EBC Ministry Report 2014_web

2014 MINISTRY REPORT
EMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH
M E S S AG E F R O M PA S T O R R I C K
Not that I have already obtained all
this, or have already arrived at my goal,
but I press on to take hold of that for
which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider
myself yet to have taken hold of it.
But one thing I do: forgetting what is
behind and straining toward what is
ahead, I press on toward the goal to
win the prize for which God has called
me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14
Living this side of heaven means that for believers we are always
pursuing, but never arriving, at the goal of being fully like Jesus
Christ. The fullness of our salvation will not be realized until Jesus
returns. But until that time comes, we are to be passionately pursuing
our Saviour and Lord. The same is true of our mission of making
passionate followers of Jesus. We make progress, but the job is never
done. Jesus said He would be with us, enabling us to fulfill the
mission of making disciples of the nations until the job is completed
(Matt. 28:20). And truly we continue to witness God at work in and
through the Emmanuel family. God is building His church, and each
of us has the privilege of being a part of this eternal cause. Even in
the past few weeks I have heard wonderful stories of new baby
Christians, believers being challenged to a deeper commitment to
Christ, and God’s people actively and intentionally sharing God’s love
in Jesus Christ with their world. This is what the church is all about;
knowing Christ and making Him known.
This means that Emmanuel continues to be a divine work in progress.
We have seen wonderful advances, and we face new challenges of
faith. Probably one of the most exciting challenges and opportunities
of this past year was the responsibility of closing Bethel Baptist
Church in Orillia with the beginnings of a plan for a completely new
work in the city of Orillia. At the time that we were considering this
huge step of faith, God was working in Dave and Chantel Whitelaw’s
lives to lead them into church planting. God was raising up the new
leader for the new work as we were prayerfully considering taking
this journey of faith. With a green light from both congregations in
regards to receiving the resources of Bethel to begin a new work, this
past Fall we began the planning. By the end of last year the core team
had been established and regular meetings are now happening.
Later this Spring we will, Lord willing, launch the new work:
Emmanuel//Orillia. Please keep praying for this wonderful
opportunity to impact our region and expand God’s work in Orillia
and the surrounding area.
We said good-bye to Tim and Tanya Beerman as Tim accepted the
position of Senior Pastor of Eastland Fellowship Baptist Church in St
Thomas. Tim did an excellent job as the Chair of our Elders’ Board over
the last couple of years and will be missed! We are thankful for both
Tim and Tanya’s involvement in many areas of ministry at Emmanuel;
we pray for God’s blessing on this new ministry role for them.
This past Fall I had the opportunity, along with Tim Beerman, to go to
India on behalf of the church family and work with LeadersFor (led by
Jack Chen) in training pastors and church leaders among the Bengali
people. What an honour it was to be a part of this training and to see
what God is doing in India. This was also an opportunity to see the
importance of our “Go Deep” strategy established by our Missions
team to have a greater investment and impact in West Bengal, India,
where there is a huge need for the gospel. The Bengali people are the
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largest (over 200 million), most unevangelized (0.6%) people group
in the world. Our prayer is that we will continue partnership with key
ministry groups on the front lines of this focus area. We have had a
number of Mission teams now go to India and eight of our young
adults, led by Pastor Jordan, are planning a month long Mission
project this Spring. Keep praying for wisdom as to how we can best
help God’s work among the Bengali people flourish and grow.
We also had the privilege of sending out two more of our families to
the Mission field this past Fall. Dan and Nicole E. went to Bosnia and
are developing their language skills and seeking God’s direction on
how best to use their gifts to impact the Bosnian people for Christ.
Scott and Tracy Blackburn and their three children, Tatiana, Caleb and
Jaxon, made a huge step of faith and set out for Peru to relaunch the
ministry of a children’s home. Transitioning in the middle of their
career and family life, they sold and packed up everything to go on a
significant adventure of faith to do something to make a difference
for Christ. Whether God has called us to stay and pray, or go and
serve, may we all continue to support the growing vision God is
giving the Emmanuel family for a global impact for the gospel.
Once again, our Christmas Musical Outreach was an amazing tool to
reach our friends and neighbours with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We
are so grateful to Paul Turner and Tracey Steffens who poured their
creative giftings into this project by writing and composing the
entire musical. It was, perhaps, the most impacting Christmas musical
Emmanuel has ever performed. What an opportunity, too, for all
those involved to use their talents for this Outreach event – thank
you to everyone who so generously gave of your time and talents.
A special thanks to Steve Paul, who is our Senior Associate Pastor of
Family Ministries. I have been in partnership with Steve for almost 15
years, and his support is invaluable in so many different aspects of
our ministry. Steve has been putting special energy into the
oversight of our children’s ministry over this past year while we have
pursued a new Children’s Ministry Leader. Steve and Cathy took a
well-deserved six-week sabbatical beginning in December of 2014;
we are so thankful for their partnership in ministry.
We saw some staff changes in 2014. Jenn Claus, who has been our
Director of Adult Ministries, moved on to other vocational work. We
are grateful for Jenn’s commitment to excellence in her role with
Small Groups, Adult Ministries, and overseeing the challenge of
managing the busy booking calendar of Emmanuel. She is missed! In
June, Janice Dorazio came on staff to take on the role of Adult
Ministries Director, and has done a fabulous job of ‘learning the
ropes’. Kathy Slessor has taken on an increased role and is now our
Director of Integration. We are thankful for God’s provision of these
key women. Jordan Wilcox, who had come on staff in 2013 as Interim
Pastor of Young Adults, has done a phenomenal job with the Centred
group; he assumed the role in a permanent position in June of last
year, and our Centred group has thrived under his leadership. He and
Olivia make a great team to work with this growing group of young
adults. We also had the privilege of having Luke Crawford come on
board as Pastoral Intern this past Fall. Luke is a godly young man with
a passion for the work of Jesus Christ; he has been doing a great job
leading our Outback Children’s program, as well as assisting with our
Youth and Young Adults ministries.
What a blessing it is to lead the Emmanuel staff and family as we seek
to glorify God by winning, teaching and equipping our world to
passionately follow Jesus Christ. Weekly I hear stories of God working
in the lives of men, women, young people and children, enabling
them to know, obey and serve Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy
Spirit, to the glory of God. My primary role in this is regularly
preaching and teaching God’s Word, as well as supporting our staff
team as they equip our church to fulfill this mission. Emmanuel has a
wonderful team of elders, pastors, directors, support staff, leaders
and volunteers who work hard by God’s grace to see our mission
realized. But at the end of the day it is the amazing gift of being God’s
child that brings me my greatest joy. When the disciples, in Luke 10,
came back from a very successful mission of fighting back the forces
of darkness, Jesus told them not to be enamored with this success
but rather to be enthralled with the truth of God’s love and mercy
towards them, and that their names were “written in heaven.” While I
love being a pastor, I know that my greatest treasure is to know and
walk with my God, by His grace and mercy in Jesus Christ. Please
keep praying that I will be the best follower of my Saviour and Lord I
can be so that I can be the most effective leader for the Emmanuel
family that God wants me to be.
Again, it has been our family’s privilege to be part of the ministry of
Emmanuel for over 18 years. I am in awe of God’s kindness to Jo and I,
and our family. By the way, we welcomed our third grandchild,
Eleanor, into the Buck and Triemstra clans (you know I couldn’t resist
talking about our grandchildren), and we are so thankful and blessed
by her safe arrival.
I am humbled to serve and give thanks daily for the love and support
of the Emmanuel family and the blessing of being on your team!
Pastor Rick Buck
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CHURCH LIFE
In September of 2014, we coordinated the communication of all the
ministries that launch programs in the Fall start-up season.
The purpose of the three All In Sundays was to simplify and unify the
registration and recruitment efforts of our ministries. We aimed to
make it easier for everyone to learn about the many, many
opportunities for spiritual growth, outreach and service at
Emmanuel. In hindsight, we were very grateful for the way lay leaders
flexed their plans to accommodate this newly coordinated effort. It
was a great success! We plan to host “All In” Sundays again this year.
discipleship tools for adults, youth and children; this tool is free to
anyone in the Emmanuel Church Family! If you have not yet signed
up to access this great resource, call the office to get started!
P R AY E R
Oswald Chambers said, “We tend to use prayer as a last resort, but
God wants it to be our first line of defense. We pray when there’s
nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do
anything at all.”
WELCOME MINISTRIES
A warm handshake, a helpful connection, a tasty treat, a kind smile –
these are what the over 200 people serving in Welcome Ministries
love to do! We are so grateful for the way these men and women
reflect the love of Christ. Welcome Ministries include Ushers,
Greeters, Ministry Hosts, Welcome Desk Crew, Parking Attendants
and the ever-popular Café. 2014 saw a few changes in these
ministries as Jenn Claus handed the staff supervision responsibilities
to Kathy Slessor. Welcome Ministries are a well-oiled machine thanks
to Jenn’s diligent and visionary leadership. Thank you Jenn! Other
changes included Donna Winfield stepping into the coordinator role
for Greeters, and Ross Cotton for the parking ministry. Many thanks
go to both Cheryl Gotthelf and Keith Wood for their past leadership
in these respective ministry areas. As we look forward to 2015/16 we
hope to refresh the Welcome Desk with both cosmetic and functional
updates. Also we hope to implement our plans for a new church
directory. Our Director of Integration, Kathy Slessor, has taken over
these important ministries and does a great job of motivating and
encouraging our volunteers!
LIBRARY
Our Library has become a welcome spot for avid readers of all
generations. The library team (Lynda Baxter, Stephanie Simpson, and
Erin Mensinga) and dedicated volunteers have enjoyed getting to
know our regular borrowers and their reading tastes. In June 2014,
we moved to digital borrowing after spending eight months
cataloguing our collection. Now we can send out friendly reminders
that a book is coming due or is overdue! We can also search for items
by title, author or subject. The library is open when the church is
open, but is staffed Sunday mornings and during Wednesday
evening programs. We continue to accept donations as well as
suggestions for new purchases. With over 4000 books and media,
we want to help equip our patrons to ‘passionately follow Jesus
Christ’. Come in and check out something that will inspire you in your
Christian walk!
Also new this year is an online resource called Right Now Media.
This website gives us access to over 3500 Bible studies and
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We have many faithful prayer warriors who meet each week to lift up
our ministries and church family needs to the Lord. In the six
corporate prayer times during the week at the church, and in the
times our small groups spend in prayer together, we want to come
first to the throne room of God. Prayer makes all the difference –
why not consider joining one of these vital groups!
WORSHIP
A.W. Tozer wrote, “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred
pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each
other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but
to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So
one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to
Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be,
were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from
God to strive for closer fellowship.”
‘Tuning’ ourselves to Christ is how we grow together in unity as
worshippers of God. This is our prayer as we meet together weekly to
worship our Lord.
We praise God for the incredible team of people who come together
to lead us each week in musical worship, led by our Pastor of
Worship, Paul Turner. It is a major weekly commitment and we are
grateful for their talent and their willing hearts.
The Doctor Is In – a note from Dr. Paul Turner
Thank you to everyone who supported me in my doctoral studies
over the past five years. I completed my doctoral thesis in early 2014
and graduated in June. My thesis was “Reclaiming the Lost Language
of Lament”. Part of my thesis included writing a small group
curriculum, preaching on lament, introducing songs of lament in
Sunday worship and culminating these with a “From Sorrow to Praise”
worship evening. Thank you to everyone who participated and
helped me accomplish this goal.
C O M M U N I C AT I O N S
BAPTISMS
In early 2014 we launched our new website. The website took us from
a place of information to a place of integration, introducing the new
feature of ‘myemmanuel’. You can now register your entire family
online, update your personal information, register and pay for church
events, and track your charitable giving. If you have yet to register
yourself, visit emmanuelbarrie.org and click on ‘myemmanuel’ for
more information.
God has again been working in the lives of His people and it is
evidenced by the 30 baptisms we saw in 2014. We have been amazed
at God’s goodness as we heard personal testimonies and witnessed
this step of obedience to the Lord in baptism. A highlight of the year,
once again, was our outdoor Beach, BBQ and Baptism Night, held at
Tyndale Park in August; 22 were baptized that evening. What a great
way to be the light in our world; holding a baptism service in a public
park! What a blessing that night was to so many.
The new Essa Road sign was completed this year. The sign allows us
to communicate outreach events to passersby with the intention of
drawing more people in to hear the gospel.
Emmanuel has an app! Now you can hear Sunday’s sermon, view the
church calendar of events, stream music from some of Emmanuel’s
recording artists, and receive notifications about upcoming events or
cancellations. Visit your App Store and look for Emmanuel Barrie.
Special thanks to our Director of Communications, Jeanette Switzer,
for all her hard work in this ministry!
A D M I N I S T R AT I O N
There is much that goes on ‘behind the scenes’ here at Emmanuel.
We are thankful for Pastor Lance Johnson who oversees the
Administration of Emmanuel’s office and staff. Here are some
highlights of what happens administratively:
In the church office, Janet Pilon is our Administrative Assistant, and
heads up the team of Melissa Tolman, Jackie Torrie, Janice Dorazio and
Jo Buck, who do much of our administrative work. Their excellence
and servant hearts are huge in the ongoing ministries of Emmanuel.
Dave Brubacher, our Business Administrator, leads a financial
ministry with a large team: Gerry Nichols, Melissa Tolman, Ingrid
Visser, Mona Burrows, and tellers (headed by Phil Nelson). Marked by
integrity and faithfulness these people serve well.
Over the past few years, effort has been made to improve our IT
(Information Technology) system. Through our contract with Helix,
an outside firm, and the work of Melissa Tolman, we have made
significant advance. In addition, we are grateful to Pastor Paul Turner
(who oversees the AV area), Ben Mudde, Carl Pilon, and our AudioVisual Team for their efforts in our AV ministry.
We are most grateful for all the staff and volunteers who serve in
these ministries. These are most often ‘behind the scenes’ ministries,
but they are vital. They share in the blessings of spiritual fruit!
H O S P I T A L I T Y/ K I T C H E N
We continued this year to keep the priority on church-wide family
events and on fellowshipping together as an inter-generational
community. Our Hospitality Committee, led by Kelly and Glenn
Gibson, ensure that our fellowship times together are a welcoming
place for connection. They organize and facilitate the celebration of
the Lord’s Table each month, as well as refreshments and social times
after baptismal services and other special events. They also head up
the team who serves in the Café on Sunday mornings, helping visitors
feel welcome and enabling us to connect as a church family between
services. We are so thankful for the wonderful job they do, allowing us
to meet new people, connect with familiar friends and celebrate
special times together. A huge thank you to Mabel Torrie and her
committee for all the love and hard work that goes into the funeral
receptions they host, and to Susan Ens for all her work with our Lovin’
From The Oven, providing meals for those who need them. And Patti
Jennings spoils us with her delicious treats and coffee in the café on
Wednesday evening – thank you Patti! We are thankful for all those
who enable us to fellowship together as a church family.
PROPERTY
Jamie Fitzsimmons and his property and custodial crews do an
amazing job making sure that things are well kept, in good repair, and
clean. As Property Manager, Jamie leads this crew with excellence.
Bob Benson, part of the team now for almost nine years, brings a
wealth of knowledge and experience, not only practically, but also in
his walk with the Lord. DJ Mudde has brought an understanding,
compassion and calmness to the team that he explains is truly a
blessing from God, and now is a blessing to us. Our newest recruit,
Malcolm Tolman, comes with a gentle spirit, willing to learn and laugh
as he continues to learn the ropes. Jamie says, “I am still inspired,
eager to serve, and leaning on the Lord – thankful for the team He has
put together. As we serve we are continually challenged and grateful
for the way God has grown our church and made it possible for us to
serve as unto Him.” We appreciate so much that this team is
committed to do their responsibilities, not as jobs to be done, but as
ministry. Thanks Team, you shine!
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A D U LT M I N I S T R I E S
We want to continue to plan events
that the church family can enjoy
together, to ensure the diverse
generations in our church community
have a time to fellowship together.
FELLOWSHIP
We continued this year with the intentional church-wide family
events, to enable all our generations to fellowship together. We
began our social times together in combination with our Outreach
Ministry. The Gatherings, in March, was a week of events designed to
bring our Emmanuel family together, while also providing an
opportunity to invite our friends and neighbours to hear the gospel.
Thank you to Jenn Claus and Pastor Dave Whitelaw for all their hard
work and creativity in organizing these events that any age could
enjoy! We also joined together again as a church family at the Beach,
BBQ and Baptism event in August at Tyndale Park. We all enjoyed a
great time of fellowship in the park, a summer BBQ and then gathered
together under the canopy to hear testimonies of God’s faithfulness
before walking to the beach area and watching the baptisms. It was
such a wonderful time to remember God’s blessings and direction in
our lives. We want to continue to plan events that the church family
can enjoy together, to ensure the diverse generations in our church
community have a time to fellowship together.
SMALL GROUPS
We are blessed to have over 50 small groups within our
congregation. These groups include every generation, stage
of life or life circumstance, as well as meeting on different
days and time, creating a place for anyone. Our focus is to create a
smaller group that will allow for growth and discipleship together in a
more caring and intimate setting, fostering deeper relationship that
can encourage and strengthen each other. Thank you to each of our
small group leaders; without their commitment this ministry would
not be possible.
We began 2014 with our groups finishing off their curriculum GRACE:
More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine by Max Lucado.
Many groups also chose some studies from the small group library in
our Director of Adult Ministries, Janice Dorazio’s, office. This library can
be used anytime by our small groups, to select a study that they
would like to work through as a group. In the Spring we had the
privilege of studying Paul Turner’s curriculum on Reclaiming the Lost
Language of Lament. In the Fall the groups began with Servanthood
as Worship: The Privilege of Life in a Local Church using the book by
Nate Palmer. Paul Turner and Janice Dorazio wrote a participant’s
guide to accompany the book and recorded a DVD of sessions with
our pastors and testimonials of people from our church who shared
with us about the privilege of serving within our church. What a
blessing to learn about worshipping our God through serving others.
Christmas Love was such a beautiful example of our small groups
serving as they each adopted one of our families from the church who
were in need, providing gifts to meet some needs, as well as blessing
them with some extra Christmas love. We were able to bless twenty
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one families and individuals, as well as deliver poinsettias to shut-ins.
Twenty one groups participated, as well as some individuals and
families who wanted to forego their own gifts and bless another
family instead.
Our small groups are a picture of our church family, with diversity for
any age, stage of life, time restraints or family stage. If you are looking
for a small group or are interested in leading one (we are always
looking for more leaders), please contact our Director of Adult
Ministries, Janice Dorazio.
encouraged by some testimonies and worship around the bonfire. In
our largest event of the year we had the privilege of hosting the Beth
Moore simulcast in September. We had been encouraged to use this
simulcast as an outreach, and many of our women invited their
friends and neighbours. Beth’s ministry, along with Travis Cottrell’s
worship leading, was a highlight of the year for our women.
BOOMERS
Our Women in the Word Bible studies are another great
opportunity to connect as women on either Tuesday
morning or Wednesday evenings. We began the year with
Priscilla Shirer’s study “One In a Million” and then in the Fall over 125
women enjoyed Beth Moore’s “Children of the Day” study of 1 & 2
Thessalonians. We are so thankful for Jo Buck’s leadership in our
Women in the Word Bible Studies. This Fall, Tracey Steffens took a
sabbatical from the Wednesday evening studies and Janice Dorazio
filled that gap. Many thanks also goes to those who volunteer on
Tuesday mornings to do childcare for pre-school children so that our
young moms are able to be involved in these sessions! Again this
year we were able to be involved in helping the “United House” of
Redwood Park Community, by collecting gift cards and doing some
baking for the ladies and their children who were living there. This is
a transition housing project for women and their children who have
come from the Women’s shelter. What a blessing it was for our
women to partner with United House and share Christ’s love with
these families in a practical way.
Our Boomers group is for anyone in the ‘Baby Boomers’ age
group. They meet four times a year for special events such
as cross country skiing or snowshoeing in the Winter, a
Summer visit to Paul and Rosemary Frazer’s cottage, a Fall hike, and a
formal Christmas dinner. Thank you to the Frasers who give
leadership to this ministry.
Thank you also to the Shower Committee who organize and host
showers for engaged couples to encourage brides-to-be, showering
them with love and gifts. Kristy Long faithfully looks after the
ministry to first-time-moms and presents them with a gift from
Emmanuel to celebrate such a special occasion.
WOMEN’S MINISTRY
MEN’S MINISTRY
Our focus this past year for Emmanuel Women was that
women of all ages would feel connected in our community
of women and the church as a whole, being empowered by
the realization that God has created each one of us in our uniqueness
and we are all important as a part of the larger community of women
at Emmanuel.
The Emmanuel Men’s Ministry continues to be a great
opportunity for men of faith to come together and
encourage one another in the Lord. About 50 men
attended the Men’s Winter Retreat in February 2014 to hear Dave
Barker of Heritage Bible College and Seminary, who encouraged us
to be men of God. In addition to the retreat, Authentic Manhood’s
series “33” continues to be a wonderful time of prayer and spiritual
growth as men gather weekly on Wednesday nights to study God’s
word. There is also still a 6 a.m. prayer time on Tuesday mornings for
men. This is a great opportunity to encourage and challenge each
other as we seek God’s face in prayer. Why not consider joining this
weekly group?
SENIORS
JOY Fellowship continues to minister to senior adults
(average age 70+). Organized by a Seniors Committee, the
group meets monthly on the third Thursday of each month
for concerts, special presentations of practical help to seniors,
mission team presentations, and reports from community
organizations ministering in Barrie. There is always lots of singing,
good fun and a hot meal. There are also daytrips to places of interest.
Pastor Brian Baxter oversees this ministry, as well as being our Pastor
of Visitation.
FELLOWSHIP
We began our year with an evening of Laughter and Chocolate in
February where the focus was to come together and connect around
the tables. We enjoyed some tasty treats and game time together,
with much laughter throughout the program. In May we were
privileged to host Carol Kent as our speaker for a Friday night and
Saturday Conference. Carol challenged us as she shared her personal
story and asked us to “Lay our Isaacs Down” for the Lord. Our own
Angela Turner and her team led us in worship for that week-end! In
August we had a tasty potluck BBQ dinner and then were
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F A M I LY M I N I S T R I E S
Families are so important at Emmanuel.
And while there is still so much to do
to strengthen our Emmanuel families in
THE CREEK: Critters & Explorers
The Emmanuel family has been so fortunate to have the
leadership of Nancy Alves and Tanya Beerman over these
important ministry teams. These teams provide Jesus’
tangible love to our babies and preschoolers, as their first overall
experience in church. The core team is galvanizing into a strong
leadership ministry team. We’re so thankful to all the God-hearted
servants who serve in these two important areas week to week.
their role as primary disciple-makers of
THE WOODS
We’re so grateful for the army of
While the Children’s Ministry Leader search continues,
we’ve had the help of many individuals to cover the interim.
They deserve mention: Bethany Winger, Liz Koevoet, DJ
Mudde, Bethany Mudde, and Alex Bushby. Of course, there are many
more involved in leadership and volunteer capacities, from
Checkpoint teams greeting and helping families sign in, to the Bible
Story tellers, hosts, worship leaders, small group leaders, resource
workers and special needs buddies. We are so blessed by God to have
their giftedness harnessed for the spiritual growth of our children.
God has given us a fabulous army of faithful workers to continue
teaching our grade school-aged children how to walk with Him. A
significant number of our key Woods leaders are eagerly following
God’s leading to join the Orillia church plant team. We’re excited to
watch how God will bring His choice replacements to the Woods to
make it progress with even greater effectiveness.
committed Christ-followers who make
KIDS CHOIR
the next generations, God is already
doing great things! We continue to
hear of families who were first drawn to
Emmanuel and to the Lord because of
their kids!
with our infants and children –
This year’s Christmas musical brought out the biggest
audience to date, introducing many extended family,
friends and neighbours to the life-giving message and
purpose of Jesus’ birth. Thank God for the long-standing, faithful
leadership of Jill Hynes and her ministry team.
thank God for their faithfulness.
MIDWEEK CHILDREN’S MINISTRIES
up the many ministry teams that work
Wednesday nights at Emmanuel are another great
opportunity for children’s ministry. Pastor Dave Chantler
gives oversight to these weeknight ministries. Our Outback
program (SK - Grade 5 girls; SK - Grade 2 boys) has very committed
adult and student volunteers. This Fall we were thankful to have our
Pastoral Intern, Luke Crawford, take over the leadership of this
ministry. There has been a strong relationship between he and the
volunteers, with improvements made in planning, programming and
leader development. As a great outreach tool with kids inviting their
friends from school, we have seen a number of children accept Christ
through this ministry. We praise God for all those who pour
themselves into the lives of our Outback kids!
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This year our Eagles (Grade 3 – 5 boys) moved back
downstairs to the Eagles Room. They have a ton of energy
and this is a great environment for the boys! The Key Videos
on the Smart TV, using multi media, really captures their attention
and sets them up for learning. There is a big emphasis on bringing
their Bibles and learning their memory work. One of the highlights
was our Outside Campfire Christmas Event! We are grateful for all the
men who volunteer to work with our boys in our Eagles program –
but we are always looking for more support. Why not consider
impacting our young men by helping with this great ministry!
D AY C A M P
Pastor Dave Chantler also oversees our Day Camp
DAY Ministries. Amanda Ens took on the role of Day Camp
CAMP Director one last time as she now hands the reigns over to
Kyleigh MacLeod for 2015. Thank you Amanda for your commitment
to our Day Camp Ministry and welcome Kyleigh! We had a fantastic
staff of counsellors, counsellors-in-training, and many adult
volunteers. This past summer we had the maximum number of
campers attend both Day Camp and Sports Camp. Our outreach
opportunities continue to increase as we see more and more children
come from our community. There were 198 children who responded
to the message on ‘Gospel Day’. We are so thankful for the Lord’s
faithfulness and provision for this ministry.
This year Extreme Camp (Grade 6 - 8) was maxed out and
we had a waitlist of students. We had 93 students attend
the camp and we had 23 dedicated leaders. Despite many
program changes because of the weather, the leaders stayed positive
and enthusiastic. The Jr. High students were challenged physically
and spiritually, and several students made first time decisions; what
an incredible week!
One evening during Extreme Camp we had the students serve in the
community in different areas, including: visiting four nursing homes,
writing encouragement letters to widows, and doing some baking.
The impact of this service project on our community and on our
students is very rewarding.
I loved how your whole program was
so child centered! I think your Church
has figured out the secret to engaging
children effectively.
Day Camp Parent
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STUDENT MINISTRIES
JUNIOR HIGH
This year our Junior High program changed its name to
Ignite. Our emphasis for the Wednesday evening program
was to ensure that all students who came felt they were
valued and connected. Pastor Dave Chantler is our Pastor of Junior
High Students and serves alongside an incredible group of 23
dedicated Christ following leaders who love Jr. High kids and are
committed to their small groups.
We have had some record breaking attendance on Wednesday nights
with over 150 Jr. High students attending on a regular night. One
highlight of 2014 was a grade 8 student who committed an idea to
prayer, and was able to see what God can do. She got her school to
participate in Operation Christmas Child, which brought in just over
280 boxes!
A highlight for many of our grade 8 girls is the small group study,
Lies Young Women Believe. This is a six-week study that gives them
opportunity to discuss in a small group, the challenges and issues
they are facing.
An evening of babysitting was also offered to parents provided by
our Jr. High students and leaders. This has been our third year doing
this just before Christmas and it has been very well received.
It is such a blessing to see God working in the lives of these Junior
High aged students, and not only witness the growth in their lives,
but watch as they impact their families and community.
We are so thankful to God for our Junior High team, and excited to
see what God will continue to do in the lives of our Junior High
students in 2015!
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EMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH MINISTRY REPORT 2014
HIGH SCHOOL
C E N T R E D ( Y O U N G A D U LT ) M I N I S T R Y
2014 was a rich year for our High School students led by our
Pastor of High School Ministries, Jon Fitter. In 2014 we
tackled major topics on what it means to be a Man and
Woman in God’s design, and are continuing to tackle controversial
truths, with the hopes of equipping the young generation to handle
our ever changing world and the consistent pressures they feel in
High School, the workplace, and in higher education.
2014 was a year of growth for our Young Adults community,
not only in our knowledge of and love for God, but also in
centred our love for one another. We’ve seen God’s hand at work as
we’ve prayed, worshipped and studied His Word and we’re extremely
thankful for His grace! Pastor Jordan Wilcox, who had come on staff in
an Interim position in 2013 became the permanent Pastor of Young
Adults last June. He and Olivia have done an amazing job leading this
group of young adults.
We had many event highlights in 2014! Here are a few that stand out:
Our Fall Retreat was a great time of going deeper and making
rich connections among the students and in their small groups!
We saw God break down walls and move our students to follow Him
more closely!
Our Outreach Events were the Superbowl (287 students) and our
Laser Tag All-Nighter (over 90 students). These were great
opportunities for the gospel to be presented. Small Groups also
started their Servolution initiatives this year, which saw students love
on people from the community in the name of Jesus!
‘Going Deeper’ Events were Snocamp and Inside Out with Dr. Craig
Brannan. Students got real with one another and gained victory over
sin. Both events were so encouraging as God clearly worked among
the group.
Behind the scenes of our regular programming are leaders taking
seriously the call to make disciples and therefore investing much
time and prayer into our students.
Here are a few of the Spiritual highlights of 2014: In the Spring we
began a series on the book of John where we were reminded of the
new and abundant life that Jesus offers to those who believe in Him.
In the Fall we launched a series on the book of James where we
learned that true faith in Christ results in a life that is completely
changed; a life that is transformed fully by the Gospel. Together we
were challenged to put our faith into action, both by caring for the
world and people around us and by keeping ourselves unstained
from the world. Finally, in the summer we began several small group
Bible studies, which met to pray and study God’s Word together.
Some other highlights of the year included: a camping trip to Killbear
Provincial Park, which was attended by more than 50 of our group;
a number of our young adults being baptized in August at the annual
Beach, BBQ and Baptisms event; and finally, a Christmas Banquet
where almost 100 gathered to share a meal and celebrate the birth
of Christ.
Please pray that God would continue to lead the young adults as we
seek to win, teach and equip our world to passionately follow Jesus!
One of the biggest highlights of the year was our exceptional team of
students who went to Poland! They trained hard and went well
equipped to live out and share the gospel of Jesus! We saw many
Polish students come to know Jesus and there was a great follow-up
effort led by the local church! We have tremendous students who
love Jesus radically! Praise God for His work among them and how He
held us together as a team!
Overall, this year’s theme is God working on, in and among us,
often despite our short comings. We have seen many of our students
grow so much deeper in their walk and be that much more prepared
for their world in, and after, High School. May God bring many more
students to know Him and grow in a rich relationship with Him
in 2015!
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OUTREACH MINISTRIES
Our church’s mandate is to
Make Disciples.
We do that by going,
with a passion to make God known.
This year we have seen transition within the Outreach Ministries here
at Emmanuel. Over the past few years, this area has been led by
Pastor Dave Whitelaw. This year, however, Emmanuel//Barrie has felt
the call to launch a new work up in Orillia. God is calling us to expand
our ministry with the opportunity to reach yet another city with the
Gospel. Pastor Dave ended his time here at Emmanuel//Barrie and
has set out to launch the new church work called Emmanuel//Orillia.
To fill the gap left by Pastor Dave’s transition, we have hired Pastor
Eric Hartlen as the Interim Pastor of Outreach. We are looking
forward to his wisdom and passion for reaching the unchurched in
the city of Barrie in 2015.
Here are some highlights of what happened through Outreach
Ministries this year:
The goal of The Story (Evangelism Training) is to equip people to
have confidence and a burden to share their faith in Jesus Christ in
their everyday lives. This past year we had 19 people go through “The
Story” program. Pray that our church will share, with loving
confidence, the gospel to others. Pray that people’s hearts would be
prepared and ready to hear the message of Jesus Christ.
E VA N G E L I S T I C E V E N T S
In the Fall of 2013 we launched a 4/12 Challenge. We challenged our
church family to think of four individuals, couples or families who
they would commit to pray for over the next twelve months. We
asked them to look for opportunities to share the gospel with these
people, and to invite them to some of our upcoming events. One of
these events of 2014 was The Gatherings. This was a week filled with
different events that people could invite their friends to. Some of the
gatherings that we had were: a concert with Jacob Moon on
Thursday night; Kids Cartoon Hour with bouncy castles and a Veggie
Tales movie on Saturday morning; a Saturday Family Night of
entertainment with Bob Cates; and Sunday morning service with
Christina Lenko (Hunter) and JJ Hunter. Many people attended these
events and heard the gospel message presented in different and
creative ways.
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ALPHA
SERVOLUTION
Alpha is an opportunity for people to come with questions
about faith and spirituality. It is also a great tool to remind
our church family to be challenged to start praying for their
friends, co-workers and neighbours, and to be encouraged to invite
them to these informative nights. Alpha takes place on Friday nights,
twice a year; once in the Fall, and again in the Spring. It’s an eightweek program combining dinner, a video and discussion about
Christianity. This year we had nine people commit their lives to Christ.
Praise God! Thanks to Jessica Meadows for her leadership in the
kitchen and for all the valuable kitchen volunteers. This ministry, as
well as the Marriage and Parenting Courses, couldn’t run without a
strong, encouraging and humble team.
At Emmanuel we love our City and desire to be a Church
who is FOR the City and not simply a Church who is IN the
servolution
City. Our Servolution opportunities fall under three
categories: Big Serves, Team Ups, and Community Needs.
In 2014 we saw a transition within The Marriage Course program.
Scott and Tracy Blackburn, who have led the course for the last few
years, became missionaries to Peru. This opened the door for
Howard and Heidi Hildebrand to begin leading this vital ministry.
The Marriage Course encourages couples that have been married for
a short time or even for many years, to continue to grow and build
strong relationships. The course is offered both in the Fall and Spring,
and this past year we had many couples who took part in this
ministry. Praise God for what He is doing in these couples’ hearts
and marriages.
Phil and Val St. Pierre lead The Parenting Course. There are two
separate courses: Parenting Children and Parenting Teens. These
courses are designed to equip parents, parents-to-be, and caregivers,
and give them practical tools in how to raise their children. We had
many parents take The Parenting Course to equip themselves to
parent effectively.
Big Serves are opportunities that we as a church have to
reach out and serve our city in tangible and creative ways.
This year we filled 200 backpacks for local families in need.
We also filled 200 bags of school supplies that were sent to Haiti with
the ‘Hope for Haiti’ Ministry, which enabled children to go to school.
We donated clothes to the Penetanguishene Prison, and gave cereal
and water to the David Busby Centre. We raised money for the
Pregnancy Resource Centre, held a food drive that collected items for
the Barrie Food Bank, and sent a team to the Food Bank to sort food.
We also were able to fill hundreds of shoeboxes for Operation
Christmas Child.
Team Ups are opportunities for us to come along side
others who are doing Servolution Projects and raise
awareness for them. This year we teamed up with UnTied, a
group at Emmanuel who held a clothing drive to raise money to free
those trapped in the sex slave industry.
We also want to partner with other organizations within our
city to raise awareness, encourage volunteerism and help
meet some of their ongoing needs. This falls under
Community Needs. This year we were able to help out Redwood Park
Community, Barrie Food Bank, David Busby Centre, Youth Haven,
Barrie Pregnancy Resource Centre, and Royal Victoria Hospital, to
name a few. It is a privilege to use the gifts and resources God has
blessed us with to reach out and serve our community.
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OUTREACH MINISTRIES
DIVORCE CARE
CHRISTMAS OUTREACH
We were very pleased to be able to offer Divorce Care this
Fall under the very capable leadership of Jake and Wilma
Hoeppner. Jake and Wilma lovingly help each member walk
a difficult road by leading this thirteen-week support group. Divorce
Care is a ministry that not only helps those in our own church family,
but also those in the community who are affected by the pain of
separation and divorce. Thank you to Barbara and Ross Cotton for
providing a delicious meal in a beautiful Christmas setting in the
atrium to our participants and leaders on the final evening session.
Our largest outreach event of the year continues to be the Christmas
Musical. Tracey Steffens and Paul Turner were excited to present their
very own musical this year: ‘The Child’. We performed four shows as
well as offered a free show for veterans and their families. We had
many people come to the performances with no previous
connection to Emmanuel – many of whom heard the gospel for the
first time, presented so well by Pastor Dave Whitelaw after each
performance. We praise God for Tracey Steffens, Bekki Bielby, Steve
Winfield and the many others in the cast and behind the scenes, who
devote so much of their time to prepare the Christmas Musical each
year. For those involved in the musical, it is also a wonderful
opportunity to get to know new people; over two hundred people
combined to make up the cast, crew, ushers, kitchen crew, and
greeters. Perhaps the 2015 Christmas Musical would be the
opportunity you need to get to know others at Emmanuel.
GRIEF SHARE
We were again privileged as a church to offer both a
morning and evening session of Grief Share, in the Spring
and the Fall. Thank you to Paul and Dianne Kerr for their
continued leadership of the Wednesday morning session and to
Barbara Lawrenson who led the Spring session on Thursday
evenings. Cathy and Dave Chapman graciously took over the
Thursday evening session in the Fall and we are thankful that they
will continue leading this session into next year. There are often a
number of community members who attend our Grief Share
sessions, referred by a family member or friend, or they find us
through advertising or online. Our Fall Thursday evening session
enjoyed ending their time together by attending our Christmas
Outreach Dessert Theatre.
MOPS
We are excited to have 45 mothers involved in our Mothers
of Preschoolers (MOPS) program with 73 children enjoying
MOPPETS. Our moms have embraced our desire to reach
our friends and neighbours, and several new attendees that have
come this year have come through invitation from our church
attending moms. The gospel message is shared a number of times
throughout the year, with women sharing their personal stories
about how God has had an amazing impact in their own lives.
God faithfully answered our prayers and we were blessed with 37
wonderful and caring volunteers who genuinely love our children.
These volunteers teach and model the gospel for these children each
meeting. We also have four wonderful Mentor Moms to come
alongside our moms, share with them, and encourage them along in
their journey.
Our theme this year is “Be You, Bravely”, and our theme verse is Isaiah
43:18: ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am
doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am
making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.’
At any given moment in our lives each of us has: conversations we’ve
been putting off; reasonable risks we’ve been avoiding; goals we
want to achieve. We sometimes wait patiently for God to intervene
when He really wants us to act bravely and do something. Being a
follower of Jesus calls for courage. It takes courage to ask brave
questions and even more courage to search for the answers. We are
so excited to journey alongside our young moms this year as we ask
one another what it means to “Be you, Bravely”.
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GLOBAL OUTREACH
Summer 2014 included the bi-annual youth trip to Poland to run
English camps for Polish youth. Emmanuel’s team of twelve youth
formed a strong bond, worked well together, and built great
connections with the Polish teens. This was the first Poland trip for
team leaders Pastor Jon Fitter and Fred and Cyndi Van Arragon, and
their leadership was greatly appreciated.
The Missions Committee continues to pursue opportunities to work
with the Bengali people around Kolkata. Tim Beerman returned to
India in May to teach with Leaders For, providing Biblical training to
pastors and church leaders who otherwise receive very limited
Biblical education. In October, Pastor Rick accompanied Tim and they
spent two weeks in West Bengal, teaching with Leaders For and
visiting some of the projects Emmanuel is supporting. The Missions
Committee is seeking to be more involved in supporting Bengali
church planters and is partnering with an Indian organization in an
outreach program to a large slum in Kolkata.
Several others in our church family were involved in short term trips
throughout the year, to countries including Haiti, Madagascar,
Guatemala, and Kenya.
Dan and Nicole E. moved to Eastern Europe in April 2014, after a year
of preparation and raising support in Canada. When they complete
two years of language study, they will join their ministry team and
begin working with an unreached people group.
In 2015, the committee looks forward to sending a young adults’
team to India to do VBS programs, outreach, and visit Mahima Home
and other projects. As well, we are helping to support other short
term trips, such as a team going to Peru to do construction and repair
projects with Scott and Tracy Blackburn.
Become a part of what God is doing through Missions at Emmanuel
by getting to know Emmanuel’s missionaries (information is available
on the Missions Display) and joining us in prayer, or by considering a
long or short term trip to help bring light to those who desperately
need it.
We thank God for all He has done
in 2014. We continue to praise Him
for His blessings and press on
toward the goal!
Matt and Kristen F. have now been in Ukraine for two years and are
actively seeking to engage a people group in villages near the city
where they are living. They hope to eventually move to a village to be
closer to these people and have more consistency in the
relationships they are building.
In October, Scott and Tracy Blackburn moved to Peru to begin work
on reopening a home for children. Currently they are focusing on
language study and the many projects needed to make the
compound functional.
Fellowship French Missionaries David and Ruth Dobson, Yves Decary,
and Guy and Manon Lavoie retired at the end of 2014, after many
years of faithful service church planting in Quebec.
Simon White has joined the Missions Committee and brings new
perspective and personal experience in Russia and India.
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Emmanuel Baptist Church
374 Salem Road, Barrie, ON L9J 0C6
t: 705.728.3017
www.emmanuelbarrie.org