What Is the Emerging Church Movement?

FOCUS

Volume 50 • No. 2 March/April 2010

Fellowship

A PUBLICATION OF THE FELLOWSHIP OF EVANGELICAL BIBLE CHURCHES

Inside:What is the

Emerging Church Movement?Page 4

Welcome to theFEBC 2010 CONVENTION! • July 15-18Community Bible Church in Omaha is preparing

to warmly welcome delegates and their families tothe FEBC 2010 Convention. Much is happening in ourcity this summer: In June, Omaha will host the base-ball College World Series (last time to be held in theRosenblatt Stadium) and the U.S. Swim Trials forOlympic candidates. But in July, the eyes of Omahawill be on the worldwide convention of the Fellow-

ship of Evangelical Bible Churches. The 2,000-plusrestaurants will each eagerly try to tempt you withtheir finest cuisine. The Old Market, Riverfront, HenryDoorly Zoo, Lauritzen Gardens, and many other at-tractions will compete for your attention. Come forthe fellowship and business of the FEBC, but plan tostay for a couple of days before or after the conven-tion to enjoy our city.

Registration details will be ready soon.Meanwhile, check out the websites for Community Bible Church and for the City of Omaha.

www.cbcomaha.org www.visitomaha.com

Kathy Dick and Mel & Arlene Friesen, Convention Coordinators

Fellowship Focus March/April 20102

From the PresidentWhat Does the FEBC Mean to Your Church?Don Krehbiel . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 3

Understanding the Emerging Church Part 1What is the Emerging Church Movement?Harvey Schultz . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4

Women’s MinistriesPraying Through the Winds of ChangeFreida Goosen . . . . . . . . . . . . page 6

Is It Just Me?The Invisible WomanConnie Yates . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 7

FEBC 2010 Convention . . . . . page 8

Eyes on the WorldFayth Boeker . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 9

Urbana09 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 10

Focus on our Churches . . . . pages 11-14

The Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 15

Focus on FEBC Church PlantingHarvey Schultz . . . . . . . . . . . . back cover

By Sharon Berg, Editor

Comment

Inside

FELLOWSHIP FOCUS (ISSN: 1537-4203, USPS# 233-620)POSTMASTER: Send address changes to FELLOWSHIP FOCUS, 3339 N 109th Plaza, Omaha, Ne-braska 68164-2908Periodicals Postage paid at Omaha, Nebraska and at additional mailing offices. Printed in theU.S.A.The FELLOWSHIP FOCUS is published bi-monthly by the Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches3339 N 109th Plaza, Omaha, Nebraska 68164-2908

Phone: 402-965-3860

E-mail address: [email protected]

Web: http://www.febcministries.org

FAX: 402-965-3871

Editorial Staff: Sharon Berg, Editor; Connie Yates, Design & Layout

Vision: One of the many shades of meaning my dictionary givesto the word is “keen foresight.” When it comes to the serious mat-ters of life, that foresight, or vision, is important if you’re going toeven get started on the road to where you want to be.

Vision is important for organizations as well as individuals, andsix individuals on the FEBC Vision Team (see p. 5) have been sift-ing through information to develop a vision of what our Fellow-ship could look like ten years from now. The future of the FEBC willbe on the minds of many at this year’s annual convention in July,and it will be interesting to hear what the team has to share. Willyou be there as a delegate representing your church? Read moreabout convention offerings, including fun plans for children andyouth, on p. 8.

Urbana Student Mission Convention: For more than three decades,our Fellowship has encouraged college students to attend. Thisyear, Caleb White and Hanna Aakre of Omaha’s Community BibleChurch were there, as well as FEBC missionary Dennis Wiens (SAT-7). Read their thoughts about the experience, and the spiritual in-sights they brought home, on page 10.

See you soon in Omaha …

Fellowship FinancesFEBC Ministries Income thru Jan. 1, 2010

Fellowship Focus March/April 2010 3

By Don Krehbiel, Interim President, Fellowship of Evangelical Bible ChurchesFrom the President

What has the Fellowship of Evangeli-cal Bible Churches done for your church?What has your church done for the Fel-lowship? How much is your church in-volved with the Fellowship, giving oftime, personnel and finances?

I thank your church board andmembers for your participation. Welook forward to visiting the churchhosting an FEBC convention or work-shop. We have a good number of peo-ple representing their churches on thevarious commissions that carry out thework of the Fellowship, and this iscommendable.

We trust that your church has sup-ported the FEBC with personnel and fi-nances. Many Fellowship churches existas a direct result of such support. With-out the FEBC, some of our churcheswould likely not exist.

The leadership of the Fellowship is re-viewing items of concern to all FEBCchurches. They are as concerned as yourelder board regarding the future of theFellowship, and have appointed a com-mittee (see page 5) that is working hardto see that a vision statement will sup-port what the FEBC is all about. We hopeand trust that all churches will join withthe leadership to support the statementwhen it is presented.

Various commissions meet twiceyearly to discuss the work of the Fellow-ship. The commissions and their re-sponsibilities are:

Commission on Churches• Doctrinal statements• Reviews résumés of candidates• Assists with church conflicts

• Recommends pastors for churches• Constitutional revisions

Commission on Education• Awards Christian college scholarships• Determines the Anna Rieger awardrecipients

• Maintains an audio visual library• Oversees youth and children’s con-vention

• Reviews Sunday school materials• Oversees the Fellowship Focus

Commission on Trustees• Loans money to churches• Co-signs loans for churches• Creates annual FEBC budgets• Oversees the office operations andfinances

• Gives grants to church plants• Supports government issues

Commission on Missions• Interviews missionaries• Recruits new missionaries• Helps missionaries with contactingFEBC churches

• Encourages missionaries with letters,gift books and CDs

Commission on Church Planting• Sets up procedures for church plants• Encourages church plant pastors• Visits church plants• Visits sites for possible church plants• Encourages extensions to plantchurches

Commission on Outreach• New commission• Visualizes a plan for outreach programs• Shares methods of evangelizing

Commissions on Women’s Ministries• Assists women with ideas for servingmissionaries

• Helps churches to know missionariesand pastor wives

• Prays for pastors’ wives and mission-ary women

• Keeps in touch withmissionary women• Sends out a booklet to women mis-sionaries

• Gathers ideas from churches to sharewith other churches

How can I as an individual supportthe Fellowship in the future? One way isto volunteer to serve on a commission.After being nominated by your church,you would participate in an election atthe annual convention in July. Service in-volves committing your time and re-sources to attend the February workshopand the annual convention.

Join in working together with all theFellowship churches to worship andserve our Lord Jesus Christ. There is aneed for you to pray, and give of timeand finances to keep the work of theFEBC effective and growing. �

What does the FEBC meanto your church?

Many churches exist as a direct result of Fellowship support.


What Is the EmergingChurch Movement?

By Harvey Schultz, Ministries CoordinatorUnderstanding the Emerging Church – Part 1

Recently I heard of a church whereseveral dozen people walked out, sayingthat their church leadership had suc-cumbed to emerging church thinkingand practices. Was that really true? Idon’t know because I have not investi-gated. But it is not the first troubling in-cident I have heard of involving peopleof the emerging church movement.

It is important that each one of us be-come capable of recognizing and evalu-ating the characteristics of thismovement. We need to be able to discernif a church (our own church?) is being un-duly influenced by it. We also need to beable to determine whether allegations tothat end are founded on fact, rather thanfear, rumour or mere appearance. Not ev-erything that looks emergent is. Neithershould we react negatively to everythingwhich might be dumped into the emer-gent basket. Not everything about themovement is negative.

The goal of these articles is not to doan in-depth analysis of the movement,evaluate its proposals and refute them(others are much better qualified to doso than I am). Rather, my goal is to helpreaders build their own frameworkwhich will enable each one to personallyevaluate authors, characteristics andtrends which are influencing the Churchtoday. This is essential.

Born of reactionOne of the most important things to

keep in mind about the emerging church

is the fact that it is amovement. There isno one organization or group of organi-zations which reflect it fully or accu-rately. Indeed, there are none whichclaim to. Since that is true, there is nosuch thing as a normative statement ofbeliefs and practices which fully describeit. What is true or alleged to be true ofone author may not be true of others.Someone has said that trying to analysethe movement is like trying to “nail jelloto the wall”!

Secondly, we need to bear in mindthat this movement is a reflection of thepost modern philosophy, in which ab-solutes have often been replaced by rel-ativistic, personal viewpoints and wherethe autonomous self has been elevatedto a position of absolute authority.

In the third place, it is a movementwhich has grown out of reactions. It isa reaction to modernity, which hasoften been described as the convictionthat truth can be known, systematized,classified and presented in a rational, lin-ear process through the scientificmethod (hence, doctrinal statements,creeds, systematic theology, etc.)

It is a reaction to seeker-orientedchurches which some see as “entertain-ment-oriented” churches. Worship insuch churches is, in their opinion, shal-low at best. They desire to be partici-pants, not spectators, when it comes tocorporate worship.

It is a reaction to mega churchesdriven and led by individuals whom they

see as corporate executive types, andwhere one can easily get “lost in thecrowd.”

It is a reaction to the lack of in-tegrity among popular evangelicalmedia figures

Finally, it is a reaction to what theysee as the weaknesses of evangelicalchurches, real or perceived. We’ll comeback to that later.

A philosophy of truthThese are characteristics, not specific

teachings, which help us recognize andunderstand this movement.

The underlying philosophy of mostemerging church proponents is the postmodern presupposition (dare I call it a“conviction?) that absolute truth doesnot exist, and if it does, it is unknowable(“I have my truth, you have yours”;“Who’s to say who’s right?”). It followsthat the supreme virtue is tolerance andthe supreme “sin” is being sure that oneknows the truth. As a result, the hearer,not the writer, defines the message. Oneauthor said: “I don’t think we have theGospel right yet. We haven’t got ortho-doxy yet. We’re always searching. It isarrogance to say: ‘I’ve arrived at truth.’”

Then there is the belief that experi-ence trumps doctrine. Experience is notto be evaluated in the light of any doctri-nal statement. Personal experience is tobe treasured above any doctrinal creedor statement of faith. It is alleged that weused to say that if you have the right

Editor’s note: The emerging church movement has a short history, but it has the potential to impact how traditionalevangelical churches “do church.” What is the movement? Is it biblical? Can evangelical churches benefit from examin-ing the ideas of those involved with emerging churches? In this first of a two-part series, Harvey Schultz, FEBC Min-istries Coordinator, explains the background and characteristics of the movement, and how we can evaluate it througha biblical template.


Understanding the Emerging Church Part 1 ... continued

teaching, you have experienced God.Now it is taught that if you experienceGod, then you have the right teaching.

It is loudly proclaimed that all truthis God’s truth. So, anything that is per-ceived as truth is to be embraced ascoming from God Himself, just as muchas Scripture. It doesn’t matter where this“truth” comes from. Embrace it.

Finally, direct encounter with the Di-vine should be our daily norm. Expect itin all circumstances and experiences.And it likely will not happen accordingto our preconceived expectations.

Our attitudesFor us, this is perhaps the most im-

portant of all. How should we evaluateit? How should we approach and engagein discussion with emergents?

I suggest that we need to start byhonestly recognizing to what extentthere are weaknesses in the evangelicalchurch at large and then ask ourselves:“To what extent does this alleged weak-ness characterize my church?” Maybe itdoesn’t. But where “the shoe fits” let’sbe willing to admit to our own short-comings and correct our own practicesand tendencies.

Along with that we need to learn toread emergent authors with discernmentand analyse their “solutions” in the lightof Scripture. We should learn to under-

stand, articulate and refute their tenetswhich are definitely non-biblical,counter-biblical or extra-biblical.

When we encounter those who areattracted to this movement, we shouldbe careful not to consider them as ene-mies. They are, for the most part, be-lievers whose teachings will harm oreven destroy them (cf Jude 22, 23; 2Timothy 2:25). By seeking to be honestlybalanced in evaluating our own short-comings, maybe God will enable us tohelp them do the same. �

Part 2 – Tendencies and weaknesses of theemerging church movement

To All Fellowship Churches

The FEBC Vision Team, consisting of six membersand led by the Rev. Rick Bragg, met in Omaha on Jan.14 – 15 for two days of intense discussions. Using em-pirical data collected by others, they identified thestrengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to ourFellowship as part of the process of developing a vi-sion of what our FEBC could look like by 2020. Prayfor the committee as they continue to work on the vi-sion statement. Team members include:

Fayth Boeker(Omaha, Neb. – Evangelical Bible)

Rick Bragg(Omaha, Neb. – Community Bible)

Nathan Janzen(Mountain Lake, Minn. – Cornerstone Bible)

Paul MacDiarmid(Dalmeny, Sask. – Dalmeny Bible Church)

Rich Sanne(Lincoln, Neb. – Heartland Bible)

Brenda Wiens(Waldheim, Sask. – Salem Church)

FEBC CONVENTION - JULY 15-18

LANGHAM EBC SEEKS ASSOCIATE PASTORLangham Evangelical Bible Church, located in the

growing community of Langham, Sask., is seeking anassociate pastor to focus on youth and worship min-istries. The growing town of Langham is located about20 minutes from Saskatoon on Highway 16 West. Pref-erence will be given to applicants who have completeda Bible college or seminary degree program and haveprevious ministry experience. Please forward your re-sume via mail, fax or email to:

Pastoral Search CommitteeBox 115Langham, SK S0K 2L0 (Canada)

Fax: Attn: Pastoral Search Committee1.306.283.4337

Email: Pastoral Search Committee,[email protected]


Women’s Ministries

Tears streamed down her face as shewalked into the courtyard. Her lips movedas she silently poured her heart out to God.Her deepest desire was to have a child. Herhusband had children with anotherwoman, but she wanted to have their ownchildren. It wasn’t enough to help raisechildren from his other family. As sheprayed to the Lord, she promised to givethis child back to Him for His service.

Her prayers were heard and an-swered. Just one year later, she held herbaby boy. When he was four, she tookhim to Shiloh to the Jewish priest and lefthim there so that he could serve the Lord.Samuel was one of the most influentialmen in the Old Testament. Yet, his lifebegan as a prayer from a devoted womannamed Hannah.

Through prayer, women can have agreat influence on their families.

One such woman had high hopes forher future. She wanted to be a missionaryto India. Her heart’s desire was to servethe Lord. She was willing to go, but theLord had other plans for her life. Her sib-lings needed her to take care of them; shehad to get a job. As the Lord directed herpath, she met a godly man and marriedhim. However, she still wanted to servethe Lord, so she promised Him that Hecould send her child to the mission fieldin her place.

Soon, the couple had a baby, but ex-citement turned to sadness when thechild became extremely ill. The doctorscould do nothing and prepared the young

family for the death of their son. Layingher hand on the child, the womanprayed, “Lord, how can you use him onearth if you take him to heaven now?”Hearing her prayer, the Lord healed theinfant, and later the young man servedthe Lord in Papua New Guinea when thefield there first opened.

In James 5:16, the Bible reads, “Con-fess your trespasses to one another, andpray for one another, that you may behealed. The effective, fervent prayer of arighteous man avails much.” Not only is itgood to pray, it produces wonderful re-sults that last far longer than a lifetime. Ofcourse, prayer is not just a woman’s min-istry, but a believer’s responsibility.

What happens when a woman mar-ries a man who is not a believer? Whatcan she do? She can pray for her family.Suzanna was one such woman. She hadmarried a wonderful man, but he didn’treally know the Lord. He was good to her,and together they had 10 boys. She lovedhim deeply, but he wasn’t saved. Sheprayed, not just for her husband, but forher sons. She asked God to send one ofthem into full-time Christian service. In1943, the youngest son answered the call.He became a missionary with the Go YeMission, and then later served as apreacher to many small churches. Thegreatest joy he received, though, wasleading his own dad to the Lord. Amother’s prayer answered, but that was-n’t the end. Currently, of her grandchil-dren and great-grandchildren, more than

40 are serving in full-time Christian work.The effective prayer of a righteous onedid have great results.

Women’s ministry and prayer gohand-in-hand. Sometimes it is in a corpo-rate setting that differences are made. Agroup of ladies in a small town decided togather once a month to pray for the chil-dren in their town. They prayed for salva-tion and for growth. But they didn’t stopthere; they taught in Bible clubs andreached out to the community. I was justone of the recipients of their prayers.Through their ministry, the Lord reachedinto my life and saved me from sin.

Time doesn’t change this principle ofprayer. Even today, when the worldseems to be spinning so out-of-controlmorally, women andmen canmake a dif-ference. We can pray. The Lord taughtthat we need to pray for our leaders ingovernment and in church; our family,our friends, and those whom we don’teven like. He loves each one and wants tomake a difference in individual lives. �

By Freida Goosen, Community Bible Fellowship, Tahlequah, Okla.

Freida Goossenserves on the

Commission onWomen’s Ministries.

She is married toRon Goossen,

founder of ChristFor Me, Inc., and isits Online Ministry

Coordinator.

Time doesn’t change the principle of prayer. Even today, when the world seems to be so morallyout-of-control, women and men can make a difference.


I have the privilege of working parttime at home. This has allowed me tohomeschool our children and to be ac-tively involved in their lives. I’m also ableto be available to family members, andto help with church activities and home-school organizations.

On the other hand, sometimes I findmyself twisted, torn and pulled betweenactivities and commitments. It is a dailyoccurrence to make sure Vinnie gets tobasketball practice so I can attend ameeting, and then on to play practicewhile making sure Lyle has dinner be-fore I leave. Grocery shopping,cooking, cleaning house and er-rands can really get in the way!

I recently responded to an emailwith a bit of frustration. I was won-dering if anyone had actually readmy original email. I wondered whyI spent any time at all in typing. It mademe wonder if any of the things I do areworth the effort.

Once, while driving in dirty, sloppy,melting snow, I politely let an anxiousdriver in my lane, only to be splashedwith filth all over my windshield.

And I noticed, after cleaning thebathroom until it was fit for a militarycommander, did anyone say, “Wow, nicesparkling commode, Mom!” Nope.

I spend hours clipping coupons forgrocery items, plus many more in thegrocery store and waiting in line. I gethome, clean out the fridge and putitems away. The next thing I hear afterthe sound of the refrigerator doorswinging open is, “There isn’t any foodin here!”

Yep, I’m feeling a little unappreci-ated. It must be time to treat myself.Chocolate helps, but just for a short time.Out for coffee with a dear friend is evenmore helpful, but it doesn’t last as well.

Maybe a new shirt or socks? No, thatdoesn’t seem to fill the spot either.

After venting my sorrows to a friend,she sent me a five-minute video clip andsaid “Be encouraged.”

The video clip is Nicole Johnson(Women of Faith), delivering a powerfulmessage titled “The Invisible Woman.”Her question, “Why would anyonespend so much time on something thatno one sees?” was much more than Icould take.

With a heavy sigh, my thoughtsturned to my purpose at this time in my

life. It is sad knowing that I often losesight of my purpose, and unfortunatelyit is usually because my focus is on my-self. It isn’t intentional; it creeps upslowly, and before I know it, I’m resolvednot to do anything unless a trophy withmy name on it comes at the end of theday.

Nicole speaks of the great cathedralsof Europe. Strong, beautiful and sound inconstruction, yet the builders of thesecathedrals are unknown. They gave theirwhole life to build something they wouldnever see finished. Sound familiar?

I know that none of us know the daywhen we will see Jesus face to face, butfor some, that day is clearer because ofan ailment or a disease with an untimelyprognosis. Because of the liver diseasethat I have, my thoughts often look to thefuture. “I hope I will see Collin graduatefrom college. I hope I will be here for Vin-nie’s high school graduation. I hope I willsee my granddaughter in school pro-

grams, and my son playing ball with hisson in the backyard. I hope to see Collinget married, Vinnie get to college, Collinhave children …” The list will never end,and I know I will never see it completed.

But there will never be an end to whatmy husband and I have built. There arethings that we are involved in that peoplemay remember. It may be said that Lylewas a passionate musician, or that I couldmake amean pan of lasagna, but I’m sureno one will say, “Boy, that Connie; shecould get a gravy stain out of a white shirtlike nobody’s business!” Or, “Lyle Yates

worked sun up to sundown so thathis wife didn’t have to work outsideof her home. What a guy!”So, why do we do things that

won’t be recognized or remem-bered?Several years ago, I was in a

study called “Experiencing God.” Themorsel of truth that I took from thatstudy affects me still today. If I stretchout my arms and turn a full circle, I willundoubtedly touch someone or some-thing ... and that is my purpose for themoment. Whether it is at a grocerycheckout line, dry cleaners or at mykitchen table, God has a purpose in-tended for the moment and I pray that Igrasp it.

This is the kind of invisibility that Iwant to achieve. One where I am happyand content knowing that only God sees,and that God will use me for His purposeno matter if anyone ever knows.

As Nicole ends her message, mybreath is taken away. She leaves us withthese final words; “I heard God say, ‘I seeyou. You are not invisible to me.’ “

She gave this name to the LORD whospoke to her: “You are the God who seesme …” Genesis 16:13 (NIV)

The Invisible WomanBy Connie Yates

By Connie YatesIs It Just Me?

Whether it is at a grocery checkout line,dry cleaners or at my kitchen table, Godhas a purpose intended for the moment,and I pray that I grasp it.


Roger was born in Yakima, Wash., in 1943 and grew up nearby in the small town of Har-rah. When he was eight years old, he became a follower of Jesus Christ and confessed his faithin Him through baptism in the Harrah Brethren Church. He attended Grace College, spendingthe fall of his sophomore year (1962) on a Youth For Christ (YFC) Teen Team in Europe, pri-marily in Germany. He returned to Berlin in 1963 to minister with the YFC while studying Ger-man. This experience burdened his heart heavily for the German people, and at his 1965graduation from Grace College, missions in Germany was a future option.

Roger served three years as associate pastor of the Grace Brethren Church in Elkhart, Ind.,followed by 20 years on the mission field as a church planter in Germany with his wife, Nancy.He started the first Grace Brethren church planting ministry in Stuttgart in 1972, and served asEuropean Area Director for Grace Brethren Foreign Missions from 1986-1990.

The Peughs moved from Stuttgart, Germany, to Winona Lake, Ind., in July of 1989 wherehe became Chairman of the Department of Missions at Grace Seminary. He served as Chap-lain of Grace Schools from 1991-98, Director of Seminary Enrollment 1998-2002, in additionto teaching Intercultural Ministries. In August 2004 he also became Mentoring Coordinator forthe Seminary, while teaching Missions at Grace Seminary.

A book which he co-authored with Dr. Tammy Schultz was published in September 2005:TRANSFORMED IN HIS PRESENCE: The Need for Prayer in Counseling. In July 2006 Roger wasawarded his Doctor of Ministry degree from Grace Theological Seminary. His thesis title wasGOD AND TEAMWORK - Implications of the Unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit forChristian Ministry Teams.

Roger and Nancy have been married for 44 years and have four sons and seven living grand-children.

Thursday evening:Why? The Love of Christ constraining us

Friday evening:What? The Love of Christ ministering through us

Saturday evening:How? The Love of Christ lived out in His strength

Sunday morning:Where? The Love of Christ to Every People Group

FEBC 2010 CONVENTION • CLARIFYING OUR 20/20 VISION

2010 FEBC Convention Speaker

Dr. Roger Peugh,Professor of World

Missions

Grace TheologicalSeminary

Winona Lake, Ind.

“Every Tribe, Tongue, People, and Nation” • Rev. 5:9b

Enjoy a camp experience at Camp of theGood Shepherd, Louisville, Neb.

Grow closer to God as you explore howHe has used “the wilderness” in some of

the greatest events of history.How will God use you?

2010 FEBC Youth Convention • July 15-18YOUTH IN THE WILD!!!

Fun and Games, games, games!!!Enjoy new friendships as you meet youth from

around the U.S. and Canada

Lodging, meals, devotional and notebook.Contact your youth pastor, or register online at

febcministries.org

Guest speaker: Pastor Dave Foster, Family MinistriesParkview Church • Iowa City, Iowa

2010 FEBC CHILDREN’SCONVENTION

“Learning About GodThrough His Creation”

What Does the Bible Say?Nature Hikes, Fun Science Experiments,

Swimming, Sand Sculpting, Fishing, and a visitto Omaha’s world-class Henry Doorly Zoo!

Children who are entering 7th grade in the fall of 2010are encouraged to attend the Youth Convention.


TRANSITION: “The process of changing from one state, activ-ity or place to another.” Not a new word to the missionary, butone that still brings pangs of adjustment, good-byes and left-behind ministries. This segment features missionaries who arefacing a major transition in their life and ministry.

On Nov. 27, 2009, Ron and Eunice Wiebe left Natal, Brazil,and drove 3.000 kilometers (1,825 miles) to Sao Paulo. Theyleft behind more than 80 trained teachers and 10,000 childrenreached for Christ by Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF). Todaythey are in a new place working at CEF’s National Training In-stitute until April 3, 2010.

Mike and Carolyn Reimer finished their work in Bolivia, leav-ing behind a reproducing church among the Guarani. In Febru-ary they returned to Canada to start the process of developinga short-cycle team to plant a church in the city of Maldonado,Uruguay. From March 1-12 they trained at the Avant head-quarters in Kansas City with the other three couples making upTeam Uruguay (eight adults and 11 children).

After seven years in the United States, LaVern and MarleneSmith returned to Trinidad for a one-year assignment ofchurch strengthening. They are postponing retirement to an-swer the call for help from the Trinidadian leadership of thePalmiste church.

Teaching at an Asian seminary is not new to Keith and Jean-nette Shubert. However, due to health reasons, they left thesmog of the Philippines and ISOT seminary to join the staff ofEAST (seminary) in Singapore. They are still with Campus Cru-sade and still training national workers, just teaching in a newlocation.

Many of our FEBC missionaries are outstanding leaders andvisionaries. Gary and Valerie Brumbelow fit this category.They have been with InterAct for 32 years, and since 1995,Gary has been the director. Gary Brumbelow resigned from hisposition as the executive director of InterAct Ministries effec-tive February 28, 2010. For now, he and Valerie remain with In-terAct while they seek God’s direction for the next phase oftheir ministry.

Pray:Ron and Eunice Wiebe need our prayers as they minister at theCEF training center. Also pray as they make one more big tran-sition to Canada around Easter of 2010. Look for them in achurch near you.

The Uruguay Short-Cycle Team is gathering support andpreparing to leave in September or October of 2010. Pray forthe Mike and Carolyn Reimer Family as they uproot once againand learn to live in a new culture.

LaVern and Marlene Smith arrived in Trinidad on Feb. 2, 2010.They are thankful for generous contributions; a home stockedwith food and a car the Lord provided. Pray for prepared heartsas they seek unity and growth in the coming months. Also prayfor continued support for the next year.

Keith and Jeannette Shubert are adjusting to travel by BMW(Bus/Metro/Walking)! Pray for other adjustments to a new city,new foods, new students and new responsibilities.

Pray for a new position for Gary Brumbelow as he ventures outto a new area of ministry. They are thankful for Valerie’s posi-tion as a church office administrator.

E Y E S O N T H E W O R L DBy Fayth Boeker, Commission on Missions

“The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,the world, and all who live in it ...”

Psalm 24:1


FF: Who attended Urbana?Dennis: About 17,500 people partici-pated. Of these, 70 percent were stu-dents, the majority of whom wereconnected to Intervarsity campus groupson university campuses. More than1,200 mission representatives were onhand. Since the convention moved to StLouis a few years ago, they have a pastortrack and an alumni tract. As a result,more pastors and mission pastors are at-tending and more Urbana alumni arenow attending.

FF: From your perspective was the eventworthwhile?Dennis: Yes, participants got a good

awareness/exposure of diverse missionagencies. For most mission agencies, therecruitment value of a convention likethis comes out of good follow-up afterthe event. From SAT-7’s perspective, themost valuable thing to come out of thiswas exposure for SAT-7, as many newpeople became aware of our strategy.

FF: How many contacts did you make?Dennis: Our SAT-7 team (four of us)talked to about 4,000 people, and 600signed up for information. We offered afree “Jesus” DVD in 16 Middle East lan-guages and a free drawing for a $30Barnes and Noble gift card. These at-tracted a lot of interest and visits to theSAT-7 booth. For example, I connectedwith www.gospeltrickshot.org who wasat Urbana as an exhibitor, doing pool/bil-liard tricks. Every pool shot trick has aspiritual lesson. He is possibly now goingto go to our Middle East studio and pro-duce some programs for SAT-7 KIDS, asbilliard/pool is popular in the Middle

East. So out of Urbana come many con-tacts like this to follow-up on. I now havesome new invitations to speak in Biblecolleges, etc.

FF: What kind of questions were youasked?Dennis: Most people had never heard ofus, so were surprised that this type of[satellite TV] ministry is going on. Somewere supportive and came by to thankus. Many exhibitors, connected to MENAknow of us, so came by to visit. A pastorat All Saints Cathedral in Khartoum,Sudan, came by so excited, and said thatthey are able to now watch SAT-7, and itis such a blessing to the church. Anotherperson said, “I listened to it in Baghdad.”One student said, “I’m Turkish; I wouldlove to help you in any way.”

To learn more about Urbana09, go tohttp://www.urbana09.org/home.main.cfm.Who will your church send to Urban12 (in2012)?

Urbana 09Urbana 09 For more than 30 years our Fellowship has encouraged college students to

attend the triennial Urbana Student Mission Convention sponsored by Inter-

Varsity. One of the presenters this year was FEBC missionary Dennis Wiens,

representing SAT-7 (sat-7.org). Fellowship Focus asked Dennis about Ur-

bana09, held Dec. 27-31 in St. Louis, Mo.

Caleb White and Hanna Aakre from Com-munity Bible Church in Omaha, Neb., re-ceived a small grant from our Fellowshipto attend Urbana09 as students. Here aretheir reactions:Caleb: The very best part was thinkingabout how the Holy Spirit is working in-dividually in all 17,000 people who werethere … AT THE SAME TIME!!! And then

also seeing all the different mission or-ganizations who want to reach the worldwith the Gospel was really great.Hanna: I also thought that the best partwas seeing how many people were therewith a like mind. Not everyone neces-sarily was wanting to go into the missionfield, but everyone was there wanting tosee where God might lead them. Thatwas cool.Caleb: God has called me to do twothings: First, befriend internationals,whether in preparation for cross-cul-tural missions or simply because theyneed Jesus. The second thought comesfrom the theme for Urbana. It wastaken from John 1:14 —“He dweltamong us”— and it was proposed dur-ing the conference that this might beour model for missions. This semesterGod is calling me to make a concertedeffort to be with my non-Christian

friends, and to be more deeply involvedin their lives, and out of that to bringJesus into their world.Hanna: From this conference, I havebeen challenged to do two things as well.First of all, in my home I am called to bemore Christlike to my family. It’s easy forme to take my family for granted, and Iknow that I should be making just asmuch of an effort to show the love ofChrist here as at school. My secondthought is similar to Caleb’s. The themeof Christ dwelling among us really res-onated with me, and so from that, I wantto intentionally be going out of my com-fort zone to spend time with and buildrelationships with my non-Christianfriends. There are two girls in particularwho God has really put it on my heart toreach out to, so I want to be going wherethey are and showing them the love ofChrist through that.

Urbana 09 • Urbana 09 • Urbana 09 • Urbana 09 • Urbana 09 • Urbana 09 • Urbana 09 • Urbana 09 • Urbana 09 • Urbana 09 • Urbana 09

CindyWiens helpedrepresent SAT-7at Urbana09.


FOCUS ON OUR CHURCHES

COMMUNITY BIBLE CHURCHOmaha, Neb.Charles Tschetter, Senior Pastor

Roger Reimer (HCJB/Ecuador) andAlycia Homeyer (The Navigators/theNetherlands) shared their ministries withus at our Missions Festival in February.The theme was “The Gospel of Hope.”

We celebrated the retirement ofVergil and Kathy Nelson, who faithfullyministered under TEAM in Taiwan for38 years. The Nelsons will make theirhome in Grandview, Mo., and serve as“TEAM coaches,” volunteering to helpthe mission recruit new people.

Dr. Lonnie Hofer traveled to Iraq inJanuary to teach the Gospel of John to aclass of church leaders there. In additionto being one of roster missionaries,Lonnie has served CBC as an elder formany years. Recently he accepted apastoral position with a church inOmaha, and we look forward to hearinghow God will use his ministry there.

Our young adults have a new,additional avenue for worship, prayerand fellowship: “Corporate” will meetonce a month on Friday night.

Our drama ministry team treated us

welcome John and Rae Harwood. Johnand Rae have been actively involved inthe ministries at CFC for many years.The installation service took place onJan. 3. Thank you for your prayers onour behalf!

This year’s Christmas program wasan original play written and directed byour own Carla Dyck entitled“Immanuel, God with Us — theRelevance of Baby Jesus in Present DayLives.” Carla’s play focused ourattention to the significance of the babyJesus being with us in all ourcircumstances. The cast includedparticipants from all age groups.

Nancy Kunkel, Correspondent

COMMUNITY BIBLE FELLOWSHIPTahlequah, Okla.

We finished the year in a whirl ofactivities and “firsts.” It was not our firstChristmas in our new worship center;however, it was the first year that weenjoyed carpeting, chairs, andChristmas décor. Our special Christmasprogram was directed by our choirleader, Ron Goossen, and assisted byhis wife, Freida.

Another “first” at CBF was thebaptism of Benjamin Smith. While Benwas not the first person to be baptizedby CBF, this was the first time a baptismtook place at our church — with a little

to a funny and heartwarming musicalcomedy in February. “The Wedding”was a humorous depiction of weddingplans gone awry, but also gave audiencemembers a thoughtful look at their ownstruggles and failings, and the love withwhich Christ pursues us.

Sharon Berg, Correspondent

CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP CHAPELWinnipeg, Man.John Harwood, Pastor

Christian Fellowship Chapel welcomedtheir new pastoral couple, John and RaeHarwood, at an installation service Jan. 3.

We rang in 2010 with a brand newpastoral couple! We are so excited to

continued on page 12

COMMUNITY BIBLE CHURCHPrince Albert, Sask.Jim Fast, Pastor

God has blessed us as a churchover the last year in various ways.One way is that we are becomingmore of a multi-ethnic church. Wehave people from Romania, SouthKorea, China, and Canadian Abor-iginals and Canadian-Asians. Lastyear we were joined by threeyoung Christian families whoemigrated from Germany to workin Prince Albert. Three couples and a combined group of eight young children areregularly attending. We ran eight weeks of English classes, and through that madecontact with a fourth young German family.

Many people are immigrating to Prince Albert for employment, as some of thebusinesses in the city have gone overseas to look for workers. Fifty-three Germanfamilies are expected to immigrate to Saskatchewan in 2010, many of them to PrinceAlbert. One of our ladies is translating the sermon outline into High German eachweek. The German is then printed alongside the English.

Our December Christmas program and supper was an exciting time with quitea mixture of nationalities.

Marjorie Wilson, Correspondent


FOCUS ON OUR CHURCHES

special help. The baptism took place inour Fellowship Hall in a cattle watertrough borrowed from local prisonChaplain John Hoverson.

Yet another “first” was a heavysnowstorm that beautifully blanketedour church building. We know that ourneighbor churches to the north willthink this “first” mundane; but, we allenjoyed the wonderful warmth insideand were thankful for such anincredible building.

During January, we chose not toleave behind our apparent theme offirsts as we began a Vision Committeeunder the direction of CharlesAnderson.

Bryn Smith, Correspondent

CORNERSTONE BIBLE CHURCHSteinbach, Man.Jared Hiebert, Pastor

January marked the start of a 13-week Adult Sunday school class titled“Doctrine: What Christians ShouldBelieve,” led by Pastor Jared.

Our Christian Life DevelopmentClasses held every Sunday evening havebeen going strong on the topic“Knowing God – A Study of Who He Is.”Now we are studying creation, andsoon moving to God’s providence.

The Women’s Ministry is hostinganother Women’s Bible Study, “ThePatriarchs,” by Beth Moore. About 23women are attending.

Carol Bercier, Correspondent

COUNTRYSIDE BIBLE CHURCHMeade, Kan.David Cummings, Pastor

Our church is now a part of theAntioch Initiative, partnering Westernchurches with Russian churches tomeet a deep spiritual need. We arepartnering with the churches of Tomsk,Siberia, to help build up churches inthat region.

The Jeff Howard Family went toEcuador to minister to children in Quitoand at the Casa De Fe orphanage inShell.

is planning a banquet to honor theseniors of our congregation. Thecommittee does a great job of meetingneeds within our congregation andcommunity.

Christmas season was a blessing,particularly through the Sunday SchoolReaders Theatre drama “Finding theTrue Spirit of Christmas.” Nearly ourwhole congregation was involved!

Marilyn Friesen, Correspondent

EVANGELICAL BIBLE CHURCHOmaha, Neb.Don Pahl, Senior Pastor

EBC’s special offering for Grace Mis-sion’s relief work in Haiti totaled nearly$10,000.

Drama Dessert Theatre and ValentineBanquet – “Family Outings” play wasperformed as a dessert theatre for twonights and then as a Valentine Banquet.The play, performed by the EBC play-ers, dealt with family relationships andGod’s answers to our humanness.

Carols and Chili – Many braved bit-terly cold temperatures and deep snowto carol around the neighborhood andgive away gift bags that included theplan of salvation.

New MembersRay Morehouse, Bob and Julie Barber,Jason and Jennifer Hetrick, and Earland Phyllis Mottl

Connie Yates

EVANGELICAL MENNONITEBRETHREN CHURCH

Marion, S.D.Randy Maass, Pastor

We celebrated retired missionaryMartha Becker’s 98th birthday. Sheserved under The Gospel MissionaryUnion in Guayaquil, Ecuador, for 27years. Martha hosted the fivemissionary men martyred by the AucaIndians in 1956, and assisted them insecuring their documents on theirarrival to Ecuador.

The Kent Becker Family (Tent-makers Bible Mission/France) wasscheduled to share at our MissionsSunday in December, but a three-dayblizzard postponed the event until early

Many brought their friends to ourchurch for the showing of the movie“Flywheel” in January.

The trustees have been workinghard on the basement of the churchoffice in town. Jan. 17 was Men’s Night.They claimed I Corinthions 16:13 astheir verse, “Be on the alert, stand firmin the faith, act like men, be strong!”

Christmas festivities included aSenior Citizen Christmas Dinner, and aBirthday Party for Jesus.

MilestonesMr. and Mrs. Elmer Friesen,54th Wedding Anniversary

Ann Classen, Correspondent

DALMENY BIBLE CHURCHDalmeny, Sask.Dennis Friesen, Pastor

A farewell potluck lunch was held inhonour of Stephen, Charman andNathan Hoff. They left in February todo linguistic and cultural research withthe Summer Institute of Linguistics.

Upon returning home from a two-year mission trip to Australia, NathanBartz shared his experiences with us.

Some of our youth joined withyouth groups from Salem Church andMartensville Mission Church, twoother FEBC churches, for a retreat atCamp Kadesh in January. Lee Youngand Dave Cornelius spoke on Acts2:42.

The children sang, acted andnarrated at a marvelous performancefor family and friends at the ClubChristmas Program. Our Christmasprogram “Wonderful Christmas!” wasput on by our Bible Discovery children.

Marilyn Harder, Correspondent

EVANGELICAL BIBLE CHURCHLangham, Sask.Greg Guarnett, Senior Pastor

We are saddened that Pastor DougTaylor has chosen to step down asyouth pastor. Please pray for ourcongregation and youth as we seekGod’s direction in the coming days.

We geared up to host the FEBCWorkshop in February.

The Congregational Care Committee

continued from page 11


FOCUS ON OUR CHURCHESJanuary, when Kent delivered anexcellent missions message. We missedanother service in January because ofelectrical lines down due to high windsand ice on the lines.

The congregation (we aren’t toomany!) went Christmas caroling Dec.20. Our church annual business meet-ing was held Dec. 2, and we have filledcommittee positions again!

Ray Becker, Correspondent

FAITH EVANGELICAL BIBLE CHURCHWinkler, Man.Mike Comtois, Pastor

Months of planning came togetherwith God’s perfect timing as nine of ourmembers arrived in Haiti one weekafter the devastating earthquake. Theyserved with Grace Missions of Hender-son, Neb., helping with several projects,like grinding corn for refugees, buildinga play structure for the orphanage, andelectrical and general maintenancework. Pastor Mike continues to trainpastors who are, in turn, training others.

In our women’s ministry we’vebeen reading the encouraging book“Walking by Faith,” by Jennifer Roth-schild.

We had a great time of food, fellow-ship and laughter at our Adult Christ-mas Banquet.

Liane Thiessen, Correspondent

FAITH EVANGELICAL BIBLE CHURCHHenderson, Neb.Michael Fink, Pastor

The men of our church meet on

Wednesday mornings for a “Men’s Win-ter Prayer Breakfast,” praying togetherregarding the concerns of our countryand our church, as well as personal andspiritual needs. It also provides an op-portunity for fellowship and sharingduring these cold winter months.

Concern for Haiti has been on ourminds following the earthquake. As achurch we have been involved throughGrace Mission and the ministry theyhave established there over the years.Located about 80 miles north of Port auPrince, Grace Mission facilities havebeen selected by the United Nations asa distribution center for refugees mov-ing north. While distributing food, theyhave had amazing opportunities to in-troduce people to Jesus. Farmers havedonated corn and others have con-tributed monies for shipping.

Alice Decker, Correspondent

GOSPEL OF GRACE CHURCHHooker, Okla.Chris McFarland, Pastor

Mid-winter Bible studies have begunagain, as well as the kids’ Bible class,taught by Sandy McFarland afterschool on Wednesdays. This group wasincorporated into the Christmas pro-gram. As a result, Sunday school atten-dance has exploded, and a new classfor young parents has begun.

Jim and Lydia Johnson presentedtheir ministry with youth and campwith Brazil Gospel Mission. Pastor Chrisand Sandy were former co-workers withthe Johnsons.

Vacation Bible School plans are un-derway and scheduled for July 12-16.

Melvina Wichert, Correspondent

GRACE EVANGELICAL BIBLECHURCH

Abbotsford, B.C.Dr. Warren Schatz, Pastor

Staff Appreciation: The congregationshowed its appreciation for our churchstaff in October, and also welcomednew members, Andrew Jager (interimworship director) and his wife, Sharon.Gifts and flowers were given to eachstaff member and spouse. Several

members from the congregation wereselected to publicly affirm each staffmember. This was followed by a seasonof prayer for individual staff membersand their spouses.

Ministry Partners: We were privi-leged to host Stephen and CharmanHoff in November. What a blessing tohear their story!

“Connections” Newsletter: Our weeklybulletin has changed to a monthlynewsletter format. Communication withour congregation will be throughnewsletter and weekly web updates, aswell as the weekly prayer list sent to oursmall groups. Missionaries of the monthare featured in the Connection, includingupdates from each. However, we have notforgotten those who do not use the inter-net. Events will still be listed in theweekly prayer list. In the event of a can-cellation, death, sudden health problemor a funeral, we will rely on our e-maillists, the Good Friends’ phone network,and our small group leaders to pass theinformation along.

New MembersRebecca and Kelly Deobald;Andrew and Sharon Jager

www.graceabbotsford.comGrace Toews, Correspondent

HEARTLAND BIBLE CHURCHLincoln, Neb.Scott Hecht, Pastor

The MUMs (Mothers Uplifting Moth-ers) held a swap meet one Saturdaymorning with many useful itemsbrought in. Those that were not takenwere shared with a local charity.

continued on page 14

Haiti team members from Faith EBC inWinkler, Man., assisted Grace Missionswith several projects in Haiti after the dev-astating earthquake. Left to right are CornieHildebrandt, Grace and Rick Penner,Renee Comtois, Candice and Nat Comtois,Mike Comtois, Bill and Lilli Olschewski.

Grace Church staff: Administrative Assis-tant Grace Toews, Pastor Warren Schatz,and interim worship director Andrew Jager.


FOCUS ON OUR CHURCHESLuminaries were lit and placed

along the sidewalk for all to see at ourChristmas Eve service. Pastor Scott’stopic was “Why Christmas?“ The severeweather meant a smaller-than-usualcrowd, and unfortunately, Christmasbreakfast and church services thatweekend were cancelled. No one couldget to church, not even Pastor Scott!

Trudy Reimer, Correspondent

JANSEN BIBLE CHURCHJansen, Neb.Paul Carpenter, Pastor

We gathered an offering for Haiti re-lief, which was sent to Eugene Enns ofGrace Missions.

Our Sweetheart Banquet in Febru-ary featured Pastor Mike Fink of FaithEvangelical Bible Church in Hender-son, Neb., as speaker.

Two new adult Sunday schoolclasses were launched in January: “Walkthrough the Bible,” a DVD series, and aBeth Moore study for women.

Prayer RequestPlease pray for Waldo Goossen (AfricaInland Mission/Kenya)who continues histreatment for lymphoma.

Tena Dick, Correspondent

NORTHEAST BIBLE CHURCHCalgary, Alta.John Fehr, Pastor

We thank God for giving us an in-ternational congregation. We have indi-viduals and families from Hong Kong,the Philippians, Iran, Nigeria, Came-

roon, Liberia, Ghana, Sri Lanka andChina who have become part of ourchurch. Our most recent family just ar-rived from mainland China in January.As a result, Junior Church has grown toabout 14 children.

Our monthly potluck continues tobe a place where we can connect witheach other and deepen our relation-ships. These meals together are a high-

light of our church family life.Our men’s and ladies’ groups meet

twice a month. The ladies have listenedto speakers from the “ExtraordinaryWoman” series, and the men have dis-cussed how to be good husbands totheir wives and an example to others.

Julie Ann Simpson, Correspondent

RICHER FELLOWSHIP CHURCHRicher, Man.Simon Cheung, Pastor

Christmas highlights - The Germanchurch that shares our building invitedus to dinner in December. We enjoyed awide variety of German food.Awana shared its Christmas party withparents. Our ladies’ Christmas outingwas visiting the “Living Nativity”at Gateway Church in Winnipeg. Theladies also collected hamper items fordistribution in the area, and donatedmoney for Living Gifts at MennoniteCentral Committee.

We started the New Year by serving atUnionGospelMission, amission for home-less and disadvantaged people in Win-nipeg. We helped with prayer during theservice, and setting and clearing tables.

While Pastor Simon was gone, Pas-tor Dave Loeppky from Vita BibleChurch delivered the sermon ontwo Sundays.

Prayer RequestsPlease pray for our youth group and ourMorning for Moms group. Both havehad very variable attendance. Pray forGod’s leading with these groups.

Susan Reid Correspondent

STUARTBURN GOSPEL CHAPELStuartburn, Man.Mark Funk, Pastor

Eighteen youth, along with threeleaders, enjoyed a winter youth retreatat Falcon Lake Lodge in late December.During their time together, four mem-bers of the youth group shared their tes-timonies. They also watched “ThePineapple Story,” missionary Otto Kon-ing’s account of trying to grow a crop ofpineapple, and the lessons that Godtaught him during the time that he wasministering to a tribal village.

Our “Week of Prayer” started at thechurch with the viewing of “The SnakeStory,” also by Otto Koning, on Jan 3.Prayer meetings were held at varioushomes that week, with the theme of“Soar Like Eagles.”

We had a record turnout of peopleattending the annual membershipmeeting Jan. 30!

Karl and Shauna Wagenhoffer puta lot of effort into writing a script, basedon Bible prophecies and their fulfill-ment, for our Christmas program.

Prayer RequestsPlease pray for the participants in

our Easter program, and that it will bean effective outreach in our community.

Please pray for Pastor Mark’s recov-ery from shoulder surgery. We knowthat it is hard for him to sit back anddelegate some of his responsibilities!

Marilyn D. Thiessen, Correspondent

Community Bible Church, Omaha, Neb.

• Oliver Tice to Brian and Emily Wlaschin, Feb. 17• Caleb Aaron to Ryan and Danielle Pint, Jan. 31

Countryside Bible Church Meade, Kan.• Chet William to Justin and Grace Powell, Oct. 14

Dalmeny Bible Church Dalmeny, Sask.• Ellyce Ella to Ashton and Melissa Buhler, Jan. 15; grand-parents are Dave and Tina Buhler

Faith Evangelical Bible Church Winkler, Man.• Fynn Joas to Martin and Ella Pegler, Dec. 11

Gospel of Grace Church Hooker, Okla.• Hudson Edward to B.J. and Kristen Woolridge, Nov. 28;grandmother is Liz Gilkey

• Luke Steven to Darron and Laura Hamm, Dec. 15; grand-parents are Abie and Verna Hamm

Grace Evangelical Bible Church Abbotsford, B.C.

• Caleb Joshua to Joshua and Teressa Giesbrecht, Oct. 24;grandparents are Dave and Grace Toews

Jansen Bible Church Jansen, Neb.• Jonathan David to John and Jolene Kroeker, Dec. 6• Luke Henry to Peter and Mary Roker, Jan. 21; grandpar-ents are Henry and Lois Roker

Richer Fellowship Church Richer, Man.• Gabriel Hudson to Tim and Andrea Sawatzky, Nov. 17

Salem Church Waldheim, Sask.• Norah Grace to Ryan and Stephanie Thiessen, Dec. 23;grandparents are Gerald and Betty Anne Thiessen

• John Oscar to Lise and Brent Keefe, Dec. 29; grandpar-ents are Marg and Len Fehr

• Emmett Foster to Cam and Nikki Willems, Jan. 7; grand-parents are Bob and Sherry Willems


BIRTHS AND ADOPTIONS

Salem Church Waldheim, Sask.

• Stpehen and Kendra Albak, Nov. 7

The Record

DEATHS

Cornerstone Bible Church Steinbach, Man.

• Margaret (Giesbrecht) Reimer (76), Nov. 6• Alfred J. Reimer (91), Nov. 13

Christian Fellowship Chapel Winnipeg, Man.

• Lena Froese (76) (wife of Pastor Jake Froese), Dec. 26

Dalmeny Bible Church Dalmeny, Sask.

• John Goetz (86), Feb.15

Evangelical Bible Church Omaha, Neb.

• Elsie Buller, (95), Dec 20

Faith Evangelical Bible Church Henderson, Neb.

• Reuben D. Goertz, (83), Dec. 24• Mary Smith, (97), Jan. 5

Grace Evangelical Bible Church Abbotsford, B.C.

• Linda Friesen (97), Nov. 19

Salem Church Waldheim, Sask.

• Henry Gliege (95), Dec. 13

WEDDINGS

The Fellowship Focus is published by theFellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches3339 N 109th Plaza, Omaha Nebraska 68164-2908

NO ENDORSEMENT

INTL SURFACE AIR LIFTU.S. POSTAGE PAID

OMAHA NEPERMIT NO. 922

Saskatchewanians love their pro-fessional football team: The Sas-katchewan Roughriders! “Rider Pride” islegendary in this nation. “Go RidersGo!”

Saskatchewanians also lovehockey! Every community (eventhe dying ones) has its arena.Every larger community (andeven some smaller ones!) has itshockey program and team todevelop young hockey playerswho dream of some day makingit to the National Hockey League.Everyone in the province seemsto have some personal con-nection with at least one NHLer.

When you mix Roughrider loyaltywith hockey, you open doors toexciting opportunities. That is exactlywhat FEBC church planters BrianFriesen (Community Bible Church/Tisdale) and Ed Fischer (HumboldtBible Church) did in January. Both serveas chaplains to the hockey teams intheir city.

In Tisdale, Brian invited StevieBaggs, colorful Saskatchewan Rough-rider linebacker from the state ofGeorgia, to speak. The Roughriderswere willing to let their star linebackercome. But it couldn’t be for just oneevent. So Brian went to work. When allwas said and done, Stevie spoke atnine different events in three daysranging from elementary school to

high schools to sports teams to “FaithNight” at the hockey game,culminating in a community-wideevangelical worship service on Sunday

morning. Evangelicals in general, andTisdale Community Bible Church inparticular, were highly visible in acommunity which has been resistantto the Gospel.

In Humboldt, Ed Fischer invitedMatt Dominguez, star receiver withthe Roughriders. Like Stevie Baggs, heis an outspoken Christian. There wasthe mayor’s prayer breakfast, whereMatt shared his testimony and variouspeople prayed for the community. The“Faith Night” at the hockey game thatnight featured video testimonies byNHL Christian hockey players, liveinterviews of local people concerningtheir faith and unique opportunities formembers of the Humboldt BibleChurch to be involved and visible.

What are the results of suchevents? Our church plants havebecome much more visible in thecommunity. They have become a

respected and appreciated part oftheir city. Citizens know they arethere. They realize that thechurches are there to serve them.In Tisdale, several previouscontacts of the church madepublic commitments either toaccept Christ or to follow Himmore consistently. Since then,extra chairs have been brought into their small church building toaccommodate people attendingworship service. In Humboldt the

event was followed by the specialweek of unity and prayer meetings.Each local church has a free hand inorganizing the service in their church.This year, attendance has been betterthan ever. Contacts that Ed Fischer hadfollowed for four years finally showedup at Humboldt Bible Church.

Our church planters in Tisdale andHumboldt have shown us an effectiveway to reach out to the community:identify with it, take a genuine interestin its welfare, serve it and look foropportunities to share your faith —and God will bring the increase. As weponder how we can imitate theirapproach in our own community, letus pray earnestly for a fruitful follow-up in Tisdale and Humboldt.

Focus on FEBCChurch Planting

Our church plants have become much

more visible in the community.

They have become a respected and

appreciated part of their city.

Citizens realize that the churches are

there to serve them.

By Harvey Schultz, Ministries Coordinator

Documents

What Is the Emerging Church Movement?