Dear folks,
An essential aspect of our life together has become the Leadership Forums / Seminars for many of our regions. These take many different forms, but essentially are a quarterly meeting of church leaders from a variety of regional churches that meet to worship, share a meal, encourage each other, and participate in listening and dialoguing about a particular resource. As these develop into cooperative, collaborative sharing of resources by churches I am trusting (indeed I am expecting) that these will deepen and grow into a meaningful part of our lives together. Below are examples from the three Regional Ministers and their experience of these forums.
Looking forward to your own comments about your experience of your Leadership Forums and your suggestions for future topics.
Christ be with you as we responsibly prepare for His birth.
Warmly,
In Christ,
Jeremy Bell
Advent 2015
Mark Doerksen – Heartland Regional Minister
Filipino Evangelical Church hosted Winnipeg’s Leadership Forum on November 17th. We had 16 people in attendance from 5 churches, and we enjoyed Filipino food for supper. Then we listened to Christine Longhurst speak to us about Worship. Having heard Christine at the Assembly in Calgary, we invited her to speak to us about getting people engaged in worship as we invite them to be more than spectators in worship. Christine said that “young people want to encounter God. They do not want worship done for them, or to them. They want to engage directly with worship, not just their minds, but also with their emotions. Worship needs to be much more participatory these days.”
Dennis Stone – AB/NWT Regional Minister
Our Leadership Forums for Alberta were held on November 16th in Calgary at Crescent Heights, and on November 17th in Edmonton at Braemar. The speaker was Rev. Sam Breakey who presented material relating to what makes a healthy church. He presented ten universal principles in that regard. The meetings were well received. In each setting there was 19-20 attendants with leaders from about five CBWC churches.
Rob Ogilvie – BCY Regional Minister
The attendance for the Leadership Forum at Gateway, Victoria, on November 18th was 103 with 12 Vancouver Island churches present. The speakers were Tad Inboden, the new church planter for Southlands on the Musqueam land in South Vancouver, and Jodi Spargur joined the group via video conference from Ontario. The topic was based around the work of the Musqueam folks, Tad and his team, and Jodi and fellow First Nations people within our communities.
Wes Morrison led the folks in worship.
The attendance for the Leadership Forum at Trinity, Vancouver on November 19th was 68 with 20 churches present. Both Tad Inboden and Jodi Spargur were the presenters for the evening. Krista Dawn Kimsley led the group in worship and prayer. The topic was First Nations as well.
The responses we have received from both Leadership Forums were very positive and encouraging.