CliffsNotes – November 28, 2017

Dear Pastors and Church Leaders,

A checklist of responsibilities for pastors and the local church:

• Core 10% (this is a faith-thing for your leadership team and church family – you can’t very well ask your congregation to tithe if as a leadership team you are not tithing!)
• Point Person for National Prayer Team (have you already sent a name to Ken Roth or Cliff for a point person for our national prayer initiative?)
• Monthly Communication Video (are you showing the one minute videos that FMCIC is sending out – we are asking that you show it only one time publically monthly?)
• Reading Cliff’s Notes & Praying for our Movement? (do people in your church know that they can sign up for Cliff’s Notes, and do you pray weekly for FMCIC?)

A non-exhaustive list of what it means for us to be connected as a Church (some benefits of being FM):

• Prayer support from one another and a National Prayer Team
• A National Leadership Team to support your church and pastor
• An overseeing ordination / tracking team (MEGAP)
• An on-going group of Godly scholars asking and answering how we are to be culturally relevant while remaining doctrinally pure (SCOD)
• An overseeing national body to mobilize us as local churches to be healthy and make a difference nationally and internationally (Board of Administration)
• An Administrative Services department to help you with legal concerns
• An Administrative Services department to help you with financial issues: church and pastors (i.e. central pay, pensions and benefits)
• Church Planting Director and Team to help you and us together further the Kingdom
• Church Health Team to help with conflict resolution and long term church family health strategy
• Leadership Development Team to help you disciple young leaders and to help us recruit new leaders
• Global Missions Team to reboot missions in Canada: to resource your church, to develop short term project opportunities to disciple our young people in mission
• Refugee sponsorship
• Networks to support our pastors (with trained Network Leaders and overseeing Mentors)
• Accountability Partners for each pastor to help holistically (creativity, physically / health, academically, emotionally / relationally, and spiritually)
• Regional Coaches to support church health and have greater contact with our pastors
• Subsidized counseling / therapy for our pastors and pastoral families
• Mandated Sabbaticals for pastors
• Regional Gatherings for the movement to communicate, touch base, PRAY, vision…
• Ministers’ Conference to PRAY and be refreshed
• International Child Care Ministries to help your church reach children all over the world
• The FMCIC is under the Free Methodist World Conference so that all matters of doctrine come under the international church’s oversight
• International fellowship and prayer support by FM international
• Scholarships for students
• Continuing Education requirements and opportunities (and scholarships for this)
• Regional Women’s Conferences
• FM Church camps
• FMCIC fully funded Internships for students and potential ministers…
• ETC, ETC!!

This weekend Karlene and I were with the Malvern FM church family. Pastor Michael has completed the tracking process and is now a member of the FMCIC – I was pleased to be with Pastor Michael and his wife Ardith to present his credentials. On Saturday the Malvern board met to discuss core values, vision and mission. A fun treat was that Pastor Michael had invited two young men from Barrie for special music – a sort of R&B-with rap. Malvern, I look forward to hearing what it means for you to accept responsibility for your community!

Church Health Survey
For all those who have already completed the Church Health Survey – thank you! If you have not yet done so, please take time to complete the 16 question survey. Just a reminder that at least three people should fill out this survey – Lead Pastor, Board Chair, and Delegate.  If you would like more people (staff or leaders) to participate, that would be great  but we would still like three of you to respond to the survey at this time.
Here is the link to the Church Health Survey

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SAVE THE DATE – 2018 REGIONAL GATHERINGS

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MEDIA CONNECTIONS

Church Health Thursdays -Three Common Idols in Churches: https://fmcic.ca/three-common-idols-in-churches/New
News & Stories Blog – Being Ambassadors Outside the Church Walls: Conversation with a Millenial ‘Done’: https://fmcic.ca/being-ambassadors-outside-the-church-walls-conversation-with-a-millenial-done/ New
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 Podcast: Learning Party Talks – Mark Groleau: https://www.newleafnetwork.ca/podcast/ep-50-learning-party-talks-mark-groleau/ New
Faith and Finances Website: http://faithandfinances.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FMCIC
LifePlan Study Team Files

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SCHOLARSHIPS

The next deadline is February 15, 2018 to apply for the Leadership Scholarship Plan (LSP) for the winter semester of 2018.  More information is available at this link:https://fmcic.ca/scholarships/

FOUNDATIONAL COURSES

Heart of Canadian Free Methodism:
June 1-3, 2018 in Western Canada (location TBA*)

Wesleyan Theology:
June 1-3, 2018 in Ontario (location TBA*)
(also available online through FMC-USA: http://fmcusa.org/leadership/courses/)

Personal and Church Stewardship
6-week online course – begins January 29, 2018

Culture and the Missional Church:
Next course date and location TBA*

(*these locations will be selected based on where the majority of the participants reside – so please register early!)

Registration is online for all courses at this link: https://fmcic.ca/foundational-courses/. Those tracking for credentialed ministry should take the Heart course first and then Wesleyan Theology if possible.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Pastor Andrew Dexter has been approved as a Ministerial Candidate and appointed as the Pastor at Genesis House Free Methodist Church in Okotoks, AB.
• Rev. Craig Peters, Lead Pastor at Polson Park Free Methodist Church, has completed the transfer of his ordination credentials into The Free Methodist Church in Canada.
• Rev. David Greene, Associate Pastor at Arlington Woods FM Church in Ottawa, has gone into transition.
• Rev. Jason Johnson and the West Springs Free Methodist Church in Calgary, AB have gone into transition.
• Rev. Jay Mowchenko and the Weyburn Free Methodist Church in Weyburn, SK have gone into transition.

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CHURCHES IN TRANSITION
Interviewing
Harrowsmith FMC, Harrowsmith, ON
Rustle FMC, Kingston, ON
Sault Ste Marie FMC, Sault Ste Marie, ON

Church Profiles available
Contact Susan DePlanché  in the  Leadership Development Office to request a church profile – [email protected] or 289-228-1225.
None

Preparing Profiles

(If you are interested in seeing the profile for any of these churches, please contact Susan at the Leadership Development Office [[email protected] or 289-228-1225] and the profile will be emailed to you as soon as it becomes available.)

Athens FMC, Athens, ON (Angel Valentin-Transition Pastor)
Asbury FMC, Perth, ON
Caistor Centre FMC, Caistor Centre, ON (Mary Lee DeWitt-Transition Pastor)
Centennial Chapel FMC, Kamloops, BC (Vern Frudd-retiring May 31, 2018)
Cornerstone FMC, Prince Albert, SK – (Dyan Mouland – Transition Pastor)
Dunnville FMC, Dunnville, ON
Grapeview FMC, St. Catharines, ON (Dan Sheffield – Transition Pastor)
Madoc Free Methodist/ Wesleyan Church
Marmora FMC, Marmora, ON
Melfort FMC, Melfort, SK
Odessa FMC, Odessa, ON
Tabernacle de la Grace, Montreal QC
Thunder Bay FMC, Thunder Bay, ON (Andre Korstanje retiring July 2018)
Warkworth FMC, Warkworth, ON

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Functioning with approved local arrangements
Avonlea FMC, Avonlea SK
Campbell’s Bay FMC, Campbell’s Bay, QC (Orville White)
Church On The Hill, Orillia ON
Cordova Mines FM Fellowship, Cordova Mines, ON
Dryden FMC, Dryden, ON
Eglise Chrétienne Méthodiste Libre de Le Gardeur, QC (Duplan Auguste Lython)
Enterprise FMC, Enterprise, ON
Killarney FMC, Killarney, MB (Raymond Riglin)
Markham FMC, ON (K.K. Leung)
Pineview FMC, Cloyne, ON
Richmond Hill Chinese & English Churches, Richmond Hill, ON (K.K. Leung)
Roblin FMC, Roblin, MB (Heath Butler)
Surrey FMC, Surrey BC (Nathaniel Prakash)
theStory, Sarnia, ON
Timmins FMC, Timmins, ON (Lewis Byer)
Wesley Chapel Japanese FM Church, Toronto, ON (Misa Mochinaga)
Wyevale FMC, Wyevale, ON
Yarker FMC, Yarker, ON (Ken Babcock)

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PASTORS IN TRANSITION
Glen Coates
Roxanne Goodyear
Kim Henderson
Fred Merritt
Derek Spink
Grant Wolfe
Mary-Elsie Wolfe
Wesley Wood

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EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Associate Pastor – Barrie FM Church
Associate Pastor – Trulls Road FM Church