It’s Monday Again
Palm Sunday was celebrated across the Atlantic region yesterday! The Central DBMD (above) convened all day Wednesday to interview about 20 district prophets-in-process. The spirit of diligence & discernment of this board is modeled with excellence by the capable direction of our Chair, Dale MacDonald (Woodstock).
As we near the end of another season of Lead Pastor evaluations, the Brazil Lake LBA voted unanimously this week to renew the Extended Call of Kevin Myers. Kevin is to be commended for the ways he is raising up leaders and mobilizing the church family to minister to community needs.
It was a joy to be with our Head of Millstream family yesterday morning with Kathy Jeffries. Her district appointment as Lead Pastor was celebrated during a very positive review with the Local Advisory Council following the service. The midweek children and youth ministries are bearing fruit even in these days of pandemic restrictions. A word of congratulations is in order as Kathy was licensed this month by the College of Counselling Therapists of New Brunswick (CCTNB)! Her passion and compassion are hallmarks of these effective days of Kingdom leadership.
World Hope Canada CEO Tanya Nace highlights that their annual Mother’s Day and Father’s Day project has been gaining popularity for the following reasons:
- Churches don’t have to worry about unintentionally hurting individuals who have not been able to be mothers or fathers
- This project saves the church time (and often money) because no shopping or preparations are needed to honour mothers and fathers
- This year, a financial gift in honour of mothers and fathers will relieve some of the pressure from COVID regulations of giving items to people
- The church as a whole gives a gift to help mothers and fathers who are vulnerable and hurting around the world
- The church promotes an outward need that is global in nature while honouring the parents (whether biological or heart) in their congregation.
This year, we are using our tapped water project, TapEffect for our Mother’s and Father’s Day project! Grab more info in this PDF here and click here for a video to share with your congregation!
Open Mike has had a solid start and is great addition to our regional ministry podcasts thanks to Prof. Mike MacNeil (Kingswood University). Mike’s most recent edition features Wesleyan church planter and Kingswood alumnus, Nathan Maskery (Transformation). CLICK HERE to be inspired by the story of Nathan’s journey of faith and the ways God has provided in the planting of this new church in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Nathan also serves with National Multiplication Director Mark Parker on the Church Multiplication Advancement Team. He provides point leadership for initial conversations with anyone who is exploring being part of a church planting team. If you would like to recommend someone who may be interested in see the Kingdom advance in Canada and Maine CLICK HERE to let Nathan know!
And speaking of new Kingdom locations…
A very exciting announcement was made at Framework (Bud Fancy) yesterday morning! A new ministry location called Hub Coffee is opening this fall in Presque Isle with a particular focus on the student body of the Universtiy of Maine Presque Isle (UMPI). This was made possible because of an anonymous gift of $100K to invest in the vision for this new Kingdom presence. CLICK HERE to watch as Strategic Multiplication Pastor Jason Blaikie shares this news publicly for the first time. Stay tuned for more details as this journey unfolds in the months ahead!
This week concluded my pre-Easter connections with all of our Lead Pastors in one-on-one Zoom appointments in lieu of pandemic travel restrictions which caused us to cancel our winter DS Dialog Days. It was so encouraging to spend time listening to and praying with these Lead Pastors this past week: Shawn Craven (Havelock), AJ Thomas (Deep Water), Tony Stevens (Monticello), & AJ Plaizier (Yarmouth).
Points to Ponder
- When it comes to building trust, NOT paying the price will cost you more than paying the price. (Pastor B)
- How you treat people is a sign that they matter. Or that they don’t. (Carey Nieuwhof)
- God isn’t waiting to heap His blessings and power into your plan for living. God is waiting for us to courageously escape our selfish agenda and make decisions that follow or align with what He wants for us. (Luke Anderson)
With camps capped at 90 again this year, you are encouraged to apply soon to ensure access to your preferred dates. As one of only four overnight camps that operated across Canada last summer, the impressive Caton’s staff are ready to lead another COVID-free experience to share Jesus!
Many Next Gen (Youth & Children) Ministry leaders enjoyed FUEL on February 19-20 with hundreds of participating churches. CLICK HERE to access sixteen video breakouts for your church staff and volunteer training.
What if COVID-19 is the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
for leaders to think more strategically
about doing church?
(Will Mancini)
for leaders to think more strategically
about doing church?
(Will Mancini)
Check out these great resources above at www.wesleyan.org – we are blessed by the many ways our denominational leadership serves the front lines of the local church.
Mark your calendars! On May 14th, World Hope International Canada will be hosting their second Online Spring Gala. Many forms of global transformation will be highlighted including the celebration a story of power of hope from Bosnia!
CLICK HERE for A Special Announcement from the Desk of President Steve Lennox
We’re concerned about the effects of the ongoing pandemic on churches and pastors. Those of us at Kingswood University want to help. We’re offering several free resources for local churches and pastors:
- Sermons: We’ve recorded two sermons which churches can use to provide a respite for those preaching. We plan to provide more sermons in the coming weeks.
- Greeting and update: We have included a brief video update on how God has been working at Kingswood University during the past 10 months. Churches deserve to know how we’re stewarding their investment.
- Free classes: Pastors may welcome the opportunity to sit in on a virtual class session to learn more about a topic of interest. The care package contains a list of classes and syllabi for those classes. Anyone interested can contact our Registrar for more information or to register (rodgersonm@kingswood.edu or 506-432-4406).
- Seminar on Personal Wellness: We’ve provided a video file to a seminar presented by Dr. Allen Lee, Professor of Christian Counselling at Kingswood University.
- Youth group: Seasoned youth speakers, Shaun Miller and Zach Painter, are happy to lead a virtual youth service for an evening. If COVID-related restrictions allow, this could be done in-person. Anyone interested should contact enrolment@kingswood.edu.
Great news – a tentative plan has been approved that will allow for an on-site six-day Beulah Family Camp 2021! Here are just a few of the plans which are based on the assumption of at least a Maritime Bubble. Final decisions will be determined when the DBA convenes in late April.
- The six-day camp will begin with an evening service on Tuesday, July 6 and concluding with a morning service on Sunday, July 11.
- A full four-day program for kids and youth will be scheduled during the mornings of Wednesday – Saturday and each of these days will offer a morning and evening service in the Tabernacle.
- District Conference will be held on Thursday, July 8.
- Ordination will be held for the Class of 2020 & 2021 on Friday, July 9 with President Lennox preaching and National Superintendent Steve Elliott presiding.
- Save-A-Seat online registration has been purchased and will be used to preregister all services, programs, and dining hall meals which will be limited based on physical distancing regulations.
- Our Camp Evangelist will be Rev. Jon Wiest (pending border/quarantine restrictions)