 Christian Fellowship Chapel Winnipeg, MB Timothy Harris, Pastor cfc-wpg.org We are thankful for the enthusiasm in our church family, and for the love we have for each other that seems to be growing. In July, we had 2 baptisms: a mother and her young son. Four new members were also added. The Ladies’ Abide Group’s summer session consists of a meeting once a month. We meet on the roof terrace of a nearby apartment building. Our meetings are entitled “Singing and Stories”. We sing, share testimonies, and pray for each other. The time flies by. The sharing is becoming more personal as we grow in our trust and love for each other. Please pray for us as we are wondering about what to do in place of AWANA. The attendance has been low for a year or two, and so we did not renew our AWANA charter. Although enthusiastic and new families have been coming, our membership is quite low. At our semi-annual business meeting in July, we had 11 members in attendance, and that actually was enough to make a quorum! Somehow, we are not discouraged, because we sense the presence of the Holy Spirit, and we know that He is working in our midst for our good. Linda Edwards, Correspondent Compass Immanuel Church Rapid View, SK Trevor Kirsch, Pastor “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (Gen 8:22). God has kept His promise once again and has brought us to another summer season. Although some activities slow down during the summer months, Compass Church remains quite active. Youth Activities halt, but Sunday School continues throughout July and August. Compass Church is one of four churches that support Bethel Gospel Camp, a local camp under the ministry of One Hope Canada, situated on Jeannette Lake in Meadow Lake Provincial Park. On June 7, 2026, the congregation received a report from Camp Director Cory Doll. The morning service was followed by a time of fellowship over a Fundraiser Soup Lunch where a container was set up to accept donations to help with the running of the camp. Pastor Trevor and Twyilla were on vacation from June 8 to 15th, and Brady Demmans brought the message on Sunday, June 14th. Brady presented thoughts from Luke 18:9-14. Compass Church was responsible for bringing a service to the seniors at the Northwest Community Lodge in Meadow Lake on the afternoon of June 14th. The weekend of June 19-21st brought most of the congregation to Bethel Gospel Camp for a Family Camp weekend. Carl Tiechrib presented four messages based on several passages from the Psalms. Some of his key points were to encourage us to be ambassadors for Christ where we are. One statement that caught my attention was, “It doesn’t matter where your feet are; that’s where your mission is.” Much visiting and fellowship was enjoyed throughout the weekend along with lots of great food. Congregants spent some time at the beach; some enjoyed board games, and a fun but competitive game of softball rounded out the weekend. July 5th was a full day at Compass Church. The Sunday morning service closed with partaking in communion together. The service was followed by a celebration for three young people who graduated from Grade 12: Brooke Hildebrand, Kaylynn Blatz, and Matthew Peters. A potluck lunch and an afternoon program celebrating the growth of these three young people and encouraging them to continue to follow God’s guidance for their future decisions were followed by a softball game. Pastor Trevor and Twyilla, along with some members of the congregation, attended Connect26 on July 9-11th. Pastor Trevor, as well as Lloyd Esau, gave a report to the church during the Sunday morning service on July 12th. Pastor Trevor advised of the financial situation of FEBC. Lloyd informed us of his enjoyment of the speakers, and he gave praise to the Lord for working in the hearts of the different churches. The afternoon of July 12th saw several of the Compass congregants gathered at the Northwest Community Lodge in Meadow Lake to bring a service to the residents there. On July 25th, many of the men and boys from our congregation gathered at the Drumheller residence for a fellowship “smoker” and 3D Archery shoot. Some target archery shooting, much visiting, and lots of good “smoker” food were enjoyed. Colette Schmalz, Correspondent Dalmeny Bible Church Dalmeny, SK Dennis Friesen, Pastor dalmenybiblechurch.ca Together with the Community Church, we held a Breakfast and Program/Activities in the Park on the Sunday of our Dalmeny Days. There was worship, testimonies, and a short devotional. On Father’s Day, we honored our DADS with a barbecue lunch. All our activities have closed for the summer months, which makes it somewhat quiet around the church during the week. The youth did have laser tag one night and an opportunity to hang out in The Well playing video games in July. Some of our congregation are involved with various Camps this summer as cooks, cabin leaders, leaders in training, maintenance or just helping wherever they’re needed. Once again, our church ran Soccer Camp under Athletes in Action with 56 registered children. Baptism: 3 in June Membership: 2 in June Marilyn Harder, Correspondent Randville Bible Church Iron Mountain, MI Jim Janofski, Pastor June has held many special memories at Randville Bible Church; among these: The first Sunday in June centered on a service theme of Servants of the Lord. Our “Workshop For the Growing Christian” asked the ministry question, “How do YOU ‘fit’ in the Body of Christ?” as we considered our various gifts to minister to one another in the church family. The second Sunday encouraged being a bold witness for the Lord; our theme was Standing for the Lord. As we commemorated National Flag Day (an observance going back to early American history), we were reminded of the truths of the great hymn “Stand Up, Stand Up, for Jesus, Ye Soldiers of the Cross.” We also featured a visit by missionary Dee Kuzanah, who was raised in our church and now serves in Nigeria with her husband Courage. (She is the daughter of Pastor Blaine Donaldson, who formerly pastored here at Randville and later served as the President of the FEBC.) Father's Day was our emphasis on the third Sunday in June: A Man of Honor, with the reading of Psalms 1 and 112, and focusing on how these relate to the faithfulness of our men and their impact. The final Sunday in June was a joyful time of celebration with our annual outreach picnic. What a great time of food, fellowship, games, trail rides, and music as we gathered with family, friends, and neighbors in this joyful summertime event. July 5th saw a theme of The Price and Joy of Freedom as we celebrated the 250th anniversary of the United States and recognized the sacrifices of those early founders and the Ultimate Sacrifice of our Savior on the cross. We also were thankful for God's blessings, guidance, and protection with a message entitled “The Touch of God's Hand.” The final Sunday in July held a service theme of A Time of Rejoicing, with a message entitled “Blessings of the Believer,” as we rejoiced in God's goodness to His people. Our Randville Chapter Challenge continues to be an encouragement to spend daily time in God's Word, with hundreds of chapters being joyfully and faithfully read by our church family each week. We are thankful for the faithfulness of our church family and for the blessings and joy that the Lord supplies. May the Lord continue to bless and guide each of the churches in our FEBC fellowship. In the words of that classic Fanny Crosby hymn: To God be the glory, great things He has done! Pastor Jim Janofski Saron Mennonite Church Fairview, OK Arnold Curby, Pastor Children's Day in June was a great opportunity to invite families with children to join us for an outdoor church experience at our local Gloss Mountain State Park. After Pastor Curby's devotional and lunch, those who wanted to climb the steep stairway path to the top of the 150-foot-high mesa called Cathedral Mountain. Rain threatened to spoil the picnic, but we were blessed with a good turnout and a beautiful day. Pastor Arnold and Grace attended Connect26 in Waldheim, SK, in July and were happy to bring back a report about the good speaker and the good time with friends, old and new. We are encouraging others to come with us next year! Grace Curby, Correspondent The start of summer was a celebration for us, as we enjoyed hearing the testimonies of five congregants and witnessed them get baptized in the Roseau River at the Roseau River Park on June 21st.
On Sunday, June 28th, our church met on the Vita Canada Day grounds under the main tent for our service. It is always our hope to be a presence here within our community and meet people wherever they are. On July 5th, we enjoyed hosting guest speaker, Mr. Jon Klassen from McIvor Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba, who was raised here in our church. He encouraged us to always keep our eyes on Christ and aim our lives towards Him as we grow daily to be more like Him. "Whatever our lives are aimed toward, we are already becoming.” The following Sunday, we enjoyed guest speaker, Mr. Nika Klassen, an elder here in Vita Bible Church. He explored the idea that some might feel inclined to view God as having His own “smite button”. He used humor to make us think about how we view God during difficult times in our lives, as well as those going through difficult times in the Bible. He reminded us of God’s infinite love and patience towards us and that He truly wants what is best for us. Our Missions Committee has recently started Coffee Corner every second and fourth Sunday, where we meet downstairs an hour before the service to catch up and have a little more time to fellowship during these busy summer months. Tiffany Tuurenhout, Correspondent Tags:
The Recommended Content Widget will appear here on the published site.
Church News (June/July 2026)6/3/2026  Christian Fellowship Chapel Winnipeg, MB Timothy Harris, Pastor cfc-wpg.org We are thankful for the events of the past months. Kevin Stone, our FEBC president, came and taught a worship seminar for us and then participated as the drummer with the worship team the next day. The seminar was well-received and is referred to often. Prayer with the tech team now happens prior to the worship service. We are sensing the presence of the Holy Spirit in increasing measure through our praise and worship. It bears noting that the Lord continues to bring people from different backgrounds to us. We already have a Sunday School class of Spanish speakers, and now, adding to the diversity, we have several ballet students from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Company, and a couple new to Canada from Madagascar attending our services and participating in our church community. These individuals all have something to contribute, and teach us, and we appreciate them!
The AWANA Grand Prix was well-received. Many from our congregation attended, as it marked the retirements of our commander, Rick Small, faithfully at his post for 30 years, and of Mike Dyck, serving in the AWANA program since its inception at CFC in 1981. We had two very special services in May. On Pentecost Sunday, 3 people were baptized. On the last Sunday in May, we had a testimony service, where many shared from the heart and filled up the service. The Lord is drawing us closer together as a congregation, which provides the safety for this kind of sharing. Our Women’s Ministry will provide informal opportunities for the ladies to meet over the summer for singing and sharing. We have a men’s ministry starting, “Friendly Fire”, with a day at the lake together as a kick-off. Linda Edwards, Correspondent Compass Immanuel Church Rapid View, SK Trevor Kirsch, Pastor Sunday mornings at Compass start at 9:20 with a time of prayer; this is followed by Sunday School at 10:00 am and the Worship Service at 11:00 am. Compass church is blessed with many young families, and thus we have a full Sunday School Program with 9 classes from Mom’s and Tots to Adults. The Youth meet each Wednesday evening for Bible Study and every other Friday for a fun activity evening. In the absence of a Youth Pastor, Compass has been blessed with some members of the congregation willingly taking on the roles of leading the Youth programs. About 12 to 15 youth regularly attend Bible Study, which is led by Ryley Demmans. They are currently studying the book of Romans. Craig and Michelle Wall are looking after Youth Activities along with assistance from some other congregation members as required. We continue to pray that God will send the right man to Compass as an Assistant/Youth Pastor. The month of April opened with a Good Friday service with members of the congregation participating in reading several Bible passages. Pastor Trevor presented a message from John 18 challenging us to reflect on who God is, on who the full Trinity is, and on all that Jesus did for us. The service ended with communion being held. On Easter Sunday, Pastor Trevor took a break from preaching through the book of Ezekiel to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord with a service entitled, “He Is Risen.” On May 24th, Pastor Trevor presented a special service on “Pentecost,” leaving us with thoughts that God gave us the Holy Spirit and He expects us to live a holy life. Praise God for the day of Pentecost! Our journey through the book of Ezekiel has been providing the congregation with a better understanding of this complex book and challenging us in areas of obedience, judgment, and keeping true to the Word of God. Compass Kids Choir, led by Lauryn Olson, participated in the Meadow Lake Music Festival and were asked to sing again in the closing program on April 26th. Compass Ladies Care and Share met for a fun Ladies Night on April 30, 2026. The theme of the evening was “Time to Plant.” A craft of creating an art picture with the use of glue and several different kinds of beans was enjoyed by the group. Ethel Cockrum brought a “Time to Plant” devotional, challenging us to serve the Lord. A potted plant exchange was held and, of course, lots of visiting, along with an array of snacks, was shared. The group of “Crafters” that meet weekly throughout the winter months are taking a break now until fall. Pastor Trevor and Twyilla were away on Sunday, May 3. One of the young men of our church, Scott Adamson, brought a message from 2 Timothy 1:1-18. On Saturday morning, May 9, men and boys came together at the church for a Men’s Breakfast fellowship where good food and a devotion were shared. On the evening of May 12th, the Sunday School Teachers gathered at the church to discuss Sunday School curriculum among other things. Compass Sunday School has been using the Generations of Grace material this past year and has decided to continue with this curriculum. On the Sunday afternoon of May 17th, Compass Church brought the service to the Northland Pioneer Lodge in Meadow Lake. On May 22-23, the Youth met with the Compass Board members for an overnight retreat at the church. An evening service was held on Sunday, May 24th. We enjoyed singing together, and Pastor Trevor led us in a Bible Quiz. We were encouraged to hear how God has been working in the life of one of the young men from our church as Kyle Drumheller shared his testimony. Praise God as He continues to work in our midst. The congregation at Compass Church is looking forward to hearing from Carl Tiechrib at our Family Camp weekend at Bethel Gospel Camp, coming up June 19-21, 2026. Colette Schmalz, Correspondent Cornerstone Bible Church Mountain Lake, MN Herms Banico, Pastor Herms’ Trip to the Philippines The Lord graciously blessed Herms’ recent ministry trip to the Philippines with many opportunities for preaching, teaching, encouragement, and outreach.
From Manila, Herms traveled to the Bicol region to spend time with family before continuing on a four-hour boat ride to the island province of Masbate, where he grew up. There, he served as one of the speakers at a five-day Youth Bible Camp attended by more than 400 young people. Through preaching sessions, teaching lectures, and fellowship opportunities, many youth were challenged to follow Christ faithfully and live boldly for Him. After the youth camp, Herms traveled to his home church, where he was invited to preach during their Thanksgiving Celebration service. It was a special opportunity to reconnect with pastors and ministry leaders from the area. During this time, several pastors expressed interest in receiving training in expository preaching and asked Herms if he would consider returning next year to teach and equip local pastors. Herms is prayerfully considering this opportunity as a way to strengthen biblical preaching and encourage pastors in the Philippines.  The trip also included travel to Cebu, involving approximately fourteen hours by boat, where Herms had the opportunity to meet with the president of a Bible school regarding possible future ministry partnerships. One potential opportunity discussed was bringing short-term mission teams from the United States to assist in ministry and encouragement. While this is still in the early stages and not yet a priority for the seminary, the conversation opened doors for possible ministry opportunities in the future. We praise the Lord for His protection throughout the travels and for every opportunity to proclaim His Word. Please continue praying for the ongoing outreach ministries in the Philippines and for wisdom regarding future ministry opportunities. Ordination Service Sunday On May 3, Kevin Stone and Gary Krehbiel, along with their wives, traveled to Mountain Lake to lead Herms’ ordination service. It was a meaningful and encouraging day not only for Herms and his family, but also for the entire Cornerstone Bible Church family. The service included prayer, encouragement from God’s Word, and a challenge to remain faithful in the ministry God has called him to in Mountain Lake, Minnesota. Kevin shared a timely and powerful message with “Shepherding Well” from 2 Timothy 4:1-5 as he continues serving Christ with humility, conviction, and perseverance. The support shown by the congregation, friends, and family made the service especially memorable and deeply encouraging. Herms and his family are sincerely grateful for the time, care, and prayer invested by the FEBC pastors who examined his doctrine, ministry, and calling. We give all glory and honor to the Lord for His faithfulness and guidance through this important milestone in ministry. Guest Speakers While Herms was serving in the Philippines, the Lord provided faithful men to fill the pulpit and minister to the church family at Cornerstone Bible Church. Rick Herrig, chairman of the church, brought an encouraging message emphasizing the importance of forgiveness and the grace available through Christ Jesus. Randy Shideler, originally from Omaha, shared his story along with the Prodigal Son passage and Abraham’s “sacrifice” of his son, Isaac. We praise the Lord for providing faithful servants who are willing to proclaim His truth and strengthen the body of Christ. Commissioning Sunday On Sunday, May 10, a commissioning time of prayer was held for Ethan and Sierra Tabbert, one of our missionaries to Kenya, departing the following day. Sharon Harder writes, “Sierra and Ethan Tabbert, missionaries to Chad, have just finished their furlough in the US during which they added another little girl to their family. While residing in the US this past month, Chad issued a visa ban for all Americans. Not being able to return to their home of seven years, the Tabberts have chosen Nairobi, Kenya as their landing spot for now. Nairobi has Sudanese refugees, some of whom speak a dialect of Arabic very similar to what the Tabberts have been accustomed to. Along with the culture and way of life they have grown to know these past seven years. They are hoping and praying to build relationships with these believers who are in such need of the Lord! There are also four young believers living in Nairobi from the tribe of the unreached people that they have been living among in Chad. Their hope and prayer is to come alongside these young men to encourage them, disciple them, and show them how a family following Jesus lives. On their last Sunday with the Cornerstone Family, their two oldest children, Gideon (7) and Naomi (5), sang songs about the first five books of the Bible. It was special hearing them commit to memory songs that teach what God’s Word says as they too head off into the mission field!”  Bible Adventure Outreach Cornerstone Bible Church was “on the go” during our Bike Adventure Outreach held on May 25, 2026! Led by our church staff- Luke, our Youth Director; Cindy, our church secretary; and Rick, our church chairman- this exciting community event brought together children, families, volunteers, and church members for a day filled with fun, fellowship, and outreach. For the first time in several years, Cornerstone hosted this special biking event designed to connect with families in the Mountain Lake community. Participants enjoyed obstacle courses, biking activities, games, refreshments, and fellowship throughout the day. A total of 53 bikers registered, along with many additional family members and friends who attended. Children and participants received ribbons, gift bags, free water, and Gatorade, while families enjoyed food from a local food truck and fellowship with one another. Our Youth Ministry also hosted a fundraising booth offering water, cookies, cupcakes, and fruit. Most importantly, the event gave our church another opportunity to connect with our community, build relationships, and show the love of Christ in a practical way. Was it tiring? Absolutely. But it was also incredibly rewarding. We thank the Lord for every volunteer who served, every family who attended, and every opportunity to be a blessing to our community. It was a joyful reminder that ministry often happens not only inside the church building, but also through simple acts of fellowship, service, and outreach. Marjorie Friesen, Correspondent Countryside Bible Church Meade, KS Jonathan Dale, Pastor countrysidebiblechurch.net We at Countryside Bible Church are giving thanks to the Lord for His hand of protection, His watchful care, His provision, and His faithfulness over this past month as large, widespread wildfires ravaged the country for several days and burned over 100,000 acres of pastureland and cropland in Meade and Clark counties. The Lord was so kind as to spare the homes of all our church family and the church building, even though the fires got right up to the borders of several homes and within ½ mile of the church. Many of our farmers and ranchers lost a lot of pasturelands, cropland, many miles of fence, and some cattle as well. Sadly, 2 people in the Meade community did end up losing their homes to the fires, but all of the people were okay! We are praising the Lord that there were no serious injuries and that He kept people safe and sustained them as they fought fires for 5-6 days straight. These things will take time to recover from, and we are seeking the Lord for wisdom and strength, as many decisions must be made now. Please join us in praying for all of the farmers and ranchers in Meade and Clark counties, if you would. I think for a lot of us, a theme over this past year and something the Lord is teaching many of us is to "count it all joy" when we encounter various trials. There have been many different trials within our church family, especially physical ones, but it has been so encouraging to watch fellow brothers and sisters in Christ respond in faith and in trusting the Lord with humbled obedience and submissiveness to His will and plan, even if it is different than what we might have expected. Pastor Jonathan recently started going through the book of Romans on Sunday mornings, and is taking time to do a very in-depth verse-by-verse study. We will likely be in Romans for several years! But it has been so rich and meaningful and convicting so far. The seriousness of our sin is made very plain. We are also excited and gearing up for Vacation Bible School, which will be held from June 2nd-4th. It will be a Family VBS where the entire family is welcome and encouraged to come for supper, a Bible lesson, games, music, and crafts. We will be studying Psalm 139, with a theme of "God is Super!" Summer is also the time for many different camps and activities, and many of the young people in our church are looking forward to Faith Bible Camp, which will be July 6th– 9th. Pastor David Cummings will be sharing on "Knowing the Only True God" based on John 17:3. And then not too long after that (July 19th- 23rd), several of the high schoolers will have the opportunity to attend Camp Regen in Glorieta, New Mexico. Abigail Bartel, Correspondent Crosspoint Bible Church Omaha, NE Hayden Norris, Pastor crosspointbible.org In April, we celebrated the joy of baptism for eight individuals, marking a meaningful step of faith in their walks with Christ. Looking ahead to this summer, three young adults will be serving on short-term mission trips—Maddie in Zimbabwe, Brayden in Albania, and Daisy in Nepal. Prayer is appreciated for safe travel and for a lasting impact, both in their own lives and in the lives of those they will serve. Nikki Kotchka, Correspondent Dalmeny Bible Church Dalmeny, SK Dennis Friesen, Pastor dalmenybiblechurch.ca Our Good Friday service consisted of scripture readings interspersed with singing and Communion. Over the Easter break, we partnered with the Dalmeny Community Church, which hosted 5-Day Kids Camp (also known as VBS). The large group sections were hosted there, and then the grade 3-6 kids walked over to our church for story, snack, games, and imagination stations, before heading back for closing. It is a blessing that our churches are only a block apart, and we can partner in this way! We learned about Jesus being our True North and how He is trustworthy! Each of the 100 kids went away with reminders of God's love, including scripture books, science gizmos, and a specially crocheted baby otter! Missions’ events included Jackson and Elise Kroeker with their school class ministering in Bolivia with children at the Mision Betl; Pastor Jaydon along with 2 leaders and 4 youth spent a week at LaRonge conducting VBS for the children there – Bible Stories, games, snacks, singing and more; Stuart Mufford from Camp Kadesh; and Greg Benson from Ranger Lake Bible Camp. The ladies enjoyed a salad supper in April, and in May it was Lazer tag night for those energetic ones while others played table games. The Youth were busy with a progressive supper, bowling, and a Senior Youth Lock-In where they stay overnight and are kept busy having fun. Our church could not function without volunteers, and at the end of May we honored them. Thank you for all you do – big or little! Baptism: 1 in April Membership: 4 in May Marilyn Harder, Correspondent  Missions HBC held its second annual Missions Banquet on Friday evening, May 1st. The banquet included a catered dinner, a comprehensive mission update including presentations from four current HBC missionaries, and great fellowship. The Missions chair, Robin Meter, led the banquet as the emcee. The banquet was well attended with an attendance of about 60-65 people. Steve Hughes gave an update about his local evangelism efforts. Special guests who gave presentations were Ron Kooyman with Biblical Ministries, Darwin Stoesz with SEND International, and Kris Cheek with Middle East Ministries. The banquet also was a chance to raise funds to bolster the HBC missions fund and provide for future short-term mission trips and for other potential missions work opportunities.  Outreach Steve Hughes, HBC’s full-time evangelist, continues to find new “fishing ponds” for telling the gospel. He has found the local University of Nebraska campus student union to be a great place to pray for students and ask them significant gospel questions. He also leads the Neighborhood Outreach, where he begins with simply asking the question, “Can we pray for you?” Then he invites them to HBC gatherings, and through many questions finds out where they are with Christ and, if possible, shares the gospel with them. He also helps lead the Holmes Lake Park Prayer Station in a similar approach to the Neighborhood Outreach. Over the course of several years of Steve’s leadership with the HBC outreach ministry, there are 15 people active at HBC, 23 people have finished a Basics of Christianity Discipleship study, and 60+ people have visited HBC. Steve also has a daily reminder text that goes out to over 100 people that reminds them to pray for the outreach endeavors. Never underestimate the power of God through prayer, especially when it relates to outreach. Steve makes sure the HBC body has plenty of HBC Gospel tracts and invites. He is very appreciative of the HBC body for their prayers and support. Steve says, “The most fruitful churches are where the whole body of Christ is actively witnessing with gospel literature everywhere they go.”  Children's Ministry HBC is excited to start a new program called "Summer Son Seekers" - a weekly drop-off program for children ages 5–10! The fun starts June 3rd through August 26th on Wednesday nights from 5:00 - 8:00 PM. The children will enjoy an evening of games, activities, a short Bible lesson, and dinner provided for participating children. Summer Son Seekers is designed to give kids a safe, welcoming place to have fun, build friendships, and learn more about God throughout the summer. Pastor Adam Fischer, Correspondent Hodgson Bible Church Hodgson, MB Albert Niessen, Pastor hodgsonbiblechurch.org Greetings to all of you in Christ! We give thanks for the time we can meet and fellowship with one another. The time of encouragement is always a highlight. Pastor Albert has been leading us in exploring the apostle Paul's letter to his young apprentice, Timothy. Teaching on guarding the flock against false teachers, what kind of character men need to have to be leaders, and how these different principles apply to our lives. Pastor Albert will be finishing this series by the end of June, and for the summer he is considering the life and ministry of Samuel. The Women’s Ministries runs on the 3rd Thursday of the month. In April, we did a Spring Tea and invited Dallas Bible Church and Fisher Community Church. We were blessed with music, refreshments, and a devotional on “Counting the Overflow”. Our meeting together has come to an end for summer, our wind up was the ladies met at Fisher Bay Bible Camp in the morning and used the donated ground beef at camp to make burgers and meatballs for the summer camp season. We enjoyed laughing and working together and ended our time with a late lunch and fellowship around the tables. The 1st and 2nd Thursday of the month, we have been meeting at Hodgson Bible Church for refreshments and fellowship at 6:30, and a study at 7:00 on eschatology, the study of the end times with Dr. Michael Vlach. Pastor Albert leads us with discussion on the video, and we end with more fellowship, sharing and listening amongst one another. We have wound this up for summer now, and we start up again in the fall. The 4th Thursday of the month, the people of Hodgson Bible Church head over to the Personal Care Home in Fisher Branch. We lead the elderly in a time of singing, special numbers, scripture, devo, and prayer. The elderly really appreciate the children that attend and sing their special songs for them. Following, we visit among them and try to be an encouragement to them, sharing the love of Christ. This too has winded down and will continue in the fall. To celebrate our mothers, we had 4 share tributes about their moms, and a message geared to moms. We followed the service with a burger and hot dog BBQ and more fellowship. For Father's Day, June 21, we plan to do a brunch and have a similar service. This coming Sunday we will be meeting at the Forestry Centre at 10:30 am to have our Church picnic to start our summer services and end our Sunday School time. Pastor Albert will be doing a kids feature, geared to the many young children in our congregation. For lunch, we are doing tacos in a bag. For the summer months, we will be meeting at 10:30 am, and there will be children's church running during the Sunday message. For summer, we plan to have a larger event where we will reach out to the community with a community BBQ running from 3- 7 pm on June 28. We will have music playing, a slow pitch tournament, inflatables, kids' games and face painting, free burgers, hot dogs, chips and drinks, and possibly even a dunk tank. We will be hosting this in the park next to the church. We are looking forward to this event and the people we can meet; please pray that this would bring the community closer together and that it would be glorifying to God. A few ladies in the Church will also be prepping to run a VBS program, July 27-31, with a detective-themed lesson, a hunt for clues in Scripture to uncover the truth of who Jesus is! It has almost been a year now since Pastor Albert has stepped into the pastoral role here at Hodgson Bible Church. It has been a blessing to see God work through his people to further His Kingdom. We are blessed to have one another, and look forward to what the Lord has in plan for us and for the community. May we always work diligently and faithfully as we are working for the Lord. Eileina Niessen, Correspondent Martensville Mission Church Martensville, Saskatchewan Justin Klassen, Pastor After Easter, Pastor Justin started his series, taking us through 1 Samuel, where he has discussed the consequences of sin and the calling of Samuel. May was filled with opportunities to reach out into the community. There was a nice crowd of women, many of whom did not attend our church, who came out to the Salad Fiesta on May 6th. The theme for the evening was “Choosing Joy,” and an excerpt from the book “Laugh Again Experience Outrageous Joy,” by Charles R. Swindoll, was read by Joanne Born from MMC. Mother’s Day was May 10th, and what better day to hold a child dedication service! Four families presented their children to God and affirmed their pledge to raise them in a way that honours the Lord. May is garage sale month in Martensville. Taking part in the community garage sale on May 23rd was a great way to further the MMC fundraising goal for the building/renovation project and to be out interacting with the community. Goods for the tables were donated by the congregation, and the price for the majority of the items was “by donation”. Many volunteers participated by baking for the baking table, cooking for and serving at the lunch table, managing the many tables loaded with goods and cleaning up. It was a great day! Looking ahead, our Sunday School will be winding up on June 14th when we plan to take a church-wide photo of the congregation. Our monthly Community Outreach Suppers continue to be well attended, and several people were interested in them when presented with information at the garage sale. In addition to the June Community Supper, MMC will be hosting a Community Outreach Lunch after the parade on June 6th during the Martensville Buster Days. Coming up in August, people are planning and preparing for the Family Camping Trip from August 28-30 at Pike Lake. Brenda Quirt, Correspondent Randville Bible Church Iron Mountain, MI Jim Janofski, Pastor April and May are long-awaited months in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. After a long and brutal snowy winter, we rejoice to see the hand of our Creator as His creation comes to life, the sun is shining, trees are budding, flowers growing, birds singing, bees buzzing... And His joys of new life are in our church life at Randville as well:
In April we also began a new musical series focusing on four of the great hymnwriters: Isaac Watts, Fanny Crosby, Johnson Oatman, and Elisha Hoffman. We are so blessed by the musical heritage of these and other hymnwriters. These four alone account for over 15,000 hymn texts-- timeless music that tells of the majesty and power of our God as we sing His praises and seek to reinforce the Scriptural truths of our faith with these hymns. May has its own charm as well:
Our annual outreach picnic is the last Sunday in June. We look forward to a great time of food, fellowship, games, and music as we gather with family, friends, and neighbors in this joyful gathering. And our Randville Chapter Challenge continues to be an encouragement to spend time in God's Word, with thousands of chapters being read by our church family over a several-week timespan. We are thankful for the faithfulness of our small church family and for the blessings and joy that the Lord supplies. In the words of the classic Fanny Crosby hymn: To God be the glory, great things He has done! Jim Janofski, Pastor Vita Bible Church Vita, Manitoba Jonathan Coutts, Pastor vitabiblechurch.com On Sunday, March 29th, which our church deemed Mission Sunday, we had the pleasure of hearing from Mr. John Martens from Faith Mission in Winkler, Manitoba. He encouraged us with all the amazing things the Lord is doing through this mission. He shared a slideshow, showcasing the hard work of the many volunteers, the donations they received, pictures of the clothes baler they use to condense the clothes, as well as where and how they get sent to bless many people overseas. At the beginning of April, we enjoyed a wonderful holy week, including a few prayer nights at our sister church in Stuartburn and a shared Maundy Thursday service here in Vita. It is wonderful to have our brothers and sisters close by and come together as we celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection. Our Women’s Ministry group held a workday in April, working together to do some cleaning in our church building. On May 28th, we had our final meeting of the season, where we hosted Artist Colleen Watchorn for a fundraising paint night. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful group of ladies and time we can spend together where we can encourage one another.  We had the privilege of hosting Mr. Kevin Stone and his wife, Melissa, on the weekend of May 23rd and 24th. On the Saturday, he held a workshop for our worship teams. On Sunday, he shared with the congregation what worship really means. May God continue to do His work in us and carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6) Tiffany Tuurenhout, Correspondent
Tags:
The Recommended Content Widget will appear here on the published site.
Church News (April/May 2026)4/1/2026 
As we journey toward Easter, we are reminded to ponder the significance of the season as we view these paintings in our church. Once again, our resident artist has prepared visuals for us. There will be graphic crucifixion paintings to view as well, and these will be displayed at our Good Friday service, when the lighting is minimal. Last year, little eyes were frightened by them, and so we have become more sensitive. Along with Easter, there are other events that stimulate our anticipation this spring. The Women’s Abide Group will be meeting for their spring series, “Intentional Abiding”. They will have a kick-off catered dinner at the church, followed by four weeks of study together. We also look forward to the AWANA Grand Prix on April 21. This will be our Commander’s last Grand Prix. Rick Small and his wife Doreen have been serving together faithfully in this ministry for over 30 years, with the Commandership being Rick’s for at least fifteen of those. We thank God for their faithfulness over all these years. Our pastor is currently preaching through Exodus, and we will be working through Ephesians in Adult Sunday School. The Spanish Sunday School class is working through the series “Knowing God: from Creation to Christ”. A time of sharing and prayer for each other is also a part of their time together. Linda Edwards, Correspondent "So that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no one else. Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to the LORD our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day." 1 Kings 8:60-61 Greetings to all the brothers and sisters in Christ across the churches! What a great and mighty God we serve, and there is indeed no one else like Him and may all the peoples of the earth know that the LORD is God! May our hearts also be wholly devoted to the Lord! We invite you to join us as we recount and remember how the Lord has been good and faithful and praise God for His continual grace and mercy over the past few months among the brethren here at Countryside Bible Church. In early February, 5 people from our church were able to attend the Biblical Counseling Training Conference at Faith Lafayette in Indiana, and a few others have been able to do it virtually. It is very helpful and useful training for every believer, both for equipping you to encourage others and also for personal spiritual growth. We are also excited to celebrate the five-year anniversary of Redeemer Bible Church! It was March of 2021 when Taylor and Abigail Wiens (along with another family and a couple of others) started the church plant in Liberal, Kansas. We are rejoicing in God's faithfulness and how He has been working in many ways over the last five years! They have had the opportunity to see people coming to Christ, and also have seen the church grow and people desiring to become members and also committing their lives to Christ and following Him in believers' baptism. This has been a joy, and we look forward to how God is going to continue to work! This is also the year for Countryside Bible Church's Family Retreat in Woodward, Oklahoma! It took place March 20th-22nd. Dr. Michael Grisanti came from California to share with us on Biblical Discipleship. We always enjoy this time of fellowship together, both in hearing from God's Word and as we seek to encourage and build one another up through our conversations and time spent having fun together. This is a great way for the families of the church to get to know each other! And now we would like to share some pictures from some of the different things folks in our church have been involved with over the past several months.
Abigail Bartel, Correspondent The church staff put on a meal for the seniors in our church – Legacy Luncheon - at the beginning of February. Our theme was love. Men and boys gathered for a Tailgate Superbowl Party at church to watch the game, eat a lot of good food and visit. The men also enjoy a breakfast together once a month. The ladies' ministry presented a games, gals and grub evening where we played board games and enjoyed delicious snacks. Pastor Dennis started the Easter season off with a Lent Sermon Series called “Last Words” of Jesus. The Senior and Junior youth each had retreats. Missions: We had representatives from Prairie Hope Women’s Centre sharing about their recovery from addictions; a fundraising lunch was held for the youth who will be going to LaRonge to minister to the children through VBS over the Easter break; Jason/Joanne Borrowman shared about their ministry in Hurri Hills, Africa via video. Practical Ministry provided a Taco Lunch for the congregation. Our Kids Club program wound up with an invitation to all the parents to attend the last night. There was a Bible Discovery event for all ages on Palm Sunday, where we experienced a fun and meaningful taste of the Passover meal. Marilyn Harder, Correspondent HBC continues to celebrate God’s faithfulness to provide a new lead pastor. On Sunday morning, March 1st, HBC had a special installation service for their new lead pastor, Bryan Ragsdale.  The service included a special message by Pastor Moses Estrada titled “Life Together for the Glory of God” from 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13. Pastor Moses and Pastor Bryan were co-pastors of Grace Bible Church in Brush, Colorado. HBC Elder Mark Luetchens read 1 Timothy 4:12-16 for the Scripture Reading. President Kevin Stone read from 1 Peter 5:1-10 to exhort both Pastor Bryan and the congregation. He asked a series of affirming questions to Pastor Bryan and one for his wife, Candice. He then asked a series of affirmation questions to the congregation. Everyone answered the questions in the affirmative. Kevin also presented a certificate of charge to Pastor Bryan. He also presented a relay baton as a gift to Pastor Bryan to encourage him to faithfulness in the relay race of Christian ministry in line with passing on biblical truth to others based on 2 Timothy 2:2. Kevin exhorted the congregation to be ready with an open hand to receive the baton. He remarked that this includes having a humble heart and a willingness to hear and receive biblical truth.  The Elders of HBC laid hands on and prayed for Pastor Bryan and family. Pastor Bryan gave a hearty word of thanksgiving to his wife, children, the elders of Heartland, Kevin Stone, Gary Krehbiel, his former elders at GBC, and his brothers and sisters in Christ at HBC. He also expressed his eagerness to love and shepherd the congregation of HBC. It is with fear and trepidation that he accepts the call to shepherd the flock at HBC that belongs to Jesus Christ. He read from Ephesians 2:21-23 to highlight the church’s desire to glorify God in the church forever and ever. Following the installation service, HBC hosted a well-attended all-church fellowship lunch in the dining hall. Pastor Adam Fischer, Correspondent Martensville Mission Church Martensville, SK Justin Klassen, Pastor facebook.com/martensvillemissionchurch Pastor Justin recently concluded his sermon series on the book of Ephesians, in which he explored the Apostle Paul’s teachings on church unity, relationships, Christian conduct, and the need for spiritual armour. In preparation for the Easter season, with services on both Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Pastor Justin introduced his Easter Sermon Series entitled “The Road to Calvary” in March. After Easter, he will be taking us on a journey through 1 Samuel. We were sad to say goodbye to our Associate Pastor, Brolin Simes, and his wife, Kelsey, when Brolin resigned at the end of February. We will dearly miss them, and we thank them for their ministry here at the MMC. The search for an Associate Pastor will commence soon. In the meantime, though, we are very thankful that people have volunteered to fill in the gaps left after the resignation. One of those areas is the Youth Ministry. The group of about 30 kids is divided into Junior and Senior Youth. Along with the fun activities, they each have a Bible Study twice a month. Currently, the Senior Youth are studying the differences between Catholicism and Protestantism, and the Junior Youth are studying Apologetics and learning to defend what they believe. Other MMC happenings in March included a Spring Family Banquet, complete with a Silent Auction, which was our next fundraiser for our building project. Our Mission’s Team, who recently returned from Oaxaca, Mexico, in February, presented their report on March 20th, and the Youth/Family Ski Trip to Wapiti was on March 28th. On Wednesday nights, from September to the end of March, our church is buzzing with activity when kids from around the community arrive for AWANA, eager to recite their memory work, join in the games and delve into God’s word during lesson time. It was exciting to see that kids were inviting friends, some even from Saskatoon! We are so thankful for all the volunteers who dedicate their Wednesday evenings to these kids. As we head into spring, the AWANA program wraps up with the AWANA Store, where they spend their hard-earned AWANA bucks. Plans are underway for the “Rainforest Falls” VBS, which will be held each morning from April 7-10 during the school's Spring Break. Kids will discover the nature of God and explore what it means to be rooted in a relationship with their Creator. Looking forward to a big crowd! Looking a little further ahead, a baby dedication is planned, with the date still to be determined, and the Women’s Ministries Salad Fiesta will be in May. Brenda Quirt, Correspondent We are thankful to announce that God led us to call Blaine Donaldson to be our new pastor, and Pastor Blaine accepted this call. Pastor Blaine brings a wealth of experience from leading churches in Michigan and Washington, and also as a past president of the FEBC. Our installation service was held on February 1, with Kevin Stone and Gary Krehbiel from the FEBC leading our service and passing the baton of leadership to our new pastor. We are thrilled to welcome Pastor Blaine, his wife Autumn, and daughter Elianna to our RVC family! Karen Broekhuis, Correspondent The past couple of months have offered some new opportunities for those in our congregation, whether that is through personal growth and learning, getting involved in Salem’s existing ministry opportunities, or finding new ways to serve and reach out to the community. We have been blessed to have Robert Rudd, the director of Impact Canada Ministries, lead a discipleship and evangelism course at Salem. The second half of the course, which focused on evangelism, started at the end of February and is geared toward equipping people to share the gospel. We have a number of people from our church participating in the course, and it has been so encouraging to see the interest and dedication to learning and growing in discipleship. At the beginning of March, the Elders hosted a Newcomers’ Welcome Meal for those who have started to attend Salem in the past year or so. This was an opportunity for new attendees to connect with one another, get to know the church leaders better, and learn about opportunities to get involved in the various ministries at Salem. We had 8 families attend: some who had been attending for about a year, and others who were visiting Salem for the first time! We have a team excitedly planning our first ever youth retreat to happen in May. The idea of Valley Revival Youth Retreat was born out of a desire to encourage youth across the valley to grow in their relationship with Jesus or to encounter Him for the first time. The theme is SHINE, based on Matthew 5:16. We would welcome prayer that God would draw the right youth to attend and that He would work through this event. Shailey Boehm, Correspondent Our journey through Acts every Sunday morning has been such a blessing to us as we consider all of God’s powerful acts through His apostles. The early church worked hard to spread the Good News of the gospel everywhere they went, even through hard times. During a particularly hard time of being in prison, Paul and Silas were singing hymns to God and praying, and all the while, the other prisoners were listening in. Pastor Jonathan asked us the question one Sunday morning, “Do our lives cause others to 'listen in'?” Due to their attitude of praise even in difficult times, they affected the lives of the other prisoners and especially the life of the jailer, as he and his entire household were saved. On February 22nd, Mr. Gordon Reimer continued in Acts, as our guest speaker, and shared a quote with us from St. Francis of Assisi, “Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.” It is just as important today as it was back then to live our lives as a testimony to the faith that we profess; that God’s love will be at work through us, spreading the Good News wherever we go. In March, Pastor Jonathan opened with a question for us all. Do we ever ask ourselves, “Does what I do for God matter?”? When Paul was in Corinth, the Lord spoke to him in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.” Acts 18:9. God knew there were many in Corinth that would hear and believe, so Paul stayed a year and a half. The same is still true for us today. God desires for us to share the Good News with others, not only with our words but with actions and in truth. Spring has sprung, and that brings many things to a close here. Our Kid’s Club group has had another wonderful year with children from the church, and from within the community, attending and learning what God has done for them. The grand finale night is always a wonderful time for kids and parents alike, as we enjoy a fun car race where each of the children brings a Hotwheels or Matchbox car to enter into a friendly, fun competition. Our Youth Group has enjoyed many Bible Studies, many nights of serving in and out of the church, including at the Fisher Bay Bible Camp Fundraiser, as well as many fantastic outings. Women’s Ministry enjoyed an exciting get together in February as many women brought their wedding dresses to the event. We played a matching game, where we had to guess which bride went with which dress. Afterwards, we enjoyed a time of fellowship and even a wedding cake made by one of the ladies. We spent some time looking through each other’s wedding albums and reminiscing. In March, we enjoyed a movie night and just enjoyed relaxing together. We also look forward to an exciting addition as a new play structure has been purchased for our church yard for the growing population of young people the LORD has blessed us with. We pray together as a body of believers that we will continue the work of the early church and magnify the Name of the Lord, giving Him praise and glory with our words and actions. May He grant us boldness as we continue to share the Good News. Tiffany Tuurenhout, Correspondent Not seeing updates from your church?
Connect with your pastor, or email the editor at [email protected], to find out if your church needs a correspondent- and whether you might be the right fit! Tags:
The Recommended Content Widget will appear here on the published site.
Our pastor is encouraging us in this season to consider each other, Christ’s own body of believers. If we neglect the importance of each other and showing our love for each other, something important is lost in effectively conveying the message of Christ’s love to the world around us. We remember Jesus’ example, “…Having loved His own, He loved them to the very end…” John 13:1 This new year promises to be a fulfilling time as we press into caring for each other. Our pastor encourages us to find ways to be closer to each other and to embrace a culture of Supernatural love.
In addition, we have two pre-teen girls who are being mentored in Sunday School by a woman from our Ladies’ Abide Group, using the “Through the Word” app. We were happy to help send one of our senior couples on a short-term mission trip to Cuba. Jim is an expert in foot care, a pedorthist. Their suitcases of medical supplies and Jim’s use of custom orthotics proved to be a blessing to both patients and doctors. They were also able to pass along some funds from donors back home. Laureen had the opportunity to speak at a women’s event and shared from Psalm 139 about God’s presence in their times of trouble. Being our librarian, she was able to organize a doctor’s book collection, an added bonus for him! Overall, in word and deed, they were a great encouragement, and they are all thinking of another trip soon!
Kristin, our pastor’s wife, led the worship, and various pastors led different aspects of the evening, including prayer for the collective neighborhoods represented, as well as a time of communion. It was interesting to hear how each church reaches out to help their community. The evening represented what needs to happen- churches coming together in unity without a spirit of competition. We are already looking ahead to the next season of the Church calendar, where we remember Jesus’ death and celebrate His resurrection. Our Special Services Committee is waiting in prayer for direction as to how we, as a congregation, can enter into this time in the best way for our learning and God’s glory. I’ll report on that next time. Linda Edwards, Correspondent Countryside Bible Church Meade, KS Jonathan Dale, Pastor countrysidebiblechurch.net "But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all Thy works." -Psalm 73:28 Greetings in the Lord to all of you brethren across the Fellowship Focus family! We at Countryside Bible Church are looking forward to what the Lord has in store for 2026 (and pray that you are as well!), and thank God for another year that He has given us to serve Him, glorify Him, and make Him known! In January, Pastor Jonathan started an in-depth study on the book of Romans, which we will be going through on Sunday mornings. Then on Sunday evenings, Pastor Jonathan has started a series on "Heroes of the Faith". We are also just about to start up Bible/Book studies again for the year. The books we will be going through are: "Disciplines of a Godly Man" by Kent R. Hughes and "Disciplines of a Godly Woman" by Barbara Hughes. We pray that the Lord will be working in our hearts and minds and giving us humble, teachable hearts as we study Scripture together. In late January, several men from our church took part in the Ironmen Summit, a day filled with Christ-centered teaching, fellowship with men from many churches, and great food-all aimed at encouraging men in their walk with the Lord. There are also some who are excited to participate in the Faith Biblical Counseling Conference in Lafayette, coming up in February. Some will be attending in-person, and some virtually. We praise the Lord for opportunities like this to be able to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! 2 Peter 3:18. It has been five years since our church last had a Family Retreat, but on March 20th - 22nd, Lord willing, we plan to gather in Woodward, Oklahoma, for a time of fellowship, teaching from God's Word, fun, and sharing meals. Dr. Michael Grisanti will be sharing the Word with us over the weekend. Abigail Bartel, Correspondent Dalmeny Bible Church Dalmeny, Saskatchewan Dennis Friesen, Pastor dalmenybiblechurch.ca We had two baptisms in December - Ellyce Buhler and Jett Schultz. Over Christmas, the children did a great job performing and singing ‘Not Another Nativity Play’, reminding us once again of the importance of the nativity. One Sunday, we also served our annual peppernuts and apple cider. A New Year’s Eve Party gave an opportunity to celebrate the old and the new. Games and food were enjoyed by all who attended. The men enjoyed an evening of Laser Tag and snacks in January. At the end of January, the ladies went to Living Waters Camp for a weekend retreat of listening to testimonies, relaxing, good food, and fun games. Marilyn Harder, Correspondent Evangelical Bible Church Dallas, OR Troy Bassham, Pastor ebcdallas.org Here at EBC, we wrapped up January with our Annual Business Meeting. We are still looking for our next Associate Pastor and are praying for God's guidance and wisdom in filling that position. This summer, we are sending a team of 9 to MaeSot, Thailand, with Children to Love International to serve with Grace Boarding house and help with their ministries there. Alison Johnson, Correspondent Faith Evangelical Bible Church Henderson, NE Bryan Conrad, Pastor faithebc.net We had 4 baptisms last year and will have 2 more in February, which is very exciting! Our Awana program is bursting with an attendance of about 70 students from Cubbies, Sparks, T&T, and Jr. High Youth Group. Lots of these kids don’t attend our church, so it’s exciting to see new faces every year and to see the numbers grow. We started a new Women’s Ministry in August, and it has had a successful start with large group meetings happening once a month, and 4 new Bible studies for women to attend. Our High School Youth group is seeing higher numbers each year, with our regular attending students inviting friends from school. They are focusing on reading through the Bible together this year, with their theme coming from 2 Timothy 4:12. You can be praying for our leaders as they hope to put together a Summer Missions Trip for the students. We don’t have a staffed leader, so their volunteer work is greatly appreciated and invaluable! Cheyenne Hiebner, Correspondent Grace Church Abbotsford, BC Andrew Martens, Pastor graceabbotsford.com God has been good to us here at Grace Church! This past year has been a productive one under the leadership of our Pastor (& his wife). Their encouragement and leadership have been bearing fruit. There have been several Bible Studies and Children’s Programs that have been revived and are now running smoothly, which means people are engaging in the various ministries within the church. This is due, in part, to having over 15 new members join our church family. There have also been over 10 baptisms this past year. Our youth group has also grown as the youth are faithful to invite their unsaved friends, which has helped contribute to the growth we’ve seen. All of this has given us many reasons to celebrate! But wait…there’s more! We have also been blessed by a lengthy visit from one of our Global Partners (Benny & Esther Goertzen – parents of Anja Gaona, whom some of you may know as well). It is always a delight to have a visit from them and hear in-person what God is doing through their ministries in Paraguay – it is so encouraging. Of course, there have been some sad events over the past year as we said goodbye to some faithful saints who have been part of the congregation for many years, even decades. We miss them but celebrate that they are now with our Heavenly Father, enjoying the reward of their salvation. Pray for us that we would continue to be good stewards of what God has given us. We are grateful for the financial provision that has been brought to us through the faithful giving of the church family and, also, through various ministries/churches that also use our space. Our building is quite large, and they are a great help to us financially. God has been good to send us user groups that fit with the resources we have to offer. Pray for us that we would not grow weary in doing good to others – our community and our own ‘household of faith’; and that we would continue to seek God’s heart & purpose for our church family for the days and years ahead. Theresa Janzen, Correspondent Grunthal Evangelical Bible Church Grunthal, MB Jared Fast, Pastor grunthalebc.ca In December of 2025, our church congregation experienced its first Advent and Christmas Program in the newly renovated sanctuary! Since 2020, Grunthal EBC has experienced significant growth in numbers, a true blessing of a “problem” to have. Throughout the year, we had to have two services on Sunday mornings, which wasn’t ideal, but it was a good temporary solution to allow everyone to enjoy church comfortably while figuring out our next steps. Thanks to great minds working together, we decided we could eliminate the storage room tucked behind the stage, push the stage back, and thus provide more seating in front of the stage. Prior to renovations, we could seat 278 people in the pews. Now, after renovations and exchanging pews for new stackable church chairs, we can now seat 345 congregants! This means we were able to enjoy the remaining months of 2025 with one service on Sunday mornings all together and our congregation was no longer split into two! These successful renovations were truly an answer to prayer! Once a month, we’ve started a “Prayer and Praise Night”. Anyone can come out that evening and enjoy an intimate setting of singing worship songs and listening to a short message. Then we’d break up into very small groups to read Scripture and share prayer requests with one another and pray for one another. It is a wonderful time of fellowshipping and praising God. We’re happy to announce that we have a date for our next Standing Firm Conference. “Worship The King” will take place on April 24th-25th. Let Everything that has breath praise the Lord, Praise the Lord -Psalm 150:5 Grunthal EBC offers something for everyone throughout the week. Men’s Bible Study on Mondays, Women’s Bible Study on Fridays, 55+ coffee & fellowship on Wednesdays, Jr Youth on Thursdays, Senior Youth on Fridays, College and Career, and Sunday School classes for ALL ages—starting at two years of age—on Sunday mornings. All of these get-togethers and classes we offer speak volumes to the number of servant-hearted volunteers we have at church. It’s wonderful to see so many God-given Spiritual gifts at work! We couldn’t do it without each other and God’s provision over these things. Jennifer Preston, Correspondent Indian Head Community Bible Church Indian Head, SK Justin Epp, Pastor The first Sunday of the New Year was a time of celebration at our church, as three individuals testified to God’s transforming power in their lives and were then baptized. Not only do we rejoice to see God’s hand at work in these members, but we also praise Him for growth in other areas of church life. In the fall, midweek Bible study sessions expanded with additional groups meeting to include more people from the growing congregation. Several regular attenders have aged out of the church’s weekly Kids Club program, so a youth group was started. The group has monthly opportunities to engage in fun activities and a brief Bible study. A new triad ministry was also introduced recently. This fosters personal growth as groups of three people meet regularly for fellowship and engage in spiritual disciplines together. Praise God with us for the work He is doing in the church; and pray for continued unity of the Spirit and hunger for God’s Word. Sarah Pacio, Correspondent Martensville Mission Church Martensville, SK Justin Klassen, Pastor facebook.com/martensvillemissionchurch Now that the Christmas season is behind us and we are into the new year, Pastor Justin’s sermon series through Ephesians has resumed. Pastor Justin has taken some much-needed time off for the month of January. In his absence, the Sunday messages were shared between our associate pastor, Brolin Simes, Brendon Johnston, and two guest speakers, Pastor Abe Klassen and Greg Benson, Director of Ranger Lake Bible Camp. Mr. Benson, in addition to the message, gave a report on summer camp and other goings on at Ranger Lake. Each Tuesday night is Bible Study night at the MMC. The focus of the Bible Study is to continue discussion on the previous Sunday’s message, and additional information may be provided. It is an opportunity to ask questions or request clarification on anything pertaining to the message. It is a great opportunity to deepen our understanding of God’s truths. Fundraising for our church addition and renovation project continued in January. On January 23rd, MMC hosted a movie night, complete with a concession selling pizza and snacks. Admission to “The Miracle Season” was by donation, and everyone was encouraged to invite family and friends out for the evening. Upcoming events at the MMC include the Annual General Meeting on February 13th and the Mexico Missions Trip from February 18th to 26th. Brenda Quirt, Correspondent Salem Church Waldheim, SK James VanderVeen, Pastor salemchurch.ca December is a full month for most churches, and Salem is no exception. We had the privilege of welcoming three new members into our membership and one baptism. Our church family also had some rich opportunities to celebrate the birth of Christ and bless others in our community during the holiday season. The Town of Waldheim invited our church to set up a live nativity scene at their annual Light Up the Park event. Many of our church family participated by dressing up as nativity characters, singing carols, and donating hot chocolate and cookies for the event. This was a unique opportunity to be able to share the true meaning of Christmas at a community-wide event. Our Congregational Care Committee organized and distributed 13 Christmas Hampers to families in need in our community. Our congregation generously donated food items to fill these hampers by selecting tags from our “Giving Tree” (a Christmas tree set up in the foyer with paper ornaments on it that had grocery items written on them). People were invited to choose a tag and purchase the item on the tag for the hampers. Young at Heart, our senior’s group, hosted their annual Christmas Banquet where they fellowshipped around good food, had special music, and a guest speaker. This was the last event for Young at Heart as the members of the planning committee have now retired from their roles. We also had the honour of hosting a joint Christmas Eve Service with the MB Church across town. We had just over 300 people from throughout the community attend the service and celebrate the birth of our Saviour with us! Shailey Boehm, Correspondent Vita Bible Church Vita, Manitoba Jonathan Coutts, Pastor vitabiblechurch.com December is always a wonderful and exciting time for us here at Vita Bible Church. Each year, we look forward to our annual Christmas Concert, where our young people bless us with a reminder of the true reason for celebrating Christmas. This year’s program, “Mary” posed a question to an unbelieving man all throughout the telling of the Christmas story, “Do you believe yet?” Many people come out to watch the telling of Christ’s birth each year. We have an encouraging time of fellowship afterwards with people from all over as grandparents, aunts and uncles, neighbors, friends, and community members all join us for this joyous occasion. Our Women’s Ministry group has been busy as well, taking part in this year’s Christmas market at the local arena. They decided not to join as a vendor, but instead, as a presence in our community, handing out free coffee and warm conversation to all who would welcome it. Christmastime for many is a difficult time. It is always such a blessing to encourage others and remind them of Christ’s love for them. In the hustle and bustle of Christmas and New Year’s celebrations, Pastor Jonathan reminded us all that true rest comes from God alone. He brought us to Matthew 11:28, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” If Jesus is the giver of rest, then we must come to Him alone to receive that rest. In our ongoing study of Acts, he drew our attention to Acts 16:14, “…The Lord opened her (Lydia’s) heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul.” It is our prayer that God will open all our hearts to receive His message and His divine rest. Tiffany Tuurenhout, Correspondent Not seeing updates from your church?
Connect with your pastor, or email the editor at [email protected], to find out if your church needs a correspondent—and whether you might be the right fit! Tags:
The Recommended Content Widget will appear here on the published site.
Church News (Nov/Dec 2025)12/8/2025 
Midway Bible Camp has faced various challenges in the last few years. The lease on the previous campsite had run out, leaving the camp in need of a new home. God has provided a new site that is even better situated than the old site. Forest fires and building delays changed plans this past summer, but God still gave opportunities to reach the youth with the gospel in unexpected ways. Work is ongoing to clear the site and build the necessary facilities. Danielle Johnston, Correspondent  Christian Fellowship Chapel Winnipeg Winnipeg, MB Timothy Harris, Pastor cfc-wpg.org We continue to have a lot to be thankful for! Our fall season began with a pancake breakfast in our churchyard for congregants and neighbors alike. English and Spanish Sunday School resumed, as did our AWANA club. The Ladies Abide Group met for four sessions, where we studied waiting on God. We have had baby dedications, and baby showers, a wedding shower and a wedding, and the blessing of helping two YFC missionaries in our midst with a fundraiser.
Tags:
The Recommended Content Widget will appear here on the published site.
Church News (July/Aug 2025)8/22/2025  We have several exciting updates to share from this year at our church. First, our new mission statement is KNOW GOD, MAKE HIM KNOWN. This reflects Jesus’ command to love Him first and then to love our neighbors as ourselves. Truly, how can we know God without knowing His love? And how can we make Him known apart from passing His love along?
Carolyn shares, “We are seven families represented (including us)—13 adults and 6 children. We had 3–4 new Spanish-speaking families start coming to the church in 2024, with different levels of English. Two families came to our church after only being in Canada a couple of weeks. Although learning English is important and becoming part of the church community is the goal, this Sunday School time allows them to study God’s Word in their mother tongue and share their thoughts freely. One family and one single man are new to the faith, but the others came from churches in Colombia and the Dominican Republic and were looking for a place to fellowship here.” When the Reimers are away, two capable men step in to lead the Bible study, and plans are in place for a more organized time for the children. In May, our congregation began intentionally celebrating Pentecost, including a baby dedication that day. With four little ones in our congregation, we anticipate more dedications to come. We were especially blessed with the births of two new babies this summer: Esther Grace Reimer, born May 18 to Derek and Kirsten Reimer, and Micah Timothy Ryan, born July 23 to Pastor Tim and Kristin. Alongside this joy, we were saddened by the passing of Irene Margaret Klassen, age 88, on May 17, 2025.
Linda Edwards, Correspondent Dalmeny Bible Church has experienced a season rich in ministry, learning, and fellowship. Missions highlights included a sending prayer in March for Jason, Joanne, Hannah, and Olivia Borrowman with AIM before they returned to Hurri Hills, Africa, and a visit from Doug Barr with One Hope – Ranger Lake Bible Camp on March 30. During Lent, the congregation focused on Jesus’ journey to the Cross, enriched by personal testimonies from church members. Children’s Mini-Clubs wrapped up their winter sessions with a Family Showcase, and leaders and volunteers attended both the Youth Workers Conference and the Children’s Impact Conference in Saskatoon. Growing Leaders training continues for adults and youth, and the church’s literacy support program remains active in the local elementary school. Winter fellowship events included Men’s Breakfast Gatherings, an NFL Super Bowl supper for men and boys, and a Lazer Tag outing. Ladies participated in a Winter Retreat, a Charcuterie night, and a Pre-Easter brunch for ladies and girls, alongside showers celebrating a new bride and a new baby. The congregation continues to lift up families experiencing difficult medical situations, providing both practical and spiritual care. Marilyn Harder, Correspondent Evangelical Bible Church Dallas, Oregon Troy Bassham, Pastor ebcdallas.org This summer, we hosted just over 100 local children for our True North VBS. We will soon begin evaluating and searching for an administrative pastor, as Pastor Mike is moving on to serve as senior pastor at a new church. In September, we will launch a new Awana year. Please pray for leaders and helpers, as we typically have between 120 and 140 children each week. In October, we will hold our annual missions conference here at the church with our missionary friends serving in Central Asia. Alison Johnson, Correspondent Jansen Bible Church Jansen, Nebraska Paul Carpenter, Pastor jansenbiblechurch.org The Washington County, Kansas, Rodeo took place on June 13–14. Once again, our JBC women faithfully managed the concession stand this year. Vacation Bible School, held June 16–20, focused on the life and times of Elijah, with 40 students attending. Garrett and Joanna Schlake, serving with InterVarsity in France, were the featured missionaries. Offerings totaled $4,322.03 to help fund Evangelism Week for college students at their university. The Schlakes also led a Q&A session on June 24. In June, Jeff Engelman and his son Josiah traveled to Indonesia to minister at a Bible conference with the Semandang people group, where Jeff grew up and later served as a missionary. On July 6, Brian Dick introduced the new Spanish director of Springs of Life Camp. Brian and Susanna serve with Avant at the camp, which is now managed by Word of Life. Throughout July, our pastoral search committee arranged for several candidates to minister while the Carpenters were in Florida attending the Moretti Ministries Board meeting. We praise the Lord for those seeking His direction in the harvest field, even as we continue to seek His guidance for His flock at Jansen. Tena Dick, Correspondent Martensville Mission Church Martensville, Saskatchewan Justin Klassen, Pastor facebook.com/martensvillemissionchurch The past several months have been full of fellowship, outreach, and new opportunities at MMC. Earlier in the year, our congregation enjoyed several gatherings, including a Super Bowl Party on February 9, a Family Fun Night on February 14, and our Annual General Meeting on February 28. Pastor Justin also led us through a special two-sermon Easter series: Palm Sunday’s The Rocks Will Cry Out and Easter Sunday’s Yet Not I. Our Women’s Bible Study, which began again in March, has been studying the Psalms. God has also been stirring hearts in the area of outreach. Under the leadership of Pastor Brolin, MMC launched our first Soup and Bun Community Supper on March 3. Volunteers from the church prepared and served the meal, and about 20 people from the community attended, along with others from MMC who enjoyed the meal and fellowship together. These suppers have continued monthly since then and will carry on through the summer. It has been encouraging to see new faces come through the doors each month, and we look forward to how God will continue to use this ministry. May was a particularly busy month. In addition to our Community Suppers, we participated in the Martensville Community Garage Sale and the Buster Days parade, where information cards highlighting MMC programs were handed out along the parade route. We also held our Ladies Salad Fiesta, where Kelsey Simes, wife of Associate Pastor Brolin Simes, shared how God has moved in her life. Each of these events provided meaningful opportunities to connect with people in our community and show the love of Christ. As summer has unfolded, most of our regular programming has wound down to give families a chance to rest and enjoy time together. Our youth, however, continue to meet informally twice each month. We wrapped up the ministry season with a Family BBQ on June 8 following the morning service. Looking ahead, plans are underway for our second annual MMC Camping Weekend at Pike Lake in August, which will include an outdoor Sunday Service. Many have already signed up, and we anticipate another wonderful weekend of food, fun, and fellowship. We are also preparing for a baptism service and our Fall Kickoff, both scheduled for September 14. Brenda Quirt, Correspondent Randville Bible Church Iron Mountain, Michigan Jim Janofski, Pastor facebook.com/RandvilleBibleChurch Summer is a joyful time at Randville Bible Church and this year was no exception; we praise God for His faithfulness and rejoice in our church family's love for the Lord and His Word and the joys of being a part of a local family of God's people. Our annual church outreach picnic on the last Sunday of June was a memorable time with a number of visitors in the morning service that left the church nearly full. Many family, friends, and neighbors then gathered to enjoy the annual picnic under the big tent that followed the service. The day was filled with great food, warm fellowship, games, and 15 musicians praising the Lord through bluegrass Gospel. What a special day for this annual outreach event. July brought the blessing of sermons from the Book of Jonah, preached by guest pastor Hill, who touched lives through this expository message series. During this time, Pastor Jim was ministering at a music festival, where he had multiple opportunities to share the Gospel in a variety of musical settings. The power of prayer for boldness in witnessing was clearly felt and seen, and we thank God for His blessings. In August, services have focused on God’s character through various psalms in the theme Psalms We Cherish. How rich is God’s Word! We savor our God as Creator, reflect upon His holy character, His eternal nature, and His care, guidance, and provision as the ultimate Good Shepherd. In September, we will celebrate Grandparents Sunday as we reflect on the role and importance of grandparents in children’s lives. We also will commemorate World Bible Translation Sunday on the last Sunday of the month, focusing on updates in Bible translation work and newly completed languages over the past year. We praise the Lord for His blessings and faithfulness to our small fellowship at RBC! May His name be praised, and may He continue to bless the churches of our FEBC. Pastor Jim Janofski Rock Valley Chapel Beloit, Wisconsin Tim Johnson, Pastor rockvalleychapel.org We praise God for the ways He has been at work in the lives of His people over the past several months! Earlier this year, we celebrated three baptisms at our Easter Sunday service, rejoicing in each person’s commitment to Christ. Holy Week this year was a meaningful and celebratory time for our congregation. We held a Maundy Thursday service that included a brief Seder meal and explanation, a Good Friday service, a Saturday morning prayer time, and Easter Sunday festivities, beginning with food and fellowship before the morning service. We continue to give thanks for God’s faithfulness and the ways He draws people into His family. Karen Broekhuis, Correspondent Salem Church Waldheim, Saskatchewan James VanderVeen, Pastor salemchurch.ca Over the past several months, the Salem family has enjoyed many events and opportunities for fellowship. In February, we hosted a Matt Falk Clean Comedy Night, welcoming visitors from near and far. In March, Gary Krehbiel led a Family Fusion event in the afternoon, bringing couples and families together for laughter and clean fun. Our ladies’ events have resumed as well, with each gathering focused on a specific theme connected to the overall theme of Gather. In March, the theme was Gather in Gratitude, and participants shared testimonies and engaged in meaningful discussions around tables of good food. Looking ahead, we celebrated Waldheim’s joint Easter services, including a Thursday evening service at Salem followed by a youth event. Good Friday services were held at the MB church across town, where attendees also partook in the Lord’s Table together. Easter Sunday services were held at both churches in celebration of the risen Lord. We were also excited to host the Watoto Children’s Choir on April 27 for an evening concert, which included opportunities for host families to connect with choir members. Since spring, we have also celebrated Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and our Grade 12 graduates. Eight individuals shared personal testimonies and were received into membership, including one baptism. These occasions have been a time to rejoice in God’s faithfulness and the blessings He provides. This season also brings change for Salem Church as two key positions are open for applications. Brenda Wiens, who has faithfully served as Director of Family Ministries for the past six years, will be retiring at the end of July. Shawna Mwakikuti, our Office Administrator for the past five years, will be beginning her maternity leave in July. We ask for prayer as we seek God’s guidance in filling these roles with the people He is preparing for these responsibilities. Shawna Mwakikuti, Correspondent Saron Mennonite Church Fairview, Oklahoma Arnold Curby, Pastor It has been a full and joyful summer at Saron! On May 4, the congregation hosted an evening reception honoring high school graduates Karsyn Pendergraft and Bre D’Alberto. June brought more highlights, including Children’s Day at Gloss Mountain State Park on June 8, followed by Communion and a Fellowship Dinner on June 29, where Krista Pendergraft also shared about her mission trip to Ireland. The celebrations continued with the wedding of Amos Nunn, son of Adam and Denise Nunn, to Breanna D’Alberto, daughter of Denny and Rachel D’Alberto, on July 26. The Saron family also rejoiced in two new births: Shalom Susanna Curby, born May 2 to Levi and Kristin Curby, and Miriam Elizabeth Hope Kanary, born July 11 to Hannah and Jonathan Kanary. Arnold and Grace Curby are the proud grandparents of both little ones. Most recently, on August 15, the congregation enjoyed a potluck picnic at Roman Nose State Park following the morning service. The event served as a meaningful time of fellowship as well as an opportunity to connect with the wider community. Grace Curby, Correspondent Vita Bible Church Vita, Manitoba Jonathan Coutts, Pastor
Pastor Jonathan referenced this Casting Crowns song more than once this spring as we journeyed through Acts. If we are the hands and feet of Jesus, what does that look like for us? Our lives here are but a breath, and we should live each moment for God. This year at Vita Bible Church, we have had many opportunities to live out the words of Paul in Romans 12:5, to rejoice with those who rejoice and to mourn with those who mourn. As a body, we rejoiced as we celebrated the dedication of our newest babies on March 9: Arabella Dyck (Jason and Maya Dyck), Wyatt Hofer (Kris and Val Hofer), Timothy Wiebe (Keith and Bethany Wiebe), Liam Unger (Tony and Annabel Unger), and Emmit Rempel (Daniel and Julia Rempel). It was a wonderful time to celebrate our growing congregation. Many relatives and friends came to support these young couples as they dedicated their little ones to the Lord. On the morning of March 23, we mourned together as one body when two of our members, Diedrich and Sara Unger, were tragically called to their eternal home. This painful reminder of the brevity of life renewed our resolve to love and serve with all that we have, being the body Christ calls us to be. Our transition into summer began with unexpected excitement when a bear broke into our church basement, curious to look around and join in on all the activity. This summer, we took a break from our study of Acts and instead looked more deeply into various psalms, worshipping God through David’s writings. Pastor Jonathan also began a new short session with the children during the service, where one child each Sunday places any item of their choice into a special shoebox. Pastor Jonathan then uses that surprise item as an object lesson to draw the children into the love Christ has for them. We are so thankful for our church family and for God’s design for us. He created us to love, support, and encourage one another—rejoicing together, mourning together, holding one another up in prayer, and being His hands and feet. Together, we reach out to the hurting, love the little children, and show them all that Jesus is the Way. Tiffany Tuurenhout, Correspondent
Tags:
The Recommended Content Widget will appear here on the published site.
|
8/5/2026
0 Comments