On Sunday, April 13, 2008, the Peniel Church of the Nazarene in Greenville, Texas, celebrated its 100th anniversary. This church was organized in April 1908, six months before the merger in Pilot Point, Texas, which marked the beginning of the Church of the Nazarene 100 years ago. The Peniel church has averaged less than 100 in attendance throughout its history.

"If I really connect, I bet I could hit the ball into the ocean."

When I was a child, many things frightened me: junkyard dogs, lurking shadows in my bedroom at night, and most of all, big bullies. Those threatening guys at Walthall Elementary School, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, stalked me and made my life miserable. Evidently my experience is not isolated.

Seven years ago*, God dragged John Mohan "kicking and screaming" into a new career.

Mohan, an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene, went from being a self-described "typical white suburban pastor, with little awareness of homelessness," to chief executive officer (CEO) of Siloam Mission, an urban Nazarene Compassionate Ministry Center in Winnipeg, Manitoba, arguably the coldest capital city in the world.

Call and consecration are two powerful aspects of holiness and they relate to our status in relation to God. Through God's call and our consecration to God, we have been drawn into a special relation—we are God's possession and are dedicated to God's exclusive service.

We have been spiritually transferred from the fallen world into God's presence. Through the Holy Spirit, we have been introduced into the fellowship between the Father and the Son.

Nearly every morning, Annie (my Golden Retriever) and I go for a walk. I’m fairly certain that our walks are different than some: ours is an adventure in discovery. We stop at every telephone pole and every pillar. Every blowing leaf has to be examined and trash is a gold mine just waiting to be pounced upon (she is still a pup after all). While I walk in straight lines, she is a constant back and forth zig-zag. But, she is growing up.

The Church recently celebrated Pentecost. Christians rejoice that the Holy Spirit has been poured out in such a way as to expand the Church beyond all borders and boundaries. Acts 2 (echoing the prophetic words of Joel 2) and the Gospels demonstrate that God seeks to extend His Church and His redemptive love to all creation.

Ann Cubie Rearick and Mary Rearick Paul, mother and daughter, were both raised in ministry homes and are both still in ministry. Here, these women express their perspectives regarding the experience of growing up in a holiness environment.

Ann Cubie Rearick:

"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14, KJV)."

Roberta Bustin can't remember exactly when the ecology laboratory became part of the building that's now home to the Nazarene ministry in Tigmandru, Romania. It occurred some time after space was designated for a doctor's office and before the upstairs classroom became a sewing workshop. The church ministries have developed in response to specific needs in the 1,500-person village, so besides space for traditional church ministries, the building needed room for science, health, and employment training.

From grocery stores and airports, to restaurants and the urban intersections of Tokyo, London, Johannesburg, Toronto, New York, and beyond, our visual senses are bombarded daily. Today, video screens can be found just about everywhere: cell phones, mall checkout counters, vehicles, and even fuel pumps. Is it any wonder that a growing number of churches are also incorporating the use of projected video in worship?