meals distributed to 53,900 people

people reached at medical clinics

16,000

261,425

people provided with clean water daily

people reached face-toface at 1,000 outreaches 9

INTERNATIONAL

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INTERNATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH— EVEN IN TULSA

By Brian Wortham The new school year brings all sorts of new routines, activities and changes into our families’ lives. The mixture of anticipation and excitement gently smooths out as we settle in. For international students, the experience to get settled can take a little more work as they manage not only academics and language but also adapting to the new culture around them.

of Jesus Christ through the gift of reading. This calling leads us around the world to develop Bible-content basic literacy materials (called primers) and Bible-content English as a second language (ESL) materials. In addition to developing materials, LEI provides training in teaching as well as developing literacy or English language ministry (ELM).”

Asbury has been connected with ministries to international students in various ways for many years. Some Asbury families have chosen to support international students by opening their homes for short periods of time to help new students get settled as they begin their studies. “About 20 years ago, I came to Tulsa to study English and lived with my future in-laws, Ed and Anna Wortham,” Debora Wortham says.

“They graciously opened their home, and Asbury became my church home for that time. I had many wonderful people who took the time to get to know me and pray for me.”

Mylena definitely feels that spending a longer time in a different country “is one of the most challenging experiences I have ever had.” And Asbury has played a role in helping in this challenge. “I thank God for the opportunity to be here and to have been able to meet so many wonderful people.

Being able to volunteer with VBS and participating in Asbury’s International Fellowship events have allowed me to meet so many incredible people from different places.”

This year, Debora and her husband Brian have been hosting their niece, Mylena Muniz, a 10th-grade exchange student from Brazil, who spent 2017 at Union focused on improving her English.

To help support Mylena, Debora connected with a local ministry, Literacy &Evangelism International, that has been supported by Asbury over the years and even received a team during the Day of Service. Literacy & Evangelism International’s mission is “to equip the church to share the message

Debora says, “So many opportunities exist to do missions in other countries and have a life-changing experience. For international students coming here, the time we take to get to know them, even with limited English and cultural experience; inviting them in to our homes; sharing cultural events like Thanksgiving and Christmas; when we take the time in our busy schedules and take them for an outing or to find some special food from their country can mean so much and help make them feel less lonely.”

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LIFECARE

My Stephen Minister

SAVED MY LIFE

By Andrea Stephens

For most of her life, the only real safe haven Tracy Leak felt was church. As a child, her grandmother - whom she loved and from whom she gleaned the most acceptance - took her to church. There were some Sundays, however, that her mom would not let her go.

Tracy’s mom, though a professing Christian, was not walking with the Lord. It was her dad’s Baptist upbringing that influenced her. Her mom didn’t understand how Tracy could be so happy about being with her grandma and so happy coming home from church wanting to tell the family about Jesus. So for punishment, her mom would occasionally shut down her visits with her grandmother and her church family.

Her parents divorced when she was 5, and both chose a drug and alcohol lifestyle over taking care of their children.

Her mom made it difficult for her dad to see her and tried to get Tracy to hate him as much as she did. Eventually, the fights with her mother became too great; her father was too ashamed for his children to see him messed up by drugs, so he rarely came around.

Tracy’s mom had a successful 25-year career at the Tulsa County Courthouse but failed at home as a parent to Tracy.

“She could be a wonderful person to others, but truthfully she hated herself so much for the drugs and for not being right with God that it made it nearly impossible for her to give or receive love. She would escape to bars nearly every night, leaving me and my brother home alone.”

Her erratic emotions, elevated by drugs and alcohol, led to severe depression and suicidal episodes. One of Tracy’s traumatic memories is finding her mom with a gun in her mouth ready to pull the trigger. This behavior, which caused Tracy and her brother to live in fear, started when Tracy was 7 and lasted through middle school. But God was watching over them.

Paula Brown, a mom in the neighborhood, took Tracy and her brother to church when they were in elementary and high school. On several occasions, Paula had to convince Tracy’s 12

mom to let Tracy go to church and church camp. During these years, Tracy’s love for the Lord grew, and she began to experience Him as the One who would never leave her; He was a forever friend.

In high school, Tracy was a good student and looked forward to college until her mom told her she was not college material, therefore she would not support her—financially or otherwise.

Determined to prove her wrong, Tracy enrolled at TCC and got a job to pay tuition. She moved in with her grandmother due to the stress and chaos of living with her mother. The effects of her upbringing left Tracy with battered self-esteem.

She grew to hate herself and her life, and struggled with a deep need to be loved. She began dating a guy from work and thought if she got pregnant it would guarantee his love. She was wrong.

Eventually she found herself as a single mom who was constantly in and out of court with her daughter’s father. She dropped out of college due to finances and got wrapped up with the wrong crowd doing drugs and drinking. Her partying stint ended almost as soon as it started. First, she was faced with the reality that her daughter could be taken away from her and put in the care of her father. Second, her mother became sick and relied on Tracy to help her. Her mother’s illness led to her death after an eight-year battle. Tracy shared, “My life had become chaotic and messy trying to take care of mom, my daughter and working full-time. I was barely taking care of myself. So, I sent my daughter to live with her father for what I thought would be a short time.” That backfired, and Tracy didn’t see her daughter again until she was 18. On top of this, after her mother’s death, she was shunned by that side of her family for being a Christian. She was at a place in life where she was desperately unhappy. She was riddled with shame over the relief that her mom had died and the guilt that her daughter was gone. Though she loved the Lord, she wasn’t attending church, and she was growing to despise the person she saw in the mirror. Depression was already present, but she felt she was about to slide into its dark hole.

LIFECARE Tracy buried her pain in her work. This was the one area she could pour herself into. She was employed by a construction company and gleaned the skill and knowledge of what it took to be successful. This was new to her, she liked it, and was quickly becoming a me-focused person.

However, the stress of her personal situation was showing at work. This turned out to be a good thing because her boss’s wife took notice. DeeAnna Brown, an Asbury member, recognized that Tracy needed a Stephen Minister.

Enter Willette Stone.

“The Lord used Willette to bring about changes that truly saved my life. I could tell her anything, and she would look at me with the most non-judgmental eyes. She found Bible passages to bring healing and help me understand that relief after a person’s death was not unusual. She helped me let go of the guilt I felt over losing (custody of) my daughter. She taught me how to forgive myself, and, little by little, I started to feel a healthy sense of self-acceptance taking root. She really helped me change things I didn’t like about myself.” In the beginning, Willette and Tracy talked three times a week either in person or by phone. Tracy needed the strength and encouragement Willette provided.

During this time, Tracy received an unexpected phone call from her father with whom she rarely spoke. He was undergoing treatments for Hepatitis C and was desperate

for Tracy’s help. She dug deep, relying on the Lord, and did what she felt God required of her. Before she went to work, her father needed her to walk and feed his dogs, then after work to make him meals, do laundry and clean his house. In doing these things, she was seeing changes taking place in herself. She started gaining self-respect as the Lord enabled her to be compassionate and loving toward her father.

Tracy and Willette stayed connected for two years in a Stephen Minister relationship. “It meant everything to be able to pick up the phone and hear her voice when I was in a confusing, difficult place in my life. I’m grateful that we are still friends to this day.”

Today, Tracy is focused on others instead of herself. She is married, has her daughter back in her life, and has a restored relationship with her father who has been sober for years.

She owns both a real estate and construction company with her husband, John. They named the businesses Divine noting that without God’s intervention and healing, the dream of owning her own businesses wouldn’t be possible. He alone gets the glory for what He has done in Tracy’s life, especially sending a Stephen Minister at exactly the right time! Two years ago, Tracy and John began attending Asbury full time and recently became members. They have found a place they can call home.

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CHILDREN

A New Face IN ASBURYKIDS!

By Jessica Longaberger

I am sometimes asked, “How did you get to know Christ?” I feel like my story is unique in the sense that I used to always think that I found God, when in fact He was always there. I just needed to trust His Word and begin surrounding myself with people who did the same.

Growing up, the church lifestyle was not part of our family norm. My parents got divorced when I was young, and my mom got re-married soon after. My brother and I would attend church with friends but never as a family and especially not consistently. I would attend church and participate in church-related activities but never really felt a connection.

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It felt more of a “forced relationship” with someone I really didn’t “know.”

While I was in my adolescent years, my mom and stepdad got a divorce. I asked Christ to come into my life during this time and was looking for a savior to take our family away from all this hurt. It was the best decision my mom could make to get out of a toxic relationship, but it didn’t keep our family from feeling shattered and lost. Coming from a broken family, in which love was present but commitment and trust was shaken, telling my testimony has not always been easy. As a kid of divorce, understanding that things are not your fault

CHILDREN

or accepting that you are not to blame for this situation is something that is not easily communicated. Asking Christ to come into my heart was the right choice, but I was still felt like something was missing. I didn’t know how or where to learn more about Christ. I was entering my young adulthood, feeling like I should already know how to be a “Christian” or at least how to get involved.

I met my future husband in middle school, and we became fast friends, occasionally dating in high school and college.

His parents, Mark and Sharon Longaberger, have been members at Asbury since they were located on Sheridan.

Spending time with his family allowed me to witness firsthand how a Christ-like family loves and welcomes strangers into their lives. Matthew and I got married in 2014 and welcomed our son, Maxwell. We discussed the importance of becoming more connected in a church and making it a priority of baptizing him within a church we could call our own. Since my husband was a lifelong Christian and a member of Asbury, he immediately fell into his role as leader of our family. He has shown me how God loves and how He provides. One of the greatest qualities my husband offers is his patience. As a young Christian, my husband has taken my hand, walking this new journey beside me and leading our family.

We decided to attend the Welcome Brunch at the beginning of 2017 and learn more about becoming a Methodist and a potential member at Asbury. This was so important for both of us. It taught my husband why he should reconnect with Asbury and redefined his relationship with Christ. For me, it was everything I was missing.

In this class, we were immersed into a healthy and welcoming culture that offered a variety of opportunities that allowed us to choose which path we felt most calling on our hearts. We decided to pursue membership with Asbury and become connected in different sections within the church.

My husband decided to wait until the beginning of 2018 to pursue a class or volunteer; however, I felt an immediate calling to volunteer in the children’s ministry area and couldn’t wait to get started. In the spring of 2017, I began volunteering and immediately felt that connection I was so desperately missing. We met with Jon Odom and began

discussing baptizing Maxwell. Since I had never been baptized either, Jon mentioned we should get baptized together and share this day as our “baptism birthday.” On April 30, 2017, I was baptized with my son Maxwell, and it will forever hold a special day in our lives.

In June 2017, Matthew and I had reached a point financially where it was feasible for me to stay home with our son before he went to pre-K. We were unable to afford to do this until then; but at that time, it felt like it was the right thing to do, so we put our faith and trust in God’s plans. I was terrified. This was really the first time I placed my entire faith in God and gave Him control of our plans. God gave us an incredible gift of time and an opportunity to have memories to last us a lifetime.

In August, I heard that a position within the Asbury Children’s Ministry was potentially opening and contacted Marsha Baker to see if that would be something I might want to consider for myself. I was welcomed into a wonderful and powerful team of women who touch the lives of the children at Asbury.

I just knew this was something I needed to get involved with, and this was God’s way of pushing me into the children’s department. Getting the chance to transition into this role has absolutely been God’s work, and I am learning more about the woman I want to become as a Christian, wife and mother.

I am the newest children’s ministry associate, and I am privileged to deliver our weekly messages to Asbury’s youngest kids, ages 0-4 years. In this experience, I get to spend quality time with my son at home and in a healthy learning environment throughout the week. Each Sunday, I get to connect with kids on different levels to learn about Christ and how much He loves us. I have heard the best way to learn about Christ is through your kids or through children, and I couldn’t agree more.

This year has been a year of firsts, a year of change and a year of new life. We are so pleased to announce we are expecting our second child in the summer and couldn’t be more excited to continue to follow God’s plan and trust His timing. We can’t wait to see what God has in store next for our family and are looking forward to becoming a family of four.

15

LIFECARE

STANDING in the GAP

(for our widows)

By Andrea Stephens

Melissa Phenicie sat down at the computer to check her emails. The third one down drew her attention. The subject line said “Special Thanks.” She opened it and began to read.

T hank you so much for the wonderful Lemonade and Laughter Dinner. It dawned on me as I sat there that it was the first time in the almost nine years that I have been a widow, that I had ever been to any occasion with only widows. It brought tears to my eyes to realize that every single woman, whether she had a happy marriage or a hard marriage, knew what it was like to be screaming in her mind while driving to the store, “My husband just died!!!” The temptation to feel alone is great in those first days and weeks after his death. But sitting in the room among other widows of all ages, there was a comfort to know we have all shared the same experiences of fear and sadness…I went home smiling and talked about the beautiful evening for many days. Thank you for devoting time and money to renewing hope and joy in women’s hearts who find themselves with a new label: widow. Your ministry displays Jesus’ love in action.

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As a trickle of wetness made its way down her cheek, Melissa said aloud, “And Lord, that’s why I do what I do.”

Though not a widow herself, Melissa was invited by a dear friend to join her as she served the Lord through Stand in the Gap Ministries (SITGM). Her eyes were opened to an entire world that she wasn’t even aware of, much less aware of such a great need. Witnessing firsthand the life transformations through this ministry was such a blessing. She was hooked.

The Lord had attached her heart to the heart of widows. So, Melissa met with Pastor Tom to share her experiences, then asked if she could bring Stand in the Gap to Asbury. He was incredibly supportive of the idea. He had just lost one of his dear friends and was witnessing the grief of his friend’s widow and knew Asbury needed to do more to support widows in our church family as well as the community. From there, Melissa birthed Asbury’s ministry to widows through SITGM. Stand in the Gap Ministry is celebrating its 20th year anniversary. Co-founder Buddy Stone felt the Lord calling him to fulfill Psalm 68:5-6 in a tangible way.

LIFECARE A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families; He leads out the prisoners with singing.

After retirement, Buddy sensed the next chapter of his life was to follow the Lord’s leading to look after widows, orphans and prisoners. His obedience has led to the development of resources such as mentoring programs, tutoring, transitional living, prayer and more that assist in helping those in need.

Melissa’s involvement in our local SITGM chapter led to a partnership with OU Center of Applied Research for Nonprofit and Facebook to survey more than 1,400 in the Tulsa area. They learned: • 73 percent said their church did not have a widow ministry.

• 50 percent said they left the church they attended with their spouse.

• 17 percent said they specifically looked for a new church home with a widow ministry.

These results made Melissa extra thankful for Asbury being a church that offered SITGM as a place for hurting women to come together for support. “I’ve learned that really only another widow can truly understand what a widow goes through after the loss of her husband, and most widows will not ask for help. There is a general misconception that after the funeral is over and the widow appears to regain normalcy in her everyday life, no need exists for her care. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

According to the US Census Bureau, about 700,000 women are widowed each year. The Holmes & Rahe Stress Scale reports the death of a spouse is the No. 1 stressor. Statistics also tell us that 60 percent of widows will experience serious health issues within the first year of being widowed; widows lose an average of 75 percent of their support base which includes family, friends and couple friends; the rate of poverty among widows is three to four times higher than their counterparts; and 33 percent are clinically depressed.

Melissa and her team, Shae Hedrick, Kristy Garrett and Katie Ruley, help eradicate these findings by offering widows access to local resources, two monthly support groups, and two incredibly special dinner events each year. The monthly support groups here at Asbury meet the 3rd Monday at 1 pm and the 4th Wednesday at 7 pm. Women in the support groups are at different stages of their grief but will find

nonjudgmental, welcoming hearts to help them sort through their emotions, cry with them, allow them to express fully their pain and struggles, pray with them, and be there for them as they face the crises that inevitably come. There is no directing, counseling, steering toward a predetermined goal, no manipulation or fixing—just a complete reliance on God to work among the women.

The two dinner events are designed to make the widows feel loved and valued. The Valentine’s dinner theme is Be-YOU-tiful Masterpiece (no charge). The summer dinner theme is Lemonade & Laughter ($10). Both offer a delicious meal from Eats & Sweets, wonderful entertainment and a specially selected gift from a local vender. Melissa said, “The dinners are our way of serving these precious ladies. This is a night to love on these women and let them know they are not forgotten. The most remarkable thing is watching the women go out of their way to love on each other. Hugs, smiles, words of encouragement —it is a beautiful thing to witness.”

This year’s Valentine’s dinner will not only be packed with more than 200 women in the Community Life Center but will hold the possibilities of hosting a film crew. SITGM has caught the attention of Trinity Broadcast Network. They plan to be onsite to capture the heart of the ministry on film as a special on-air feature. TBN hopes to encourage other churches around the country to start SITGM chapters that will reach out to widows. Asbury’s program was selected due to Melissa’s hard work and special touch. Our prayer is for God’s hand to be on this project so the love of Christ is shared in this special way.

SAVE the DATES Be-YOU-tiful Valentine’s Dinner February 13 at 5:30 pm Lemonade & Laughter Dinner July 19 at 5:30 pm Monthly support groups 3rd Monday at 1 pm, Room 1506 4th Wednesday at 7pm, Room 2201, child care available Register for dinners by contacting Melissa4141@cox.net or call 918.640.7573.

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CHILDREN

E P C S E R from a T

7-YEAR-OLD PERSPECTIVE

By Sarah Pradhan

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CHILDREN

In August of last year, “Respect” was the name of the game around our children’s ministry.

I am Sarah Pradham, and I lead a group of giggly kindergarten, first, and second graders on Sunday morning. Respect is a word that is often heard, but rarely understood. As I dove into the topic myself, I had to think long and hard about how to help our elementary kids understood what it meant to show respect to others and to our awesome God. Enter Nealee Wells, a 7-year-old in my class who can be found shepherding doe-eyed kindergartners around my room on Sunday mornings.

During our first teaching on respect, Nealee raised her hand.

“Miss Sarah, did you know I won an award for respect at my school?”

“I had no idea!” I exclaimed, as per usual. “Next week I would love for you to tell us more about that!”

It’s the kind of well-meaning promise anyone who teaches children makes. What I hadn’t banked on was how seriously Nealee took me.

It’s the next Sunday. I’m out in the hall greeting parents when Nealee finds me to “check that I’m still on board” with her speaking today. (That is a direct quote, folks. From a 7-year old.) How could I say no?

You could have heard a pen drop in my room.

“Respect means doing unto others as you would have them do unto you,” Nealee continued. “So, this means that we need make sure that we are always using our best manners when we speak to people.”

As Nealee spoke, she began to pace around the stage, almost an exact copy of the way I do when I’m teaching, brandishing that microphone with the confidence of a lead pastor. Before I knew it, she had called another kiddo up on the stage (whom she selected by telling the group that she would be choose whoever was sitting up “straight and tall”). She demonstrated the importance of saying please and thank you, and my normally wiggly listeners were riveted.

I ended my teaching shortly after Nealee finished. How do you follow that up? I hadn’t even thought to teach about manners. In my perfectly outlined lesson plans, it had never once occurred to me.

Isn’t it interesting how children are able to be so near to the heart of Jesus?

How fearlessly they’ll use their gifts, with nothing but the assurance that the Lord has called them to it?

“Okay, so is it alright if I bring another kid up on the stage with me at one point to help and demonstrate my lesson?”

“Um, sure!” I told her, before she scampered away, her sweet eyes full of purpose.

In the midst of my lesson, I had a Jesus-take-the-wheel sort of moment and then called her up to the stage.

Immediately, she took the mic out of my hand and spoke directly into it.

Nealee is a student at Wolf Creek Elementary. She has asked Jesus to be her Savior, though according to her mother, Kelly, she thinks Jesus could “probably use a haircut!” She prays with her family around the dinner table, and plans to become a teacher.

I think I speak for all of us when I say that I want to become more like Nealee.

“Today I’m going to be sharing with you about respect. But first I want to thank all of our teachers and leaders for loving us and for taking the time to teach us.”

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GLOBAL OUTREACH

ASBURY OUTREACH to SYRIAN REFUGEES in LEBANON

By Susanne Johnson and Marilene Long In one of Beirut, Lebanon’s poorest neighborhoods, narrow streets are jammed with cars, motorbikes, pedestrians and the overflow of goods from small, storefront shops.

Overhead is an incredible jumble of electrical wires. Laundry hangs from windows. This neighborhood of Nabaa is home to one of Beirut’s largest concentrations of refugees. Families who have fled the terrors of war in Syria are crammed into tiny rooms or apartments with little hope for a better life.

Public schools have no space for refugee children, and private schools are hopelessly out of reach financially.

The Horizons Center (Asbury’s on-site partner in ministry) is strategically located in the middle of this community. At any given time, a medical or dental clinic is providing care to patients and giving out free medicines, or food packages are being distributed. In another area, refugee women are studying the Bible, and godly counselors are listening to a traumatized family’s story. Several times a week, dozens of people overflow the newly expanded worship space into the small courtyard. These worshippers, who very recently were responding to the Islamic call to prayer, now lift their voices in praise to Jesus for the new life and hope they have found in Him. Upstairs at School of Hope, more than 200 students are learning about God as part of their education.

Report from team leader, Susanne Johnson In October 2017, Asbury sent its first medical mission team to Beirut. This was in response to the Syrian refugee crisis.

Six amazing servants embarked upon our maiden voyage to do ministry there to these greatly marginalized persons.

Team members were Susanne Johnson, Dr. Kent Farish, Leah Farish, Laura Bloomfield, Andrea Livingston and Chuck Brashers.

Before our team departed, we had a number of specific concerns and prayer requests. Here are a few of the ways the Lord heard and answered our prayers in mighty ways as reported by Susanne Johnson: 1. God provided very thorough pre-trip orientation for our team.

A. A Frontiers missionary trained us in middle-eastern culture.

B. A therapist whose Ph.D. work included trauma care trained us on how to best function (and contribute) in a setting of trauma, and how to best aid the long-term missionaries living there.

C. A registered nurse from Asbury, who has written a book on the topic, trained on “healing prayer;” the importance of asking God for His supernatural wisdom and healing as we diagnosed and treated each patient.

GLOBAL OUTREACH 2. We experienced safe travels and, though our entire team got sick in Beirut last fall, no one got sick this time! I don’t know how we could have run the clinic if even one of us had been out of commission for even a day. Nor was jet lag much of a problem.

11. The weather was perfect for clinic the entire week. This was a great blessing, because with limited shelter, the clinic had could not have accommodated the crowds. The one downpour came just as we were wrapping up clinic for the day. Nothing was damaged by the rain.

3. We were a small team but could perform the key roles with our doctor, nurse practitioner, registration/triage helper, pharmacy helper, prayer chaplain, and – a bonus for the children and their moms – someone running crafts and games with the children. In that part of the world, it is highly unusual for someone to invest his/her energy in preparing activities for the children. Therefore, the mothers and the precious children, felt loved and cared for in a memorable way.

12. As was asked in prayer, our team demonstrated unity, boldness, wisdom, patience and Christ’s love. Overall, the Lord equipped to work together like a well-oiled machine.

4. All our medicines, clinic supplies, and team members arrived on time and had no delay in customs. It would have been quite difficult to run clinic if even one crate had not arrived.

5. Each day, 35 to 55 Syrian refugees were treated by our small team.

6. Relationships were deepened with our partners in Lebanon.

7. Strategic connections were made with other individuals and organizations serving in this area, so we could coordinate services and build upon each other’s strengths.

8. The “clinic in a box” worked beautifully in both clinic settings; the Beirut Center Monday through Thursday and in the Bekaa Valley on Friday. All of our equipment and remaining medicines were left for future teams to use.

Thank you, Blessings International, for donating almost $5000 in medicines and supplies! (See related story in this Tidings issue on page 22.)

9. In the Valley, though power hadn’t yet been hooked up in the new Horizons Center (still an empty shell of a building), we were able to run an extension cord and use a tiny desk lamp which we found at the last minute. So even though this concrete building did not have a single window, we were able to manage a second exam “room” and see twice as many patients as could have been possible without that that little light.

10. The water was connected just days before our Bekaa clinic day, so we had sinks for washing and functioning toilets!

This had been a concern for running a medical clinic, but we had planned to push through and do our best with water hauled from Beirut.

God is answering our prayers! More and more Kurdish people are coming to the weekly Kurdish-language meetings at the Center where they learn His Word and experience the love of Jesus, and the school has been able to renovate and multiply its classroom space.

Thank you for your faithful prayers and possible team participation!

PRAYER REQUESTS

as the ministry moves forward.

The Center’s evangelistic outreach. A stream of refugees comes to the Center seeking help and hope. Pray for a clear presentation of the Gospel to each one. Ask God to remove the spiritual blinders and continue to bring many to faith in Him. The staff. The never-ending needs of refugees can be draining. Pray that God will spiritually renew every staff member to be a joyful, powerful witness.

Spiritual impact on students. Pray that each new student at School of Hope will be impacted by his/her teacher’s love. Many enter the program with behavior problems due to the trauma they have suffered. Pray that Jesus will transform their lives and give them hope.

A playground. Like all refugee children in this area, the students at Horizon’s school have no space to play in this dense warren of buildings where they spend their lives. So, Horizons wants to put a playground on the roof of their Center. Last spring, a Kinship partner-church team came and built a wall to make the roof area safe.

Good quality playground equipment is needed, and then a team to come and work with local men to install it.

Would you like to work on a project like this with a 2018 Asbury construction team?

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GLOBAL OUTREACH

From the

CROSS to the

WORLD

By Lisa Witcher

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?

And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Isaiah 6:8 Two crosses stood just beyond the prayer rails in Asbury’s Sanctuary. Pastor Dick Read’s invitation to serve softly ricocheted throughout the end of our worship service as hearts and minds were led to write down on cards the areas in which they could serve. It’s a moment from nine years ago that resonates in Barry Ewy’s spiritual journey. He was led to write…. ministry and medical missions… and was the third person to leave his card beneath the cross having no idea where God would take his humble commitment.

A long-time professional in medical administration and 22

pharmaceuticals, Barry Ewy serves as the chief executive officer for Blessings International, a non-profit organization providing medicine and minor medical supplies to free clinics in the United States and developing nations - as well as mission trips all over the world.

Blessings International began in 1981; Barry took the lead as CEO in 2013 after a four-year stint in Arkansas as a hospital administrator. Last year alone, this ministry provided medicine for souls in 107 different nations.

They are a small organization based in Broken Arrow and prefer to remain unknown to the rest of the world. Barry gently adds, “our staff is so humble, without praise or notoriety, working to provide medicine to ensure the love and work of God are spread through medicine.”

GLOBAL OUTREACH

Blessings is a wholesale distributor of medicines and receives supplies from all over the world including the United States.

“Everything we get we purchase.” While there used to be an avenue for donations of medicine, that ended 10 years ago.

Medicines that were donated usually had a limited shelf life remaining, and there was an inconsistency between what was available and what was needed.

Consequently, Blessings sells its inventory at a minimal markup – only enough to cover the overhead of the business.

Blessings does take monetary donations, and 100 percent of every dollar goes to providing free meds.

Recently, Blessings International provided every medicine needed on Asbury’s mission trip to Lebanon when we partnered with Horizons International and the Ananias House to serve and minister to the Syrian refugees. Blessings also provided all the medicine that traveled to Nicaragua with the 1Nation1Day mission trip and half of this medicine was gifted by Blessings. Recently, the ministry served citizens in the United States sending medical supplies to Puerto Rico, Houston and Florida during hurricane season. If we placed handprints on a map in each community where Blessings has touched people, we would see that lives and hearts have been changed all over the world.

The care, the vision, and the mission of Blessings International reached Mexico and one of its earthquake victims. He and others benefitted physically and spiritually from the prayers, gifts and service Blessings offers. A 78-year-old man had been trapped beneath his crumbled house. A team spent three hours digging him out, and though he was alive, his injuries and the length of his entrapment caused him deep pain that kept him from sleeping. Simple medicines that we each likely have in our medicine cabinets donated by Blessings enabled the man to finally sleep, free from pain. After the Tylenol settled his physical needs, the medical team shared the gospel, and the man heard more about true hope and healing.

The free clinics and the donated medicine exist as a tangible way to open the door for Christ – first meeting a physical need of folks who don’t have a personal relationship with the Lord.

directly with permanent clinics and hospitals bringing hope and healing and good, safe medicine to this corner of the world while making disciples in all the earth. Counterfeit or sub-standard medicines threaten the developing nations, especially for treatable diseases like malaria and tuberculosis.

Diseases like malaria kill millions of children and adults every year in nations that are underserved. These are diseases that we have almost eradicated in the United States, and missions like Blessings and people like Barry and his team bring equity and social justice in the form of simple medicines like acetaminophen and antibiotics.

As a member of Asbury for several years, Barry had always heard of the medical mission trips our church supports, but even with his medical field and pharmaceutical background, he never wondered where the medicine came from. His professional life led him to a couple of opportunities as a hospital administrator, even taking him away from our Tulsa community and Asbury for four years as he served in Little Rock prior to 2013. It was then he felt led to explore other opportunities even as his heart held on to the four words he wrote nine years ago. In all actuality, he was looking for a hospital administrative position when he found the Blessings International CEO position. With a pharmaceutical degree, a law degree and a masters in hospital administration, Barry’s resume seemed ordained with the skills required to oversee a medical non-profit organization. He left corporate life to fulfill a four-word commitment he made four years earlier – ministry and medical mission.

This remains as part of Barry’s testimony, his God story – a logical manifestation of God’s hand in his life, God’s message being heard and delivered on the steps of Asbury’s altar and His people answering, “Here am I. Send me.” Barry is thankful for Asbury, for its constant challenge to us to keep our hearts open looking for areas to serve and feels as though Blessings has blessed Asbury’s mission and purpose … to go into all the world and make disciples.

Those crosses metaphorically stand for each of us— still— waiting for our words and the willingness of our hearts — whichever should reach the altar first.

The future for Barry and his team at Blessings holds growth.

They desire to expand and to directly ship medicines to developing nations. Moreover, they hope to work more

Learn more on their website: www.blessing.org 23

CHILDREN

By Bonny Coats

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CHILDREN

Isabella Garbelman has been an Asbury kid since she was 3-years-old. She is now a bright 10-year-old who loves church, Tae Kwon Do, Jojo Siwa and teaching.

No, that’s not a typo. Just halfway into her 5th- grade year, young Isabella loves to teach.

“She’s a teacher at heart,” says Isabella’s mother, Lindsey.

“She loves to teach people things. I see her teaching all the time. At church. At Tae Kwon Do…” “…and I love to spread the word about God!” adds Isabella.

According to Lindsey, teaching is a habit Isabella has put into practice for quite a while now. Lindsey loves to tell the story about Isabella teaching other kids about Jesus at school.

“When she was in 3rd grade, she was found witnessing on the playground. You guys are always telling the kids to tell their friends about Jesus; she took it seriously and did!”

Two years later, Isabella is still taking the call to tell others about Jesus seriously. Isabella is active in our 3rd-5th grade classroom in AsburyKids. This summer, she asked if she could teach in my class.

And so, the process of developing a lesson began. We talked about what she would like to teach about, and I gave her copies of our upcoming Sunday morning curriculum. September’s monthly virtue was “friendship,” and Isabella decided she wanted to teach about how to forgive your friends, a lesson she had learned the hard way.

Do you ever think to yourself “Oh, to be a kid again!”? When we think about our childhood, what usually comes to mind is endless play, bicycle rides and zero responsibility. It’s easy to forget the difficult things that can come along with being a child. Take friendship for example. Pausing to think about your childhood friendships, maybe memories flood back about playing catch or hide-and-seek and sleepovers during the summer. But friendship, like any relationship, takes time and effort and an understanding of social cues that can be difficult to grasp. The unfortunate results of not abiding by these unwritten rules include bullying, social punishment and segregation from the group.

sweet 10-year-old decided she wanted to tell her story…and let God redeem it.

As Isabella prepared to tell her story, she knew exactly how she wanted it to go. She wanted to open with a multiple choice, large-group game and include a funny video and pictures.

She would speak on Colossians 3:13 and John 21:1-17, where we see Jesus forgiving Peter who had denied knowing Him just three chapters before. Finally, she would tell her story about how she had chosen to forgive her friends, who had decided without warning that they just didn’t want to hang out with her anymore.

Friday evening before the Sunday she would teach, we gathered in the 3rd-5th grade class, and Isabella practiced her lesson from beginning to end two times. She was ready.

That Sunday morning, she arrived with a smile on her face, simply giddy to teach others about God. When she got onstage, she was a natural. She told her story bravely twice, at 9:15 and 11 am. Friendship is hard, she taught the class, but forgiveness is worth it.

It was apparent during the small-group time following her teaching how God had used her lesson to help quite a few other kids in the 3rd-5th grade class see they weren’t alone.

Isabella prepared the way for several of our 3rd-5th graders to be open and honest about the struggles they were going through with bullying, betrayal and broken relationships.

Then, we could pray over them specifically and affirm them through their pain. Praise God! After it was over, Isabella immediately asked when she could teach again. She loved her experience teaching the class!

Months later, Isabella says, “I loved that I could express my feelings about what happened in the lesson and the story.

It made me think a lot more about friendship…I think about what happens if I’m in that position again? How will I respond?

Because I have to do the things I taught about, too!”

Imagine that! Our girl is already learning the importance of practicing what you preach. Here’s hoping for many more opportunities for Isabella—and all of our Asbury kids—to use their stories to tell others about Him!

Isabella knows the good side of friendship, but she knows the tough parts, too. Amazingly, instead of being embarrassed or shying away from the difficult things she’s experienced, this 25

SMALL GROUPS

SMALL GROUP, BIG GROWTH

By Madison Cotherman Last summer, a friend asked me if I had found a community in Tulsa. Not a physical neighborhood, but people in my life who are so much more than just convenient friends. Your community are the people who encourage you in your fear, celebrate you at your peaks and hold you in your sadness. It’s friendship based on more than the ease of a dinner buddy or someone to binge Netflix with - a community actively pushes you to be kinder, braver and bolder in your faith.

When I first started attending Asbury shortly after graduating from college, I didn’t mean to be disengaged. But I wasn’t necessarily opening my heart to the possibility of connection and growth either. Sunday after Sunday, I fell back in love with worship and then slipped out quietly when service ended.

The shadows can be a comfortable place, but God doesn’t call us to be comfortable, now does He? Then a few months ago I was invited to join a new small group.

Having grown up in a tiny, rural church, I’d never been in a small group. Walking into that first gathering, I had only the faintest idea of what to expect, and I’ll admit to feeling more than a little skeptical. Beyond the common life-stage of an unmarried 20-something, I wasn’t sure who I would find on the other side of the apartment door.

But as we settled in and introduced ourselves in a cozy living room, I was put at ease. We dreamed about what this group might become. This would be a place to dive into the Word.

A place where it would be safe to speak about our struggles even with the knowledge that God’s plan is so much greater than any we could dream up. A place to hold each other accountable with grace and kindness. A place to grow in our faith both personally and collectively. This place we painted up seemed like a place I needed.

We started with a devotional on contentment. As the conversation grew from timid to courageous that first true week, it was impressive how quickly we connected and even more so how quick we were to support each other. I felt out of practice participating in spiritual conversation and biblical discussion, but something about this group and the space we had defined made it feel safer to share. I was engaged – dare I say tinkering on the edge of growth – for the first time in a long time.

It was through that sharing that my own discontentment dawned on me. For years, I’d bought into thinking that my faith was mine and mine alone, and I didn’t have anything to gain by bringing others into it. I’d grown so comfortable that I was no longer growing at all, and I didn’t consciously realize it until I was sitting in the middle of a group that I didn’t know I needed, and now knew I’d lived too long without.

What started as a group of strangers awkwardly deciding on the structure and content of our weekly gatherings has quickly grown into fierce friendships rooted in faith. We’ll be deep in vulnerable discussion and minutes later rolled over in laughter. Sharing stories from our jobs and then sharing our prayers. Learning about ourselves and our Lord and celebrating the unique season of life that we share.

A few months ago, I told my friend I didn’t have a community.

Now I do.

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GUEST SERVICES

Offering HOSPITALITY

By Lucienda Denson

“I like to put smiles on people’s faces. I like to make people feel like they’re important.”

Brennan Yoder knows a few things about Asbury, and he’s happy to share his knowledge.

He is one of less than half a dozen teenagers serving in Guest Services at Asbury. “It used to be unusual,” he said, but more teens are becoming involved with offering hospitality to members of the church as well as guests. He believes that is a good thing, if for no other reason than older members are pleased to see young people take an active interest in the church. The first step in doing that, he said, is to step up and offer to serve.

Brennan is the son of Steve and Becky Yoder. His sister, Tara, is a sophomore at OSU. He has been at Asbury since he was “3 or 4 years old.” Part of Guest Services since he was in the 8th grade, when asked what drew him to participate, Brennan said he liked to make people happy. “I like to put smiles on people’s faces,” he said. “I like to make people feel like they’re important.”

On the Sundays he volunteers for the early service, his day begins early. He gets up, dresses and eats breakfast in time to be at the church at 8:30. He thinks people like to see those his age serving. “After I’ve done my serving, I go to a class for students at 9:15. I want to help. I want to make a difference.”

He is drawn to his student ministry class because it’s a place to build Christian friendships. It’s also a place where people

can feel loved, he said. Brennan has been involved since 8th grade.

It’s a commitment, and sometimes a sacrifice for the entire family, for him to get up early on Sunday morning to serve at the church, but “it’s worth it,” he said.

Brennan’s good with business-related subjects. He plans to major in business in college and eventually have his own business. His father is a business owner; Brennan believes there are advantages to being a small business owner beyond being the boss. Businesses seem to have more restrictions, including allowing discussions about religion in the workplace, than has been in place before, he feels. Brennan believes being a private business owner will provide a way to allow people to have congenial discussions about the Bible.

He likes the idea of being in a position of leadership that makes a difference in people’s lives.

Brennan has always been “a little bit called” to missions. He has gone on mission trips, and has found each one enlightening.

Last year, his group went to Memphis for Spring Break Missions. He said he was surprised to find people there who did not have enough food.

“It was an eye opener. We should be thankful for what we have.”

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STUDENTS

TURNING OUR WANDERING HEARTS to the LORD

By Melissa Renkema

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STUDENTS

There seems to be a lack of strong male Christians in today’s world. Fortunately for us here at Asbury, one must simply spend a little time with our senior high students to find some truly incredible boys learning and quickly growing into strong men of God. Two of these boys are Tyler Cox and Davis Woodliff.

They not only talk-the-talk when at church, they walk-thewalk every day in their lives and their schools. These two boys have been friends for years but really started connecting when Davis started a Bible study for high school golfers.

Davis started this group last summer, and it really took off this spring. These boys gather together from almost every school in the Tulsa area to dig into the Word and have fellowship.

When talking about this group, Tyler said that before, he had friends and he played golf, but those two things never came together. After being a part of this group, Tyler feels he has found his place.

These two fellows spur one another on. Since Tyler is a senior and Davis is a junior, their sights have been set on college. As Tyler gears up to leave, he said his main focus recently has been to fully step into his faith as his own and to learn how he needs to find the ways he connects with the Lord. Tyler has figured this secret out way before most other people, and his passion in seeking the Lord’s heart is inspiring. Tyler enjoys Sunday church, but he goes mainly for the fellowship and for the wisdom of those who have gone before him. The more traditional style is not how Tyler has found he best connects with the Lord, and because of this it has pushed him to really dig in during his own time to be filled and connect in the ways that fit him best.

Our God is extremely personal and wants to connect with each person individually, in unique ways, and Tyler has found and continues to explore the best way he and the Lord can be together. Tyler has already discovered that Sunday church is for encouragement and fellowship with other believers, and it is outside of Sunday, in our own quiet times, that we truly dig in and commune with our Father in Heaven.

The weekend at winter retreat was growth as usual for these young men. The theme was Wander, and the time was filled with teaching, discussion and conversation about wandering eyes and thoughts. It was a time to rest and really dig in to the Lord’s desire for our lives and how we can keep our thoughts and eyes rooted on Him. Conversations began

to focus on things like lust and jealousy; and while these topics are things we usually shy away from, they need to be discussed in a healthy and Christian environment. After all, Tyler pointed out that we were not created to do this alone, and we need genuine accountability to help us move forward daily. What far outweighs the uncomfortable is the desire to be better disciples. As Tyler puts it, “If you love the world, you don’t love the Father.” With this motivation in mind, the students found encouragement and training in how to keep their wandering thoughts focused on our good Father.

Davis also found great encouragement and insights during the retreat. With the advice of David Read, Davis intentionally began to pray for a wandering friend. Because of Davis’ desire to listen to and speak words directly from the Lord, he was able to speak life into a friend who hadn’t prayed in three years and who once again found the Lord during the weekend away. Praise God! Davis himself also connected with the theme of wandering and found answers he had been seeking for several months. As Davis had been looking to his future, he was wandering what he should do and looking for clarity for his life, as we all do especially near the end of high school. Davis learned this weekend - and the thing he would like to speak into anyone who will listen - is that our life is not going to be written out in fine print for us. In whatever we do, we are to glorify God, and if we are doing something that can’t glorify Him, then we shouldn’t be doing it. With this lesson deeply rooted, Davis steps forward in his life, in line with God’s plan for his life as Davis simply takes one step at a time, trusting that the Lord will make just that next step clear in the right timing.

I think it’s safe to say that these two young men will continue to accomplish unimaginable things for the Lord in the years before them.

With their solid basis in faith, their desire to seek the Lord in the private moments; and with their friendship, there is nothing these two can’t do. Both Davis and Tyler know and practice what it means to turn a wandering life into a wondering heart after the Lord.

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ADULTS

AN ACT of OBEDIENCE

By Amy Ghere

What is God’s will for me? I know! Big question, right?!

I think God’s side of His will is amazing, but my side of God’s will has a definite learning curve. Hence, I have loads of questions like: Is God directing my path in a completely new direction? How can I be sure? If so, what do I do next? What if I am wrong? How exciting if I am right!

Before I share with you this story about God’s leading in my life, I need to introduce myself: Hello, my name is Amy Ghere.

It is nice to meet you. I attend Asbury with my family of four.

We have been attending here for 14 years. My husband, Scott, and I are involved with the wonderful Ark (Sunday school) community. For you to understand, I need to set the backdrop about my personal history: 1. I was born in south Tulsa and raised in the Methodist church.

2. My entire life, I have adored animals. I volunteer at Safari’s (a shelter for homeless exotic animals). I clean, feed and play with tigers, lions, wolves, lemurs, etc. I am a glorified poop scooper.

3. My whole life, I have loved drawing and painting.

4. I am a proud mom of two great kids who have required reading minutes for homework. If they are required to read, I think books should not only be interesting, but teach them how to behave.

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5. I hate the devil. In my mind, child sex trafficking is the face of evil. I attended OATH (Oklahoman’s Against Trafficking of Humans) meetings until the group disbanded.

6. Sam Childers, a.k.a. the Machine Gun Preacher, is a hero of mine. He runs seven orphanages in Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda under the name of “Angels of East Africa.” Many of his kids are war orphans rescued from being child soldiers or sex victims.

What is God’s will for me? That is the question we all want to know. The easy answer is that the Lord’s will for His children is in the Bible. That is great! It truly is marvelous, but how do we bring the Bible into our individual life? God knows I am dense; literally, I am not the quickest to understand. After all, He made me a visual learner, so it is not my doing. Therefore, He really has to catch my attention, because those soft whispers can get lost in the bustle of life. I recall that different things started happening more than once. At least I am good at catching patterns.

First, I have not one, but two kids, and they both hated starting to read chapter books. You never know what you are doing with your first child, so I did not think much about his reluctance to read. Maybe it is a boy thing? Nevertheless, I didn’t think twice; until I noticed the second child, my girl, doing the same thing. Honestly, I had to agree with them that

ADULTS the books did not look very fun, being thick with no pictures.

For 3rd graders, it is a big leap from bright and colorfully illustrated children’s books to bland chapter books. In fact, the teacher had the class write their own chapter books to help them engage. My girl roped me into helping illustrate, and we enjoyed embellishing the story together. It was fun.

Secondly, my passions and gifts started to intersect Bible verses and sermons from pastors, repeatedly. It was more frequent than Sundays only, as I was listening to Christian radio, too. Being a saved child of God, I know I have a birthright of blessings. I was reminded to pray the blessings from the Bible, in order to faith-activate them. After all, I don’t want to waste my inheritance, and I don’t want to put limits on God. When God is your father, you should dream big if you want.

I consider my life worth nothing to me if only I can finish the race and complete the task the Lord has given me – The task of testifying the good news of God’s grace. Acts 20:24 Do not grow weary in doing good for at the right time we will reap a proper harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 Lastly, my prayers (about writing Christian-character children’s stories to raise money to feed and rescue orphans) were full of peace. I hate hearing about children being hurt.

Sitting and praying is not my first reaction when I want to punch the devil in the face. Consequently, the peace regarding trying to help was comforting. I presumed something was better than nothing.

If God for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31 If ye have faith…Nothing will be impossible to you. Matthew 17:20 So, I decided to start small and take a step. After all, if God wants to use me, I want to obey because that is where I expect the abundant life to be. I agreed to publish one book out of obedience. Even if the book flops, I will obey. Even if the devil attacks, as would be expected, I was determined to go to print. Thus, I started to write.

I began by developing a framework of what I thought a book for an average 8-year-old reader should contain. Of which, the first item in the book will be the Bible verses to which the story relates. Books for the average 8-year-old reader should be fun, with short chapters and more graphics. Then not one, but six stories quickly came into existence. With confidence, I fleshed out the framework for the last six stories. It fell into place and “Rabbit Trails by AmyG” came into reality.

The reason you needed to know the background on my personal history is explained below. On the front cover of every book, it states:

“Rabbit Trails” offer something for everyone:

For God, profits go to feed and rescue children.

For kids, the books have animals, art and fun.

For parents, Bible verses, character themes and mini-studies are included.

For teachers, the books are designed to aid a love for learning in fun, bite-sized portions that include science and history content.

Now, the books are done and I have more time. I can sit back and enjoy my evenings without having to sketch more illustrations. Although, God is already leading me again. This time it is down a new career path. Imagine what God can do with a lifetime of faithfulness.

The books are unique in several ways: Two stories per book (one girl story and one boy story). The books flip with a Side A and a Side B; therefore, the stories meet in the middle.

Content per story: First half is: • Bible verses (start with the important part) • Story • Bible study called “Wise Rabbit” Second half is the “Rabbit Trails”: • Animal science, fun facts, on the featured animal • History of the location setting (each story is in a different part of the world), • A related art project

Available online: www.westbowpress.com/bookstore www.amazon.com Website & blog: www.RabbitTrailsByAmyG.com Twitter: Rabbit Trails – AmyG@Rabbit_Trails Facebook: Rabbit Trails@RabbitTrailsByAmyG 31

COLLEGE

CONSTRUCTION ZONE

By Howard Dunlap For as long as he can remember, Matt Brown has been attending Asbury United Methodist Church with his family. He has a vivid recollection of the celebratory walk from the old church located at 60th and Sheridan to the new church at 67th and Mingo, though he was only in the 1st grade at the time.

Seven years later, as so many Asbury 8th graders have experienced over nearly two decades, Matt boarded the chartered bus for the long drive that would take him to the southeastern corner of Kentucky, deep in the heart of Appalachia. There, scores of Asbury youth join in the work Red Bird Mission does in serving the rural poor. For Matt, this mission trip, dedicated primarily to home repairs, turned out not to be so much about shingles, hammers and nails, but the start of a constructive change in Matt’s perception of himself and building a new relationship with Jesus Christ.

Matt explains, “Prior to this trip, my view of being a Jesusfollower was focused primarily on being a good kid—always conforming and following the rules. Do this, don’t do this.”

Filled with anxiety, Matt found he was living a life in a constant state of fear. Insecurity ruled his days. Searching for a safe harbor and craving attention, Matt found life to be, in his words, “exhausting.”

“It was during the Kentucky mission trip where I met the real Jesus for the first time. I tasted His grace and freedom. I was known by a King in heaven who clothed me in robes of His righteousness. I won’t say that after I returned from Kentucky everything was great and amazing. Life was still hard, but the Lord had given me a new life to walk out into.”

When Matt moved on to high school, he developed a hunger for spiritual knowledge as he grew closer to the Lord. His self-esteem, as seen through the eyes of Christ, improved immensely.

“Asbury’s high school group, as we looked for people to share Jesus with, would often venture out into the community. These times at the malls and restaurants in Tulsa were special to me. Upon entering college, I knew that sharing my faith would be a part of my life. Asbury helped give words to my 32

story—about how the Lord has been able to bring back a son who was lost. I am so thankful for these experiences which were crucial in preparing me to share my faith.”

One other important revelation brought to Matt’s attention during his time at Asbury was the importance of the Church, as the body of Christ. Matt noted how the Apostle Paul, in Ephesians, speaks to how the Church reveals the glory of God to the Heavenly realms.

Presently Matt is in his junior year at Texas Christian University, studying political science and economics. Upon arriving at TCU, knowing the importance a local house of worship would play in his daily walk with the Lord, Matt sought a church that was chasing after Jesus and equipping believers to share the Gospel. Matt found that special church in the Fort Worth community, and as he knew it would, it has been instrumental in his continued growth as a believer.

Matt elaborates. “Daily, I seek the heart of Lord through time with God, fellowship with believers, and sharing my life with unbelievers. I feel without pursuing these endeavors, especially time alone with God connecting with him, I would not have grown in the Lord.”

Despite the 300-mile separation, the college ministry at Asbury continues to provide much-appreciated encouragement to Matt.

He especially enjoys reconnecting with the close-knit group on their yearly college-mission trip to Mexico.

“I see many students at school who are lacking support from their home church. I am so thankful that I am involved in a community that supports me wholeheartedly while I am away at a distant university. Asbury has provided me with a special group of Christians that I am truly blessed to call my friends in Christ.”

COLLEGE

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GUEST SERVICES

A GIFT of

HOSPITALITY

By Lucienda Denson

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Church has always been part of Trey Cooper’s life. His earliest memories as a child include attending church. Unless there was compelling reason not to do so, every Sunday he and his family were in church, worshiping. He cannot imagine living his life any other way, or not helping guide others to that experience. That’s just one of the reasons he is part of Asbury’s hospitality team.

“There was never a time when church wasn’t a very important part of my life. I was probably around 10-years-old and the Power Team came to town. One evening, I went with my parents. The Power Team tore the phone books and broke through the ice, and all the other things they did. At the end, they said if you feel compelled to give your life to Christ, come on down,” Trey said.

“I grew up in a church called Asbury United Methodist Church in Ada, Oklahoma. It was a little different from this Asbury. We had a membership of about 300. It was smaller, in a small town. I would say the number of times I missed church growing up - besides for vacations or weather - I could count on one hand. My dad made sure we attended every Sunday we could, and we grew up in that church. It was a wonderful experience, growing up in that small church and small town environment.”

“I decided to go down. That was the night I gave my life to Christ. Everyone has a different experience. Because I had been brought up in the faith, I wasn’t instantly a different person. The one thing that did seem to change was a greater feeling of assurance, trust and peace of mind.

“I think that has also allowed me to live my life in a lower stress manner. It goes back to perspective. You have a better understanding of who you are. You are a child of God, and He wants to provide for you.”

GUEST SERVICES

Trey is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. “That’s where I met my wife, Jamie. We started dating in college.

We sort of decided to do all of those very big life experiences you probably should spread out. We found jobs out of college, graduated, got married, went on our honeymoon, moved to a new town and started new jobs in a three-week period.”

Trey and Jamie visited several churches when they moved to Tulsa, and decided on Asbury for their church home. They have been members for almost 10 years.

They have two children. Their daughter Linley is 5, and their son Chase is 2.

“When Linley was a baby, she was so easy. She would sleep through the night at a very young age. We just thought, ‘This parenting thing isn’t really that difficult. Why do people complain about it?’ We thought we must be really good parents,” he said.

“Then Chase came along, and we found out very quickly how lucky we had been with the first one. Being good parents had nothing to do with it. The second one was more of a challenge.”

Until early November, Jamie spent her working career in the energy industry. “She is now the CHO, the chief household officer,” Trey said. “She will be more involved with Linley’s school life. She (Linley) is in PreK at Metro Christian Academy.

“When Linley started school, Jamie wanted to be involved in that more than she could if she were working. She has the opportunity to help out on field trips and in-the-classroom activities.”

That, Trey said, was one way Jamie has to give back.

“We know we’re very fortunate to be able to do that. We have been very blessed in my career,” Trey said. He works in financial life management. “We help people make sure their estate affairs are in order. That’s as important as figuring out how to invest your money.”

Trey said he has a strong desire to be of service.

“That’s what I do every day with our clients. My goal with our clients is to change the way they interact with money.

That encompasses many things, including estate planning, retirement planning, college planning and risk management.”

something he does on a regular basis at Asbury with Guest Services.

“It is very important that a church be welcoming and hospitable.

The larger the building you have, the larger the church, the more intimidating it can be to new visitors.”

When the church began to focus more on the hospitality aspect, Trey felt compelled to become involved with that. He has been a volunteer with Guest Services for three and onehalf years. He considers it a part of the hospitality the church offers that is central to the church’s success.

“I am the Omega team captain,” Trey said. That is the greeting team for the 11 am service. “We have a team of about 50 people and are stationed at the three main entrances. We greet people when they come in and when people leave we say, ‘Have a good day, have a good week, good to see you.’ A lot of time, when people walk into a building they’ve never been inside, they might not know where the Sanctuary is, or where they can drop off their kids, or where a water fountain is. We want to be there to help them, so they don’t have to wander around. We want them to have a welcoming experience here.”

Trey believes offering hospitality is biblical.

“If someone walks through our door, at the very least they need to be greeted with, ‘We’re so glad you’re here.’ There are different groups in hospitality. We have Sanctuary connectors – people who help people find a seat. We have a Guest Services desk which has all different kinds of information,” Trey said.

“I feel strongly that everybody in the community can use their talents and gifts. I feel like one of my gifts is hospitality.

Other people have different gifts.”

“What the church really is, is a community. One of the ways of giving back is sharing one’s gifts with other members of the church and with visitors.”

Service isn’t something he does just on the job. It’s also 35

CORNERSTONE,

Giving Birth to a New Congregation

By Pastor Jon Odom On Sunday, April 2, 2017, Pastor Tom made the exciting announcement that Asbury was multiplying its influence by launching a satellite congregation in midtown Tulsa. This was a dream that God had put on my heart years earlier which was now coming to fruition. The vision for the launch of a new congregation was not about relocating current Asbury members to another part of town or “stealing sheep” from other churches but was all about helping to reach new people for Jesus Christ. The Church of Jesus Christ had always had a missionary spirit, and this same spirit has been central to the DNA of Asbury from the days of Bill Mason knocking on doors near 61st and Sheridan, to our purchase of the camp in Estonia, to sending missionaries to Central Asia and most recently, to the development of our new missional focus area of reaching Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

The process of giving birth to a new congregation is as joyfilled and occasionally stressful as bringing a new child into the world. I should know! We recently welcomed Odom baby number 3 into our home. Lots of questions arise: Will the baby be healthy? How is having this baby going to affect our other children? And: Can we even afford this thing? It’s easy to forecast the challenges, but when you meet your child face-to-face, you’d give anything to do it again. Meeting my son Gideon last year was one of the most precious moments of my life. I expect Asbury will look back on the decision to launch a satellite congregation with similar joy as we anticipate hearing stories of new men and women adopted into God’s family through faith in Christ. How great will it feel when we can share the stories of these new babies in Christ because we as a congregation took a leap of faith and launched Cornerstone?

One of my favorite authors, Andy Crouch, describes in his book “Strong and Weak” what he believes to be the “sweet spot” in life for followers of Jesus. For Crouch, we hit our sweet spot when we have high authority (ability to taking meaningful action) and high vulnerability (exposure to meaningful risk). What we most want in life is high authority with NO vulnerability. We don’t want to fail. But true flourishing comes when we go out on a limb, when we stretch ourselves, when we overcome our fears and push ourselves to the limit. Peter sure had high vulnerability when he stepped out of the boat at the call of Jesus. But through faith in Christ, he also had high authority and walked on the water toward his Teacher. I am sure that Mary was keenly aware of her high vulnerability 36

when she carried in her body the Lord Jesus. And yet because she trusted in God, she exercised high authority and fulfilled the unique call placed on her life. Jesus subjected Himself to a position of high vulnerability as He hung on the cross for us, but the Gospel teaches us that because of His humble submission, His Father granted Him the Name above every name— the Name of the highest authority.

Think back on a time where you risked it. Maybe it was when you asked your spouse to marry you. Maybe it’s when you gave sacrificially for the first time. Maybe it’s when you shared the Gospel with a neighbor. When we exercise our authority—especially in our walk with Jesus—and put ourselves in a place of vulnerability; we find ourselves in a situation where faith is required. And the Bible teaches us that “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). As we launch Cornerstone, we are embarking on a new journey of faith. I believe that’s precisely where God wants us to be—right on the edge of his Kingdom offensive. “In Tulsa, as it is in heaven.”

Here are three things we are trusting God for as we launch Cornerstone: 1. Men and women coming to Christ for the first time.

We hope and pray that, as we step out in faith, people will respond to the proclamation of the Gospel, become part of God’s family through baptism and begin to follow Jesus.

This is our heart’s desire.

2. Fresh life and energy within Asbury.

Few things rejuvenate and energize a person like the news they’ve become grandparents. We are trusting God for a fresh burst of joy and missional-energy within Asbury as we take a leap of faith and become spiritual grandparents of new sons and daughters in God’s family in midtown.

3. Encouragement for other existing churches.

I can tell you the that the Oklahoma Conference of United Methodist Churches is excited that Asbury is launching Cornerstone. Our hope is that our decision to step out in faith will encourage and embolden others to do new things to reach new people.

Thank you for the innumerable ways that you contribute to the mission of God at Asbury. Thank you for giving generously, for serving selflessly and for praying fervently so that together we can fulfill our mission of Helping Others Follow Jesus.

MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES

Rex & Dovie Edgar

Leroy & Nelma Foust

Ron & Peggy Hanna

Wally & Sue Maurer

Jim & Pat Miller

Mike & Jean Mosley

Arlin & Nancy Mullins

Bruce & Carolyn Nixon

David & Emily Peters

Bill & Doris Shackelford

Bill & Mary Jane Sparkman

Al & Sharalea St. John, Jr.

Ed & Anna Wortham

Gary & Celeste Zarley

65 YEARS

55 YEARS

50 YEARS

Jim & Pat Miller 01/16/53

Ron & Peggy Hanna 11/20/62

Mike & Jean Mosley 11/18/67

Gary & Celeste Zarley 03/28/53

Al & Sharalea St. John, Jr. 01/25/63

Leroy & Nelma Foust 02/17/68

60 YEARS

Bill & Doris Shackelford 02/02/63

Ed & Anna Wortham 03/17/68

Arlin & Nancy Mullins 02/09/63

David & Emily Peters 03/23/68

Rex & Dovie Edgar 01/12/58 Wally & Sue Maurer 01/18/58

Bill & Mary Jane Sparkman 03/25/68

Bruce & Carolyn Nixon 03/29/58

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NEW MEMBERS

John and Shannon Blair

Russell Bohanon

Mark and Cindy Byford

Miles Cole

John Connolly

Jack and Glenda Hinton

Hellen Horton

Lori Nichols

Sherry Sahlender

Kirstie Thompson

John and Shannon Blair

Jamye with Jade, Jakob, Jenika and Julliana Henderson

Lori Nichols

Russell Bohanon

Jamye with Jade, Jakob, Jenika and Julliana Henderson

Mark and Cindy Byford

Jack and Glenda Hinton

Sherry Sahlender

Miles Cole

Hellen Horton

Brad and Jennifer Shouse

John Connolly

Donna Lunsford

Kirstie Thompson

Edward and Gretchen Reid

Robert and Pat Newman

DEATHS Richard Baker Died 9/22/017 Husband of Darlene Baker Mary Jane Warne Died 10/5/2017 Mother of Paula Hubbs Elizabeth (Betsy) Miller Died 10/11/2017 Daughter of Debra Cooper Janete (Kay) Silver Died 10/12/2017 Sister of Donna (Alan) Snider Bob Keener Died 10/20/2017 Husband of Donna Keener Hugh Atchison Died 10/22/2017 Husband of Jean Atchison 38

James “Jimmy” Swindler Died 10/23/2017 Father of Shirley (Mike) Bennett, and Dorothy Swindler Elizabeth Diehl Died 10/24/2017 Wife of Tom Diehl Steve Bailes Died 10/10/2017 Brother of Patricia Bailes Jill Glenn Died 11/5/2017 Mother of Jerrod (Rita) Glenn Beth Limes Died 11/5/2017 Wife of Joe Limes

Jim Bailey Died 11/9/2017 Father of Nancy Phillips Kirk Godley Died 11/12/2017 Husband of Erin Godley Richard Marshall Died 11/23/2017 Husband of Marcia Marshall A.C. Griggs Died 12/5/2017 Husband of Emily Griggs Annavee ‘Elaine’ Phillips Died 11/25/17 Jimmie Louise Dozier Died 12/8/17 Mother of Martin Dozier and Janice Dozier

WORSHIP TIMES 8 am Traditional Service in Mason Chapel 9:15 am Traditional Service in Sanctuary 11 am Modern Service in Sanctuary

LOOKING FOR TIDINGS OPPORTUNITIES? We’ve moved that information to Asbury’s Resource Area located in the main lobby.

You can also find information online at www.asburytulsa.org

GENERAL INFORMATION Surgery or Hospitalization

Need Prayer?

When you enter the hospital, please designate Asbury as your church. Otherwise, we will not know you are there and a pastor will not know to visit. Some hospitals in the Tulsa area do not ask for this information, so you will need to alert Asbury at 918.492.1771, Monday–Thursday from 8:30 am–5:00 pm and Friday 8:30 am–noon. The after-hour hospitalization and surgery line can be reached at 918.392.1198 and is checked each weekday at 8:30 am. If you know ahead of time and would like a pastor to make a pre-surgery visit, please call 918.492.1771.

If you have a prayer request and would like it to be included on Asbury’s prayer list, please call 918.392.1142 to leave your request, or go online to asburytulsa.org/adults/prayer/prayer-request.

Many prayer warriors will be lifting up your concern in prayer.

We encourage you to use the Hospital Visit Online Form. This can be accessed at any time and is a great way to get your message seen in a timely manner. (Go to www.asburytulsa.org and click on “Get Help” in the center of the page. Next, you will see “Hospital Visits” as the second option where you can click on the “submit a hospital request” link). If this is a surgery, please let us know the date and time of surgery in the comments section. Please know that Asbury pastors want to be in prayer for you and your family.

After-hour Emergencies

Death in the Family When a family member dies, you should make one phone call automatically. Contact Sheryl Cory-Martin at 918.492.1771 and she will help you make arrangements for your loved one.

Sheryl will also work with your family to arrange the memorial service at Asbury.

myasburytulsa.org This website is available to all members as a way to update your contact information, register for events, give online and indicate ministries you would like to receive communication from. Make sure you have an account and check it out. If you have any problems setting up your account, call Kim at 918.392.2159 or email her at krenkema@asburytulsa.org.

If you have an emergency or death to report after hours, please call 918.392.1192 and leave a message for the pastor on call. You will be contacted as soon as possible.

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Non-Profit U.S. Postage PAID Tulsa, OK Permit #2439

EASTER SUNDAY SERVICES April 1