We came into Canada at the start of November expecting to find a place to live, unpack, settle in over the winter and begin in the spring. The Lord had other plans!
The people we stayed with temporarily asked Dejan to start service the second Sunday we were here. All our things were packed and sitting in their garage, but we went ahead and Dejan started with the gospel of John with this couple. (We have since completed the rest of the New Testament on Sundays and have begun again.)
Julie played the guitar and took the six kids, age newborn to 11. We had one Christian children’s book in our car, so we used it to cover the parable of the Sower, stretching it out over the next four weeks. (This led to the discovery of our current children's church curriculum.)
The second week we had another couple join us who were waiting for Calvary Chapel to be established in Edmonton. The husband is now one of our church elders to this day. The following week a family of six and a guest showed up. They are missionaries to Mexico with Calvary Chapel Bible College through whom Dejan was invited to teach apologetics the past two years, and whom our little church supports monthly and with outreach teams. Such great beginnings we did not realize!
Within six weeks of our arrival we moved into a townhouse with a large living room, which became the meeting place for the church plant. Dejan was also leading a weekly Bible study at an assisted living facility. Over the following months in our first year the group meeting for fellowship, worship and Bible study in our home grew to about 8. We had our first outreach team come that summer from our home/sending church to do evangelism at the world's largest multi-cultural festival. It was a huge blessing and encouragement.
During that outreach our first year, the Lord opened the door for our fellowship to move into a church building near our home. We began to use their small prayer chapel for Sunday afternoon services and stayed there for about three years. We were blessed to host two baptisms, two of which were for new believers! There were two babies born and dedicated in the fellowship (one to us) during that time, as well as a marriage and the passing of an elderly new believer we were blessed to serve.
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| First church baptism |
We saw the establishment of a men’s Bible study/equipping group and a ladies’ fellowship over those first few years. There was another outreach team from our home church during FIFA women’s world cup event and some guest pastors from supporting churches which greatly encouraged us. One real highlight we had was a family if six that came for a full month to serve alongside and pray for the church!
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| Meeting in the downstairs fellowship hall |
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| Dejan with our Church elders |
In our fourth year we took a further step of faith, moved downstairs from the prayer chapel in the church building where we were renting and rented the fellowship hall instead. As a result, the Lord grew the church, and we gained three elders and two deacons, as well as sound help, children’s church servants and worship leaders. We also had several more baptisms, both of children and re-dedicated adults. We were meeting monthly for church potluck fellowship as well. The church officially became registered as Calvary Chapel Edmonton, and we had a visit from the overseeing pastor of our missions support organization and his wife, which was a huge blessing. Overall, it was an encouraging season of slow but steady growth.
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| Teaching with a translator at the Bible College |
In our fifth year we sent our first missions team to Mexico, and in the sixth year, Dejan was invited through our missionary friends from Edmonton to Calvary Chapel Bible College Mexico to teach a teo-week, 3-credit Apologetics course. He returned in 2019 to teach it again, this time with another missions team from our fellowship! Our whole family was able to travel with him and encourage these missionaries as well as serve with them and see the work God is doing on the other end of the continent. Amazing.
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| Home sweet home & our ministry HQ |
Last year, the Lord opened the door for our family to stop renting and get into a home with more space for our family at a lower cost, which we felt was a big win. We are further from the church building, but since most of the people in the church commute from all over the Edmonton area it hasn't seemed go be a problem. The area is quieter, an outlying city/suburb, but we were most amazed that the Lord allowed us to buy from another Christian missionary homeschool family. He is so wonderfully gracious in all His works!
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| A small group for our 1st service back in-person Aug. 16th, 2020 |
So here we are at our eighth anniversary week. People have come and gone over the years, some to other cities, provinces or countries. Like most churches, we are weathering the global situation as a church the best we can with the limitations God has allowed. We are broadcasting our services as well as our prayer meeting online, while having a small attendance in-person. Potlucks are on-hold. Our men’s and ladies’ groups have stayed the course. Our children's church has both grown and shrunk due to restrictions. We feel the isolation and yet the community. We have kind of come back to square one in many ways, but we feel more deeply connected to this church body more than ever before. We are seeking to renew our visas in hopes of moving forward with a religious work permit, if the Lord allows. We are so blessed to be here and be allowed to serve in this city in this capacity. God is faithful.
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| Gathering outside for food & fellowship mask-free |
Please continue to pray for us and for the establishment of Calvary Chapel Edmonton; for the people who call it their church home. Truly the Lord Jesus builds His Church, of which we are a small part. We don't understand how He does it, but we know He is faithful and able to do all He pleases in its construction and sustenance. We rely daily on His grace, and we are so thankful for those of you who come alongside to help in the work of the ministry here by your prayers. Your labor of love will not be forgotten by the Lord.
Thank you for joining us in remembering the goodness of the Lord in our journey here in Edmonton, Canada. We hope it is an encouragement and a blessing to look back and consider what God has done here so far. And we pray He will be pleased to carry on this work and allow us to share in it!
In Him,
Dejan and Julie <><
