It’s Monday Again
Four new members were extended the right hand of fellowship at Havelock (Shawn Craven) yesterday. Two of them are a married couple who were both baptized on Easter Sunday. The husband had grown up as a Jehovah’s Witness. Shawn shared, “Great day! Giving the devil some throat punches in South West Nova!”
Moncton (Joel Gorveatte) celebrated 4 baptisms yesterday. Testimonies shared included one in Spanish and another in French! #Rev7:9
- Lighthouse (John Lamos) had 5 baptisms yesterday. John shared, “Two were in the moment – real powerful giving their lives to Jesus moments! A first time decision to follow Jesus and just an overall cry for revival and renewal opening our new series Crisis & Renewal.”
- Yarmouth (AJ Plaizier) celebrated 17 baptisms across their three campuses yesterday – Praise God – He is moving on hearts!
The spring session of the DBA convened this Thursday. Reports included an update from National Multiplication Director, Mark Parker. Our National Superintendent Steve Elliott was also present for part of the day as we received an exciting word from Tim Long pictured above (see below for the details). We are encouraged by the reports across the region of congregations experiencing freedom from pandemic restrictions as they explore new scorecards in healthy ministry for our increasingly post-pandemic mission.
Tim Long (Live Well) had a fantastic Easter service at their second location in Freeport on Long Island. Tim shared, “We had our first service on the island since COVID restrictions lifted and we had 35 – 9 kids (21 of the 35 have no home church)!” The community has welcomed them in using this facility and weekly services will begin soon.
In other multiplication news, Deep Water (AJ Thomas) Campus Pastors Timothy and McCaila Andrews held the first interest night on April 10th for the Deep Water location scheduled to launch sometime this fall in the Beechville, Lakeside, & Timberlea (BLT) suburb of Halifax. Tim shared, “It was a really special night as the first time we’ve all had the chance to come together, pray with one another, and explore (in a more public setting) details about the Deep Water BLT Launch season. We already have 40+ people signed up to be part of the team! What was originally planned to be an hour and a half meeting ended up turning into 3 hours with emphasis on prayer and the Holy Spirit, as well as seeking God’s direction for the season ahead. People were hungry for the presence of God! And yes, you better believe we made BLT’s for the event… 🥓🥬🍅 “
District Youth President, Martin Stehouwer (SJ1) represented the Atlantic District this week at Fuel 2022 at Muncie, Indiana. Director of Next Gen Multiplication & Discipleship Zach Coffin provided stellar leadership for this event.A Fuel 2022 resource kit will soon be available and will allow your local church team to host its very own “Fuel Training Day” or simply use the video content throughout the year to equip your volunteers. Here is a sneak peak of what is coming in this resource kit:
- All Fuel 2022 promotion and customizable stage graphics
- Sample schedules to host your own “Fuel Training Day”
- Both main session teachings from Zach Coffin and Jim Lo
- 8 training videos and group questions from several of our Next Gen pastors
- Social Media promos to invite your volunteers
This resource kit will give you a year’s worth of volunteer training from some of our absolute best Wesleyan Kids’ and Youth pastors. To get access to this incredible resource, be sure to sign-up here.
Mark Parker convened the National Church Multiplication Advancement Team this week to continue developing the eight best practices for Church Planting as a resource to local church initiatives for new Kingdom locations. CLICK HERE to invite Mark into the conversations you and your leadership are having about Kingdom multiplication.
He is no ordinary man. I had the privilege of spending time this week with Bob Bagley. We are incredibly blessed by those from within our tribe who have answered the call to ends-of-the-earth ministry. Bob & Brenda are long-standing Global Partners Missionaries of the Atlantic District. Since January 2020, Bob has been serving as Associate Executive Director of Global Partners with the responsibility for giving oversight to Global Partners’ work alongside more mature Wesleyan churches around the world. Bob and Brenda aim to facilitate and encourage the development of churches and leaders as they increasingly become partners in taking the gospel to the unreached in other places.CLICK HERE to enjoy a recent video update provided by the Bagley’s. There are two video options for your review which will also be an excellent resource for promoting missions in local church gatherings.
Perhaps some of you would remember Dr. James Wierman. He was a medical missionary involved with the Haitian Wesleyan Church’s Hospital Wesleyan medical work on La Gonave, Haiti. He spent time as a missionary there in 1970 and has continued to be involved in short term medical work in Haiti since that time. CLICK HERE and ALSO HEREfor two excellent video options recently created to highlight the work of this hospital and how you can be involved in supporting this effective and growing ministry.
Executive Director Tami Mutch-Ketch opened the Saturday Beulah Session of the Camp Board with a meaningful reminder from Mark 7:8. If we simply hold on to human traditions – we will rob ourselves of the future God is preparing for His Church. The group pictured above invested six energizing hours in serving the ongoing administration and Kingdom interests of Beulah Camp & Conference Center. Anticipation and expectations are high for the summer ahead – especially with the return of Beulah Family Camp with the theme, “Now Is the Time for Renewal!”
IMPORTANT ASR Reminder: All Atlantic credentialed ministers should have received an email from HQ this week regarding the completion of your Annual Service Report. If you did not receive this, please notify Karrilee at District Office right away. With the final Sunday of the fiscal year behind us, the Local Church Statistical Report will be opening soon for completion as we compile new baselines in ministry for the rebuilding opportunities ahead.
World Hope International’s 9th Annual Spring Gala
Canal: A Story of Resilience and Hope
Friday, May 13th @ 7:00 p.m. EST | 8:00 p.m. AST
WHI’s Online Gala will showcase and celebrate one community’s story of transformation in the face of climate impact and its devastating effects. When communities are empowered, they can enact sustainable change! Join us as we celebrate the transformation taking place and invest in the Hope Fund as we work to offer opportunity and build dignity and hope.
Congratulations to Diana Billings as she and her son will be joining our Jason Vienneau’s Corbett staff as Children’s Pastor this coming July 2022!
Congratulation to Nick & Liberty Perry (Blacks Harbour) on the happy arrival of Opal Rose on April 13th. Opal weighed 4 pounds and 11 ounces. The proud Dad shared, “Both Liberty and Opal are doing healthy. Thank you to all that have and continue to pray for and support us. It is greatly appreciated.”
Points to Ponder
- Your post-Easter leadership stamina and resilience are more important right now than you may know. The enemy would love for you to let up, lose your joy, or maybe even temporarily “give up.” (Dan Reiland)
- Stop playing that dark, awful game called comparison. It’s sick and terribly toxic. Really, stop it. (James Emery White)
- Build a tinder box with your church so that it is ready when God sends the spark of revival. (Zach Coffin)
One Conference was formed out of the desire to see churches in our region united in their pursuit of Jesus. Over the last few years, we’ve gone from being in ONE arena with massive crowds and energy, to being exclusively online during the pandemic. This year, we are excited to take a step toward having everyone together again soon! One Conference will be hosted at three sites throughout the region this year in Halifax, Moncton, and Saint John! Combined, these three sites will be able to accommodate everyone who wants to attend, and we’re thrilled to make this transition toward being together in ONE room once again in 2023. CLICK HERE for more information about how to register your youth group for your preferred location.
CLICK HERE to visit the official HQ website for UNLEASHED, our 14th North American General Conference. The full schedule and all of the Memorials (resolutions for voting) are available. Thanks in advance for praying for the Atlantic District Delegates as we take part in these historic days of leadership in our denomination.
By action of the Atlantic DBA this week – Beulah Family Camp is back for the summer of 2022!!! CLICK HERE for the Camp Evangelists’ bios. CLICK HERE for a downloadable PDF version of this poster to print off for your church bulletin board. CLICK HERE for a JPG download of the poster for announcement loops and social media promotion. We can’t wait to see you all again as we pack into the Tabernacle to praise our God and to be challenged with a fresh call to holiness through the theme: Now Is the Time for Renewal!
National Superintendent Steve Elliott (The Wesleyan Church of Canada) is calling Wesleyans to partner financially with World Hope International (Canada) as our official relief and development arm. CEO Tanya Nace gives stellar leadership to this world-class, highly effective and trustworthy organization. World Hope International is working with global and local partners in response to the invasion of Ukraine and the outflow of refugees into neighbouring countries. CLICK HERE for more information on how to give through WHC.
I joined David Zigler (Coastal Community) and AJ Plaizier (Yarmouth) in February to share our perspectives and experiences in developing and implementing what Pete Scazzero calls a Rule of Life. This was a companion conversation for the panel discussion offered on February 10th regarding Emotionally Healthy Leader. If you are new to the idea of having a Rule of Life, you will find the following resources helpful:
- CLICK HERE to watch the recording of our conversation about having a Rule of Life (Feb 24th Zoom).
- CLICK HERE to review why Emotionally Healthy Leader is so different from just any book on pastoral leadership (Feb 10th Zoom).
- For those of you just getting started, CLICK HERE for an excellent resourceprovided by Dave Zigler to walk you step-by-step through the creation of your own Rule of Life.
- CLICK HERE for access to additional materials that will help guide you through the prayerful creation of your own Rule of Life.
Pastor Cluster Leaders are encouraged to use these resources to inform and inspire the journey of renewal unfolding in the months ahead in our Clusters. I completed my 48-hour retreat in February to develop my own Rule of Life. I will be praying for each of you to make it a priority sometime before summer to go on a personal retreat as you ask the Lord to show you better ways for better days of abiding in The Vine.
Registration for Caton’s Island camps skyrocketed in the opening week of February 15th with 397 registrations plus 45 families for the two family camps. Registrations are continuing to roll in! Don’t delay registering to ensure the camps/dates you want for your family summer schedule are still available.
Registration is open for Kingswood University’s Fall Vision Tour Cruise. For more information or to reserve your spot, contact Debbie Benson (506-432-4411 or bendsond@kingswood.edu).