It’s a strange feeling to have no meet-


ings, lunches or events on the calendar. We’ve taken this time to reflect, pray and seek the Lord and discover how we can serve him and his purposes in this time. It has been so upliſting to see the body of Christ in action without any prompting. People have been supporting one another with groceries, phone calls and much more. We quickly formed an Emergency Ministry Team (EMT) that will support both our congregation and our communi- ty. It is clear with the outpouring of people willing to help that there is a willingness for the church to be salt and light to our world. We pray the Lord will entrust us with many opportunities to his his hands and feet and to share our hope with others.


Baptisms: Two in February New Members: Two in February Provided by church staff


Countryside Bible Church Meade, Kansas Jonathan Dale , Pastor countrysidebiblechurch.net Te coronavirus crisis has brought


many changes to our church body. Our elders have been prayerfully working through what steps to take to still have an opportunity to stir each other up to love and good deeds and at the same time honor the regulations put in place by our governing authorities.


We are watching livestreamed ser-


vices from the church website. Te elders are also looking at other


ways to keep our congregation connected and meet needs in the church and commu- nity. Tis will be an ongoing process of ex- perimenting digitally. Our pastor has also begun a YouTube channel for our Church called Countryside Bible Church Meade. In this YouTube channel, Pastor Jonathan is creating videos with devotionals that will take us through a two-year daily Bible reading plan starting April 1.


Rachael Wiens, Correspondent


Martensville Mission Church Martensville, Saskatchewan Justin Klassen, Pastor mmchurch.ca It’s hard to believe the changes that


our church, along with many or all other churches, has undergone in the last few weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic! Who knew we would be worshipping to- gether but still separately so quickly when we first started hearing about the corona- virus in the news?


With the various recommendations


and restrictions that the government was starting to place on people due to COVID-19, the first worship service cancellation was on March 15. Tat worship service was replaced with a prayer meeting for those who felt comfortable in attending. Tis time was spent praying for this situation, all government and other leaders, and all those affected by the coronavirus pandemic. As the restrictions evolved during the following week, all subsequent services and church program- ming were cancelled for the foreseeable future. Te sermon is on our website along with related children’s church material for parents to engage in with their children, worship playlists (for both the kids and adults), plus our weekly bulletin. While Pastor Justin’s sermons have been posted on our church’s website; sharing the ser- mon on the MMC Facebook page is new. Posting on Facebook has enabled many members of the congregation to tune in at the regular time on Sunday morning and to interact with each other digitally as we worship together from our homes. Because individuals can share these sermons on their own Facebook page, they have an opportunity to spread God’s word to folks beyond the church walls during these uncertain and difficult times!


Since the implementation of the


various government restrictions that have impacted our daily lives, we find that we have much more time available to us at home. Pastor Justin has started posting video updates on social media intended to encourage and to provide information.


He has reminded us that our hope is in the Lord and has encouraged each of us to spend this time in studying the Word, praying, and strengthening our faith and our relationship with Jesus. He also encourages us to use this time to look for opportunities to show love to our neigh- bours; to be the light on the hill; to be the church.


MMC sent out a four-man missions


team through Grace Mission (gracemis- sion.info) — this time to Mexico. Pastor Justin, Gary Brown, Anthony Unruh, and Mike Hofstra spent the week of March 8–16 digging and pouring concrete footings, all by hand, for a new kitchen addition for one of the Grace Mission churches. It was a gruelling week, but much was accomplished! Te funds raised by MMC helped cover a portion of the travel expenses for the team, as well as a significant amount of the project itself. Te people at the church were very appreciative!! Upon their return, the team was subjected to the 14-day self-isolation period. At the time of writing, they are nearing the end of the 14 days, and everyone remains healthy.


Christian Fellowship Church of Rhineland Wymark, Saskatchewan Tim Knelsen, Pastor cfcor.ca CFC hosted a missions conference on


Feb. 23. Speakers and missionaries from across Saskatchewan came to challenge us to do ministry in our day-to-day context. As a church we support global missions, but we wanted to challenge our congrega- tion to live out their lives as community missionaries in very practical ways. In Sunday school we considered our current Canadian culture and how we should re- spond in certain situations. In the worship service, Pastor Dave Cornelius challenged


Fellowship Focus, May/June 2020 21


MMC 2020 Mexico Team. From leſt: Gary Brown, Anthony Unruh, Mike Hofstra, and Justin Klassen.


Brenda Quirt, Correspondent


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