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‘EXPERIENCING God Together: For Such a Time as
This,’ took place March 6 – 7 at Fraserview Church in Richmond.
It featured Bible teacher Henry Blackaby, and his sons Richard and Tom.
Linking with More Than Gold (MTG), the Blackabys
focused on personal spiritual renewal, asking: ‘What will it take to
make me a person used by God?’
Some 250 people attended the event, and close to a
quarter of them went forward to recommit their lives to serving God during
the closing altar call. The event attracted a mainly lay audience with a
wide variety of ages and ethnic backgrounds.
Those making recommitments included pastors and
ministry professionals. At the other end of the spectrum, a teenage girl
was so impressed with what she heard that she posted her notes from the
conference on her Facebook page, so she could share the messages with her
friends.
Alan Au, one of the organizers, said the event was
“more about depth than breadth.” He added: “If God
touches the heart of even one person, the impact can be great . . . The
best way to prepare to welcome the world is to prepare our hearts.”
It is easy to get caught up in activities and forget
why we are doing things, he said, and that is why it was important to start
off with the Blackabys’ emphasis on the heart. “If our heart is
right, what we do will be right.”
MTG has attracted an impressive list of supporting
ministries and denominations (Baptists, Mennonites, Roman Catholics,
Lutherans, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Seventh Day Adventists and others).
The board of directors and board of reference include
the heads of major denominations, parachurch ministries and business
enterprises (check www.morethangold.ca for details).
However, More Than Gold is not intended to be a
super-organization that “runs everything from head office,” Au
said. Rather, it is intended to be “a catalyst for a grassroots
movement.”
The Blackaby event is a case in point. It was initiated
a year ago by a group of ministries. These ministries then brought the
event to More Than Gold, which agreed to endorse it.
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Richard Blackaby spoke at a meeting for business people
on the topic ‘God in the Marketplace – What Fortune
500 Executives Ask about Life, Faith, and Business.’ This event was
one of a series of breakfast meetings run by City in Focus.
Henry and Tom Blackaby spoke on ‘Experiencing
Unity in the Church,’ to a lunch meeting of almost 100 pastors at
Cedar Grove Baptist Church in Surrey. This event fit into the schedule of
Hope Vancouver, a network of pastors and lay people praying for Vancouver.
In the fall, David Macfarlane, director of national
initiatives for Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada, will lead
evangelism training seminars for an expected 5,000 people at six churches
in different cities around British Columbia’s Lower Mainland.
Similar training will be offered separately to members
of Chinese churches, and possibly to international teams coming to minister
at the Olympics.
“God keeps bringing the world to
Vancouver,” Au said, listing a series of events beginning with Expo
86.
Christians can “watch these events go by”
(as largely happened with the World Junior Hockey Championship in 2006)
– or “seize the opportunity to share the gospel
with visitors and local people.”
– Jim Coggins
April 2009
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