BCY Regional Newsletter November 2021

Good News

By  BCY Regional Minister, Larry Schram

Most news sources these days are filled with stories of death, disasters, missing persons, morally failed leaders, pandemic restrictions, and dire climate change predictions. Church prayer chains, likewise, request prayer for people battling health challenges, relationship breakdowns, Covid exposures, overwhelming grief and loss, and heated polarizations. In addition, my email inbox and messaging services overflow with updates and requests that cover all the topics above, only now it is very personal: I know the people involved.

It is no wonder that I come to the end of most days just wanting to hear some good news for a change. I am very sure that I am not alone in this desire.

As followers of Jesus, the phrase ‘good news’ carries two primary meanings for us. We know the Gospel is good news in all its expressions, and every time someone repents and believes this good news about Jesus, the angels in heaven rejoice. So do most of us, for this is miraculous grace. In addition, good news is information that comes to us as pleasant, positive, and a blessing that we can rejoice in. This is what I pray will occur for each of our churches and pastors these days. That we will regularly hear some good news of salvation, steps of faith, and answered prayer with the pleasant and blessed reminder that, despite all the bad news that fills our days, our Lord is still at work.

What follows are some reminders that our Lord is indeed still at work and that there is still good news to hear. Let’s rejoice in it and be quick to pass on all the pleasant and positive good news we can.

Larry Schram, BCY Regional Minister.

Baptisms – The Good News of People Immersing Their Lives in Jesus

Food Bank Drive – The Good News of People Helping the Hungry

Clark Taylor, First Baptist Church, Penticton, BC

A couple weeks ago, across BC, was the Thanksgiving Food Drive for the Salvation Army. Some of the youth and adults from Penticton First Baptist Church, along with Pastor Les and Clark, took part. We delivered about 200 bags on Wednesday after school. We returned early Saturday morning and picked up bags that had been left on the doorstep of homes. After filling the vehicles, we dropped them off at the Penticton Salvation Army Food Bank. The Food Bank collected over 11 000 pounds of food! It was a wonderful day of walking and gathering food, and our youth are excited to do more routes next year.

Affiliation – The Good News of People Joining the Family

By Paul Truman

This fall, Heritage Mountain Community Church is celebrating 21 years as a church in Port Moody. Ask any of them and they’ll share what the ministry direction ‘Form the Heart’ means to them. Pastors Paul Truman and Deanna Hackett lead by respecting the uniqueness of each heart and encouraging a lifestyle that cultivates relationship with God. As heart formation continued through the obscurity of the pandemic, the church was delighted to share in seven baptisms at Sasamat Lake in early September. Usually meeting in a performing arts theatre that reopened in October, they were delighted to be together again. This beach gathering was far more than seven people identifying with Jesus; it was a whole community sharing faith that God is continuing to form their hearts. Over the past years, the church has been discerning a denominational home where they can live the calling that God has given them. In June, the members voted unanimously to pursue affiliation with the CBWC.

Ordination – The Good News of People Saying Yes to the Call of Jesus

The first woman ordained by Trinity Baptist to the Gospel Ministry, Rev. Dr. Doris Kung-Poon.

This regional newsletter is published quarterly within the CBWC’s monthly newsletter, Making Connections. Have a story idea? Want to tell us how great we’re doing? Or how terribly? Email our senior writer, Jenna Hanger: jhanger@cbwc.ca

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