Every Nation USA

School of Ministry, Nashville, Wraps Things Up

Fourteen students arrived in Nashville early June with high expectations of change, growth, and conviction. They were not disappointed.

Pastor and teacher Paul Barker describes effective campus ministers as: “authentic followers of Christ, who are continually increasing in professional development, leadership ability, and Christ-like character.”

That's what the School of Ministry, Nashville, trains its students to be. On August 12, they will finish their studies, ready to take what they’ve learned back to their respective campuses.

Special Dream Conference Book Bundle Now Available for Pre-Order!

The biannual North American Conference begins on Tuesday, July 26, 7 pm at the Walt Disney Swan Resort, Orlando, Florida, and the Nashville office, along with Every Nation church, Southpoint Community Church, are working at a frenzied pace to make sure everything is ready for "Dream: Capturing God's Purpose for Your Life, Family, and Mission."

As a special registration bonus, Steve Murrell's WikiChurch: Making Discipleship Engaging, Empowering, & Viral and Gregg Tipton's Ten Days: A Mission Experience that Gets You Off the Bench and Into the Game are available now for pre-order at the special price of $15. Simply login to your Dream Conference registration and go to "My Registration," "Modify," then on the right-hand column, click on "Modify your registration."

This page has all the seminars and events that you've registered for. The special book bundle is at the bottom. Once ordered, you'll be able to pick up your books at the Dream Conference registration table when you arrive at the Swan.

If you haven't already registered, there's still time! See you next week in Orlando!

 

WikiChurch Wins!

Tiffany and Derek Kasdorf with their winning prizes.

On July 5, WikiChurch launched a week-long giveaway on its Twitter and Facebook. Participants were given five chances each day to win a copy of “WikiChurch: Making Discipleship Engaging, Empowering, and Viral,” by Steve Murrell. Each day WikiChurch featured different contests. Contestants were asked to participate in a variety of activities in order to win a copy of the book. Posting pictures of certain objects, taking pictures of themselves performing a activity known as “planking”, and commenting with their favorite bible verse, to name a few.

 

Probably the most interesting contest held was the “planking” contest. (Planking, also known as the lying down game, is the act of laying down flat with your arms by your side to resemble a wooden plank, and usually done in a random location). Participants were asked to take a picture of themselves “planking,” and the most creative planks won a copy of “WikiChurch.” Here is a picture of one of our winners, Tin Marie Mascardo, planking.

WikiChurch’s Twitter and Facebook had winners from the U.S., Australia, the Middle East, and Asia. All of the winners were very excited about receiving a copy of "WikiChurch: Making Discipleship Engaging, Empowering, and Viral" signed by the author Steve Murrell.

"I'm so happy because I actually called Borders in one of the malls here and inquired if they'll be having the book here. But the staff said that I'll just have to come and check for myself in the shop. So I went there after work today and no copies available. Then the good news came, I WON A COPY! Amazing isn't it?" - Jhonavile Bayron Opone

"Derek and I got our 'WikiChurch' in the mail today! We are really excited! Thank you!" -Tiffany Kasdorf

"Yeah! God Bless to Pastor Steve and to the whole Every Nation Team!" -Felix Balete

"WikiChurch: Making Discipleship Engaging, Empowering, and Viral" is available at Amazon (print and Kindle), Borders, Barnes & Noble, Every Nation store (if you're buying twenty copies or more, enter the promo code: wiki and received a discount), and Christianbooks.com (print and eBook).

For more information about "WikiChurch," visit its Facebook page, and follow it on Twitter. 

Staff Profile: Kerren Barker

 

Kerren Barker once told a friend that she would never become a missionary. Now, a few years later she is eating her words after marrying into the Barker family, and working as our Operations Coordinator for Ten Days Mission Experiences. 

When Kerren isn't coordinating trips, managing projects, and keeping Ten Days moving forward administratively she enjoys trying out new recipes and tinkering with them to create a tasty dish. Kerren does have a voracious appetite for unique foods, but also hungers for hearing interesting information as well.

Here's a little bit more about Kerren:

Worst Dirty Santa gift ever?

An alligator head. Thank you, Steve Murrell.  

Motto in life:

I can learn that. 

What should everyone know about you?

I'm not a morning person. It doesn't mean I'm a bad person. 

What's your hidden talent?

I have the ultimate hitchhiker thumbs; they bend back to the extent that I've made people gag in horror.

World Missions: A Heart for the Nations in Her Backyard

Jessica Barker grew up in a Christian home with a heart to see the nations know Christ. While on a mission's trip when she was sixteen, she realized she wanted to do missions full time. Where exactly would take some time to figure out.

She attended the eight-week School of Ministry, Nashville, when she was twenty years old. A year later, she graduated from Libscomb University and enrolled in the School of World Missions in Manila, Philippines.

"I decided to go to the School of World Missions because I wanted more exposure to missions, and I knew the training would be very valuable whether I went overseas or remained stateside."

It was during the next six months overseas that she discovered the challenging reality of what it was like to live in a culture completely different from hers.

Nashville's School of Ministry Welcomes New Students

Every Nation’s School of Ministry in Nashville, Tennessee, welcomes thirteen new students this semester.  The students will learn strategies and develop tools that will help them reach their campuses back home.

Some students have traveled from as far as Calgary, Alberta (Canada); Austin, Texas; and Miami, Florida, to attend this year's program. The eight-week classroom sessions will equip the students with a foundation for effective university ministry by teaching them how to engage their college campus. For those wanting to become a campus missionary, the program will include a semester-long internship at the student’s university after the classes in Nashville.  

Every Nation's Schools of Ministry in Nashville, Hawaii, and North Carolina are held every summer. Nashville classes are in session June 12–August 5. Honolulu's began June 13 and goes through August 12. Raleigh’s School of Evangelism started June 11 and ends August 5, and their School of Equipping starts August 8 and goes until November 13.

For more information about Every Nation’s Schools of Ministry, visit them online.

• The School of Ministry, Nashville
• The School of Ministry, Honolulu
• The School of Ministry, Raleigh

Watch the video below to hear what this year’s Nashville students expect to get out of the program, and hear how the school has equipped a previous student.

 

World Missions: Two Continents, One Mission

 

Jason and his wife Olivia with their children Nathan (8), Sophie (6) Isabel (3),
Alex & Ben (22 months), and Charis (3 months)

After eight years as a missionary in Australia, Jason Staggers and his family packed their bags and returned to America this May to be part of the new Every Nation church in Lexington, Kentucky, CityLife Church.

Jason and his wife, Olivia, married in 2001 and knew that life as missionaries would sometimes mean moving cities, even countries. What they didn't quite expect with moving back to where they once lived, was reverse culture shock. Eight years in a country is enough time to become familiar with its people and places, to say the least. America almost feels like a "foreign land" to the Staggers, and they find themselves reminiscing life in Albury-Wodonga.

WikiChurch: Making Discipleship Engaging, Empowering, & Viral

 


Every Nation Ministries’ co-founder, Steve Murrell, is the author of the new discipleship-focused book, WikiChurch: Making Discipleship Engaging, Empowering, & Viral.

Pastor Steve wrote this book to help others discover how the same old boring strokes can grow a church spiritually, and how having the latest, most creative ministry gimmicks is not the key to real discipleship. WikiChurch recognizes that the goal as followers of Christ remains the same through time, “Go and make disciple of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). 

Steve Murrell’s story is unlike most missionaries. He was not necessarily called into the mission field, it just happened. He went to the Philippines one summer for a short-term mission trip that just happened to turn into several years in Manila working to equip the people there to follow Christ and help others do the same, or in other words, be disciples making disciples. During Steve's time in the Philippines, he created the steps he writes about in WikiChurch to help people strengthen their spiritual relationship, and learn how to lead others to Christ. Using the WikiChurch strategy, Steve Murrell’s church in Manila, Victory, grew from 165 university students in 1984, to now more than 52,000 members in 2011 throughout the Philippines.

Steve's concept on how to make disciples is not complicated, or revolutionary. Simply, a “WikiChurch” is a church that is focused on four steps: engage, establish, equip, and empower. This book is not about teaching one person to lead over others, it’s about learning to make disciples so that new disciples can make disciples. Leading others to Christ doesn't require a mass knowledge of the Bible or experience in the ministry, it just takes willingness to reach out to those around us. WikiChurch can break down what seems to be the overwhelming task of making disciples into simple steps.  

WikiChurch was perviously released in the Philippines under the title Accidental Missionary, and its lessons have tremendously impacted and inspired others. Mark Conner, Senior pastor of CityLife Church in Melbourne, Australia, believes that this book’s insight on discipleship can be useful for churches everywhere.

“Steve Murrell is clearly a leader who understands discipleship and who has been able to bui ld it into the core of his thriving church in the Philippines. There is much to learn here. Steve’s thoughts and principles are transferrable to every culture and generation. This is a much-needed book for the church. I highly recommend it!”

If you want to learn how to grow a church, group, or yourself spiritually, then WikiChurch can give you the tools to do so. Making discipleship engaging, empowering, and viral is not a complicated process, it's merely being dedicated to practice the same strokes—engage, establish, equip, and empower—and teaching others how to as well.  As Steve puts it, "Discipleship is NOT an event, encounter, or an experience. It is an ongoing process."

WikiChurch is in stores July 5, and will also be available on Kindle, Nook, & Sony Reader. You can purchase the book now online at Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or at our Every Nation Store. For more information and a chance to win a copy of the book, check out WikiChurch on Facebook and Twitter.

Steve Murrell describes himself as a "husband, father, accidental missionary, reluctant leader, frequent flier, and watch collector." He's the senior pastor of Victory in Manila, Philippines, co-pastor of Bethel Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee, and director of the Real Life Foundation. To learn more about the author of WikiChurch, you can follow Steve on Twitter, visit his Facebook page, or read his blog, The Reluctant Leader.

Church Planting: Need A Little Help?

If you are planning to plant a church with the next twelve to eighteen months then you should take advantage of our upcoming Assessment Center and BootCamp sessions.

Every Nation Churches' Assessment Center and BootCamp is a two-part training program for upcoming church planters. The Assessment Center is designed to help you discern your calling to church planting by affirming your strengths and identifying your weaknesses. It's also our prerequisite to the Church-Planting BootCamp.

BootCamp consists of an intensive and interactive five-day training experience that covers the major issues a church planter faces in starting a new church. You'll learn primarily through small group formats that will challenge and stretch you.

The Assessment Center and BootCamp have helped many in the process of church planting. One of our past attendees is Clayton Bell. When he was in the process of planting Trinity New Life Church in Tampa, Florida, he found the center to be very helpful.

“When my wife and I became involved with Every Nation over eight years ago, we were captured by the mission of 'church planting, campus ministry, world missions.' As former campus ministers and now church planters, we were so thankful to have a way to confirm our calling and receive feedback from experienced church planters. It's great to see Every Nation Churches implementing tools to identify, train, and launch the next generation of church planters!"

Other church plants have also benefitted from our Assessment Center and BootCamp. Along with Trinity New Life, the following churches were started after attending the center:

• Aletheia Church Boston (Massachusetts)
• SouthCoast Church (Florida)
• Victory Church of the Bay Area (California)
• The Journey Long Beach (California)

If you want the best tools for planting a new church then take advantage of this opportunity and sign up for our next session.

When is the next session?

The Assessment Center is held September 6-9 and registration is open now until June 30.

BootCamp is held November 3-7 for those who complete and pass the Assessment Center, and registration is open until October 3.

How do I sign up?

Registration is free for Every Nation church planters and $1,000 per couple for non-Every Nation church planters.

For more information, or if you would like to register, call Cindy Lopez directly at (615) 371-8479 x119 or send her an email.

We need at least ten couples to sign up or we will have to reschedule the program to a later date. Please take advantage of this opportunity! The experience and feedback you will receive is invaluable. 

 

Missionary Highlights: From West to East

God is the ultimate multi-tasker. While changing lives, He also uses a large youth retreat to help pay someone’s way to a family wedding.

Every Nation missionaries Addison and Lisa Tweedy experienced God’s attention to detail and transforming power during a youth retreat last year.

Addison, Lisa, and their children, Anastasia, Silas, and Ariston

Back up to September...

Lisa’s brother is getting married on the East coast. The Tweedys live in Arizona and aren’t exactly sure how they will afford to transport the family (two adults, three children) in order to attend.

God says pray. So they do.

And that’s when Addison receives a call from a friend who wants him to speak at a youth retreat in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s the same week as the wedding and it pays enough to accommodate the entire family’s travel expenses. They’ll already be on the East coast and Addison will have the opportunity to share with youth from a Christian high school.

Coincidence? No, God!

Addison preaching at a youth retreat in September