MCKENZIES ON MISSION

December 2012
Were enjoying our rst ever Canadian winter as a family.

SCHOOL IS OFFICIALLY IN SESSION

My program is underway and its such an exciting opportunity
If youve been following the story of our endeavor here in Langley youll know that Im in a program that is akin to an apprenticeship. Roughly speaking it is a work & study type program. One of the questions that always gets asked is what courses are you taking? or how are your classes going? My answer is often quite vague and this leaves people wondering. So I thought I would take the opportunity to introduce the Immerse program to you so that youll have a better understanding of what Im doing. In the last few years Fellowship BC, the denomination Im working with, noticed that they were lacking dynamic new leaders in their churches. They had been producing seminaries grads but werent necessarily producing leaders. They took a step back and decided that they needed a new approach. Theyve worked hard over the last few years to create a new program that will hopefully prepare leaders for the future. So whats the uniqueness of their approach? Rather than striving to complete a required number of courses Immerse is centered on 27 Outcomes. These Outcomes are essentially characteristics of an impactful church leader. Just to give an example: Faith, Communication, Culture, and Gospel. Through a series of assignments, tasks, experiences, readings, reections, research etc. a student must prove that they have mastered these outcomes to the best of their ability. Who assesses the progress? Each Immerse student has a mentoring team that consists of a Ministry Mentor, a Denominational Mentor, and a Northwest Baptist Seminary Mentor. These mentors will guide us, test us, teach us, and support us as we strive to discover our calling and develop our abilities. In the end a Masters degree will be awarded and the students will be endorsed by the seminary and the denomination to be church leaders. Another special element of the Immerse program is that students are chosen for the program. Pastors and ministry leaders around BC are encouraged to keep an eye out for people who show potential as future leaders. Then those people are recommended for the program. Fellowship BC and Northwest Baptist then screen the applicants and choose some as participants. I am so blessed to have been chosen for this awesome opportunity. Its such an encouragement to be armed in my calling. We had our intro seminar and the program looks very tough but I look forward to the challenge that lies ahead. Please pray for me as I adjust to being a student again. Its been a while since Ive written papers and been assessed on a regular basis.I also have struggles with reading and I would appreciate your prayers for that.

Some books Ive been reading...

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GOING PUBLIC
Journey Church will be ramping up in the New Year
If I havent mentioned it before our church plant has decided on a name, Journey Church. We are all on a journey in our spiritual lives and we want to be a church that does life with people no matter where they are on that journey. Journey Church has been slowly building in the last couple of months. Weve seen a committed group of about 25 gather weekly for dinner and a time of worship. Weve been able to bless a struggling family with a Christmas hamper. And weve adopted the local park. We are doing our best to put roots down in our community. Im working on putting together a drop-in basketball night at the new school in our area. Should be a lot of fun and a great way to connect with people in the neighbourhood. When we talk about Journey with people the rst question we always get is where is it? or where do you meet?. To this point weve been meeting in a living room. The living room is great but

its not everyones scene so we are excited to get to the next stage. In February we will have our rst of two preview services at a local school gym and our desire is to launch our weekly services March 31 (Easter Sunday). Although Sunday services are not what makes a church they are are great place to gather people. We want everyone in the Willoughby neighbourhood to have a place to experience Jesus and to participate in a faith community. January & February will be crazy months as we take care of all the behind the scenes work that needs to happen to launch a church. We have to nish up our logo project and launch our website. We have to do some promotion in the city. Weve got to get a bunch of sound equipment, lights, chairs, kids ministry supplies etc. Its going to be hectic but it will also be an awesome thing to see our church come alive in the community. Please join us in prayer as we tackle the challenges ahead...nancial needs, pressing deadlines, a need to grow our core group, and a desire to bless a world that doesnt always embrace the presence of a new God thing happening in their neighborhood.

JOURNEY CHURCH SNAPSHOTS

Me & Nevada

Carla & Lindsay

Lindsay leading in the living room

Gail & Deanne

Paul & Dylan

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MERRY CHRISTMAS

Its the most wonderful time of the year!

Weve made many wonderful friends in Taiwan but this year brings an extra special opportunity. Well be traveling back to Saskatchewan to spend the holidays with our families. I cant remember the last time I listened to the Boney M Christmas record play at my grandparents house or had a One of the highlight factors for us returning to Canada was giving our children an opportunity to be closer to their grandparents. Our little angels will be smothered with love this Christmas and everyone is excited. I also cant go without mentioning the treat it will be for our family to experience winter play snowball ghts, going tobogganing and maybe even playing street hockey. Cant wait! We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas as you spend time with the special people in your lives. Dont forget to make memories and store them in your hearts. Most take some time to focus on Jesus, he is the reason for the season. Because of that night in a manger we are given the greatest gift of all; life lived in relationship with a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father & Prince of Peace. Amen! memories celebrating Christmas with our together...building snowmen, having

For unto us a child is born

proper Ukrainian meal on Christmas Eve. importantly our prayer is that you will

PRAYER REQUESTS

HOLIDAY TRAVEL
Pray for safety Well by driving from BC to Saskatchewan which through the snowy mountains.

CHURCH LAUNCH
Pray for core group growth in our prelaunch phase. Also pray for community acceptance & excitement when we launch.

FRIENDSHIPS
Were still lonely & feeling disconnected. Pray that the McKenzies will be able to develop strong friendships here.

FINANCES
We need more partners Starting a church from zero is tough nancial challenge so outside partners are needed to invest in the ministry eorts. (read more on the next page-->)

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FINANCIAL PARTNERSHIP
Firstly I want to thank all of the people who have partnered with us nancially to this point. It has been an amazing blessing to see money come from all over the world from old friends, new friends and even strangers. We are well aware of how hard you work for you money and are humbled that you are willing to invest it in us and in Journey Church. Secondly Id like to share of a nancial answer to prayer in a challenging time. In early November my brand new laptop and iPad were stolen at a coee shop. This rocked us a little. Not only was it a $3600 loss but I felt violated and hurt. It initially gave us a bitter feeling about people and about this place. But God used this situation to turn a light on for Nevada & I...People Need Jesus. Some people are broken and are doing life without God so its no surprise things like this happen. That gave some re to our purpose in being here to plant a church. Anyways, I put out a call for help in regards to the new nancial challenge we

were facing to replace these items. A month and a half later Im happy to say that weve received about $2500 in gifts to help replace the stolen tech. Thank you to those who gave so generously and praise God for answered prayers. Lastly I would like to once again share our needs and ask you to consider partnering with us. The rst couple years of a church plant can be a nancial challenge as the numbers are low and the commitment to giving is being established. It is in that time that we (church planters) rely on others to join us in the mission of reaching out to new communities with the message of Jesus. We are commissioned by Jesus himself to go and make disciples of all nations (places) and this is your chance to be a part of that. Currently our monthly needs are approx. $3500/month. The program itself and some other sources of income provide us with about $2500/month so we are currently in need of raising $1000/month in support. We have fallen short of that target and this creates struggles &

Consider joining our 30-30-30 club

tensions. We trust that God has called us to this place & this church but we need you, our friends and family, to join the call. Please pray about it and consider joining our 30-30-30 club. 30 people, $30, for 30 months. Not only does that provide enough support for us to do our work but it also gives a team that we know is behind us. It gives the McKenzie family a network of prayer support and encouragement enabling us to condently respond to Gods call on our family. Feel free to call or email me to discuss partnering with us.

How to donate:
1) Go to website: www.bcfellowship.ca 2) Click the donate now link on the right side of the screen 3) On this new page you can click the Designated: McKenzie Ministry link 4) This will lead you to our little prole page where you can choose between several convenient methods of payment

CONTACT INFO
Address: Tel: 20613 66A Ave Langley, BC V2Y 2Y4 Canada Chris- (604) 866-4632 Nevada- (604) 866-4357 Chris- chestermckenzie@gmail.com Nevada- nevadamckenzie@gmail.com

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