Beginning January 3rd through April 24th we will work our way through the book of Philippians. These months will provide for us a with an opportunity to examine consider Paul’s heart for the church in Phillipi. Read more
Archive for year: 2015
Some may not understand why I get so excited about a sermon series, so allow me to explain. First, it is the word of God and I am always amazed by the depth and hope of each passage. This is true of 1 John, because every passage is an explosion of life changing truth. Secondly, every new book has some unique benefits. You may be asking, “What are the unique benefits of 1 John?” Read more
Do you need a time to get away with the girls? Have you been looking for something to do with your daughter or mother? We have a wonderful opportunity for you Read more
When we think about the desperately lost places in the world we often think of Africa, Asia, or some place across the pond. All the while, there is a multitude of lost nations just 14 hours from our front door (Cabool, MO). Toronto, Canada has 6 million people living in the metropolitan area. It contains 1/5 of the entire population of Canada and over 1/2 of the city’s population is foreign born. However, in this diverse city there is only one Canadian National Baptist Convention church for every 167,000 people. As one church planter has stated,
The largest growing religion in Toronto is “none.”
Therefore there is desperate need to pray for workers for this harvest.
God in his divine wisdom has already begun this work. In 2013 Daniel Yang and Mike Seaman answered this call to plant a church in this harvest field. In January of 2013 these two men providentially met and God joined their hearts together around one agenda, making disciples in Toronto. Out of this meeting came the birth of Trinity Life Church (TLC) in September 2013. God has blessed their efforts and allowed the seed of their core group to grow into 90 – 1oo regular attending adults. Watch this video to hear their heart for the city and then consider doing more.
The Call to More
PRAY
Please be in prayer for this ministry in the following ways:
- The LGBTQ community is HUGE in Toronto and Canada. They are the most protected and elevated community, along with Muslims, within the city. Trinity Life Church desires to serve both of these communities and build bridges with the local churches. If they’re going to make any headway in their city with the gospel, then they need to actively pursue relationships here. They need much wisdom on this issue!
- Space is a huge issue in Toronto especially downtown. Since they’re growing, they need a space that will accommodate them. The other issue is, space is very expensive in downtown. They need God to provide!
- Pray God would bless them with continued fruitfulness in this diverse and much needed ministry.
ENCOURAGE
As was stated before in a previous post, if we are to do more then we must care. Take time to express your care by sending the leaders of this church a note of encouragement or a written prayer. You can also follow the church on Facebook for more ways to encourage them.
GIVE
Send Toronto is the North American Mission Board’s primary vehicle of supporting missions in Toronto. When you give to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering that money supports things such as church plants in this city. Considering assisting our church reach its goal of $3,000 this year by giving over and above your regular offering Simply place it in the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering envelope and place it in the offering plate.
If you would like to give directly to Trinity Life Church and support their ministry you can do so here.
GO
If you are interested in pursuing a mission trip to Toronto, please fill out the form below and begin praying that God would make a clear path for this ministry.
Let’s begin our call to more by considering the ministry of an organization by the name of Plant Midwest. Plant Midwest is a unique ministry which exists to encourage and equip all those participating in the church planting movement here in the Midwest. To that end, they host quarterly meetings for church planters, potential planters, pastors of established churches, leaders, and street missionaries from various regional gatherings and associations throughout Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Michigan, and Nebraska. Not only do they provide these quarterly meetings but they are catalyst for churches to partner together as we carry out the gospel mission. Read more
Every year Southern Baptist Churches across America begin collecting an offering titled the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. Named after a woman, Annie Armstrong, who transformed the way Southern Baptist do missions, this offering specifically supports missionaries across North America. One hundred percent of these funds are given directly to the missionaries and their work. This long-standing offering began in 1895 with approximately $5,000. However, in 2013 the offering collected was 57 million dollars. God has used the faithfulness of Southern Baptist for the last 119 years to do an incalculable work of missions through this offering.
We are praying that he will continue to do so in 2015. However, dangers exist in holding an offering such as this. It can be a temptation for Southern Baptist to merely put some money in an offering plate to support missions in general. Mrs. Annie would have been horrified by the thought of this. I want to issue A CALL TO MORE. Do more than drop a few dollars in a plate, commit in your heart to make this a season of care for missions. This can be accomplished in four specific ways.
Pray
Each day this week we will be posting specific missions and missionaries you can be praying for throughout your day. Take time to stop and pray for them with your family, in your small groups, and on your own. Don’t allow this to be a momentary thought rather devote your heart to lifting up the needs of these ministries and ministers to our Great God.
Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul. I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. (Psalm 66:16-19 ESV)
Encourage
Take time to read about each missionary or ministry and send them a note. We will include in each post a link to their Facebook page and/or an e-mail for you to send them some words of encouragement. In one year Annie Armstrong wrote 18,000 notes to encourage others to give, honor her legacy by sending messages to each of these missionaries. However, don’t allow this to be a one week event. If you use Facebook, follow them so you can see how God is using them and continue encourage them in the future. Missionary work can seem fruitless at times, because the fruit is not always immediate. Encouraging words can often bolster their perseverance in this difficult task.
Give
Don’t let this title scare you. Some may be saying, “Here we go again. They just want our money.” Let me exhort you with these words; Southern Baptist Missionaries are not rich, nor will they get rich doing this work. Many sacrifice nearness to relatives, good retirement plans, and benefits in order to barely get by, just so they can be more intentional about sharing the gospel and making disciples. This is not a task which bring fame and fortune, however it does exult the name of Christ among the nations. However, we must be realistic and see that this takes money. It takes money to have a place to live, food to eat, and a place to meet. It takes money to have the necessary resources for the work of ministry. So, give sacrificially in the same way they have sacrificially given their lives to this work. This can be accomplished through the offering time at your local church or at this link. Our church has a goal of $3,000, please consider joining us in this goal.
Go
I find it no coincidence that Christ encourages his disciples to pray for the missionaries (Luke 10:2) and then he sends them(Luke 10:3). So, I ask you to pray for more missionaries and I encourage you to consider how you might go on mission. Whether that be intentionality in your current community, taking short-term mission trips, or dedicating your life to being a missionary. This Sunday we will continue our sermon series through Gospel Mission, so join us in finding how you can be a part.
And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. (Luke 10:2-3 ESV)
The following video assists us in seeing how we can continue in the legacy of Annie Armstrong.