Celebrating Summer
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Celebrating
Summer
MINISTRY DIRECTORS:Royal Ranger’sBart [email protected]
Girl’s MinistriesMary Helen [email protected]
Help us New Mexico byinforming us of ministry
successes in your church and community.
Send your submission to: [email protected]
Native AmericanWilliam [email protected]
AREA PRESBYTERS:
New Mexico Ministry Network 6640 Caminito Coors NW Albuquerque, NM 87120 505 899-5399 (phone) 505 899-5859 (fax) [email protected] www.nmministry.net
NortheastDavid [email protected]
East CentralLemuel [email protected]
SouthwestDavid [email protected]
Northwest Randy [email protected]
Senior Adult Ministries Greg [email protected]
Women’s Ministries Becky [email protected]
Secretary-Treasurer Marcus McClain
Assistant Superintendent David Vistine
Student MinistriesJeral [email protected]
Men’s MinistriesKent [email protected]
Network Superintendent Micheal Dickenson
Southeast Melvin [email protected]
West CentralBrenton [email protected]
Church Van for Sale: ‘97 Ford Club Wagon, 191k miles, 12 passenger (rear seat permanently removed). $2,500. Contact Nathan Lynch at (505) 862-2319.
EXECUTIVE PRESBYTERS:
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Thanks to all of our New Mexico ministers and churches for making the 73rd Annual New Mexico District Council an out-standing success! From the first session with Doug Clay, to the fi-nal communion and prayer ser-vice, every part of the event was amazing. Additionally, you can access the audio recordings of each of the ser-vices on our new website at nmministry.net. We want to congrat-ulate those who were recog-nized at this Council for their ministeral credentialing ad-vancements, especially those who were Ordained on Wednes-day night. Congratulations are also in order for Jeral Dickenson who was re-elected to serve as New Mexico Student Ministries Director. As those attending are aware, this truly was a defining District Council as significant decisions were made that will affect us for years to come. A decision was overwhelmingly made at this Council to approve a name change; so from this
point going forward, we are the New Mexico Ministry Network. You will begin to see references to this change in this issue of Link with such things as email addresses, our new website, and ministry designations. Howev-er, the makeover will continue throughout the coming months as we seek to communicate this new identity. I sincerely pray that we will continually live up to what this identity expresses. Ev-erything we do—both in the local church and at the state level—is about ministry. And, as we fulfill
ministry assignments God has given to each of us, we do it net-worked together as individuals and ministry teams. Each of us who serve in the Network Of-fice recognize that we are here to serve you and your church wher-ever you happen to fit into the overall Network picture. While this issue of Link talks a lot about District Coun-cil, our focus continues to be on “The Church.” It was our theme for this year’s Council; and it will continue to be our focus
throughout the remainder of the year. I really hope that we make that connection and realize that everything we do is ultimately connected to the local church. As you read through this issue, you’ll see references to missions trips to South Africa and Haiti; Summer Camps here in New Mexico; Senior Adults, Men’s, and Women’s Confer-ences; NMSOM; and Bike for the Light. Enjoy those important ar-ticles and announcements. But whatever you do, don’t miss the incredible story of Juan Sousa, a man from Las Cruces First As-sembly whose military deploy-ment to Afghanistan connected him to God’s purpose in re-es-tablishing a church there. Again, every one of these stories is ultimately connected to build- ing and advancing the minis- tries of the local church, both here and around the world. As we network together, and as we seek to fulfill our God-given assignment where He has called us, the church here in New Mexico will continue to make a difference. Thank you for serving and for living God’s dream for His Church. As I preached at District Council, it really is “The Church: His Cause, Our Mis-sion!”
Thank you for serving and for
living God’s dream for His Church.
“”
NETWORK SUPERINTENDENT MICHEAL DICKENSON
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SECRETARY-TREASURER MARCUS McCLAIN
As Sharon and I walked quietly out of Copper Pointe Church following the Ordination service on Wednesday evening of District Council 2012, one of our Assemblies of God family members came up alongside of us and init-iated a conversation. After a few brief words I ask them what they thought about Council so far. Their response that evening I have heard repeated by others repeatedly and it really sums up my personal reaction to all of District Council. That response is simply “WOW!” From Pastor Mike’s open-ing message regarding “The Church: His Cause, Our Mission” and the powerful ministry of our General Secretary Doug Clay, to the defining business session, wonderful Ordination class, and that spiritually powerful closing time together, again all I can say is: “WOW!” Moving forward will cer-tainly pose some challenges as we make the needed transitions. Expect to stumble over the name “New Mexico Ministry Network”
from time to time; and switching the mindset that we are no lon-ger a part of separate “Sections” but rather “Areas” will bring pause to some. While the ver-biage might be different, those that God has called are still the same wonderful, gifted, and pas-sionate individuals desiring to make a difference for the King-dom of God in our local commu-nities, the state of New Mexico, our most blessed nation, and the world. Let’s move on, God is calling!
As you read this article, you need to be aware that we have broth-ers and sisters in our Fellowship around the world that will also take the time to discover what is taking place in the New Mexico Ministry Network family. They need to hear as well as you that we are blessed to have Godly leadership with Pastor Mike and Becky Dickenson. They have certainly taken their place in the legacy of leaders that we have been blessed with. We celebrate with them as they enjoy their 40th wedding anniversary
in just a few short weeks. In news from around the Network, I would like to say, “Welcome” to Pastor Brenton Franks and his wife Ruth as they join the NMMN Presbytery for the West Central Area. Addition-ally, I would like to congratulate Jeral Dickenson and his wife Patty as he continues to serve our Network as the Student Ministry Director. Through God’s direction a wonderful ministry team is assembled to serve our network of churches and pastors. In closing, I want to again refer to Pastor Mike’s message to all of us. I am reminded that God’s Word tells us that “many are called but few are chosen.” Rejoice, everyone, for He has chosen us; and Our Mission is to serve The Church: His Cause!
Rejoice, everyone, for He Has chosen
us; and Our Mission is to serve the
Church: His Cause!
“”
Pastor Brenton Franks with his wife Ruth and his children, Tyler and Ashley
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Rev. Kelly Fulfer and his
wife Liz
Rev. Lillian Sprong and her husband
Wayne
Rev. Babu John and his
wife Lizy
Rev. Carlos Baki and his wife Doreen
Rev. Grant Christopher and his wife
Melanie
Rev. Randell Corley and his wife Jeannie
Congratulations!To all of our newly-ordained Ministers
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Rev. Chris Ball and his wife TiffaniRev. Rob Thomas and his wife Marlie
Congratulations!To our newly-Licensed Ministers
Rev. Ronald Hassett Rev. Diane Hesch Rev. Amy Long
Congratulations!To our newly-Certified Ministers
Congratulations!
Pastor Jeral Dickenson, was
re-elected as New Mexico Student
Ministries Director
Pastor Jeral, his wife Patty, and sons Koa and Judah
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To support an individual or the project:Go to nmministry.net
Step 1: choose the large GIVE icon in the lower middle
Step 2: fill out the New User form to register
Step 3: choose Payment type (checking will assure that 100% of your contribution is donated. Credit card convenience fee reduces total donation by 4%.)
Step 4: choose Frequency, then choose Women's Ministries for Purposes, enter dollar amount, in the Memo area type the name of the person you wish to support or type “project” to help with overall Africa funding.
Step 5: review and confirm contribution information then you will be redirected to a secure payment processing site.
It's really very easy and a contribution receipt will be mailed in the near future! Donations are tax deductible!
September 20-22Las Cruces First Assembly of God
For more information or to register go to nmministry.net
WOMEN’S CONFERENCE 2012
with GAIL
MCWILLIAMS
SOUTH AFRICA MISSIONS TRIP!OCTOBER 18-28, 2012
Support an individual below, donate to the project or do both.
Claudine Boyd, Crownpoint, NM Suellen Broderick, El Paso, TX Yvonne Burnett, Edgewood, NM Becky Dickenson, Albuquerque, NM Vickie Garrison & Duane Garrison, Albuquerque, NM Tina Haroldson, Albuquerque, NM Carol Johnson & Gil Johnson, Albuquerque, NM Joyce Johnson, Stanley, NM Loretta Krein, Albuquerque, NM Selina Martin, Kirtland, NM Cheri Monk, Lone Tree, CO Therese O'Dell, Albuquerque, NM Vivian Phillips & Nathan Phillips, Albuquerque, NM Laura Sprague, Albuquerque, NM
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The New Mexico Ministry Network Congratulates
Western Heights Church and Pastor Randy Sims on the
50th anniversary of their church.
The New Mexico Ministry Network is proud to announce
Reverend Louie Esquibel as pastor of First Assembly of God
in Estancia, New Mexico.
TRANSFERRED IN:DeWayne Anderson (O), Las CrucesJo Caldwell (O), ClovisKen Caldwell (O), ClovisRobert Nemeth (C), Santa FeTimothy Plata (C), Las Cru-ces
TRANSFERRED OUT:Joshua Hunsicker (L), to SCKevin Richardson (O), to OKKendall Trewern (O), to N. TX
DISMISSED:Jude Tercero
LAPSED:David Blair (C)Michael McFerraz (C)Kenneth Skinner (L)Paul Vistine (L)Linda Fischer (O) Joel Steen (O)
CREDENTIAL CHANGES
New Mexico NewsNEW PASTOR 50th ANNIVERSARY
Superintendent Micheal Dickenson presents a 50th anniversary certificate to Pastor Randy Sims.
Superintendent Micheal Dickenson installs Pastor Louie Esquibel.
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Registration Fee: $10 per person
INTERVIEWED BY GRANT CHRISTOPHER
In this “Year of the Church” we focus on celebrating what God is doing through our fellowship and the faithful peo-ple who make up His “Church.” Perhaps one of the most exciting developments is the reestablish-ment of a church 7,697 miles away in Ghazni, Afghanistan. Ghazni is located 100 miles to the southwest of the hotly-con-tested capital city of Kabul. This testimony comes to us because one man, U.S. Air Force Tech Sergeant Juan Sousa, decided to obey and devote himself to God.
Sousa was a nominal Christian until God awakened him through the faithful prayers of his wife, Marivi, and the pow-erful love of the people of Las Cruces First Assembly of God. The following interview is a tes-tament to what God has done through him, and consequently, through the ministry of churches like yours.
LINK: Tell me about your life be-fore you knew God.SOUSA: Being from Puerto Rico, I grew up Catholic; I was an on and off Christian. But my wife brought me to church and prayed for me for 12 years.
LINK: What have you learned about God through a church like Las Cruces First?SOUSA: You have to dedicate your life to God. You have to serve Him. We learned that people love you at Las Cruces First, no matter who you are. They make you feel welcome in church. God has shown me that church is more than just one hour on Sunday.
LINK: How did you feel when you learned you were going to be deployed to Afghanistan?SOUSA: I didn’t really want to go; but I knew that God had a bigger purpose for me. At hear-ing the news of being deployed to Afghanistan, I told the Lord, “Use me as you will.”
LINK: Tell me what happened in Afghanistan.SOUSA: Forward Operating Base (FOB) Ghazni is a NATO base led by the Polish armed forces. The chaplain for the base was a Polish priest who didn’t speak any English. With such a small FOB, people did not show interest in church so they didn’t provide [a chaplain]. I went to the small church the first week
there [in Ghazni], and only four to five people were there. Two members were running it each week, but they were relocating soon; and nobody wanted to take over. The people didn’t take it upon themselves to take over. They needed volunteers and in the second service that morning (the very last one before the lead-ers left), I volunteered to lead it.
LINK: You took over the church on the first day you were there? Do you have training for that?SOUSA: I had no theological education whatsoever; [but] God provided the whole way. I would often call Pastor James Gildon from Las Cruces First for guidance. He would say, “Don’t worry Juan, God will guide you.” It all started because I saw how Pastor Dave [Vistine] did his Bible study. I said to myself, If they can do it [at my church], I sure can too.
KabulGhazni
Map of Afghanistan
Juan Sousa with Pastor James Gildon receiving recognition at
Las Cruces First Assembly of God
More than One Hour on Sunday: The Story of Sergeant Juan Sousa
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LINK: What happened when you took over as leader of the church in Ghazni?SOUSA: I implemented things I had seen at Las Cruces First, like the main greeting and bulletins. I knew nothing about music but then the Lord sent a choir direc-tor a month after I started. In six months we grew to become a church of 62 members. The base leadership noted the Chris-tian community and Colonel Purple (the U.S. Forces com-mander at FOB Ghazni) put in a request for a full-time chaplain and chaplain’s assistant to take over when I left. Once my tour had concluded, I asked one of my buddies, “What now [for the church] since I’m leaving?” He responded, “God will provide, like the choir and instruments.” And it was then we found out that the request for a chaplain had been approved.LINK: What kind of things
did you see God do through you in Af-ghanistan?SOUSA: We had 3 Bi-ble studies: Wednes-day, Monday Wom-en’s Bible study, and a Friday Scripture reading and medita-tion. They were only supposed to last an hour, but we found ourselves meeting for 2 or 3 hours by the time it was over. We had a prayer break-fast and New Year’s service. I even had the chance to min-ister to two friends of mine who had been through an explosion and survived. They were non-believers and as I spoke to them after surgery they said, “God is here with us and we’re here and we are alive.” Now those two go to church in the States.
LINK: Where do you find inspi-ration from God as a soldier?SOUSA: Psalm 91 is the soldier’s Psalm. It says in verse 2, “I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my ref-uge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’” It contains my favorite verses in the Bible. There were a couple of missions in firefight and we all read that and prayed that before we went on it. I know I would run and that a bullet would not touch me. God does not let me down. [Psalm 91] puts your faith out
there. God is with you; God does not leave you; God is always pro-tecting and looking out for you.
LINK: Do you have any final thoughts you would like to com-municate to anyone reading?SOUSA: Get out there and do more for God. Don’t just do the one hour a week. Don’t just give 10%, but 100%. Give God the glory. Don’t just give the bare minimum to God.
Sousa is now serving at a U.S. military base in Stuttgart, Germany with his wife Marivi and daughter Carla. God has truly built His Church through Sousa’s dedication. In this Year of the Church, Sousa has learned the importance of living for God more than one hour on Sunday; God’s Church is so much more.
Juan Sousa with his wife Marivi and his daughter Carla
Juan Sousa on a mission in Afghanistan
More than One Hour on Sunday: The Story of Sergeant Juan Sousa
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SAGU receives $9.3 million in gifts in four months
In the last ten years SAGU enrollment has increased 16 percent. Meanwhile, the combined enrollment of Communication Arts, Language Arts and Music has doubled. The growth of these programs created a need for additional space and learning tools. Thus began the process that would result in the university’s plan for its own World Communication Center.
A monumental endeavor, President Bridges and his administrative team knew the project would be a challenge, totaling an estimated $21 million. The initial plan was to build the WCC in two phases. Segmenting the project would allow SAGU to construct the facility as resources became available. An unexpected $5 million gift to the WCC last September from a generous family, combined with $8 million authorized by the Board of Regents for financing, compelled the administration to consider the feasibility of constructing the entire facility at once.
God has miraculously provided for SAGU throughout its 85-year history and the last six months is evidence of His continued provision. Since September, the university has received an additional $1.8 million from the same generous family who gave the $5 million, as well as a $2.5 million gift from Dr. John and Diana Hagee. The gift was timely in view of SAGU’s most recent news concerning a challenge grant from the Mabee Foundation.
The Mabee Foundation was instrumental in the construction of Sheaffer Full Life Center and Teeter Hall. This March, the university submitted a grant proposal for the WCC. On April 10, their Board convened and authorized a $1 million challenge grant on the condition that the remaining $1 million balance is raised by April 2013. The aforementioned gifts have placed SAGU within striking distance of funding this 79,000-square-foot facility, which will be the second largest building on campus.
“To Every Nation” documentary released on SAGUtv
SAGU Digital Media Arts students joined student-led missionary teams to create a groundbreaking, feature-length documentary of their 2011 journey. “To Every Nation” premiered January 25, 2012, on www.sagu.tv.
SAGU Director of World Ministries Chad Germany shares, “This will be a powerful, factual demonstration of the Gospel in word and deed. It can challenge and recruit students and even win people to Christ as it is shown in the United States.”
In 2010, the SAGU Missions department introduced Mission TEN (To Every Nation), a humanitarian initiative to send students to serve in 192 nations, 34 Chinese provinces and 35 Indian states over the next 10 years. In two years, SAGU’s Mission TEN has ministered to 37 of the 261 locations it plans to reach.
“To Every Nation” gave Digital Media Arts students hands-on training by telling the stories of missionaries worldwide. Nine embedded journalists divided into 2-person teams to cover 18 Mission TEN summer trips. Each team carried a backpack containing a laptop, a high definition camera that shoots video and still photos, a tripod, two external hard drives, a wireless audio kit, and a light and reflector kit.
The journalism teams filmed and reported 2-3 personal interviews or ministries while in each country. The documentary was student-produced with faculty oversight. Students took particular care to protect missionaries’ identities.
New MexicoDean’s ListSean ArmstrongMichael BorrorBenjamin ChavezRobien ChristieBecca DenneyCynthia GarofaloMelisa HolguinElyse Inman
Britta JohnsonKatrina OrtizBenjamin RoybalCrystal Rudolfo
President’s ListAdrianne LovatoNubia Lozano
Sean ArmstrongMichael BorrorBenjamin ChavezRobien ChristieBecca DenneyCynthia GarofaloMelissa HoguinElyse Inman
Britta JohnsonKatrina OrtizBenjamin RoybalCrystal Rudolfo
Adrianne LovatoNubia Lozano
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