Taking the slow road
♪ The snow had slowly melted, the sun shone, and the yesteryear’s leaves were brown and crispy, ready to be dislodged from the soon-to-be green lawn. We incentivized the children and sent them off as small conquerors of leafy kingdoms. The first day went well.
A tragic loss: Belen is now in heaven
♪ On Thursday, May 16, 2024, Kiara Belen was crossing the highway on her bike five blocks from our home as she was coming home from school at 5:30 in the afternoon, when she was hit by a pickup truck and immediately was in the arms of her Saviour.
Building bridges of grace
♪ It is a privilege to speak at this EMC conference. I am not a Mennonite, but most of my best friends are, and my ancestors were Scottish, so I am cheap. I once said to my wife, “You are only getting one cup of tea from a teabag; you can do better.” So, I am an honorary Mennonite. Better yet, I am with brothers and sisters who love and serve Jesus.
Editorial: From innovation to discipleship: EMC churches are flourishing!
♪ Written reports from four of EMC’s nine regions were easily available online but, since they didn’t figure in the meeting’s agenda, I had not taken time to read them.
Editorial: Rethinking well-behaved churches and embracing God’s transformative power
♪ A FEW YEARS ago, after an Abundant Springs* weekend, we heard back from Briercrest about how respectful and well-mannered EMC students were compared to some of their other groups. Naturally, we congratulated ourselves because that spoke so well of the students, families and ministry leaders in EMC churches.
Together with the world
♪ … the Roman empire had perfected the art of conquest. They controlled the vast majority of the known and civilized world, and no nation or group posed any serious threat to their authority. Rome clung to power through military might, rigid bureaucracy, and good old-fashioned fear. But Jesus was subversive; he taught differently on what true power looked like. Instead of power to conquer and dominate, Christ spoke and modelled power to submit and serve.
Intentional acts of compassion
♪ In the last few months, over 90 EMC youth leaders attended one of the Youth Worker Community (YWC) Conferences (sixty-plus in Winnipeg and thirty-plus in Calgary). There were many great workshops on a variety of themes which gave attendees a lot to think about and process: helping students discover and grow spiritual discipline, how to lead teenagers to Christ, managing small groups and making the most of events and experiences, among others.
Predestination is a challenging topic for Christians
♪ In his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul reminded the Ephesians that God “chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4 NET here and throughout). As if his point wasn’t clear enough, Paul in the very next verse adds, “He [God] did this by predestining us to adoption as his legal heirs through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will” (Ephesians 1:5). This is far from the only time Paul mentions predestination. In Romans 8:29 Paul talks about those who are “predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.”
Testimony: The prodigal returns
♪ GORDON UTZ WAS one of those guys who, like me, got into a little trouble in high school. Tall, handsome, hilarious and a good hockey player—I’m talking about me, of course (just kidding!). I’m talking about my classmate, Gord. Recently his brother Stan said, “You gotta talk to Gord; you won’t believe his story.” So, I did. As we spoke, it was like we pushed rewind and were back in grade 10.
The Messenger is an award-winning publication!
ON MAY 3, 2024, Canadian Christian Communicators Association (CCCA) announced their awards that names the best work of its member community for 2023. The Messenger (and EMC) won in six categories. Check them out!
SBC Professor Arlene Friesen goes to her next calling
STEINBACH BIBLE COLLEGE is saying goodbye to long-time Bible professor, worship instructor and registrar Arlene Friesen.
Why we need young men in children’s ministry
♪ ALEX IS THE boy nobody wants in their class. He’s in grade two and has seemingly limitless energy and zero attention span. His comments and questions are never on topic, and everybody is convinced that he is learning nothing. He’s usually facing away from the teacher, making faces or jokes as they try to teach, and the end of the year is a relief because he is finally somebody else’s problem.
The church has no “leadership” crisis
♪ WHEN I ENTERED the academic world recently, I noticed changes in Christian education I had not been aware of. I had not realized education had become so focused on leadership development. Across Canada’s Christian colleges there are now academic degrees in leadership, reams of Christian books written on leadership, and faculty whose sole role is to teach leadership development.
The path to joy leads us through adversity
♪ AT THE BEGINNING of this year, I read that DaySpring, the greeting card company, had a Word of the Year Quiz on their website. By selecting a few personal descriptors and Bible verses that resonated with me, I could find a pre-baked, pithy word to construct my life around for the next 365 days (366 with the leap year).
SBC honours 2024 graduates
STEINBACH BIBLE COLLEGE concluded its 2023–24 school year by awarding a hard-working collection of servant leaders with their Bachelor of Arts, Associate of Arts, and Certificate degrees during graduation weekend on April 26–27, 2024.
Myanmar: “Being riskless is not always the will of God”
EVERY DAY, WHEN Mr. Khong awakens in Myanmar, he has two challenges: One, avoid being captured, conscripted or killed by the military junta that is struggling to hold onto its power to govern. Two, get food to people who have fled to remote mountainous areas of the country to avoid the reaches of the junta.
Awesome KidMin Conference 2024 participants are anchored in community
“PEOPLING IS HARD,” said main speaker Connie Jakab at the first session of Awesome KidMin Conference 2024. And, she said, “It’s gotten even harder post-COVID.” Yet Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 emphasizes the importance of community.
EFC welcomes children
Evangelical Fellowship Canada, Steinbach, Man.
Four couples participated in a parent-child dedication on April 14, 2024.
Exciting growth at Straffordville EMC
Straffordville EMC IS growing! We are so thankful for an addition to our pastoral staff.