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Pray BC
A former Kamloops pastor helped build a major prayer network during the run-up
to the recent provincial election.
Tim Schindel was pastor of Gateway City Church for several years.
In 2007, along with his wife, Barb, their three children, Brittany, Tyler and
Zack, and a yellow Lab named Zoe, Tim moved to Victoria to begin Leading
Influence Ministries (LIM).
The main focus of the ministry is to provide pastoral care and spiritual
encouragement to provincial politicians, as opportunities present themselves.
That work led to Pray BC, which established a daily email prayer service during
the election writ period. They provided a targeted three-minute ‘cup-of-coffee’ prayer.
More than 2,000 people were on the list – and, based on each person taking three minutes to pray for the election and the
candidates, Schindel estimates that 121 solid days of prayer took place.
For info on LIM and Pray BC, go to leadinginfluence.com.
Baby bottles
The women’s ministries page on the website of Trinity Baptist Church (TBC) in Kelowna is
encouraging congregants to pick up a baby bottle in the church foyer. Not just
any baby bottle, but one that could make a difference for Pregnancy Crisis
Centres in North America.
Operation Baby Bottle is a fundraiser. The bottles are meant to be filled with
money, rather than milk; they will be collected on Father’s Day, June 21.
The TBC note says there are 115,000 abortions performed every year in Canada,
and Crisis Pregnancy Centres, including the Okanagan Valley Pregnancy Care
Centre (OVPCC), are trying to lower that number.
They hope to do that by offering hope, help and support for women who have
unplanned pregnancies and believe abortion is their only option. (Many other
churches are participating in Operation Baby Bottle along with TBC.)
Info at TBC (250.860.3273) or OVPCC (250.763.2112).
India trip
The not-so-good news is that there will not be three teams going to India on a
mission trip this year, from Willow Park Church, as previously advertised. The
good news is that there will be one trip. It will occur in October, and team
leader James Peters is putting together a construction crew, to do a month of
work at Shanti Niketan Children’s Home.
While it will be hard, practical work, there will still be opportunity to mix
and mingle with the children. The cost is $4,000, including a $250
non-refundable deposit. There are several interest meetings planned.
For more info, email: glocal@willowparkchurch.com.
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Thailand or Bust
For other overseas stories involving Okanagan Christians, check out Kelowna
Vineyard’s website, kelownavineyard.com, and click on ‘Stories.’
One entry, ‘Thailand or Bust,’ tells about a ministry trip that took off last November 24 and involved
students from the Kelowna Discipleship School.
This story was written by Justin Brown. There are several other entries worth
checking out.
Family Camp
As churches prepare for the summer change of pace, family, summer and day camps – in the city and at camp grounds and retreat centres – will become a focal point for renewal, teaching and recreation.
One such is the family camp taking place under the auspices of Vernon’s Emmanuel Baptist Church, June 5 – 7 at Sunnybrae Bible Camp.
Contact 250.545.5941 or emmanuelvernon.ca.
Hampers plus
Occasionally, we like to remind readers about Church Serve, which has been
functioning in the Okanagan Valley for close to 15 years now.
Its present form originated with a 2006 partnership between NeighbourLink and
Church Serve – inspired by a collaborative effort between Evangel Church and the Interior Health Authority.
Both envisioned Christian volunteers working with disabled or otherwise
disadvantaged people.
More recently, Church Serve has been partnering with local churches and food
banks to provide hampers and supplementary frozen meals where needed. And the
ministry is looking for other possible projects on which to collaborate.
Contact: churchservecanada.org.
Lloyd Mackey
June 2009
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