Abby Free was planted in 1962, when the population of Abbotsford was just 20,326 people. Today the population is more than 141,000. The community has been known as the “Bible Belt,” and more recently,on occasion, as the “bullet belt,” due to some violence related to the drug trade.
Abby Free has changed with the community, and over the years has had to retool and revision, all the while being true to its mission.
Pastor Randy and Allan Lemke came to serve as youth pastor in 2001, and in 2010, became Lead Pastor. Don and Carolyn Murdoch serve as Assistant Pastor, and Karl and Mandi Owens serve as Worship Director.
As the church looks to the future, next month, they will be launching a name change to “Mill Lake Church.” This reflects their desire to be “salt and light” to the neighbourhood in which God has placed them. They state:
We love our City in the Country and want to serve the people of Abbotsford.
We are located in the Mill Lake area and seek to love and serve our neighbourhood by having a presence here. AbbyFree Church is a group of people who will make you feel welcome just by walking through our doors. We hope you will visit us and find out for yourself!
Abby Free/Mill Lake Church posts their weekly services online, and can be viewed by visiting their website at: https://www.abbyfree.com/
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Grieving – with Hope
As the Apostle Paul writes to the Thessalonian Christians, he encourages them with the words, “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.” (1 Thess. 4:13).
These words have been a comfort to many of us as we have faced the death of a loved one. Both grief and hope are real. For we who have hope in Christ, our grief is tempered with the hope and promised that because of Jesus, our “good-bye,” is only, “good-bye for now.”
Both grief and hope are real.
At this time of COVID-19, many are grieving – and many are grieving without hope. It is not a grief of the loss of life, but the loss of what we have known and loved – in community – at work – in church – in family…
An article this week in the National Post perhaps captures how many are thinking. business-and-health-leaders-accuse-trudeau-of-shifting-the-goalposts-for-reopening-economy
While I do not speak for or against the article or the letter, it does speak to what many are feeling … a loss of hope. “The goalposts have changed.” People worked to, “flatten the curve,” and hoped to get through the virus challenge in short order. Now, we are instructed to isolate for the long term, until a treatment or vaccine is found. This could be a year or more.
In your church, as in most churches, there is a range of emotions about our current pandemic, Some people are really fearful, based upon media reports and projected scenarios. Some are fearful for their own health and that of loved ones. Some believe that we have overreacted to COVID-19, and long to “get back to normal.” Pastors can feel caught between those who press to keep “shut down,” and those who want to “open up.” In the end, both will be displeased.
For those who long to “get back to normal,” it will be to a “new” normal. Worship can at this time have a maximum of 50 people, and these will need to keep a social distance of six feet from one another. Even if we resume smaller worship services, it will not be the experience that people have missed. No “full” church to worship with. No handshakes. No hugs. No gathering around the coffee carafes after the service…
As servant-leaders of local churches, it is important to acknowledge the grief that many in our churches are experiencing. DAVID C. WANG, professor of psychology and pastoral counseling at Biola University, pastor of One Life City Church in Fullerton, California writes of this in his article, “Three Keys to Navigating Trauma, Grief and Loss from Covid-19 in Your Church.” 3-keys-to-navigating-trauma-grief-and-loss-from-covid-19-in-your-church
Just as those we serve may have feelings of grief, we may be experiencing our own uncertainties and questions as we move through this time of pandemic. Aaron Earls, online editor of Facts & Trends, speaks to these in his article, “Nine Concerns Pastors Have About Their Church Gathering Again.” 9-concerns-pastors-have-about-their-church-gathering-again/
Recognizing our own concerns and the grief among those we serve, how can we bring a message of hope?
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5).
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EFCC National Conference – Virtual
June 27, 2020
With COVID-19 response, we are unable to physically meet for EFCC National Conference this year. We will be meeting for an abbreviated conference on June 27. Here is a letter from George Budd, EFCC Board of Directors Chair:
Letter_from_the_Chairperson_of_the_EFCC_Board_of_Directors.pdf
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Coach’s Corner – with Steve Sharpe, LPD Missionary of Church Planting and Development (srsharpe@shaw.ca). Steve shares coaching insights for pastors, church leaders and church planters. This week, he writes on, “ABC DISCIPLE MAKING: C is for COACHING.” Here is the link: TRUST_15May2020.01.pdf
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Please remember all of our LPD Missionaries (and all missionaries) at this time.
Here is the link to their information and how to support them:
https://www.lpd-efcc.ca/donations/
LPD Missionaries
Dan and Sharon Williams (Osoyoos Project)
Steve and Gillian Sharpe (Missionary of Church Planting Development)
Jonathan and Harmony Ng (Inner City Ministry)
Noel and Lynda Macasaet (New Living Assembly)
Jorge and Emily Lin (Church of All Nations/”new”New West EFC)
Joshua and Nicole Fast (Priceless Youth Ministry)
Allen and Hannah Chang (Steveston Project)
Daniel and Joyce Wong (Steveston Project)
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HELPFUL INFORMATION FOR CHURCHES REGARDING COVID-19
We in the LPD are here to serve you and your church through this time. Josephine has been continually updating our information, so has the most current information available on resources available to you and your church in this time. Currently, six LPD Churches have successfully applied for assistance, with our help. There are several resources available for Non-profits, and we will be glad to share these with you.
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Please pray for:
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We are excited and thankful for how God has led and called Henry and Kim Ngugi to serve with EFCCM, and we invite you to join in their prayer and support team. They trust to travel to Kenya to begin this ministry in September. Here is a link to their newsletter, “The Daily Move.”
Website:
