Parkdale Evangelical Free Church
– Our LPD Church of the Week.
Thanks to Anna (Ben) Crumback at Sointula Community Church for producing the Church of the Week!
Parkdale welcomes Joshua and Nicole Fast and their son Malakai to the church family and to Joshua’s
ministry as Children’s Ministry Intern. May God further his work at Parkdale through the ministry of
Joshua and Nicole, alongside Tim and Emily and the team of volunteers. Thank you, LPD, for your partnership in
providing a grant through the William Johnson Endowment Fund to make this
ministry expansion possible!
“Methods are many. Principles are few. Methods always change.
Principles never do.” So says the old adage.
Over my years of
ministry, I have seen many methods, trends and styes of ministry. I have used
hymnbooks, overheads, PowerPoints and even smart phones for lyrics for worship.
I have survived debates over the style of worship and the attire of worship
leaders – with only minor
scars.
I have witnessed and survived the waves of “Church Growth,”
“Signs and Wonders,” “Willow Creek,” the trends regarding
sermon lengths, styles of delivery and the use of visual aids. I have wrestled
with the purpose of Sunday gatherings – from “seeker services,” to
“seeker-sensitive services” to simply to gathering and equipping the
“saints.”
If I have learned anything, it is that God is not dependent upon either me or
any method. He chooses to work through me and many others; and He is more
concerned about our hearts than our abilities, and his power at work in us and
through us than anything we might have to offer.
I celebrate what God is doing in many contexts and in many ways – from
church planting to ministering in churches to the rebirth of churches, and we
need to celebrate and tell what God is doing among us.
We have often heard that what has come to be known as the “attractional model” has
been replaced by the “missional
model” of ministry. Attractional is where we invite people
to church to hear the Gospel; missional is where we equip people and send them
out from the church to share the Gospel.
While there is truth in this trend for today’s church, it is not always the
case. Pastor Will
(Christine) Burgess, Pastor
of English Ministries at Richmond Chinese EFC writes:
I’ve been very encouraged by developments in ministry out in
Richmond these last several months-
One
of the first things I noticed as the new English ministries pastor was the
large number of young adults attending our service, many of whom lacked an
opportunity for midweek fellowship and discipleship, and who also did not feel
able to invite their friends to church.
When
I mentioned this concern to other leaders and proposed a midweek young adults
fellowship, some advocated caution- “We want to be missional, not
attractional.” One leader told me that such a program was the exact opposite of
the direction he felt we needed to go as a church- instead of gathering people
together, we needed to be sending them out.
It
wasn’t until months later as more and more young adults opened up to me that I
came to understand the hopes and frustrations that led to this particular
outlook. But in the meantime I figured it would be worth a try to bring the
young adults together for fellowship and bible study- understanding that this
could actually be constructive in reaching out to unbelievers, rather than
simply a distraction. Other leaders cautiously agreed it could be good to try
at least once or twice and see what happened.
In retrospect, I’m glad we took that chance.
We
started meeting last summer and the group quickly grew to twenty as young
adults invited their friends from work and school for midweek bible study. Many
of these friends did not come from Chinese backgrounds and had little prior
experience with Christianity. Four young adults- two agnostics, an atheist, and
a Muslim began attending regularly to study the Bible with the rest of us
Christians. The young man who professes staunch atheism would often have a lot
of questions and objections- but he still comes every week. He and I began
meeting weekly to talk beforehand, both as a witness to him and also to answer
some of his questions so others at fellowship could join the discussion as
well! He told me recently that he doesn’t know exactly what he is looking for,
but he knows he needs a Saviour. Pray that he would see clearly what he needs
saving from and that Jesus is the only Saviour who can bring us forgiveness and
reconciliation with God.
A
young adult lady who grew up in an agnostic family has been attending as well.
One week when we were talking about prayer and thankfulness, she told us “I am
so thankful for you guys and for this group, because I am learning so much
about God.” Recently in a study on knowing God I suggested that if she was
interested in getting to know God, she might consider reading through the
Gospel of John and asking the question “Who is Jesus?” As soon as I said this,
the friend who invited her piped up, “I just started reading the gospel of
John!” and her seeking friend replied “Maybe we could read it together?” So now
the two of them will be meeting each week to talk about who Jesus is according
to John’s gospel. Pray for them as well as they begin this journey of discovery.
So I am encouraged to see how God is using his church to reach
these young people for Christ, and how I as a pastor get to live out my calling
by equipping these saints to reach their friends (Eph 4:12). Church can become
discouraging when all we see is meetings, programs, business, and the weekly
grind of sermon preparation- let’s keep our eyes open to the fields ripe for
the harvest that are all around us.
Great to hear Will!
So, what is God up
to in your church? Let’s share your story next week!
***
AROUND THE LPD
This weekend, I look
forward to joining Grace
Ethiopian Evangelical Church on Sunday afternoon, where I will
welcome them into the LPD/EFCC Family and also have the honour of preaching. We
voted this congregation into our fellowship at our district conference on March
2, and we look forward to partnering together in Christ’s work in our region in
the years ahead. Welcome
brothers and sisters of Grace Ethiopian Evangelical Church!
Yesterday,
a team of people joined me at Grace
Hanin Community Church for the ordination councils for both Pastor Seunghwan (Isaac) Kim and
Pastor Sanghun Han. We are thankful for these servant-leaders
and are pleased to recommend them for ordination in the EFCC!
***
Please pray for:
***
Upcoming Events:
Summer Ministry Opportunity
Looking for a youth mission opportunity this summer?
Have you considered a
beautiful island in the Pacific? – as in …
Vancouver Island?
Some Island Churches
would welcome ministry teams to come to the Island to minister with Vacation
Bible School Ministry and children’s programs this summer.
Your church can take your VBS ministry on the road with your youth or mission team – and be a real blessing to Island churches too.
Please contact the LPD Office for information!
***
Attend this conference
and the EFCC Annual Meeting live in Okotoks,
or join us via livestream.
Watch for details of livestream in the Lower Mainland and on the Island!
***
LPD Pastor and Staff Cruise
– a day with
colleagues in ministry.
Wednesday, May 29
***
LPD Pastor and Spouse Retreat
Nov. 22-24, 2019
Hello LPD pastors,
we’d like to invite you to join us on Nov.
22-24, 2019 for a Pastors’ retreat! We’d like to
encourage you to take a breather in late November (before Advent begins) with
your fellow pastors at Camp
Charis in Chilliwack.
Please set this date aside and watch for details early in the months ahead.
