Monday, May 25, 2015

God is working all across Canada!

This should come as no surprise, yet it is refreshing and encouraging to meet the people and hear the stories of just how the Spirit of God is moving. In the middle of May I had the pleasure of being part of the Multiply conference, hosted by the C2C Network, which brought ministry leaders together from Vancouver to Montréal and everywhere in between. For two days we discussed the ways in which we are approaching church multiplication and shared stories of how God is working through such a variety of people and efforts to build his church and kingdom in our day.

Let me share two take-aways from our time together in Toronto. First, I was so glad to meet brothers and sisters from across Canada who are committed to the same God and the same mission that we are committed to in Montréal. It's easy to think sometimes that there aren't that many of us who are in this gospel enterprise, so I'd like to share links to the works of some of those I met so that you can be more aware and be praying for these works as well. Check out what God's doing for the most vulnerable in Kelowna, BC, how neighbourhood parishes are posturing themselves to bring renewal to downtown Vancouver, and see how another church plant is growing out of missional communities in the West End of Vancouver similarly to how we are in Montréal.

Not only did I get to meet a bunch of new ministers of the gospel at the conference but I was reminded of something that God did in my life eighteen years ago. Under-girding the powerful stories of God at work was the idea that what we need more than strategies, more than models, more than anything, is for God to show up - that it's more important for us to pray and walk in faith that he is going before us. When I was in college I worked through Henry Blackaby and Claude King's Experiencing God workbook. If you're familiar with it, you know that it is filled with amazing stories of how God worked time and again in response to the faithful prayers of his people in Canada.

Today, we are asking God to move in similarly amazing ways. We want to see him work in our homes, in our neighbourhoods, in our cities, and in our countries. Please pray with me for my family, for our LaSalle neighbourhood, for Montréal, for the province of Québec, and for all of Canada!



In Toronto, I spoke about how missional communities are key to making disciples and developing leaders in the church. Download the talk here (25 min) and if you're interested in learning more, please don't hesitate to contact me.