The Church of the Nazarene Foundation recently received a contribution of real estate valued at $1.2 million from David and Barbara Green, founders of what is now known as Hobby Lobby Creative Centers. This retail business literally started as a miniature picture frame company in the garage of the Green family and grew from a very modest beginning to 352 stores with projected sales of 1.5 billion dollars in 2005. The Green family recently closed all their stores in 27 states on Sunday because they became convinced the Lord was leading them not to work or ask their employees to work on Sunday.
Foundation President Mel McCullough became acquainted with the Green family when he was pastor of the Bethany, Oklahoma, First Church of the Nazarene. Bethany First Associate Pastor Doug Forsberg and Jerry Appleby partnered with Bethany First, the Southwest Oklahoma District, the Northwest Oklahoma District, and Southern Nazarene University (SNU) to establish Reaching Our City, Inc. (ROC) to plant a church, launch a multi-faceted compassionate ministry in a very neglected quadrant of the community, and provide training for students who have a calling from God to serve in urban ministries. The Greens sent crews with equipment to work alongside hundreds of volunteers to help with the creation of this ministry. After the chief legal counsel for Hobby Lobby, Peter Dobelbower, became a member of Bethany First, conversations began about how facilities could be provided with little or no debt to house this growing ministry.
Today this outreach ministry under the leadership of Executive Director Jerry Appleby is touching Southwest Oklahoma City with the love of Christ. Last year, the ministry reported:
· 19,591 individuals were served through the ROC food pantry.
· 60,013 items were sold through the ROC resale shop.
· The ROC Child-Development Program cared for approximately 60 children each month.
· The ROC Medical Clinic provided 1,915 patients with free healthcare and dental care at a leased site before the clinic was moved to the Greenvale Family Center.
· The ROC's Life Counseling Center was opened in conjunction with SNU, providing 1,296 Christian counseling sessions to residents in Southwest Oklahoma City.
· New Life Community Church continued to mature and welcomed a new pastor in the fall. In only three years, this church has become self-supporting and paid all of its 2004 denominational budget obligations.
Lives are being changed in a holistic way and the best is yet to come as Reaching Our City, Inc. is able to use this property with three buildings and parking to develop additional ministries and establish deep roots in this needy neighborhood.
McCullough indicated there was no way this could have happened without the generosity of the Greens, Dobelbower, Appleby, the ROC Board of Directors led by Chair Randy Willingham, and Southwest Oklahoma District Superintendent Carl Summer.
Note: All funds listed in U.S. dollars.
--Church of the Nazarene Foundation
>McCullough indicated there was no way this could have happened without the generosity of the Greens, Dobelbower, Appleby, the ROC Board of Directors led by Chair Randy Willingham, and Southwest Oklahoma District Superintendent Carl Summer.
Note: All funds listed in U.S. dollars.
--Church of the Nazarene Foundation
dollars.--Church of the Nazarene Foundation
the Nazarene Foundation