Being a mission minded church
We believe in ONE mission.... To Reach the Lost!
Missions are important to our church whether it is helping in our own community, reaching out to communities that have been devastated by flood or tornadoes, or reaching out to areas around the world on a Missions Team or supporting in other ways.
Below are pictures from recent missions here in the United States. The Georgia District sent missions teams to North Carolina, Alabama, and South Georgia. Individuals and churches from other denominations worked with the Georgia Nazarene District to bring love and support to communities as well.
Thank you to all who have given your time and donations as well as praying for our teams and these communities. God is working even now!
L.I.N.K.S stands for Loving, Interested, Nazarenes, Knowing, & Sharing
Take a moment to get to know our L.I.N.K.S. Missionaries. Their pictures and letters of introduction are below the mission pictures.
Make sure to stay connected! Drop them a a card letting them know you're thinking about them... Send a care package with some of their favorite things... Send them an email with a word of encouragement... and most importantly, pray for them daily.
Contact information is available at the Mission Station including email and an address to send care packages.
Our L.I.N.K.S. Missionaries
Biographical information on R. Alfred and Arlene Swain
Rev. R. Alfred (Al) Swain, has had a long history of ministry in the Church of the Nazarene. His early years were spent in the rural countryside of Northern Ireland until 1952 when his family immigrated to the USA and settled in Manchester, CT. There they became part of the Church of the Nazarene, and after completing high school he enrolled at ENC to prepare for his call to pastoral ministry. At ENC he met Arlene Shannon and they were married in the summer of 1960. He is a 1964 graduate of Nazarene Theological Seminary and has done additional studies in linguistics, leadership and administration. Arlene did additional studies in music and Bible.
The Swains began their ministry in Bonner Springs, KS before being assigned as missionaries to Peru, South America in 1965. After serving as church planters in Lima, Peru, they were transferred to Ecuador in 1972 to establish the first Churches of the Nazarene in that country. After 10 years of church planting and administration in Ecuador the Swains were transferred to Bolivia where Al served as director of the Bolivia Nazarene Seminary. He soon assumed the role of Mission Director for Bolivia, and in 1986 he was appointed as Field Director for the countries of Bolivia, Peru, and Chile. The Swains lived in Santiago, Chile, from 1988 to 1992 when they moved the Field Office to Lima, Peru.
During his 17 years as Field Director for the South Andean Field of Bolivia, Peru, and Chile, the work of the Church of the Nazarene grew from 225 to almost 1000 churches and the number of districts from 8 to 26. Leadership development and aggressive evangelism were key elements of this growth. Arlene also did pastoral training as well as field office responsibilities.
The Swains retired from active missionary service in 2004 and settled in Kissimmee, FL. Retirement gave Alfredo, as he has always been known to his Hispanic and Latino friends, the opportunity to return to pastoral ministry. He became the founding pastor to a new Hispanic ministry of the St. Cloud, FL Church of the Nazarene in 2004 where he served for nine years. Arlene was involved in a community orchestra and also taught Spanish classes.
During his years in Kissimmee, FL Al was involved in community service, serving as president of their townhouse community, and also as president of the larger Master Community. He also enjoyed his service on the Ministry Board of the Florida District during this time. In 2018, The Swains moved to Sarasota, FL with plans to live in a Christian retirement community. In July 2019 they moved into Sunnyside Village, a Mennonite Senior Independent Living Community. They are now members of the Trinity Church of the Nazarene in Sarasota.
We thank the Lord for good health, a wonderful Christian family, and great memories of almost 40 years of missionary service in South America.
Contact information is available at the Mission Station including email and an address to send care packages.