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Part 1: Ministry & Those Over 50 - March 2023 |
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Community Bible Church: Legacy Ministry
A story from an interview with Darrell Shaule & Joan Dishman
Leading up to Easter, those over the age of 50 from the small town of Lucan, Ontario will gather together for Lenten Luncheons as coordinated by the Lucan Ministerial Association.
Together, they will be physically nourished by sandwiches and homemade soup.
Spiritually, their souls will be fed by learning more about what it means that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
Catholic, Anglican, United, Pentecostal, non-denominational.
There’s a sense of unity, cooperation, and hospitality - which itself is a real testimony of the work of God to the community.
Instead of focussing on what divides us, they are purposefully choosing to focus on what unites us as believers.
And, they welcome friends and relatives who are not familiar with faith.
They want this to be a safe place that is marked with the hospitality of Jesus.
Legacy is a ministry of Community Bible Church near Lucan, ON.
They exist to encourage and equip people in the demographic of approximately 50 plus.
According to their vision statement, they “recognize that there are unique interests, challenges, and opportunities during this stage of life.”
So they “strive to provide activities and events for worship, teaching, service, fellowship, and outreach.”
Their guiding Scripture is Psalm 92:12-15:
“The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green.
to declare that the Lord is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”
Photo credits: Jenn Kosar (Unsplash)
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A Night Out
Imagine a group of people over the age of 50 in your church who intentionally want to serve and get to know young families!
Teaming up with Family Matters ministry group, they recently held a night out for parents - offering supper and babysitting for the children, allowing the adults to go out or go home.
Serving up macaroni and cheese, chicken fingers, bacon, raw vegetables, chocolate milk, and cupcakes, they fed the children favourite comfort foods.
They did crafts and coloured and played Snakes & Ladders and Jenga.
They read books together and sang “Jesus Loves Me” and “This Little Light of Mine”.
They ate popcorn and watched Paddington together.
Those over the age of 50 and part of Legacy realize that their days of service are not over.
They still have lots to give and know that God has things for them to do and people to love.
So they purposefully pursue opportunities to serve young families and children.
Imagine if the church was known for great inter-generational relationships?
That this was the place where young and old appreciated one another and learned from one another?
No wonder the family of God is such a prominent metaphor in the New Testament!
Photo credits: William Krause (Unsplash)
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Jon & Joyce Buttery
Edmonton, AB
Joyce worked in administration and book keeping for years.
Jon worked in the engineering department with NavCanada for most of his career.
Now this youthful 60-something couple from Capilano Christian Assembly in Edmonton, AB has just started volunteering with Disaster Assistance Response Team through Samaritan’s Purse.
With chainsaws and gloves, they helped clear fallen trees on Prince Edward Island after Hurricane Fiona this past fall.
Then they headed to eastern Europe to help with administration and the maintenance of a field hospital in the Ukraine.
For Jon and Joyce, helping people in the midst of a natural disaster and conflict has given new purpose to their retirement years.
Especially in their experience in the Ukraine, they saw God at work in big and little things.
Preparing to go to the Ukraine required a sober look at their willingness to lay down their life, knowing that anything could have happened.
But it also gave them spiritual clarity as to what’s really important.
Seeing the church in action was soul-satisfying in ways they didn’t expect.
In their words, it was a vision of heaven - the church together in unity and labouring for love.
Even as Jon worked in the field hospital so close to the Russian front, the light of the gospel was shining brightly despite the darkness.
We often think that adventure is for the young.
Or that spiritual things are boring.
However, people like Jon and Joyce remind us that God calls us to participate with Him in all sorts of ways, all through our lives.
Life with God is not boring.
What if we imagined the retirement years as another spiritual adventure?
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Gord and Heather Martin
Waterloo, ON
For a couple who have been in ministry for most of their lives, Gord and Heather Martin are figuring out how to integrate retirement and ministry.
In some ways, things stay the same.
They still have purpose and meaning.
There are still people to neighbour and to love.
Their gifts of encouragement and mercy and evangelism remain.
Hospitality and relationships and church planting continue to be a big part of their lives.
And yet not working full time at a paying job and having less energy is a new reality.
A special challenge for those in ministry who are approaching retirement is to somehow keep the extensive circle of relationships that have been built over the years and yet be intentional about nurturing a close circle of friends.
Having an eclectic group of friends is key to being relevant and keeping our worlds big.
Heather’s gifts of mercy and noticing people are invaluable to any worshipping community.
She regularly pays attention to people spiritually and can often sense how people feel from a distance.
That is a spiritual gift that has been practiced and sharpened over the years.
Her phone calls and messages are a form of warm and encouraging connection that doesn’t cost money, can be done from home, and doesn’t take a lot of energy.
Gord’s encouragement to Chinese, Farsi, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Nigerian and Chin church leaders has been vital for VMC’s church planting efforts and he continues to support them on a voluntary basis.
Gord and Heather believe (and are evidence of) that our 50’s, 60’s 70’s can easily be our most influential decades due to our experience, wisdom, and spiritual maturity.
In God’s generosity, being able to participate in the mission of God continues through all the decades.
What a grace - to God be the glory.
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The Crime of Living Cautiously: Hearing God's Call to Adventure
by Luci Shaw
Unexpectedly, the moment of opportunity comes to us--the prospect of entering a reality larger than we'd guess. A spacious option opens up before us, an urgent demand that seems to call for special enterprise, life-threatening perils or summons to action. Suddenly we realize that such a chance might never come again. What do you do when faced with such a moment? Do you sometimes get frozen into a state of inaction? Do you wonder if you are wasting the talents God has given you? Or if you enjoy adventure, do you struggle over whether a risk is just a reckless attempt to feed your own needs or a true calling from God?
Luci Shaw has learned to act with discernment in regard to motivation and calling. She has discovered a path of deep joy and fulfillment by risking the unknown in partnership with God. In this book you will find the way to break through the fear barrier and follow God to new levels.
(from Goodreads)
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An Uncommon Guide to Retirement: Finding God's Purpose for the Next Season of Life
by Jeff Haanen
People talk about retirement like it’s supposed to be an endless vacation. But what if, like the majority of those facing retirement, you can’t afford such a luxury? Or, what if you just want something more from retirement? Some advocate for no retirement at all. But you’ve worked for decades and a rest and reprieve do sound appealing. What should you do? Does God have a purpose for your retirement? Yes, He does. Learn how to discern what it is by taking an uncommon approach.
Jeff Haanen looks biblically and practically at the need for rest and purpose in retirement. And teaches you how to take a sabbatical rest in early retirement, listen to God's voice for their calling in retirement, rethink "work" in retirement, and understand family systems and leaving a legacy. Planning retirement doesn’t have to be distressing. Retire in a way that’s God-honoring, purpose-filled, restful, and truly biblical.
(from Amazon.ca)
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IBCM8 Global Conference 2023
The International Brethren Conference on Mission takes place next June 19-24, 2023 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. People from over 155 countries will be there to worship and learn and be strengthened for ministry. Ramez Atallah, former president of the Egyptian Bible Society, will be the keynote speaker. (Also, interesting to note, Ramez came to know the Lord at Rosemount Bible Chapel in Montreal while a student at McGill!)
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TS2023: A Fresh Imagination - April 28-30, 2023
Sensing an urgent need to invest in the emerging generation, we have repurposed our national gathering to focus exclusively on young leaders this year. Over the final weekend of April, we are bringing together a select group of young women and men to central Ontario, to consider what the Spirit is saying to the Church in Canada. Through featured presenters, panel discussions, breakout sessions, prayer and worship, we hope to encourage and inspire young women and men in their passion for Jesus and his mission.
Will you help us to identify those who should be at this event? We are looking to pastors and church leaders to recommend one or two young adults from their congregation who are known as people with unusual kingdom influence. Ideally, we are looking for 20-39 year olds (approximate age range), whose love for Jesus, personal character and potential gospel-impact is evident to most. Neither the pursuit of nor involvement in full-time ministry is required to attend. Generous travel subsidies are available to help participants make the trip to Ontario.
Action Required: Who is the Spirit calling to mind, even as you read this? Attendance at this event is by invitation only. As a key congregational leader, will you nominate 1-2 young women and men from your ministry context who you sense should be at this event.
Please send us their names and contact information asap. We have been praying and, as names arrive, will continue to seek the Spirit’s guidance about who to invite. Please pray with us for discernment.
Send your recommendations (name & contact info) to: info@vision-ministries.org
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Every week, we share stories from across our network of churches that show how God is at work in and through His people.
Here are some recent stories:
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Please join us as we gather and pray together online each month for our VMC churches and leaders. To participate or learn more contact Mike Stone at mike.stone@vision-ministries.org
We gather on the first Thursday of the month at:
1:00-2:00pm (Atlantic)
Noon-1:00pm (Eastern)
11:00-Noon (Central)
10:00-11:00am (Mountain)
9:00-10:00am (Pacific)
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519-725-1212 or toll-free 1-877-509-5060
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