New Book Announcement

We are pleased to announce the new book written for the EFCC. It provides a history of the Evangelical Free Church of Canada, charting its burgeoning identity and direction over the last number of years.

Of course, we at the EFCCM would like you to pay particular attention to Chapter 8, which outlines the start and growth of the denomination’s mission wing. That’s where we we fit in!

Congratulations and gratitude go to Bill for researching and writing this book. Copies will be sold through the Home Office for $19.88 each (plus applicable taxes). Please drop us a line if you would like to submit an order, and we’ll make sure it gets to the right place.

I hope you find it a good way to connect with and better understand the work of the Free Church in Canada, and through it that you see God’s faithfulness in action!

A World of Hope

It’s my pleasure to announce that this is our 100th post to the EFCCM blog! That seems like a landmark worth celebrating. Or at least mentioning…

The reason I started this post is to announce that our Christmas/Year End Project List is nearing completion. Called “A World of Hope!”, it will be mailed out in mid-November so that it will be in your ends in plenty of time to get your donations in before year’s end.

I think this is shaping up to be a significantly more ambitious offering than ever before! Certainly more ambitious than our last two years’ offerings. In this mailout we’re including just about every active project from all of our countries around the world. But we don’t want to bombard you with information. No, our goal is to give you a chance to find something that resonates with you, and that you can connect with meaningfully. As a side benefit you’ll get a really good overview of the size and scope of the EFCCM if you read through the whole booklet. We’ve tried hard to make something available for your budget, whatever it is!

If you want to ensure that you receive this mailout, please send us an e-mail with your mailing address (Canada only, please). May God bless you as you help write his story!

In Search Of… (Updated w/ Pics)

This request comes from Rudy and Erna, who are working with us in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. This is a need that is critical for not only their family, but also for the school their children attend. Santa Cruz Christian Learning Centre (SCCLC) is a school of roughly 250 students, and it badly needs a Director.

The high school principal, Steve, has been trying to fulfil both responsibilities, but the combined role is too big for one person. It’s also pulling him away from his first love: teaching Bible in high school.

Rudy and Erna would like you to pray for the following:
– Pray for Steve and his family as he continues this demanding work.
– Pray that this role will be filled quickly. (Might this be you? Or someone you know?)

We join them in wanting to see God’s will realised in this important area in Latin America. E-mail us for further information!

Greetings from Panama

John and Naomi have returned to Panama to help with PCA (Panama Christian Academy). They are right back into hot weather (though they report it’s not too hot) and appliance trouble. Neither their air-conditioner nor their gas-powered stove work (insert wisecrack about being neither hot nor cold here -ed.). Mercifully the fridge does — I can only imagine how much use that gets!

Naomi has been given a long list of students’ issues to sort through, and John is concentrating on assisting the teachers. There are a number of complaints that have built up, some of them as old as the school itself. Their prayer is for wisdom; they want to be able to deal well with the challenges, so that they can so the school can be as effective as possible.

New Building in Kramatorsk

Hands up who can find Kramatorsk on a map! (Of course you can, ’cause you’re online — just google it.) I’ll give you a headstart — it’s in Ukraine. So, are you at all curious about what’s got me so jazzed about Kramatorsk right now? Well, I hope so, ’cause I’m gonna tell ya.

A handful of years ago our missionary family installed a church-planting team in the city. The young team fresh out of DBI has been truly living the adventure of church-planting, watching their small congregation grow. Well this next chapter of their story is riveting!

Some time ago the EFCCM agreed that a church building would be a great next step, and so plans were put in place to start the process. An existing building was found in a suitable location, and then the word when out to supporters. Through our generous donors, more money has come in for this project than was budgeted! Enough extra that they can think about some minor renovations that were planned for several years down the road.

I find myself talking a lot about new needs and exciting plans, but after the initial announcement I find myself wondering how things ended up. Here’s a case where we have a project that has had a better start than we were anticipating, one that should prove to be a great boost to local ministry. And that’s definitely a story worth telling!

Too Much of Too Much?

There is always a lot going on at the EFCCM. There’s more than I can tell you, actually there’s lots more than I even know. But my biggest fear is that there is so much out there that it’s hard to even keep track of it. If you’re ever feeling information overload, don’t panic!

It may seem like I’m requesting you (specifically you!) to personally get involved with a huge range of projects that we have on the go. That’s really not my intention.

In amongst all the stuff going on under the EFCCM banner, there are bound to be projects, plans and ideas that resonate with you. Just keep your eye out, and keep your heart open for the things that connect with you. From there, my hope is that you prayerfully determine your level and type of involvement.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Please be advised that the Home Office will be closed Monday October 8th, but will be open again the day after.

Have a happy Canadian Thanksgiving everyone!

BuzZ Online Episode 6 (Fixed)

Welcome to episode 6 of the BuzZ Online! Here I speak with Daryl, the Europe Area Director, about the developing role of the church in former Soviet countries, especially Ukraine. Massive changes abound in the culture and the structure of these nations, and the people are struggling to catch up.

I appreciated hearing Daryl’s input and understanding of what’s happening in this region, and about what emerging role we can play as the EFCCM. I invite you to take a listen, and add your own comments to the blog.

Clean Water in Bolivia

What if the next time you turned on a faucet, nothing happened? Or imagine you didn’t have taps at all. What if instead, your only supply of water was several hours’ walk away? And even when you got it, you couldn’t tell if it was going to quench your thirst or make you sick? That’s the harsh reality for the majority of our world!

In Bolivia, people often have to walk long distances to find water. Much of that water is at ground level where animals can share it with people, and where it can be easily contaminated. Deep wells have been the only other option, but at between $2,000 and $10,000 they are out of the reach of many (peasant farmers’ wages hover around $500/yr). Danny and Vanessa have embarked on a project to provide clean water to local communities. They are bringing new techniques that offer inexpensive methods to drill wells and assemble the needed equipment to make them fully functional.

A well drilled with this system costs between $100 and $200. While clean water is usually available at between 50-100ft below the surface, this well system has been used effectively to drill as deep as 300ft.! It has already been used to help a number of communities, and the improvements are numerous.

If you would like to know more about this noteworthy project in Bolivia, check the Simple Water Solutions site, or take a look at their family blog. If you would like to get behind them, and help them offer clean drinking water to a new community, let us know.

Recent Departure from Home Office

We are sad to say farewell to Lisa, formerly Dave’s Executive Assistant. We all hope that she will continue on in God’s blessing — that her footsteps would be directed by the Lord. The following is from our International Leadership Team:

“[We are] glad that Lisa has served with such a gracious and compassionate heart over her time with us. She has touched us all with her concern for compassion and justice in our world. Her ministry with refugees in our local area in the Lower Mainland has illustrated her wonderful gifts in this area. We pray for Lisa as she seeks God’s direction for this next phase of her journey. Join [us] in thanking her for her ministry on our team and her ministry with all of you.”

Lisa, thank you for your involvement and commitment over the past 2+ years.