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

Our Mission: "Multiplying Leaders, Ministries and Healthy Churches"
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CULTIVATING THE PATIENCE OF JESUS
"Love is patient " (1 Corinthians 13:4). "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient " (Ephesians 4:2). "...encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone" (1 Thessalonians 5:14).
 
I read a recent article from Pastor Adam Ramsey about patience in ministry that really spoke to me. He said, "Like all runners lining up for their first big race, church leaders must learn to counterbalance the adrenaline that propels us out of the starting blocks at lightning speed with a sustainable pace. As pastors and leaders, we are long-distance runners, not sprinters." In an age where everything around us seems to require "great haste," Pastor Adam suggests we re-learn practices that lead us toward patience.
 
An unholy trinity of noise, hurry, and crowds can so easily rob us of ministry joy. There's certainly nothing wrong with a crowd of people in a very active church. But we should be cautious of the very things that Satan used to tempt Jesus before he began his public ministry. What were those ministry "temptations" that Jesus faced?
First, there was the hurry of immediate gratification: "Turn these stones into bread (Matthew 4:3). Second, there was the temptation to prove himself with a spectacular display: "If you're really the Son of God, prove it. Throw yourself off the temple and have the angels catch you" (Matthew 4:5-6, paraphrased). Finally, Satan baited his hook with the third temptation of global glory and power (Matthew 4:8-9).
Each of these three temptations-immediacy, legitimacy, and glory-are all about patience and timing. Eventually, Jesus's fasting would end, his identity as the Messiah would be clear, and the glorious "kingdoms of this world would become the kingdoms of our Lord" (Revelation 11:15). But not yet. When tempted, Jesus practiced patience. He was never rushed. And in the "not yet" of temptation, Jesus patiently trusted and waited for the Father's timing. In the Gospels, he was never in a hurry.
As leaders who look through the window of our congregation, we see misalignment between what we desire for people and what we currently see happening. "The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride" (Ecclesiastes 7:8). We must learn to slow down, to be attentive to the Spirit's pace for our church and to "be still and know that he is God" (Psalm 46:10).
God is ALWAYS doing more underneath that we can see on the surface. As a vital part of our District family, you are prayed for. We are making wonderful progress and have great days ahead as we walk patiently with Jesus. You are loved.






Dr. Larry McKain, Superintendent
Chicago Central District
Church of the Nazarene
NMI CONVENTION 

Our annual NMI Convention will be on Saturday, March 28 at College Church University Avenue.  Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m. and the convention will begin at 9:00 a.m.

  •  Certificate of Election online form
    • This is ONE form for: SDMI, NMI, NYI & District Assembly Delegates - please complete this form, or make sure that whoever is filling this form out for your church has all of the NMI Delegates and Alternates.
  • Local NMI President's Report/Local Council Form
    • Every Local NMI President needs to complete this form. This is ONE form w/ the President's Report and the Local Council Members Report. Please make sure that you, or a designated person, fully completes this form.
  • Work Projects during Convention
  • Lunch - a boxed lunch will be available for $10/lunch. Only those participating in the work projects will need to order a boxed lunch. Lunch is NOT provided by the district. Typically, it is the responsibility of each participating church to cover the meal expense for its' delegates. The lunch order form is in the same link as the work projects. 
  • Love Offerings (please bring a separate check payable to CCD NMI - with offering specified in the memo line)
    • Missionary Speaker, Rev. Dwight Rich
    • Costa Rica North District - as a Celebration of our 10-year partnership
  • Links - please pay your Links apportionment online at Funding the Mission - your church treasurer can pay this for you. Please be sure to specify that it is for Links and which missionary you are sending funds.
The deadline for all forms to be submitted is Saturday, February 15. 

CHILDREN'S BIBLE QUIZ MEET

The carnival for our children's Bible quizzing program will be happening on Saturday, February 22 at Manteno Nazarene Church. The event will begin at 9:30. All children's Bible quizzers are invited to join us for a fun day of games and activities, as well as Bible quizzing! 

If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Peeler. 
FEBRUARY PASTORS ON PURPOSE

Reverend Irene Lewis-Wimbley spoke to us at our February POPs meeting about racial reconciliation. She spoke about our opportunity and responsibility as the church to break through barriers, build relationships and create the beloved community that Christ calls us to. 

We hope to see you at next month's POPS on Thursday, March 12! 
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! 

DISTRICT COLLABORATION

We love the way that Pastor Nate Smith at Lighthouse Community is collaborating with other churches and pastors on the Chicago Central District! Pastor Nate is working to build interdependent relationships and partnerships by inviting by Dr. Jeff Stark from Reach 77, as well as Pastor Brad Thompson from The Table. 

We love to see the district working together to be interdependent as we all work toward advancing the Kingdom of God on the Chicago Central District! 
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. 
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!
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 Sunday, we celebrated the installation of Pastor Jeremy McLaughlin at our Danville Southside church. We are so grateful to have Pastor Jeremy and his family serving on the Chicago Central District! 
We welcome the McLaughlin family to Danville Southside -
Pastor Jeremy, Rebekah, Cabot, Ainsley, Tait and Ruby. 
UPCOMING DATES

Mark your calendar!
  • 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! 

Please be in prayer for Pastor Dustin and Amanda Hogan. Their newborn son, Dax, was diagnosed with RSV and has been hospitalized. Please be in prayer for them as they seek treatment for his quick recovery! 

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!