(The following is by Peter and Amy, leader with Stanley Park Baptist). Hello Families, We made it! I (Amy) am currently writing this blog from a laptop on the bus as we travel from Santo Domingo to Los Alcarrizos. We have an exhausted but excited group with us; it has been a long day of travelling. As I write this, it is 7:30 pm local time which is 6:30 your
The team arrived safely at the Lighthouse. They currently don't have WiFi, so Peter Schultz (team leader) texted this update: No problems in transit other than a 3-hour delay in the Miami-DR flight... but we got free sandwiches ... sooooo. Then we took the new bus to the compound where we ate food and got organized for tomorrow. Youth loved the food and pool. Peace.
A quick update: the team woke up at 2am (ish) this morning, got on the shuttle and are now going through security. We had some fun navigating self-check-in. They are on their way! (Flight is still on time.)
In a few hours, our CE-DR 2018 team will depart for the Dominican Republic where they will join other churches under International Teams (ITeams) to serve the Lighthouse Project. We are grateful for the partnership with ITeams and Lighthouse, and the willingness of this 10-person team to serve and learn with the nationals there. Earlier this evening, I briefly shared four points with them: We call these "compassion experiences" because
This Sunday (March 4) is CBOQ Sunday. This year is special (at least for the Next Gen team) because the focus is the Next Generation. It's our hope that, for part of your Sunday service, you will focus on what we're doing as a family of churches with this upcoming generation. By now, you should have received the latest edition of The Canadian Baptist magazine. In it are several articles
We have now hosted 50 Avalanche/Blizzard retreats. Let's call this "The Golden Blizzard". With over 300 students and leaders at Muskoka Woods, many memories and spiritual steps were taken this past weekend. Derek Selinger led students through the understanding of hope, juxtaposing it against despair and understanding why Jesus is the greatest hope. Throughout the weekend, we heard numerous students seriously consider what this means in their lives. Some
Blizzard 1 for 2018 was the 49th winter retreat CBOQ Youth has hosted. Our speaker, Matt Adams, brought illusions that blew the mind. (He even performed illusions and hung out with students through the weekend.) More importantly, he drew people to Jesus, sharing how Christ is the greatest hope. Life Support amped up students and leaders in worship, including their rendition (with a lot of crowd participation) of the
Back in 2011, the Hemorrhaging Faith study found that, for Christian youth adults, major life transitions were often transitions out of the church and faith. A major new study is being conducted looking at the transition of Christian young adults from high school to the next phase in life and how churches and ministries can help young adults maintain their connections to church and faith. The last data collection phase
Almost 500 jr. high students and leaders converged on Muskoka Woods this past weekend for our 18th Avalanche retreat. While everything didn't always go according to plan, here were some key highlights: Our Friday night began with a "bang" (see the end of the video to the right). Students were challenged with key life questions like, "Do they want to pursue Jesus as their greatest hope?" and "How will
Where are you headed? What do you need to get there? As youth leaders, we pour into others, but what are ways you allow God to pour into you? A few weeks ago, we suggested creating a learning track for your student leaders to help identify specific elements in building that person and who could provide those learning opportunities. It's no different for you as a leader. Below is a
