Corbett (Jason Vienneau) celebrated 10 baptisms this Sunday with more than 350 in attendance for Easter Sunday – PTL! Every number has a name. Every name has a story of a transformed life. Jason shared, “We had so many people our parking lot was full with parking on the street. The cops showed up and ended up making Corbett Avenue a one-way street to accommodate the traffic flow!”
Framework (Jason Blaikie) had a powerful weekend of transformed lives as they celebrated our risen Saviour! Jason shared, “As I stood in the lobby after our second service got started, I looked at my phone to see text after text with the simple word – Jesus. Each name was someone who had accepted Christ that morning and wanted follow-up. Some names I knew, some I didn’t, but I began to tear up and give praise to God as we are reminded He is Risen!
By the end of the day there were 10 who reached out via text and a few others we know personally. Each person now sharing in the victory Jesus gave us on Easter. Though we had 822 people come for Easter Services and another 350 on Good Friday, these 10 names reminded me why we do what we do.”
A Full Easter Weekend in Jonesport-Beals
Easter weekend at The Reach Wesleyan (Andy Phillips) was packed with celebration. Andy shared, “We held a Good Friday Service, a Sunrise Service and Breakfast, an Easter Celebration, and a baptism! There were about 25 people each at the Good Friday and Sunrise services and 50 people in-person for our Easter Celebration. This doesn’t include our online viewers. Easter afternoon, I was excited to baptize Kevin, one of our young adults. And yes – that is in the mighty Atlantic Ocean!”
Andy also shared that the LBA met for a quick meeting to unanimously approve three new church member applications of young adults and will be officially accepted into membership on May 4th – just in time for the annual LCC. God is moving at The Reach!
Blacks Harbour Wesleyan (Ken Banks) mobilized 28 people from the church (of all ages – pictured above) to into the community on Tuesday and knock on doors, inviting folks out to our Easter weekend activities. Ken shared, “We had invites professionally printed and gave away Tim’s card also. As a correlating highlight, we had 115 people in our morning service yesterday (averaging 70). It was a double win, as people were willing to go into the community, and then, we saw a lot of new faces present at the Easter service. An encouraging week, for sure!”
Journey (Matt Maxwell) had a full house on Easter Sunday with 714 in the services!
Tidal (Jim Clements) hosted two Good Friday services with 9 Moncton-area churches. Each Lead Pastor participated in the service with more than 2550 in attendance. Jim shared, “The annual Easter Blast Saturday outreach had more than 3000 visitors with over 700 indicating no church home or affiliation. Many others indicated not currently attending.” Over 1900 attended the Easter services at three locations – an incredible weekend of sowing Gospel seeds!
Because this is a critical challenge of our ministry context, those in leadership are encouraged to read the following articles as you serve the families in your church and community:
Five Smooth Stones (Heather Card) is offering a 25% discount opportunity which will be matched with a reimbursement from the Atlantic District (upon receipt of payment) for Local Church Boards to benefit from these two half-price resources:
Board Essentials for Church Board Leaders: This course is designed to provide practical insights, biblical foundation, and actionable tools that will strengthen church board leaders. There are video modules, and a learning guide with discussion questions.
Board Governance Manual for Small Churches: This course provides a step-by-step guide on creating a customized Board Governance Manual. Participants also receive a comprehensive, editable template as well as a learning guide with discussion questions.
Either resource could be used to add value to your board development this summer or fall. For more information join Dr. Heather Card and me for a Zoom presentation on Thursday, May 15th @ 2:30 p.m. Eastern / 3:30 p.m. Atlantic / 4:00 p.m. Newfoundland. If interested, add this to your calendar now with this Zoom link:
Plan now to join the staff, Beulah Session of the Camp Board (pictured above in our spring meeting this week), and regular volunteer team members on Saturday, May 10th to help us make even more progress on getting our house in order for an exciting summer!
Coffee will be ready in the dining hall for an 8:30 am start. A delicious dinner will be served for lunch. Please help us prepare for this day by registering in advance with bookings@beulahcamp.com. It’s going to be an exciting day – don’t miss out!
This year we will celebrate the 30th summer of Director Dean Stephenson’s leadership – an incredible gift to the ministry of Caton’s Island to impact thousands of families in our region with the Gospel – congratulations, Dean!
We invite you to join us this year on Saturday, May 24th @ 4:00 pm for our second spring dinner. This key event will help greatly as we move into the summer camping ministry. If you have any questions or need more information please email the camp at campoffice@catonsisland.com.
Plan now to attend the Marketplace Disciple Maker Conference from Monday evening (July 7th) to Wednesday morning (July 9th) during Beulah Family Camp 2025. This transformative event will guide pastors and lay leaders through a practical process to equip lay leaders for effective disciple-making within our local contexts. This is a free event hosted by the Atlantic District of The Wesleyan Church. Registration is required for the Tuesday afternoon and the Meet ‘n’ Mingle Networking Sessions on Monday and Tuesday evenings.
Don’t miss out on 2026! Wesleyan discounted tickets go on sale this summer. Watch Wesleyan.org/cmc for details. CLICK HERE to stay connected to the Church Multiplication Collective.
Matching Grants for Clergy Retirement
A special presentation by Todd Sloan with District Superintendents clarified the excellent retirement funding opportunities available for pastors through the Thrive Financial Initiative (CLICK HERE for Details).
DS Eric Hallett provides regular and inspirational updates on the way God is at work through the Central Canada District. CLICK HERE to join in this ongoing celebration of good news as The Wesleyan Church of Canada continues to deepen our partnership under the leadership of National Superintendent Steve Elliott to reach Canada for Christ!
