It’s Monday Again
“Follow 2019 – There is More!” under the leadership of Zach Coffin (Director of Next Generation Ministries, Church Multiplication and Discipleship) is in full swing in Cincinatti! Thousands of youth from across North America have gathered (including a bus from the Atlantic District) from December 28-31 to worship the King and hear His Word preached. Special thanks to Co-District Youth Presidents, Drew Donovan (Kingswood University) and Martin Stehouwer (SJ1), for their leadership to get our students there. Let’s keep praying for God to move in mighty ways as He is raising up this generation.
Kingswood University is onsite with a strong recruiting presence under the leadership of Andrea Gunter (VP of Enrolment). President Lennox got in a some fun winning an endurance contest with President Todd Voss (Southern Wesleyan University) on this Instagram video.
Home Alone for Christmas (Moncton) went very well for the second Christmas Day offering with 75 people celebrating together over turkey diner, Elf movie, gingerbread houses, games, and great conversations where people were feeling the love of Jesus!So many of our churches had special Christmas events – too many to report in detail, but here are a few highlights:
- Journey (Matt Maxwell) had its largest Christmas Eve attendance ever at 950 over two services.
- Kings (Brent Ingersoll) offered multiple full-house programs for Christmas at the Imperialon December 22-23.
- Blacks Harbour (HC Wilson) gave away the December 15th Sunday’s offering to touch needs in the church family and community. $6,844 was given in the offering (average offering circa $2,200) and it was topped up to $7,000. Dr. HC reported the following week, “We distributed $200 dollar grocery cards to 35 individuals or families in our church and community. This was after over 190 tins of Christmas cookies were distributed to seniors, nursing homes, village office, first responders, the school, the food bank, Cookes offices and others.”
- Cornerstone (Denn Guptill) had 722 attend their Christmas Eve services.
- New Hope (Scott Prime) raised $12,000 in three Christmas Eve services in an offering entitled, “Acts of Kindness 2020,” which will be invested in the community in the coming year.
Island (Aaron Reimer) promoted a special advent project with World Hope International’s clean water program. They reached their goal this week tocap a well with a high quality hand pump. A first-time attender at the Christmas Eve service had been encouraged to go by a friend who attends Moncton Wesleyan.He was deeply impacted by the Christmas Eve service and sent the following comments to Aaron, “Tonight I attended my first ever service at your church and it was absolutely beautiful. I haven’t been to a Christmas Eve mass or church service in years that I felt such a connection with and I want to thank you.” Every number has a name and every name has a story that matters in eternity – well done Island Wesleyan family!
NOTE: The District Office will reopen on January 2nd.
As I represented our district family this week at the funerals referenced in last week’s IMA, it was inspiring to be reminded of the hope we have when our hearts have received the power of the Gospel. Grateful to sit under the ministry of Peter Thomas who preached for Scott Wood’s father’s service (Journey) and AJ Plaizier who preached in celebration of the life of Helene Gormong (Yarmouth). Many other ministers were present to offer support to the grieving and some participated in the services. I am so proud to stand on the shoulders of such rich spiritual legacy with these incredible Kingdom leaders. #strongertogether #spiritualfoundations
Year-End Points to Ponder:
- At the beginning of a new decade, I pray that the eyes of my heart would be healed, restored, and renewed. I long to see with 20/20 vision on earth as it is in heaven. (Dan Lamos)
- A leader’s role is solving problems. If you don’t like solving problems, then stay out of leadership. Smooth sailing teaches you nothing. (Jim Mattis)
- 21st century Kingdom multiplication cannot simply be a tweak of 20th century methods. This is a day that requires reinvention. (Steve Pike)
Full details for how your church can take advantage of this National Church initiative can be accessed online HERE. This will be an excellent addition to local discipleship efforts as one of the greatest predictors of spiritual growth is spending time in His Word.
Click on the picture above to download an excellent promotional video for the 70-Day New Year Challenge from our National Superintendent Stephen Elliott. This will be a helpful resource to show in your early year services to encourage people to dig deep into The Word.
International Wesleyan Youth Conference (Dec. 28-31, 2019)
Be Praying!
It is with great excitement we invite you to Uprising Conference on February 21-22, 2020 at Crosspoint Church in Fredericton, NB. Conference registration is $45, and a catered lunch option on Saturday is available for an additional $15.
We are so thrilled to welcome Rachel Wilson as our conference speaker. We are looking forward to hearing her share insight around our theme this year: RECONCILE.
Crosspoint Worship will be returning once again to lead us during each session.
Want to know more about the Atlantic District’s 2025 Horizon Storyline – Values-Driven Vision? Click here to see a one-page overview of this journey and click here for the 45-minute video 2025 presentation shared with our pastors in October.