We are free to collaborate…
I want you to meet an FM’er from the Ottawa area who attends Chapel Ridge FM. He is the Executive Director of One Way Ministries. I’d like you to hear a little more about One Way because it certainly reflects the FMCiC’s Guiding Principle 1 “free to collaborate” with others who also love Jesus. I’d also like you to hear an invitation from Mark about a conference that several members of FMCiC have attended with excellent reviews:
Mark, you are a part of an important and actually unusual city-wide ministry: how long have you been with One Way and what is your role?
Mark: I’ve been with One Way Ministries since it started in 1996 – so 23 years. I’ve served as the Executive Director for the last 15. Currently there are approximately 200 churches involved and between 20-30 Christian organizations.
Wow! That is a significant connection! What does One Way do? How has One Way, in your opinion, contributed to Kingdom work in Ottawa?
Mark: Our mission statement is reaching the city by serving the leaders. Our focus is the Ottawa region.
We do this by:
- facilitating spaces where leaders of different types of leaders can be encouraged to go deeper in their faith with Jesus, experience healthier intimate relationships, grow their skills to lead effectively and develop friendships with other leaders in our city.
- encouraging leaders to pray and lead other to pray for our city – so that it might be prayer saturated.
- inviting leaders to use our ministry platform to organize their missional teams from. So that we might bring Jesus to the City and the City to Jesus.
I think our biggest contribution to the city is helping our leaders develop trusting friendships with one another. It’s resulted in about 15 cross denominational missional teams that seek to serve the local churches in out city and help the church to reach out and love our city in Jesus name.
You recently sponsored an event called Posture Shift, which by all accounts was meaningful (I mean I spoke to a several pastors and lay people who attended, and they had very good things to report). Tell us about the event.
Mark: The event was designed to provide a safe environment where our pastoral and church leaderships community could have honest conversations about how to engage and reach the LGBT+ communities. We brought in a ministry called “Lead Them Home”, who have spoken on this subject to over 60,000 leaders around North America in the last 10 years. They were excellent.
The challenge we tried to engage in on the 2 day event was, given a traditional, conservative theology, how do we radically and effectively engage and love this community in our cultural context today? We thought this event would be popular, but we had no idea at the deep hunger there was for it. It ended up selling out very quickly.
You will be running it again in February – why don’t you take this opportunity to invite FMCiC…
Mark: Yes, we are planning on re-running the event and all would be welcome pastors from the FMCiC to attend and perhaps bring one or two of their local with them. Here’s where you can register:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/posture-shift-intensives-course-ottawa-on-february-2020-registration-82867760703?aff=website-event-block
PS – here in Ottawa in early February we celebrate Winterlude where our canal is frozen and you can skate the length of it – all 7.8 kms. Come to the conference and take in Winterlude?
This week the Mentors (Barry, Nathan, Will, Vic, Brent, Darrin), Network Leaders, Regional Coaches, Church Planting Coaches and the National Leadership Team are meeting. We will be discussing the new Mentor’s Team unfolding vision for networks. We will discuss communication and boundaries:
Mentors –Network Leaders — Regional Coaches — Church Planting Coaches — NLT.
Pray for this leaders as they meet.
This week at my local church Pastor Jon introduced this year’s theme Bible verse. In fact he put it up on screen and lead us through an exercise where we all memorized it together. He then gave each of us a business card size card with the verse on it to stick up on our “dash, mirror or fridge”. If nothing else happened this morning in that service, a congregation memorized a Bible verse –
hide God’s Word in our corporate and individual hearts. It was a good day!
At General Conference we will vote on “Guiding Principles” which are our traditional “Frees” translated into 2020 Canadian English. This particular reference is to the following proposed new guiding principle:
Free to collaborate: We are all free to work, pray, learn, and partner with people, churches, and organizations that are in harmony with our vision to see a healthy church within the reach of everyone in Canada and beyond.
MEDIA CONNECTIONS
Church Health Thursdays – What Mr. Church Health Wants for Christmas: https://fmcic.ca/what-mr-church-health-wants-for-christmas/
News & Stories Blog – First Response Bags: https://fmcic.ca/first-response-bags/
the conneXion – a Free Methodist theology blog: 3 Minute Theology 2.5: Knowing the Bible Inside Out: https://fmcic.ca/3-minute-theology-2-5-knowing-the-bible-inside-out/
New Leaf Network: The 2019 New Leaf Advent Reader – : https://www.newleafnetwork.ca/podcast/
ANNOUNCEMENTS
None this week
ORDINATION AND COMMISSIONING SERVICES
Rev. Todd Stelmach (Kingston, ON) – ordination service on February 2nd at 4 pm at Rustle Free Methodist Church, Kingston
FOUNDATIONAL COURSES https://fmcic.ca/foundational-courses/
Register online through the link above
Lay Ministers tracking for credentialed ministry and those transferring ordination credentials into the FMCiC need to take the following two courses for full credit – and if possible, the Heart course first and then Wesleyan Theology.
Heart of Canadian Free Methodism:
June 5-7, 2020 – at Kingsview Free Methodist Church, Etobicoke, ON
November 6-8, 2020 – location TBA*
Wesleyan Theology:
June 5-7, 2020 – location TBA*
November 6-8, 2020 – location TBA*
(also available online through FMC-USA: http://fmcusa.org/leadership/courses/)
Ministerial Candidates tracking for Commissioned or Ordained Minister are required to take the following two courses for full credit. Those who are already commissioned or ordained are required to either audit these two courses for 1 Continuing Education Unit (CEU) each or take the two courses and complete the assignments for 3 CEUs each.
Culture and the Missional Church:
Ontario course date and location TBA*
Personal and Church Stewardship:
5-week online course (FRENCH) – start date – TBA
6-week online course (ENGLISH) – start date – June 1, 2020
(* These course locations are selected based on where the majority of the participants reside – so please register early! Note: Tuition payment is not required when registering for a course. Payment is due 10 days before the course begins.)
2020 SCHOLARSHIPS https://fmcic.ca/scholarships/
February 15 is the deadline to apply for the Leadership Scholarship Plan (LSP) for any courses taken during the winter semester of 2020. The 2020 application forms and instructions are now available to download from the link above.
October 15 is the deadline to apply for the annual Special Scholarships for courses taken during 2020 – apply online from the link above.
CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS (CEUs) https://fmcic.ca/introduction-to-continuing-education/
Ordained and Commissioned Ministers (except retirees) are to annually report Continuing Education Units (CEUs) acquired during each year. Check the link above for information on CEUs, the report form and a list of examples of many different types of life-long learning that can be applied as CEUs.
Note: For those who attend the fall Minister’s Conferences, add 6 hours of CEU credit when you send in your annual CEU report.
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CHURCHES IN TRANSITION
Interviewing
Athens FMC, Athens, ON
Lakeland Community Church, Spiritwood, SK
Queensway FMC, Niagara Falls, ON
Church Profiles available
Contact Susan DePlanché in the Leadership Development Office to request a church profile – [email protected] or 289-228-1225 (deadline to apply in brackets)
None available at this time
Preparing Profiles
(If you are interested in seeing the profile for any of these churches, please contact Susan in the Leadership Development Office [[email protected] or 289-228-1225] and the profile will be emailed to you as soon as it becomes available.)
Campbellford FMC, Campbellford, ON
Cedar Street Community Church, Simcoe, ON
Eyebrow FMC, Eyebrow, SK
First FM Church, New Westminster, BC
Pineview FMC, Cloyne, ON
Richmond Hill Chinese & English FM Churches, Richmond Hill, ON
Smiths Falls FMC, Smiths Falls, ON (Rev. Aaron Birtch – Transition Pastor)
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Executive Director – Wesley Acres Christian Retreat Centre
Youth Pastor – Malvern Methodist
