Independent Assemblies
May/June 2014
uniting ministries worldwide
Lord because the
me.
has anointed
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calendar May
Interstate Fellowship Meeting May 12, 2014 Calvary Temple Edmond, OK Rev. Dale Drain Golf Scramble May 15-16, 2014 Purcell, OK Contact Ken Anderson (405) 527-6030 North Texas Fellowship Meeting May 23, 2014 Refiners Fire International Church Ennis, TX Rev. Cord Blankenship Arkansas Fellowship Meeting May 27, 2014 Christ Church Alexander, AR Rev. George Dudley
June Current Members
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Interstate Fellowship Meeting June 9, 2014 Vassar Church Mulhall, OK Rev. Ralph Yost
July
National Minister’s Conference July 21-23, 2014 Embassy Suites Norman, OK
MAY | JUNE 2014
JULY 21-23
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CONTENTS
MOVING?
f 2 Calendar
Independent Assemblies PO Box 1546 Ada, OK 74821 (580) 310-0222
4 How to Get God’s Attention 5 Project 58 6 Next Level Ministries 8 2014 IA National Minister’s Conference 9 Hands of Hope
11 Board Members
Independent Assemblies PO Box 1546 Ada, OK 74821 (580) 310-0222 www.independentassemblies.org Produced by Layers Media, Inc. www.layersmedia.com connection • 3
How To Get God’s Attention. by: Mickey Keith
1. HUMILITY
5. REPENTANCE
James 4:6-10 NLT “But he gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.” So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”
Luke 15:8-10 NIV “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins[a] and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
2. UNITY Matthew 18:19 NIV “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.”
3. PERSEVERING PRAYER Luke 18:8 NIV “And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
4. FAITH Mark 11:22-24 NIV ““Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen; it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” 4 • connection
6. WORSHIP John 4:23-24 KJV “But the hour cometh and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” If you’re looking for God, stop looking, and start worshipping Him. He will come and find you! Worship is a devoted lifestyle of a humble believer in recognition of his total dependence on a Living God who is worthy of all honor and glory!
7. PRAYER/GIVING Acts 10:1-4 NIV “At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.” •
PROJECT 58 by: Mindy Wood
Larry Marler of Independence, Missouri, made a trip to the Philippines in 2004 to meet his future wife, Mae. Not only did the lovely bride-to-be capture his heart but so did the starving children on the streets of Mandaue. As he and Mae were walking one day, he noticed children with plastic bags over their mouths, apparently huffing a drug. When Marler commented on how sad it was to see children so young abusing substances, his wife replied to his horror: “They’re not doing it to get high. They’re doing it to keep from feeling hungry.” Marler said, “Right then God changed my heart,” he said with tears. “God put a great desire in my heart to do something from the very first trip. More trips over there grew that desire until God made it a passion.” Project 58 was born as an evangelical feeding ministry to homeless children. Their mission is based on Isaiah 58 which details God’s commands for the church to care for the poor, widows, and orphans rather than religious ritualism. They adopted an orphanage and continue providing supplemental meals for the children. This year, however, they’re planning to move there and start an orphanage. It seems there are plenty of children who could benefit from more charitable schools. The Philippines is the seventh most populated country in Asia and the twelfth most populated country in the world. Many provinces experience poverty rates as high as 52 percent. “The average wage is $5 a day. We work for nice cars, houses, gaming systems and clothes, but people over there just want to eat three times a day.” Somewhere in between despair and desperation, children find themselves on their own. “The biggest reason kids are on the street is abandonment. Parents go off and find work out of the country and leave their children. A lot of women prostitute themselves, get pregnant, and can’t afford to feed the kids. One day when we were there, we talked to a little five year old girl who had a five month old
Ron & Christi Bishop
baby that she had been taking care of since it was newborn,” said Marler. He and Mae hope to purchase a building but said it’s going to take a lot of faith. A liaison who helped them find it called one day. “She said there’s bad news and good news. The bad news is someone offered the full price at $518,000 and the good news she refused because she said God wanted to use the building. She dropped the price to $300,000 and said she’d wait for us. That’s the building God has for us, and I know it’s going to happen.” Three stories include enough space for 200 students and an upper room with windows that Marler said will be perfect for church services. It’s not the first time they’ve seen God move for the mission. When the typhoon hit, they heard of a pastor who helped 600 families with $16,000. All they had was $4,000. “I told Mae I don’t care how much is in the bank, drain the account. We sent relief to 1,045 families. God just stretched it and stretched it. We sent food, flashlights, emergency radios, and raincoats.” The Philippine government inducted the Marlers as goodwill ambassadors. With expectant faith, they can’t wait to see what God will do through the mission this year. For more information or to support their mission, contact them at 816-808-3393 or email lamarinvestments@yahoo.com • connection • 5
by: Mindy Wood
NEXT LEVEL - ministries -
Craig Lemley
In 1975, John Jacobs pioneered a new opportunity in ministry, with the Power Team. Preaching mixed with feats of strength like bending steel, ripping up phone books, blowing up hot water bottles, and leveling bricks of ice drew thousands of people. Churches, youth groups, and schools lined up to hear the power charged testimonies of these men who overcame addictions and other vices through a relationship with Jesus Christ. At the time, Craig Lemley was a tall, skinny kid in high school with a heart for God. Saved at twelve, he led his then-alcoholic father to Christ and was called to the ministry at age 6 • connection
“We’re seeing anywhere from 20-50 people of all ages get saved.” fourteen. His dad became a pastor, and Craig kept the faith all through high school as he witnessed to his peers. In 1983 when Charisma Magazine featured the Power Team, an elder in their church showed it to him. “I lost a friend to a drunk driving accident and when I saw that I knew it was what I was supposed to do.” Weighing 144lbs at 6’2” didn’t exactly size up to the job, so he faithfully worked out and two years later registered 205lbs. Eventually, a member of the Power Team ministered in a local church. “He pulled me aside and asked me if I’d ever thought about doing this and I told him about the magazine article. He said he’d talk to John Jacobs about it. It was a month later, and I was auditioning in Florida. In front of 5,000 people I broke bricks, gave my testimony, and I was with them ever since.” Lemley retired in 2010, putting in twenty years with the team. He started Next Level Ministries when he felt God call him back to Oklahoma to minister in schools and churches. “I was driving back from a crusade in Arkansas and I knew God was changing things. I’d been offered several churches to pastor, but I always knew I’d be pastoring here one day. That’s when God told me it was time to go back to Oklahoma schools.” A month after he stepped out in faith, the funding for assemblies in schools was unavailable. So he started visiting churches once a month and preaching or doing “Power Sunday” presentations, trusting God to provide the money to go into the
schools. “We’re seeing anywhere from 20-50 people of all ages get saved.” Lemley reaches about 70 schools a year and even though he can’t mention the gospel, kids are allowed to ask questions afterwards. “I’m speaking in front of 4,000 to 5,000 kids and they’ll tell me they’ve heard of the Power Team or saw me on Walker Texas Ranger or that they’re doing things they shouldn’t be.” After Chuck Norris saw the Power Team and was moved by the gospel message in his sister-in-law’s church, he featured the team on what became the most requested episode, ‘The Principal.’ “If you’ll notice, after that his shows took up a Christian theme instead of Native American beliefs. It was my five seconds of fame,” he laughed. But fame did come with this career and the risk of downfall with it. “The higher a monkey climbs the tree, the more his rear end shows. I’ll never forget Carl Strader telling us that we were climbing up the ladder, and people were watching us. He said there were three things that will take you down as a minister. The gold, the glory, and the girls. For me, I’ve never been money driven, I could care less if I’m famous, and I married my best friend.” At 49, Lemley still packs powerful force performing the same stunts he did for the Power Team. He is also the associate pastor of his dad, Jerry Lemley’s church in Sulphur, Faith Center. For more information, call 580-622-3114. • connection • 7
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HANDS OF HOPE by: Mindy Wood
Mental illness is on the rise in America, according to a 2009 report by the American Journal of Public health which showed an increase from 2 percent in 1999 to 2.7 in 2009. Two million people are suffering from some form of mental health that impacts their ability to function in daily life. Steve and Jennifer Stuhlreyer know too well how common it is. When they started working in an inner urban ministry, the mentally and addicted were constantly in need of their spiritual guidance, love, and acceptance. In Cincinnati, Ohio nearly a quarter of the population is dealing with mental illness. Steve Stuhlreyer said substance abuse goes along with it often for reasons that people may not be aware. Dealing with this illness is particularly painful because he says they are usually isolated, rejected, mistreated, fail to find work and thrive in a home. The place where they most expect to find acceptance often rejects them: the church. “The Gospel message is preaching spiritual healing, where the body can step in and provide community so those with mental illness can come in and not be ridiculed or judged. Unfortunately, there are churches who do that,” said Stuhlreyer. Leaving the office of pastor, Steve went back to school and got a Master’s degree in counseling and is an independently licensed mental health and chemical dependency therapist. Hands of Hope was founded in 2007 and today they minister directly to the mentally ill population and educate churches about how to reach them. “In Hamilton County there are 165,000 people dealing with mental illness. There are 1,500 churches, so we can make a huge dent in that need,” said Stuhlreyer. Educating churches helps them understand the need and the reasonable expectations of the church toward this demographic. Stuhlreyer has a seminar 10 • connection
which he presents to churches and parachurch organizations, a four hour presentation which can be done in one day or weekly. “The lack of knowledge is huge, and I think people are afraid of what they don’t know,” he said. One way they educate the church is to take leaders and anyone interested in that ministry to the streets where they feed the homeless. “They get to experience the joy of giving to someone for nothing,” he said. “God always moves on their hearts.” While he said bringing them into the church is important, he also said sometimes you have to take the church to them. “Hebrews 13:11-14 says Jesus was crucified outside the city gate where the outcasts were. He was there. The passage is telling us, ‘that’s where you ought to go, where Jesus is.’ We need to go outside the camp to minister to them.” Not everyone dealing with mental illness is an extreme case like bi-polar and schizophrenia disorder. Others like depression, anxiety and PTSD are more common. “It’s been estimated that one in three women have been abused and one in six men. There’s a lot of trauma out there. Essentially the church hasn’t done a good job of allowing people to be open and honest. They need to be able to say, ‘I had a crappy childhood. Even though I know God has forgiven my sins, these things still affect me.’” The ministry’s biggest thrust isn’t to build a bigger ministry but rather model something that other churches can follow. “We’re building the Kingdom of God, not Hands of Hope. Equipping churches is our biggest thrust.” Steve and Jennifer are not supported with the ministry but rather by his private practice. For more information about how your church can reach this population, contact them at www. handsofhopeministries.org or call 513-258-1474. •
executiveBOARD Mickey Keith
President PO Box 1546 Ada, OK 74821 (580) 310-0222 mickey.keith@gmail.com www.life623.com
Dr. Ted Estes
Vice President PO Box 2248 Claremore, OK 74018 (918) 341-8344 pastorted@lifechangerchurch.com www.lifechangerchurch.com
Ken Anderson
Secretary/Treasurer PO Box 1120 Lexington, OK 73051 (405) 527-6030 kda@valornet.com www.libertygospelok.org
Robert Johnson
Director of World Missions PO Box 978 Blackwell, OK 74631 (580) 363-2734 roj@clarionmissions.org www.clarionmissions.org
Jerry Edmon
Board Member PO Box 862 Elgin, TX 78621 (512) 281-5316 Jedmon1234@aol.com www.fwcelgin.com
REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES Southeast Oklahoma District Rev. Billy Hunter Antlers, OK (580) 298-2740 Southwest Oklahoma District Rev. Donnie Miller Cyril, OK (580) 464-2224 (580) 512-3657 Northeast Oklahoma District Rev. Mac Blackwell Locust Grove, OK (918) 479-6057 North Texas District Rev. Marc Jones Denton, TX 75751 (903) 675-6011 Southeast Texas District Rev. Herb Hawthorne Baytown, TX (281) 723-2278 South Central Texas District Rev. Jerry Edmon Elgin, TX (512) 281-5316 Midwest Regional District Rev. Mark Maynard Granite City, IL (618) 931-4106 Arkansas Regional District Rev. Charles Kendrick Alexander, AR (501) 303-0831 Ozark Regional District Rev. Terry Fletcher Aurora, MO (417) 678-2310 connection • 11
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