From Jeff Anderson

Here is an excerpt from a letter that Jeff Anderson, the conference superintendent sent out to all the pastors:

We know from the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) that we are to go and make disciple. Did you know that church planting is one of the most, if not THE MOST effective ways to introduce people to a life of following Jesus Christ? Did you know that in the last 20 years our new congregations account for only 20% of the total number of congregations but they account for over 40% of the total number of people attending church in the Evangelical Covenant Church of Canada?

I would ask that you add Winnipeg and Pastor Gerald and Judi Froese to your prayer list. By this September we will have a new church plant starting Winnipeg, MB. In addition, we are in dialogue about two other potential church plant sites. Pray that our ECCC leadership will be wise in determining where we are to go with our church plants!

I also want to remind you that mission is both global and national. Pray with me for the Pluims in Ecuador. I attended this years CBC-Ecuador Commencement and got to hear again of the Pluim’s passion for the Ecuadorian church as well as for their ministry at CBC.

Another continent away, in Africa, we continue to have a link with the newly forming Covenant Church of Kenya through Alberto and Lisa Zepeda. They are seeking wisdom as to the best way to help this group of churches grow in maturity. Pray for this group of churches thousands of kilometers away.

Finally, I want to ask that you think briefly about leadership development. God’s words to Isaiah are just as relevant today “Whom shall I send…” (Isaiah 6:8). We believe that God calls women and men into vocational ministry. A key part of leadership development is identifying and encouraging those within our midst who sense a call to ministry. We are beginning to see more of our “home-grown” folks moving into ECCC leadership positions. Pray that this trend will continue to grow!

Sorry, no sermon ... and thanks for the party

I lost the sermon audio file. I forgot to save it on the voice recorder. We’ll I won’t make that mistake again. So … we’re one step closer to having the sermons up on this website on a consistent basis. I’m sure there are other mistakes that I’ll make in the next couple of weeks, but soon or later I’ll figure it out.

Thanks for the great time at the lake. I really enjoyed myself. Some of you asked the question, “What does it mean that you’re ordained?” Well, here’s a quick answer.

My ordination is an affirmation from the wider denomination that I’m fit to serve churches as a pastor. The truth is that you as a local church have already giving me the “thumbs up” by calling me to be your pastor. But, it is important to me that there are leaders in the wider church that have said, “We affirm the gifts that God has given you.” This is not so much about the church as the authority saying, “Without our stamp of approval you’re nothing.” It is more like a partnership, the denomination and the local church agreeing on my fitness for service. Anyway, that’s the short answer. Thanks again for the great party.

Brenda Salter McNeil

This is a link to the sermon Brenda Salter McNeil preached at the Annual Meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The two part sermon that I started last week and will finish this Sunday is taken directly from Brenda. Her sermon at the Annual Meeting was directed toward the institution of the church generally and specifically at the institution of the Covenant Church. I’ve shifted the direction in my “retelling” of it. I tried to direct it toward Blackstrap Covenant Church. If you listen to both Brenda’s sermon and mine you’ll see what I mean. If you only have time to listen to one then choose Brenda’s. She is awesome. This is video and audio so if you don't have a fast connection this could take some time to get set up. Take the time, it's worth it.

LINK

Other Voices Sermon Series: Brenda Salter McNeil

This is the first part of a two part sermon.


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121st AM of the Evangelical Covenant Church

Here is a link to the 121st Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church. There are news items from the last six or seven years of annual meetings. … And you can watch some of the worship services via the internet from this site. This is where my ordination service will be broadcast on Friday night. It happens 7pm Grand Rapids time; I’m not smart enough to figure out what time that is here. When I get back I'll post some pictures and tell a few stories.

KERNELS OF HOPE update

Here is a update from Ray Baloun, the man who got our KERNELS OF HOPE project off the ground:

Hello Fellow Farmers!

Things are going very well on our Kernels of Hope Farms this year. All the crops were seeded in a timely fashion and are well established now. I was in Norquay June 3 and have attached some pictures from Rock and Nicoles field. It is healthy! All the fields are just at the stage that they will or have just been sprayed for weed control if needed. Alberta was a little dry earlier but that generally is good for a crop because it makes the roots develop more by them growing to search out moisture which then can help them withstand dry weather that much easier later in life. I am pretty sure there could be a comparison to people in the same way!

We have had great participation again this year. We targeted 120 acres. That is a lot of sponsorship commitment! We were under 100 acres for a long time... Now Ladies and Gentlemen we are at approximately 144 acres ! We have farmers from Ontario to BC as well as Kansas and Oregon this year. We'll work out some projections on yields and possible returns later but if this crop turns out as good as it looks now we have huge potential to be helping many, many people in Liberia this year. We will announce a Crop Prayer Walk day later that we will encourage all our farmers to take part in where ever they are. In the mean time do pray for the crops and the people they will help!

Till next time! (There's that farming word again)
Ray the Grain Guy