 Dear pastors, missionaries, chaplains and friends, Steve Jones here… Bill C-14 passed the Senate and received Royal assent on June 17, 2016. This legislation establishes assisted-suicide and euthanasia in our country. The Biblical amnesia of our Nation continues. Canada has crossed a significant threshold. On behalf of the Fellowship, our Fellowship National Council and many individuals within the Fellowship family signed a petition opposed to this legislation. But it has passed. We remain fundamentally opposed to these practices and mourn this decision. The little bit of good news is that the collective efforts of people of faith across Canada fighting this legislation helped to tighten this new legislation as well as minimize its serious effect on people. However, the values inherent in this legislation and the practices it will promote will undermine our societal respect for the sanctity of human life. It will likely place vulnerable people at risk. Quoting an EFC press release (for full article, click HERE):  “This will also shift our health care system from a presumption for life to one in which a patient will feel the need to justify not choosing death.” I want to commend the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, their Executive Director, Bruce Clemenger and their lawyers for representing all evangelicals during the debate. It is reported that due to their efforts and other convenors, the current legislation is much more restrictive than the language of the Supreme Court’s “Carter decision”. The passed legislation made euthanasia and assisted suicide (government and media are calling this “assisted death”) available only to competent adults with an incurable illness, disease or disability who are in the advanced state of irreversible decline and whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable. The legislation is also more restrictive than what was proposed by the Joint Committee of the House of Commons and Senate who proposed amendments expanding assisted suicide to persons not terminally ill and young people (minors).  It is certain that the boundaries of this current legislation will be challenged by those wanting access to assisted suicide, for those suffering from non-terminal illnesses, or children. To read more on this, there is a nine-page document from the EFC which discusses the ramifications of this new legislation (click HERE). Only ten days after Bill C-14 was passed (June 27), a challenge from the BC Civil Liberties lobby group was launched on behalf of a 25 year old woman with a degenerative muscular disease.
Let’s continue to pray together for a number of things related to this issue: - Pray for the vulnerable and at-risk people in our country who may be affected by this legislation. - Pray for people of faith who are medical practitioners and have not received adequate protection in this legislation. What will occur to these people and institutions that object to providing assisted suicide and euthanasia? - Pray for the inevitable legal battles this legislation will cause as advocates seek to challenge the boundaries of Bill C-14 and those opposed attempt to fight them in court. - Pray for the need of greater palliative care for Canadians. I have read that only one third of Canadians have adequate access to palliative care. It is tragic that our current government is leading us toward assisted suicide without leading the charge for greater provision of palliative care and hospice care systems. A classic “putting the cart before the horse” scenario in my opinion. “O Lord, we need revival in our land!” Have a blessed week, Steve Jones
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 Beaches of Dunkirk Dear pastors, missionaries, chaplains and friends, Steve here… When you read the phrase “but if not” what immediately comes to mind? In late May of 1940, a British Naval officer called those three simple words to HeadQuarters in London. He had witnessed the carnage on the beaches of Dunkirk, France. The British Expeditionary Force of 350,000 soldiers was trapped on the beaches with their backs to the sea. The German forces had the capacity to wipe out Britain’s army. “But if not” was sent home and these words were instantly recognizable to the officers in HQ who spent the first 18 years of life in schools that hosted Bible reading in 30 minute chapel services every day. My dad (a Brit) remembers daily chapel. I imagine the naval officer who sent the quick cryptic message knew it would put a smile on Winston Churchill’s face. He knew his Bible.  British children were taught Bible stories to help mold their values and behavior. Biblical metaphors are scattered throughout English literature. Only a full understanding of the Bible and its imagery allows you to see the clues to understand some of the finest poems, prose and plays ever written in the English language. And when you are young and you have a “steel trap” for a mind, you remember the stories! Just three words, but the full message was completely understood. The British officers’ service in HQ knew the naval officer was referring to the story in the Book of Daniel. The message harkened back to Daniel 3:17-18 in the King James Version: “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O King. But if not, let it be known unto thee, O King, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” Three young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, stood before a fiery furnace and were resolved to obey God whether or not God chose to save them. They courageously chose to face the furnace rather than disobey God’s Commandments.  THREE LESSONS OF DUNKIRK Three words — both the modest English folk in fishing ports with Sunday school lessons planted in their minds and British officers with proper English private school education alike knew the situation was dire. Their boys were suffering the chaos and carnage of the “fiery furnace” of battle on the beaches and it was desperate. The allied forces were trapped. It would take a miracle to save them. But they would not give up and give in to their enemy. Just three words communicated all of that. Three words, three young men and over three hundred thousand soldiers were saved. Three words launched Operation Dynamo. The Axis powers hesitated, and so between May 27 and June 4, 1940, British fishing boats left their ports in Southern England, evacuating 338,000 British soldiers off of the beaches of Dunkirk. The British Expeditionary Force was saved for another day of battle. The obvious question: if our military officers were to receive the same message TODAY — “but if not” — would they have any clue what it actually meant? Would Operation Dynamo ever have been launched? Would thousands of soldiers been rescued and brought to safety? I think not. Why? FROM DUNKIRK TO DISCIPLESHIP There is a Bible literacy crisis in Canada. The church is beginning to discover the full scope of the problem. In a recent survey of Christians completed by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), they discovered that evangelicals are not reading their scriptures as often as we might think.  In recent months I met with all of our Fellowship Regional Directors to discuss this issue. There are many things our churches and members could do to address this problem. One way to bring this discipleship concern into the spotlight is to launch a “Bible Engagement Project” among our Fellowship churches.
The Fellowship’s Bible Engagement Project You and your church are invited, along with all other Fellowship Baptist Churches, on November 5-19, 2017, to share in a two-week study of the Bible. The project will span over three Sundays and will include three studies and 14 daily devotions. On the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation let’s rediscover the wonder of God’s Word in a brief study that we’re calling “@ the Greatest Book”. We’ll start our study close to the 500th anniversary (November 5) and end our Bible Engagement Project on our Fellowship Day of Prayer (November 19). A toolbox will be sent to all churches, including sermon and small group studies along with a two-week daily devotional. Please put it on your church calendar now… we’re 16 months before it begins! Have a blessed week, Steve Jones  Dear pastors, missionaries, chaplains and friends, Steve here… Here is a great outreach idea for churches to prayerfully consider this summer. For the past few summers, several of our new French church plants in Quebec have been hosting an outreach event called “J’aime mon Voisin” (JMV) or “Love your Neighbours.” Each summer their members, along with helpers from short-term mission teams have gone into their communities to love their city. Each team member wears a bright orange t-shirt with “Love your Neighbour” clearly marked. Teams mow lawns, clean windows, do garden work, paint houses and do other chores. English speaking Fellowship churches who are in partnership with their French speaking church plants (in Quebec) send teams for a week to help in this outreach effort. You don’t need to speak French to clean a backyard or repair a sink. English Canadians accompany their new francophone church friends to love the neighbours their partner church plant is trying to reach. This new mission initiative in the community has been very effective. I would challenge Fellowship churches elsewhere in Canada to consider this outreach approach.  J’aime mon Voisin in Plessisville, QC Last summer (2015), our church plant in Plessisville, QC, the “Maple Syrup Capital” of Canada, hosted short-term mission steams for three weeks. Teams from churches in BC and Ontario along with two JBEQ teams from Quebec helped our church plant love their Plessisville neighbours. Read this report from Pastor Karl Fortin, the church planter from Connexion Church in Plessisville to find out how it went: “These five teams and their home churches have been a great encouragement in our mission to the people of the Maple County. With their help, we are able to serve over 40 families and non-profit organizations, and gather more than $600 in voluntary donations that will be returned to the community through a non-profit that gives out food stamps. We were also thankful that non-Christians from the community joined the church to serve their neighbours.  “I would like to share Annie’s story with you. Annie was supposed to move on July 1st. It was 4:30pm in the afternoon, the team had just finished moving someone in the rain. They were tired, wet and muddy when the phone rang. ‘I need help’, said Annie. ‘I have to be out of my apartment tonight and all the help I had just bailed on me! Someone told me to call JMV – they might be able to do something for me.’ “The evening was the team’s night off, but some of the volunteers said they wanted to help. “We told Annie we would be there in five minutes. She was literally stunned when she saw 15 people with orange jerseys show up on her door step. Annie was speechless and said she thought this was nothing short of a miracle. She told the journalist who interviewed her that it was like her very own family had showed up. “We ended the three weeks of JMV with a pig roast, inflatables and face painting. One hundred and fifty people showed up and we had a great time. During that evening, Annie was able to share her story with the crowd and the Mayor of the city gave us a word of encouragement, saying that the city was fully supportive of JMV. One man, when he understood what JMV was all about handed me $100 with tear-filled eyes!” This summer (2016), other teams will be arriving in Quebec from partner churches all over Canada to help our new French church plants reach out to their neighbours with the love of Christ. Will you join me in praying for this outreach ministry? I would also encourage English churches throughout the Fellowship to consider this approach in loving your neighbours this summer. To watch a video about Love Your neighbour, click HERE. I trust our collective evangelistic efforts this summer, whether it’s a week of “Love your Neighbour” or Vacation Bible School, or Day Camp will result in “much fruit.” May the Lord bless your efforts in the weeks to come. Let’s all take a moment right now to pray for countless “spiritual orphans” in our community in desperate need of a Heavenly Father Have a blessed week, Steve Jones  Good Afternoon, Trust you are enjoying God’s blessings this Summer. I have attached a copy of my Quarterly Prayer News for July-September 2016. Thank you for your continued support. Blessings, Steve Jones, President   
 Dear pastors, missionaries, chaplains and friends, Steve here… By 2031, 74% or 42 million Canadians will live in urban centres in Canada (Source: Religion Mix Growth in Canadian Cities 2006-2031, Canada Heritage Dept.). Throughout Canada and the world, people are migrating to cities for a variety of reasons. The trend has been going on for decades and it’s increasing. Are people finding what they are looking for by moving into Canadian cities? In a statistics Canada Study: “How’s Life in the City? Life Satisfaction across Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) and Economic Regions (ERs) in Canada,” the authors asked how satisfied urbanites were. There was some interesting data for Christians who desire to reach city dwellers with the Gospel. All info was based on 340,000 respondents over 2009-2013. Which Canadian cities have the most “satisfied” residents? o Respondents answered with a number on a scale of 0-10, 0 being “very dissatisfied with life” and 10 being “very satisfied with life”. o The top cities were: 1-Saguenay 2-Trois-Rivières 3-St. John’s 4-Greater Sudbury 5-Quebec City 10-Ottawa-Gatineau 13-Montreal 14-Halifax 16-Calgary 21-Hamilton 23-Winnipeg 29-Edmonton 30-Guelph 31-Windsor 32-Toronto 33-Vancouver In light of this reality, our movement of churches need to become more effective at reaching urbanites with the gospel. This growing demographic are typically more secular or part of another religious group other than Christian. For instance, by 2031, 50% of all non-Christian/other religion city dwellers will be Muslim.  A NEW TYPE OF SCHOOL IN OUR FEB CENTRAL REGION Our FEB Central region is seeking to address this growing reality. FEB Central’s Church Planting Director, Tom Haines, has begun a new Church Planting Institute along with Pastor Darryl Dash, an urban church planter who began “Liberty Village” a few years back in downtown Toronto. I asked Tom and Darryl to prepare a brief description of what they are attempting to do for the Kingdom: “Toronto is North America’s fourth largest city, but it’s also one of its least churched cities. “The need in Toronto is great. You are 1.5 times more likely to meet a Buddhist than a Baptist in Toronto. Most people in Toronto have not rejected the gospel; they’ve never heard it. Just to keep up with population growth, we need to plant 300 churches in the next 25 years. “FEBCentral has started Advance Church Planting Institute to respond to these needs. It’s our hope to create a perpetual engine of church planting that will see churches planted in Toronto and beyond. It’s based on the conviction that urban ministry is different and that we need to recruit and train church planters who will commit to serve in challenging urban contexts. “Advance is a cohort-based training system. Meetings take place on Saturdays and consist of training and coaching. Participants also receive training within churches in Toronto. The goal is to prepare each student to plant a church at the end of the two-year program. “Pray with us that God will raise up workers for the harvest in urban centres like Toronto. Visit www.advancechurchplanting.ca and share this information with others who have an interest in urban church planting.”  In recent months I have also had the joy of talking to urban church planters in Montreal, Ottawa, Halifax and Vancouver. Pastor David MacBain is planting “Wild Goose”, a creative church plant in downtown Vancouver being daughtered by three Fellowship Pacific churches. This is a courageous endeavor. Please join me in regularly praying for our Fellowship church planters across Canada and other countries through the faithful ministry of our Fellowship International missionaries. Also pray for direction for how our movement of churches might become more effective at planting the many 100s of new churches needed in our Urban centres over the next couple decades. Thank you to Tom and Darryl who are leading the way by seeking to train a new generation of future urban church planters. Have a blessed week, Steve Jones  |
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