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TueTuesdayNovNovember6th2012 Chad Freeman - Update
byChad Freeman Tagged Global Ministries 1 comments Add comment

Home sweet home!  It has been six months since I left Barrie and said goodbye to my friends and family.  During those six months I had the opportunity to complete an internship with Harvest Bible Chapel St. Vincent.  This internship exposed me to many different facets of ministry; from preparing PowerPoint presentations to teaching students and everything in between!  As I close out my series of blogs from St. Vincent I would like to highlight a few of my big take-aways.

My first big take-away is the mission of Harvest Bible Chapel .  The words “fulfilling the Great Commission in the spirit of the Great Commandment” are no mere words on a page.  That vision drives everything Harvest does.  The whole goal of Harvest Bible Chapel is to make disciples of all nations.  You ask, why is Harvest having a Christmas production?  To make disciples!  Why does Harvest emphasize small groups so much?  To make disciples of course!  Why does Harvest even have a Turkey Bowl (I looked at the pictures!)?  To make disciples! 

Now you may ask how does playing flag (in reality, tackle) football make disciples?  By itself, it might not.  More often than not individual events are one step in the process of making disciples.  While no one may make a profession of faith at the Turkey Bowl, that might be their introduction to Harvest.  Weeks later there may come a profession in a Sunday service.  The whole process of getting involved in Harvest is designed to further you as a disciple and to teach you all that Christ has commanded.  First you grow by worshipping Christ, then you grow as a disciple by walking with Christ, then you grow as a disciple by working for Christ.  The biggest take away I am taking from my internship is that the mission of believers is to fulfill the Great Commission in the spirit of the Great Commandment.

The next big take away from this internship is the hard work.  Fulfilling the Great Commission in the spirit of the Great Commandment is no easy task!  It takes hard work!  Many things have to be done so that people are made disciples, and they in turn understand that they are to make disciples.  Much preparation and planning goes into everything Harvest, as a church, puts on.  The times for Connect@Harvest, the order of services, the look and feel of special services are all thought through and debated and planned.  There is much work to be done to make sure the vision of Harvest gets done.

The third and final take away I took from St. Vincent is not so ministry related.  But rather is the beauty of the people and the beauty of the place of St. Vincent. St. Vincent is the definition of tropical paradise.  There were moments where I was in a place thinking, this is what the pictures on the travel brochures look like.  St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a beautiful place. I had the opportunity of seeing a few of the Grenadines islands.  St. Vincent is also home to the Tobago Cays which, I was told, hosts the best snorkeling in the world.  I got to experience a small taste of that as I was able to snorkel there for an hour or two.  But what made St. Vincent such a beautiful place was the people.  Harvest St. Vincent is filled with amazing people who extend warmth and hospitality.  I really felt like one of them as I was often cared for and befriended. I will never forget many of the friends I made down there and the memories we share.  Hopefully I will get to see them again one day on this side of heaven.

It is hard to go from Caribbean sun to snow on the ground in the space of two days but here I am. I am thankful to be home, but more so thankful for the opportunity I had to live in St. Vincent for six months.  I learned much more than what I shared here, so ask me about it sometime!  I look forward to getting back involved in Harvest Barrie and learning even more!

Chad Freeman

ThuThursdayNovNovember1st2012 HBF Global Prayer

Global Prayer - November 2012

God is doing some amazing things around the world.

This prayer calendar will give you a glimpse at what is going on. Join us in praying for our international churches and pastors.

Be blessed by this church planting update:



Check out Harvest Barrie's global ministries emphasis.
WedWednesdayOctOctober10th2012 Chad Freeman - Update
byChad Freeman Tagged Global Ministries 0 comments Add comment

Well, five months of six have passed.  One more to go!  But let me tell you, month five was packed out!  It started with a very special visit from a very special woman, but ended with a Man March!  The month of September exposed me to many things I had not previously experienced at Harvest.

For starters, I got to experience a ministry year kick off!  This is a time when the church re-launches so to speak.  Generally, the look is changed, a new ministry year theme is unveiled, and ministries are again ignited!  This year’s theme at Harvest St. Vincent is Growing Deeper!  Along with having a new ministry year theme, each ministry generally has an event to kick off the new ministry year.  I was privileged to be part of two ministry kick-offs, besides the church wide kick-off the first Sunday of September.

The first kick-off I was a part of was St. Vincent Student Ministries Food Wars!  It was fierce competition between three teams as they competed for points through many hilarious (and slightly gross) games involving food. The capstone event was a pizza cook off.  Each team strove to win by making the best looking and best tasting pizza.  It was amazing to see the creativity and effort put into the pizzas by each team.  Check out Food Wars pictures here!  Food Wars was quite the experience as it took me out of my comfort zone by planning and executing a large event.  There is a lot to think about, most of which I had never given thought to before!

A second ministry kick-off event I was able to take part in was the Harvest St. Vincent’s IronMen’s Ministry Man March!  In this event we walked from the church offices to a beach about an hour’s walk away. Upon arriving we were led in some exercises, ate some delicious fruit, led in more exercises, ate more fruit, heard a devotional, and played some football (aka soccer) on the beach!  It was a good time of fellowship and challenges both physically and spiritually.  Again, this kick-off pushed me out of my comfort zone not only by forcing me to walk and exercise more than I do, but also by being chosen to give the devotional to the men while at the beach.  Again, it was a learning curve but the Lord helped me through! 

A third unique experience I was able to be a part of this new ministry year was a small group multiplication. I have been attending a fantastic small group hosted by the most hospitable couple in the church!  As we know in Harvest, healthy things grow!  This group grew so large that it needed to become two groups!  Despite the excitement of multiplication, it can be hard because multiplication means saying good bye to some dear friends you have grown to love. I managed to delay the multiplication by a week so that the small group would have a chance to meet my new fiancé! Since then though, the group has successfully multiplied and the one I am in already is packed out with new members!  Even still, I can say that my small group is amazing and I look forward to it each week! 

Seeing multiplication in action has been a great thing for me to observe. I have been able to see the beginning of the process to the end. Soon after I got here, a couple in the small group who were apprentices were given more and more opportunity to lead the group.  As they grew in this role, multiplication was mentioned to the small group to prepare them.  This preparation started months before the actual multiplication.  By the time the decisions of who would go to each small group were rolled out, everyone was on the same page.  I have been able to see that multiplication has only benefits!  First, it allows more people to serve where God has gifted them.  Second, it allows more ministry to happen more effectively.  Instead of one large small group where people get lost and are able to hide, there are two small small groups, where everyone is accounted for and cared for.  Even after being multiplied small groups for one month, growth is again happening in both groups. 

The month of September pushed me in ways I have never been pushed before. I am thankful to the Lord for the learning experiences he is bringing my way.  My next blog will be written when I am back home in Barrie! I'll look to reflect on my time in St. Vincent and write about one or two big things I walked away with.  I look forward to being back home at Harvest Barrie again in a few short weeks!  See you then!

Chad Freeman

TueTuesdayOctOctober2nd2012 Hilary Shewfelt Update

Hey Harvest Barrie,

I cannot believe I'm already half way done my internship here at Harvest Glasgow. The past three months have been amazing and the Lord is continuing to teach, stretch, challenge and encourage me. 

I still am amazed that this is the path the Lord took me down. I think back even to January of this year and never would have imagined any of this happening to me. God is so good and his ways are higher than our own. I'm continuing to stay quite involved in the worship ministry here and loving every minute of it…I'm even getting better at setting up the worship sound stuff…okay, maybe not, but I'm great at tearing it down! So thankful for the worship team members that I get to serve with each week! 

At the end of August, I had the privilege of speaking at our women's monthly event called "Flourish" on the topic of reconciliation. Being asked to do this really took me right out of my comfort zone but I was so blessed because of it. At times I felt like I could not do such a task and what could I possible say and teach these women, but the Lord broke me of that mentality and guided me through the whole thing. The time I spent studying the Scripture was so encouraging as I looked into it more in-depth than ever before. The women were blessed by our time that Saturday morning and I'm so thankful I was given this opportunity. 

One thing I'm pretty passionate about is youth ministry. I so miss being with our young people on Tuesday nights but am so encouraged by what I see God doing in all of them. Here at Glasgow, that age group is currently missing. But having the Barrie team over in the summer and seeing folk here interact with them I know that such a ministry would be a huge blessing. Join with me in praying for opportunities to get in touch with students and for this door to swing wide open and allow us to build a solid foundation for young people. 

As I continue to serve along the folk here at Harvest Glasgow, the Lord continues to work away at my own heart and teach me valuable lessons. Lessons I thought I had learned but he has been showing me there's still work to do. One of those lessons: trusting him. Something so easy, yet something we often struggle with. I know he has incredible things still coming my way and has a plan and a purpose for my life. I just like feeling that I'm in control, when really I need to loosen that grip and take a step back. The Lord has shown me things that I have surrendered over to him, but I'm still holding onto ever so slightly, in fear that letting go means "no". However, the Lord's just telling me "not yet" and after all it is the Lord who determines my steps and I need fully trust him and commit my ways to him. 

It was also so great to have Pastor Todd and Terry here a couple of weeks ago. Todd brought a solid word to us on the Sunday and I know everyone - elders and the rest of the church - was challenged by it. And yes, sadly we had no time for Dutch Blitz, which was fine, because that meant Todd left on a good note…not one of me beating him in the game!!  PS: Thanks for the sour patch kids!!!!!!! 

As I sit here, reflecting on my time here, I am indeed blessed. I know I still have two and a half months here and I'm so looking forward to seeing what they have in store! Praying for even more growth in my faith as I continue to serve the Lord here in Glasgow!

You are loved,

Hilary 

TueTuesdaySepSeptember11th2012 Chad Freeman - Update
byChad Freeman Tagged Global Ministries 3 comments Add comment
Note from Pastor Todd:  Just before you read this update from Chad as he serves on his internship in St. Vincent you should know that he got engaged to Sarah McFarlane this past week during her visit to see him there.  Congratulations to both of them. We wish them God's blessing in their marriage on December 29.

August has ended, the students are going back to school, and the weather remains hot and sunny.  “Summer” has ended in St. Vincent, but that means another year of ministry begins!  At Harvest, we are gearing up for our ministry year kick off!  This year’s theme at Harvest St. Vincent is Growing Deeper!  It is an exciting time where each ministry has a special event kicking off the start of a new ministry year.

The month of August has also been a big month for student ministries here at Harvest St. Vincent.  I have been amazed to see what God is doing in our students during the short time I have been here thus far.  God is really working in the lives of these students.  Allow me to highlight a couple of ways.

First off, we had three students take part in the Mayreau missions trip.  I had the privilege of hanging out with them constantly as we were assigned to the same sleeping quarters and same work assignments.  This was a big step for them as it involved taking their faith and putting it into practice in a place beyond what they are used to.  Yet it taught them that they are able to play a big role in fulfilling the Great Commission in the Spirit of the Great Commandment.  Like everyone else on the team (though probably not as much), Mayreau was hard on them physically yet I heard no words of complaints. They displayed servant attitudes the entire time.

Secondly, the students from student ministries took part in handing out invitations for our ministry year kick off.  I again had the privilege of leading a small team of students in this task.  It was amazing to be able to pair the students off, hand them a stack of invitations and then meet later and see how many they had handed out.  After a bit of a slow start they got the hang of it and together we handed out close to 700 invitations!  Along the way we even had some fun jokingly inviting a few people already involved with Harvest St. Vincent. 

After handing out invitations in the afternoon, the same students and many more gathered together again the following morning for the first ever Harvest St. Vincent student ministries service project! Check out the pictures on the Harvest St. Vincent Student Ministry Facebook page.  Harvest St. Vincent students are adopting a beach here in St. Vincent to keep clean.  This will be an ongoing project for the students but a great one that affords them the chance to learn to live out their faith in the context of community service.  The students did an excellent job gathering 18 bags of garbage while leaving behind a few drops of blood, sweat, and tears!  Afterwards, we took advantage of the beach and went swimming! It's been a joy for me to serve in the students ministry.  I look forward to seeing what they become in the future.  They have so much potential and can be greatly used by God!  As I have gotten to know them I have seen God at work in their lives and I pray that God continues to work on them and conform them into the image of his Son.  Please join me in praying for the students of Harvest St. Vincent that they may become fully devoted disciples who make other fully devoted disciples!

Chad Freeman

 

ThuThursdayJulJuly14th2011 HY Missions Update
byMike Armstrong Tagged Global Ministries Youth 0 comments Add comment
Well everything is going really well so far.  We're currently enjoying some downtime which is why I am able to write this.  Our team members are doing things like playing cards, guitar, reading, resting and bonding right now which is a nice break from all the work we've been doing.

As a reminder to you all, a group of 13 students and four leaders from Harvest Youth Sr. High are on a missions trip in Bradford with CrossTrainers this week helping run a Vacation Bible School for kids at a local church in town.  We've finished three days so far which has us leading kids ages 4-10 though worship, games, scripture memory, crafts and more. It's been an incredible time of building relationships with both the kids and CT staff.  The students are growing and learning which has been cool to see. In the afternoons we've been painting the outside windows on the building that CT operates from in the heart of Bradford.  It's been disgustingly hot but there hasn't been so much as a complaint from the students about it.  They've been working hard painting and cleaning the place from top to bottom and it's been a huge blessing to the CT staff. They are blown away at what God is doing through our group. 

Here's a picture of the team getting ready to run the VBS as well as one of them prepping the windows of the building we're painting.





Please pray for our team - that we would continue to stay unified and have positive attitudes.  Also pray that there would be much impact for the kingdom through what we do - for children to come to know Jesus as Saviour and for much fruit to bear in their lives.  We're grateful for your prayers and your support!

Mike
TueTuesdayAprApril12th2011 Churches Helping Churches: Our Ministry to Japan Begins We are grateful that $9,124.07 was given here at Harvest Barrie for the Churches Helping Churches effort in Japan.  Praise God. And may he use this for his purposes there.

A word from Executive Director Tom Kim:



The challenges we faced during our trip are some of the obstacles that people in northeastern Japan face everyday these days. The main expressways have been closed off to civilian travel. There are gas shortages on the east side of the country. Long lines form at kerosene depots in the hopes that they can cook a warm meal at home. Most cars are either parked with empty gas tanks or waiting in gas station lines a mile long.

These obstacles impede the Japanese people’s commutes to school and work, and therein a return to normalcy in their lives. Moreover, they’re slowing down the distribution of food and water. Grocery stores in downtown Sendai have 100 bags of rice, while people along the coast just six miles away struggle to find adequate food and supplies.

We saw the need firsthand when we stumbled upon a middle school gymnasium in Shiogama, now acting as an evacuation shelter. After delivering a few boxes of feminine care products, a girl rushed over to Andrew, a volunteer with our partners, CRASH, and hugged him. This, in a country where public displays of affection are non-existent, especially between strangers.



The physical needs persist but not alone. As people move away from day-to-day to week-to-week and month-to-month, the needs begin to shift. When the basic things in life can’t be trusted – such as the ground beneath your feet, the air that touches your skin, or the seaside view that you’ve always enjoyed – it does something to the mind and emotions. We need 10 times more physical relief, and 20 times more spiritual relief.

Ministering to the pastors of Japan

We’re beginning plans for Churches Helping Pastors, a retreat that provides crisis counseling that’s gospel-centered and Biblical to pastors. The curriculum is designed to both treat and train pastors. If there’s one thing that every Japanese pastor cannot afford to be less than excellent at right now, it’s crisis counseling. The retreat will take place in May, led by a team of Japanese and foreign teachers. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) If you know any pastors who would benefit from this retreat in northern Japan, please have them contact us.



Meanwhile, we are exploring options for new church buildings. As far as we know, there were not many churches along the coast within striking distance of the tsunami. We are currently aware of four, which we plan to rebuild or repair. There will be a correct time for reconstruction, in pace with the rest of community restoration. For now, we continue to be reminded that the church is not a building but the people of God. As we saw in Haiti, though the church buildings were lost, the church grew. And it’s that church that needs our attention and care now.


MonMondayDecDecember13th2010 Romania Church Plant Project Harvest Barrie is excited to partner with Harvest Bible Fellowship in giving toward the Romania church plant project.  Our elders would like to invite you to participate in our Christmas offering for Romania.  Below is an excerpt from a letter from HBF concerning the work in Romania and below that is a video outlining what God has already accomplished through the Metanoia church. 
As you are aware, the Lord is bringing fruitfulness to our churches in various ways and one of the "Only God " growth areas is in Eastern Europe under the dynamic leadership of Cristian Barbosu and his Elders.

At HBF, we have partnered with these brothers in birthing six Harvest Metanoia churches and two village churches in five years and there is much more, we believe, that God wants to do in this challenging part of the world.

We are sending you some information produced here in the states with the support of HBF which outlines the fruitfulness to date and the faith filled vision which God has given to this local church.  The Metanoia Fellowship is effectively and operationally our Eastern Europe mission vehicle.  We have established an agreement for supporting and encouraging these autonomous local churches which recognizes them all as sister churches of all HBF church plants; they are Harvest Bible Chapels!  Harvest Bible Fellowship is working with these leaders to equip them and give us all a good and godly sense of ownership of this ministry expansion. We are praying by faith for another seven fold growth in the next five years and want to equip and accommodate this growth by helping with the funding to build the Eastern European hub of HBF at Cristian's church in Arad Romania.

The local church is committed to a substantial portion of the cost of each phase being raised in Romania. Yet without foreign investment, there are no banks or even wealthy Romanian Christians who love the Lord and his work. But praise  God, we in North America can partner with our brothers.   Recently a Christian in Texas agreed to match the first $500,000 given by December 31 - a generous gift which if fully subscribed, with the funds already raised by the Romanian Church, would see Phase I built and fully paid for by this time next year.

Metanoia Building1 from HBF Church Plants on Vimeo.

Donate online or with your regular giving on Sundays.

FriFridayDecDecember10th2010 Fullness of Time Christmas is a time of anticipation!  Friends and relatives will be over for a visit, some perhaps coming from far away.  The presents will be wrapped up, tantalizing those with a penchant for guessing what is in them. Watching the anticipation build in young children as the time draws near is enough to make us all burst! 

It is fun looking forward to celebrating with workmates and enjoying concerts and maybe even a little time off.  Some people even enjoy shopping – looking for just the right gift.  That is an art lost to the “gift card,” but that’s another blog!

Eventually the day will arrive, just like it did so long ago.  Not only the birth day, but a day of promise, a day of anticipation, a day of fulfillment!  God stepped out of eternity into time and space to accomplish a mission, right on time! Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

The fullness of time is still coming around for people all over the world.  Jesus is still coming into people’s worlds so they can be adopted as sons.  This is still the most exciting news around! It isn’t 2000-year-old news either.  It is happening now! It is happening here!  And it is happening in many other places also. In God’s time his Son is entering lives and changing them! 

We have a part to play in this mission to Barrie and beyond! We participate in global outreaches like church planting with Harvest Bible Fellowship or ministering to the church in Haiti through “Churches Helping Churches.”  This Sunday we are going to get a couple of glimpses into those worlds of opportunity.  One will be “up close and personal” through the experiences of Pastor Todd and Dave MacDonald.  Bring a heart of anticipation to see how “the fullness of time” is coming today.

ThuThursdayDecDecember9th2010 Churches Helping Churches: Haiti How we are – and aren't – giving away money in Haiti

Haiti was already the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, with over half of its population living in abject poverty and almost a quarter of its GDP coming from remittances, when it was hit by the earthquake in January, killing a quarter of a million people in Port-au-Prince and bringing an already crippled economy to its knees.

The quake's aftereffects underscored long-standing problems of the Haitian infrastructure: Perennially dependent on foreign aid, the Haitian economy – and even government – had never developed the infrastructure to stand on its own feet. There was concern among many that foreign aid, ironically, was frustrating the very development the aid was intended to foster, discouraging both local production and, moreover, local governance. One key, experts have said, to Haiti’s recovery, would be for the international community to not blindly pour money into a country that would not be able to properly channel it into infrastructure development. It would be imperative for Haitians to own and implement this recovery.

By this summer, Churches Helping Churches had over $2 million in funds tied to Haiti. Many Haitian churches often function as community institutions, running schools, hospitals, and more. We knew dozens, if not hundreds, of pastors who’d lost their churches, many of whom knew exactly what it would cost to fully rebuild their churches, and some who would ask for the amount directly. Now it was up to us to give the delicate response: We love them; we can’t give the money out that freely, not with what we know of development, but more importantly, what we know of scripture.

Giving to churches, not buildings

“And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.  Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.” (2 Corinthians 8:1-3)

A church is not a building; It is a community of believers. The core mission of Churches Helping Churches is to rebuild, not just church buildings, but church communities – bodies of believers who come together in fellowship to grow in discipleship together. If we simply handed out money to rebuild church structures, we would be side-stepping this critical gospel-based component of what a church body is, and who we are as an organization.

Thus, we are indeed giving money to churches, but we’re doing so with a plan, one that requires the participation not just of Haitians, but of Haitians coming together as one church body to own the reconstruction of their own church. And we want to partner with and support them in this process, while leading from behind.

Here’s how our church reconstruction program operates: CHC has been holding retreats for pastors throughout the year in Port-au-Prince and regionally. At these retreats, we get to know and identify the pastors whose churches were destroyed and who are leaders in their community – leaders among leaders – and the ones for whom a church reconstruction grant would be most strategic. In this process, we’ve met many amazing men of faith and partnered with them. Through this program, we will partner with 30 larger churches and up to 50 smaller ones, and give out about half of our Haiti funds.

Read more about the full program on the CHC website.
ThuThursdayDecDecember2nd2010 Haiti
byTodd Dugard Tagged Global Ministries 0 comments Add comment
The earthquake of last January was devastating to the island nation of Haiti. Yet it is really just the latest blow to a country that has faced perpetual instability and poverty.  Since the earthquake, a hurricane, a cholera outbreak and post-election political tension have added to the misery and hardship.

Yet God is at work and there are many of his people in Haiti who are seeking day by day to continue to live for him amidst the nationwide struggle. After the earthquake, a wave of relief efforts swung into action. As a fellowship of churches, we partnered with the Acts29 Network churches, raising $1.6 million for an effort that would be known as “Churches Helping Churches”.

The idea is that while NGO’s, governments, and the U.N. will help rebuild streets, sewers, hospitals and such, there would be no one helping rebuild the churches that were destroyed. And we, as the church, wanted to be involved in rebuilding churches as well as helping pastors lead those churches in the wake of the disaster.

When we announced the project, you responded in an amazing way, giving close to $20,000 to help churches in Haiti. A portion of that offering was given to two orphanages founded by Dave Lock, a Toronto businessman and member of Harvest Bible Chapel York Region. On Sunday, December 5, Dave MacDonald and I will have the privilege of traveling to Haiti for five days to survey the work of Churches Helping Churches and the Freedom House orphan homes. In addition, Pastor Paul Whittingstall from HBC York Region, who will also be traveling in the group, and I will be preaching at the “Churches Helping Pastors” conference on Ile de la Gonave off the coast of Haiti on Thursday, December 9.

We are looking forward to serving the people of Haiti in Jesus’ name and on your behalf. Pray for us as we travel, observe, minister, preach and encourage the faithful servants of Christ who are persevering for him in Haiti. Dave and I look forward to reporting back to the church here in Barrie on Sunday, December 12.
ThuThursdayNovNovember11th2010 Barrie Food Bank
byRoger Freeman Tagged Global Ministries 0 comments Add comment
When we moved into our new offices we each were assigned an office with built in desks and cupboards in various kitchen styles.   Mike’s is so retro!  Mine is just classy, without being ostentatious!  We had some stuff lying around from moving and I found a paper bag that was left over from our last collection for the food bank.  I thought it quite entertaining to put it up on my wall as “art” since we didn’t have much at that moment.  It read, “Our cupboards are bare but you can help fill them.”  I would leave my office cupboard doors open so everyone could see how empty they were.  Ha,Ha!

I have taken it down because now we have stuff on the shelves, (and it never was very funny).  We don’t have bare shelves here that should be holding food.  But I know two kinds of places that do.  The Barrie Food Bank’s shelves are bare.  And that means some of the people who depend on them have empty shelves also.

We are handing out empty paper bags so in November we can change that.  By filling them we can fill the shelves at the Food Bank and in turn the shelves of those who need the food.  We are the ones that can help fill the shelves.  We can bring our filled bags back here each Sunday, drop them off at our office (112 Caplan Avenue) or deliver them directly to the Food Bank.  Perhaps you would consider volunteering there.

The Food Bank was so thankful that we helped out in the middle of the summer.  That can be a hard time for them.  But now they are heading into an even busier season.  Now is the time to make a difference.  Fill up the bag!  Fill up the cupboards!

Roger
TueTuesdaySepSeptember21st2010 Churches Helping Churches: Ministering in Leogane and Beyond “It’s like they were waiting for us. It was a dry land, and we were pouring water on it.”

This was Jacques Louis’ comment to me as we evaluated our time in Léogâne, the city nearest to the epicenter of the earthquake.  From September 2 to 4, pastors and church leaders from a wide range of denominations showed up, and they were on-time everyday. (This does not happen all that often here.)

Churches Helping ChurchesOur meeting site was dark and poorly vented. The STEP faculty, who took more ownership of the teaching this time around, and I were constantly making eye contact and shaking our heads at the unbearable conditions. And when Haitians say, “It’s hot,” it is indeed sweltering. Every shirt in that room was drenched.

Yet, none of the attendees complained. As we taught on crisis, the emphasis was on the personal healing of the pastor first, then to their congregation. These men and women quickly embraced this vision and were unusually hungry for God’s truth. They were unphased in their learning, frantically jotting down notes and asking to repeat key phrases. In our Q&A sessions, they were looking for coaching on current, hands-on struggles. As we equipped them with Biblical responses to shed light on their situation, they were so grateful for each answer. I felt terrible each time I had to end the session.

A major component of this retreat is the mutual ministry to one another. We give them a vision for small groups and coach them daily throughout the conference. During a morning huddle, one small group leader said, “We have never seen this (small groups) before. We ask a question, and it’s like a free ride! I will continue this in my ministry after the conference.” When I asked if any others were planning on implementing small groups in their churches as a follow-up, they responded in vehement agreement. (Special thanks to Pastor Mike Wilkerson of Mars Hill Church in Seattle for his instrumental leadership in small group architecture for this retreat.)

I've been overwhelmed with the gratitude for these retreats – gratitude for one another and most of all, gratitude to “the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor. 2:4).

Seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.