The 2019 Year Book & Directory is printed and available for order online or by downloading an order form should you need to pay by check. Online access is also available. Go to disciples.org/yearbook to get yours ordered today.
#DMFday on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, is the 231st birthday of Alexander Campbell, one of the founders of our denomination. To honor our Church’s history, we look towards the future, by investing in the regional and general ministries we’ve developed to live into our call to be a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world. No matter the size of your wallet, please plan to participate! Resources are available here.
Britton Christian Church Tennis Academy (BCCTA) is so proud of the 12 and Under Junior Team Tennis Team that just returned from the Missouri Valley JTT Championships. The Missouri Valley section of the United States Tennis Association is made up of five states. The BCCTA kids competed for two days and came home with the championship! It was an incredible experience for the children and the sponsors. The USTA was there to do a story on BCCTA because they are an NJTL (National Junior Tennis and Learning) organization. This is the 50th anniversary of the NJTL, started by Arthur Ashe to bring tennis to kids who would not normally get the opportunity to play. You can read the full story on the Britton Christian Church Tennis Academy’s website HERE.
Read more about Britton Christian Church Tennis Academy and their incredible outreach story.
Britton Christian Church serves the community through a Tennis Academy outreach program they offer to Britton Elementary School children and their own church members. They held a 3 day camp at Heritage Hall High School for 70 kids in June. The church has around 28 advanced players who are playing most days of the week. Read the inspiring article below about Britton Christian Church Tennis Academy, published by the Disciples News Service.
(Photo provided by Mike Hays, Britton Christian Church)
Article written by Disciples News Service on July 5, 2019 at 11:17 am
At Britton Christian Church in Oklahoma City, tennis is more than a sport.
Since 2011, a youth group trip to the tennis court has grown into BCC Tennis Academy, which officially opened in 2018.
Participants in Britton’s tennis clubs like Los Gatos learn more than how to swing a racket. This weekly club is offered to students at nearby Britton Elementary School who are behind in reading, and includes tennis lessons, tutoring, time in the church’s computer lab with educational games, and Bible lessons.
The tennis program has grown to reach families across the congregation’s diversifying community, through weekly groups, summer camps and an annual event – and provides a powerful way for church members to volunteer.
“God can use me to make a difference in a kid’s life,” senior pastor Rev. Mike Hays explains. “It’s easy to ask, ‘how is an inner-city kid ever going to connect with me?’ as a white guy who lives in nice area. But kids could care less about that stuff if they know you love them.”
Coaches also use tennis to teach Biblical lessons, Hays says. “For example, the first time you touch a racket you might not hold it correctly. The coach will correct you, and you can’t blow off that advice. Proverbs says, ‘trust in the Lord, rely not on your own understanding’” (Proverbs 3:5).
The tennis academy’s board raised over $250,000 in donations and grants to build three courts on the church’s property, where they offer most of their programs. They also have groups practicing 3-4 days a week at a local country club, which charges the church a discounted fee.
Students of all ages and abilities can participate. The academy teaches all levels of tennis – from beginners two Sundays a month, to competitive teams like the Cheetahs, a 10-and-under club team, who won the state championship last year.
Church membership is a requirement to participate in the upper-level programs, and this program has helped Britton CC reach more families across the community.
“We want to be more than a tennis outlet for kids,” Hays suggests. “We want to minister to their families too, so these programs help bring in families that may be going through difficult times. We had a student start our after-school program, and he soon brought his mom to church. She came to other programs we offer, like ESL and citizenship classes, and church leaders attended her citizenship ceremony.”
Between the tennis academy and other community ministries like a medical and dental clinic, at over 100 years old, Britton Christian Church still finds new ways to serve love to their neighbors.
“God has given us a wonderful tool to get involved in families’ lives, be a blessing, and teach great lessons,” celebrates Hays.
“Love transcends every cultural divide, every racial disparity, every cultural context. Love transcends them all.”
(read the full article HERE)
The congregation worshiped for the last time on June 26th. Odyssey had moved from First Christian in Jenks to Boston Ave. United Methodist Church. A few excerpts from Rev. Phil Ball’s last letter to the congregation:
“I write to you in celebration of the 14 years we have both experienced and shared God’s Light. While Odyssey’s form will soon separate into its component parts, you will continue to bear the light as those who have known a place where real life was integrated with real faith lived out in vulnerability, growth, expansion, compassion, grace, and service.
I need to add something we did which in my own mind stayed below the radar for most of us. Because we have been so personal in our missional activities, and these consistent gifts from 10% of our regular budget were not directly ‘personal’, it was easy for them to go unnoticed and uncelebrated. We have from May of 2005 through June of 2019 given a minimum of 10,000 dollars per year to these combined agencies including the Disciples Mission Fund; Disciples Week of Compassion, The Annual Fund of the Christian Church in Oklahoma; the Northeast Area Office of the Christian Church in Okla., and finally the global Church World Service which serves millions of people worldwide and especially the refugees from war. We have to my memory never had a year where giving to our regular budget was less than 100,000 dollars annually which meant that the minimum we have given away to these 5 agencies was more than 140,000 dollars over Odyssey’s life span. And that was in addition all the special acts and items we gave during the year!
I invite you to be proud of the witness this congregation that never had an average worship attendance of more than 45 people per week has done through the generosity of God, and the vision that we could make a positive difference in God’s world. We have!”
Please plan to attend the Children Worship & Wonder Storytelling Training at Western Oaks Christian Church (8100 NW 23rd St. Oklahoma City, OK 73127) on August 2, 2019 from 6pm to 9pm and August 3 from 9am to 4pm.
After completing Children Worship & Wonder Storytelling Training, you will be certified to be a CW&W storyteller. You will be equipped to share biblical stories and encourage faith formation in a special worship space dedicated to children. Register online HERE
Click HERE to find more resources about Worship & Wonder. If you have any further questions, please contact Rev. Julia Jordan Gillett at (405) 821-0108 or mgillett@aol.com
Please join In the Spirit Christian Church (1020 S. Garnett Rd. Tulsa, OK) on July 14th at 3:30pm for a concert to benefit the Oklahoma Family Empowerment Center. Oklahoma Family Empowerment Center is a not-for-profit agency that seeks to provide resources and assistance to individuals and their families that will empower them to live a successful and purposeful life.
Watch a video about the emergency kits impact!
A Letter From Church World Service:
As you might have heard, the CWS Kits program is a critical one for disaster responses both near and far. But we have one big problem: we don’t have an easy way for congregations in your area to collect the supplies needed to fuel those responses.
We’re determined to overcome that problem this year, which is why I’m reaching out to your congregation. We’re looking for one congregation to serve as our Emergency Kit Depot in your area when disasters strike the U.S. It’s a very low-maintenance commitment with a powerful outcome. Will you consider serving in this role?
As an Emergency Kit Depot, your congregation would open your doors for a limited period of time (around two months) following a major emergency, and only when CWS makes it clear that there is a need. This gives local congregations a place to drop off their emergency cleanup buckets, hygiene kits and school kits based on your availability.
Our team supplies almost everything you’d need to make this a smooth process: we communicate with local congregations, we send you a toolkit with preparation information, and we arrange for kits to be picked up at a date that is convenient for your congregation. You would simply be offering storage space and a handful of volunteers to help with the collection.
If your congregation is interested, I’d love to share more information with you about this important opportunity to see if it’s a mutual fit. Just complete this interest form and we’ll reach out to you right away – this is a first step in learning more, but it does not commit your congregation to the kits ministry.
Thanks so much for your support as we respond to more needs together,
Samantha Fore
Congregational Outreach Specialist
Church World Service
For more than 60 years, the Christian Church Commission, in relationship with The Christian Church (DOC) in Oklahoma, has been a part of the formation of almost 20 congregations in the greater Oklahoma City area. The Commission helped with my home church, Southern Hills Christian Church in Edmond, and may have helped with your church! In the past few years, the Commission has helped Iglesia Cristiana de Capitol Hill, Refuge Fellowship and Simplicity Christian Church with funding and support.
The Commission continues to pursue its mission of starting new churches in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. We feel a real need to continue working toward bringing the Good News to all that we can reach.
As a Commission, we have not done a very good job lately of publicizing our mission, or even our existence! We hope to do a better job of that this year. As part of that process, we have updated our brochure. For those of you who attended the Leadership Training School in February, we hope you saw our booth and picked up a copy of the brochure.
We would love to have you join us in our mission and we would love to visit with you and your church to let you know how you can help. You may view our brochure HERE. If you would like copies of our brochure or for someone to come to your church and make a (short) presentation, please let us know. We would be happy to!
Karl F. Hirsch
Hirsch, Heath & White PLLC
901 Cedar Lake Boulevard
Oklahoma City, OK 73114
Telephone: (405) 235-1768
In the last month, Oklahoma has sustained a severe weather pattern with unprecedented rain and tornadoes. El Reno endured flooding one week and a devastating tornado the next. The following communities also sustained flooding: Stillwater, Ponca City, Skiatook, Chandler, Miami, Muskogee, Langley, and the greater Tulsa area.
Thank you for your generous giving to Week of Compassion and the Oklahoma Disaster Fund, not just this spring season, but EVERY TIME YOU GIVE.
Every time you give, and there is a disaster in the world or in Oklahoma, you are there. Week of Compassion and Oklahoma Disaster Fund have provided assistance to individuals and congregations and will continue to do so because of your generosity.
Please continue praying for the long term disaster clean up in communities, for first responders who have rescued people and animals, for the Red Cross and the Medical Reserve Corps folks who are working endless hours with people, for the sandbaggers, for those who are providing clean water and a place to stay above water, for farmers who have lost crops, for those who still wrestle with weather anxiety, and who are battling extra mosquitoes, ants, and snakes. Your prayers hold a special place and fill the space between fear and safety.
Let us be grateful for our Disciples pastors who are prepared to stand alongside all those affected and members who are reaching out to love their neighbors in the name of Jesus Christ.
Images taken a few days after the first rain in May – view from I-35 and Ponca City exit. (Photo credit: Regional Minister Pam Holt)
