Mission & Evangelism Committee
by Stuart Daniel, Chair of M&E Committee
On December 15th and 16th of 2017 we were blessed by being able to serve dinner and breakfast to those who are in need of a helping hand.
All who gave of their time and resources have responded with great joy at the blessings that come with serving others and are ready and willing to do this again.
We had the honor of serving 48 people and 22 the next morning . We had to purchase all the food, prepare and cook, set up, serve, mingle and get to know some of the people, watch a movie with them, and clean up after.
The next morning we arrived at 5:30am, prepared and cooked breakfast, serve , and then give out bag lunches, which were prepared by the youth of ABC – thank you all.
M & E will continue to seek God’s guidance as to where we can serve Him and to bring the Gospel to those who have not heard it, for this is the purpose to which we are called.
As Jesus commanded “ Go into all the world and preach the good news (Gospel), to all creation” (Mark 16:15).
God’s best for you
Camp Agincourt
by Benson Duong, Youth Associate Pastor
This summer, 30 kids attended our VBS day camp where they participated in learning Bible stories, playing games and visiting our marketplace. This year’s theme by Group Publishing was “Rome: Paul and the Underground Church.”
The kids learned about the story of Paul, who was under house arrest for being a Christian, and the underground church. Furthermore, they made crafts and experiments in our immersive Roman marketplace and played a variety of games in the school field. Camp Agincourt ran from Aug 21-25th.
Operation Christmas Child Report
by Marilyn Kimberley, Connect Volunteer-in Church Relations-for Operation Christmas Child
Agincourt Baptist Church, through our Missions and Evangelism Committee, chose to participate with the Operation Christmas Child for our 23rd year of association. During 2017, Agincourt Baptist Church packed 879 shoeboxes and Ontario completed approximately 288,000 boxes. Throughout the year, we wondered how ABC could raise $8,790 ($10 per box) for the shipping fees. But God accomplished it all.
People from ABC, other churches, and the community attended our preliminary preparation parties from February to May. Our events were featured on the West Rouge Community Facebook page and, as a result, we had 26 people (some complete strangers) at our eight preliminary parties.
We also had a variety of people donate gifts: one regular helper has knit at least 800 hats a year for us over the past 15 years. However, she now has moved seven hours away, but seven new knitters (all regular helpers plus their friends and relatives) stepping forward. One lady wrote today to say she finished 40 hats in the last month. I am writing this on December 31, 2017 and already I have had people ask me when we are starting again for 2018. It will be during the first week of March and then we will start packing the boxes once the warm weather starts again. We expect to be finished by mid-July.
We had many donations-in-kind during 2017: a band from Tennessee donated at least 500 new t-shirts (leftovers from a former marketing campaign), many new picture books were donated, and many garage sellers gave special pricing once they heard of our ministry. Most importantly, we have many who regularly pray for our helpers and our recipients. In fact, we have had so many donations that we are able to donate bags of gifts to a few other smaller groups who also prepare boxes. So, we already have most of the necessary gifts for our 2018 efforts.
The benefits to the recipient children of this ministry are amazing: last year, almost 20% of the recipients of Canadian boxes accepted Jesus as their saviour. That means that ABC’s 879 boxes will be assisting in the salvation of approximately 164 children. That is 164 salvations due ABC’s efforts in this ministry alone and we support other ministries as well. ABC is making a difference! Please take the time to watch the many YouTube videos of children testifying to the changes in their lives due to receiving a gift box (Search “Operation Christmas Child testimonies” on YouTube).
What is less well-known are the many benefits to the donors and helpers here. This ministry has enriched our lives and the lives of many of our helpers; many of us have discovered new friends and a special purpose through this ministry, and we all have had the unusual gift of seeing God arrange this ministry. This year, some of the helpers asked so many questions about Jesus and have been so attracted to the Christian atmosphere at our parties, that seven to nine people are now attending a home Alpha course at 9 a.m. each Friday. At this writing, we have already finished session two and will gather in early January to continue. So, although this ministry is categorized as an international ministry, it truly can be described as an effective local mission too.
I have saved the most amazing news for last. For the first time ever, we covered all the needed shipping fees for all our boxes. All $8,790 was raised, between Agincourt Baptist Church’s members’ donations and one outside anonymous donor. Praise God that He deigns to use us to accomplish His eternal goals!
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