Equipping Deacons
Some New Faces at Diaconal Ministries!
We’re excited to welcome three new people to our awesome team!
Let’s get to know them a bit better…
Read MoreBC Youth Centre Provides a Safe Harbour with Help of NewGround Partnership
Mission Youth House, also known as MY House, in Mission, BC, is a collaborative initiative to provide a place for youth to eat, shower, do laundry, access medical care and other services and receive help from caring adults. Mission Hills Community CRC has been a key partner in providing counseling to staff, prayer support, financial donations and volunteer support. In order to grow the ministry and move more into the spiritual transformational work within the ministry, they knew they needed some help.
Enter NewGround…
NewGround Partnership Helps Church Love Refugees
“The refugee crisis desperately needs churches to show up in ways that further hope, healing, and reconciliation in the world,” Danielle Steenwyk-Rowaan, Open Homes Hamilton’s team leader, shared.
With the help of a NewGround grant, New Hope Church in Hamilton, ON showed up to partner with Open Homes Hamilton. This new partnership has allowed New Hope to welcome refugee claimants into communities of belonging and has reminded them of the transformative power of the ancient Christian practice of hospitality.
Read MoreOvercoming Spiritual Roadblocks; Devotions #4 – “Letting God Speak”
When we listen to the directions on a phone app, we have to listen and follow the directions we receive, and they guide us to where we need to go. Similarly, as we listen to the Lord in prayer, He guides and directs us in the best route.
But how do we hear God’s voice when we pray?
Read MoreTeen from Sonlight CRC Cares for Homeless with a Covid-19 Grant
Hope Booy is a young adult at Sonlight CRC in Regina. She was awarded a COVID-19 grant from World Renew and Diaconal Ministries Canada to put together a backpack of essential supplies for the homeless people she saw in her community.
Watch this story now!
Overcoming Spiritual Roadblocks in Ministry – Devotion #3; Why Pray?
What exactly is prayer, and how does it fit into the work which the Lord calls us to do?
At its heart, prayer is a form of communication. It is a conversation with our Heavenly Father. But dialogue is only the start. Just as in earthly relationships, communication is essential for growth and health. It is the same with our relationship with God. As the apostle John reminds us, we need to abide or remain in Christ. As we remain, we grow in relationship with him.
Read MoreCovid Grant Helps Church Address Mental Health
Video Produced by; Victoria Veenstra We recently chatted with Jenn Burnett, the lead pastor from The Well in Kelowna, BC. Their church received one of our Covid-19 grants last fall to address mental health with their community. In spite of changing lock down protocols, The Well has continued to be creative in the use of…
Read MoreCarePortal Equips Churches to Care for Vulnerable in their Community
The world of social justice and charity can feel overwhelming. There are so many options of where to get involved and how. Doing a fundraiser is great, but are you fostering relationships with the recipients? Doing a food or clothing drive is good, but how is the church learning to walk alongside the people who are in need of that support?
Often when we look closer at issues of justice and care for our communities, we recognize how interconnected many aspects of poverty are. These aspects create cycles that are very difficult to leave behind. One crucial characteristic of those who are able to step out of those cycles of poverty, is the presence of healthy and supportive relationships and community.
Enter Forever Families Canada- a ministry that aims to connect, equip and mobilize churches to effectively journey with vulnerable children and their families…
Read MoreOvercoming Spiritual Roadblocks in Ministry – Devotion #2: Prayer Changes Things
When we step into the place of prayer, it is often to ask the Lord to change circumstances. We pray for healing for someone who is sick, comfort for someone who is grieving and for the Lord to change the heart of someone who is walking away from God’s kingdom. Prayer changes things, and the Lord is able to move in people’s lives and circumstances because we pray.
But prayer does not just change a situation…
Read MoreServing God’s Church and the Community as a Diaconal Coach
Len Bakelaar served as a Diaconal Coach in Classis Huron for over 18 years. When Len ‘hung up his hat’ and retired from being a Coach back in June of 2020, we asked him to share about his time with Diaconal Ministries.
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