In This Issue:
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Our Mission: "Multiplying Leaders, Ministries and Healthy Churches"
REASONS WE ANNUALLY REPORT
" The Lord spoke to Moses... "Take a census of the whole Israelite community...list every man by name, one by one. You and Aaron are to count ..." ( Numbers 1:1-3 )
 
"From Attalia they [Paul & Barnabas] sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and  reported all that God had done  through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles." (Acts 14:27)
 
"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?" (Luke 15:4)
 
We have entered our annual reporting season here on the Chicago Central District. This is a great time to remind ourselves of examples in the Bible of accountability and reporting among God's people. There are several reasons we track church data, count and report to one another at District Assembly.  
 
1)  Individual people count. We count people, because people count, and if each one is precious to God, then each one is precious to us. God will entrust our ministry with more people if we take good care of the ones He's already sent us.
 
2) Counting sets a goal for our church and its ministries .  The easiest goals to measure are quantifiable. We can identify where we are now, where we want to be, and how to break it down to get there. Setting goals can inspire people.
 
3) Counting creates church ownership.  When we break down a big vision into smaller goals, it makes it easier for our church or ministry to jump on board with the plan knowing there's a correlation between people's actions and results.
 
4) Know that our hard work is actually bearing fruit.  When we start to measure our progress towards a goal, it allows us to celebrate the wins within the bigger vision. If we never know what's a win, then it's hard to keep going over the long-haul.
 
5) It paints a picture of areas that we are not directly involved in.  As soon as we have more than one service, one location, one group or ministry, it means that people cannot see and experience for themselves everything that is happening in the church.  Stories and anecdotes play a part, but statistics provide a well-rounded view of everything that's happening in programs that we can't physically attend ourselves.
 
6) It provides facts not guesswork.  We don't want to make key decisions off second-hand stories or well-meaning guesses. When allocating resources and directing people, it is most helpful to have accurate facts available.
 
7) Numbers are objective not emotional.  Often times we can be moved by stories or by the person we know telling them, clouding our judgment on the effectiveness and fruitfulness of one or more ministry areas.
 
8) It challenges us to improve ineffective areas.  We can only intentionally seek to improve the areas we know where we are falling behind. Often times the first areas we stop measuring are the ones where we're too scared to know the true results. That's a surefire sign we not only need to keep counting, but start brainstorming new ideas.
 
9) It identifies leaders who are doing well.  It's tempting to promote leaders with the most charisma, best communication skills, or strongest personal relationship. However, counting reveals which teams and leaders from across the board are the most fruitful.
 
10) It reveals patterns and trends.  A key benefit of accurately tracking statistics consistently over the years is being able to track the patterns and trends. So perhaps attendance drops significantly at a certain time of year, but if we know the same thing happens every year, it's not a reason to panic, but rather a time to get creative about bucking the trend next time.
 
11) It supports educated decision-making.  Facts about the reality of a ministry, combined with trends over time give enough data to help us make the tough decisions with confidence when necessary.
 
12) Counting makes us aware of early warning signs.  If we do notice a downward trend, then consistent counting allows us enough time to realize, try ideas and make a change before something is beyond restoration and hurts a lot of people.
 
13) It provides accountability within a congregation, board, and the district.  Counting not only keeps a team accountable to a leader, but also keeps the leader accountable to the congregation, board, and their district peers for the health of the church.
 
14) Counting creates lessons we can share with other churches.  As our district has valued measuring statistics for many years, it means the insights we keep learning from the process-what works and what does not work-can be passed on to other churches on the same journey.  We are stronger together, and the insights from our church will make the whole church stronger.
 
15) The Bible is full of numbers.  In fact, there's a whole book called Numbers! God is not scared of numbers and neither should we be. Through the Gospels and Acts we read about the numbers involved in Jesus's ministry, discipleship team, and the expansion of the early Church. 
 
We want to thank all of our pastors and churches for not writing off "counting numbers" as unspiritual, but appreciate that they can actually help us all to be the best pastoral leaders we can be. Thanks for filling out your annual pastor and church report! As a District family, we are making great progress and have great days ahead!  You are loved.  






Dr. Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene
INSTALLATION SERVICE

On Sunday, February 2, Pastor Jeremy McLaughlin will be installed as the lead pastor of Danville Southside Church of the Nazarene. We are excited for Pastor Jeremy, his wife Rebekah and their four children to join us on the Chicago Central District. 

Their installation service will be on Sunday morning, February 2, at Danville Southside Church of the Nazarene (1629 King St., Tilton, IL). Please join us in prayer for the McLaughlin Family as they transition to their new community! 
PASTORAL REVIEW

On Tuesday, the church board from Lighthouse Community voted unanimously to give Pastor Nate & Victoria Smith an extended 4 year call. We are so grateful for all Pastor Nate and Victoria have done at Lighthouse Community and we are excited to see how God will continue to use them in the days to come.   
PASTORS ON PURPOSE

Our February Pastors on Purpose will be meeting from 9:00 - 11:30 at Kankakee First Church of the Nazarene (1000 N. Entrance Avenue). Reverend Irene Lewis-Wimbley from Peoria's Southside Community Center will be speaking on racial reconciliation. Pastor Irene brings years of experience in ministry and social work, as well as a passion for bringing people together. You don't want to miss it! 

Pastors, mark your calendar and plan to attend! We are looking forward to being together! 
DISTRICT ASSEMBLY AND CONVENTIONS

Mark your calendar for our 2020 District Assembly and Conventions. This is a fantastic time where we gather as a district family to reflect on the ways God moved in 2019 and look toward the future together. 

Our SDMI (Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries) banquet will be on Friday, March 27 at Kankakee First Church of the Nazarene. The NMI (Nazarene Missions International) and NYI (Nazarene Youth International) Conventions will be on Saturday, March 28 at College Church University Avenue. 

The ordination service will be on Friday, April 17 at College Church University Avenue and the District Assembly business day will be on Saturday, April 18 at Gathering Point. 

We are looking forward to gathering as a district to celebrate! 
SUPERSTART!

CCD will be taking a group from our district to SuperStart!, an event hosted by an organization called Christ in Youth. SuperStart! is geared toward  preteen students  and features high energy worship, age-appropriate lessons, opportunities for small group activities, and fantastic real-life application for preteens to grow in their walk with Christ. This year, we are opening this up to students in 4th, 5th and 6th grades. 

SuperStart! will be held in Naperville on  March 20-21 . The main sessions will be at the Yellow Box Church, then our group will head to Naperville Trinity Church of the Nazarene for games, meals and lodging. The cost for the event is $50 for students and $35 for chaperones.

Our deadline to register is February 9th. We would love for you to bring a group of preteens from your church! Please spread the word  to the families of preteens in your congregation. Please email Anne Whalen if you have any preteens from your church who would like to attend! 

MISSION AREA GATHERINGS

You're invited to join us for our upcoming mission area gatherings! Pastors will be sharing about the good things happening in the life of their church and we will fellowship together. Please see below for the dates of the upcoming events. 
 
            Southern Mission Area Gathering
            Date:  February 15, 2020  9:00 am - 11:30 am
            Location: Potomac Church of the Nazarene
                             206 E. State St., Potomac, IL 61865
 
            Chicago Mission Area Gathering
            Date:  February 22, 2020  9:00 am - 11:30 am
            Location: Chicago Northside Church of the Nazarene
                             1900 W. Leland Ave, Chicago, IL 60640
            
             Hispanic Mission Area Gathering
            Date:  March 14, 2020  9:00 am - 11:30 am
            Location: Mt. Prospect International Church of the Nazarene
                             1501 W. Linneman Road, Mt. Prospect, IL 60056

A note from Dr. McKain: Thanks so much for all those who have attended our Mission Area meetings and for everyone's interest in reading MULTIPLYNAZ - Book One. A digital copy is available now at  this link ,or you can order a printed copy that will be available mid-February.  To date, over 800 copies are already sold. We are excited about the book's potential for helping pastors and churches on our district. Your feedback for what you are learning is always welcomed!
SOUTHERN MISSION AREA HOLINESS SUMMIT

The Southern Mission Area will be holding a holiness summit on February 28, 29 and March 1 at Danville First Church of the Nazarene. Rev. Lenny Wisehart will be coming to speak, and he and his wife Joy will be leading the music. Rev. Wisehart is an energetic, passionate preacher who is reentering the evangelism field after many years in full time ministry. All are welcome to attend these services! 

Service times are as follows: 

Friday, February 28 - 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 29 - 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 1 - 6:00 p.m. 
MISSIONARY DATES FOR 2020

We have a great line up of missionaries who will be visiting our district in 2020. If you are interested in having a missionary at your church, please email [email protected] to scheduled a visit. 

Stephen Phillips - Africa Region NMI Ministry and Urban Ministry Regional Coordinator
March 1-7 available, except Sunday and Friday evening

Rusty and Diane Robbins - serving in Eurasia with Jesus Film
April 3-4, 6-7, 4-13 available

Sam and Lumae Yangmi - serving in Northern Thailand
SUNDAY EVENING May 10 - Thursday May 14, May 16, 18-19 available

Jorge Baños - serving in Costa Rica
Monday October 19-20, October 22, October 26-27, October 29- November 1 (SUNDAY MORNING AND EVENING AVAILABLE) available 

Cosmos and Andronica Mutowa - serving in NCM Africa
November 4-7, November 9-10, November 12-14 available

DS VISITS 

Last Saturday evening, 80+ church leaders gathered in Manteno from the Central Mission Area. The gathering included prayer for every pastor and church.


We had a wonderful Hispanic pastors and spouses gathering this past Saturday at Chicago First Spanish.

Pastor Jennifer Jensen has done an exceptional job caring for the Momence church and community. We enjoyed spending last Sunday with some leaders from the congregation as they celebrated their final service at Giving Hope. 

UPCOMING DATES

Mark your calendar!
  • Thursday, February 6 | Pastors on Purpose and District Mission Strategy Team
  • Saturday, February 15 | Southern Mission Area Meeting
  • Saturday, February 22 | Chicago Mission Area Meeting 
  • Saturday, February 22 | Children's Bible Quiz, Manteno
  • February 28 - March 1 | Southern Mission Area Holiness Summit, Danville First
  • Friday-Saturday, March 6-7 | District Celebrate Life, Olivet 
  • Saturday, March 7 | District Advisory Board Meeting
  • Saturday, March 7 | Children's Bible Quiz, Kankakee First
  • Thursday, March 12 | Pastors on Purpose and District Mission Strategy Team
  • Saturday, March 14 | Hispanic Pastors Mission Area Meeting
  • Friday-Saturday, March 20-21 | SuperStart, a Preteen Event, Naperville
  • Friday, March 27 | SDMI Banquet 
  • Saturday, March 28 | NMI/NYI Conventions, CCUA
  • Thursday, April 2 | Pastors on Purpose and District Mission Strategy Team
  • Saturday, April 4 | Children's Bible Quiz, Kankakee Westbrook 
  • Friday-Saturday, April 17 - 18 | District Assembly
  • Thursday, May 7 | Pastors on Purpose and District Mission Strategy Team
  • May 10 - 20 | District Work and Witness Trip, Nairobi, Kenya
  • Saturday, May 16 | Regional Celebrate Life, Olivet 
  • June 1-3 | PALCON, Olivet 
  • Middle School Camp | June 15-19, Indian Lake Nazarene Camp
  • High School Camp | June 22-26, Indian Lake Nazarene Camp
  • July 9-12 | Kids Camp, Olivet
PRAYER REQUESTS AND CELEBRATIONS

Please be in prayer for Pastor Bill Luttrell at our Wilmington church. Pastor Bill will start the first of four weekly immunotherapy infusions this Monday, January 27, for lymphoma cancer. Rora's father is undergoing cancer treatment as well. They continue to be caregivers to their daughter Robyn who has serious health issues. Your prayer are appreciated more than you know! 

We would love to hear any prayer requests or celebrations from our district pastors to include in our weekly communications. Please email us so we can lift each other up!

If there is any way we can serve you better, please let us know!