December 2003

The Free Methodist Church in Canada December 2003 - Volume 1 Issue 1

COVER

Changing Times: Crisis or Opportunity?

Changing Times: Crisis or Opportunity?

Bishop Keith Elford Leaders Challenged during Ministers Retreat

PAGE 2 Editor’s Desk Inaugural Free Methodist World Conference meets

PAGE 3 Making sense of predestination: A Grandfather explains

PAGE 4 Passages Luther: A Reformer’s Agony

PAGE 5 The Story of the FreeWay

PAGE 6 Regional News

PAGE 7 National News Ministers Retreat

PAGE 8 Global Ministries MOSAIC 4315 Village Centre Court Mississauga, Ont. L4Z 1S2 Tel: 905-848-2600 Fax: 905-848-2603 For submissions: howdenl@fmc-canada.org Dan Sheffield, Editor-in-Chief Lisa Howden, Managing Editor and Production

Reflecting the diversity of ministry expression within the Free Methodist family

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onna and I have found great spiritual nourishment from the daily devotional book written by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman entitled “Streams in the Desert.” Recently, the daily devotional asked this question, “What shall the believer do in times of darkness—the darkness of perplexity and confusion, not of heart, but of mind? Times of darkness come to the faithful and believing disciple who is walking obediently in the will of God; seasons when he does not know what to do …… The sky is overcast with clouds. The clear light of heaven does not shine upon his pathway.”

I like the answer that the devotional passage gives.

“The first thing to do is nothing…. When you run into a spiritual fog bank, don’t tear ahead; slow down the machinery of your life. If necessary, anchor your barque or let it swing at its moorings. We are to simply trust God. While we trust, God can work. Worry prevents him from doing anything for us.… The peace of God must quiet our minds and rest our hearts. We must put our hand in the hand of God like a little child, and let him lead us out into the bright sunshine of his love.”

At the best of times, I do not like change, especially when it is unexpected and it brings turmoil into my world. Yet, I am learning that the most challenging times in leadership are God’s opportunities to reveal something more of what he has in mind for The Free Methodist Church in Canada and for me personally. In one of the oriental languages, the word for crisis can also be translated as opportunity. I like that kind of double meaning in this case, because it provides one with the option of reframing what can be perceived as a crisis, as an opportunity…God’s opportunity.

As I have been praying my way through this season of rather dramatic change in our national leadership team (NLT), I have been encouraged by a number of praying people. They tell me that they sense that this transition in our NLT is not a crisis, but an opportunity……“a God thing”; and my spirit is increasingly seeing that this is so.

Most people are now aware that Dr. Ron Bonar has been elected as a District Superintendent in the Christian & Missionary Alliance denomination and that Rev. Mary-Elsie Wolfe is also leaving the national leadership team to move to St. Catharines, Ontario, where she will be ministering alongside her husband, Grant, who has

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Bishop Keith Elford

been appointed as the pastor of the Grapeview Free Methodist Church.

We have surely appreciated the contributions The first thing to that Ron and Mary-Elsie have do is nothing . . . made on the NLT over the last When you run eight or nine years. Now, God has into a spiritual a new chapter for each of fog bank, don’t them…and for The FMCiC. tear ahead; slow So, what are we going to do in down the this time of transition? As Norm machinery of Bull, Alan Retzman, Dan your life.

Sheffield and myself recently spent a couple days prayerfully considering this question, it became increasingly clear to us that this is an opportunity to see how deeply the vision of “healthy churches within the reach of all people in Canada and beyond” is embedded within our denomination. Was the “in Canada” part only Ron’s dream and the “and beyond” part only Mary-Elsie’s dream? Does only the National Leadership Team hold it with conviction? Do our pastors and congregations in the networks led by Assistant Superintendents embrace this vision as well? This is a good question and an opportune time to find out. As we seek to live in this new moment in our development, three areas have been identified which need specific attention from the National Leadership Team.

Leadership development: We want to maintain our present church development momentum, both in Canada and beyond, while at the same time watching the horizon carefully for new opportunities that the Lord has in mind. To do this, Leadership Development must become a priority. I will be taking primary responsibility for this; and among other leadership tools, we will be looking for ways to develop the Assistant Superintendents’ expertise for coaching the planting of new congregations and revitalizing existing churches.

Student Ministries: It seems that it is now time for giving serious focus to ministry with the emerging generation. I am consulting widely with leaders of student ministries (young teens through college & career age young people) to talk about two important questions: “What are we see page 2 <<Changing Times>>

Leaders challenged during Ministers Retreats Dr. Kevin Mannoia, Academic Dean at Haggard School of Theology, Azuza Pacific University in California was the featured speaker at two retreats for Free Methodist pastors in Canada during the month of October. <<full story on page 7>>

M O S A I C

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EDITOR’S DESK Welcome to Mosaic!

As many of you are aware, we have been struggling over the past couple of years with the costs of producing two pieces of literature, the Free Methodist Herald and the EKG. Also the declining readership for the Herald, meant that it was losing relevance for the majority of people attending Free Methodist churches (700 subscribers, compared to 13,000 worshipping in our churches).

Thus, a new communications tool, Mosaic. This newsletter will come out 6 times a year and be delivered free to your church. Each church will receive a bulk shipment that is intended to be distributed or made available at your church entrance. Our desire is to share information about exciting things that God is doing through Canadian Free Methodists here in Canada and beyond. If there are good things going on in your church, send us a short story with a picture. The content of this newsletter will be what you help us make it!

The name, Mosaic, was chosen to reflect the diversity of ministries found in the Free Methodist Church across Canada. Our methods are no longer uniform, but the sum total of the work that God is doing in our churches portrays an image of God. The body of Christ -- the church -- is taking residence amongst the diverse peoples who make up our country, as well as beyond.

Dan Sheffield Editor-in-Chief

Changing Times: Crisis or Opportunity? <<continued from cover>> doing to identify the next generation of leaders in our movement?” and “How can we link the energy and resources of our existing student ministries to help reach this emerging generation for Jesus?” The student ministry leaders with whom I have been talking are very energized by these questions and I am praying that as we continue the dialogue, we will find the Lord’s clear direction in this vital area.

Communications: We know that if the present momentum of our movement is to be increased, we must find more and better ways to communicate what the Lord is doing among us. Dan Sheffield is bringing together a “think tank” of selected individuals who are gifted in understanding the value of various forms of communications media. I expect that we will see some new developments emerge from their work together.

Already subscribers are helping us recognize that the Free Methodist Herald needs to be replaced by a new format of written communication. Meet “Mosaic.” I hope that this new publication will catch your attention issue by issue as it appears on the table in your local church.

Have a look at the denominational website as well (www.fmccanada.org). New features are appearing there as well and as time passes, there will be more interactive possibilities.

Needless to say, these are both exciting and anxious times.

Therefore, it is important that we continue to seek the face of our heavenly Father and trust Jesus, who is Lord of the Church, to guide us into the opportunities that are opening up. It is a great encouragement to me to know that many intercessors across this great country are praying. It will be interesting to see answers to prayer emerging as we intentionally continue to trust God to take us forward into this season of opportunity.

Bishops attending World Conference in Harare, Zimbabwe

INAUGURAL FREE METHODIST WORLD CONFERENCE MEETS

By Bishop Keith Elford

As this first issue of the Mosaic was going to press, the first meeting of the Free Methodist World Conference was held November 6-9, 2003 in Harare, Zimbabwe. Delegations from eleven General Conferences (Burundi, Canada, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Japan, Mozambique, Philippines, Rwanda, South Africa and the United States), two Provisional General Conferences (Brazil and Zimbabwe) and eight Area Fellowships were invited to attend. These delegations included current bishops as well as ministerial and lay representatives elected by their General Conferences or Area Fellowships. Those attending from Canada were Bishop Keith and Donna Elford, Rev. Dan Sheffield, Rev. Greg Pulham (delegate), Mrs. Betty (delegate) and Dale Humphrey.

The concept of a World Conference originated in the Free Methodist Church of North America and was subsequently approved by all the other General Conferences of World Free Methodism. It officially came into existence in 1999 in Anderson, Indiana when the Constitutional Council and the World Fellowship merged into one entity.

At that time an Executive was elected that reflected the international church with representation from Burundi, Canada, Mexico, the Philippines, and the United States. This Executive has been actively working in the intervening years on matters that have been referred to them by the General Conferences and on issues that will be brought before the World Conference when it meets. Agenda items that came before this group were an extensive reworking of the Constitution of the Free Methodist Church (Chapter Two of The Book of Discipline/Manual), a new statement on the doctrine of Sanctification, and various other resolutions submitted by General Conferences and Area Fellowships.

Bishop Keith Elford (from Canada and president of the World Conference) is enthused about the possibilities of what could happen internationally to intensify efforts to spread the gospel and establish healthy churches. "Our theme for the World Conference gathering was ‘Obedient to the Heavenly Vision’. We asked God for a special visitation of His Spirit as Free Methodist leaders gathered from various points of the world. The Executive was very intentional with its venue selection. We wanted this to be a truly international event that would signal a new day to the denomination. We also wanted to visit and be an encouragement to one of the provisional general conferences."

UPDATE The word we received from the World Conference, “We have had a wonderful World Conference - marvelous things have happened. The whole event exceeded expectations in every way. The LORD was very present.”

YOU CAN CHANGE . . .

3 M O S A I C

MAKING SENSE OF PREDESTINATION: A GRANDFATHER EXPLAINS

By Donald N. Bastian

Dear Granddaughter, Last Sunday you asked me about that mysterious word, predestination. You had bumped into it while reading Romans 8:28-30. I'll try to explain the word as I understand it and as it fits into the passage.

You should note that the word occurs only six times in the New Testament and not at all in the Old Testament. (Compare that to the hundreds of times the word faith occurs.) Predestination is used twice in Ephesians 1 and twice in Romans 8. You'll also find it in two other places, but the two I cite are the important references. Consider how it is used in Romans 8:28-30.

Note that verse 28 says four things. First, it says, "We know." This must mean that, with regard to our salvation, there are some things we can be sure of. Call this the knowledge of experience, as compared to scientific knowledge. (The Scriptures say, "We know that we have passed from death unto life..." and, "We know that when he shall appear we shall be like him..."). When we are born again by the Spirit of God, he gives us this “we know” sort of assurance (Rom.8:16).

Second, verse 28 says that God is at work for the good of his children in everything that happens. That doesn't mean that everything that happens to us is good. As we both know, since the fall of Adam ours has been a sinblighted world and, in this kind of world, sometimes very bad things happen to God's people. Think of the present persecution of Christians in more than fifty countries, some tortured to the point of death.

And, it doesn't mean that God "causes" everything to happen, though he is sovereignly involved. Sometimes bad things happen because of the evil use of the measure of free will humans are Being a Christian is given. Think of what Hitler did to millions of more than merely people. Verse 28 does mean, however, that nothing saying "I believe." can happen without God's permission, and in It is saying "I everything that happens, God is at work to bring believe" and then ultimate good to his own people. Though we can’t showing the always see this in the moment, it’s a great conviction genuineness of that faith by loving on which to peg our faith.

Third, verse 28 says that this divine covering can God with our whole hearts only be claimed by those who love God. Being a Christian is more than merely saying "I believe." It is saying "I believe" and then showing the genuineness of that faith by loving God with our whole hearts.

Fourth, the verse says that the true believer is marked by a sense of being caught up in "God's purposes." Christians believe that God has a purpose for the whole of creation which he is resolutely carrying out. That purpose can never be thwarted. And within that overall scheme, he has a purpose for each individual Christian. That purpose, this passage says, is to make us like Christ in our character. We can call this his sanctifying purpose.

Read the verse over a few times and see if what I point out is not all there.

We can go a step further by moving on to verse 29. Notice the clarity and depth this adds to verse 28. It does so by giving us a panoramic view of our salvation from God's perspective -- that is, helping us to see it from beginning to end. That's what the big words in this verse mean. Our salvation begins in the “foreknowledge” of God. In fact, all is rooted in God's foreknowledge. (More on that later.) It goes on to God's “predestining” purpose.

Notice, however, that the word as used here does not even hint that God chooses some for salvation and rejects others. That’s a false notion deeply lodged in many people’s minds. Predestination is not so much concerned with answering the question, "who" as it is with answering the question, "to what." We are predestined "to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, so that he (the Son) might be the firstborn among many brethren." - the firstborn -- that is, the oldest brother in a whole new family. God is really creating a renewed humanity and Christ is the firstborn, so the whole of this new humanity is to bear the family likeness. That fact links up with the previous word, "purpose."

Now, as I see it, these two big words, foreknowledge and predestination, stretch the whole distance from eternity past -- foreknowledge -- to eternity future -- predestination -- that is, God's ultimate purpose. But after he has laid these words down, Paul talks about how they affect the believer's life here and now. We are "called." That is, we are Christians not first of all because we have believed or "found God" but because we were called by him and we answered the call. If God had not called us, we could not have

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believed. This means all credit for our salvation belongs to him. That's what we mean when we say we are saved by grace.

Furthermore, we are "justified." This is a big word to describe one aspect of our salvation. Here’s what it means: we have repented of our sins (that is, we have told God we are sorry and will turn away from them; we have actually had a radical change of mind concerning them); we have put our faith in Christ (that is, we have made him the center of our lives and promised to live in obedience to him); and we have received assurance that our sins no longer stand against us (the Holy Spirit gives us this assurance in our hearts).

In other words, we are acquitted, as though we have gone before a judge and been declared forgiven because someone else is there (Jesus Christ) to pay the penalty for all our sins. To be justified means to stand before God as though we had never sinned.

On top of all this, verse 30 says, we are "glorified." But you may ask, doesn't “glorification” stand for the believer’s state after death? Yes, it does.

But Paul is looking at our salvation here as though it is completed in every respect. Therefore he sees the end results as though they are already realized.

All of this is the basis for our security in Christ.

Now we must look again at that mysterious word, "predestination."

Since its meaning has been filtered to us through some important figures in church history, I must mention two -- John Calvin and Jacobus Arminius.

Calvin’s teaching was in the first half of the 16th century, Arminius’s in the last half of the sixteenth and early years of the 17th century. We don't say that Calvin believed in predestination and Arminius did not. We say rather that both believed in predestination but in different ways.

Calvin taught that predestination was God's way of deciding in advance who would be saved and who would not. He clearly taught that before the universe was created and before anyone had existed, and therefore could choose to sin, he -- God -- determined in advance whom he would save and whom he would not. The latter class he calls reprobates. I'm saying this simply and chillingly but it can be shown from his writings that this is what he taught. It's called double predestination, or absolute predestination.

Arminius, a Dutchman, also taught a doctrine of predestination.

Therefore we can’t say he didn't believe in predestination. All we can say is that when he was assigned the task of defending Calvin's teaching in Holland, he took exception to the doctrine as Calvin had taught it. And with adequate reason. Note what Paul says, "whom (God) foreknew, them he also predestinated." Arminius taught that God's predestining purpose for every one was based on God's foreknowledge. Isn't that evident from the above verse? We can call this conditional predestination.

For some people this idea of foreknowledge raises a big problem: If God knows in advance what we are going to do, then don’t we have to say that he decides for us? Here’s how I have thought about it. As a father, I came to know my children's temperaments so well that I could usually guess in advance how they would respond in a particular situation. But my knowing in no sense determined their choice. They were still free to choose. And sometimes I was wrong because I was finite in my knowledge. If a finite and imperfect father can have that much sense of how his children are going to act or react, should it be a problem for us to believe that an infinite and omniscient (all knowing) God above has a foreknowledge that is perfect but in no sense compels our actions?

All I am sure of is that when we take these truths seriously and act on them in faith -- however imperfectly we may understand them -- they help us to be robust in our faith and effective in our witness. We rest in God and we live in obedience to him, knowing he reigns in all circumstances.

Well, I've put my thoughts on paper for you to ponder. I hope the plowing is not too heavy. Please tell me if this makes sense to you, and if it inspires your faith Love, as always, Gramps

Rev. Donald Bastian is Bishop Emeritus of The Free Methodist Church in Canada

M O S A I C

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Passages

M O V I E

LUTHER: A REFORMERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S AGONY

Appointments Kent Bandy, Senior Pastor Verona, ON - October 1, 2003 Brenda Haggett, Associate Pastor (Supply) October 1, 2003 - Smiths Falls, ON Walter McIntyre, Associate Pastor (Supply) October 3, 2003 Kingsview, Toronto, ON Phyllis Slessor, Pastor to Keenagers/Seniors (Supply) Barrie, ON - October 27, 2003 Carl Edmondson, Assistant to the Pastor (Supply) O'Connor, Kakabeka Falls, ON October 28, 2003 Mark Earle, Pastor (Supply) Burlington, ON - November 1, 2003

Ministerial Candidates approved Sept 25, 2003 Ken Byars Carl Edmondson Brenda Haggett Walter McIntyre

Change of status Mary-Elsie Wolfe Leave of absence November 1, 2003

Approved for Ordination Joan Stonehouse - approved September 25, 2003

New Assistant Superintendent Dan Sheffield - Quebec (replaces Mary-Elsie Wolfe) - November 1, 2003

Society Status Church of the Holy Spirit September 29, 2003

Churches In Transition Centennial FMC, Belleville, ON Crestview Park FMC, Winnipeg, MB Eastern Koinonia FMC, Toronto, ON First FMC/House of ROC, Moose Jaw, SK Killarney FMC, Killarney, MB O'Connor FMC, Kakabeka Falls, ON as of Dec. 31, 2004 Polson Park FMC, Kingston, ON Prince Edward County FMC, Picton, ON as of June 30, 2004 Richmond Hill Chinese FMC, Richmond Hill, ON St. Henri FMC, Montreal, PQ St. John's FMC, Enterprise, ON Souris Valley Community Church, Estevan, SK The Edge, Maple Ridge, BC Timmins FMC, Timmins, ON Weyburn FMC, Weyburn, SK

Pastors in Transition Huckle Choi , Wade Fitzpatrick, Germain Fortin, Larry Larson, William Lippman, Mike Smeltzer, Dale Vinkle

RESOURCES EVANGELICAL INTER-CHURCH FELLOWSHIP RETREAT January 20-22, 2004 Radisson Hotel, Canmore, AB with Dr. Richard Blackaby & Rev. Len Frank For more information call 780.372.2402

REVITALIZING MINISTRY IN SMALL PLACES February 18-20, 2004 Regina Travelodge Speaker: REv. Donald Bubna For more information call 306.862.5095 or email at info@nipawin.org

R E V I E W

directed by Eric Till

B

efore the Reformation, the meaning of life came highly structured from the hierarchy of the Church. One didn't ask questions.

One didn't need to.

Many believers, perhaps most, experienced Truth through relics, images, and rituals-not as oppression but as comfort. To be sure, one did not meet God face to face. But one did not want to! For the late-medieval rank and file, assurance of salvation came not from bold access to the throne of God, but from the myriad mediating practices of penance and devotion.

In Luther, one scene in particular brings home this historical reality. Glowing with joy, a young mother who has purchased an indulgence (a remission of temporal punishment) for her crippled daughter holds it out to a gaunt Martin Luther: "Look what I bought for Greta!" She has been gulled by the rhetoric of the charlatan indulgence-seller, Johann Tetzel (Alfred Molina).

Luther (Joseph Fiennes) takes the paper and reads it. His anger at the corrupt establishment rises and boils over. He forgets the gentleness he has displayed toward her. "This is worthless," he says, crumpling it in his fist. "You must rely on God's love." Crestfallen, she turns and walks disconsolately away.

At several key moments in the movie, Luther faces the charge that he is tearing apart the church. He grapples repeatedly with the possibility that he is destroying, rather than building, God's kingdom. To their credit, though, the filmmakers resist the temptation of portraying a Lone Ranger Reformer against a thoroughly evil Church. There are enough sympathetic figures in the Catholic establishment (Matthieu Carriere's Cardinal Cajetan chief among them) to create some sense of historical nuance.

Moreover, we get to see some warts of the Reformation. Andreas Karlstadt (Jochen Horst) takes Luther's teachings to their extreme, announcing that the day of the great leveling has arrived. Soon we see townspeople dragging the monks who have cared for them out of their church and pummeling them. Rocks crash through stained-glass windows. A crucifix is knocked to the floor. (The scene involves a bit of historical sleight-of-hand: the real Karlstadt, advocating nonviolence, had refused to join the militant radical reformer Thomas MĂźntzer.)

Luther is still a medieval man; this anarchic attack on authority is too much for him. He appeals to the princes, demanding the peasant revolt be put down. Soon the blood of the peasants runs on the floor of the ruined church.

Surveying the carnage, Luther agonizes: "I have torn the world apart." He begins to slide into depression. He must force himself out of bed each morning. Until, that is-in a moment befitting Hollywood-he meets the escaped nun Katerina (Claire Cox). Sunny but steel-willed, Katerina leads Luther from the dark tunnel and into the summer of the loving marriage he has long denied himself.

Of course, this is a Lutheran movie, not a Catholic one-it is backed by Thrivent, the major

Lutheran financial services organization. The answer to the question of whether Luther is destroying the church he loves or bringing it back to its most basic sources of authority is clear. The abuses flowing from the "sewer" of Rome are portrayed starkly enough.

But writer Camille Thomasson and director Eric Till have done well to show something of the anguish and desolation that comes with the uprooting of old meanings and the conflicted (and always incomplete) process toward the new.

Even if we are convinced, with Luther, that the new meanings are really the oldest ones of allfidelity to Scripture, salvation by grace alone, the surpassing love of the Father-we can sympathize with the human toll of what our age has fashionably called a "paradigm shift."

If there is any misstep in the film, it is the relentless niceness of its Reformer. Throughout we see Luther filling the void left by the old, corrupted symbols of late medieval Catholicism with the simple "Jesus loves me" theology of a mainstream Sunday school class.

The filmmakers have hardly gotten young Martin out of his early years as a psychologically tortured monk, convinced God is out to get him, when they remake him as a mild '90s Luther. His confessor Staupitz (Bruno Ganz) is reduced to blustering: "In all the time I've known you, you've never once confessed anything even remotely interesting!"

As a student at Wittenberg, Luther insists on giving a teen suicide a Christian burialtheological niceties be damned. Interpreting the story of the Prodigal Son to children in the woods, he stresses the father's surpassing love. In the tower at Wartburg, he interprets a Greek term as expressing that same love.

All of this is fair enough, though the theme does become wearing. In one impassioned sermon, Luther takes aim at the villain Tetzel, who emotionally blackmails his audiences by unfurling crude paintings of hell and then offering to help them buy their relatives' way out of eternal agony. Tetzel's problem, Luther insists, is that his God is too mean.

"I, too, saw God as sentencing sinners to death in hell," Luther preaches. "But I was wrong."

Oops. In a major film for a diverse viewing public that sees nothing but an oppressive, hypocritical church, this '90s approach may indeed serve the producers' religious motives.

But God's sovereignty seems to have receded a little too much here. And one wonders, if this was really all the Reformation was about, why would anyone have objected? Why didn't all the Catholics just get on board, singing Kumbaya?

Finally, though, the film does tell us as much as it probably can: the Church had been corrupted in many ways. It had strayed from the Bible-its best and truest authority. And the road back was a rough one.

What it loses in theological subtlety it gains back in artistry. This is a dramatically gripping and visually stunning movie. More, it is warmly personal: Sir Peter Ustinov comes near to stealing the show as Luther's wise, wry princeprotector, Frederick; Staupitz is another Catholic "good guy" whose concern for his spiritual son lights up the screen. The film is-as much as can be expected-historically even-handed.

Luther matches grandeur of vision to excellence of execution. The resulting drama packs spiritual as well as entertainment power: it charged the atmosphere even of the small screening room where I first saw the film. I will be seeing it again.

This article is copyright 2003 by Chris R. Armstrong, managing editor of Christian History magazine; it first appeared on the website of Christianity Today International, at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/138/51.

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5 M O S A I C

The story of the FreeWay "To be a healthy, growing family that experiences and shares God's freedom to live."

This photograph was taken as the FreeWay moved from being a church plant to a fellowship in September 2003.

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recently began a new small group, with several new parents in it. We were bonding almost instantly over our "birthing stories". You know, how long the labour was, where we were when the water broke, how we felt, what the first few sleepless weeks were like - you may have been in conversations like that.

Church Planters do the same thing. They love to rehash "the good old days" when their church was first being born. I've been asked to do that for this newsletter. I hope you enjoy it.

The FreeWay began when several leaders at Trulls Road Free Methodist Church caught a vision for church planting in their area. I was available, more than willing, and had been through the PAS (Performance Appraisal System) to be approved as a church planter. I got the call to come and plant what at that time was termed a "church within a church".

I packed up my family and on the eve of the millennium, we moved to Courtice, Ontario to begin a new congregation. I spent four months doing various projects for Trulls Road Free Methodist Church while God hammered out in me the vision for what shape this new congregation would take. As I encountered various people who were feeling called to this new work, God was speaking to me about freedom - He wanted all people to be free.

We began meeting Sunday evenings - first once a month, and then every other week. We went into "launch mode" in the Fall of 2001.

Despite the trauma of September 11, we went ahead with our launch and God was gracious. We had175 people come to see us begin. The honeymoon ended rather quickly though, as the next week we went right back to averaging 60 people in attendance.

A couple weeks after our launch, we knew things weren't right. After some soul-searching and evaluation, the best minds the FreeWay and the denomination could offer concluded that our service time was a major obstacle to our growth. We went to the Trulls Board and asked for their blessing to move off site so we could begin having services on Sunday morning.

This is when major "birth pangs" really hit! Don't ever let anyone tell you that giving birth to a church plant is nice, neat and painless! We (the FreeWay and Trulls Road) are a godly group of people, with a common vision and heart for the lost. We all believe in church planting.

And it STILL took over a year of meetings, prayer, proposals, investigation and more prayer for Trulls to bless the FreeWay and give birth. All of us in leadership THOUGHT we were casting a vision that the people could own, but it took much more work and time than we had ever dreamt.

There were many times when it almost didn't happen. Inexperience, impatience, fear, miscommunication all threatened to undermine the process. But God, the Creator and Master Builder, was overseeing it all in His time.

God used this extended incubation time according to His purpose: our vision was refined and brought into clearer focus. We got in touch with our Free Methodist and Wesleyan heritage and mined it for a deeper, fuller picture of freedom. This freedom we were seeking to

experience and share expanded into a much more holistic concept which embraced all of life, and all people. We realized that the only way this freedom could occur was in the context of a healthy growing family.

This phrase, which had only been of peripheral significance, is now the guiding principle for who our church family is to be! Our birth happened in God's time, and God's time is always the best!

In March of 2003, we had a commissioning and blessing service at

Bishop Keith Elford present Fellowship certificate to Pastor Jay Mowchenko and Tim Crookall, Chairman of the Board at FreeWay.

Trulls Road. As Pastor Barry Taylor was praying his blessing over the FreeWay core group, we all felt God's "well done!"

On March 23, 2003, the FreeWay officially moved into Pierre Elliot Trudeau Public School in Oshawa for its first Sunday morning service.

We haven't exploded, but we have been growing steadily and consistently.

The FreeWay matured in an important way in May of 2003. We went through the JDPAS process and are better equipped to work out vision step by step.

We "came of age" this fall when Bishop Keith Elford conveyed The Free Methodist Church in Canada's blessing by declaring us a Free Methodist Fellowship. We laughed, prayed, took in members, and had a party!

None of us have ever done anything like this before. We can't see very far down the road, but God has given us a vision to become godly parents ourselves! With your prayers and support, we trust that God will receive MUCH glory for MANY years to come from the fruits of this, one of the children of The Free Methodist Church in Canada.

May you feel God's "well done" as you serve Him today.

Pastor Jay Mowchenko, Senior Pastor of the FreeWay in Oshawa, ON

M O S A I C

6 LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN QUEBEC

ALPHA NOTES

In Orillia (Ontario), the Alpha celebration supper took place on Monday, September 15 with 6 churches joining together. We had a total attendance of about 120 for the meal and out of that at least 26 have signed up to take the courses we are offering.There are five other courses being offered as well, one each day of the week. The first is an evening supper program shared jointly with an evangelical United Church here in town; the second is a breakfast meeting in our church.

Just as exciting, however, was the coming together of city and area churches. My wife, Carol has run Alpha course here for four years and chaired the city Alpha committee.We have been concerned that churches and pastors have tended not to work together previously. This was the first time in the four years that we have seen a concerted effort. The dinner was great, but prior to that, on Sept. 9, our church sponsored a joint prayer time as well with about 30-40 in attendance. We all felt a definite presence of the Holy Spirit and upon closing agreed to schedule more of these times of coming together in prayer with city congregations. Since I have been in Orillia, there was no time when pastors met together for prayer or fellowship and finally after four years I began meeting with two other clergy for prayer breakfast. That has now expanded to about ten clergy and their wives meeting monthly for prayer and fellowship. We are all convinced that God is beginning a new work throughout the city of Orillia.

Pastor Norm Shepstone

Blossom the clown and 2 participants enjoy a moment together.

The event was held at the Mount Albert Community Centre, neutral ground. The charge for the use of the municipal facility was waived by town council. The mayor and all the members of council came by to mingle with the crowd as did a candidate for Provincial Parliament.

The goal of the Fun Fair was to help build a greater sense of community to the area. Mount Albert, located in the town of East Gwillimbury, is located in fast growing York Region just north of Toronto. Residents indicated in a recent (JDPAS) survey that one of the greatest felt needs was to get to know other people from the community better.

It is important in a small community to have the churches working together as much as possible.

This was not overtly a religious event with preaching and singing, etc. Each church did have an information table to present their own ministry and programs. This allowed for future ministry.

Pastor Greg Langille of Holt FMC reports that the next day one lady did come to visit the church and at least 2 other families are promising to visit in the future. Other bridges to individuals and the community were built as well. He says that for a cost of about $200 per church the event is definitely worth it. A similar event is anticipated for next year. Approximately 300 people enjoyed the afternoon.

Pastor Greg Langille

HOLT FMC JOINS WITH 2 OTHER MOUNT ALBERT CHURCHES TO PRESENT A “FUN FAIR” FOR THE TESTIMONY BY BAPTISM (Picton, Ontario) Prince Edward County Free COMMUNITY Holt FMC and 2 other Mount Albert, ON, area churches, Mount Albert United Church and Hillside Evangelical Missionary Church, joined together to present a Fun Fair for the community on Saturday, September 13. These 3 churches combined their energy and resources to minister to area residents.

Games and activities for the children were a

Lining up for food!

highlight of the afternoon. “Bubbles”, a Christian clown was a centre piece. Face painting was provided by Child Evangelism Fellowship.

Children’s games were led by church youth.

Balloon sculptures were given to the children.

Muppets danced and sang.

Food is important in such a gathering. So 1,000 cobs of corn, 10 tubs of ice cream, hot dogs, and salads were given to the community free of charge.

A celebrity baseball game was organized between members of the York Regional Police and Mount Albert Fire Fighters. The Canadian Grains Food Bank, an ecumenical response to hunger, was designated as the beneficiary of the baseball game. Dave Mayberry represented CGFB to the assembled crowd.

Methodist Church has been truly blessed in the year 2003 with the acclamation of faith through baptism. In less than a months’ time, there were eleven representatives who publicly pronounced their faith in Jesus Christ through sprinkling or immersion.

With an evening setting on the west beach of Wesley Acres, amongst the birch and poplar trees, with the moist air rolling up the shoreline from the lake, we witnessed the beauty of testimony as the following members of this congregation expressed their faith: Carol Bigg, Doug Bigg, Donna Cooper, Harvey Cooper, Angela Courneyea, Sarah Gadd, Ann-Marie MacKay, Kevin Parlane, Gordon Scott and Danielle Watkins.

As a result of physical complications, Laura Lee Cowan was unable to join the others at Wesley Acres. However, Laura Lee did express her faith through baptism by pouring at the altar of the church in early October.

It is hard to contain oneself when witnessing the baptism of another brother or sister in Christ.

We can only imaging what it must have been like to stand on the banks of the Jordan River to witness the baptism of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (who was sinless) being covered by water, expressing the washing of our sins, to emerge in triumph; for God himself to come down from heaven in the form of a dove to confirm His love and satisfaction.

What joy we must provide to our Lord when we testify, through baptism, our faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

October 17 and 18 was a weekend of leadership development for our churches in Quebec. Four churches (St. Henri, Rosemont, Sherbrooke and Clarenceville) were hosted by the Clarenceville church, south of Montreal. Assistant Superintendent for Quebec, Rev. Mary-Elsie Wolfe, along with MEGaP committee members, Mrs. Evelyn Lawrence and Mrs. Chantal Doucette, conducted interviews with a number of individuals desiring to enter the ministerial development process. Workshops, introducing the "Bases" materials were conducted in both French and English.

At the table - leadership from 4 FM churches in Quebec have open discussion

Rev. Dan Sheffield, Director of Intercultural Ministries, and Rev. Nathan Umazekabiri, a Free Methodist leader from Central Africa, led a discovery and dialogue process with the Sherbrooke church plant concerning the ethos of the FM Church in Canada. The Sherbrook church plant is made up, largely, of Free Methodists from Congo, in Central Africa.

An annual meeting of the Quebec Board of Administration was held, where Rev. Wolfe introduced Rev. Sheffield as the new Assistant Superintendent for Quebec. Great appreciation was shared with Rev. Wolfe by the Quebec leaders, expressing gratitude for her encouragement of them and their congregations over a number of years.

WHAT AN AWESOME GOD As we entered the nursing home door, Jane met us saying. "I'm so glad you're here; I was feeling so depressed." Jane and 3 others helped us pull together two tables and arrange chairs. Then we prayed, sang and watched as Lloyd told stories of Jesus healing using his balloons to bring the stories alive. We talked about the importance of faith in healing and then moved to a time of prayer for individual needs. Jane asked for prayer for her children and then, Tessa for her lung disease. As we lifted our heads after praying for Tessa, Jane exclaimed, "I can move my arms! I don't have a headache! " For more than a year since Jane had fallen, she had experienced pain and moves very slowly. Now she was almost dancing as she stretched back and flexed her legs. What an awesome God we have! Jane had not asked for prayer for healing. In fact, we were praying for Tessa. But God touched Jane. Nursing home staff watched in amazement as we all rejoiced with Jane.

Lloyd and Barbara Peterson are VISA missionaries returned to Canada after serving in the Dominican Republic. Their ministry, both in Canada and overseas, focuses on encouraging, training and building up pastors and church leaders. Currently they are with working with a Spanish speaking congregation in Sarnia (Ontario) and with a project for Spanish speaking migrant workers in Leamington (Ontario). If you wish to respond to or contact them, please send to lpeterso@ebtech.net For more information, visit their website at www.gonemission.com Lloyd Peterson

7 M O S A I C NATIONALNEWS EFC troubled that bill C-250 passed

Their conversation is our conversation - what for the EFC. "We are concerned that the defences regarding religious freedom are not adequate do we believe about God's justice and its lessons protection. The timing of this legislation certainly for human justice?

For people of faith, the subject of crime and The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) is makes it look as though it is intended to muzzle justice can bring up other quite profound matters opposition to same-sex marriage." disturbed that Bill C-250 has passed. This - on the one hand, suffering; evil and punishment; legislation adds "sexual orientation" to the on the other hand, healing, forgiveness - even The bill will now move to the Senate. prohibited groups in the hate propaganda section reconciliation. of the Criminal Code.

Making things right - transforming The EFC is a national association of Protestant “We do not condone, in any way, the promotion of hatred against anyone or any group, Christian denominations, organizations and communities and relationships – should mean says Bruce Clemenger, president of the EFC. churches. It exists to bring Christians together for something to people of faith. Retribution and “However, the ambiguity of what this bill will greater impact in ministry, mission and witness. For healing theologies clash. Faith communities and capture may well silence what otherwise would be more information or an interview please contact: their members find both sides of the crime equation, victim and offender, within themselves legitimate public comment on issues of sexual Gail Reid, reidg@efc-canada.com individually and collectively. morality.”

"Each of our churches has both offenders and Thousands of Canadians wrote to their victims in its midst, along with members who Members of Parliament expressing concerns that work professionally in the justice system as judges, religious freedom was not adequately protected in police, lawyers and corrections or parole officers," the legislation. Many politicians pacified their constituents by indicating that there is a defence The Church Council on Justice and Corrections said CCJC executive director Rick Prashaw in allowing people to make "good faith statements announces today the release of a Video and explaining the significance of the video's subject.

"When crime happens right in our midst, Discussion & Study Guide resource intended to on a religious subject." people of faith can have diametrically opposed get Christians talking about God's perspective on However, in the two legal cases where an views on what justice should mean, and both sides accused person tried to use the defence, the courts crime and justice. can cite their faith teaching. This resource frames Called Conversations at the Well, the resource ruled that if a statement incites hatred, it cannot be considered a good faith statement on a religious features a 25-minute video highlighting Rick and a conversation for people." subject. This makes the defences totally Steph, two very ordinary young people whose lives and family experiences have them asking hard For further information contact: Rick Prashaw, inadequate to protect religious freedom.

"It is a very serious matter to criminalize questions about what they believe. A youth has Executive Director of The Church Council on Justice expression on a particular subject," says Janet Epp burnt down a church and a niece is a victim of and Corrections <<rprashaw@ccjc.ca>> www.ccjc.ca Buckingham, director of Law and Public Policy sexual assault.

Resource for justice discussion

Leaders

challenged during

Ministers Retreats

D

r. Kevin Mannoia, Academic Dean at Haggard School of Theology, Azuza Pacific University in California, was the featured speaker at two retreats for Free Methodist pastors in Canada during the month of October.

Mannoia has also served as superintendent and bishop in the Free Methodist Church in the United States and as Executive Director of the National Association of Evangelicals (similar to our EFC). His talks focused on the development of godly competence in Christian leaders. Using the illustration of an iceberg, he assured the pastors that 9/10 of the pastoral task is in their personal spiritual development -- which no one ever sees. Only 1/10 of their ministry is demonstrated in their professional activities, which are seen by all.

That 1/10, however, is where both praise and criticisms are directed - less depth below the surface, less significance above, and vice versa. Pastors were able to interact with Mannoia in both the plenary sessions as well as in personal conversations.

Bishop Keith Elford presented an updated, and very encouraging, "state of the work" report to the pastors. Superintendent of Personnel, Alan Retzman, discussed the implications of the new Performance Appraisal process for pastors. Dan Sheffield, Director of Global and Inter-Cultural Ministries, outlined some of the changes in Free Methodist missions around the world and shared ways that local churches across Canada are getting directly involved in global ministries.

Several pastors shared devotional thoughts around the text of Colossians 3. At the eastern retreat at Wesley Acres, pastors Cliff Fletcher, Barry Taylor, Elisabeth Natividad, and Vic Stonehouse led. At the western retreat in Canmore, Alberta, pastors Dean Angell, Scott Williams, Steve Lougheed and Mrs. Donna Elford led.

MOSAIC 8

GLOBAL MINISTRIES

India team tells Bible stories with balloons.

GATEWAY CITY INITIATIVE LAUNCHED The 2002 General Conference set a goal of five Gateway City Initiatives over the next decade. One of those initiatives has now come into full bloom. Fifteen months of planning and praying finally paid off as a partnership was formed in September between two Canadian Free Methodist churches and the Hyderabad (India) Mission District of the Free Methodist Church in India.

In January of this year, an exploratory team of two persons from the Sarnia Free Methodist Church set the stage for a leadership team to make the journey in September.

Senior Pastor Sheldon Carlson from Crossroads FMC in Salmon Arm BC and Lead Pastor Doug Griffin from Sarnia joined two others in meeting with Dr. Narendra and Jaya John, superintendents of the Hyderabad Mission District.

A two-year Hyderabad and Sarnia sign renewable agreement was ministry agreement. signed agreeing to mutual sharing of prayer, personnel, and financial resources. Joining in the signing was Dr. David Yardy, Asian area director of Free Methodist missions.

Because construction of a ministry center for the Hyderabad ministry has been deemed a first priority, missionary Rob Duncan, recently a staff member of the Newmarket (Ontario) FMC, was a part of the team. Rob is a civil construction engineer who gave valuable assistance in facilities planning.

The opportunity was presented to provide ministry, and this team did so by preaching in the churches, conducting children's ministry through the use of balloons and story-telling, and three days of leadership coaching for 140 pastors and pastoral students. Licensed Lay Minister Rick Venne of the Sarnia church experienced the challenge of preaching through an interpreter while using his newfound skills of balloon-tying to present stories of the Bible.

It is hoped that up to three other Canadian churches will join this initiative. If you have questions about this ministry opportunity, contact Pastor Doug Griffin at dougg@ebtech.net.

[Left] - Pastor Rob Duncan with Indian friends. [Right] - Dan Sheffield leading urban ministry consultation in Manila.

WORK IN ASIA Dan Sheffield, Director of Global and Inter-cultural Ministries and Rob Duncan, Associate Pastor at New Hope Methodist Church in Newmarket, recently met in Manila, the Philippines. Rob is considering extended mission service with the FMC in Asia and had just recently been in India with Doug Griffin (Sarnia) and Sheldon Carlson (Salmon Arm). Training and discussions of strategic planning issues were held with Manila pastors and church-planters. Bishop Jim Tuan participated in these meetings as well.

Dan carried on to Taipei, Taiwan while Rob Duncan travelled to Cebu, the Philippines, where he will be considering a ministry assignment in that city alongside a Philippino church-planter.

In Taipei, Dr. K.K. Leung, who has planted two Chinese Free Methodist churches in Toronto, and Dan presented a report at the Free Methodist Global Chinese Consultation. This report focussed on the significant growth of a Chinese presence in Canada and various outreach ministries of our own and other denominations toward them. This consultation is a first step in connecting Free Methodists around the world to specifically address Chinese outreach. Peoples originating from China represent 1 in 6 of the world's population.

Rev. John Vlainic presents Pastor Benedict Gomez with a cheque from the Bishop’s Foundation for theological studies.

GATEWAY CITY AWARENESS Debbie Hogeboom [Kenya] asks, “Please pray for a student who will be here in November, coming from a creative access country on the other side of the continent. Initially he will study English (I will be tutoring him) and then he will join regular classes.

Pray for his adjustment to a new climate, a new culture, new food and new languages (English and Swahili). Pray that he will be able to make Christian friends who can encourage him.

Pray for me as I work with him to learn English so that he will be able to be a regular student in the May term. Pray for the local FM church to be able to accept him into the "family.”

Lois Meredith spent the last 4 days in Eldoret (Kenya), meeting with two of our FMC Kenya church planting fellowships there for training for treasurers, Sunday School teachers, and keepers of membership records.

The FMC Kenya will hold its Annual Conference in Nairobi, beginning evening of 3rd December and concluding on Sunday, the 7th. The 8 District Superintendents have concluded their 3year mandates, so elections will be held.

Colombo, Sri Lanka Population 2.5 million Buddhist 71.9%; Hindu 12%; Muslim 8%; Christian 7.6% (Evangelicals 1.3%) Colombo, a major port city is the commercial capital of Sri Lanka (19million). Colombo, at 2.5 million, is the largest city in the country SRI LANKA and owes its importance largely to its large, artificially created harbor. Colombo handles most of the foreign trade of Sri Lanka and Colombo O is an important fueling station. Buddhism is the state religion and although freedom of religion is allowed for other groups, there is significant discrimination even through government structures.

Since 1980 there has been revival and strong evangelical growth from 50,000 to nearly 240,000 in this country of 19 million.

Unreached peoples: Sinhalese (75%), Moors (7.6%), and other smaller groupings.

Two Canadian Free Methodist ministry teams have visited Sri Lanka in 2003.

In August Pastors Vic and Joan Stonehouse with Pastors Jeyerajah and Gomez and Mrs. Phyllis Lysander conducted a retreat with Sri Lankan pastors’ families. A Canadian team will travel to Sri Lanka in March 2004 to conduct another training program with this group of pastors.

Pray for Canadian church leaders who are taking responsibility for drawing this group of Sri Lankan churches into the Free Methodist family.