By David and Helga Stewart

Fall 2002 Channels, Vol. 18, No. 2

David and Helga Stewart have edited these articles from various congregations across the country.

Missing Yet Found in Streetsville

James Lindsay

The "Alpha and Omega" -- the "beginning and the end." Have you ever thought that something was missing in your life? A void? A missing piece from the puzzle of life? We all have that certain space for the missing piece to fit into to complete the puzzle.

My wife, Pamela, and I were introduced to the Alpha Course at our home church -- St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Streetsville, Ontario. We did not have a relationship with Jesus at the time and, quite frankly, we were very cautious about taking this course. We did not want to become "Bible thumpers" or "religious fanatics." Well, guess what? Through the Alpha Course, we both gave our lives to the Lord and haven't looked back since.

What a beautiful feeling we have every day in our walk with Jesus. Our hearts are open and not heavy. Our minds and speech flow with the Word of God. Talking with the Lord through prayer has become an important part of our daily routine. Sharing not only our troubles, but also our joys with the Lord has given us faith to pray for and receive answers.

The Alpha Course has come and gone but our relationship with Jesus Christ has just begun and it is growing stronger every day. As new Christians, we are thankful for the Alpha Course, for our minister, Doug McQuaig, who encouraged us to attend, and especially for Jesus Christ who brought us into a closer relationship with himself and changed our daily pattern of living, sharing, and talking. We have found the key piece that was missing from the puzzle -- a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Allowing Jesus to come into our lives and take control of our destiny is such a beautiful experience that we now want to share through our personal story with family and friends and you, the readers of this magazine.

We live in a society today that is fast-paced, competitive, high-pressure and full of tension and stress. We know that there will be difficult and trying times in our lives. There are in anyone's life. But now we know the promise of God, "with Christ all things are possible." God will not abandon us or let us down no matter what our trial or tribulation may be.

The Alpha Course -- what a beginning to a personal relationship with God. If you ever have the opportunity to take the Alpha Course at your church, take the plunge and give yourself the opportunity to experience a relationship with Jesus that will not fail. May God bless you through his Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

A Walk Of Faith: From The Beginning!

Alpha at Knox, Georgetown
Hank Van Goult

ASSIGNMENT: During a Session meeting in the fall of 2000, our former Pastor, Reverend Peter Barrow challenged us to look into the Alpha Course. After gathering information we reported back to Session, which led to the decision that Knox should move forward by sending three representatives to the upcoming Alpha Conference to be hosted by Bramalea Baptist Church in May 2001.

TIME LINE: Attending the conference showed us the need to delay our Alpha plans pending appointment of an Interim Moderator by Presbytery upon Peter's retirement in the autumn; we felt the best time to launch would be early in the New Year.

Now witness the gifts of the Holy Spirit in action:
Presbytery appointed Rev. Dr. Douglas McQuaig as Knox's Interim Moderator. Learning of Knox's intention to launch the Alpha Course, Dr. McQuaig said "St. Andrew's Streetsville is beginning their ninth Alpha course at the same time; we can help walk you through the process" (what an understatement).

What took place next is the epitome of Presbyterians sharing the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Dr. McQuaig supplied the Knox Alpha Team with computer templates for the invitation to be mailed out, plus computer copies of the sign-up sheets and the layout to be used when the lists were posted on a brightly decorated easel board so our people would not walk on by without noticing them. Nothing was to be left to chance!

Dr. McQuaig held joint training meetings for the Alpha Teams of Knox and St. Andrew's alternating the meeting places between our two locations. Then he said, "One of our members is a professional chef -- we'll buy all the food for both St. Andrew's and Knox invitational dinners at the same time, which will save money. Knox will just pay for their share and our people will come and prepare the reception snacks and punch, cook and serve the meal and clean up after it." He topped this off by supplying us with a list of twelve suggested menus for each week's meal! Knox had 66 people come out to the invitational dinner and 48 signed up for Alpha Course (five were from our surrounding community), which allowed us to form four small groups of twelve each.

Then St. Andrew's loaned us their digital projector each week for the entire Alpha Course. Dr. McQuaig booked the Salvation Army Conference Centre at Jackson's Point for the weekend away, and again both St. Andrew's and Knox joined together, which meant approximately 44 Alpha participants enjoyed the spiritual instruction, praise and fellowship. The enthusiastic response of the people who attended has spread to the ones who couldn't make it for this weekend and several have indicated they don't want to miss it next year.

The Holy Spirit has not stopped watching over us either.
On Sunday, January 27, 2002 the Presbytery of Brampton conducted a Service of Recognition for The Rev. Dr. Robert Spencer, Knox's Interim Minister for the next year. He is passionate about the walk of faith he will lead us on during the coming year. The Guest Preacher at the Service of Recognition was Rev. Calvin Brown (Renewal Fellowship). His message gave very strong support to the Alpha process and encouragement to the congregation as we move forward on our walk of faith.

The support Knox has received from our spiritual leaders using the gifts given to them by the Holy Spirit, along with all the other individuals from both St. Andrew's and Knox who shared their gifts of the Spirit, was nothing short of miraculous. We found the Alpha Course resulted in a straightforward and effective method of presenting the gospel of Christ in a manner that is clear and non-threatening to people from all walks of life. We must have it every year from now on.

What a great way to fan the flames of active evangelism!

Contemporary Worship at St. Paul's, Ottawa

Sarah Lee & Mark Richardson

In the fall of 1999, people within the church of St. Paul's -- especially teens, 20-, 30- and 40-somethings -- started asking for more contemporary services. Previously, contemporary services had been held monthly at St. Paul's. At the same time, our church was facing the prospect of adding a second Sunday morning service due to increasing attendance. It seemed the time was right to add a second, contemporary service to St. Paul's Sunday morning worship.

The term "contemporary worship" conjures up many different ideas, emotions and thoughts in today's church. Does it mean adding choruses to the worship service? Does it mean using guitar or drums, drama or reading from The Message instead of the New King James? The truth is, contemporary worship means different things to different churches. At St. Paul's Presbyterian it means putting the emphasis on God, his Word and shaping a space where one can worship in a spirit of freedom. The foundation for our worship comes from John 4:24: God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth. And when we worship in spirit and truth there is an honesty and a freedom in worship that cannot be escaped. By "freedom" we mean that we are able to worship God as a unified body while being accepting of individual styles of worship. Ultimately, we want to create a place where as a body we are comfortable enough to be abandoned to God in worship together. Of course, this is easier said than done.

Our worship teams span three decades with people in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Those involved have different church experiences -- Presbyterian, Anglican, Pentecostal, Community churches -- to name a few. We combine readings, prayer, new "takes" on old hymns and new choruses into our worship service. And while our worship teams span three decades, the church body spans many more. Originally, many seniors in the church came to the contemporary service because it was held at an early time. Now, many seniors say they have come to appreciate and love the contemporary service; some even prefer it over a more traditional style of service.

We've seen God at work in all parts of the service. The congregation and worship team members have been moved by Scripture and prayer. We've felt God's presence during our times of singing. Personal prayer requests have been shared with the congregation and we have responded as a body -- and as individuals -- by praying publicly and privately for those in our church.

The congregation actively participates in our worship services. Each week, our congregational prayer is either led by different people from our congregation or is opened as a time for the congregation to voice their prayers (i.e., "Pop-corn" prayer). We have also incorporated elements into our Eucharist service that increases congregational participation.

Throughout the last year we have celebrated Communion by having different couples involved in lay ministries in our church family serve the elements as the congregation comes forward to receive them. As a result of these efforts to increase congregational participation, and of course lots of prayer, the sense of community in our worship services is growing.

We continue to look for ways to increase the intimacy, transparency and freedom within our services. We recently came across a devotional by Ken Anderson entitled Pray-Listen-Obey. This simple phrase describes perfectly where the St. Paul's contemporary service is currently at. We've taken more time to pray as teams before practice, praying for each other and for our music ministry. We're also meeting before our worship services on Sunday (and have invited anyone from the church to join us) to pray for a spirit of worship and God's blessing upon all that takes place at our church.

A mother of four school-age children was asked how she is able to maintain her membership in the Worship Team. Her reply: "It is the highlight of the week for me!"

In Love With God

Coquitlam Presbyterian Church
Olive & Bob McBay

"This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you." John 15:12

In the fifteenth chapter of John we have the record of how wonderfully our Lord prepared his inadequate disciples for the tremendous task of spreading the message that would impact the world! He knew they needed to learn how to centre their lives in him. Only as they did so would they be able joyfully to share his love with others. Abiding in him and feasting on his words they would learn to pray within his will and experience the blessing of answered prayer. In an amazing way they were to learn the wonder of a Triune God -- a Father who loved them, a Saviour who laid down his life for them, and the Holy Spirit who would be their Counsellor.

What a joy it is to see the fifteenth chapter of John being lived out in our church -- Coquitlam Presbyterian- under the guidance of Dr. Terry Hibbert who has been with us for twenty-four years! Our wise Heavenly Father has led many of the church members to be involved in developing avenues of service that lead to closer walks with the Lord and the utilization of the wide variety of his spiritual gifts. A few ways of serving him are listed to provide inspiration for other churches:

1. A growing emphasis on prayer with many prayer partnerships, a pastor's prayer team, groups meeting in the church at particular times, prayer while the Sunday services are taking place, and as an essential part of the Bible study groups. An effective prayer chain deals with immediate and ongoing requests. A prayer box is placed at the Welcome Centre for prayer requests. The box is opened and utilized by the Tuesday morning prayer group. People with problems are invited to stay after church and to pray with elders or helpers at the front.

2. Some fourteen Bible Study groups meet in homes or at the church. Each group chooses an area of Bible study pertinent to the members. New members are welcomed through the year. Alpha programs have been enthusiastically attended and new Christians from the Alpha are encouraged to join Bible Study groups.

3. Men's Saturday breakfasts are held approximately every second month. Focus is on friendship, an inspiring message and prayer. The breakfast provides an opportunity for outreach, as well as spiritual growth for church members.

4. Women's Wellspring Ministry started a few years ago provides simple breakfasts for forty to eighty ladies. Emphasis is on encouraging prayer partners and providing an inspirational speaker. A new venture this year was a Retreat Day with the theme "Growing in the Knowledge of Christ."

5. Outreach to Children, Youth, and Young Adults with guidance from our Youth Pastor, Worship Director, and volunteers. Children and youth are involved in Sunday School, age-appropriate Bible Studies, Sunday Praise Teams, Children and Adult Choirs, and a very effective Pioneer program. A Christmas Musical directed by our skilled and enthusiastic Worship Director draws community interest for several nights in December.

6. Great emphasis is placed on reaching out with love to newcomers and to faithful church-goers. Practical outreach includes utilizing smiling "greeters" at the door, after-services friendly coffee times (organized by the Bible Study groups), Sunday lunches in homes or cafés, a Welcome Centre in a prominent place in the church vestibule, and most of all a real spirit of caring and a sensitivity to others that results from a close walk with the Lord. For people on the sick list the Caring Group organizes practical help and continues to delight shut-ins with surprise packages containing different little gifts (with Bible verses attached) for each day of the week!

7. A Craft Group for women with special interest in this area providing opportunity for fellowship and love and utilization of special gifts. Beautiful banners have been crafted for the church.

8. A close link with the Renewal Fellowship by having a contact person phone to remind people about the monthly prayer meetings. Well-attended Renewal Conferences have been held at our church. The last two conferences have emphasized a healing ministry which has led to a growing interest in the church as a centre of healing -- physical, emotional and spiritual. One possibility being considered is having a parish nurse -- starting in a small way and then gradually extending the program.

9. Spirit-led Sermons which are always true to the word of God and which emphasize knowing Jesus Christ as a personal Saviour and Lord of our lives. We deeply appreciate our minister's faithfulness and dedication in words and action.

10. More and more our vision as a church has become making Jesus Christ the centre of all we do. A Vision Team has been of assistance to our minister in forward planning. We have experienced growth in numbers from a small group meeting in the Community Health Centre to over three hundred people attending two services on Sunday morning in our own present building. God has honoured our desire for future outreach by amazingly opening the way for us to purchase by faith two adjoining properties which came up for sale within a few days of each other! We praise God for all he is and all he does. "Great is thy Faithfulness."

Evangelism Lives In 2002... Even In The Out-Back!

Pat Allison

Nestled around the rivers in east-central New Brunswick is the tiny pastoral charge called Bass River. Four congregations, each with their own unique rhythm, make up this country cluster.

In these past two years they have worked with their Interim Minister, Rev. Dr. John Allison, to hurdle some serious grief and, in the process of being listened to and working things out in their own hearts, they have come to some settledness and readiness to move on.

Together they have worked on two Alphas in the country firehall in Beersville. Several of the firemen are Presbyterians, so the firehall is central to country life. Each one of the two Alphas had approx. 40 people; in each case one small group was made up of seven or eight youth, and in each of these the leader had received the video training for Small Groups provided by Alpha. (In our view the Alpha small group training is some of the best available anywhere, and should be mandatory.) All ages worked together. Even the worship was an intergenerational experience. Michael Green says in his book After Alpha that we must not forget the community building dinner nor the Holy Spirit weekend away. He's right. Taking the time and spending the money allows everyone to process the truths that much better. And the community holds people together when sometimes the work of processing faith issues makes one want to run away. In fact others from other denominations joined in the Alphas as well and the present-day result is a monthly Sunday Night Praise held in and conducted by various churches in the area.

Rural Bass River Presbyterian Charge is on the map! They are conscientious about church business; two of the little congregations run one-room Sunday schools; another hosted the Christmas pageant with "live" everything including tiny baby lambs and a live baby playing Jesus... each "baaa...ed" or "cried" at precisely the appropriate time! In another church building they host a yearly Women's Day away. This year, the first weekend in June the theme is helping hands. They care about their neighbours.

All church buildings are used at least every second Sunday, are well kept and one senses the presence of God as worship takes place. I think "friendship evangelism" is a reality in this river-defined area. The past two summers the charge has participated in two Children's Summer Festivals in the same fire hall. A mission team came, lived in the manse and told stories, acted out stories, re-enacted stories and celebrated stories such as Jehoshophat's prayer and praise that resulted the defeat of the three "Ite"-armies, and Joshua's obedient faith acts that resulted in the collapse of the walls of Jericho or David's faith in the face of a mighty scary Goliath.

Youth mission teams are a great thing for everyone. Two of those young missionaries are members of Bass River congregations. Reaching out to the children is also evangelism. All four congregations produce one youth group of about ten called Kent County Christian Youth (KCCY) and they meet every Sunday evening to worship and to learn and to build strong friendships. Four parents of youth are the youth workers that nurture young leaders. In addition, seven youth, mostly from that group, are just completing the peer minister training put out by Augsburg College. It is an amazing amount of personal work to be trained in the social skills of listening beyond your listening filter, learning to ask open and informational questions rather than closed (yes and no) questions, how to handle bad peer pressure, how to welcome a stranger, dealing with sensitive issues, working with authority figures, "how" and "when" and to whom to "refer."

As we left the Interim assignment with all these delightful people we saw again what working together accomplishes. A great party, in the fire hall of course, sent us off with their blessings. Where will they go from here? Well, we pray that the great things Jesus Christ has for them will unfold quickly. A new minister is being sought.

A parting gift to them tells it all. My Heart Christ's Home by Robert Munger was given to each one. That classic is all about faith-sharing, faith-growing, and faith-challenged. Jesus holds the key to our hearts. Jesus must hold the title and deed to the home that is my life. Jesus must have control of even the closets of my life.

What would happen if he was really lord of the manor?

First Article in the Next Issue: The Renewal Fellowship Within The PCC by Calvin Brown.