NMI President’s Report 2021-2022 

It is my pleasure to present to you my second year-end report as the Arizona District NMI president. It has been a challenging yet refreshing two years as we’ve all navigated being the church in the midst of a pandemic with hopeful expectation. Being elected to this role at the beginning of the pandemic while also learning how to pastor a new congregation and starting my Doctor of Ministry program, there were many nights where I humbly prayed, “God, do you know what you are doing? Because I really don’t know that I do?”

Thankfully, God is in control. He has navigated and is continuing to navigate the church as we faithfully live out the Great Commission right here on the Arizona district and to the ends of the earth. One very important thing I have learned and believe can be discovered through adversity is that we do not just support the work of missions as followers of Jesus, we are to be on mission with purpose. When a pandemic forces us to adapt to a new limited reality of what it means to be the church, we figure out new ways to connect those around us to Jesus by being the church in action and not just merely doing church the way that we have always done it.

It helps us to see that missions is not a program, it’s not an offering, it’s not a picture on a wall, it’s not simply meeting your budgets, it’s not even making sure you have your Alabaster march every year in February and September. These are tools that help us to be more mission minded. Missions is who we are locally and globally. It is a part of our DNA, it is what we have been called to do, it is a lifestyle, it’s our identity. We are missional.

In Acts 5:27-32 we are reminded of what is at stake when we choose to be on mission, when we choose to keep moving forward, when we choose to speak the name of Jesus with confidence. It is written, “The apostles were brought before the council where the high priest confronted them: “In no uncertain terms, we demanded that you not teach in this name. And look at you! You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching. And you are determined to hold us responsible for this man’s death.” Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than humans! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted Jesus to his right side as leader and savior so that he could enable Israel to change its heart and life and to find forgiveness for sins. We are witnesses of such things, as is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” The apostles bold proclamation of the gospel infuriated the religious leaders who continued to enforce limitations on a movement that could not be stopped. In fact, after being flogged and ridiculed we are told in verses 41-42 that, “The apostles left the council rejoicing because they had been regarded as worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of the name. Every day they continued to teach and proclaim the good news that Jesus is the Christ, both in the temple and in houses.” The apostles were on mission and nothing, absolutely nothing could keep them from spreading the good news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth by the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). I share this account from Acts 5 with you today as an example of what it means to be “On Mission.” That regardless of the challenges we will encounter there is hope in knowing that if God is for us then nothing or no one can be against us.

This past year on the Arizona District we have been a district ON MISSION. As we always do, we have been active in supporting Nazarene global missions through the World Evangelism Fund ($828,577), Alabaster ($39,059), NCM Child Sponsorship ($59,268), supporting our missionaries through LINKS and Deputation ($40,242), Crisis Care Kits (3,090 kits), and we raised over $10,000 towards the Africa Nazarene University 21st Century Classroom Work & Witness project that has been postponed to July 2023. We have also been actively living on mission with purpose in our local communities from Bard, California, throughout the state of Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada. Our local churches are the heartbeat of mission and evangelism right where we are planted. Needs are met and lives are changed as we commit to living out the gospel throughout every season and in every situation. God is at work in our communities and beyond. He is in the midst of the brokenness of our world. He is breaking the chains of addiction, restoring broken relationships, challenging the status quo, breathing hope into despair, and shining light in the darkness. He is out in the streets messing with people’s lives and He is inviting us to join Him in that foundational work as we continue to live on mission in connecting our neighborhoods, communities and our world to Jesus one relationship at a time.

I would like to thank those who have served faithfully on the Arizona district NMI council this past year. Our goal is to be a resource for our district churches when it comes to both local and global missional efforts. We have created a useable website and are beginning to explore using social media more regularly as a tool for communication and encouragement.

One of the things we noticed this past year was that a great number of our pastors were exhausted coming out of the pandemic. In October of 2021 we wanted to offer our appreciation for all of their hard work in leading our churches so we made it a priority to send a card with a small gift to offer a bit of encouragement. We did the same for our NMI Presidents in February of 2022. Pastors, NMI Presidents and local NMI councils THANK YOU for your work on the front lines of the missional efforts on our district and beyond.

As we look ahead, our hope as a district NMI council is to encourage, equip and empower our local churches in their missional efforts to make Christlike Disciples of the Nations. If you would like to stay informed by receiving our monthly connections, please contact me at azdistrictnmi@gmail.com and we will put you on the email list.

Our district project for 2022-2023 as we commit to being on mission will consist of work projects on the Arizona District as we commit to the mission of God right where we are planted. Our goal is $10,000 and I know with your help we can meet and exceed this goal!

ON MISSION TOGETHER!

Pastor Joshua Jorgensen
Arizona District NMI President