PASTOR’S CORNER, Dr. Jeff Nagell, Friends Church of Liberal
I’m new to Liberal – well, I was six years ago. My wife and I came to Liberal in 2019 from Eastern Indiana, and this is our fifth state of residence. The first month I was in Liberal, I was invited to two meetings – the first was with the Liberal Ministerial Alliance (which took place, at that time) in the meeting room at Southwest Medical Center), and the second meeting I was invited to was a weekly prayer meeting led by Lora Jones.
The two groups shared a common thread in how the local churches all worked together in the city of Liberal. By contrast, the city I came from in Indiana had four ministerial groups, none of which worked together. I had tried to go to all four, but it was obvious how these four groups were all playing the same instruments, but in different bands. In Liberal, our prayer group prays inside other churches each week, with the host pastor receiving us warmly each week. Some weeks, we pray at community centers that welcome our prayers. This prayer group is part of the Liberal Ministerial Alliance.
Each month, the Liberal Ministerial Alliance meets to discuss how we can pool our resources to serve the physical and spiritual needs of the community. Recently, the Alliance hosted a block party in Light Park, which saw hundreds of families sharing in activities all throughout that afternoon. The point of the block party? Encouraging families to enjoy a beautiful day and learn about some of the churches in Liberal.
There are a few annual events the Alliance hosts to help bring the churches together. This month, we’re hosting our annual Thanksgiving service with an evening service dedicated to give God thanks for all He has done. This year, that service will be at Friends Church of Liberal, and there will be a thanksgiving offering to be ready for a cold winter for those who are unsheltered. There is a similar event the week after Easter Sunday and there, the offering will be for Bibles to be given to the graduating seniors at Liberal High School at the Baccalaureate service.
During the course of the year, the Alliance hosts a variety of activities, including a party the night of the Super Bowl at Faith Tabernacle Church, which has featured past NFL players who have been able to share their experiences with local schools in order to encourage students to strive for excellence.
In the past three years, the Alliance has realized many of the pastors in Liberal are bi-vocational. As those pastors serve with us, we wanted to honor them with a Pastor’s Appreciation Dinner. This dinner has been hosted at Puerto Del Cielo the past two years, with 19 pastors and their staff attending last year.
At the start of each school year, the Prayer Ministry has been allowed to pray through the halls of area schools in Southwestern Heights, Kismet, Tyrone, Okla., Turpin, Okla., and USD 480.
What’s the point of all of this? As Christians, we should all be “on the same team.” I personally am not in competition with any other church in Liberal, and I pray for every church and institution we’re allowed into. On the night of Jesus’ trial and subsequent crucifixion, Jesus prayed ‘Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, so they may be one.’
Thank God we work together in Liberal. I think that’s what Jesus was praying about.
