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God is doing great things through our churches! At CBOQ, we are so excited to be able to share your stories and encourage our community as we go forward together.
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A Look Back at 2013
A Year in Review
Conferences and retreats such as Assembly, ReIgnite, Blizzard and
Avalanche
Workshops and training events
Grant funding for innova@ve ministry opportuni@es
Helping churches discover missional living within their communi@es
Mission learning groups for pastors (AIM groups)
Support for church planters and new communi@es
Regular prayer for our churches
Conflict media@on and resolu@on
Assis@ng pastoral search commiHees
Over 350 churches in Ontario & Quebec
Worshipping God in 22 different
languages across our churches
Covering a distance of 2375 km from Kenora, ON to Quebec City
Accredita@on of pastors
Church mortgages
Benefits programs
We at Canadian Bap,sts of Ontario and Quebec walk alongside our family of churches,
suppor,ng and strengthening our community as together we become more like Christ, sharing his love, peace and grace with one another and our neighbours and taking his
Good News to the ends of the earth.
We do this through:
Cover Photo: St. George Baptist Church musicians c. 1910
In 2013, we were blessed by the stories of hope and mission throughout the landscape of Ontario and Quebec. !This past year brought us the first four First Nations pastoral leaders to our New Pastors’ Orientation, new church starts among three ethnic communities and the commitment of many churches to gather around the voice of God in discernment to discover the ways forward. !We have celebrated with churches their recommitment to studying God's word, evangelism, ministering to the marginalized poor and wealthy among us, and a faithful commitment to journeying
together as a connected body of Baptists. !This scripture closed the comments from Pastor Liv Huff at Elliott Lake First Baptist Church last March. Pastor Liv and the wonderful folk at Elliott Lake spent the day celebrating the new addition to their church.
But each of you should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:10b-11
Dear Canadian Baptist family,
!!!
I was thrilled to celebrate with a thriving small congregation, bursting at the seams and needing extra space. This church spent years dreaming and planning how they would invest God's blessings on their church. !!God continues to blow fresh wind and fire into the life of CBOQ. Your partnership in providing hope and resources continues to bring significant Kingdom impact in the name of Jesus Christ. Enjoy in these following pages the stories of how your involvement has provided momentum and opportunity for leaders and churches in this great CBOQ family. !
Tim McCoy, Executive Minister
!On A Mission Throughout 2012 and 2013, a group of five mission-hearted people formed AIM (About Integral Mission). Their passion was to grow in understanding and practice of integral mission in local contexts. !In February 2013, the team spent two weeks in Lebanon, learning from the ministries of the Lebanese Baptist Society, encountering refugee ministry, educational ministries, youth and children's programs, and spending time with students. The lessons learned will significantly inform our missiological directions over the coming years.
There are few sounds more satisfying to a Canadian than the scrape of a skate across
the ice, the crack of a stick-meets-puck, and the back thumping camaraderie of a
hockey team in action.
This past year, a team of 10 people from Uxbridge Baptist
Church headed to the northern community of Weagamow
to share some hope, faith and hockey with the Nishnawbe
Aski Nation, and make new friendships at the same time.
Funded in part by a CBOQ grant, the team had planned to
teach 45 children how to skate and play hockey; they
ended up teaching 120. Through an intensive batch of
coaching sessions, non-skaters quickly became more confident on the ice, all
culminating in a six game tournament as a grand finale, much to the delight of the
kids and enthusiastic parents and friends.
Bringing a new skate sharpener, some skates and equipment
to leave behind, the team helped open a new arena and was
able to equip the community with many of the tools they’ll
need to continue honing their hockey skills. In an area that
has struggled with poverty, addiction and suicide, a little hope
and encouragement can go a long way.
Uxbridge Baptist’s community is already looking at
possibilities of returning to Weagamow, to continue
sharing the love of Jesus through friendship and tangible
support, but when they do, perhaps they will need to
prepare for some serious sporting competition in the good
ol’ hockey game!
Uxbridge Baptist’s ‘Hockey for Hope’ Scores!
In 2013, CBOQ distributed over $472,000 in grants enabling new missional partnership and initiatives.
!!
Pastor Don Collar first felt called into ministry while a part of Spring Garden Baptist Church in Toronto.
Supported by leadership in that community, he pursued his education at Tyndale Seminary and Conrad Grebel College, digging deep into the Word and learning more about God. !Upon graduating, Don began seekingopportunities in Ontario and found a
summer internship at St. George Baptist Church. Unsurprisingly, given St. George’s reputation for hospitality, he was asked to stay on as lead pastor and developed his skills and strengths in leadership – skills that would subsequently serve him well as a church planter. !In 1985, Don was asked to plant a newchurch, leaving St. George and heading to Orleans to start a brand new community of faith – Bilberry Creek Baptist Church – a thriving church where he spent the next 29 years of fruitful ministry.
St. George Baptist Church has a stunningly beautiful building with acoustics that would make classical musicians swoon. Built in 1911, it is a perfect example of early 20th century church architecture. Yet, it isn’t its structural beauty that makes St. George amazing; it is the people who call this community home. The people of St. George have been welcoming, challenging and developing new pastors since their congregation was formed 190 years ago. !We interviewed two of our CBOQ pastors who started their ministry in St. George: Don Collar, who retired from Bilberry Creek last year, and Melissa Memmott, who is beginning her work in the same community as Don, about 35 years later.
The Bookends of St. George
!!!
…he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of ChristJesus.
Philippians 1:6
Church planting can be challenging, but Don and his family were able to establish a strong, healthy community of believers and, over time, develop partnerships that have resulted in both French and English ministries. Through friendships with other pastors, Don has managed to overcome many of the challenges of ministry and through it all continues to love Jesus and His Church. !Don is clearly still very fond of his church. “They loved and accepted us… They allowed us to be ourselves, which is probably one of the reasons why we were able to stay for so long.” !Part of the Canadian Military Chaplaincy, Primary Reserves, Don has been able serve his church and the wider community and still pursue his not-so-secret love of motorcycles. Don intends to remain attuned to the pulse of his community, working toward helping congregations through
transitions and doing some itinerant preaching. !“This generation is looking for something that gives meaning and purpose. If the church gets back to being disciples of Jesus, and growing and loving God and people, that’s what will make the difference.” !Still infused with a vision for the future, Don is also excited about having more time with his grandchildren and, of course, the chance to respond to the call of the open road…
!
!
Pastor Melissa Memmott has a lot of “new” in her life. Newly married and now settled into her first home with her husband, Melissa is also the newly installed pastor at St. George Baptist Church. Despite all that newness, Melissa is eager for more opportunities. !Melissa comes from a CBOQ home. The daughter of a pastor, Rev. Marilyn Gratz, Melissa has always felt encouraged to seek God’s calling in her life. Despite starting out in sciences, Melissa quickly realised that she would rather be investing in people than in her textbooks. Initially, Melissa did her graduate studies in Linguistics and Exegesis, which led to her love of theology and a subsequent M. Div. Now extremely well educated, Melissa displays no indication of academic pedantry, and instead exudes
warmth, life, intelligence and hope, which is probably what St. George Baptist saw in her too. Together they are sharing dreams for the future of the community and are looking to grow, be filled with young families and serve their community.
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus… For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Eph. 2:4-7, 10
! “I want people to find a home at St. George Baptist,” says Melissa. “I’m excited to meet the families in the area, develop relationships, meet new people and make friends… to love people truly, deeply with all the love that we’ve been given.” !Melissa is wisely taking her time to get to know her new neighbourhood before launching new programs and is committed to
seeking direction through prayer. Well armed with academic knowledge, it could be a temptation to take a cerebral approach to ministry, but that is not Melissa’s character or purpose. Like the community into which she has been planted, it is her kindness, her hope and her vision for the future that inspires her listeners to love God and each other with joy.
!To Melissa, from Don:
!“Be authentic; be yourself. Find a support group -‐ people who will be your support through difAicult times. Empower your people for ministry -‐ let them take some risks in faith… Guard your time off.” !
!To Don, from Melissa:
!“I want to say thank you. Thanks for paving the way, for ministering in your community, faithful to your calling. Thank you for the example you have set.”
When Pastor
Michelet
Dorméus, First
Baptist Church
Windsor, sensed
that God was calling the church
to think and act differently, his
community began a five month
ongoing transformation journey
of Looking Up, Around, Back, In
and Forward to discern how they
could join in God's mission.
The congregation took time to
ask the question, I wonder if God
is saying that we could participate
with him by… and answered it by
finding tangible ways that they
could align themselves with
God's redemptive work in their
local and global community and
discerning how their church
would be sign of the Kingdom.
!!
Discerning and Participating in the Mission of God
Looking Up, Around, Back, In and Forward*
‣ Prayer‣ Reflection on Scripture‣ Listening to each other and God‣ Interactive discerning workshops‣ Interviewing local people‣ Studying demographics‣ Natural Church Development (NCD) health survey‣ Clarifying the church's calling, values and next steps
Missio Dei
*If your church would like to investigatethis process, CBOQ is here to help. Go to www.baptist.ca/churches/church-health/ for more information!
In reflecting on the Looking process
Pastor Michelet noted the following
highlights. He said that the imagery
used throughout the process of the
church being in Oz and not in
Kansas helped the church to see that
Canada is post-Christian and that
they need to think and act differently
then they did in the past. He also
observed that the process of
Looking Back reminded the church
about issues of core identity that
they needed to reclaim as they
participate in new ways with God's
redemptive work. The other
significant benefit for the church
was the wisdom that they gleaned
from the NCD survey that helped
them to focus their ministry efforts.
We at CBOQ are excited about
FBC Windsor as they participate in
the mission of God!
CBOQ Youth and Kids have had
a significant year of impact as we
develop and mobilize our
churches to engage the next
generation. Through our next
steps initiative we reached over
124 of our churches to support
them as they set goals and plans
to move their ministries forward.
Youth Ministry: Now & Not Yet by
Matt Wilkinson continues to be
transformational for our churches
looking to reach teens today.
CBOQ Youth also launched a new
"slingshot" program for young
leaders, and heard great stories of
spiritual life change as a result of
Blizzard and
Avalanche retreats
which involved over 1170
participants.
It was just two years ago we were
given a three year grant to elevate
the ministry to children and
family. Through this initiative we
have been able to provide
resources and strategic direction
to our churches who are taking
seriously the need to envision
what it takes to best reach and
engage today's children and their
families.
!!Discipling Every Age
“We need to take seriously who children
are as people, as children of God. We’re
not just waiting for children to reach a
certain age to recognize God and live
out who they are; they can engage with
God at whatever age they are.”
It is this understanding of children that
has informed the direction of Tanya
(Krahn) Yuen’s work and ministry here
at CBOQ. There is no special age at
which God begins his work in us; he is
working all the time. Just as children are
learning and growing in knowledge and
skills, so do they develop spiritually.
Providing children and their families
with much-needed resources and
support can help young people develop
the spiritual maturity they require as
they grow up.
“I am excited that churches are starting
to think about their children and family
ministries. Churches are recognizing
that children’s ministry is bigger than
the kids. They are beginning to look at
the whole family… and evaluating what
they’re doing and trying new things,”
says Tanya. As part of her work, she is
developing holistic family ministry
opportunities such as a night out with
the Raptors. Created as a fun night for
families, parents and kids were invited
to come out for a basketball game to
cheer on the home team. After the
game, they had an exciting chance to
head to the court to hear Herbie Kuhn,
the voice of the Raptors, and Landry
Fields, one of the Raptors’ players,
share about their faith. Families were
then given discussion questions to share
over the next few days, helping them to
reflect on their experiences and give
parents helpful direction on providing
spiritual nurture for their children.
! !!
It is not only adults who minister to
children. Children can worship in ways
that perhaps many adults have
forgotten. Tanya recalls one worship
event where both children and adults
were waving flags during worship. A
child and her grandma had joined in.
During the music, grandma waved her
blue and green flags; her granddaughter
waved a gold flag. As her granddaughter
waved her gold flag high, she said,
“Grandma, the blue and green are the
earth, and the gold is God’s glory. I’m
waving God’s glory over the Earth!” It is
a moment like this that assures Tanya
that we need children to worship with
us and continue to foster their
relationship with Jesus.
Tanya’s dream it to continue to come
alongside churches as they work to
minister to all ages. Her passion is to see
whole church leadership teams
committed to helping disciple individual
families and children as they grow in
their physical and spiritual lives. She is
also looking forward to creating more
experiences for families and churches,
such as Family Compassion
Experiences, which will bring them
closer together and to Jesus, making for
a great beginning to a lifelong
relationship.
Just the Facts
‣ 276 churches financially supported CBOQ in
2013
‣ 83 churches used the CBOQ junior and/or
senior high curriculum
‣ 690 people were part of the CBOQ group
insurance plan
‣ 125 churches received consulting from
CBOQ regarding church health, mission,
youth ministry or church administration
‣ Four children's ministry regional networks
established
!!
!!!
Total Expenditures: $3.05 million*
19%
21%
23%
36% Transforming CommunitiesTransforming LeadersTransforming ChurchesFacilitating our Vision & Mission
Finance Update
*unaudited 2013 total net expenditures
Transforming Churches: Training to help church leaders develop functioning
structures, as well as church renewal, pastoral search and placement services.
Transforming Leaders: Training for church leaders, pastoral care and
credentialing services, and a benefits program for ministry professionals.
Transforming Communities: Grants for new ministry initiatives, consultations
for church planters, and support of global, holistic mission through Canadian
Baptist Ministries.
Your contributions help us support your leadership and your church as together
we make an impact for Christ across Canada and around the world.
Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec | www.baptist.ca100-304 The East Mall | Etobicoke, ON | M9B 6E2 | 416-622-8600
!
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Eph. 3:20-21
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