A Message in the City, for the City, about the City

We truly enjoy living in Edmonton. It is a blessing to serve here and minister the Word of God and the gospel. Recently, we got another snapshot of how in need our adopted city is of solid, Biblical truth. The local atheist group is running ads on the sides of city buses that look like this:

We have seen these buses several times since the ads were put up a few weeks ago. Approximately 25% of Edmontonians consider themselves to be either atheist or non-religious (a couple of Julie's friends are just this sort). There is a significant presence of Christianity in the city as well, but it is not solidly grounded in the Word of God on the whole. As a result of weak understanding of the Bible and its application, many people reject Christianity in favor of non-religious moralism.

Please pray with us for the fruit of the Biblical gospel and for the clear teaching of the Word to increase, including of course, in the church-plant we are devoting ourselves to.

"O my soul, you have said to the LORD, 'You are my Lord; my goodness is nothing apart from You.'" ~Psalm 16:2

What God Has Done

Greetings from Edmonton! We want first of all to wish you a Merry Christmas and a blessed season of celebrating our Savior's birth. Secondly, we want to thank you for keeping track of us throughout 2014 and for the support you have offered to us by prayer, giving and encouragement! Much of what you will read here is ultimately connected to your involvement in the mission here in both large and small ways.

As this is our ministry Christmas letter, we will try to briefly re-cap the highest of highlights from this year as we have continued the church-plant here in Edmonton.

What has the Lord done for us in 2014? According to His character, He has done great things!

The Church
We are the church, the body of Christ, and we have seen growth in our fellowship over this past year in many ways! At the turn of the year we numbered 7 adults and 4 children in regular attendance, including ourselves. At the close of the year, though we have temporarily lost a brother due to visa issues, we number 14 adults in regular attendance and 4 children. And everyone is involved in the ministry serving in some way, including most of the children, so this is very exciting to see and be part of! People have found us in various ways, and we have had many come-and-goers, as well as visitors, but we are blessed to see this growth in our fellowship.

Some of the men went to a men's retreat in Calgary at the Calvary Chapel there, our ladies fellowship grew from 2 to 4-5 over the year, the children's church sang for the church for Easter and Christmas, and we all had a blessed gathering quarterly for food and fellowship, often with additional guests who attend irregularly but whom we have been getting acquainted with as a result of these times.

Reaching Out, Sharing the Gospel
This year we had some new opportunities to minister to people in different circles than in our first year.

Mormon Missionaries
There is subtle but definite presence of the Mormon church in Edmonton, and we (finally) had some missionaries knock on our door this spring. Throughout the summer and fall, Julie had the privilege of nearly weekly visits from two young ladies who were serving their LDS mission in our neighbourhood. We also had some occasional guests from their local church ward, and Dejan got to get some good conversation in as well at times.

With a Mormon "sister" from Wyoming

with our other "sister" from Utah

This was a wonderful experience in evangelism and defending the faith, and we pray that these ladies will be forever changed as a result of their time in our home. We gave them each a book when they were transferred elsewhere, so we pray the Lord will use these gifts to enlighten their understanding of the true meaning of the Gospel.



Tract and Treating
Our girls have been planning since last October what we were going to do this year to redeem Halloween. So, clad in the costumes of a ladybug, queen bee, and Sparky the firefly (from AWANA), they hit the West Edmonton Mall armed with buckets of treat bags, Gospel tracts, candies, and a pumpkin Gospel song the day before Halloween. They giggled at the thought of surprising people with "Tract and treat!!" and the giving of candy to store clerks with a Gospel tract, instead of seeking to get. So many workers were caught off guard and everyone received from these little bugs the message and gift of light and the Gospel. They also hit the mall's amusement park and randomly gave away treat bags with Gospel coins, candy and creation tracts to as many children as they could find. It was very fulfilling.

T
Teams and Visitors

Team from Calvary Chapel Meridian at the Alberta Legislature

Twice we had the blessing of visitors who came to pray for Edmonton and help us in the work here. A team from Meridian, Idaho was touring Alberta and stayed with us for a day and night. We were grateful for their time here and for their investment in the spread of the Gospel in Alberta, including Edmonton.

We were so encouraged by this family!

Not too long after this, a family also came to visit the province and spent a couple of days with us in fellowship as they are praying about moving to Alberta for ministry. These two occasions encouraged us greatly.





Christmas Letters and Cookies
We got the church involved just before Christmas in reaching out to the homeless in downtown Edmonton by ministering the Gospel through Christmas letters and homemade cookies. Some baked, some wrote letters, and still others took them out into the streets. Though it was a bit more challenging to find this year (they truly had to "seek the lost"), the group's persistence paid off and were glad to be able to bless the poor. (Below is a photo of the group that went out).

We hope that this new year is one of great fruitfulness for the Lord in our lives and yours and in His church! Have a BLESSED 2015!!

Dejan and Julie <><

Milestones

The Bible is full of examples of remembering and reflecting on events of the beginnings of things. From Creation to Passover, the entry to the Promised Land and even harvest, God's people are directed and encouraged to recall their origins. We must never forget that God is the source of all blessing, nor to thank Him for each one. He is faithful.

This Sunday we are marking the close of our second year of ministering in Edmonton. It's our anniversary, you could say. Our first "service" was November 11, 2012, a little over one week after our arrival in Alberta. We began in chapter 1 of the Gospel of John in a living room in a Sherwood Park home with one family, and we've been meeting every week since, moving through the New Testament chapter by chapter. By God's grace, our fellowship has grown in number and our relationships in depth as the months have passed.

We are blessed to have a church family and a church "home away from home" here in Edmonton with all of those who join us for worship, fellowship and learning the Word. How amazing to see what began as a step of faith into a harvest field grow from a small seed to a small group! We are also thankful to the congregation at St. Timothy's for allowing us to share their building and for the privilege of simply ministering God's Word here in Edmonton where the need for it is so great.

We are ever-mindful of all you who are holding us up in prayer and who support us financially to live and serve here. You are such a significant part of what we are seeing God do among us, and we pray His continued provision in your lives as well. THANK YOU for laboring and sharing with us! The Lord has opened the door for us to serve Him here, and He has seen fit to keep it open as well, since we recently received the renewal of our visas for 3 more years, should He tarry in His coming. He has truly shown us His good hand of grace!

In Him,
Dejan and Julie