By Gary Moore, National Director for Canada

We hold an annual ministers conference in the late spring. Over the last few years, we have alternated locations between Montreal in the eastern part of the country, and Calgary in the west. We have been using retreat centers, which lend themselves to much fellowship over meals, and in the evenings. We generally have a guest speaker from our denominational headquarters. Michael Feazell, Vice-President, was with us in Montreal this year. Dr. Feazell gave an update on the general state of the church, and and some well-received presentations on theology.

Each year, we also invite a speaker from outside our fellowship. Ron Toews, Assistant Professor of Leadership, ACTS Seminary in Langley, BC, presented three sessions on how to balance our spiritual lives, our families’ needs and our service to the church in an effective and fruitful way.

We devoted one session to asking the ministers present to comment on what is working (or not working) in their congregations. We formed the chairs into a big circle, and began the discussion. This proved to be a valuable and encouraging session. One national board member mentioned that she was impressed by the amount of positive outreach going on in our congregations—more than most of us would have thought.

For example, one long-time member in our small congregation in Gander, Newfoundland, was asked to offer a Bible Study in his coastal fishing community. He is known in the town as a person who studies the Bible, and lives it. With the encouragement of his pastor, Chris Starkey, and the members of his local church, he agreed to do this. Now, between 10 and 20 mostly young adults are attending the Sunday morning meetings, and are being nurtured in their understanding of God’s purpose, and in their relationship with Jesus Christ. One or two other communities have heard of this Bible Study, and are interested in seeing one held in their area.

Another congregation, this one in British Columbia on the other side of the country, began to experience a growing desire to reach out into the community. They had only one child attending services, but undaunted, one of the ladies began a children’s church. Today, a number of children are attending whose parents are not members of the congregation. The congregation is scattered, and holds a pot-luck lunch after services each week. Some of the parents of these children are beginning to attend the lunch, and are showing interest in the church.

Sharing such stories was inspiring. Our pastors are asked to prepare a report on their congregations twice a year. In reading them this summer, I was struck by how much outreach was occurring in some of our smaller congregations. One group averages only about ten people at services each week. Yet, they have a healthy church, and are willing to reach out and invite people who are interested to attend services with them. Two new believers are now counseling for baptism. Another congregation that averages about 30 in attendance is counseling four people for baptism. Clearly, the fact that a congregation is small, doesn’t mean it cannot be effective in serving God’s mission!

I was touched by the report from one of our smallest churches. There are only seven or eight at services each week. The members wanted to be a fruitful congregation, and decided to devote a number of months to prayer, seeking God’s guidance in opening a door to them for spreading the gospel. At the end of that period, a young woman came among them, coming out of an addictive background. They bought her a Bible and looked after her needs the best they were able. She attended for a few weeks, but has since drifted back—hopefully only temporarily. God didn’t choose to give them an increase in numbers for now. What he did give them was someone they could love and witness in deed and word. After all, it is God whom we serve, and he uses us as he sees fit. They are to be highly commended for seeking ways to reach out effectively. Again, a small group of Christians can be a very useful tool in God’s hands. To a small church, each individual is precious!

Whether we are in a smaller or larger congregation, the responsibility remains the same—to be the missional people of God. We are to seek God’s guidance, walk through the open doors he presents to us, and accept the place in the spiritual harvest field where he places us. We are not part of a commercial venture, nor of an organization devoted to humanly-devised purposes. We are part of the body of Christ, and we are to do his will, not our own. If we are faithful to that purpose, then God will be pleased. It isn’t about us trying to get God to bless our goals, but is about aligning ourselves to his mission, and yielding ourselves as living sacrifices—as servants—in the furtherance of that cause.

Over the last few years we have become much more settled, and centered on Jesus Christ. As much as we welcome this peace, there is a growing desire to be about our Father’s business. We want to be fully engaged in the mission of God and want to be as effective as we can be in his service. Often, it is doing the seemingly small things—responding to the opportunities that are presented to us and our congregations on a regular basis—that really count.

God will use us to further his purpose. He wants us to ever more fully participate in the life of Christ. As we do, we will have the heart of God for all people, and will experience a growing passion to see lives touched and transformed by the power of the gospel. Please pray that your brothers and sisters in our fellowship in Canada will continue to mature in Christ, and be as effective as possible in his service!

by Santiago Lange and Carl F. Aas

The European Council, composed of the European National Directors and the denominational Superintendent of Missions, met in Worms, Germany, on September 8-11. Present at the conference were Randal and Susie Dick, Donat and Vicky Picard (France), Carl Aas (Scandinavia), Daniel Bösch (Italy and Switzerland), Frans and Lamberta Danenberg (Netherlands), James and Shirley Henderson (United Kingdom and Ireland), Santiago and Elke Lange (Germany and Austria), and Jose Ribeiro (Portugal).

We were privileged to have Joseph Tkach, his wife Tammy, Mike Feazell, and Charles Albrecht as special guests from the U.S. office. In his first presentation, "Denominational values," Dr. Tkach emphasized the fact that our identity is primarily "in Christ." Our denominational values include the power of the gospel, bringing glory to Christ, submission to the rule of God in the church, heartfelt worship, prayer, practical ministries and stewardship.

In his second presentation, "Denominational Standards," Dr. Tkach said that headquarters wants to encourage and facilitate the clear proclamation of the gospel in word and deed in each congregation. Headquarters exists to provide denominational identity for all congregations and to provide denominational leadership characterized by humility, integrity, honesty and faithfulness to the Word of God.

Dr. Feazell covered the topics "Logic of Grace" and "Keys of Church Renewal," while Randal Dick shared with the participants a presentation entitled "Connecting the Members to Mission."

Frans Danenberg commented that the conference contained "inspirational and helpful material" and that he experienced "a great time of fellowship." The European Denominational Director, Donat Picard, said: "I think that the conference has shown the unity of the European team within our denomination. This is very promising for the proclamation of the gospel in Europe." For Jose Ribeiro, the conference proved to be an "enlightening and refreshing way of practicing and learning new perspectives as to how we can share our faith."

The conference concluded with an inspiring Lord’s Supper service led by Dr. Tkach.

By Daniel Bösch

From August 20–27, members from Italy and other parts of the world gathered in Intra, part of Verbania, on the shores of Lake Maggiore, for their annual celebration of Christ.

The theme of the festival was God’s love and how it can flow through human beings. All sermons and activities were structured around this important topic. Prayer meetings, worship services, celebrations of the Lord’s Supper and Praise & Worship evenings helped participants to focus on God’s wonderful love. The warm Christian fellowship that took place during common meals, various trips (including one to a nearby Swiss valley), dances and other activities helped put this love into action. A series of youth activities were well attended by the numerous Italian youths, who meet each other only once a year, during the festival. Friendships were renewed and new ones created.

Special guests this year were John Adams, pastor of the Union and Lakehurst, NJ, congregations, who joined the group for the whole period, and Dr. Ross Jutsum, founder of State of the Heart ministries, who attended the second part of the Festival accompanied by his wife. Other highlights were the visit of Professor Bolognesi, representative of the Institute of Evangelical Formation and Documentation and the Italian Evangelical Alliance. Prof. Bolognesi gave a powerful sermon on God’s love and then joined the group for a special common meal on top of a nearby hill. Also present was a delegation of members from our sister congregations in Middletown and Clarkstown, NY.

Copyright 2006 Grace Communion International