At Nassagaweya Presbyterian Church in Campbellville, Ontario, we rejoice in the arrival of our new minister, Rev. Reuben St. Louis. And, with his arrival, we have consequently made both changes and an exciting addition to our youth ministries.

One of our youth ministries has been KOTH – "Kids-on-the Hill" Club, established as a mid-week after-school programme for children aged JK-Grade 8. Recently this outreach was cancelled in large part due to the difficulty faced by any after-school ministry – the on-going challenge of the time it takes to transport children to the church. Rural parents, in particular, struggle with work schedules and other transportation issues in order to drop the kids off in a timely manner. Session is currently considering a revision to this valued programme.

In place of KOTH, recently we started Camp Nassagaweya on PA/PD Days (professional activity and development days for teachers), from 8 am to 5 pm. We offer music, skits, crafts, games, and stories. This is a free ministry to the families in our rural community, but we do mention that a freewill offering would assist us in planning camps in the future. The children are asked to bring a lunch (a light breakfast and an afternoon snack are provided), weather-appropriate clothes, running shoes, and a water bottle. The first day attracted 16 children, and the second day 20 children. We rejoice in this good beginning and ask you to pray for us as we plan more Day Camps in the fall.

There are several dynamic, growing churches in British Columbia and we have heard from two churches in the Presbytery of Westminster that have 'good news' to share and encourage the whole church.

1. St. John's Presbyterian Church, White Rock

Like many other churches, St. John's Presbyterian Church in White Rock suffered a steady decline in attendance. Faithful members moved into nursing homes, and many passed away. The youth in the area were attending more "vibrant" churches. The congregation prayed for renewal and growth. God heard our prayers, but answered in some unexpected ways.

Recently, a small Lutheran group asked for space in our building and began worshipping in one of our halls. After worship the two congregations join for coffee and fellowship. They also join some of our other activities: Alpha, the Women's Missionary Society, and Proclamation. We welcome them with open arms and they add fresh vibrancy to our gatherings.

God also brought a day care to our building. Not only do they add life to our building through the week, but they have transformed our Sunday School space. A support group for moms and tots has also started, using our space for a time of sharing and advice from a nurse.

We opened our hearts in prayer, and we opened the doors of our building. God has filled both and continues to take us on new adventures. Praise God!

2. St. Andrew's and St. Stephen's Presbyterian Church, North Vancouver

Another church in the Presbytery of Westminster, St. Andrew's and St. Stephen's Presbyterian Church, North Vancouver, also decided to make some changes. Commencing about 24 years ago the elders became really concerned about reaching young people with the Good News. Realizing the need for different service and music styles, they inaugurated an early service, making it less formal and using some of the old lively gospel music. This eventually grew into music led by a praise team with song leaders, drums, guitars, piano – the whole bit. The second service remained more traditional with the use of organ music and the hymn book.

This church has for many years employed a full- or part-time youth pastor – a necessity, not a luxury – so there are well-led youth groups and summer day-camps for children. The Senior Pastor chairs the Presbytery's summer camping ministry which is promoted.

It is not surprising that the early service has a full house with many young families, and children who hear a great message from one of the ministers before going on to Sunday School.

Members of the church are also "freed up" to do their ministry, so there are committees that specialize: one that prays for and promotes missions, another whose concern is evangelism, and the list goes on.

The April Presbyterian Record has an excellent article, Trusting and Trying – Weighing What Works at Westminster, by the Rev. Matthew Ruttan about Westminster Presbyterian Church in Barrie, Ontario, that has risen from the brink of extinction to becoming a vibrant, growing church. This is because they called a minister who "believes in the gospel" and "courageously" preaches it; a church that "realizes it is all about Jesus"; and a congregation that specializes in getting to know the names of, and in warmly welcoming, newcomers.

This North Vancouver church likewise loves the good news of Jesus, and Sunday by Sunday at both services, they have a teaching and evangelizing pulpit. And here is a little word for interim moderators and search committees: as a friend of mine says, "strong churches are not built around weak pulpits".

Valleyview Presbyterian Church

Twenty years ago, the congregation of Valleyview Presbyterian Church constructed a new building at a new location on the outskirts of Calgary, Alberta, surrounded only by fields and aspen groves. Twenty years later, this church now stands in the west suburbs of the city of Calgary.

Recognizing that Christ has provided a unique opportunity for us to connect with the community that has grown up around us and to reach out with the Gospel, Valleyview has been very intentional about making the transition from a small country church to becoming a moderate-sized community church.

Making this transition required a number of difficult changes, which everyone realized were necessary.

So we changed worship styles from traditional to contemporary, and we created an inviting, relaxed and informal atmosphere in our facilities. We leveraged the community connection potential of our facilities through renting to church-friendly pre-schools and before- and after-school care programs, just to give few examples. We even changed our name to Valleyview Community Church Calgary.

And slowly over the past five years, these efforts – covered by our weekly prayer ministry – have received Christ's blessing and He has added many new members to His Body.

We are now a healthy, vibrant, multi-cultural, inter-generational, growing church, and we are looking forward to continuing to discover new and innovative ways to be the presence of Christ out in our neighborhood.        

Children and Worship Team Leaders

Editor's Note – I would add "friendly and welcoming" to this description of Valleyview. I was a visitor on the first Sunday in February after a Saturday of leading a Children and Worship Training at Valleyview – see photo to the left of the Children and Worship Team Leaders.

Beside me in worship were parents with a baby on the left, and a younger man who recently moved to Canada from Korea on the right. In front, were two young girls dancing and also an elderly woman tapping her cane to the beat of the worship songs.

The worship team that day included a 12-year-old boy on drums, an energetic aging rocker on bass and others of diverse ages and ethnicity – a wonderful reflection of the congregation. May God be praised for blessing Valleyview and making them a blessing.

Share a Good News story of your congregation with Renewal Fellowship Board member Linda Shaw <ianandlindashaw@gmail.com> or call 519-428-5396

I have attended Cote des Neiges Presbyterian Church (Montreal) for eight years, and I've had the pleasure of being a part of the regular Wednesday gatherings for prayer. The leaders, Roberto and Jessica, have a strong burden for the well-being of our church. Through their humble, friendly, and warm leadership, Roberto and Jessica have set everyone at ease; from the very first meeting, they have set the tone for sincere, heartfelt prayers. Roberta has guided us in the art of prayer, which has not only encouraged us to articulate prayers at church, but has also renewed our zeal for at-home prayers. Sharing snippets of Bunyan, Goodwin, and Shepard – we're getting the how.

Although many of our entreaties have been for a new pastor, the requests are never wearisome but a delight. The prayer group members are committed to each other and have a burden for the whole church family. God hears our petitions, blesses the group, and makes the group a blessing to the whole church.

Each member of the group brings something special to our time together. Daniel brings not only his confidence in the Lord, but also his sparkling wit and zany humour. Lovina wears many hats in our little church, and her face shines commitment. Her earnest prayers reflect an expression of familiarity and an appreciation of the role of church. Enrique enriches us with the insight of his years and the unceasing flame of his love for Jesus. Rosemary's gift to our group is her experience as a missionary, and as chief cookie lady, we're also getting the sweets! Her very presence is a testimony to the way God matures us in the faith during our whole life-time. As for me, when I sit amongst this little group of bowed heads, uttering the holy name of our Creator – petitioning Him with the needs of our little church – seeing His sheep cry out to Him – praising Him – loving Him – I feel powerful, for I am reminded of a promise from the Lord: "The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results." – James 5:16.

Oh, what a delight to gather in prayer. The Lord is in our midst, and our hearts are full of sweet expectations from Him.

Update: The Rev. Joel Coppeters was inducted at our church in September. We have the new pastor we have been praying for! Pray for Cote des Neiges Presbyterian Church, where God is doing wonderful things! Amen!

Share your Good News story with Renewal Fellowship Board member, Linda Shaw <ianandlindashaw@gmail.com> or call 519-428-5396.

Like many Canadian Presbyterian Churches, St. Paul's, Simcoe, Ontario, has had a shrinking Sunday School over the last couple of decades. A year ago the average attendance was 3 or 4 students. In less than a year we have increased our average attendance by 400%. Now true, it is easier to double or in this case quadruple attendance if you start small, but this is still good news.

How did this happen? Well of course we prayed, but we also took action. We chose two new programs to make the Children's Ministry more attractive and spiritually enriching. For the younger children we chose the "Children and Worship Program", and four adults attended a two-day training session to equip them to be children's worship leaders. Since I have been using this Montessori-based program for over 20 years, it made the transition fairly easy. For the older children, we chose the Christian Reformed program called re:form, which includes discussion based on a DVD presentation. We have also had several fellowship events for the older children in our church family.

The rest of our success story rests on the faithfulness of people. Two sets of grandparents committed themselves to bringing their grandchildren to church. Two couples, who hadn't attended the church since they were teens, decided to come back to church and bring their children. The faithfulness of these four families has been a model for all because of their consistent attendance. Now if a family with children visits the church, we look "child friendly," because we have a critical mass of children.

We still have a lot of work to do, but for now we are enjoying the children and youth God has given us, and we are equipping them to be followers and disciples of Jesus. The congregation of St. Paul's, Simcoe is very happy to include more children and youth in their church family. For more information, please contact me.

St. Paul's, Simcoe, Ontario, is now the home of a ministry to seventeen adults with a developmental disability. We meet twice a month for worship, including some vibrant singing, Bible story and open prayer; a craft or activity time; and of course, coffee. From time to time we also go to "Friendship" conferences and special outings, but the important part of our times together is just being friends. Some of those "meeting for coffee" times between regular meetings may be the most significant.

This ministry grew out of a dream shared by three congregations. Two years ago the Anglican, Presbyterian, and Christian Reformed Churches in Simcoe committed to serving the community in this special way, and leaders come from all three of the congregations. Each year, we attend each sponsoring church once and lead in worship. Probably the highlight is the Christmas Pageant which we present at St. Paul's Presbyterian.

"Friendship in Faith" is good news because: (1) we are worshipping God together; (2) we are meeting one of the needs of our community which has a large number of group homes; (3) church members are serving and being blessed; (4) a number of vulnerable people have found a church home through this ministry; (5) we are working ecumenically; (6) we are all learning much about the work of the Holy Spirit through the lives of people who know God in a way most of us will never know because we are too self-sufficient; and, (6) the gatherings are just plain fun

An eleven-year journey of discernment, decisions, and dedication ended on January 29, 2012, when the congregation of St. Andrew's, Moncton NB, gathered for worship in their new building with their long-time pastor, The Rev. Dr. Martin Kreplin. The preceding Sunday, they had said farewell to their historic building in downtown Moncton, and, like the people of God who crossed the Jordan River into a new land, the congregation marked the occasion with a service of praise and thankfulness (and perhaps some tears).

This journey really began in the 1980's when a consultant recommended that the congregation move. God's timing is perfect though, and the congregation earnestly sought out God's will on the matter in 2001. The people prayed and asked God to reveal the barriers that were keeping them from enthusiastically inviting their friends and neighbours to come to St. Andrew's. It became clear that their beloved old building, with no parking and difficult accessibility, was holding them back from being the welcoming church that God was calling them to be. It has been a difficult journey from old to new, but with the generous offer of land at below market value, the astute guidance of the Synod Pastor, The Rev. Charles Taylor (now deceased), sacrificial giving by the congregation, RBC loan guarantees from the Presbyterian Building Corporation, bridge financing from Canadian Ministries, the guidance of several national church staff, donations of furniture from local businesses, and much prayer, the congregation is now worshipping and serving out of a beautiful new building on a high-profile street near the major transportation routes of Moncton.

The new building includes multi-use space for worship, large and small gatherings, and community ministry projects. The main auditorium can be transformed for many purposes including Sunday worship, but it does include an organ and the stained-glass windows from the old building to remind them of their history, and God's promise to continue to bless them and make them a blessing wherever they are. Their new community is an eclectic group of inter-generational and inter-cultural families in new suburbs and in a nearby trailer park. Oh, and the other good news is that while the old building has not sold, another congregation started renting the building on February 1st, so there will continue to be a Christian witness at the old site.

The people prayed, and the providential hand of God has been in the process. Give thanks to God for what the Almighty has done, and pray for this "new" congregation and their leaders as they seek to use their new facility to reach out to their community and grow in faithfulness. They have a building that accommodates a wide variety of programming, and they have parking spaces for many new members. Included in their vision for the immediate future are an "Every Home for Christ" program, after-school programs for two nearby schools, children's programs, youth ministry, and life-skills training classes. Further, they can now accommodate inter-denominational and regional events. Pray that they will continue to have a heart for God and for God's children. For a photo of their new building and more "good news," go to their website at . And, their church sign tells us plenty:

God's people have been called to share the "Good News" of Jesus' life and resurrection, but it's also beneficial to share congregational "good news." Share your congregation's and Presbytery's "good news" stories so the whole denomination can be encouraged.

In April 2010, the Session of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Swift
Current, Saskatchewan, decided to advise the Presbytery that their church
would be closing in 2011. They were a small, discouraged group of seniors
(approximately 15 at Sunday worship). Within days of their decision, The
Rev. Jonathan Kwon came forward and shared that he felt God was calling him
to become their pastor. He was inducted in September 2010.

Less than a year later, there are 40 adults and youth meeting for
worship and several mid-week programs. And after no Sunday School for 25
years, there is a Sunday School with 8 children. A VBS this past summer drew
22 children!

Clerk of Session, Heather Steinhoff, says, “As much as things have
changed already (not without some stress), I think we are just getting
started.”

Pray for this inter-cultural congregation (Canadian, Korean, and
Filipino) as they seek to be faithful to God, each other, and their
community. Go to their website at www.starpreschurch.ca for more signs of renewal, and give God the
praise.

Now it’s your turn! Share your Good News story with Renewal Fellowship Secretary, Linda Shaw <ianandlindashaw@gmail.com> or call 519-428-5396.