Dear Pastor/Friends,

I want to thank the Lord for His many blessings at Family Camp and CRAVE youth camp this year! The preaching, music, and programming were all excellent. In both camps there were numerous victories at the altars. Our Family Camp offerings and registration funds met all of our financial goals! God was so present and loving throughout. Thank you to all the volunteers who gave so much of themselves to help make these great camps successful. Thanks, also, to our camp staff under the leadership of Terry and Sandra Porter!



ACTIVATE KIDS’ CAMP begins next Monday. We are confident that the Lord will bless our kids with another great week of camp. Please pray for them in church this coming Sunday.

It was a real blessing for Susan and me to visit our Prairie Point church on June 30 for the installation of their new pastor, Richard Waggoner, and his wife, Barbara. Richard had served as their interim pastor since the retirement of Pastor Jack Smith, so the Prairie Point flock knew the Waggoner's very well and already love them. I think exciting days are ahead for Pastor Richard and his congregation.

As you know, our long-time office manager, Vania Palacios, is leaving us to take on a new and awesome job counseling and encouraging young Spanish-speaking immigrants. Vania is perfectly suited for this new position, and we wish her the very best!



I am very grateful that Pastor Brookelyn Nelson, our co-pastor at Euless First Church, has stepped in to help us during the interim. Brookelyn is a gifted administrator, and we are blessed to have her in the district office.

I am so pleased to announce that our Muleshoe Church has been restarted under the leadership of Pastor Rafael, and Erminia, Cordero. During Covid, it appeared that the church would be lost as it dwindled down to very few people…and Pastor and Erminia were both seriously ill. Yet the Lord has been faithful. Brother and Sister Cordero have returned to the newly refurbished parsonage, and worship services began again just two weeks ago. We are pictured here with the Corderos back in 2016. (I hope Susan will forgive me for using this old picture.)

I am also delighted to report to you that Iglesia Nazarena CrossPoint is our district’s newest Parent-Affiliated Congregation. Under the leadership of Pastor Rubin Cordero, pictured here with his wife, Erika, this Spanish-language congregation has sprung up over past two years within our FW Crosspoint congregation, led by Pastor Todd Derbyshire. CrossPoint is a very diverse congregation with members representing 25 different nationalities. Worship services are held in English, Spanish, and Kinyarwanda. Recently the Spanish-language congregation has matured to the point of being ready to accept PAC status. We are very pleased about this development.

Also, what a blessing it is to announce the start-up of our newest Church-Type Mission, “Decatur Abiding Church of the Nazarene” under the leadership of church planters, Rev. Rebecca Aleman and her husband, Charles. They are picture here with their son, Charles, and daughter, Evelyn Hope. Abiding Church is being planted by FW Northside under the direction of Pastor Lynn Nichols. They will begin preliminary gatherings in August and will launch, God willing, early next year. They will be temporarily housed out of our Decatur Jesucristo es el Camino church led by Pastor Manuel Rodriguez.

Please be sure to read “The Treasurer’s Chest” article below. Also, you can CLICK HERE to see the latest Funding the Mission report for the district and your church.

Susan and I have talked a lot recently about how grateful we are for our WT District family and how privileged we are to serve you, and our Lord, together.

For you and with you,

Pastor David Downs

In this year when we celebrate 75 years of Alabaster giving for world missions, we are reminded of all the tremendous ways in which Alabaster funds have been used to build churches, hospitals, parsonages, and provide other critical building needs throughout the world. Through the faithful giving of the “widow’s mite,” Alabaster offerings have made a huge impact in the Church of the Nazarene’s evangelistic efforts.

One of my earliest recollections as a child was depositing our family’s collection of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters, under my mother’s watchful eye, each day in the golden-urn Alabaster box that sat on the kitchen windowsill. And, oh, the excitement I felt when that Sunday morning finally came when everyone in the congregation marched by the altar to empty their offering into the big church-shaped collection box! Then, whenever missionaries would hold deputation services in our church, they would tell such heart-stirring stories of how our Alabaster offerings had helped advance the Church on their particular field of service, my young heart would overflow with blessing. My pittance of coins, added to the offerings of others, had made a difference in the world!

When I grew up and became a missionary myself, Alabaster took on a whole new meaning for me. Though I was able to see for myself the beautiful buildings and tremendous ministry results that Alabaster provided on the mission field, there was one particular use of Alabaster funds that holds a special place in my memories.

Our first mission home, in the provincial city of Daejon, South Korea, had been built in the days immediately following the Korean War. While this western-style home provided our family of six with a more-than-adequate residence, there were a few rustic features that proved challenging—such as the bathtub.

Well, this tub was more like a trough. Constructed of cement blocks that had been covered in rough plaster, this tub made every bath a torturous exfoliating experience. Our two preschool-aged daughters grew to hate the idea of bathtime. They would climb out from their bath with their precious young skin scratched and red. In the grand scheme of things, we realized our cement-block bathtub was a small problem. But, oh how we thanked the Lord when Alabaster funds became available to use to install a real tub in our mission home!



In both big ways and small…from beautiful church buildings and critical hospital facilities to smooth tubs in mission homes…Alabaster continues to further the world-wide mission effort of the global Church of the Nazarene. Happy 75^th Anniversary, Alabaster!

Susan Downs

West Texas District NMI Storyteller

Our district treasurer, Connie Lincecum, has prepared the West Texas District 2024-2025 "Funding The Mission" report as of July 10, 2024. Pastors, please pay close attention to your church's contributions so far this year. Please make every effort to encourage your people to faithfully maintain their giving for others. 

Click here to download the report.

Multicultural Ministries of the Church of the Nazarene sponsored the Hispanic Vision, Evangelism, and Discipleship Summit at Emanuel church in Fort Worth on June 22.

Dr. Leonel de Leon was the speaker, and we invested 6 hours of that day in this activity. There were representatives from Decatur, Denton, Fort Worth, and Arlington with 50 attendees, including 10 pastors (most of them with their spouses).

We thank our leadership support from Dr. Downs and the Emanuel church for their hospitality. 

Blessings!

José I Palacios

West Texas District Hispanic Coordinator 

Activate Kids' Camp - West Texas Kids Camp is beginning this Monday! Join us in prayer for the kids who will be attending.

MinistrySafe Update - We need to work toward ALL of our WTX District Churches renewing their MinSafe training for anyone who serves in youth or children ministries. If you serve with kids 18 years old or younger your MinSafe training must be updated every two years. We had a district wide push for this in 2022 so it's that time again to get this all taken care of. CLICK HERE for an updated MinistrySafe explanation letter for you to review.

· MinSafe team update - Jen Sommers is now serving the following zones: Abilene, Amarillo, Arrowhead, Denton, High Plains and Lubbock. Mary Brewer is continuing to serve the Fort Worth, Lamesa, Metro Mid-Cities and Wichita Falls zones.

· MinSafe new invoicing - church leaders requesting MinSafe training links will be invoiced when training links are sent. MinSafe now charges us when we send out links instead of when links are used. Please try to get these invoices paid as soon as you can. These payments come out of our WTX children's ministry budget that we use to run our events (BLAST, quizzing, Kids Camp, etc.) We want to respect our ministry budget and continue to use it in the manner it is intended for.

Jennifer Sommers