The Excellence in Ministry to Children Award has been awarded each year since 1987 to individuals who have been ministering with distinction to children through Christian ministries over many years. Past winners include Ethel Barrett, Dr. John Trent, Focus on the Family, Jim Wideman, Karyn Henley, Rob Evans, and many others.

Since 1980, the international Network of Children’s Ministry has existed to train, encourage, motivate, network and resource Christian leaders who minister to children. INCM conducts the annual Children’s Pastors’ conference and over 100 one-day children’s ministry training seminars throughout North America.

Jesus asks us to pray:

Individually - Matthew 6:6
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

In Pairs - Matthew 18:19
“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.

In Small Groups - Matthew 18:20
“For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”

As a Congregation - Acts 1:13 14

When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

This years committee has been prayerfully planning events and activities during this week that would enable the congregation to take a couple of steps forward in their prayer life. A few events sprinkled throughout the week doesn’t address where the majority of those in our congregation might be in their prayer life.

Our plan for this year is to encourage all ministries to emphasize prayer. Instead of games on Tuesday, the Senior’s might spend time in prayer for those who are home bound, and perhaps pray for missions. The Thursday Ladies Group might discuss one of Jesus’ prayers in the Gospel of John and have a time of prayer.

We are also creating a list of other ideas for people to sign up and do, like; praying for neighbours as they take their evening walk, or going on a prayer walk around the neighbourhood surrounding the church, or praying for our youth etc.

Make 2003 a year to re-focus on Prayer!

Be sure to pick up your tickets for the SuperBowl Bash. This will be Sunday, January 26th at 5:30 p.m. All are welcome

For our students it begins with our outreach events. Our bi-weekly activities are done to provide an opportunity for our youth to come out and to be introduced to the ministry and the people that make it up. It is in this non-threatening environment that they can be introduced to Christ through relationships with their friends. From there the path takes us to our Youth Church experience where we challenge the students to make a decision for Christ and to evaluate their current lifestyle. We want to expose them to an opportunity to grow in Christ, and to better understand His plans for their life. As our students grow in their relationship with Him, we encourage them to join one of our small groups. This is the next step or footprint. Here students are challenged even further: they have made a commitment to Christ and now we encourage them to deepen that relationship. Finally, for those who are hungry for more, we place them on our student leadership team. These students now look to lead and teach others. They have a burning desire that hungers for God and want to give aid and direction to those who are just starting out on their journey.

In the end it is our vision to see students emerge from our ministry as fully devoted followers of Christ. We desire that they have firmly planted their feet in Him, and have walked the path towards a flourishing relationship in Christ. It is my prayer that every student that comes through our doors will find clear direction through the footprints of those who went before them, and that all students are given the opportunity to experience Him in His fullness.

The Adult Ministry covers a broad age span, probably the biggest in the church. Yet, we are committed to providing growth experiences for any age, at any time in the Christian walk. We realize that walking with God is a process of successes and failures, so the Adult Ministry provides learning and growth experiences at multiple levels.

1. ADULT ELECTIVES

a. Introductory learning experiences are provided to help to reinforce some of the basic truths of scripture. Classes such as the rudiments of Bible Study, the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Old Testament), or the Questions of Life (Alpha) are just a sample of what we’ve used in the past to help in our faith-walk.
b. Deeper learning experiences are also provided for those who are further along in their Christian journey. These opportunities take us to a deeper level of understanding in order to apply the principles of Gods’ Word. We’ve covered a book study of Philippians - “A Life Worth Living”, a video class by author Philip Yancey on the “Jesus I Never Knew” and “What’s So Amazing About Grace”. These materials have assisted us as we seek to discover the truths that shape our faith.
c. Equipping courses have been made available to those who not only want to learn and grow, but also want to tell others about their walk of faith. One class that we’ve offered many times is called “How to Become a Contagious Christian.” We learn how to share our faith in an intentional and non-threatening way. Another class gives hands on help with how to do personal Bible Study. Many of the courses provide an environment for individuals to use and improve their teaching gifts. This is a process of taking the necessary steps along the pathway of faith.

2. SMALL GROUPS

a. The small group ministry provides an environment of encouragement and growth for almost 150 members of our congregation. The small groups meet either weekly or bi-weekly, and some meet 3 times a month for fellowship, discussion on Biblical principles of Discipleship, and prayer. The home setting of each of the groups provides a safe, warm and comfortable environment to build into one another’s lives in a meaningful way. This reinforces the reality that our faith journey is not walking alone but rather walking together with the help and support of one other.
b. A Leader and Apprentice Leader couple leads each of the small groups. This structure provides the necessary leadership for future growth. Each group provides the training ground for the apprentices to grow in their giftedness in order to lead in the future. Ongoing bi-weekly training is also provided by the staff to ensure that all our leaders are equipped to handle the issues that naturally develop in each individuals spiritual walk.

3. SENIORS MINISTRY

a. The Seniors meet on a weekly basis to build friendships and encourage one another. This is accomplished by playing table games and having gym activities. The games seem to be just an excuse to be together and to share one another’s life-story and faith-walk. Encouragement and support for each other is shared around those circles of friendships. Many of these relationships have developed over years of worshiping and serving together. Every gathering is supplemented with a time in God’s word and prayer. We all know that the road of faith is not an easy one, but one that is full of fellow journeymen moving towards a deeper understanding of their walk with Jesus.
b. The Seniors also meet monthly for lunch and a seminar on a relevant age-specific topic. This seminar series provides timely information on a range of topics that appeal to this age group. It also gives the group an opportunity to invite some of their non-churched friends to come and participate. The barriers slowly come down in people’s lives the more they are exposed to loving, concerned, and compassionate disciples of Jesus Christ.

The Adult Ministry is all about providing the necessary tools to navigate through life’s twists and turns. There is an acceptance and appreciation that all are on a path leading towards a deeper understanding of our faith in Jesus Christ. Each footstep we take brings us closer to our goal of becoming a better disciple of Jesus so that we can tell others, and they too can begin their faith walk with Him.

Come and join us, as we walk together!!

Sure, it was a handsome building in its day. But then, there’s been a lot of winters pass with their snow and ice and howling wind. The summer sun’s beat down on that old barn till all the paint’s gone, and the wood has turned silver gray. Now the old building leans a good deal, looking kind of tired. Yet, that fellow called it beautiful.

That set me to thinking. I walked out to the field and just stood there, gazing at that old barn. The stranger said he planned to use the lumber to line the walls of his den in a new country home he’s building down the road. He said you couldn’t get paint that beautiful. Only years of standing in the weather, bearing the storms and scorching sun, only that can produce beautiful barn wood.

It came to me then. We’re a lot like that, you and I. Only it’s on the inside that the beauty grows with us. Sure we turn silver gray too… and lean a bit more than we did when we were young and full of sap. But the Good Lord knows what He’s doing. And as the years pass He’s busy using the hard wealth of our lives, the dry spells and the stormy seasons, to do a job of beautifying our souls that nothing else can produce. And to think how often folks holler because they want life easy!

They took the old barn down today and hauled it away to beautify a rich man’s house. And I reckon someday you and I’ll be hauled off to Heaven to take on whatever chores the Good Lord has for us.

And I suspect we’ll be more beautiful then for the seasons we’ve been through here… and just maybe even add a bit of beauty to our Father’s house.

During the Fall, we faced our pasts and prepared to move forward in strength. In January, we look to the present and the future. What does it mean to be a man? It must be more than marrying a wife, fathering a child, finding a job!

The Scripture is straightforward in defining manhood, but we have forgotten its message. Join us at the Pine Tree beginning January 11th.

Jesus challenges us to ‘follow’ Him in our daily choices, one step at a time. Some choices may seem unimportant in the moment, but a series of decisions define a life. We have not yet numbered them all, but if you’ve read much of the New Testament, you know there are dozens and dozens of challenges. We’ve pulled out an assortment of these as markers for our progress in the faith. They all fit under Jesus’ description of those who would be His disciples…
1. A supreme love for Jesus
2. Regular study of God’s Word
3. Renunciation of ourselves as the supreme authority of life
4. Submission to the cross
5. Allegiance to Christ’s leadership in our lives
6. Recognition of God as the true Owner of all our possessions
Attitudes and actions as reflections of Christ’s love

We have studied those concepts carefully over the past months. As we look inside each one, we discover that there are small steps that move us towards fulfillment of each exhortation.

You might remember that there are transitions in our spiritual lives, as well as incremental steps. For the sake of clarity, we are using the metaphor of journeying this year to describe our growth individually. For example, the first type of traveling would be pursued by a tourist; someone who wants stimulation in seeing new things. This would have a spiritual dimension as well. After being convinced that life is a journey, the tourist would become a traveler, someone who is journeying to a specific place for conscious reasons. That would fit with the intentionality of our spiritual disciplines: we seek God by all necessary means. The third sort of journeying is pursued by a trekker, a person who has set aside other things in order to complete a compelling quest, in our case, to know God personally and enjoy Him forever. The fourth transition involves journeying as a missionary, one who is bent on seeing other tourists come to know and enjoy the same God who makes life full and satisfying.

We will remind one another this year to take each day seriously, to give attention to the steps we make, and we will celebrate at year’s end the progress of God in our lives.

By the grace of God, this year will count for eternity!

Those childhood memories may have drawn you to the pathway of faith. Maybe you pushed God away for many years, reacting to the image of an angry or disinterested God.

Through our children’s programs at Philpott, we want to encourage kids to “come and see” Jesus. The image they “see” will travel with them for the rest of their lives. Children are so good at following; they’re full of energy and eager to follow a worthy leader. Our task is to help them see Jesus as someone they want to follow for the rest of their lives.

So, as our children grow from crawlers to toddlers to active, growing kids let’s work together to help them see the footprints of Jesus and then learn to follow!

1. Tourists are not yet worshippers, but visitors who are here to “see the sites” rather than “meet the mayor.” They like to touch on the hot-spots, and visit the “tourist-traps,” and may not wish to belong. They are curious about spiritual things and so may visit different congregations or alternate faiths. They desire to experience God for themselves.

2. Travelers desire to worship God in Spirit and in truth. They are growing to be more and more God-focused and less self-focused. They start to journey with intent, and have made this stop their “favourite getaway.” They want to be recognized by the locals. Travelers find their faith growing, and would rather be on this path than not. Inner character, spiritual fundamentals, accountability, and modeling of Jesus’ life become critical points-of-interest to the traveler.

3. Trekkers move from wandering and instead focus on purposeful journey. Their worship plays out in every moment of their lives, whether at work, school, or church. A compassion for other sojourners drives the Trekker to minister in servant leadership/followership, according to their giftedness, as they seek to model Jesus’ ministry. Their comfort, and even their own life is secondary to the Cause.

4. Teachers/Trainers/Transformers rise to the challenge to make more disciples. As they walk the journey they gather others to walk with them, teaching and training them to walk the path as well.