Editor's note: Missionaries Ruthie Webb writes about her husband Phil's recent trip to encourage and assist Nazarene ministry in Cambodia, on the Asia-Pacific Region. Cambodia, the heart of South East Asia, sits within the 10/40 window. Over 50 percent of the 14.5 million people are under the age of 20; only 1 percent are Christ-followers, and 12,023 villages have yet to hear the gospel in this beautiful country.Local Nazarene churches in Cambodia are vibrant, young, rural, local bodies of believers meeting under trees, homes and a few churches, bringing God’s kingdom to their community...
Asia Pacific
It was August 6, 2005 and I was on a 32-hour bus ride heading for the South American Nazarene Theological Seminary in Ecuador. Right after my arrival I went to the academic dean’s office. I remember he asked me, “Do you have a call from God?” “Yes,” I said. “What is your specific call?” he asked next. I found myself without an answer. I knew that God had called me to ministry, but “what kind of ministry?” His question triggered in my mind a desire to discover the specific way in which God wanted to use me. Now, seven years later, I have the conviction that God has called me to...
Kapal hadn’t come to fight, but he walked into the middle of one. Worried about his sister, the 23-year-old Domil villager crossed the boundary between his tribe and the next, where a battle had been flaring for weeks.He walked with purpose toward his brother-in-law's house, despite gunshots ringing nearby. The fight didn't involve him so he thought he'd probably be safe. I imagine he didn't even quicken his pace. I've seen dozens like him over the years, young men who treat tribal war as a matter of course. As he approached the house, suddenly a...
Nov 24, 2010
The Church of the Nazarene came to the West Indian island of Trinidad in 1926. It was the first time that this denomination, founded by the Reverend Phineas Bresee, in California and then formally established in Texas in 1908, had reached into the Caribbean. Trinidad became the gateway through which the Nazarene Church was presented to people in this part of the globe.The missionary who was initially responsible for planting the Nazarene Church in the Caribbean region was the Reverend James Ivy Hill. Hill’s life prior to conversion to Christianity and ministry in the...
African Nazarene leaders from a country* in the Africa Region held a Holiness Summit earlier this month in a secure location in a neighboring country. The venue allowed pastors and leaders to openly worship Christ, something that is not possible in the country where they live and serve.Jubilant singing and passionate preaching was the mark of this gathering. In their home country these Nazarenes worship in house churches, rotating from one member’s home to another from week to week, so as not to call attention to their underground church. They normally whisper their songs and hide their...
Editor's note: In Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean, missionaries David and Sylvia Potter recently visited a community of believers for discipleship meetings and Bible teaching. They were joined by their youngest son, Wesley, who was visiting from the United States. Experience their visit through the following photo essay.Vanuatu consists of over 80 individual islands. Tanna Island, where fivelanguages are spoken, has a population of about 20,000. The people producecoffee, kava and coconuts, as well as many fruits and vegetables. (Source:Wikipedia.com)We flew from Port Vila...
Dave and Helen Ann Bucher have been tentmaker missionaries in Saipan, Northern Marianas Islands (a U.S. Commonwealth, just north of the island of Guam) Micronesia District since December 2001. They serve as pastor and church planters. They also teach in the public school system so they can be self-supporting in their ministry. Dave teaches chemistry at Kagman High School and Helen Ann is a reading resource teacher (and has the oversight of the library) for Kagman Elementary School.In prior assignments, they pastored churches in Texas (Terrell and Flint) and Oklahoma (Altus and Tishomingo)...
Harmon and Cindy Schmelzenbach serve as missionaries to the Melanesia and South Pacific fields, which currently include work in the countries of Samoa, American Samoa, The Kingdom of Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Harmon has served as the field strategy coordinator since January 2009. Previously he served as the coordinator for Nazarene Maritime Ministries (the FijiBoat Project) launched in Fiji in 2000 together with leadership development. He was also the assistant to the field strategy coordinator from 2006. They have two children: Quinton,...
On April 1, Dr. Louie Bustle retired after leading the Church of the Nazarene denomination's Global Mission efforts for 18 years. Prior to this role, he served as a missionary, field director and regional director, for a total of 42 years in service. During these years he traveled to more than 100 countries, casting vision, empowering leaders and developing strategy. Under his leadership, Global Mission areas grew from 1.1 million members in 1994 to 2.1 million members in 2011. Several mission leaders share their memories and tributes to how God used Dr. Bustle, and his wife, Ellen...
After 18 years as director of Nazarene Global Mission, Dr. Louie Bustle retired on April 1. Engage magazine caught up to him on Monday, April 2, to ask him how he and his wife, Ellen, started in missions, to share highlights of their years of service, to tell his most frightening travel experience, and what he’s doing now. Ellen joined the phone interview briefly several times. Engage: How did your last week go as Global Mission director? Bustle: I’ve turned things over to Verne Ward, the new director (read more) very well and spent a lot of time with him; he’s a fast learner...
Pages
Nazarene Global Regions
Newsletter Signup
Subscribe to receive Engage headlines in your e-mail.
READ MORE
