Update
January 2, 2021
Hello Dear Friends,
Warmest Christian greetings and Happy New Year! Welcome to 2021! I hope you enjoyed this amazing season that is now behind us…so good to celebrate such special occasions! Thank God for the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ! He is constantly faithful!
PRAYERS FOR YOU – “I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad. Lord, save us! Lord, grant us success!” (Psalms 118:21– 25 NIV). It is good to “pray” the Scriptures! For sure, we are praying the will of God when we do! This portion of God’s word is all about giving thanks (especially for salvation), rejoicing because of “the Chief Cornerstone”, calling on God to “save us” and to “grant us success”. This is a great place to begin the brand new year of 2021! And it is our prayer for you!
SUNDAY SERVICE/ONLINE CHURCH – Each Sunday @ 10:00 a.m. is the day and the hour when online church begins on YouTube. We are all aware that the province of Ontario is in a 28-day lockdown. That means we will not be permitted to meet as a congregation until, at least, January 24, 2021. We pray the restrictions will be lifted by then and we can meet at the church facility again. We will keep you posted for sure! Please plan to join us each week online should you have the electronic capability to do so. Here is the link: www.evangelnapanee.com
COMMUNION – We will celebrate communion together tomorrow. Please plan to join us for this very significant time. It is significant for 2 reasons: (1) the symbolism of the broken body and shed blood of Jesus portrayed by the juice and the bread; (2) the beginning of a new year – how appropriate that we take the time to remember and, also, to look forward! Hopefully, your whole family can participate. Even though we will not meet in person, yet the presence of the Lord is with us no matter where we are physically located.
2021 CONTRIBUTION ENVELOPES – Most of you have picked up your envelopes and thank you for doing so. We hand delivered some and others are still in the foyer at the church. If you are able, please drop by the church on either Tuesday or Thursday morning between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon. If you are not able to come by the church, please let us know and we can come to you and place the envelopes in your mailbox.
THE FOLLOWING MINISTRIES WILL RESUME AS SOON AS THE RESTRICTIONS ARE LIFTED:
KIDS’ MINISTRY & PLAYGROUP – Please visit our website www.evangelnapanee.com for current information regarding children’s ministries.
180º YOUTH –Thank you for continuing to pray for our young men and women.
MONDAY NIGHT PRAYER MEETINGS – It will be good to get back to the prayer meetings again! We will keep you posted! Hopefully, this will begin at the church on Monday, January 25, 2021.
SMALL GROUPS – Thank you, Group Leaders, for contacting me. Some materials are ordered and will be available to you. It is anticipated that Small Group ministry will be at the church facility when we restart. Even though we are not meeting as a congregation, Small Groups can still meet as planned provided the number does not exceed 10. Of course, we respect your comfort level as to your decision to attend or not.
If you have any prayer needs please email me at Cal.Anthony@paoc.org or telephone me at 613-354-4281 or 613-243-1163. If there is no answer, please leave a message and we will respond to you. We will certainly be happy to pray for you!
PRAYER NEEDS – There are many needs for which to pray: Joan, a little 4-year old boy suffering from a brain tumor, Tim, Laura, Olivia, our Youth and leaders, our seniors who are shut-in, Pat, Bonnie, Angela, John, Shawn (seeking employment), Robbie (taking treatments), Andrea, unspoken need(s), Allan, Elizabeth, Paige (15 years of age), Stewart’s granddaughter, businesses and business people, new pastor, unspoken needs, live-streamed church service, Kids’ Sunday School/Ministry, Global Workers. There may be others that we should add to this list. Please let us know if that is the case and we will gladly include them. You may reach us at office@evangelnapanee.com or 613-354-4281. There are lots of prayer needs and they all include both the spiritual and physical!
PASTORAL SEARCH – Resumes will be received for the Lead Pastor position from January 4, 2021 until Sunday, January 31, 2021. This time period will take us a little beyond the scheduled lockdown – we expect to have interviews as soon as it is logistically possible. Your continued prayers are so valued! It is reasonable that the new Pastor should be in place by mid to late March 2021.
BIBLE READING – The new challenge for Bible reading for January 2021 is the New Testament book of John’s Gospel. This is a 21-day read so let’s add the 10 chapters of I and II Timothy to make up the 31 days! I pray these Scripture readings are ministering strength to you each day. Here’s that verse of Scripture again: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom…” (Colossians 3:16).
ADMINISTRATION & OTHER MINISTRY
OFFICE HOURS – The office will be open each Tuesday & Thursday – 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we, once again, navigate the current lockdown.
The SPECIAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING scheduled for Sunday, January 17, 2021 to adopt the amended Local Church Constitution will be postponed until further notice. Please watch my emails for updates. We continue to invite your comments/possible amendments before January 3, 2021. Contact me directly if you have any questions. This item of business will bring our Constitution up to date.
Other business items are on hold until a later date.
RENOVATIONS/UPGRADES will continue as planned since construction work is not subject to lockdown. Also, there will be less than 10 people present at one time.
130 new and very comfortable chairs have been ordered and should arrive by late January/early February. The cost per chair is $80.00 which includes taxes, shipping and delivery. Some have already generously purchased a chair and added an extra $20.00 to assist with renovations/upgrades. Would you consider a donation of $100.00? Please join June and me in participating! Simply mark your church envelope as “New Chairs/Upgrades”. Thank you for considering. All of this will be a really good addition to the “freshness” of the building and, specifically, the overflow sections.
2020 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, 2021 BUDGET & ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – The 2020 financial review engagement will be conducted over the next few weeks. This, plus the 2021 budget, will be presented to you in due time. The Annual General Meeting will be announced at a later date. 2021 will bring new pastoral staff and the operational/ministry at Evangel will be at “full steam”! I am praying that there will be more than enough financial resources…not simply making ends meet but “…immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine…”! (Ephesians 3:20). Thank you for praying with me!
YOUR DONATIONS – You will be very happy to know that we finished 2020 in a strong financial position. Early calculations show that we are approximately 4% under the previous year…this is amazing considering almost 4 months of total lockdown!!! Thank you for your continued faithfulness and diligence in “keeping up to date” with your tithes and offerings! Of course, expenses have been a lot less during 2020, too.
Since we are currently in lockdown until at least January 23, 2021, your faithfulness is so very deeply appreciated in consistent giving. You may come by the church and use the offering boxes. They are accessible during the time frames noted above.
Online giving is very convenient and we encourage you to consider this option should you have the electronic capability.
VERY IMPORTANT!!! If you come by the church and use the debit machine, please ensure that you complete an envelope and place one copy of your transaction in it. If an envelope is not completed there is no way to give you credit for your donation. As you know, an electronic transfer is not the same as a debit transaction. An electronic transfer is easily recognized with the necessary personal information whereas a debit machine transaction cannot be traced to an individual. Thank you for giving this your attention. We want to serve you as best we can but it is imperative that we have tithe/offering donations clearly identified. This makes our auditors happy, too!!
CONSIDER THIS:
THE SPIRITUAL…
In 2020 we reached people with words of life – some made first time commitments to Jesus, others re-dedicated their lives to Him.
Children were reached with effective ministry through VBS and YouTube productions.
Testimonials of folk growing in their faith.
New additions to our congregation – we warmly welcome them!
Reaching out to seniors and those who cannot physically attend church through phone calls, cards, emails, texts, etc. Sometimes visits are possible, depending on the situation.
Many thanks to our Worship Teams who faithfully lead us each week. This continues each Sunday as we meet at the church for the live-streaming ministry. Let’s continue to pray that the Lord will touch the hearts of people as they join us online.
Continuing to provide for all of our Global Workers without having to cut or hold back financial resources. This is excellent despite the virus crisis.
THE MATERIAL…
The purchase and installation of a beautiful, brand new shed. The site preparation was done by Al White Landscaping and Construction (Aaron/Michelle White). Sincere thanks to them for this awesome blessing!
Providing the old shed (to be refurbished when weather permits) to Cornerstone Christian Academy for much-needed storage space for the school.
On-going maintenance to the interior of the church facility re new chairs, refurbishing both overflow sections, painting, lighting upgrades, new flooring where necessary, cabinet storage space for “spontaneous” ministry use, equipment for live-streaming on YouTube, rewiring the Sunday School office, and other minor refurbishing.
Finishing 2020 with a healthy bank balance and no debt or major bills to pay!!! In addition there is adequate resources for the new Pastor’s moving expenses plus a bit more for renovations. With your help we can complete all the planned projects!!! Thank you again and again!
MISSIONS NEWS…
EVANGEL’S MISSIONARIES/GLOBAL WORKERS GWs
Your prayers for our GWs are critical. Some of them are experiencing very challenging times with the reality of reduced financial support re COVID- 19.Thank you for taking the time to include them in your daily prayer times and for your faithful giving. Evangel has not had to cut back on financial support of our Missionaries and, for that, we are truly grateful to the Lord and to you! This is faithfulness in action! Please continue to remember Travis & Jesse (RAN), Dan & Belinda Collado (ABA, Canada), Jarren & Cindie Hildebrandt (Thailand), Kingston Pregnancy Care Centre (Elizabeth Sacrey), Julia Mills Scott & Melissa Williams (Spain), Janette Tirado (Peru), Laura Benson (Uganda), Deborah Sirjoosingh (Kenya), Cal & June Anthony (Eurasia) and Raul & Lily Carrasco (Spain). Everyone needs prayer and everyone deeply appreciates it!
During 2021 let us continue to be sensitive to the many needs locally, nationally and globally. Perhaps all of us can increase our financial giving to Missions and outreach in the days ahead!
We continue to pray the same prayers for you this week as described above and in these Scriptures: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7) and “The God of peace be with you all.” (Romans 15:33).
Stay close to God and keep the faith!
Cal & June
Interim Pastors