Monday Again

John Maxwell was in Moncton last week for a morning session with more than 6000 high school students that was held in the Coliseum. In the afternoon, along with Olympic gold medalist Heather Moyse from PEI, he spoke to a nearly full house at the Moncton church. Several members of our tribe were present for a quintessential Maxwell presentation. The afternoon audience was a real community cross section that included people from the business, government, media, industry, educational and religious sectors. The Premier was also present and brought greetings. There was a brief back stage type opportunity following the session that was exclusively focused toward the ministers and church leaders present. Peter and I were both present and glad for the opportunity to rub shoulders with several of you.

AJ Thomas presented his plan for the relaunch of Bangor Pathway to the LBA there last week. The plan is comprehensive and, while still in draft stage, is focused on the outcome of a healthy, growing, sustainable community of faith with Great Commission impact. The LBA approved the plan – Onward and Upward!

I was in Sussex yesterday for Don Ingersoll’s pastoral installation followed by an off-site event to honour their growing group of core ministries volunteers – a great meal at the Gunters. There is a clear sense of a new day at Sussex and Don and Janet are very optimistic as the church experiences an onward and upward thrust. 

The Wesleyan Church of Canada (TWCC) board, which I am honoured to chair, will meet in our district office board room this week. The group includes three reps from both the Central Canada (Peter Rigby, Estherlita Griffiths, Brent Russett) and Atlantic (Peter Moore, Dale MacDonald, Robin Rickard) districts along with the General Secretary and General Treasurer from Indy. We will be working toward a resolution and related materials to be presented to the International Conference in January of next year. More detail next week. 

A few highlights of last week:

Fort Fairfield held a Game Plan Sunday with 40 in attendance – 18 months ago they were on the verge of closure. Pastor Jamin Melanson presented a “Game Plan” and there was a significant time of anointing and prayer in the service. 

Yarmouth had 440 in attendance – up 50 from last year – as they reintroduced a second service.

Fredericton Journey also reintroduced a second Sunday service but in the evening rather than the more common model of multi services in the morning. The combined attendance for the day was 548. 

Fredericton Corbett and Crosspoint held a combined youth launch service with 85 students in attendance.

Peter was at Nackawic yesterday morning for their annual “well walk” service. The impact of Nackawic on African villages were they have helped drill several years across the last decade has given them positive Kingdom impact out of proportion to their size – well done!

KV had 101 middle schoolers show up for laser tag night on Friday night. On Saturday they held a Community Freecycle at Exhibition Park complete with BBQ, face painting, bouncy rides, etc and where all items were offered free to the general public. Onward and upward.

Time is slipping by. Kathy Shanks, our District Coach for Bible Bowl would love to hear from you. She is hoping ot have two teams in our district studying the book of Acts. Grades 6-8 qualify. Please contact Kathy straight away if interested – 1-506-238-1346.

Bangor River City and a number of other local churches along with the city were a part of A Day of Hope on Saturday that saw some 6000 people attend. The Day offered free groceries, winter coats, haircuts, manicures, help with resume writing, live music and health and dental screening. Great example of partnering with churches and the city to touch the community. 

Sackville Crossroads baptized two people yesterday in spite of the rain and then capped the day with a fellowship meal. New life!

Carey Nieuwhof’s 5 Ways to Make Criticism Sting Less

1. Don’t Respond for 24 Hours.  Just Don’t.
2. Ask yourself: Is there any truth in this?
3. Own What You Can.
4. Reply Relationally.
5. Discard the Crud

THOT: “Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strengths.” – Charles H. Spurgeon

ON SECOND THOT: “By perseverance the ant reached the ark.” – Charles H. Spurgeon

THIRD AND FINALLY: “Every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor.”  – Charles H. Spurgeon

 

Kingswood is gearing up for their fourth annual ENGAGE conference on October 24-25. Designed for pastors, worship leaders, and anyone involved in planning or implementing the weekend worship gathering in the local church, teams that attend find this event to be an inspiring Fall experience.

Visit www.kingswood.edu/engage for information about seminars, keynotes and registration. Take advantage of early bird pricing until September 15th!