A Look Back at 2013

A Year in Review

Conferences  and  retreats  such  as  Assembly,  ReIgnite,  Blizzard  and  

Avalanche    

Workshops  and  training  events  

Grant  funding  for  innova@ve  ministry  opportuni@es

Helping  churches  discover  missional  living  within  their  communi@es  

Mission  learning  groups  for  pastors  (AIM  groups)  

Support  for  church  planters  and  new  communi@es

Regular  prayer  for  our  churches  

Conflict  media@on  and  resolu@on  

Assis@ng  pastoral  search  commiHees

Over  350  churches  in  Ontario  &  Quebec  

Worshipping  God  in  22  different  

languages  across  our  churches  

Covering  a  distance  of  2375  km  from  Kenora,  ON  to  Quebec  City

Accredita@on  of  pastors  

Church  mortgages  

Benefits  programs

We  at  Canadian  Bap,sts  of  Ontario  and  Quebec  walk  alongside  our  family  of  churches,  

suppor,ng  and  strengthening  our  community  as  together  we  become  more  like  Christ,  sharing  his  love,  peace  and  grace  with  one  another  and  our  neighbours  and  taking  his  

Good  News  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.

We  do  this  through:  

Cover Photo: St. George Baptist Church musicians c. 1910

In 2013, we were blessed by the stories of hope and mission throughout the landscape of Ontario and Quebec. !This past year brought us the first four First Nations pastoral leaders to our New Pastors’ Orientation, new church starts among three ethnic communities and the commitment of many churches to gather around the voice of God in discernment to discover the ways forward. !We have celebrated with churches their recommitment to studying God's word, evangelism, ministering to the marginalized poor and wealthy among us, and a faithful commitment to journeying

together as a connected body of Baptists. !This scripture closed the comments from Pastor Liv Huff at Elliott Lake First Baptist Church last March. Pastor Liv and the wonderful folk at Elliott Lake spent the day celebrating the new addition to their church.

But each of you should build with care. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:10b-11

Dear Canadian Baptist family,

!!!

I was thrilled to celebrate with a thriving small congregation, bursting at the seams and needing extra space. This church spent years dreaming and planning how they would invest God's blessings on their church. !!God continues to blow fresh wind and fire into the life of CBOQ. Your partnership in providing hope and resources continues to bring significant Kingdom impact in the name of Jesus Christ. Enjoy in these following pages the stories of how your involvement has provided momentum and opportunity for leaders and churches in this great CBOQ family. !

Tim McCoy, Executive Minister

!On A Mission Throughout 2012 and 2013, a group of five mission-hearted people formed AIM (About Integral Mission). Their passion was to grow in understanding and practice of integral mission in local contexts. !In February 2013, the team spent two weeks in Lebanon, learning from the ministries of the Lebanese Baptist Society, encountering refugee ministry, educational ministries, youth and children's programs, and spending time with students. The lessons learned will significantly inform our missiological directions over the coming years.

There are few sounds more satisfying to a Canadian than the scrape of a skate across

the ice, the crack of a stick-meets-puck, and the back thumping camaraderie of a

hockey team in action.

This past year, a team of 10 people from Uxbridge Baptist

Church headed to the northern community of Weagamow

to share some hope, faith and hockey with the Nishnawbe

Aski Nation, and make new friendships at the same time.

Funded in part by a CBOQ grant, the team had planned to

teach 45 children how to skate and play hockey; they

ended up teaching 120. Through an intensive batch of

coaching sessions, non-skaters quickly became more confident on the ice, all

culminating in a six game tournament as a grand finale, much to the delight of the

kids and enthusiastic parents and friends.

Bringing a new skate sharpener, some skates and equipment

to leave behind, the team helped open a new arena and was

able to equip the community with many of the tools they’ll

need to continue honing their hockey skills. In an area that

has struggled with poverty, addiction and suicide, a little hope

and encouragement can go a long way.

Uxbridge Baptist’s community is already looking at

possibilities of returning to Weagamow, to continue

sharing the love of Jesus through friendship and tangible

support, but when they do, perhaps they will need to

prepare for some serious sporting competition in the good

ol’ hockey game!

Uxbridge Baptist’s ‘Hockey for Hope’ Scores!

In 2013, CBOQ distributed over $472,000 in grants enabling new missional partnership and initiatives.

!!

Pastor Don Collar first felt called into ministry while a part of Spring Garden Baptist Church in Toronto.

Supported by leadership in that community, he pursued his education at Tyndale Seminary and Conrad Grebel College, digging deep into the Word and learning more about God. !Upon graduating, Don began seekingopportunities in Ontario and found a

summer internship at St. George Baptist Church. Unsurprisingly, given St. George’s reputation for hospitality, he was asked to stay on as lead pastor and developed his skills and strengths in leadership – skills that would subsequently serve him well as a church planter. !In 1985, Don was asked to plant a newchurch, leaving St. George and heading to Orleans to start a brand new community of faith – Bilberry Creek Baptist Church – a thriving church where he spent the next 29 years of fruitful ministry.

St. George Baptist Church has a stunningly beautiful building with acoustics that would make classical musicians swoon. Built in 1911, it is a perfect example of early 20th century church architecture. Yet, it isn’t its structural beauty that makes St. George amazing; it is the people who call this community home. The people of St. George have been welcoming, challenging and developing new pastors since their congregation was formed 190 years ago. !We interviewed two of our CBOQ pastors who started their ministry in St. George: Don Collar, who retired from Bilberry Creek last year, and Melissa Memmott, who is beginning her work in the same community as Don, about 35 years later.

The Bookends of St. George

!!!

…he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of ChristJesus.

Philippians 1:6

Church planting can be challenging, but Don and his family were able to establish a strong, healthy community of believers and, over time, develop partnerships that have resulted in both French and English ministries. Through friendships with other pastors, Don has managed to overcome many of the challenges of ministry and through it all continues to love Jesus and His Church. !Don is clearly still very fond of his church. “They loved and accepted us… They allowed us to be ourselves, which is probably one of the reasons why we were able to stay for so long.” !Part of the Canadian Military Chaplaincy, Primary Reserves, Don has been able serve his church and the wider community and still pursue his not-so-secret love of motorcycles. Don intends to remain attuned to the pulse of his community, working toward helping congregations through

transitions and doing some itinerant preaching. !“This generation is looking for something that gives meaning and purpose. If the church gets back to being disciples of Jesus, and growing and loving God and people, that’s what will make the difference.” !Still infused with a vision for the future, Don is also excited about having more time with his grandchildren and, of course, the chance to respond to the call of the open road…

!

!

Pastor Melissa Memmott has a lot of “new” in her life. Newly married and now settled into her first home with her husband, Melissa is also the newly installed pastor at St. George Baptist Church. Despite all that newness, Melissa is eager for more opportunities. !Melissa comes from a CBOQ home. The daughter of a pastor, Rev. Marilyn Gratz, Melissa has always felt encouraged to seek God’s calling in her life. Despite starting out in sciences, Melissa quickly realised that she would rather be investing in people than in her textbooks. Initially, Melissa did her graduate studies in Linguistics and Exegesis, which led to her love of theology and a subsequent M. Div. Now extremely well educated, Melissa displays no indication of academic pedantry, and instead exudes

warmth, life, intelligence and hope, which is probably what St. George Baptist saw in her too. Together they are sharing dreams for the future of the community and are looking to grow, be filled with young families and serve their community.

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus… For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Eph. 2:4-7, 10

! “I want people to find a home at St. George Baptist,” says Melissa. “I’m excited to meet the families in the area, develop relationships, meet new people and make friends… to love people truly, deeply with all the love that we’ve been given.” !Melissa is wisely taking her time to get to know her new neighbourhood before launching new programs and is committed to

seeking direction through prayer. Well armed with academic knowledge, it could be a temptation to take a cerebral approach to ministry, but that is not Melissa’s character or purpose. Like the community into which she has been planted, it is her kindness, her hope and her vision for the future that inspires her listeners to love God and each other with joy.

!To  Melissa,  from  Don:  

!“Be  authentic;  be  yourself.  Find  a  support  group  -­‐  people  who  will  be  your  support  through  difAicult  times.  Empower  your  people  for  ministry  -­‐  let  them  take  some  risks  in  faith…  Guard  your  time  off.”  !

!To  Don,  from  Melissa:  

!“I  want  to  say  thank  you.  Thanks  for  paving  the  way,  for  ministering  in  your  community,  faithful  to  your  calling.  Thank  you  for  the  example  you  have  set.”

When Pastor

Michelet

Dorméus, First

Baptist Church

Windsor, sensed

that God was calling the church

to think and act differently, his

community began a five month

ongoing transformation journey

of Looking Up, Around, Back, In

and Forward to discern how they

could join in God's mission.

The congregation took time to

ask the question, I wonder if God

is saying that we could participate

with him by… and answered it by

finding tangible ways that they

could align themselves with

God's redemptive work in their

local and global community and

discerning how their church

would be sign of the Kingdom.

!!

Discerning and Participating in the Mission of God

Looking Up, Around, Back, In and Forward*

‣ Prayer‣ Reflection on Scripture‣ Listening to each other and God‣ Interactive discerning workshops‣ Interviewing local people‣ Studying demographics‣ Natural Church Development (NCD) health survey‣ Clarifying the church's calling, values and next steps

Missio Dei

*If your church would like to investigatethis process, CBOQ is here to help. Go to www.baptist.ca/churches/church-health/ for more information!

In reflecting on the Looking process

Pastor Michelet noted the following

highlights. He said that the imagery

used throughout the process of the

church being in Oz and not in

Kansas helped the church to see that

Canada is post-Christian and that

they need to think and act differently

then they did in the past. He also

observed that the process of

Looking Back reminded the church

about issues of core identity that

they needed to reclaim as they

participate in new ways with God's

redemptive work. The other

significant benefit for the church

was the wisdom that they gleaned

from the NCD survey that helped

them to focus their ministry efforts.

We at CBOQ are excited about

FBC Windsor as they participate in

the mission of God!

CBOQ Youth and Kids have had

a significant year of impact as we

develop and mobilize our

churches to engage the next

generation. Through our next

steps initiative we reached over

124 of our churches to support

them as they set goals and plans

to move their ministries forward.

Youth Ministry: Now & Not Yet by

Matt Wilkinson continues to be

transformational for our churches

looking to reach teens today.

CBOQ Youth also launched a new

"slingshot" program for young

leaders, and heard great stories of

spiritual life change as a result of

Blizzard and

Avalanche retreats

which involved over 1170

participants.

It was just two years ago we were

given a three year grant to elevate

the ministry to children and

family. Through this initiative we

have been able to provide

resources and strategic direction

to our churches who are taking

seriously the need to envision

what it takes to best reach and

engage today's children and their

families.

!!Discipling Every Age

“We need to take seriously who children

are as people, as children of God. We’re

not just waiting for children to reach a

certain age to recognize God and live

out who they are; they can engage with

God at whatever age they are.”

It is this understanding of children that

has informed the direction of Tanya

(Krahn) Yuen’s work and ministry here

at CBOQ. There is no special age at

which God begins his work in us; he is

working all the time. Just as children are

learning and growing in knowledge and

skills, so do they develop spiritually.

Providing children and their families

with much-needed resources and

support can help young people develop

the spiritual maturity they require as

they grow up.

“I am excited that churches are starting

to think about their children and family

ministries. Churches are recognizing

that children’s ministry is bigger than

the kids. They are beginning to look at

the whole family… and evaluating what

they’re doing and trying new things,”

says Tanya. As part of her work, she is

developing holistic family ministry

opportunities such as a night out with

the Raptors. Created as a fun night for

families, parents and kids were invited

to come out for a basketball game to

cheer on the home team. After the

game, they had an exciting chance to

head to the court to hear Herbie Kuhn,

the voice of the Raptors, and Landry

Fields, one of the Raptors’ players,

share about their faith. Families were

then given discussion questions to share

over the next few days, helping them to

reflect on their experiences and give

parents helpful direction on providing

spiritual nurture for their children.

! !!

It is not only adults who minister to

children. Children can worship in ways

that perhaps many adults have

forgotten. Tanya recalls one worship

event where both children and adults

were waving flags during worship. A

child and her grandma had joined in.

During the music, grandma waved her

blue and green flags; her granddaughter

waved a gold flag. As her granddaughter

waved her gold flag high, she said,

“Grandma, the blue and green are the

earth, and the gold is God’s glory. I’m

waving God’s glory over the Earth!” It is

a moment like this that assures Tanya

that we need children to worship with

us and continue to foster their

relationship with Jesus.

Tanya’s dream it to continue to come

alongside churches as they work to

minister to all ages. Her passion is to see

whole church leadership teams

committed to helping disciple individual

families and children as they grow in

their physical and spiritual lives. She is

also looking forward to creating more

experiences for families and churches,

such as Family Compassion

Experiences, which will bring them

closer together and to Jesus, making for

a great beginning to a lifelong

relationship.

Just the Facts

‣ 276 churches financially supported CBOQ in

2013

‣ 83 churches used the CBOQ junior and/or

senior high curriculum

‣ 690 people were part of the CBOQ group

insurance plan

‣ 125 churches received consulting from

CBOQ regarding church health, mission,

youth ministry or church administration

‣ Four children's ministry regional networks

established

!!

!!!

Total Expenditures: $3.05 million*

19%

21%

23%

36% Transforming CommunitiesTransforming LeadersTransforming ChurchesFacilitating our Vision & Mission

Finance Update

*unaudited 2013 total net expenditures

Transforming Churches: Training to help church leaders develop functioning

structures, as well as church renewal, pastoral search and placement services.

Transforming Leaders: Training for church leaders, pastoral care and

credentialing services, and a benefits program for ministry professionals.

Transforming Communities: Grants for new ministry initiatives, consultations

for church planters, and support of global, holistic mission through Canadian

Baptist Ministries.

Your contributions help us support your leadership and your church as together

we make an impact for Christ across Canada and around the world.

Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec | www.baptist.ca100-304 The East Mall | Etobicoke, ON | M9B 6E2 | 416-622-8600

!

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Eph. 3:20-21