Dr. Larry W. LeonardDistrict Superintendenttnnazdist@aol.comSeptember 2012

RECOGNIZING AND EXERCIZING SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP

Our nation is at the height of what seems to be a constant campaign to elect a leader as President of the United States who can exert influence that will result in positive change, lifestyle improvements, and economic stability.We all recognize the necessity of strong, positive leadership at every level of society, government,business, education, health, and religion. In our churches, that leadership focuses on the God-calledpastor and lay participants who govern, guide, and nurture the members and attenders. In themonths of September and October we have opportunity to recognize our pastor-leaders and to provide our lay-leadersan opportunity to exercise their influence by attending a very timely training event on our Mission Areas.

PASTORS APPRECIATION MONTH: This October has been set aside to recognize our pastors for their faithfulnessto Christ and to His Church. These God-called leaders are commissioned to be the shepherds of Christ’s chosenchildren, the preachers of the “Bread of Life,” and examples of Jesus, the great Shepherd.

All of our churches are encouraged to make the month of October special for the pastors of all roles of ministry.You can use your creativity to express your love and appreciation. Some churches have sent pastorson special vacations, have given gifts to them and their families, have given them extra time offabove and beyond vacation, and have had members of the congregation send appreciation cards with checks ormoney gifts included. Generosity toward our spiritual leaders will never go unnoticed by our God.He will bless the churches and people who appropriately recognize His messengers of the Good News. Please make your plans now to show your pastor-leaders how much their efforts mean to you.

MISSION AREA LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT TOUR: Lay leaders exert great influence on the local church. To have the knowledge, wisdom, and guidance that God wants to give to each of them, it is important to continuallyfind areas of enrichment and education in areas that will enhance that influence. This fall we will conduct a tour that will feature the number one key to influence, leadership, and church growth. I will be teaching on the subject of “Prayer: The Heart of All Spiritual Development.” It is my conviction that we can practice a system of prayer that will move the heart of God to transform our pastors, leaders, attenders, and community. Please plan now to enlist as many of your people as possible to come to this very important movement to ignite the spiritual fervor of our churches.

September 24, Nashville South/East Mission Areas at Nashville BethelSeptember 25, Nashville North Mission Area at Hendersonville

September 27, Waverly/Clarksville Mission Areas at WaverlyOctober 1, Fly/Columbia Mission Areas at Fly

October 2, Memphis North/South Mission Areas at Memphis Calvary

It is a tremendous blessing to work beside all members of the Tennessee District Church of the Nazarene!

Connected to hope,

Pastor Larry

SDMI: SunDay School DIScIpleShIp MInIStrIeS InternatIonal

Rev. David Hill, SDMI Chairman403 Page PlaceMt. Juliet, TN 37122E-mail: dcnaz3@comcast.net

Sunday School

Make the Connection

SUNDAY SCHOOL 1. Nashville First .............................................................788 2. Nashville Trevecca Community ...............................687 3. Columbia Grace .........................................................507 4. Hermitage ...................................................................454 5. Goodlettsville .............................................................408 6. Memphis Calvary .......................................................339 7. Clarksville Grace ........................................................237 8. Gallatin ........................................................................226 9. Nashville Grace ..........................................................225 10. Erin ..............................................................................207

NUMERICAL GAIN 1. Memphis Calvary .........................................................78 2. Nashville Trevecca Community .................................60 3. Nashville First ...............................................................44 4. Jason Chapel .................................................................38 5. Goodlettsville .........................................................26 6. Woodlawn .....................................................................18 Memphis New Hope ....................................................18 8. Brentwood First ...........................................................17 9. Dover .............................................................................14 Franklin Community of Faith ....................................14

PERCENTAGE GAIN 1. Dickson Lighthouse ............................................ 88.89% 2. Memphis New Hope ........................................... 69.23% 3. Nashville Trinity .................................................. 66.67% 4. Sumner County Living Springs ......................... 43.48% 5. Nashville New Life Korean ................................ 38.10% 6. Memphis Hope Tabneracle ................................ 36.36% 7. Jason Chapel ........................................................ 35.19% 8. Nashville Westwind ........................................... 33.33% 9. Madison ............................................................... 31.58% 10. Memphis Calvary ................................................ 29.89%

MORNING WORSHIP 1. Nashville First ...........................................................1042 2. Nashville Trevecca Community ...............................966 3. Columbia Grace .........................................................735 4. Hermitage ...................................................................683 5. Clarksville First ..........................................................555 6. Goodlettsville .............................................................550 7. Clarksville Grace ........................................................483 8. Memphis Calvary .......................................................444 9. Nashville Grace ..........................................................358 10. Gallatin ........................................................................312

SEPTEMBERTOP TENSomething that took me a long time to grasp was just howimportant daily being with God and His Word was to spiritual growth. In fact, no one taught me how to do that. I guess we in the Church have been guilty of assuming people automatically know how. Imagine if we prepared people for driver licenses assuming they just know how to drive.

Do you think a tool that promotes daily devotional practices is important? A tool to disciple someone and help them to read the Bible?

We on the Tennessee District have been blessed for 15 plus years by the ministry of Rev. Larry Spraker as our district SDMIchairman. He led us well and will be missed greatly. We request your prayers for the SDMI board as we endeavor to carry on the good work he encouraged all of us to accomplish. Thank you, Larry! God bless you!

CHRISTMAS IN SEPTEMBERWOMEN’S MINISTRY RETREAT

SEPTEMBER 14 ~ 16

Engage the Word is an exciting and easy way to deepen our congregations’connection to God through His Word. And it is free!

This 40-day emphasis is uniquely designed to help peopledevelop life-long habits of daily Scripture engagement. The plans are very adaptable to any congregation for families, youth, and adults. Access to them, along with other resources and ideas, can be found at http://engagetheword.nazarene.org. This might be the method that helps people on all spiritual levels develop their Bible reading and most of all, theirrelationship to God.

nMI: nazarene MISSIonS InternatIonal

Mrs. Becky Hancock, President504 W. Angela CircleGoodlettsville, TN 37072E-mail: mhbethel1@juno.com

Welcome New NazarenesColumbia Grace ~ Pastor Mark Lindstrom Billy & Michelle Bryant; Danny Willard; Frank & Judy Hope; Holly Heard; Carol Fuller; Tom Park; Barbara Riley

Erin ~ Pastor Jeff Stark Brian & Joy Hooper; Jeremy Hankins; Sandy Griffin; Shelli Furman Magan Mitchell; Clay, Laura & Bubba Mills; Austin Glass; Angie Tabb; Ricky & Wanda Taylor

Fly ~ Pastor James Lunsford Garrett & Taryn McCaleb; Carter & Lucas McClanahan; Danielle Taylor; Stephanie Totty; Rodney & Candi Adams; Natalie & Kevin Alderson; John & Carolyn MyersHighland ~ Pastor David Scott Evelyn Quick

Woodlawn ~ Pastor Tracy Hoskins JoAnn Green

Crossroads Community ~ Pastor Adam Rischer Adrian Mitchell King; Coby Greenwalt; Kelsey Max; Daniel & Gina Ware; Joyce Howard; Kathy Pittman; Teri Risher; Jimmy Cothran; Betty Wilson

Erin ~ Pastor Jeff Stark Chase Haines; Olivia & Katie White; Dustin Rutledge; Trey & Micayla Smith;Vanessa Baker; Kayla Woods; Angelina & Samantha Eliott; Aubree Byler; Hailey Lindsey

Gallatin ~ Pastor Tim Hancock Kara McCullough

Summer is such an important time for our district as we come together for camps, convention, and assembly. I always anticipate great times of warm fellowship and worship and encouragement. The Holy Spirit is present with us!

• That you have opportunities to have volunteer missionaries speak at your church? Please contact me at mhbethel1@juno.com or by phone (615) 851-1122 and I will share some who are looking for a place to speak this fall.

• That local NMI presidents are KEY to our NMI ministry? Thank you, presidents, for your passion that you share with your church.

• That your district NMI council is here to serve you? Please visit the district webpage at www.tnnaz.org and click on District Ministries/NMI to find our contact information, so we can assist you.

Baptized

Here are some NMI happenings that are so exciting. Did you know….

• That we have begun the adventure of forming a Nazarene Disaster Re-sponse Team? This group was trained in June and several more expressed interest in this ministry at convention. Thank you, Michael Rhodes, for your initiatives in this area!

I hope you were inspired and challenged by our missionaries at convention. Our generous offerings will be a blessing to them as they go back to Africa and buy their 4x4 vehicle. We also want to send a Jesus Film Backpack that is a $4,000 project. We are over halfwaythere and would like to encourage some more of you to give to that project. I know you always leave convention with no more cash in your pockets, but isn’t it fun to give?! Thank you for your generous love offering and for your vote ofconfidence to me personally as your president.

Dates to remember....

Alabaster Offering ~ September

District Prayer Retreat ~October 19 & 20 at Camp Garner Creek

nyI: nazarene youth InternatIonal

Rev. Jason Underwood, NYI President584 Franklin RoadFranklin, TN 37069 E-mail: pastorjasonunderwood@gmail.com

RETREATSeptember 11-13

Make plans now to join us for Ministers & Mates retreat in Pigeon Forge. This year we will also enjoy a night of fellowship together at the Dixie Stampede.

American Red Cross Shelter Team TrainingSaturday, September 8th

8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.Location: TNU Quick Lecture Hall (Waggoner Library)

For more information and registration visit www.trevecca.edu

It is sad to say goodbye to such a great year for the TNYI. It has been an eventful summer that has put an exclamation point on a fantastic year. With school starting back and the Fall just around the corner, it’s time to look forward to the year ahead andwhat God has in store for us.

At our annual TNYI convention we saw a record number of our TNYI family. Over 400 TNYI supporters heard reports of the year’s progress and plans for the upcoming year. The convention also concluded with a night of pizza and all you could play Lazer Tag in downtown Nashville. Here are your newly elected Council Members for this year.

President: Jason Underwood Members at Large: Vice President: Daniel Meadow Daniel Medders Kelli Hamilton Treasurer: Jimmy Wright Matt Taylor Jamin Wentworth

Stephen Kihnley

The convention also elected delegates to the NYI convention next summer in Indianapolis IN. They are as follows:

Ministerial delegates: Lay Delegates: Student Delegates: Daniel Meadow Jennifer Jones Hannah Christianson Matt Taylor Laura Meadow Mac Maguire

I love you and there’s nothing you can do about it!

This year the Southeast region is offering a new event for youth workers. It is a training seminar to be held September 14-16. Information for “Reload” will be available on our websitewww.tnnyi.com as well as emailed to our TNYI distribution list. If you have any questions please contact me for more informa-

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The Tennessee District will be the first U.S. Nazarene district to send a Work and Witness team to Cuba. After many years of notbeing able to go, Nazarenes and other denominations are now able to send work teams to help repair and rebuild oldchurch properties, some dating back more than 60 years. This opportunity is made possible by changes inU.S. government regulations that now permit teams to go to Cuba under a general license for "full-time religious activity,"including construction work on church properties.

This partnership with Cuba highlights an interesting historical connection. The Cuban field began in 1902 as a missionof a parent group merging with the Church of the Nazarene in 1915, bringing its mission work into Nazarenehistory. The parent group that started the work in Cuba and joined with the Church of the Nazarene in 1915 was the Pentecostal Alliance, later called the Pentecostal Mission, with its roots in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Tennessee holiness movement was right at the heart of the early outreach to Cuba. Our partnership with Cubais coming full-circle with a Work & Witness trip 110 years later. We continue to fulfill our mission "to connectpeople everywhere to the hope found in Jesus Christ."

This Work & Witness project began when memorial funds given in memory of Dr. Larry Leonard’s father reached the $20,000 threshold for funding materials for a Work & Witness trip. The Lord directed him to establish a memorial church in Cuba, and District Work & Witness coordinators Mic and Melanie Holcomb made an onsite visit this summer to the Church of the Nazarene in central Cuba. They discovered a building that had been started 30 years ago, worked on by two Canadian teams several years ago, but never completed. The Holcombs quickly determined that the condition of this building and the faith of the people will require not one but three teams and an additional $20,000 in project funds.

The entire district is now needed. We will send three teams over the next few months: the first teamDecember 3-12, 2012, and two more teams with dates to be set in February and March, 2013.

The Cuban congregation was in the middle of a 20-day fast asking God for some way to finish their long-delayed constructionwhen the Holcombs arrived to say that the Tennessee District was committed to helping them complete the project. Theworship service they shared that Wednesday night was an “old-fashioned camp meeting” time with tears ofrejoicing for answered prayers. Now they are praying for us and for the members of our Tennessee teams as weprepare to go and join hands with our Cuban brothers and sisters.

We urge every church on the Tennessee District to be involved at some level. Pray. Take an offering to help meet the additional project funds needed. Urged skilled laborers, people who speak Spanish, and medically trained individuals from your church to go. Contact the District Ministry Resource Center for more details. For specific information on the teams going to Cuba or to complete an application to go, contact the Holcombs at melanie.holcomb@wildblue.net or at 615-446-5554.

For information reagarding the trip we are also providing a PowerPoint presentation attached with this newsletter.

Paperwork for the December trip is going to be due near the end of September, so it is vital that those interested respond quickly!

TENNESSEE DISTRICT PARTNERSHIP WITH CUBA

Clarksville Mission Area SS AMClarksville First ........................ 152 .........................555Clarksville Grace ..................... 237 .........................483Clarksville Korean...................... 25 ...........................70Clarksville Park Lane ............... 116 .........................171Dover ......................................... 68 ...........................90Gray’s Chapel ............................ 67 ...........................70Long Creek ................................ 22 ...........................22Woodlawn Community............. 121 .........................156

Columbia Mission AreaBrentwood Concord Comm. .... 139 .........................226Brentwood First ....................... 145 .........................238Columbia First ........................... 30 ...........................57Columbia Grace....................... 507 .........................735Franklin Community................... 75 .........................167Franklin Hispanic .......................... - ...........................10Lawrenceburg Grace ................. 33 ...........................62Lawrenceburg Vaughan ............ 13 ...........................15Lewisburg .................................. 31 ...........................49Nashville New Life Korean .......... 29 ...........................35Pleasant Point ........................... 20 ...........................31

Fly Mission AreaElmore ....................................... 48 ...........................63Fly .............................................. 15 ...........................89Jones Chapel............................. 26 ...........................52Mt. Wesley-Akin Chapel ............ 20 ...........................39Savannah .................................. 15 ...........................21Summertown ............................... 8 ...........................27

Memphis North Mission AreaCovington .................................. 13 ...........................15Crossroads Community ............. 36 ...........................61Dyersburg .................................. 26 ...........................31Memphis Calvary ..................... 339 .........................444Memphis New Hope .................. 44 ...........................38Memphis Word Alive .................. 36 ...........................47Millington ................................... 23 ...........................24

Memphis South Mission Area SS AMMemphis Christ Like .................. 15 ...........................50Memphis Eastside ..................... 26 ...........................38Memphis Emmanuel .................. 17 ...........................57Memphis Faithful Believers ....... 11 ...........................27Memphis Friendship .................. 28 ...........................47Memphis Grace ....................... 174 .........................216Memphis Holiness Tabernacle .... 66 .........................138Memphis Hope Tabernacle ........ 30 ...........................39Memphis Refreshing Springs ...... 8 ...........................34

Nashville East Mission Area Hermitage ................................ 454 .........................683Madison ..................................... 25 ...........................34Madison Hispanic ...................... 54 .........................104Nashville Bethel ......................... 74 .........................106Nashville First .......................... 788 .......................1042Nashville Grace ....................... 225 .........................358Nashville Inglewood................... 24 ...........................61Nashville Whites Creek ............. 32 ...........................54Old Hickory .............................. 103 .........................144

Nashville North Mission AreaAshland City Faith Comm. ......... 69 .........................109Gallatin .................................... 226 .........................312Goodlettsville ........................... 408 .........................550Greenbrier New Walk ................... - ...........................60Hendersonville ........................... 65 .........................141Highland .................................... 19 ...........................32Joelton ......................................... 9 ...........................10Portland ..................................... 98 .........................174Springfield.................................. 40 ...........................57Sumner Cty. Living Springs ....... 33 ...........................54

Nashville South Mission AreaKingston Springs ....................... 22 ...........................31Nashville Bell Road ................... 18 ...........................39Nashville Blakemore .................. 25 ...........................60Nashville Calvary Korean .......... 26 ...........................69Nashville Christ............................ 0 ...........................42Nashville Community Fellowship ... 16 ...........................26Nashville Donelson .................... 34 ...........................42Nashville Glencliff Hispanic ....... 68 .........................124Nashville Kaleo .......................... 17 ...........................17Nashville Immanuel ..................... 0 ...........................21Nashville Trevecca Comm. ..... 687 .........................966Nashville Trinity ......................... 25 ...........................50Nashville Westwind ................... 20 ...........................25

Waverly Mission AreaCamden ....................................... 8 ...........................19Dickson Lighthouse ................... 17 ...........................43Erin .......................................... 207 .........................244Fulton......................................... 40 ...........................54Griffin’s Chapel .......................... 82 .........................109Jason Chapel........................... 146 .........................180Paris .......................................... 45 ...........................42Pine Hill ..................................... 75 .........................140Waverly .................................... 156 .........................225

TOTAL ................................... 7334 .....................11492

Thanks to ALL churches for 100% reporting for 80 consecutive months.

AttendAnce RepoRt foR August

Funding the Mission Funding the Mission Unified TNU WEF P&B Reported Income Income Updated

Ashland City Faith Comm. 0 0 0 0 0BrentwoodConcordComm. 3,518 1,978 6,812 2,029BrentwoodFirst 72,287 7/30/12 2,891 1,626 3,584 2,609Camden 7,949 8/27/12 301 169 414 172ClarksvilleFirst 0 306 0 715 153ClarksvilleGrace 0 2,109 1,186 0 7ClarksvilleKorean 11,733 7/29/12 469 264 376 152ClarksvilleParkLane 88,950 8/27/12 2,497 1,405 3,433 1,405ColumbiaFirst 15,947 8/16/12 665 395 870 150ColumbiaGrace 206,472 7/31/12 3,761 2,116 10,447 4,274Covington 0 180 135 216 135CrossroadsCommunity 0 624 340 1,182 340DicksonLighthouse 0 0 0 0 50Dover 30,995 8/15/12 1,234 694 1,582 671Dyersburg 0 0 0 473 290Elmore 0 395 222 542 222Erin 60,947 8/13/12 2,298 1,292 3,159 1,292Fly 14,024 7/29/12 561 316 771 316FranklinCommunity 0 1,451 907 900 327Franklin Hispanic 0 0 0 0 0Fulton 8,542 7/31/12 324 214 444 192Gallatin 0 4,696 2,115 4,765 2,113Goodlettsville 266,310 8/29/12 8,947 5,046 13,837 5,660Gray’s Chapel 0 0 0 0 0GreenbrierNewWalk 0 0 0 0 0Griffin’sChapel 19,845 7/31/12 728 410 1,026 410Hendersonville 21,672 7/29/12 867 542 1,127 475Hermitage 0 1,399 0 0 699Highland 9,584 8/26/12 361 203 326 133JasonChapel 39,712 8/1/12 0 0 1,567 837Joelton 3,396 8/29/12 128 82 84 35Jones Chapel 0 0 0 0 0KingstonSprings 0 330 206 773 220LawrenceburgGrace 0 514 322 707 258LawrenceburgVaughan 0 0 0 0 0Lewisburg 12,000 8/18/12 561 350 771 280LongCreek 0 390 244 536 195Madison 10,818 8/12/12 421 237 197 85Madison Hispanic 0 0 0 0 0MemphisCalvary 244,325 8/31/12 5,500 3,094 11,282 4,555MemphisChristLike 0 0 0 0 0MemphisEastside 0 141 85 198 85MemphisEmmanuel 4,649 7/31/12 172 0 242 105MemphisFaithfulBelievers 0 0 0 0 0MemphisFriendship 22,528 8/27/12 572 380 787 343MemphisGrace 152,001 8/27/12 4,676 2,630 6,169 2,630MemphisHolinessTab. 0 0 0 187 0MemphisHopeTab. 0 0 0 0 0MemphisNewHope 7,345 7/30/12 709 355 780 314Memphis Refreshing Springs 0 0 0 0 0MemphisWordAlive 0 0 0 0 0Millington 0 182 101 251 114Mt.Wesley-Akin 8,630 8/31/12 154 87 201 87NashvilleBellRoad 0 0 0 300 0NashvilleBethel 0 2,000 1,166 2,666 932NashvilleBlakemore 22,744 9/2/12 778 438 1,070 438NashvilleChrist 0 0 0 0 0NashvilleCommunity 7,361 7/31/12 279 157 384 162NashvilleDonelson 21,895 9/2/12 655 407 1,215 460NashvilleFirst 586,585 8/28/12 12,117 6,816 18,372 7,556NashvilleFirst/CalvaryKorean 0 0 0 0 0NashvilleGlencliffHispanic 6,863 7/18/12 575 360 710 258NashvilleGrace 143,187 8/6/12 5,727 3,222 6,958 2,931NashvilleImmanuel 3,529 8/21/12 134 75 184 79NashvilleInglewood 13,631 8/30/12 517 291 710 291NashvilleKaleo 2,598 8/31/12 0 0 0 0NashvilleNewLifeKorean 8,482 8/31/12 237 141 308 125NashvilleTreveccaCommunity 338,635 8/31/12 8,145 4,576 10,875 4,576NashvilleTrinity 23,407 9/2/12 950 556 1,049 450NashvilleWestwind 0 204 102 0 127NashvilleWhitesCreek 15,707 7/30/12 588 368 1,643 331OldHickory 52,015 7/31/12 1,993 1,121 2,740 1,121ParisFirst 16,592 8/31/12 458 257 860 348PineHill 46,183 8/31/12 1,045 588 1,418 588PleasantPoint 2,402 8/24/12 45 26 59 26Portland 79,830 8/27/12 2,965 1,668 4,191 1,675Savannah 0 0 0 0 0SpringfieldFirst 11,179 8/14/12 452 254 621 254Summertown 6,159 8/31/12 204 127 320 131SumnerCty.LivingSprings 2,489 6/30/12 0 0 0 0Waverly 63,723 8/13/12 2,223 1,251 3,067 2,501Woodlawn 42,565 8/27/12 1,631 957 2,242 879 $2,858,423 $98,958 $54,672 $143,698 $60,659

WeappreciatechurchesutilizingFundingtheMissionandreportingthemonthlyincome.Ifyouneedanyassistance,pleasecontacttheDistrictOfficeat(615)255~2929andwewillbegladtoassistyou.

funding the Mission giving 2012-2013unified & tnu As of Aug. 31 WoRld evAn. & p & B As of Aug. 31