Read the address that Jesse C. Middendorf presented to Nazarenes gathered in Orlando for general assembly.

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One Church—Many Members
The newly-merged Church of the Nazarene in 1908 began with 10,034 members, 228 congregations, 11 districts, and 21 missionaries, according to historical records. The total amount raised by those 228 churches was $140,000,* with $12,000 going to what was then termed "foreign missions."

They joined forces and were connected for the sake of the message and mission. Combining made it possible to take advantage of greater talent and economies of scale. These holiness churches did more together than they ever could have done by themselves. It is the same for us today.

According to the latest statistics, 95 percent of the Centennial goals have been met.

All World Areas	Centennial Goal	Percent Achieved
Membership goal	2,000,000	92 %
Worship goal	2,000,000	65 %
Churches	18,000	121 %
New Nazarenes	1,000,000	112 %
Sunday School	1,000,000	86 %

As the Centennial goals were launched in 1998 there were 1.3 million members. In 2008, membership stood at 1.8 million, a gain of a half-million.

In addition to the increase in a harvest of souls, our giving to the World Evangelism Fund (WEF) and Mission Specials during the Centennial period grew from $53.1 million in 1998 to $84.2 million in 2008, an increase of approximately $31.1 million in the decade.

We trust Him for our future while remaining faithful to our core values of being Christian, holiness, and missional.

The Mission of the Church of the Nazarene
We unanimously adopted in December 2006 the following as the statement of mission for the Church of the Nazarene:

This is the mission of Jesus, and it must be our mission as well. It is in fulfillment of this mission that we engage in the ministries of evangelism, discipleship, and compassion. This is what it means to be like Christ. This is the essence of holiness.

Single Jurisdiction General Superintendent
Effective March 2008, the Board of General Superintendents (BGS) put in place a new method of carrying out our responsibility in overseeing and coordinating the work of the Global Ministry Center (GMC). Whereas in the past each member of the Board was in jurisdiction with one of the various departments at the GMC, it seemed wise to us to initiate a new process of oversight.

As of that date, the chair of the BGS assumed responsibility for serving as the jurisdictional superintendent for all of the GMC and Nazarene Publishing House.

It has been my responsibility and privilege to serve first in this new role. General Superintendent J. K. Warrick, currently Board secretary, will assume the single jurisdiction mantle on January 1, 2010.

Relocating to the Global Ministry Center
As of September 15, 2008, the Church of the Nazarene is operating its administrative offices for worldwide ministries from the Global Ministry Center (GMC) in Lenexa, Kansas, USA.

Celebrating the Centennial
The Centennial gave us reason to reexamine our message. On Centennial Sunday around the globe in 24 time zones, local churches in 151 nations read from the same scripture in 1 Peter 2:9-10: "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God."

The Centennial gave us reason to reexamine our diversity of languages, nationalities, cultures, and worship styles. We celebrated our one purpose in global evangelism and our one message in holiness of heart and life. We joined in unity around the world through the commonality of the cup and the bread as over 21,000 local congregations participated in the Lord's Supper together.

Truly out of many, we are one; out of one, we are many.

Global Ministry Center Assessment
As the global financial crisis began spreading in the fall of 2008, the BGS, working with General Secretary David Wilson and General Treasurer Marilyn McCool, conducted the initial phase of a situation assessment of the work of the GMC.

Three things are influencing revenue forecasting and expense budgeting for our mission:

• The decline of the global economy and a possible prolonged recovery
• Changes in the denomination's unified giving formula and its anticipated reduction in revenue
• Restructuring at the GMC and regional offices around mission priorities, a more efficient administrative system, and reduced staffing levels

Internally the GMC is facing:

• Decreasing revenue
• Decreasing reserves
• Funding only essential ministry commitments
• The responsibility for managing the $25 million GMC debt liability—without resorting to WEF sources

The goal of a mid-year 2009 operational budget reduction of approximately 10 percent has been achieved. Quarterly reviews will be done to monitor actual expenses against the reduction goal.

The projected operational budget reductions are as follows:

• 2010 Fiscal Year—an additional 5.0 percent GMC budget reduction, based on WEF projected receipts of $44.4 million
• 2011 Fiscal Year—an additional 6.7 percent GMC budget reduction, based on WEF projected receipts of $41.3 million

Additionally, we are determined to conserve and build operational reserves for contingencies, to continue actively marketing the Paseo property for a fair market value sale, and to keep raising funds for GMC debt retirement.

The Board announced the following expense reductions in February of this year:

• The General officers, along with the Board of General Superintendents, will see salaries rolled back to 2007 fiscal year levels, effective July 1, 2009.
• The GMC is under a hiring freeze.
• Travel expenses for the GMC are being reduced.
• There is a rollback on salary increases among all GMC employees, and a salary freeze is projected for the next three years.

It is the determination of the BGS and the Global Mission Department that we will do everything in our power to avoid bringing any missionaries home from the field due to the economic crisis. There are times when missionaries return home from their sending country for various reasons.

But what we are saying is this—only as a last resort and because of a lack of funds will missionaries come off the field. This happened once before in the late 1920s during a time of "retrenchment." Our intent is that it will not happen again.

General Board Structure
The BGS voted in December 2008 to recommend major changes in the structure of the General Board. These proposals were adopted by the General Board in February 2009. They will be effective with the newly-elected General Board following this general assembly and will be in place at the February 2010 meeting.

The new structure will focus the General Board on global policy and accountability supportive of the church's mission in the following areas:

• Global Mission Committee
  This committee will give oversight to the global mission strategies of the Church of the Nazarene.
• Global Ministries and Services Committee
  This committee will give oversight to Sunday School and Discipleship Ministries International, Nazarene Youth International, and Nazarene Missions International, as well as Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, and Global Nazarene Publications.
• Global Education and Clergy Development Committee
  This committee will give oversight to the global educational enterprise, working with the International Board of Education, to clergy preparation, clergy development, and other such interests related to education and ministry.
• Global Administration and Finance Committee
  The General Secretary and General Treasurer and their departments will work with this committee establishing effective policies and procedures.

The BGS and the General Board studied the referral from the 2005 General Assembly (GA-310) recommending the merger of the World Mission and USA/Canada Mission/Evangelism Departments. We decided the creation of a new, single Global Mission Committee and department along with a comprehensive reorganization of the General Board is a better solution.

As a part of this comprehensive reorganization of the GMC, the USA/Canada office will be located in the GMC, with responsibility for resourcing pastors, local churches, districts, and district superintendents in the U.S. and Canada. The USA/Canada office is under the leadership of Robert Broadbooks.

The Funding Formula
The Board of General Superintendents also voted in December 2008 to recommend a new World Evangelism Fund allocation formula of 5.5 percent of current local income for Churches of the Nazarene around the world. It is our plan to create greater global ownership, participation, and support of the WEF and our global mission.

This new global formula, approved by the 2009 General Board, will take effect with the 2010 district assemblies. The formula is based on current-year income.

The BGS recommended and the U.S. National Board and General Board also approved the following U.S. formula:

The U.S. formula also takes effect with the 2010 district assemblies. It, too, is based on current- year income.

District budgets in the U.S., which are a vital part of the mission funding of the church, would be in addition to these categories and percentages. Each district sets its own budget based on district missional priorities. It should be noted that, by Manual provision, the BGS does not have authority to determine district budgets.

These four funds—WEF, Pensions and Benefits, Education, and District—form the core of local church mission and connectional giving in the U.S.

How can we better understand the moment? Here is an assessment:

The Movements of God
A New Testament movement of God's Spirit continues unabated, reaching hundreds of non-Christians in nine countries that we cannot identify for security reasons. A bountiful and diverse harvest in certain areas is also the result of a century of prayer, fasting, sacrificial giving, and hard work. While this current movement of God is concentrated geographically, churches experiencing increases in professions of faith can be found throughout the world.

At the end of September 2008, USA Nazarenes composed 35 percent of the church's membership, while African Nazarenes composed 22 percent and Latin American and Caribbean Nazarenes composed 28 percent. The last year in which U.S. and Canadian membership combined equaled one-half of the worldwide membership was 1997. The tipping year was 1998. The Articles of Faith
While there is a continuing need for clarity on those things the Church of the Nazarene deems essential to its theology and mission, it is vital that we think carefully about major changes to the Articles of Faith, especially Article X—the "Doctrine of Entire Sanctification."

The Church of the Nazarene is committed to the doctrine and experience of entire sanctification. We do not hold this commitment in a narrow sense but for the universal hunger that exists for it, even though a global church is not monolithic in its experience of holiness.

The church is not defending a doctrine. The church is proclaiming Scriptural truth. The goal is not to promote a doctrine but to improve the communication and understanding of what the doctrine means.

At a time like this, it is absolutely necessary that we retain our passion for the doctrine and experience of entire sanctification.

It is the desire of the Board of General Superintendents that at this Centennial General Assembly of the Church of the Nazarene we reaffirm in the strongest possible terms our commitment to and our appreciation for the distinguishing tenet of the Church of the Nazarene.

To that end, we are proposing that the 27th General Assembly reaffirm our commitment to Article X in the Articles of Faith of the Church of the Nazarene.

Our Board has undertaken a careful study of this central tenet of faith. We have consulted with faculty members of Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City and members of the faculty of other Nazarene colleges and universities, both in the U.S. and around the world.

Following up on this effort, we are proposing a review of Article X, with a series of adjustments in language that we believe give strength and clarification to this vital doctrine. We do not seek a comprehensive rewrite of the article; we seek a refinement and an articulation that we believe will give this vital truth fresh insight for our people around the world.

Let's make one thing very clear. The 16 Articles of Faith of the Church of the Nazarene are a distillation of our theological identity. They are not a negotiable commodity. No one, including the BGS, has the right to arbitrarily reject, alter, or diminish these Articles of Faith. They are the expression of our understanding of the teachings of the Holy Bible. They are the focus of our beliefs, the motive behind our mission.

As all of us are aware, any change in the Articles of Faith requires approval by a two-thirds majority vote of the general assembly delegates present and voting. In addition, it requires that any changes approved in the general assembly must be ratified by two-thirds of the Phase 2 and Phase 3 districts in the Church of the Nazarene around the world.

Funding the Mission
Money follows mission, and over the past 100 years Nazarenes have given just over $1 billion to what is now the World Evangelism Fund. This number increases to $1.5 billion if Mission Specials of all categories are included in the grand total.

Funding our global mission has evolved over 10 decades. The base of support for mission continues to be the tithes and offerings given by generous Nazarenes through their local churches. In addition to their tithe, our people are encouraged to give to Easter and Thanksgiving offerings and to make faith promises for missions as fundamental sources of the WEF.

We must not forget that the WEF is the critical lifeline for our global mission. It is the source of the salaries and benefits for our missionaries, the means by which they can give their full attention to the work of the mission.

A Connectional Church
From the beginning, we were and have continued to be a connectional church. We are not a loose affiliation of independent churches, nor are we merely an association of churches having some commonality of belief and purpose but no real and organic relationship. We are unapologetically connectional.

By that we mean we are an interdependent body of local churches organized into districts in order to carry out our mutual mission of "making Christlike disciples in the nations."

More Mission—Less Structure
The pressing need for a twenty-first-century church is more mission and less structure. As one person keenly observed, "The Church of the Nazarene has built a system it can no longer afford."

When we speak about having less structure and more mission this should not be interpreted as having no structure.

Our Board is calling for such a study on the Nazarene future, which includes a thoughtful examination of the general superintendency and the unique role it has spiritually, theologically, and administratively in a global church. We are recommending a BGS-appointed committee. This committee will bring its recommendations to the Board of General Superintendents, who will then make recommendations to the General Board in time for the next general assembly.

Turning Vision into Reality
What is the vision for the Church of the Nazarene?

It is to be a disciple-making church, an international community of faith, in the Wesleyan-holiness tradition. This vision, cast in the beginning days of our church, serves as a guiding light for all as we move into our next century.

Externally Focused
In 2009 the General Board approved a recommendation by the BGS to create a new, single-mission framework centering on developing and equipping externally-focused Churches of the Nazarene.

In the recent decision by the General Board to approve our new Global Mission Department, we have put the leaders of all of the world areas—including the USA and Canada—in the same room, at the same table. While it will take time to put things in place, there will no longer be two missions, just one.

Finally, we must baptize this mission in prayer and fasting. Prayer is the one most common characteristic of all of the great movements of God we are experiencing across the globe.

Herein lies the Nazarene future—making Christlike disciples in the nations by the power of the Holy Spirit.