National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

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truth and reconciliation 2023

Greetings EFCC sisters and brothers!

Autumn is here and I trust that you are experiencing God’s grace and peace in your lives. We pray this for you here at Home Office as we look at what is happening in Canada and reflect on this coming weekend.

Saturday, September 30 is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Our EFCC Home Office will be closed on Monday, October 2 as we remember a painful part of our history. For over 160 years the government of Canada forcibly took children from their homes and placed them in residential schools run by various Christian denominations. The goal was to assimilate children into “Canadian culture”, and this entailed the demonization and suppression of indigenous language, values, and culture. Many children experienced physical, sexual, and other forms of abuse. Many children died at residential schools. There are people in our communities whose generational grief is only now being acknowledged.

As children of Jesus, we are called to embrace both truth and reconciliation.

I can only imagine the pain a parent would have felt to be told that their culture and values were “unCanadian” and therefore inferior. How much more horrific would it be to watch one’s child taken away to “unlearn” their “inferior values” and be assimilated into the “correct” culture. Please pray with us for those who bear the scars of abuse and loss. Please also pray that the compassionate, welcoming heart of Jesus will be seen in our congregations all across the Free Church and in our ServeCanada and ServeBeyond families. May we be a people of repentance and the redeeming, reconciling presence of Jesus to those who need His healing.

Serving with you,

Bill Taylor
EFCC Executive Director

Learn more about NDTR

EFCC Sunday

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EFCC Sunday 2023

Dear EFCC Family!

As we settle into the fall routines and welcome the cooler temperatures, we would invite you to join us in celebrating EFCC Sunday. This is a time where we take a moment to reflect and thank God for the associate of churches and believers we are apart of. It’s also a time to reflect on the work God has done nationally and internationally. Below you will find materials we’ve put together to help share what is happening with the EFCC as whole. We also invite you to take this time to celebrate with your congregation the things that God is doing locally, and the places He is leading you.

When? We are asking churches to pick a Sunday between now and the end of November to have an EFCC Sunday celebration.

What Do We Need? We ask that you use the materials we have prepared below as part of your EFCC Sunday celebration. Download and share the video. Print and share the bulletin insert. Take a time to reflect on what you are sharing from your local churches journey.

What are we sharing? The materials provided share the exciting things that we are doing together and events that are coming up that we hope you will join us for.  These include:

The Benevolence Fund – it was started just before the impacts of COVID-19 started being felt all over the world. This fund has been used to assist people suffering from:

    • Desperate poverty
    • COVID-19
    • The war in Ukraine
    • And now, forest fires in Canada

God is transforming lives! To follow where God is leading, we’re recruiting a new generation of leaders, pastors, and missionaries. We have a partnership with Prairie College offering bursaries to qualified students. Last year, we had our first participant. This year we are up to six!

prairie college

We’re extending this partnership to Serve24, a 2-year (i.e. 24-month) apprenticeship pairing academic instruction from Prairie College and hands-on, practical experience with our missionaries.

The development of our EFCC Leadership (formerly Lay Leader) Training module and how that is growing.
steve sharpe Steve Sharpe is coming on board as a Church Planting Missionary, helping our whole team of national and international leaders to develop a fresh, keen vision to see the launch of new, healthy churches.

Finally, two date blocks for you to circle on your calendar:

25-26 January, 2024
Theology Symposium (Online)
“Humble Hermeneutics”
with Dr. Randolph Richards

13-15 June, 2024
EFCC Conference (Surrey BC)
“A Curious People”
with Dr. David Pao

We’re so grateful for your service to God, your investment in the Gospel, and we hope that you’re excited about at least some of the same things we are as we look forward to what is possible, together.
Thank you for participating in EFCC Sunday!
Watch EFCC Sunday video
Download EFCC Sunday Bulletin

Coronation EFC Alberta Fire

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coronation efc fire

Dear EFCC Family,

You may have heard about the recent fire that, sadly, has consumed the building of a member in our EFCC family: Coronation EFC in Coronation, Alberta. Below is a message we received the day after from APD District Superintendent Marvin Penner. He has invited us to share it with all of you:

I thought that in the interest of having accurate information I would let you know what is known at this point. Things may change as more information becomes available.

On Tuesday, September 5, 2023 around noon, the Evangelical Free Church in Coronation burned down. Arson is suspected and the police have a suspect in custody. The following message is from Pastor Clayton Grice:

No doubt many have heard about our fire at the Coronation Evangelical Free Church. We are saddened by the loss, and yet, we know the building isn’t the church. Each person who belongs to Jesus is!

Please pray:

  1. For our unity and for wisdom to know what the next steps are.
  2. For the fire investigators and the RCMP as they continue their work. Pray that the truth will be brought to light, and it will be clear what started the fire.
  3. Pray for our community, that gossip and storytelling will not cloud the truth.
  4. Pray for the young man in custody. Pray for his protection, and for his health, and for his spiritual care. “

Thank you for your prayers for Coronation,

Marvin Penner

Alberta Parkland District Superintendent

We encourage you to join us in prayer for Coronation EFC and the requests that Pastor Clayton has shared. If you would like to find out other ways to help or connect, please contact District Superintendent Marvin Penner:

Contact Marvin Penner

Benevolence Fund Appeal

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benevolence fund appeal

Dear fellow servants of Jesus,

Last week we called our Free Church family to pray for communities threatened by wildfire. While our prayers are critical, and I would encourage you to continue, many of you are probably wondering if there are some financial ways that you can help those affected by the wildfires. We mentioned in last week’s blog and social media posts that the EFCC Benevolence Fund could provide that help.

The EFCC Benevolence Fund exists to help individuals in times of crisis or humanitarian need. Covid relief (especially in countries with no social nets), relief for families struggling during the war in Ukraine, and providing food and clothing for refugees are just a few of the many ways this fund has helped over the last few years. As a need arises, we can work with and assist those on the ground (typically through a missionary or pastor) in the affected area. We have been in ongoing communication with several people connected to these wildfires and anticipate hearing from others soon. We hope to be able to help them once they assess and share with us their need.

Thank you for your past support of this fund. All this help has been possible due to your generous donations to the EFCC Benevolence Fund.

As you look to help communities affected by wildfire, would you consider the EFCC Benevolence Fund as the way to do this?

To learn more about the EFCC Benevolence Fund, or to donate, go to:

Benevolence Fund