“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.� Matthew 18:20
Oregon District Apostolic Accent Volume 48, Number 1
www.ORUPC.com Editor……………………..........…………….Kassie Meyer kassiemeyer@hotmail.com (503) 689-3589 District Officials Superintendent……………......……………Ted Graves Secretary/Treasurer……..........……..Dan Sargeant Presbyters Section 1…………………......…..…………Gary Gleason Section 2……………………........…M. Dennis Johnson Section 3………………………......……..Kevin Goodwin Section 4…………………………......Steven L. Johnson Honorary Board Member M. David Johnson North American Missions Director…………………………….......…..Steve Hanson Secretary…………………….……….....…Virgil Alldritt Global Missions Director……………………………….......James Bigelow Apostolic Man Director……………………………..……......Mark Edday Ladies Ministries Director…………………………......….Geanice Langley Secretary…………………...…….....…….Rachel Sparks Sunday School Director………………………….…......…Darrell Sparks Secretary…………....………………….....…..Joe Higgins Oregon Youth President…………………………….......…Stan Gleason Secretary………………………………......……Kevin Neu Spanish Ministries Director……………………………………......Fito Avenia Life in Focus Coordinator…...........Bill Tittsworth Prison Ministry Coordinator….....….Doug Lethin Media Missions Director……......David P. Johnson A.C.T.S. President………...….......M. Dennis Johnson Senior Quiz Coordinator.…......…..Brian Huffman Junior Quiz Coordinator.…......…Jonathan Toews
A Note from the Editor Stepping out by Faith! Has God called you? Do you know what His purpose is for your life? Are you doing all you are called to do and fulfilling His will for your life? For years I knew we were not where God wanted my husband and I to be . For years I prayed and lived in a place of discontentment...knowing there was more to our lives than just getting up every day, going to work , coming home , doing church events half-heartedly and then doing it all over again the next day. Never feeling fulfilled . Never filling like we were doing what God had called us to do. When I was twelve years old , I stepped into a Pentecostal church and knew from that day forward that God had a purpose for my life . I knew I would go to Bible College one day and I knew I would go where He wanted me to go. I never imagined it would be Portland , OR . The day my husband said he had a burden for Portland something in my spirit leaped . I had given up the thoughts of ever leaving Ohio. I figured we were going to live there the rest of our lives in a place of discontentment. Ha , little did I know!! I was beyond excited to hear we were being called to the great city of Portland . Something inside of me knew this was “right ”...this was where we were meant to be . The pieces fell into place after that. My husband quit his job and we began to trust in the Lord to provide for us financially. We were stepping out by faith and believing that He would provide every step of the way....and He did . The bills got paid , our home sat vacant for seven months after we arrived but God made a way and supplied . We saw blessing after blessing and many miracles along the way. It was a journey to get here . I never doubted for one minute that we in His perfect will . When in that place of discontentment, continue to trust Him, continue to know that He does have a purpose and call for your life . Seek Him and don’t settle for a life that He has not called you to. Step out by faith and fulfill the calling God has placed on your life .
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Kassie Meyer
Inside this Issue Articles/Columns 2 A Note from the Editor KASSIE MEYER 4 Drive, and Go Forward GARY GLEASON 6 Pray as you Go STAN GLEASON 10 Inform JAMES BIGELOW 12 When is a baby - A baby? DAVID REYNOLDS
Promotions 5 Shift Conference NORTH AMERICAN MISSIONS
8 Ladies Conference Pictures LADIES MINISTRIES 11 Missionaries in Oregon
FOREIGN MISSIONS
11 S.O.S.
COMPASSIOIN SERVICES INTERNATIONAL
Drive, and Go
Forward! By Gary Gleason
“Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee” (II Kings 4:24). We have much to be thankful for in the past and we refer to those events and experiences for learning purposes. However, we must continually look forward. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” Though God has been good, we cannot rest upon any accomplishment of the past but we must all “Go forward” with great assurance that He is with us and all things are possible with His help! A tragedy had happened in the life of the Shunammite. After the miraculous birth of her son, he had suddenly and unexpectedly died. Confidence in God would not allow her to be caught in the trap of despondency, but she set out for the man of God with faith that all was well. Her statement, “It is well” is a classic example for us of what it means to act in faith. As we approach the closing of the year 2012 and especially this Thanksgiving season, we are
grateful for what God has done in the Oregon District. Even though current events in the nation and in the world are filled with negatives and we could allow ourselves to become prophets of doom, in the Holy Ghost, “It is well.” Elisha tried sending Gehazi ahead with his staff to see if the child could be raised. This did not work and there was no miracle until Elisha went himself and prayed for the boy. There is no substitute today for personal involvement in the work of God. I cannot delegate my prayer life, time in the Word, moral integrity, life of separation, involvement in church services and functions, etc. to anyone else. I must be involved. I trust the attitude of the Shunammite will be our attitude in the Oregon District – “Drive, and go forward.” Setbacks – undoubtedly. Discouraging situations – very likely. Still, we must go forward with faith in our hearts that God’s Kingdom will progress greatly. If we will bind together in a spirit of unity, nothing will be able to stop the
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progress of the Church of the living God! Let’s agree together to “Drive, and go forward!”.◊ ____________________________ Gary Gleason is the pastor of Oregon City UPC in Oregon City, Oregon. He also serves as the Section 1 Presbyter for the Oregon Distric.
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Pray as you Go Sometimes there is a fine line between serving God and waiting on God. There are times when we have clear direction from the Lord and all systems are go, Go, GO. As a matter of fact, when Moses was at the Red Sea God said, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go...!” (Ex. 14:15 NKJV) When there is clear direction from God, the appropriate action is to
quit praying (quit stalling, quit trying to play it safe) and go. But there are other times when the appropriate action is to wait on God. Sometimes we can get so busy serving God that we make no time to draw closer to Him. The classic Biblical illustration of this is the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). Martha got so busy serving God that she made no time to be in His presence.
Campus Ministry: http://www.campusnow.org/
By Stan Gleason We are commissioned to go. Let us pray as we go. Let us stay connected to our source of our strength. Get filled with God’s power, presence, and strength and then GO!◊ ____________________________ Stan Gleason is an Evangelist from Oregon City, Oregon. He also serves as the Oregon District Youth Presisdent.
Commune-ity Website: http://www.thecommune-ity.org/
Ladies Conference Seaside, Oregon
What an exciting time for the ladies of Oregon. God met us there at Ladies Conferfence in a mighty way and ministered to so many. It was a time to retreat to the coast and bind together as sisters in the Lord as we worshipped God in one mind and one accord. Our very own Sis. Linda Gleason brought forth the Word in the evening services and God used her. During the day services we heard from Sis. Debbie Sanders, Sis. Swank and Sis. Amy Langley. Each speaker came and spoke with God’s annointing and reached the hearts of so many! We were blessed!
Inform! “Ye are the light of the world… Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5.14a, 16). “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” [Acts 1.8]. Connect… Impart… Inform. That is the triad of themes I decided to use in this and in my two previous articles in this publication. It is imperative that the church connect: with God, with one another, and with our neighbor. The purpose of this connection is to impart that which God has given us: to one another and to our neighbor. The trio is incomplete if we neglect to inform. A broader meaning of the word ‘inform’ that I wish to convey is not just to pass on written or oral information, but to demonstrate it. The Lord Jesus wants us, as little children, to ‘show and tell’. This desire is expressed in the Amplified Bible rendering of 1 Peter 2.9: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood,
a dedicated nation, [God’s] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”. The power we receive subsequent to receiving the Holy Ghost is for us to be witnesses of Jesus. The word ‘witness’ is ‘martus’, or ‘martur’, from which we get our English word ‘martyr’. We, as the early believers, need this power in order to attest to the truth of who Jesus is, the instructions he gave, the sufferings he endured, and his death and resurrection, even if it leads to our persecution and death. Nor should our witness be confined to our local community [Jerusalem], but it ought to extend outward to encompass our district [Judea], lost souls throughout our nation [Samaria], and to every nation beyond our shores [the uttermost part of the earth]. The utterance of the LORD God in Isaiah 43.10 and 12, “Ye are my witnesses”, may be directly linked to the words of Jesus in Acts 1.8, “Ye shall be witnesses unto me”. He was saying, in effect, “I am the one true LORD God, and you shall be my witnesses through the
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power of the Holy Ghost that shall come upon you.” When a lawyer asked Jesus a question, “tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”. Our love for God, together with our love for our neighbor, demands that we witness of Christ both in word and in deed. Let us continue “all that Jesus began both to do and to teach.” [Acts 1.1] Connect! Impart! Inform! ____________________________ James
Bigelow Oregon District Missions Director.
is the Global
Keith & Beth Ikerd; Namibia, Africa; Nov 13 – 18, 2012 In RV with 11 yr-old daughter - Aubrey. Steve’s ministry: evangelism, teaching, marriage seminars. Beth’s ministry: to children and ladies. She also speaks sign language. They served 2 yrs as AIM workers in Namibia and then as Intermediate Missionaries in Bophuthatswana. For the past 13 years they have worked with Mitch Glover in Alaska and now they are the first resident missionaries appointed to Namibia.
Please pray for our missionaries and the countries where they labor.
Keith & Elizabeth Ikerd November 13-18 (Sat/ Sun AM/PM- Oregon City)
Stephen & Yvonne Nix March 26-31
Africa, Namibia
Central America, Caribbean, Nicaragua
Oscar & Erin Rodrigues January 22-27
Charles & Stacey Robinette April 2-7
Europe/Middle East, Portugal
Stephen & Lynnette O’donnell January 29 -February 3 Hong Kong, Asia
Austria, Europe/Middle East
Dan & Debbie Barkley April 23-28 South America
John & Vonda Guidry March 5-10 Columbia, South Africa
Information on each missionary and country, plus many helps, can be viewed or downloaded at www.globalmissions.com Pastors can place their request for specific missionaries to visit their church by contacting James Bigelow at: 541.756.7141 or 541.217.4310
jamesLbigelow@hotmail.com
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When is a Baby -
A Baby? By David Reynolds
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations� Jerimiah 1:5
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A professor at UCLA Medical School presented the following case history to his students: “A woman who suffers from tuberculosis is pregnant. Her husband has syphilis. There are three children in the family. One is blind, another deaf, and the other suffers from tuberculosis. Another child died in infancy. Now a child is on the way. The class was then asked, “Under the circumstances, would you recommend an abortion?” Most of the students recommended that the child be aborted. Their Professor then informed them: “Congratulations, you’ve just killed Beethoven!” I believe that a baby is a baby from inception—from the time a live sperm enters and fertilizes the mother’s egg. God certainly sees the fetus as a baby. When referring to John the Baptist, yet unborn, He said, “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb” [Luke 1:15]. The Bible goes on to say that, “When Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb” [Luke 1:41]. How can a woman doubt that it is a baby she as she feels movement within her? What father can question the presence of a child as he feels the child ‘kick’, when they lie together in bed ? Would Jesus be pleased with the following statistics? •1,500,000 to 2,000,000 babies are aborted annually. •In many areas of our country abortions actually outnumber live births.
•40% of abortions are performed convenience. on women who have aborted God views the unborn as a other babies also. child--not to be discarded just •98% of abortions are for reasons because it is not convenient for other than rape, incest, or the mother’s life. •33% of abortions are performed on teenagers without their parent’s knowledge. •2 Million American couples are waiting to adopt babies. Source: Landmark Independent Baptist Homepage
In testimony given at government sponsored public hearings, according to the above source, the family planning clinics do not even refer to the unborn baby as a fetus. The baby is dehumanized by referring to the fetus as ‘products of conception’ or ‘uterine contents’. The heart of an unborn baby, however, begins to beat 18 days after conception. How can they then say that a baby is not a baby until birth? There has definitely been a change in the thinking of our nation toward the issue of abortion. In 1963, Planned Parenthood, stated, ”An abortion kills the life of the baby after it has begun.” Today they have become the leaders in the abortion business with revenues generated from abortion of over forty eight million dollars in 1997 alone. In this same year they performed over 165,000 abortions, or nearly one out of every eight abortions performed in the U.S. [Oregon Right to Life] Despite the fact that many in the pro-abortion movement cite reasons such as rape or incest, most abortions are still done for
parents today. God commanded, “Thou shalt not kill.” Rather than kill the unborn let us actively look for good homes into which we can place these babies after birth. Have you ever considered adopting one of these treasures? Remember, if you save one for eternity it is worth more than the entire world. It is one thing to throw stones at the abortionist and to picket their doorways—it is another to help one girl in trouble and to save one baby for eternity. Let us not only curse the darkness but also let us light a candle for love and truth.◊ ____________________________ David Reynolds has been the Minister of Discipleship at Portland Pentecostals since 2007. He is a graduate of Conquerors Bible College, Cascade College, Portland State University and post graduate work at the University of Oregon. He served as a teacher, assistant Principle & Principle. Since retiring from public education he has traveled extensively to over 37 countries preaching & teaching in Bible Schools and has written several books on Education, The Family & Parenting.
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SOS
Survivors Of Sandy Survivors Of Sandy need our help. The east coast has suffered massive destruction in recent days due to the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Sandy. It is now time to put our Compassion In Action! You can partner with Compassion Services International by donating $50.00 or any amount to our General Fund at www.compassionservices.org. CSI will be purchasing and sending needed supplies to our distribution centers in the area. You can also purchase supplies that can be shipped directly to the warehouses. Please conside donating today to help those in need. Hygiene Kits can be placed into Gallon Size Storage Bags with the following items: Hand Towel, Wash Cloth, Body Wash, Toothbrush, Tooth Paste, Band Aids (5-6), Hand Sanitizer and a Comb. Other items needed: Diapers, Baby Wipes, Feminine Products, Flashlights and Batteries, Bottled Water, Non-Perishable Food Items(Little to No Prep, High Carb/Protein) , Matches, Candles Distribution Centers: (notify contact person 24 hours before shipping) Glen Ferris Apostolic Church 9191 Midland Trail Glen Ferris, WV 25090 David Bounds- 304-419-2612 84 Lumber 6738 Black Horse Pike Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08234 Wayne Gillis -724-816-0232
Apostolic Tabernacle 923 West Washington Ave. Pleasantville, NJ 08232 Wayne Gillis-724-816-0232 Truth and Life Center 1924 W. Pulaski Hwy North East, Maryland 21901 Michelle LaVoi- 812-239-9750 For more information or to donate call: Michelle LaVoi- 812-239-9750