Do you remember the first Christmas you celebrated as a new follower of Jesus Christ, and the special meaning it gave you as you embraced the greatest gift of all?

This year, more than 150 people celebrated their first Christmas as new believers in Christ because of the Christmas outreach events that were held over the last few weeks!

As a friend of Wesleyan Native Ministries, I know you’ll want to join me in praising God for what He is doing to open the hearts of Native people through special Christmas events like these, and other ministries throughout the year.

Thousands of people heard the Christmas story and gospel message presented in a culturally relevant way at this year’s Native Nativity programs, which were held in seven communities in South Dakota and Montana.

Native Nativity Program

Clips from the film Miracle in the Wilderness (starring Kris Kristofferson), were shown. It’s a western Christmas story about a kidnapped frontier family which shares the story of Christ’s birth with an angry Blackfoot chief and his tribe.

Interspersed between the film clips were Christmas carols sung in both English and Lakota. Then the gospel was presented very clearly in a culturally relevant way, and a brief invitation was given.

More than 150 responded by taking new steps of faith in Christ. They were given New Believers Bibles, and everyone else received a Native adaptation of the Gospel of John.

After the Christmas program, everyone enjoyed a traditional Lakota meal of buffalo stew, frybread and wojape (a berry pudding).

Buffalo stew, frybread, and wojape.

Following the meal, all of the elders were honored and given blankets, then each child received a gift.

We’re grateful for the many individuals and churches that donated money and Christmas gifts to help make these events a reality.

Thank you for your partnership with Wesleyan Native Ministries, to empower Native men and women to take the lead in reaching their people for Christ in culturally relevant ways!

Your support continues to have an unprecedented impact!

And while more Native people are responding to the gospel than ever before, we still need more and more laborers to help bring in the harvest!

All the children received a gift.

Would you please join me in praying that God will raise up more Native men and women as pastors and leaders who will reach their people for Christ?

If it’s been a while since you’ve given, or if you’ve never donated to Wesleyan Native Ministries, would you please join with us today and give a generous gift to help resource what God is doing to reach North America’s First Nations for Him?

You can give online at our secure donation page at www.WesleyanNativeMinistries.org/giving.

Thank you for whatever you can do to help!

– Rev. Rich Avery, Director

Would you please join the Wesleyan Native Ministries Prayer Team and commit to praying for us in 2012?

Our 2012 Prayer Calendar is now available for download.  Click the image to the left to download your printable copy in PDF format, and discover specific ways you can pray for us throughout the new year.

Also, please follow Wesleyan Native Ministries on Facebook to stay up on the latest news, information and prayer needs.

Navajo Code Talkers Memorial in Window Rock, AZ

In October, I stopped at the Navajo Code Talkers Memorial, located next to the Navajo Nation headquarters in Window Rock, AZ

I was traveling with Rev. Darwin & Ann Tsosie, who pastor Red Rock Community (Wesleyan) Church on the Navajo Nation near Jeddito, AZ, and Dale & Stephanie Sommons, members of Calvary Wesleyan Church in Bethlehem, PA.

As you might imagine, it was a very moving experience to read the story and names of the Navajo Code Talkers, young Navajo men (some as young as 15) who developed the only unbreakable code in modern military history and helped defeat the Japanese and bring an end to WWII.

Next to the Code Talker memorial was another memorial to Navajo veterans of all wars, who proudly served and gave their lives for the cause of freedom around the world.

What is especially moving to me on this Veterans Day is the fact that Native Americans have historically had the highest percentage of military service of any ethnic group in the United States.

Thousands of Native American vets have proudly served the country that, at one time, all but eliminated them as a people and attempted to destroy their culture and way of life.

Amazingly, an estimated 20,000 Native Americans served during World War I, at a time when they weren’t even considered to be U.S. citizens! Among them were the Choctaw Indian Code Talkers who aided in the final push against the German army.

Today, on November 11, 2011, while we honor veterans of the United States and Canada who put on the uniform and took up arms in service to their country, let’s especially remember and thank Native American and First Nations veterans who not only gave much, but also overcame much.

– Rich Avery, Director

I hate to admit that Summer 2011 is winding down…but it is!

Looking back, I’m grateful for the many prayers that God has answered over the summer months so far.

Here are a few:

• He provided two new leaders, Karman and June Blake, to work with Pastors Larry and Dale Salway to lead Native outreach ministries in South Dakota.
• He sent dozens of people to serve on ministry teams to help host summer outreach events in Native communities across several states.
• He’s providing a new multi-purpose building in Rapid City, South Dakota for He Sapa New Life Wesleyan Church.

Karman & June Blake (left) with Rev. Larry Salway

Please join us in thanking God for providing these blessings, and for all the people who were part of the blessing!

And please join us in praying for one of our biggest needs this year: $70,000 for our Leadership Development Fund, so we can equip 10 new Native leaders for pastoral ministry in the Wesleyan Church.

The need has never been greater, nor the harvest so ripe and ready!

Thank you.

True or False: More Native American people live on reservations than off.

This is the question I asked last week on the Wesleyan Native Ministries Facebook page, and one that I ask audiences frequently when I travel to speak.

Most people I’ve encountered think the answer is true – that more Natives live on reservation land.

But they’re wrong.  Only about 30% live on a reservation.  The majority live in cities.

The Native American population is rapidly urbanizing, and one of the biggest reasons is jobs.

Unemployment rates are sky-high on many reservations because few private sector businesses locate there.  The jobs that are available are mostly public sector or government jobs that require special training or even a college degree:  Police, fire, schools, hospital or medical clinic, tribal government, tribal utilities, etc.

The lack of jobs, and the growing urbanization of Native people, mean that…

1. Churches on some reservations will continue to struggle to become financially self-sufficient because few people are working and the tithes and offerings the church receives do not cover the expenses of the church.
2. We need to find new ways to help Native churches become self-sufficient…perhaps through the development of businesses that provide jobs and opportunities for people within the church and community.
3. Throughout our 60-plus year history, most of our Native ministries have been in rural areas, but if we want to reach more Native people where they are…we need to go to the cities.

How You Can Help

1. Pray that God would help us develop new models of Native church sustainability.
2. Pray for Christian business people, who see business as their ministry, to walk alongside us and help us explore ways to bring real jobs to under-resourced Native communities.
3. Pray that God will open doors and bring partners to help us reach Natives in cities across North America.
4. Give to Wesleyan Native Ministries as the Lord leads you, to help us equip Native men and women to reach their people for Christ.

Grateful for your care and support,

Rich Avery, Director

Pray for God to open your eyes to Native American or First Nations people in your community

When people hear about Wesleyan Native Ministries, and when they think of Native American or First Nations people, they often think that all of our ministries, and most Native people, are “Out West.”

Many are shocked to learn that Native people live in every U.S. state and Canadian province, and that more Natives live off-reservation than on.  In fact, no matter where you live, there’s a good chance that some Natives live in your area.

One of our strategic goals is to equip every person and church to learn how to build real redemptive relationships with Native people in their communities.

So how can you build your awareness, and grow your heart, for Native American or First Nations people in your area?  We’ll talk about that here on our blog over the next few weeks.

For now, here’s…

How to Grow Your Heart for Native People - Tip #1:

Pray and ask God to open your eyes and make you aware of Native or First Nations people in your area.

You can’t see if you’re not looking

In the early 1990′s, my wife and I were shopping for a newer car.  We visited a car lot and looked at several Oldsmobile Achieva cars. We had never heard of that car model before, and as far as we could remember, had never seen any.

We drove one of Achievas, liked it, and ended up buying it.

Then, almost as soon as we drove it off the lot, we began to see Olds Achievas everywhere we went.

It’s funny how we often don’t see things if we’re not looking for them. But it’s also sad, because we often don’t have our eyes open to see the people right in front of us that God might be calling us to build a relationship with.

So this week, pray that God will begin to open your eyes to Native people in your area.  It might take some time.  But if you ask, God will open your eyes and grow your heart for reaching North America’s first people for Him.

– Rich Avery, Director

In April, I took a 10-day trip through parts of Indiana, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania.  I spoke in churches in Indiana and Ohio on the two weekends I was gone, and visited pastors, church leaders, and other friends and supporters of our ministry during the week in between.

I always enjoy these opportunities to visit ministry supporters to say thanks in person for their support!

As I met with pastors and other church leaders, I discovered one thing that surprised many of them about our ministry:  They had assumed that we received a majority of our funding from the Wesleyan Church headquarters.

As a result, they believed that when they gave to Wesleyan Native Ministries, their gifts were “extra” on top of the main funding they thought we received.

I explained to them that we receive no budgetary allocation from the Wesleyan Church headquarters, and that their gifts weren’t “extra,” they were “everything.”

If you’ve ever thought that your gifts were “extra,” please know that your support means everything to us.

We rely on the generosity of individuals, churches, corporations and foundations to help resource what God is doing through us to empower Native leaders to reach their people for Christ and help transform their communities.

James Rattling Leaf (center)

New Native Leader from South Dakota

During that 10-day trip, I was also delighted to meet with James Rattling Leaf, one of our newest Native ministry leaders.

He is from Rapid City, SD, but was in Pennsylvania taking his first two classes needed for ordination in the Wesleyan Church through the Wesleyan FLAME program.

I praise God for new Native leaders like James that He is raising up.

And I’m grateful for people like you who believe in our ministry and prayerfully partner with us. Thank you!

–Rich Avery, Director

Winter is over, and spring is here!  I’m not just talking about a change in temperature on the outside.  I’m talking about a change in the spiritual temperature in the hearts of Native people across North America!

God is breaking through the spiritual darkness and warming hearts that have long been cold to Him.  Native ministry leaders believe we’re on the cusp of a great revival in Native communities, as we’re seeing an unprecedented response in the number of Native people who are coming to Christ.

We believe the key reason why is because we’re equipping more Native leaders to reach their own people for Christ through evangelism and discipleship strategies that are relevant to their own Native culture.

We’re grateful for our many prayer and financial partners, who help us resource what God is doing to reach North America’s first peoples for Him.

If you’ve never given in support of Wesleyan Native Ministries, would you please prayerfully consider a gift today?

We praise God for the wonderful impact of our Christmas outreach events during December of 2010.  And we’re grateful for everyone who joined with us to make it possible, through your prayers, financial support, and gifts of toys, clothes, etc.

Here’s a 14-minute video update from Rev. Larry and Dale Salway, pastors of He Sapa New Life Wesleyan Church in Rapid City, South Dakota, to show you how your gifts are making a difference!

And, as you’ll hear them express, it’s not too early to start thinking about partnering with us for Christmas 2011!

If we could use only one word to describe…

• the importance of your stewardship decision to give to Wesleyan Native Ministries
• what God did in and through us to reach Native people for Him in 2010
• the number of Native people who committed their lives to Christ and are now being discipled
• the number of new Native leaders being equipped to reach their people for Christ in culturally relevant ways
• the total impact of Wesleyan Native Ministries in 2010, thanks to your support

That one word would be…unprecedented.

Here’s Rev. Rich Avery, the director for Wesleyan Native Ministries, with a brief report of our ministry over the past year: