It’s Monday Again
Several churches across the Atlantic District are beginning to hold in-person services (both indoor and outdoor), some with multiple services and all with social distancing by family-and-friends bubbles. Framework (Bud Fancy) offered three indoor services this weekend. Live Well (Tim Long) offered a drive-in service yesterday morning (pictured above) and an online service last night.
Blacks Harbour (Dr. HC) celebrated a baptism this weekend!
Many church families are taking advantage of loosening restrictions to meet in-person, while others are still primarily serving their congregations online. Larry Osborne has this interesting insight on when the time may be right for larger congregations to reconvene in person.
It was a joy to be with the entire Pastoral Team at SJ1 (Graham Perry) on Thursday night for a staff dinner (thanks Adam Noseworthy for the delicious smoked pulled pork). This week launched their 1820 groups gathering for Sunday worship in homes.
The Atlantic District Lay Prayer Team are lay leaders that pray with pastors and ministry staff. This trustworthy task force impacts Kingdom multiplication by investing in the leadership of the local church through the power of prayer. If you sense a call to engage in this important work, will maintain confidentiality, and are comfortable in prayer through telephone or by computer, please contact Executive Director Tami Mutch-Ketch to learn more (tami@atlanticdistrict.com).
Rick Kavanaugh (Framework) served as Facilitator this Monday for the 6th Session of his Discipleship Pathway Cohort. This final session included Megan Swan of Deep Water, Greg Hanson of Kings, & Pat Steeves of Moncton. This cohort also includes Crosspointand Yarmouth.
Jon Wiest offered the first Bonus Session to provide a full overview of the Discipleship Pathway material. A second identical Bonus Session will be offered on Wednesday, June 24th @ 10 a.m. Atlantic Time for those who missed the first one. Fifteen Lead Pastors were also present for this session with 30+ participants as we explored next steps in preparation for a fall launch to Renew Discipleship Pathways. Timelines may be adjusted as needed to accommodate for the disruption of the pandemic.
Renovations are well underway at Cornerstone (Denn Guptill) Windgate with Site Pastor Rob McDowell and his core launch team. Looking good – great work preparing for a spiritual harvest! #kingdommultiplication
After more than a week of letter writing, shopping, and wrapping as part of the Kings Church Charlottetown COVID-19 Relief Initiative, the group above delivered several carloads of baseball gloves, helmets, basketballs, and so much more to dozens of foster kids in five different group homes. Charlottetown Lead Pastor Jon Robertson shares, “Thanks, team, for shining the love of Jesus so powerfully!”
Caton’s Island needs you!
Summer camp ministry is a highlight of the year. Given the complexity of programming, serving, discipling, and feeding hundreds of children the team of Caton’s Island know how to give of their best. With the current restrictions and guidelines related to COVID-19 your assistance is required even more this year. Please prayerfully consider joining our team by praying for the leadership and staff, the health of all who come to camp and most importantly for lives changed through relationship with Jesus Christ.
Tangibly, we are also in need of your financial support. Please consider supporting us through a one time or ongoing donation and/or participating in Share-a-Wage. The campers and staff of Caton’s Island thank you (https://www.catonsisland.com/donate/).
Have a cottage or RV/trailer at Beulah Camp? This notice went out in the mail this week – Click HERE for a preview.
WayBase is a parachurch organization in Canada (click HERE for an overview) and has completed a national survey on the impact of COVID-19 on Christian Ministries in Canada. This 54-page report collected data from more than 2,600 ministries across Canada.
WayBase Director Tim Day shares about the findings of this comprehensive report, “It was striking to uncover the consistent experience of ministries across all Christian traditions, ministry sizes, and ministry types. We also gleaned insights on how ministries are adapting during this time.”
Executive Director Dennis Jackson (Global Partners) provided this inspiring update on how God is at work to provide for our International Wesleyan Family during the pandemic. This also includes an excellent overview of the missiology of the Five Phases in partnering alongside our global Wesleyan family. Global Partners has also provided a summary of Atlantic District partnership statistics (pictured above). Click HERE for the full two-page Atlantic District report.
Points to Ponder
- The scattered Church is only as powerful as the disciples we have made. (Jon Wiest)
- Every church should answer two questions. What is our plan for making disciples? Does our plan work? (Dallas Willard)
- The Church needs more guides on the side than sages on the stage. (Daniel Im)
Do you ever wonder if there is a relationship between racism, resistance, and righteousness? How does a Christian world view impact daily living in times of challenge and turbulence? Join Kim Gladden of Church Multiplication & Discipleship and let’s talk about this important Discipleship Conversation on Tuesday, June 23rd at noon EST.
2020 will always be remembered on the Atlantic District as the first-ever (and hopefully the last!) virtual Beulah Family Camp (BFC). Here is our challenge to Atlantic churches – why not take a sabbath week from all your typical midweek online events following the first Sunday of July? Instead, encourage everyone in your church family to tune in for these three nights of inspiration, worship, and challenge. We’re all in this together!
1. Download your preferred format of the poster above and start spreading the news on social media. (BFC – jpg small or BFC – jpg large or BFC – pdf poster)
2. What do I love most about Beulah Family Camp? We are asking friends of BFC to record a simple 10-20 second video on your preferred device (smart phone, iPad, etc.) and send it in on or before Monday, June 15th.
- You may choose to do this as a family, with some friends, or just go solo. We are looking for people of all ages so parents feel free to help your kids out as needed – or vice versa.
- Just answer that simple question and send it to Justin McGuigan on Facebook Messenger (Justin R McGuigan) or Instagram PM (justinmcguigan) – if you use IG to send this, please record a video NOT using IG and then upload it to the Private Message or he will not be able to save it for editing purposes.
- Be creative, passionate, and specific – Justin will include as many of these as possible in segments of these services.
- Click HERE for a one-minute video with instructions for how to take the best video.
Caton’s Island summer camps are beginning to fill up quickly! Each week is limited to 90 campers on a first-come, first-served basis. Click HERE for a detailed announcement from Director Dean Stephenson. You are encouraged to follow the Caton’s Island Facebook to keep current with any announcements or changes.
Looking for a meaningful way to celebrate Father’s Day for your family or through your church family? Look no more – CLICK HERE for details on how you can honour your parents by investing in those who have no parents to provide for their future. You can also use this video presentation to highlight the impact of this ministry.
World Hope International has created an online platform, Get-Support, to help communities and churches stay connected and provide support to one another. This is a platform where users can submit and respond to requests for assistance from one another. Five churches in the Atlantic District are registered to use Get-Support. If you are interested in using this tool in your church, watch this Webinar that explains how the system works. For more information and to register, https://get-support.ca/
Want to know about the Atlantic District’s 2025 Horizon Storyline – Values-Driven Vision? Click here to see a one-page overview
Click here for the 45-minute video 2025 presentation
Click here for the 45-minute video 2025 presentation