connection Independent Assemblies
uniting ministries worldwide
thanks give
Nov/Dec 2010 | Volume 2 Issue 4
calendar November
thank you Pastors Eugene and Tammy Christian would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support during their time of loss.
Interstate Fellowship Meeting Monday, Novenber 8, 2010 Cyril Full Gospel Church Cyril, OK Rev. Donnie Miller (580) 464-2224
December
Interstate Fellowship Meeting Monday, December 6, 2010 Mending Hearts Church Stella, OK Rev. David Tompkins (405) 386-4351
â–şFor more information about upcoming events visit our website at www.independentassemblies.org
www.independentassemblies.org 2 • connection
connection moving? November/December 2010
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Contents 2
Calendar
4
Kingdom Perspective
5
Member Focus
6
Missions for Christ
8
Change
10
Give Thanks
11
Board Members
Independent Assemblies PO Box 1546 Ada, OK 74821 (580) 310-0222
Independent Assemblies PO Box 1546 Ada, OK 74821 (580) 310-0222 Produced by Layers Media, Inc. www.layersmedia.com
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kingdom perspective by: Mindy Wood
In the American culture where the doit-yourself, “Lone Ranger” mindset and the CEO image are icons of what has made our country famous, it is a far cry from God’s government. Pastor Curtis and Jeanelle Reese are like many ministers today who have returned to the balance of the five-fold ministry, where believers are stationed in battle according to their gifts and sent out. From an early age Curtis Reese knew God placed a call on his life. At thirteen he immersed himself in youth bible studies and prayer groups. By 1976 he was a youth pastor, then an associate pastor by 1979. In 1981 he married Jeanelle and was ordained the following year. For the next decade Pastor Reese continued a vigorous ministry but one day his life would change forever. “A breaking point came for me in 1999 while I was pastoring in a community that didn’t have a spirit filled church. I began by doing most of the work and found myself in the emergency room. I almost died working myself to death,” said Curtis. Reese sincerely considered himself a “servant of Jesus Christ” but when he attended a John Maxwell leadership conference, he gained powerful revelation about God’s vision for ministry. “A team can do so much more. When you put people around you who have gifts you don’t have then you can do so much more for Christ than one or two people. God gives us the Ephesians 4 people to do the work of God together and if you don’t have that balance then your church will suffer,” said Reese. Balance is exactly what he sought. He began by asking several men to provide 4 • connection
Curtis and Jeanelle Reese
oversight and counsel and then built a team within his ministry that would help him see all sides of the work. Then he placed believers in ministry according to their calling and gifts. With a five-fold ministry in place, Reese also allowed the Lord to show him a much larger view: the Kingdom. “When someone gets saved in our church, we ask them if our ministry is a fit for them. If it’s not, then we check with other churches and find a place for them because we’re not building a ministry. We’re building the Kingdom. Our goal isn’t to have a large church. The kingdom of God is bigger than us.” As they seek out the hurting and oppressed, they mentor and train believers to send them out. Soon they plan to open a Bible training center to equip believers for their call to ministry. “It doesn’t matter if they return. We can do so much more if we mentor them and send them out using the Ephesians 4 model. We send them out to do what God has called them to do. They don’t belong to us,” said Reese. “They belong to the Kingdom.” Pastors Curtis and Jeanelle Reese now enjoy a ministry that is growing outside the four walls of their building with the knowledge that believers everywhere are all part of one Body. For more information visit www.spiritlifecommunity.com or contact them at 940.231.5848
by: Mindy Wood
Today’s pace of life and modern media generation have left many churches playing catch up as they struggle to connect with their congregation and equip them to build the Kingdom of God. For Pastors Thomas and April Buckley in Yukon, Oklahoma restoring discipleship and a family structure to the modern church is what their ministry is all about. In their early thirties, they are young pastors but Pastor Thomas hails from ministry experience that began at just 15 years old when he accepted a worship leader position at his family’s church. Since then he served as youth pastor, associate pastor, and just about any position that needed to be filled. Judah Worship Center started in April 2008 with a clear vision to establish people in strong relationships with Christ, develop their gifts and callings and to finally send them out on their missions. Establishing people in strong relationships means clear teaching and discipleship. “I don’t just tell the congregation we believer in speaking in tongues, I break it down. I don’t just say that worship is important, I tell them why. I see a new generation in church that lacks discipleship so we have great churches that aren’t very deep in the Word. I want to look out in the congregation one day and see people who can pray for me and each other,” said Buckley. In fulfilling their vision, the first step is maturity. “Our goal is to establish them in their relationship with God so they’re dependent on Him, not us. I tell them its not okay to take my word for it. I want them to come to me and say, ‘pastor I don’t think that was right.’ What I say isn’t the law. I encourage them to take notes, look up the scriptures and look to God, not to me.” When it comes to developing the gifts and callings in their members, Pastor Buckley provides the opportunity for those gifts to be used. “I’ve had some members come to me and tell me they have a word. I tell them to study and develop it and if they do, I don’t have a problem letting them preach because I want everyone in my church to know they have a voice, not just me.”
Thomas and April Buckley His open minded approach as a pastor also includes a passion to see the five-fold ministry gifts erupt in his congregation. Pastor Mickey Keith, Ted Estes and the IA Board provide insight. “Everyone needs accountability and I think the church needs the true identity that Jesus taught with the five-fold ministry. If people could trust the church again, knowing that they will find help and that there’s structure and accountability, then I think we wouldn’t have the problems we do today. If we tackle our problems as a team, each walking in their gifts, then we can conquer anything with that.” Pastor Buckley is excited about the diversity at Judah Worship Center and the family atmosphere. The inter-racial church is also a mix of young and old. “Someone asked me what demographic I was shooting for, young people or young families and I said I wanted everyone. I want a family. I want our church to be a place where people come to get established in their faith, develop their gifts, and then release them to do that whether it’s in our church or someone else’s.” Currently the Buckley’s serve as the Youth Directors for IA and are developing youth and children ministry leaders to meet their growing congregation’s needs.
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by: Mindy Wood
missions for christ by: Mindy Wood
K
erry and Twyla Ruggles of Missions for Christ, Inc. have been in Mexico so long that they consider themselves Mexicans. For more than twenty years the Ruggles have called Saltillo, Mexico home and when you hear their hearts for these believers, it’s easy to see why they are settled in the country to which God called them. The Ruggles met in Bible school in 1973 and married the next year. They were farming in North Dakota when God drew their hearts toward something much greater. “We were happily farming along but then the Lord started moving on us to know Him more deeply. We were at a conference and in two separate, open visions my husband and I both saw us ministering to people with dark hair,
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dark complexion. We didn’t fully understand the vision then but we knew God had a ministry for us,” said Twyla. The couple eventually returned to Bible school and graduated from Rema Bible Training Center by 1987. “We thought we were called to be pastors until the Lord sent Kerry on a mission trip to Mexico. God told him that’s where we were supposed to be. In 1988 we moved to Laredo Texas and traveled into Mexico. We moved to Saltillo in 1989.” Their four children, between the ages four and ten, tagged along as they traveled and ministered wherever they were invited to speak. There was just one problem. “We didn’t speak Spanish when we first came here,” Twyla remembered. “The people were so gracious and loving but we wonder how
they ever understood our broken Spanish. They accepted us.” In a religious culture where Twyla says that being religious is a religion, the Mexican people responded with deep fervor to the Ruggles’ preaching. “They’re so sincere for the Lord here and they want to please Him. The church has been restricted in that they only knew of salvation. We bring them the deeper teaching of the Word and challenge them to live in obedience to it. They’re open, they’re receiving and changing.” In 2000 the Ruggles started a church and a year later joined Independent Assemblies. They knew there was a need for Bible training and were blessed when an established school of ministry was offered to them. “Mickey Keith, John Sokolis, and Buford Henshaw presented us as directors and they have been such a blessing to us,” said Kerry. Since they assumed leadership of the college, the school expanded education from a nine month to a four year course. At two years they can earn the equivalent of an associate’s degree, in four the equivalent of a bachelor’s in theology. “We train them in the Scriptures, teach them to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and emphasize virtues of living an unselfish life, devoted to integrity and walking in love. We’re raising up teachers and giving pastors the training they’ve never had before.” In September they started the first of fifteen extension Bible schools they plan to establish. “We started one in Oaxaca City. We thought it was going to be another copy of the school here with teachers, staff and a building but the Lord gave Kerry the answer for that one night.” Students meet at a local church where they study forty hours for one week, every two months. They study two subjects and a others by correspondence. Using this new found model they plan to duplicate the system all over Mexico. These students and the Ruggles will also focus their sites on an untouched people group.
Twyla and Kerry Ruggles
“We expect to be reaching the upper levels of the culture that have been neglected. They have their Catholic religion and they are wealthy. They have not been reached because it seems ‘they have need of nothing.’ We’re excited about them,” said Twyla. The Ruggles fell in love with the Lord and with the people of Mexico. “They love their Maker, their Father and so completely want to please Him. We love these people so much,” said Twyla, “and after twenty one years of ministry, we really consider ourselves Mexicans now.” For more information about Missions for Christ, Inc you can reach them by email twyla. ruggles@gmail.com or call 918-398-9166.
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change by: Wilhelmina Tulfo
Change is not something that we readily accept. For most of us, change is something that we avoid because we are so comfortable with what we are or where we are that trying to take a step away from our comfort zone is difficult. We don’t like to change the way we dress because we are already used to the kind of clothes we wear, we avoid the company of other people because they don’t act and think the way our friends do, we stop doing a certain task because it’s not just our usual thing. What we fail to realize is that change is necessary for us to grow and to develop as a person. The process of change is definitely not easy and a person does not undergo total change overnight. Change is a gradual process and when a person is going through a transition stage, it takes one aspect of him to change at a time. For instance, having a new job would require a person to adapt to certain changes in the kind of responsibilities he will have, people he will need to relate to, rules and policies he will have to follow and many more. When we don’t like most of these changes, we tend to develop negative attitude towards them. In the case of relating with people, there will be a tendency for us to isolate ourselves because we are unwilling to accept people when they are different from us. When there are new responsibilities that seem inappropriate for us, we become defensive and would tend to consider the job as 8 • connection
inappropriate for us as well. And if there are policies which are so hard for us to accept, we begin to be irresponsible as to not to follow them. It is a great struggle to leave behind our usual ways to give way for the new ones. There are times when we just want to give up by retreating to our comfort zones and to not face what we have to face. We develop fear, intimidation and a sense of worthlessness which leave us hopeless and unable to move on. Our resort is to wallow into self pity and drown ourselves to depression. Good thing we have God on our side. Philipppian 1:6 says being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. From the time we have accepted Christ into our hearts, He has been changing us by dealing with aspects of our lives that make us weak. It is through struggles that He is refining us. The best thing about being with God is that we don’t have to carry the loads ourselves, we just have to surrender everything to God and let Him change us. We don’t have to worry about how long we can keep Him on our side because He is definitely going to stay with us until the end. What we need to do is to stop doubting and start trusting that He will be able to change us; that even though the process of change is difficult and causes us to struggle, we will be able to overcome everything in the end and come out victorious.
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Merry Christmas Happy Holidays from the Independent Assemblies
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than
give
thanks
It is not always easy to give thanks, but this is the very thing we must do in order to see God’s will accomplished in our lives. This is how we move into higher realms of faith for ourselves, for our city, and for our nation. Thanksgiving breaks the power of the enemy. Whenever you give thanks to God, despite the most difficult circumstances, the enemy loses a big battle in your life. When you give thanks in the midst of difficulty, you bring pleasure to God’s heart. He is looking for Christians who live in a realm of praise and thanksgiving where the enemy no longer has an ability to hold or manipulate that person. Satan is defeated when we have a thankful heart because thankfulness during difficulty is a sacrifice pleasing to God. Are you thankful? Are you thankful for your present circumstances? Are you thankful for your salvation, your friendships, and your job? Thankfulness is a key to your life. It is the key that turns your situation around because it changes you, your outlook, and your attitude. There is power in a thankful heart. Thanksgiving Brings Contentment Begin to thank God for all the blessings he has given you instead of dwelling on the negative. Discontent dries up the soul. Look at what Elizabeth Elliott, who lost her husband on the mission field and has faced multitudes of hardships, says about loving God’s will and being content. “To love God is to love His will. It is to wait quietly for life to be measured by one who knows us through and through. It is to be content with His timing and His wise apportionment. It 10 • connection
by: Debbie Przybylski
is to follow in the steps of the Master, as did Paul, who was able to say that he had learned contentment no matter what the circumstances. His circumstances when he wrote that? Prison. No easy lesson, but great gain which is the sum of godliness plus contentment (I Timothy 6:6).” Look at the example of Jesus. He followed the will of His Father to the very end. He obeyed without complaint. In Philippians 2:5-8, Paul says that we should have the same attitude. Jesus made himself nothing and took on the very nature of a servant. He humbled Himself and became obedient to death. We also are to have this same attitude with a humble and thankful acceptance of God’s will for our lives.
Offer God a Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving The Duke of Wellington was the great British military leader who regretted that he had not learned the secret of praise during his lifetime. He had many great accomplishments and even defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. He was a brilliant and demanding man and when he was older, he realized that there were areas in his life that needed to change. In his old age a women asked him this question, “What would you do differently if you had your life to live over again?” He thought carefully and said, “I would give more praise.” This is a lesson for all of us; if we would learn to be people of praise and thanksgiving all the days of our lives it would be a great accomplishment.
Executive Board 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 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 Central Texas District Rev. Dr. Daniel Sue Kemp, TX (903) 498-4704 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 District Rev. Charles Kendrick Alexander, AR (501) 303-0831
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www.independentassemblies.org
Independent Assemblies P.O. Box 1546 Ada, OK 74821