In order for us to have a meaningful ministry though, we need to have a clear rationale for doing what we do. This blog post takes a good crack at that:

Five Reasons for Church Planting

When you’re finished reading, come on back and let us know what you think about it!

Bill Taylor is our EFCC Executive Director. This is his continuing series on the Core Values of the EFCC. If you would like to see the whole set so far, please click here.

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Greetings! Well, here we are on the other side of the “Theological Summit” and I am once again reminded of our EFCC Core Values! In this blog post I want to connect some reflections from the Theological Summit to another of our values: “”.

I have been struck by how diverse the EFCC has become, just in Canada: 14 languages on a Sunday morning, 143 churches, 17 church plants, countless cultures, multiple generations, rural, urban, suburban and 5 districts that each contain multiple subcultures. This doesn’t begin to highlight the diversity we reflect around the world. Gone are the days when we were primarily a pre-millennial, pre-tribulation group of Scandinavians. This is not your parents’ Free Church anymore! This diversity was evident at our Theological Summit.

Our presenters provided us with vast amounts of systematic theology and exegesis, alternately defending complementarian and egalitarian viewpoints regarding gender roles. They clearly didn’t agree with each other, and it was equally evident that the 90 pastors and lay leaders attending also held at least two different opinions (probably many more than that) when it comes to belief and practice, on the issue. So the question is: “In the midst of such diversity (which we value!), what on earth unites us”?

This, I believe is where Missional Camaraderie comes in. We are united in Christ and the belief that the gospel compels us to witness and mission. We are only able to live out our motto, “In essentials unity. In non-essentials charity. In all things Jesus Christ”, as we are willing and able to move some issues of disagreement from our “essentials box” to our “non-essentials box”. And what motivates us to do that? In a word, mission (shared mission). Arnold Olson, talks about this in, “Significance of Silence”, which is really the key book that articulates historical Free Church values. Olson declares that early Free Church leaders believed that Jesus’ imminent return meant that lost people so needed to hear the saving news of the gospel that Free Church leaders would gladly set aside issues that Bible scholars could not easily agree on, for the sake of carrying out mission – together (see pages 16-17).

They did not see this as a sign of weakness or lack of commitment to the authority of the Word but as an intentional focus around a common calling to gospel mission. They would unite around their common Lord, gospel and mission and allow room for disagreement on other matters.

In my experience, where our commitment to common mission is strong, there is a willingness to embrace those who disagree with us on some theological matters. Where missional camaraderie is weak, theological battles ensue and fights on all sorts of lesser issues like personal taste etc. commence. Where we share a sense of common mission we assume the best about each other’s intentions, motives and fidelity to the Word and our Lord.

When our sense of “difference” is stronger than “missional family”, then we slip into subtle, or not so subtle, accusations that the other side is “throwing out the Bible” or “rejecting the gospel” or “elevating one text over another text which is more relevant” or “caving to culture” or “caving to tradition” or…well, you’ve heard some of these lines before.

I love the tendency of our Free Church Fathers to first ask “Do you know Jesus?” before asking “What do you believe about…?” They were thoroughly committed to the authority of the Word but they were not naïve enough to think that they did not take their own culture/prejudices into their interpretation of the text or that all Free Church folks would agree on every issue. What united them was their Lord and their common calling to a collaborative mission to reach people with good news from the Word, that they did all agree on!

May missional camaraderie always unite us to good works in Canada and around the globe!

This blog post was contributed by Dave Acree, the EFCC’s Leadership Development Catalyst.

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The EFCC Theological Summit 2013 is history, yet I doubt there has been much settling of the theological dust in regards to women in ministry as a result. That wasn’t the summit’s purpose. Those at the Okotoks confab heard two reasoned and seasoned presentations of the biblical, theological and sociological cases for the complementarian and egalitarian viewpoints. I doubt that anyone “changed sides” as a result of what they heard but I hope that all saw that a valid case can be made for each without compromising the authority of Scripture. These two polar opposites set the discussion benchmarks in our deciding how we should credential men and women in Free Church ministry.

Ethos is the distinguishing character of a person, group or institution. The EFCC summarizes its ethos with the historic slogan: “In essentials unity; in non-essentials charity; in all things Jesus Christ.” We identify our unifying essentials in our Statement of Faith and we all embrace Jesus Christ as our all-encompassing mission. It’s love in the non-essentials that challenges us the most.

If someone were to ask me why the EFCC should enlarge its “ethos” tent to include a credentialing process that makes ordination available to both men and women, what would I say? Here’s my short blog answer.

1. A biblical case can be made for each guided by the same love for and commitment to the Bible. We may discuss the merits and weaknesses of both points of view but we can’t dismiss them.

2. This issue is not part of our Statement of Faith; what we use to identify our essentials. That’s not to say it isn’t important, just not important enough to require all to agree.

3. A credentialing process can be determined that will require no church or individual to change positions or cause any church to lose its ability to make decisions on who can minister in their church or where they can minister.

4. The “slippery slope” argument, while a concern, is unfairly attached to such a credentialing shift. It is suggested that the next step after ordaining women is to ordain homosexuals. Such thinking doesn’t take into account the reality of the definite prohibitions in scripture against homosexual practice while the one possible prohibition against ordaining women to authoritative teaching ministry (1 Timothy 2) is not so clearly interpreted and understood. I think we will be able to keep discerning the difference.

5. Paul’s concern to remove barriers to the Gospel in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 just might also find application to this issue.

How large should our “ethos” tent become?

Our ethos is already large enough to include both egalitarians and complementarians co-existing in love. I believe it’s time for our credentialing policies to reflect that reality and to be available to both men and women at every level, including ordination. What do you think?

We’re really excited to announce the beginning of Exponential West. Exponential is a conference for church-planters — about 2,000 are expected to attend this one!

We are working to arrange a group from the EFCC to attend. This will help you to develop meaningful community with like-minded EFCCers, as well as exposing you to some of the best training available.

http://blog.exponential.org/2013/05/exponential-west-2013-announces-speaker-lineup/#more-6139

There are two ExpoWest presenters we’d like to especially highlight:

Larry Osborne was the keynote speaker at our last EFCC Conference.

Ray Chang has been a regular trainer at our church planting boot camps.

Please sign up through Home Office if you would like to join this excursion!

We have a block of 15 rooms reserved under the Evangelical Free Church of Canada at the Prominence hotel at the discounted prices for us- people need to reserve their rooms through the hotel using the block designation: Evangelical Free Church of Canada.

Here’s the web site for the hotel:

http://www.prominencehotel.com/

On Monday, Oct 7, our EFCC pre-session will be:

• 1:00pm – 2:00pm Greeting and Fellowship time
• 2:00pm – 5:00pm EFCC church planting training pre-session
• 5:30pm EFCC Evening meal and celebration together

Just to be clear:

If you want to attend, and you have been approved by Charlie, we will cover the registration cost. You are still responsible travel, accommodation and meal costs. We have done some research to provide you a very cost-effective package.

Pastors, church and district leaders can pay the special registration rate of $99 and that can include their spouse. You are responsible for your own travel, hotel and meal costs. You can book hotel rooms through the hotel at the EFCC rate of $80 for a King Suite or $85 for 2 Queen bed suite.

Shuttle service from LAX is available to the hotel which is 1.4 miles from the Saddleback campus and the hotel offers a free shuttle service from the hotel to the conference site, so no rental car is needed.

From May 6-10, fourteen church planters, church planting leaders and others interested in multiplying churches and ministries gathered on the ACTS Seminaries campus of Trinity Western University. Five skilled and experienced instructors led them through a week of intensive training and coaching.

This year’s EFCC Church Planting Boot Camp marks a milestone of 100 people who have completed the week of church planting training over the last 5 years to reap God’s harvest through launching new churches and strengthening existing congregations.

Studies show that attending a Church Planting Boot Camp or similar training greatly increases the likelihood of succeeding at planting healthy new churches. And, it is your own Evangelical Free Church of Canada that God has raised up to offer this world-class training.

This year, one whole day was devoted to training participants how to obey the Great Commission by not only sharpening discipleship skills but also how to build a disciple-making pathway for their new or existing church.

A new module was also introduced which helped those attending better grasp how to know and understand their church’s mission field. It also assisted students in developing skills in working with different cultures and ethnic groups that can be found in church plants and most existing churches today in Canada.

The feedback from students this year again emphasized the value of the subjects covered, the coaching and classroom experiences not only for church planters but also for pastors and leaders in existing churches.

Next year, the EFCC will spread a similar training experience for church planters and church leaders across Canada to the Prairies and beyond. Watch for news about the new training experience in Ft. Langley, BC, Winnipeg and possibly Toronto that will better equip church planters, pastors and leaders for the harvest that God is preparing across Canada.

“What a blessing it has been to have the team here again. So much of our ministry is here because of teams that give of their time and finances. The encouragement that they are when they are here is something money can’t buy.” Jake and Mary were blessed to have a team visit from Wilfred and Shirley’s home church. The pastor delivered Sunday’s message. His Low German was a little rusty so Jake got to translate.

Jake and Mary took their Bolivia “kids” Ariel and Fanny Rodas to an aunt living in Tarija, and they did and ate things they had never before encountered!

Jake had the privilege of teaching baptismal classes through the last month. They had 2 young boys get baptized!

Casa Elizabeth and Casa Mariposa received a play structure. “I wish that would have been up one week earlier when we had the seven little ones here. But they are in Canada, reunited with their father. Her husband is now a Christian! God has truly done a miracle in his life. Last week the mother phoned from Canada thanking us again for all we had done and what a different life she now had. She sounded so happy! I hope we have many more good reports like that coming from Casa Elizabeth.”

You can support Casa Mariposa by visiting our donation page, under designation, selecting “other,” and inputting the following code:

Women and Children’s Shelter: #2-5022

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Increasingly we as a Christian community are finding ourselves facing the opportunity of engaging with a culture that challenges our biblical worldview in one way or another.  It can be public perceptions, cultural attitudes and priorities, even government initiatives and legislations.  In Canada we are privileged to have a voice in many decisions, but speaking effectively into such opportunities is not without challenge.  How can the Christian community respond effectively in such circumstances, both corporately and individually?  How can our church, as a part of God’s family, speak effectively, especially into controversial issues of values and policy?   This is a question I have recently pondered as we faced one such challenge in our province.

At our church, we have long held that the focus of the pulpit ministry in the church is for the exposition of the Word, building up God’s people for works of service, making disciples of Jesus Christ, and sharing the gospel with the world.  My hope and prayer is that we, as a church, equip people to think critically with a Biblical worldview, so that they can live in, and engage with, our world in a way that honors God.  There are people who can then speak articulately and effectively into situations like values, policy, and legislative formation.  I am encouraged when people do just that and believe that we, as the church, should equip and release such gifted people to do just that.

But bringing an effective and unified voice forward is not easy.  While as a church we hold firmly to the tenets of Scripture, opinions on how those are promoted within our culture vary from one person to the next.  Christians may have different ideas of how best to engage and live within our culture, especially when culture seems to collide with Christian values.  I suggest that the following ought to be a part of any consideration of cultural value engagement.

1. We are called to be ambassadors of Christ.  As ambassadors we will often hold values different than the land in which we are “aliens and strangers.”  But the bible tells us that the mark of our “ambassadorship” will be our love for one another.  According to the Bible that is how the world is to recognize us.

2. Ultimately, I do not believe that we can count on the government to protect our priorities and values.  We are fortunate that we live in a country where our freedom to speak into its laws is provided, and our country’s values often align with Christian faith.  Nevertheless, while we receive that privilege with thanksgiving and appropriate involvement, it should not shock or surprise us when, or if, a government does not provide us with such protection above, or even equal to, the protection it provides to any others.  Having a government who protects Christian values is not a model I see promised anywhere in the New Testament.  Having said that, we are blessed in our country to have a voice, and I believe that the best way to nurture a healthy relationship is to live lives before men and women that are making a difference.

3. We should, as Christians, be the ones leading the charge to protect others — the widows and the orphans.  For example, as Christians we should be the ones battling bullying and even calling for strong legislation for bullying before governments even stepped in.  We need to be the ones showing what God’s love looks like, not simply standing in judgment of others.  We need to be the ones showing how we can love without compromising what we believe to be true, the ones who can show how to love even when we disagree with others.  This heart attitude should be plain and obvious from the very beginning of any discussion.  The world should be excited about our involvement because of the character of love they have seen in us.

4. There will be times when our words and comments will be taken out of context, misunderstood, and turned against us.  One of the greatest challenges we face is to hold to the truth, but also to walk through issues like this in ways that honour God.  This is never easy or simple.  Paul writes to Titus and says that “In your teaching show integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.”  While we cannot control how others might choose to think, this calling from Paul should be directive in our choice of words and actions.

5. Our prime motivator as we consider our engagement with our culture and world should be the spread of the gospel.  We should be driven by the need of people to hear the gospel and be restored to faith in Christ, rather than being driven by our own fear for our personal situation.  Our choices and voices should be driven by the good news, not by fear of man or his systems.  Thus I believe our prime call to action is to impact our world with God’s love and truth, not to defend “our rights.”  I think it is well and good to defend our rights, but if our defence of rights overshadows our opportunity to spread the gospel, we have set the wrong priority.  Our rights should take the back seat to the gospel.  Too often the only message the world hears from us concerns “our rights.”

6. Every word of criticism that is suggested regarding our government must be offered respectfully, and should also be balanced with two or three words of prayer.  And we should double that prayer for government leaders of faith who serve in the midst of these debates.

This then, is a call to action I believe we need:

1. Think critically with a biblical worldview.
2. Pray faithfully.
3. Engage graciously.
4. Love generously.
5. Act wisely.

We must not abdicate any of these steps, even in the name of dogma, rights, or protection.  We are aliens in a foreign land, but we have been given many privileges.  We must use those privileges with grace to further the cause of the Kingdom of God.  We are to be people driven by the gospel.

This edition of the Pulse tackles the EFCC’s Core Value of local churches.

Click here to view the Pulse online.

Also, if you are interested in receiving the Pulse as a magazine, you can subscribe here:

Subscribe to the Pulse

If you would like details for hosting a Biblical Stewardship Seminar in your church, please get in touch with Home Office.

If these ideas resonate with you, or if you would like to add your own thoughts, please do so in the comments below!

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Weary of post-calamity reactive prayer, I have been interceding pre-emptively, proactively, tactically, and preventatively.

Our Father Who is in heaven hallowed be your name: Acknowledgement
Your kingdom come your will be done: Submission
Yours is the kingdom and the glory forever and ever amen: Glorifying
In a word: Worship

Participation in God’s providence.

To call home!

I believe that the purpose of prayer is to draw near to God, to be strengthened in our relationship with Him and build up the body of Christ.

For me the purpose of prayer is to keep me from being self-focused. Lately I’ve come to realize that there’s a difference between having Jesus in my life and having Jesus’s life in me. It’s vine-and-branch stuff, and prayer is a critical part of what connects me to the vine.

Prayer it the difference between a concert and a worship service. It shows there is a different audience than just the one we see.

To communicate and build relationship with our Father.

Prayer is a part of loving and worshipping God.

Prayer is essential to have a relationship with God. It is also a sign that we trust and have Faith that God cares for our every need.

To align our hearts with the heart of God.

The purpose of prayer is to find a way to respond to all that God has done.

Prayer is my relationship link with God, sometimes asking; sometimes thanking; sometimes praising; always listening.

To me, the purpose of prayer is survival.
Paul says that we live and move and have our being in God (Acts 17:28).
So I need to stay connected to my life source.
The purpose of prayer is survival.