It’s Monday Again
Moncton (Joel Gorveatte) celebrated two baptisms yesterday! One gave testimony of being invited to attend for the first time at a Christmas event by a friend and then attending Alpha this winter where they accepted Christ.
Some more Easter highlights…
- Blacks Harbour (Ken Banks) had 88 present for Easter Sunday – the highest attendance since his arrival last July!
- Houlton (Wayne Robertson) celebrated a huge Kingdom win over Easter. Youth Pastor Matt Blackford shared, “We did a youth Easter service on what the cross means to us as an individual and at the closing of the service we had seven teens accept Christ for the first time and five recommit their lives to Him! God is doing some great things with the youth culture in Maine.” Praise the Lord!
- Kings Charlottetown kick-started its weekly Pre-Launch Volunteer Community Worship Night this last Easter Sunday. This marked the very first ‘full’ Kings Church service held in Charlottetown for its expanding volunteer base with over 80 people in attendance. Charlottetown Lead Pastor Jon Robertson shared, “We’re believing for many to meet Jesus for the first time through this quickly growing church-plant community.”
- Amherst (Evan Oxner) celebrated a Good Friday baptism with 87 in attendance followed by 130 present for Easter. Easter also marked the restart of weekly Sunday services at Westchester.
Easton (Rich Thomas) had its second Sunday in a row receiving new members into The Wesleyan Church – a total of seven. This is an encouraging bookend to the first full year of his leadership (all in a pandemic) as the Thomas family began on April 1st last year. Good things are happening in the County!
Caton’s Island camp registrations are at a record high for this time of year with a 91% increase over this time 2019 and a 112% increase over last year.
- All camps are capped at 90 (six pods @ 15 campers) and as of this week there are already more than 550 campers registered with 81 on waiting lists for those camps that have reached the pandemic cap!
- For an update on which camps still have openings CLICK HERE. It is still a good idea to add your child’s name to the waiting list for full camps as the Province of NB may increase pod size before July.
- Director Dean Stephenson and his team are offering impressive leadership and are setting the pace nationally for how to operate summer camp in a pandemic. As one of only four overnight camps that operated across Canada last summer, the incredible Caton’s staff are ready to lead another COVID-free experience to share Jesus!
Points to Ponder
- Troubled times are the best times for learning and growth. (Joel Gorveatte) #Romans5:3-4
- There’s a world of difference between taking things seriously and taking them personally. (Carey Nieuwhof)
- There’s no growth without change. There’s no change without loss. There’s no loss without pain. Methods are many. Principles are few. Methods are always changing. Principles never do. (Benny Tate)
CLICK HERE to listen as Parker Davis (Framework) shares an exciting announcement about Riverside Camp this summer!
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.
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!
The Future is Bright: An online gala event!
Join World Hope International Canada on May 14 @ 8:00 p.m. AST / 7:00 p.m. EST for the second annual online gala event! CEO Tanya Nace shares, “Come hang out with us, have fun, and be inspired by the transformative projects that empower kids so they have a chance at a bright future!” CLICK HERE to RSVP.
CLICK HERE for A Special Announcement from 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)
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.