Memories of spring and summer 2024
Spring sprang into action at Westpointe Community Church (WCC) in Grande Prairie with 18 of our youth, along with five leaders, heading to Merida, Mexico for a short-term mission experience. This took place over spring break from March 31 to April 10. After our Easter service on the 31st, all those participating gathered on stage for a time of prayer and commissioning, and from there they boarded the bus heading to Calgary; flying out to Merida the next day.
Westpointe Community Church
Our women’s ministry hosted mothers, daughters, granddaughters and friends for a lovely Mother’s Day tea on May 4. Later in the month (May 24–25) church women gathered with others from the community for the 2024 Women Encouraged Conference: Holy and Beloved.
The 2023–24 Sunday school season came to a close on June 9 with a volunteer appreciation event that afternoon. In March it was reported that our Sunday school average attendance to that point was 122 students. That is 122 souls we have had the opportunity to share Jesus with! Praise the Lord!
The following weekend, June 14–16, 191 individuals (94 adults, 97 kids—representing 42 families), registered for our annual church family campout, held locally at Bear Lake Bible Camp. Activities included fireside, singing, king swing, devotionals and, of course, lots of great food!
Five tents were set up to accommodate the congregation for the closing worship/baptism service on Sunday morning. We were all very thankful for those tents as a thunderstorm passed through during the service! Pastor Jared Schroeder spoke from 1 Corinthians 9:24–10:13, on “Life after Baptism,”encouraging those of us who had already been baptized to reflect back on our own baptisms. Along with the six baptismal candidates, we were challenged not to become complacent in our walk with Christ and thereby ruin our witness to the world.
Following the message, candidates shared their testimonies and were baptized. The weekend officially ended with 260 gathering for the noon meal. Special thanks to our Social Committee for all the time and effort they put into planning and preparing for this event.
Less than a month later, July 8–12, WCC hosted our annual VBS daily from 1 to 4 p.m. The curriculum (from Answers in Genesis) was titled “The Great Jungle Journey: An Epic Cruise from Genesis to Revelation.” We had 141 students enrolled, 36 of whom considered themselves “community/new/visitor.” Under the direction of our VBS coordinator, 47 volunteers donated their time in some capacity to make the program a great success.
We pray and trust that God will nurture the seeds planted in the hearts of those who attended, helping them grow and bear fruit. As a bit of a postscript, it was encouraging to hear that one attendee’s mother started attending one of our women’s Bible studies this fall after seeing a poster in the church at that time.