Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2017 District Superintendent Report
2017 District Superintendent Report
Eastern Kentucky
District Superintendents
Report
General Superintendent Dr. David Graves; Dr. Henry Spaulding, President, MVNU; former District
Superintendent, Dr. Garrett Mills, delegates and friends of the Eastern Kentucky District Church of the
Nazarene: It is an honor and privilege today to present my 3rd report to the Eastern Kentucky District
Assembly.
I have been reminded this past year of the need for us all to look beyond where we have been. We also need to
see where we are currently and also look to see where God wants us to be. Ive been reminded for the need to
have a clear vision and mission. This is for us as individuals, laity and clergy and I also mean this for the
Church. It is easy to become comfortable with what used to work for the Church to move forward and not
recognize that it might not be working any longer. I am not referring to our Holiness message which never
changes but I am referring to the methods that need changed to reach the lost people of our day. The Great
Commission in Matt 28:19-20 says: Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
God builds His Bride the Church and we are to GO and make Christlike Disciples. Today I am praying that God
will begin a Vision Expansion for us as individuals, as churches, and as a district.
Isaiah 54: 2-3 says Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do
not spare; Lengthen your cords, And strengthen your stakes. 3 For you shall expand to the right and to the left,
and your descendants will inherit the nations, And make the desolate cities inhabited. I see God as wanting to
stretch us and move us and expand our vision.
The Isaiah 54 passage is relying on the faithfulness of those who have gone before and their strong leadership. I
see across our District a host of faithful laypersons and pastors spreading the Gospel. Thank you for your
faithfulness.
As Joni and I visit each of our churches throughout the year we see faithfulness of our laity and clergy. We
have had the privilege of visiting every one of our churches at least once and some more than once. We have
been hearing the stories of how God has helped the church through times of trial and times of blessing. I am
thankful for the strong leadership of these fine folks. I believe our true leaders see lost people for who they are,
LOST.
I must take a moment and thank my sweet precious Joni. Yesterday we celebrated 30 years of marriage. These
have been the best years of my life. My life is richer, fuller, and blessed because of her. I get the joy of every
day serving the Lord with my best friend. Ive seen her pray, sacrifice, cry, love, and joyfully serve the Lord for
all these years. Thank you, Joni. I love you. I am also blessed with the three most wonderful children in the
world. McKenna, Mac, and Lane I love you and am proud of you. Joni and I thank the Lord for each of our
amazing children.
I see our extraordinary leadership leading the way through faithful ministers and laymen. I see God as wanting
to stretch us and move us and expand our vision.
Through Vision Expansion we have extraordinary leadership and we see Effectual Gain
II. Vision Expansion = Effectual Gain
When I think of Vision Expansion I realize I must think outside the box. In Isaiah 54 the prophet is pleading
to God for expansion. The expansion is compared to a barren woman so wanting to give birth. He equates this
scenario to the church and affirms the barren women can do nothing but depend on God. I trust we all
understand the only answer is and has always been Jesus. Jesus is still the only answer. For us to see souls
saved we must rely 100% on the Lord for guidance and wisdom. As part of this Vision Expansion I believe we
will begin to see great results. God has given us a good report. When we have been captivated by our mission
to win lost people many great things will be accomplished. I want to share some of these great results.
Dr. Spaulding and Sharon, it is always a joy to have you with us for our Assembly. The region and Eastern
Kentucky is blessed to have you a part of our lives. We are excited that you will be our featured speaker for
Ministers and Mates Retreat. Thanks for all you do through MVNU.
We supported our district ministries through our District Budget with $251,568 which is 81% of our
assigned budget.
We supported our retired missionaries and ministers through Pensions & Benefits by giving $87,299
which is 75% of our budget. Our over 30 retired ministers, existing credentialed pastors and the many
others from around the world are grateful for your faithfulness. Please stay faithful in this area.
I look forward to the day we will reach our goal of being 100% in all four of these budgets. We rejoice that 29
of our 57 churches paid 100% of their apportionments. This is an increase of 5 over last year. I celebrate with
these and congratulate them on their faithfulness through our budget system.
Through Vision Expansion I rejoice over those involved in ministry weekly at each of our churches.
We averaged in Weekly Corporate Worship 3,853. Praise the Lord!
Our current membership is 5,259, which is up 11 from last year.
Our SDMI attendance is now at 3,564.
Our SDMI enrollment/responsibility is 8,742, which is an increase of 397 over last year.
We continue to be committed to Sunday School and small group efforts, believing that this is one of our greatest
opportunities to produce Christ-like disciples.
One of the most important statistics that we look at each year is the number of new Nazarenes that have joined
our churches. 32 of our 57 churches reported new Nazarenes. This year we received 179 new Nazarenes and
for this we praise the Lord.
I have included a list of those churches that received at least one New Nazarene.
Argillite 2, Ashland First 2, Beattyville 7, Beauty 1, Catlettsburg Southside 7, Corbin 6, Covington
Eastside 3, CrossPoint Community 5, Cumberland 1, Erlanger1, Erlanger GracePointe Community 22,
Flatwoods First 4, Flemingsburg 4, Focus Ministry 8, Harlan 1, Immanuel 4, Independence Generations
15, Lloyd 7, London 4, Maysville 11, Morehead 1, Mount Sterling First 5, Mount Vernon 1, Newport
First 1, Paris 3, Ravenna 6, Richmond First 6, South Shore 6, Summit 15, The Intersection 3, Turkey
Creek 2, and Waco 6, Worthington 9
There are two other numbers that I need to bring special emphasis to:
1. Conversions This year 305 people gave their lives to the Lord. We are up by 25 conversions over last
year. 44 out of our 57 churches showed at least one conversion. Two more churches than a year ago.
The following churches showed conversions this past year:
o Argillite 9, Ashland First 2, Ashland Grace 1, Augusta-River Community 1, Beattyville 6,
Beauty 3, Cannonsburg-New Beginning 2, Catlettsburg Southside 12, Corbin 8, Covington
Eastside 7, CrossPoint Community 22, Cumberland 2, Dayton 3, Durbin 2, Erlanger 1, Erlanger
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GracePointe Community 25, Flemingsburg 8, Focus Ministry 3, Grayson 5, Harlan 1,
Independence Generations 15, Independence New Life 12, Irvine First 1, Lloyd 4, London 14,
Maysville 25, Morehead 2, Mount Sterling First 12, Newport First 24, Paintsville 1, Paris 1,
Ravenna 6, Richmond First 7, Richmond Rosemont 2, Russell-Plaza Community 4, South Shore
5, Straight Creek 4, Summit 12, The Intersection 7, Turkey Creek 12, Twin Fork 3, Waco 3,
Worthington 3, and Wurtland First 3
2. Baptisms This year 163 were baptized and acknowledged a relationship with Christ through this
outward sign of an inward dwelling. 26 of our 57 churches reported at least one baptism. They are the
following:
o Ashland Grace 1, Beattyville 4, Beauty 3, Cannonsburg-New Beginning 1, Catlettsburg
Southside 5, Corbin 7, CrossPoint Community 22, Dayton 2, Erlanger GracePointe Community
18, Flemingsburg 4, Independence Generations 10, Independence New Life 2, Lloyd 2Maysville
9, Mount Sterling First 10, Newport First 24, Ravenna 6, Richmond First 2, Richmond Rosemont
1, Russell-Plaza Community 2, Straight Creek 3, Summit 10, The Intersection 1, Turkey Creek 4,
Waco 1, Worthington 8, Wurtland First 1.
I cant help but think of all the events and programs that take place during the year through the district and each
local church. I am grateful for all of those that made our district events such a success. You and your leadership
are greatly appreciated.
Vision Expansion through Effectual gain means we must continue to invest in church planting.
The Intersection
At our last assembly, we celebrated the plant of our new work called The Intersection. Because of this plant
there were seven conversions, one baptism, and three new Nazarenes. There were thirty in weekly worship
attendance this year. There is weekly outreach to meet the needs of the homeless, hurting, and disenfranchised.
A year ago, these lost people would not have known Christ. This plant has not been easy for the church or the
Campbells. Satan continues to fight against this work and beat the pastor down and discourage the workers. I
rejoice because God is bigger than all of it. He does the impossible and we will pray for wisdom and strength
along the way. Because of this ministry, a faithful pastor and wife, and a few faithful laymen, people are being
changed for Christ. Lives are being transformed. This year I have heard testimony after testimony about Gods
grace changing lives.
Please give a hand for Pastor Kevin and his wife Robyn and any others from the Intersection. Thanks for
obeying the Lord.
Stanton Focus
I am excited to share with you some tremendous news. This past year we added another new plant to our
District. The Stanton Focus Ministry under the leadership of Rev. Myron and Pastor Andrew Hall.
At our DCPI event in 2015 God birthed in Myron Pete Hall a desire to plant a church in the Stanton area. He
has with the help of his family seen this Vision Expansion come to fruition. Today this new church meets,
worships, and has begun working on the next plant for them in the near future. Focus Ministry has as its core
and mission to plant 5 new churches in ten years.
Today because of this Vision Expansion there are 3 new converts, 6 sanctifications, 8 new Nazarenes, and 22
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in worship weekly. All of this did not exist a year ago. Planting new works is the best way to see strong church
growth. There is a family by the name of Hagnuaer that attends this new work. Mike Hagnuaer is sensing
Gods call into service for His Kingdom work as a result of getting involved in this new church.
Here we have a pastor that was diagnosed with cancer and given six months to a year to live and now 1 years
later he has not only planted one church but sees a plan for new works down the road.
Please give a hand for Pastor Myron, his wife Carmel, his son Andrew, daughter Ashley and any others from
the Focus Ministry. Thanks for obeying the Lord.
Vision Expansion through Effectual gain means we must revitalize our existing churches. Each of these needs
an expansion of vision to be effective in their communities.
It will take a new way of thinking to meet the lost. Most of our ways of reaching the lost, many of those
methods are outdated. What will it take to reach a generation who needs Jesus.
On the EKD we have 1.4 (1,399,979 ) million population. From that 1.4 million people 802,172 are
unclaimed. They do not claim a church home and (most likely) do not have a personal relationship with Christ.
Thats 57.3%.
That means the following:
1.4 million - We are accountable to share the love of Christ with them.
802,172 - We are accountable to win for Christ.
We all must choose to be part of the solution to our local church the church has always been about doing
things Gods way.
o This will mean being stretched through new methods to reach the lost.
o This will mean being stretched through our own Stewardship of time, talent, and treasure.
o This will mean being stretched through a stronger commitment to our Budget system.
o This will mean saying yes to prayer, support, and willingness.
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o This will mean adjusting to reach the younger generation.
o This will mean more effective ways of communicating the Gospel
Pastors we are all part of a team. The Eastern Kentucky District is a team. We must be ready to go fight for the
Lord our God. We must expand our vision and work together and learn together.
This will mean doing church differently. If what we are doing is not working something has to
change or the church will die. In many of our churches if we dont change something that alone will
bring death. One way to know if what you are doing is working, ask yourself how many conversions
were there last year from your church. Now you know if there needs to be a change.
This will mean we must preach Holiness.
This means a commitment to Church revitalization. We must strengthen and grow the local church. I
continue to ask our pastors to strive for the following annually:
Show a 5% or more increase in SDMI and AM Worship
Shown 5% or more increase in New Nazarenes over AM Worship attendance. (ex. 100
average for AM Worship = 5 in NN).
Be involved in District Training & Events
Support of Global Missions (Giving 10% toward the WEF, P&B, MVNU)
Support District Ministries (Giving 6%) and being a team player.
Attend District Assembly and Ministers and Mates retreat.
Twice or more per year double worship attendance through special services.
We hosted a DCPI this year at Ashland First Church. Our time together was extremely beneficial and
rewarding. On the screen are those that graduated from each track. We have already seen results from this
important event. Thanks to all those that were able to attend. Please make every effort to attend one or both of
the DCPIs this year.
Joni and I are here to help you. Whether its loving on and praying for your babies, praying for needs,
supporting and lifting you up or simply encouraging you. We are here for you and we are in this together.
I believe we might be serving a God weve put in a box instead of a God who still does the impossible. You
see, Vision Expansion means moving from addition to multiplication. New Testament numbers werent addition
they were multiplication. 5,000 were fed (Matt 14:21), 4,000 were fed (Matt 15:38), about 3,000 souls were
added to the number (Acts 2:41), 5,000 men believed (Acts 4:4) just to mention a few. This all happened
without church buildings, pews, hymnals, chandeliers, coffee bars, sanctinasiums, perfect parking, 5 stall
bathrooms with sitting areas, foyers, freshly painted walls, warehouses, the best lighting, fog machines, sound
systems, media specialists, projectors, series, five or ten year plans, sports ministries, revivals, and the list goes
on and on. All of these are good but are not the main thing.
Church, just think for a moment what the early church did with such few resources and think for a moment what
we can do today if we relied on the power of God as they did. What we might lack today is believing in a
supernatural God. He is still in the supernatural business. The business of what we cant do but He can do in
our lives and in our churches.
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Do you believe it?
Do you trust Him?
If we are His church
If we are His
Then the church is His
Then I say we give back His church to Him. Its not ours, its His and He entrusts us to do His work. I think
we need to let those that will be radical in fulfilling His mission and plan for His church take a lead. You see
thats what those who went before us did. They were radicals. Those we speak of from the past had crazy ideas,
dreams, visions, and at the time they had their naysayers but today we praise them for their faith and courage.
Im ready for more vision and less of the comfortable.
Let me tell you what happened to us at the Apple Store I want to tell you this because we need an Apple
Welcome at each of our churches. You see when the store opened all of the employees formed two lines on
either side, facing each other. As the doors were opening, and customers entered, the employees clapped,
cheered and greeted everyone that walked in! It didnt matter:
what we earned annually
what we looked like
what we wore
what we drove
If we had tattoos or piercings
who our parents were
what we had or hadnt done
what color our skin was
if we were carrying in food or drink
who our friends were
The employees knew they were there to help us and take care of us. They could solve any Apple problem.
They had a product I needed. That employee knew he had the answer and knew how to get the answer if he
didnt know. He knew who did have the answer and spoke with confidence and gave me a peace knowing I
found the right person.
You see, most of what I just described was experienced only by our son Lane. The reason I know this is
because when I walked in the store I missed most of the employees welcome because Lane wanted to tell me
about his welcome. I heard in great detail about the Apple Welcome. After I was told about it he went to find
his mother and tell her, then he called his brother, then he called his sister, then he needed to tell his Uncle, and
then he told his friends. It made such an impact on his life that he needed to get the word out about the Apple
store.
What would happen if on each and every Sunday before the doors opened we were prayed up and fired up and
ready for what God was going to do. That sounds good but what if it meant I would greet everyone with
applause and welcome them with the news that I have the answer, and the Answer is Jesus. What if it really
didnt matter:
what they earned in a year
what they looked like
what they wore
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what they drove
If they had tattoos or piercings
who their parents were
what color their skin is
if they were carrying in food or drink
what they had or hadnt done
who their friends were
What if we did what was needed to make the welcome inviting without changing the message. What if we
changed some things:
changed our words some
changed our music some
changed our look some
changes our greeting some
changes our method some or a lot
changed our approach some
what if we changed instead of expected them to change.
You see Im afraid we have begun making what we consider a preference, sacred. A preference does not make
something biblical. I might really prefer a certain type of food, or a color, or a chair, or a shirt, but it does not
make it holy. In the church, we might prefer a certain type of chair or color, or style or translation or. But
that alone does not make it holy, just because it is in church, any more than my favorite color doesnt have to be
your favorite color.
I believe what we need to do is start making the lost more important than our preferences. If we can elevate lost
people above carpet or color or style it will help us bring perspective back to the mission of the church. Jesus
said in Luke 19:10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. He said this right
after leading Zacchaeus to Him. He walked in unholy places, ate with unholy people, changed the scenery at his
local church, and called a sinner down from a tree and ate with him all so that man would find God. seek and
save the lost. What are we willing to do?
I believe our churches need to focus on reaching a lost people. I believe there is a generation we are losing and
not reaching mostly because we are hanging onto our preferences and trying to keep something that used to
work in the church and we are watching all of it slip through our fingers and becoming okay with it. In reality,
we will lose the very thing we are clinging to because there will be no life left. A church should be full of life.
Our district has 802,172 that do not claim a church, which means they do not claim Christ. They do not
claim a church home and do not have a personal relationship with Christ. Thats 57.3%. Every one of our
churches are still in communities that have lost people.
Let me say something. If we are not winning people for Jesus we should be ashamed of ourselves. A church
that does not intentionally win people for Christ is nothing more than a Country club.
Heres the good news. They are lost people waiting on us to reach them. Today, shared in the pages of your
delegate handbooks are ways our churches have tried to reach out to the lost. Many of them tell stories of the
results of these outreaches. Look through these and ask God how we can use some of these as tools to reach the
lost in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and families. On the screen is a list of all of our churches and the
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counties they are in. This shows the lost people still in these counties. Lets look at them together on the
screen. We are divided up by regions and then zones. Remember we have 1.4 million who live on our district
and 802,172 who do not claim a church home. We will go one region and zone at a time:
Northern Region
Northern Kentucky
Carthage, Dayton, Immanuel, and Newport churches are in Campbell county and have 45,894 that do not claim a church
home. Covington Central, Covington Eastside, Erlanger, Erlanger GracePointe Community, Independence Generations
and Independence New Life are in Kenton County which have 82,184 unclaimed for Christ. Independence New Life and
Walton Fairhope reside in Boone county with 59,406 that have no church home.
Maysville
The Augusta church is in Bracken county that has 4,009 not claiming a church home. The Flemingsburg church is in
Fleming county with 9,167 that are not saved. Maysville First and CrossPoint have their home in Mason and 7,067 do not
claim a church home.
Eastern Region
Ashland
Argillite, Flatwoods, Lloyd, Wurtland, Russell Plaza Community, Worthington, and South Shore churches are from
Greenup county with 21,461 unclaimed. Ashland 1st, Ashland Grace, Twin Fork, Canonsburg New Begin, The Intersection,
Catlettsburg 1st, Straight Creek, Durbin, Catlettsburg Southside, and Summit reside in Boyd county and it has 20,530
unsaved.
Big Sandy
Beauty, Inez, and Turkey Creek are ministering in Martin county with 10,058 unclaimed. Paintsville is in Johnson county
and they have 16,813 unclaimed.
Olive Hill
Grayson and Olive Hill are from Carter county with 20,323 unclaimed for Christ. Morehead is in Rowan county with
18,693 unclaimed and our Stanton Focus church is from Powell county with 7,905 unclaimed.
Western Region
Mount Sterling
Clintonville, North Middletown, and Paris are from Bourbon county with 8,875 unclaimed. Mount Sterling First is in
Montgomery county with 17,223 unclaimed.
Bluegrass
The Beattyville church is in Lee county with 5,667 unclaimed for Christ. Irvine 1st, and Ravenna is in Estill county and
they have 8,276 unclaimed. Richmond 1st, Richmond Rosemont, and Waco are in Madison county with 50,769 unclaimed.
Corbin / Cumberland
Corbin is in Whitley (12,511) and Knox (14,889) counties with a total of 27,400 unclaimed. Cumberland and Harlan are in
Harlan county with 14,276 unclaimed. London and Corbin are in Laurel county with 33,196 unclaimed for Jesus. Mount
Vernon is in Rockcastle county having 7,815 unclaimed. Pineville is in Bell county and they have 7,650 unclaimed. Our
Whitesburg church has 18,332 unclaimed in Letcher county.
Remember the total we are responsible for that are unclaimed is 802,172. Our churches are currently in
counties that total 522,989 unclaimed and we average in corporate worship a total 3,853. This reminds us that
we need to revitalize and refocus our existing churches and plant new churches.
We are getting ready to get up and go and place our post it notes on the walls around us. These walls will be
covered with ways to reach lost people.
Today you will see across the walls of this sanctuary large post it notes. On these large post it notes are words
written by our NYI. Our teens and sponsors have thought about ways we could reach their generation for
Christ.
I asked them the following questions:
How the church could meet the needs of the next generation.
How to reach out to the lost.
o You could
o By
o Try.
o Be better at..
o Help me..
What I want you to do is get up and place these note on the walls next to the large notes as a testimony of your
commitment to do what it takes to reach the lost and the next generation. After youve put these on the walls
lets stay standing and we will pray together.
I want to tell you a story about a young family. In 1961 Phil and Connie walked into the Westside Church of
the Nazarene with a newborn baby girl. This young mother and father were looking for the answer and knew
they didnt have it all by themselves. The needed something, they needed more.
This young father and mother barely made it through high School. This father had been on his own since he
was 16 years old. His only form of income meant hard manual labor. This mother had a rough growing up. In
her younger years she lived with her grandmother away from her mother, her alcoholic father had abandoned
her and her mom, and she struggled. Phil and Connie showed up that day at a local Nazarene Church with a
desire to be loved and accepted, not judged, or questioned. They did not fit the perfect family scenario and they
knew it.
Sitting in the pew during prayer time, while others were kneeling at the altars, Phil and Connie were
overwhelmed as they heard their names specifically being lifted up by the pastor and a faithful layman, It was
evident this church loved lost people. They were welcomed with an applause and given the Apple welcome in
Jesus name.
They made Westside Nazarene their home that day. They gave their lives to Jesus. The church let them bring in
new music. Crazy stuff like Gaither choruses. They let them form a young adult core group. They let them
organize a puppet ministry that went into the slums. They let them teach marriage classes before it was the thing
to do. Westside loved the lost and was willing to do anything, and I mean anything to win lost people.
Because this church loved the lost they took in a not so perfect family and that family grew. The three became
seven. One of those seven is now your District Superintendent. That little infant was my big sister Rhanda.
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Another one of those seven is sitting in the crowd today, my brother Rev. Richard Wyatt.
Today I have the heritage of a father and mother who loved Jesus and a home church that love lost people. My
father is still a faithful layman at Westside Nazarene, 55 years later.
You see, we need to recapture our passion for the lost. We need to make this drive and passion for the lost
more important than our preferences and more important than being comfortable. Those methods of the 60s,
70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, will not still work today. We need to do what it takes to win the lost. Never changing
our message but willing to change our methods.
We are going to pray together for God to do miracles in our churches. Its time we move from addition to
multiplication. Lets see:
Many souls come to Christ
Many believers receive the holiness message
Many existing churches strengthened
Many new churches planted, mothered, and sponsored.
Lets see a Vision Expansion
Are you ready for some miracles? I mean miracles because of God using you and me in the church to reach the
lost. If He came to seek and save the lost then that means we have come to seek and save the lost.
Closing prayer -
Totally His,
Rev. DS Wyatt