It’s Monday Again

The spark of Kingdom multiplication burst into flame on the South Shore last night. In a partnership between Woods Harbour (Jason Parker) and Yarmouth (AJ Plaizier), the first monthly preview service was held for Coastal Church in Barrington with an incredible 188 in attendance!

Coastal Church will launch this fall with weekly services as a satellite of Yarmouth in partnership with Woods Harbour. #kingdommultiplication #strongertogether

In other exciting satellite news, Deep Water (AJ Thomas) held its first sign-up opportunity yesterday to join the launch team for the Dartmouth Campus this fall and had more than 100 (including families) commit to be sent out as part of this new Kingdom expression. Included in this group were some who were part of the original launch team of Deep Water in 2007.

It was a day of transition as nearly 50 gathered on the final Sunday of worship yesterday for Metro Wesleyan (Aaron Birtch). It was an honour on behalf of our District to express gratitude for the vision of Dean & Rosalie Brown in planting this work nearly 20 years ago. About 30 of this group are already signed up to attend the 12:30 p.m. service at Deep Water next Sunday. Deep Water(AJ Thomas) has committed to launch a satellite in the Beechville-Lakeside-Timberlea (BLT) community following the successful launch of its Dartmouth Campus this fall. This courageous and strategic choice of the Metro family to be adopted into Deep Water will seed a new Kingdom expression in BLT with significant resources when the time is right.

The Lighthouse (Tim Guptill) LBA above shared an encouraging report of the Grand Manan merger as 2019 plans for the new church facility were publicly announced on February 17th.

In other South Shore news, another five pulpit swap took place with Jason Parker preaching at Brazil Lake, Vince Robertson at Havelock, Shawn Craven at Hope, Joanne Ozon at West Head, and Kevin Myers at Woods Harbour. #strongertogether

Journey (Matt Maxwell) has had just shy of 400 in attendance for 2 of the past 3 Sundays and is celebrating YTD growth of about 30 over last year.

The third and fourth of six DS Zone Dialogs were held this Tuesday in the Kingswood library (pictured above) and Thursday at Journey (Matt Maxwell). These zone meetings also included more than 30 leaders from Amherst (Evan Oxner), Blacks Harbour (John Symonds), Centerpoint(Glen McVicar), Corbett Avenue (Jason Vienneau), Head of Millstream (Kathy Jeffries), Island(Aaron Reimer), Maple Ridge (Mike Agrell), Moncton (Joel Gorveatte), Norton (Mark Cooney), River Valley (Dave McElhinney), SJ1 (Graham Perry), and Sussex (Jim Agrell). I am grateful for the excellent contribution of these leaders (especially those who braved Thursday’s storm) as we continue to listen and shape the values-driven vision of the Atlantic District.

This past weekend over 200 women gathered together at Crosspoint (Mark Brewer) for Uprisingto lift the name of Jesus and celebrate the freedom that only He can bring! It was a transformative weekend full of beautiful worship and life giving teaching from Pastor Andi Andrew (founder and co-pastor of Liberty Church in NYC).

The Browns Flat Fellowship (Steve Bradley) Friday Fish Fry was sold out with 60 present. In addition to Beulah folk, there about 20 from the Browns Flat community for a great evening. Hats off to Steve, Bruce and company for this excellent community on-ramp!

As we enter into church year-end preparation, I would encourage you to read this excellent article on the role of your nominating committee by our General Superintendent’s Chief of Staff, David Drury.

Votes/Reviews/Transitions

• Following consultation with the Blacks Harbour LBA on Tuesday evening, John Symonds was reappointed for a second year as Interim Lead Pastor concluding at Beulah 2020.
• On Wednesday, the LBA of The Lighthouse unanimously recommended an extended call at the conclusion of Lead Pastor Tim Guptill’s initial two-year appointment. This vote will occur immediately following the morning worship service on March 17th.
• On Thursday afternoon, I met with the Browns Flat Fellowship LAC to affirm the ongoing district appointment of Lead Pastor Steve Bradley. The Kingdom synergy of this leader and this spiritual family with the ongoing ministry of Beulah Camp & Conference Center is a great gift to our District!

THOTS:

• Grace is opposed to earning – but not to effort. (Dallas Willard) #spiritualfoundations
• By over-complicating the process of disciple-making, I had inadvertently stunted multiplication. (Jon Wiest) #kingdommultiplication
• You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. If we give people tasks to do, we are creating followers. If we give people authority, we are creating leaders. (Craig Groeschel) #raisingleaders

40 Days of Prayer for Kingswood University (Mar 12 – Apr 21). Looking for a great idea for your church this Easter season? You can download this prayer and scripture guide for your personal or church Lenten emphasis.

Mark your calendars for Exponential East, March 4-7, 2019. $69 leader registration price and $29 for spouses. Click here to register. Contact Rhonda Moore with any questions.

Children’s Ministry Pastors and Lay Leaders: NEXT registration for Saturday, April 6th, in Halifax is now open @ http://cbacyf.ca/next. The first 100 participants to register through their Wesleyan Church using the code “NEXT2019” will receive a $20 scholarship discount from the Atlantic District.

Attention all parents, teens, and youth leaders/pastors! One Conference is back again this year May 31 – June 1. This is a great opportunity for students to go deeper in their faith and meet other youth from across the Maritimes.

Caton’s Island Director Dean Stephenson reports that summer camper registrations are already up over this time last year – don’t delay getting the word out to your students and parents/grandparents to make sure they can attend their preferred camp!