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Adapting Ministry to the Sri Lankan Culture

5/16/2019

Our first attempt at ministering to the women in Sri Lanka came after considerable concern for the lack of intentional discipleship of women. We brought in two women from the States to lead a four-day training on the Character of God. The empowering, two-part training attracted eleven women from different parts of the island for the first session.

The women who came were from two ethnic groups — Sinhalese and Tamil — but most worked for tea plantations and earned little more than $3 a day. The women’s eagerness to learn was inspiring. They were amazed that their questions about the Bible were being taken seriously and were even celebrated.

Six months later, when the time for the second part of the training arrived, almost all of the women were unable to attend. We discovered that the women who came for the first session had sacrificed a week’s income to attend, or they had neglected their culturally-bound domestic roles and responsibilities. There were other cultural complications, as well, such as women not being able to travel alone and not owning a Bible for study.

We had to re-evaluate our approach. We could not ask the women to leave their responsibilities for several days. First, we identified Sri Lankan women in the Church of God who can be trained and who can organize local women’s ministries. Second, we asked churches in the States to help us provide a Bible for every family in the Church of God in Sri Lanka.

The women’s ministry in Church of God in Sri Lanka is in its beginning stages. We have begun developing ministry opportunities that we can take to women in their village. Your support of the mission in Sri Lanka will help provide continued growth and discipleship for the Christian women of Sri Lanka as we work to develop a women’s ministry that fits into the Sri Lankan culture.

THEIR MINISTRY FOCUS

Steven and Peggy work alongside the Church of God in Sri Lanka, partnering to teach and train Sri Lankan pastors and leaders. Together with Sri Lankan church leaders, their goal is to connect pastors across the nation and develop a strong, self-sustaining, and multiplying church. The currently serve as transitional members of the national leadership team.

Thank you for your contribution to the 42.10004 - Beverly, Steven & Peggy (Sri Lanka) Project

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CWC – Sri Lanka

5/10/2019

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by: Chrisantha De Silva, National Coordinator of the Church of God in Sri Lanka

Violence is nothing new for Christians in Sri Lanka, but the horrific bombings that happened on Easter are leaving a permanent scar in the hearts of Sri Lankans. At least 321 people have died in six blasts—three of which targeted churches during Easter services. The other bombs targeted hotels in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankans remain tense. There is much uncertainty due to rumors of more bombs being planted in other public places and schools. This tragedy has affected all of Sri Lanka, but the Churches of God congregations and house churches in Sri Lanka were not attacked in the bombings.

Christians in Sri Lanka are routinely targeted by physical attacks and systemic persecution. Last year, there were sixty-seven reported attacks, not by Muslims, on Christians between January and September alone. Sri Lanka ranks 44th on the 2018 Open Doors World Watch List of “The Top 50 Countries Where it’s Most Dangerous to Follow Jesus.”

I believe that the Easter attack will lead to the advancement of God’s Kingdom in the Church of God in Sri Lanka through:

A stronger focus on Prayer within the churches and house prayer cells of the Church, led by Christian women,
An increase of evangelical Outreach, and
An increased sense of Unity among all churches.

The Church of God in Sri Lanka is honored to partner in ministry with the North American Church of God on the island. Your partnership supports Missionaries Steven and Peggy Beverly (Project # 42.10004) as they walk alongside the national church in Sri Lanka working toward self-sustainability.

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Menaka Harshani is the daughter of a Church of God pastor in Sri Lanka

5/2/2019

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Menaka Harshani is the daughter of a Church of God pastor in Sri Lanka. She shares a powerful testimony of how God spared her life and the life of her first born daughter during childbirth. When the doctor informed her during the delivery there was nothing she could do to save her or her daughter, without hesitation, Menaka called on the name of Jesus, and He instantly delivered them both from death. The doctor knew she had just witnessed a miracle and she asked Menaka, "Are you a Christian?" Again without hesitation, Menaka answered, “Yes, I am.” She is now the mother of two beautiful little girls.

Menaka’s desire has been to help young women in her community and throughout the island. Whenever possible, she encourages and trains young women to be able to help support their families. She understands the difficult challenges many young women have to earn money and help their families to become sustainable in the villages they live in.

Menaka began a bridal business out of her home several years ago. The business helps provide resources for the entire family, so that her father can focus on ministry. Menaka is gifted to be able to look at a dress in a magazine or online and make it without a pattern. Her business now includes bridesmaids' dresses, hair, and makeup. Her business has grown by word of mouth, but she has outgrown her small quarters in her home. Menaka has searched to find a small shop to work from, but the area she lives in is too expensive for her to lease or rent. That has not stopped her from moving forward and trusting God to open doors for her.

Menaka is using her sewing skills to not only help support her own family, but she is mentoring other young women as well. Menaka began taking classes to expand her sewing skills to making purses and bags to sell. After completing her classes, she was asked if she would like to teach a sewing class. She was very thankful for this opportunity and recognized it as a door God had opened for her. She is very excited for this opportunity to teach and encourage these young women. Menaka shares joyfully about the opportunities God has given her to pray and to minister to the young ladies in her class.

Business like Menaka’s help support the sustainability of pastors in Sri Lanka. Your support of Steven & Peggy Beverly, missionaries to Sri Lanka, through Living Link will help other projects provide self-sustaining resources for other Church of God pastors.

by Peggy Beverly - Missionary to Sri Lanka

Give to help support the Beverlys in Sri Lanka

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Women-in-Ministry Support Expands as CWC Assumes Leadership of Qara

2/27/2019

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From its inception, the Church of God movement has been an advocate for gender equity, seating and celebrating both women and men in all chairs of ministry and church leadership. This theology and practice are grounded in a deep vein of Scripture which elevates both men and women as the imago dei. At the dawn of the New Testament church, the apostle Peter quotes the prophet Joel, saying, “In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike—and they will prophesy” (Acts 2:18 NLT).
Over centuries, this truth has too often been lost; the embrace of this truth was one of the Movement’s first countercultural signatures and remains so today. As a people, we must not only speak the truth, we must also live and model it, opening doors for women in ministry and encouraging the exercise of their calling.
To this end, Church of God Ministries has been proud, for many years, to be in a partnership named Qara (a Hebrew word meaning to call or to proclaim), together with Christian Women Connection and the Anderson University School of Theology and Christian Ministry. Qara seeks to advance the cause of women in ministry, providing support, fellowship, information, and inspiration for those answering the call. Leadership for this partnership is provided by the convener of Qara. MaryAnn Hawkins, dean of the School of Theology and Christian Ministry, was Qara’s first convener; she was succeeded, in 2016, by Randee Doe. And now, as the year 2019 opens, I am pleased to announce that Arnetta McNeese Bailey will take the mantle and serve as our new Qara convener.
Arnetta, of course, is no stranger to positions of leadership and influence in the church. Her role as executive director at Christian Women Connection has given her a national profile in the Movement, but her service in many ministries, including in the local church, has given her deep experience on many other front lines, as well. Her ascension to this new post as Qara convener is framed not just by her responsibilities at CWC, but as an ordained clergywoman in the Church of God.
You can catch up with the work of Qara in the weeks ahead by watching for new links in CHOGnews to the Qara newsletter. We thank God for MaryAnn and Randee, for their investment in Qara in days gone by; we thank God for Arnetta as she will help us all continue to move forward, strengthening, and empowering women in ministry.
Jesus is the subject. And he gave a woman the privilege of first proclaiming his resurrection. We all stand in the shadow of Mary Magdalene, saying, “I have seen the Lord.” May his Spirit propel all of us, like Mary Magdalene, to sure-footed and certain testimony of his goodness.
https://chognews.org/2019/02/27/women-in-ministry-support-expands-as-cwc-assumes-leadership-of-qara/
Editor: Carl Stagner

By Jim Lyon

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We welcome Rev. Kayla Robinson Harden to our team!

2/7/2019

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We are thrilled to welcome Kayla to our Christian Women Connection team as Ministry Coordinator of Programming! Kayla is a wonderful addition to Christian Women Connection.

Kayla currently resides in Indianapolis with her husband, Nate. They have one three-year-old son and another son due in May 2019. She loves reading, movies, and chasing her preschooler around. She is passionate about discipleship and the role that intergenerational relationships have in the growth of young Christians.

She received her call to ministry as a senior in high school and attended Anderson University where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Bible and Religion. While at Anderson University, Kayla became connected with the Christian Women Connection as an intern. In 2012, she felt God calling her to serve as the Student Ministries Pastor in Glendale, AZ. She served there for over six years, expanding her responsibilities to include children’s and young adult’s ministries. She was active in the state, actively working with a team of youth pastors to plan the Arizona Youth Camp, a weekend of life change for over four hundred students and adults. In 2014, Kayla completed her Master of Divinity at Fuller Theological Seminary.

In 2016, Kayla began serving on the Christian Women Connection Board of Directors as the representative for young women. Kayla is also actively involved in Intern Academy, an organization focused on helping young adults through internship opportunities. She currently serves on the leadership team. She also serves as a coach in Lead 222, an organization that partners ministers together in coaching relationships to increase the health of ministers, their families, and their ministries.

Help us congratulate Kayla by commenting here or on our Christian Women Connection Facebook page. (@christianwomenconnection)

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Lyon Legacy: Great Faith, Great Family, Great Love

1/15/2019

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Mildred E. (Worthen) Lyon
May 24, 1921 – January 11, 2019

Born in the 1880’s, John Worthen and his wife, Pearl, moved from their Iowa home to Washington State at the dawn of the 20th century. Captured by the mountains and the sea, they found their future at the edge of the continent, building their new home and fortune in the burgeoning young city of Seattle.

In 1921, while visiting extended family back in Ottumwa, they welcomed the fourth of what would be five children born into their loving arms. They named her Mildred, after her father’s sister, who would become a beloved aunt. Shortly thereafter, the Worthens returned to Washington, where all of the Worthen children would grow, attend school, and establish their own homes. Mildred, like her three sisters and one brother, graduated from Seattle’s Lincoln High School. As a young woman, she began her career at The Bon Marche downtown, an elegant department store which immersed her into a world of style and fashion that helped define her world for a lifetime.

More influential, though, was the Church of God. Her parents were Church of God pioneers, both in Iowa and in Washington, deeply grounded in a community of faith which emphasized Jesus, the authority of Scripture, and the wonders of a life lived by the power of the Holy Spirit. At times, she dared some of the boundaries of that holiness upbringing (which, when she was young, discouraged the wearing of jewelry and make-up, for instance), but chose to follow Jesus just the same. From an early age, she treasured the Word, the Church of God, the church’s music and message, and a transforming relationship with Christ. Her living faith, her loving family, and her profound allegiance to the truths and values with which she was raised anchored her throughout a long and eventful life. She revered her parents and the rich fabric of life in Seattle that framed her. Like theirs, hers is a story of decades of quiet generosity and grace; Heaven only knows the names of those she blessed and even rescued.

That life had its share of disappointments and loss. Still, on bright mountaintops and in chill valleys, she proved herself fiercely independent, resilient, and strong. Unable to conceive and longing to be a mom, she prayed without ceasing and waited a decade to adopt, at last receiving a son, Jim. Abandoned by her first husband in the sad unraveling of a home, she prayed and waited, before marrying in the 1950’s the man who would honor her and her young son, Don Lyon. Don was to her a prince and a true partner for life; he passed away in 2016. She, for her part, excelled as a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mom, a grandmother, and a great-grandmother. A terrific cook and hostess, she loved to entertain in her home, work in the church kitchen, and win others with gifts of generosity and hospitality.

Don and Mildred relocated to Anderson, Indiana, late in life, to be near their son and his family, who had moved from Seattle to Indiana earlier. In Anderson, they found a new church home at Madison Park Church of God which they loved as they did their original church home in Seattle, Fairview Church of God.

Mildred passed away peacefully, after a brief illness, on the evening of January 11, in her Anderson home. She lived independently until Christmas Eve 2018, when pneumonia sent her to hospital. Her family thanks God for allowing her to be with them so long and in such good form.

Mildred is survived by her son, Jim Lyon, his wife, Maureen (Anderson, IN), her four grandsons: Jacob (wife Emily) Lyon (Anchorage, AK), Peter (wife Nicole) Lyon (Anderson, IN), Andrew Lyon (Seattle, WA), and Nathanael (wife Kimmi) Lyon (Dayton, OH), six great-grandchildren, and a large, extraordinary extended family, of which she was the last matriarch, the last of a generation of Worthens, modeling faith, family, and love. She is also survived by a treasured niece, Janet Ropkins (husband Bill) Kockritz (Seattle, WA), who became as close and dear as a daughter would have been, to both Don and Mildred.

A service celebrating her life will be held in Seattle at the Fairview Church on Friday, January 18, at 3:00p. Memorial gifts may be made to the Madison Park Church of God (P.O. Box 2479, Anderson, IN 46018) or the Fairview Church (844 Northeast 78th Street, Seattle, WA 98115).

She is pictured with her son Jim Lyon, now serving as
General Director of Church of God Ministries, Anderson, IN (2018)

She is pictured with her grandson Nathanael Lyon,
now serving as a Church of God pastor at Church of God, Salem - Dayton, OH (2018)

Photo taken with her three siblings and parents in 1935; Mildred was 14, second from right, next to her brother John. Her mom, bottom left, was a protege of Nora Hunter, first President of the Women's Missionary Society in Washington, and, believed to be on the national Women's Missionary Society board in early years, taking train from Seattle to Anderson. Her name was Pearl Worthen.

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For the Love of Dee...You've Got This! by: Rev. Tatum M. Osbourne

1/10/2019

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When first asked to write this tribute, everything in me wanted to say no, but I remembered something Dee would always say, “You’ve got this!” I thought to myself, that is easier said than done. How do you encapsulate by the stroke of a pen someone who exuded life? How do you memorialize the essence of someone who would not be defined by labels or live within the boxes others built for her? I’m still not sure I have answered either of those questions. However, what I want to share with you about Dionesha Antoinette Clarke were the three, biggest lessons her life taught me, all of us that loved her, and those that will experience her legacy through us. Things she strived to live out daily and encouraged all of us to do the same.

Dee, as we affectionately called her, believed in counting your blessings. Her life taught us to look around and see the amazing blessings God had granted in family, friends, and life. Her greatest joy and assignment in the earth was that of mom to little Miss London. She would often be heard saying, “everything I do I do for her.” No matter how tired she was or how hard her day had been London and home was her first priority. She loved her parents, her sister, Joscelyn (BFF from day one), her nephew, Ryan and her grandpa, Pop Lawson. That’s a lesson we all need to be reminded of, that our first ministry is to our family. We can be so busy that we neglect the relationships God has given us to nurture and develop. (Exodus 20:12 & Proverbs 22:6)

Dee taught us the value of honor and support for your pastor. She didn’t do this just because her father is Bishop Timothy J. Clarke. She did this because she first loved God. He calls His children to honor godly leadership. Whatever she did for First Church or the Berean Fellowship, she did unto God. I believe that she hoped her example would propel all of us to do the same. (Hebrews 13:17)

Lastly, Dee taught us to pursue our purpose and while doing so, encourage others to do the same. Dee was passionate about fulfilling one’s destiny. Passionate about discovering the gifts and callings that God has locked up on the inside of you and doing them actually. She believed that if God called you to something, He gifted you for that your call. Your gift is needed on the earth. Over the last few days, I had heard countless individuals all over the country who will never forget how Dee encouraged them when they were at their lowest, wanting to give up, didn’t think they were good enough or equipped enough. She would often say, “You’ve got this.” Her blog that she started back in December, A Daily Dose of Dee…. Motivation for the Soul became just the right amount of daily medicine from God through her to keep those of us who read it, going. The ultimate encourager that was Dee. The ultimate goal-getter, that was Dee. She believed that God had called us to shine and in doing so our light would reflect His glory. (Colossians 3:17)

So, I am determined to live out the lessons my sister, not by blood but by love, have taught me. Love family, honor God’s servants, and live out the purpose for which you were born. In doing so, you honor God.
Sleep well sis until we meet again!

Lovingly Submitted,
Rev. Tatum M. Osbourne

We say goodbye. Rest well sis.

Sis. Dionesha A. Clarke Funeral Program: http://bit.ly/DeeClarkeFuneralProgram

Leave the Clarke Family Condolences: http://bit.ly/FirstChurch_ClarkeFamilyCondolences

#fortheloveofdee

A Daily Dose of Dee - Motivation for Your Soul

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It's Harvest Time! - Rev. Dr. Arnetta McNeese Bailey

1/2/2019

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It’s Harvest Time

He said to his disciples, "The harvest is great, but the workers are few.” (Matthew 9:37 NLT).

I remember as a child sitting in my backyard, bored because there appeared nothing to do. After sharing my frustration with my mom, I was suddenly given a list of things that I could do. Working in ministry can sometimes seem so routine that it appears that there is nothing meaningful to do, but there is. If we share our thoughts and frustrations with the Lord, the one who is in charge of the fields, he will show us what to do. A new assignment might emerge, or a revitalization of one that was.

For over eighty-five years we have been blessed to partner with the church in women’s ministry. This ministry was birthed out of the need to help our missionaries and educate women and children in the call to mission. This call has not waned nor lost its purpose. How we articulate and promote our methods has changed and evolved, but our message remains the same. There is a harvest of souls waiting for you and me to help show them the way.

Yes, we need workers. We need volunteers, we need women who care. As a leader I know that often it is difficult to find people to serve. When that has happened to me, I have learned to ask this question first, “Is what I am asking folk to do, inspiring, transformative, or meaningful.” If we design our ministries to make a difference in another person’s life, God will send the workers.

I encourage you to be as creative and culturally aware of your surroundings as possible. There are needs all around you, in and outside the local congregations! This great harvest surrounds us, our cities are ripe, the needs are massive, the homeless are among us, the marginalized are in our midst, and lost souls are abundant. It’s harvest time.

Let us pray to the Lord of the harvest how best to meet those needs, and he will send the workers.

We in the national office have provided tools to assist your endeavor. I encourage you to use the resources available: Connector Ministries (web-based ministry guides), re:Connect, CBO materials, Friday Connection, and this magazine to name a few.

It’s harvest time dear friends! We need workers, persons just like you and me who remember when they met Jesus!

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

12/20/2018

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Celebrating Advent is Observing Christ's Birth...with GREAT JOY!

11/28/2018

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Let's make the opportunity to celebrate Christ a memorable one this year together! Let's all take part in the 25 meditations located in our Meditational Book for Christ's Birthday Observance, Great Joy for All. Written by women who anticipate the presence of the Lord this Advent season, the devotions will inspire us with moments of quiet meditation and reflection. Each day leading up to Christmas, we will enjoy scripture and several thought-provoking questions as we excude great joy this Advent season with our church, family, and friends.

Christ's Birthday Observance

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