I’m going to get real honest. I’ve been a Nazarene for nearly all my life
and I’ve never quite understood all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds
the General Assembly and Conventions. I
grew up in a small Nazarene Church that seemed to always be in the shadow of
the larger churches around it. I could
tell that they were there, but never really saw them. I would occasionally hear about quizzing,
district events, camp and assemblies, but my little church almost never
participated. I was in college before I
realized that most Nazarene Churches thrived on their district community.
Seeing as I didn’t understand the need for district events,
you can be sure that I didn’t understand the hullabaloo that surrounded an
event such as General Assembly. There
was particular excitement expressed by a small few in our church about the fact
that General Assembly would take place in my hometown of San Antonio, in 1997. Although I enjoyed myself, our youth leader (yes,
our youth group had four people and thus needed a leader) had to practically drag
me to the NYI convention. At this
moment, I got a small picture of how truly large the Church of the Nazarene was.
My perspective was broadened and enriched throughout the
years and even more profoundly so when we were sent as missionaries to the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. I saw
how the individual churches, districts, and countries within the Africa Region
truly depended on one another. General Assembly was finally starting to make
sense. The entire event is a commitment
to being a global church community. It
is a chance for us to see the strengths and weaknesses of our brothers and
sisters in Christ so that we may know how to better serve one another. Yes, it is about the boring business stuff
too; the kind of stuff that my teenage mind dreaded so intently. But I see now just how much it means to be
able to do the business of running our church together.
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| Members of a district assembly in the DRC |
In the DRC, there are more than 22,000 active members in the
Church of the Nazarene. However, finding
the funds to send more than a handful of delegates is quite difficult. In addition, visas are not often granted to
Congolese applicants. This year, we will
have only seven delegates, yet they are thrilled and honored to carry the voice
of the Congolese Nazarenes to the General Assembly.
Let’s continue to bring the General Assembly and Conventions
before the Lord in prayer; that they would be a means of fellowship for our
global community and an avenue to more effectively make Christlike disciples in
the nations.
