At Power & Praise last night there was a time of prayer specifically for people experiencing hearing problems, be it deafness, ringing in the ears, distorted hearing, or any kind of hearing issue. Just before this, we heard a testimony from one the Uganda team members, telling us of how God has been doing miracles of healing (his story was specifically of a person having their hearing restored) over the past two weeks while our mission team was ministering in Africa.

Pastor Mark asked any missions team members who were present to come to the front of the room to pray for anyone who would want to receiving healing for their hearing.  Many people came forward to receive prayer, and we saw evidence in some cases that God had definitely touched and healed them.

“While I was being prayed for I got a tingling sensation and within seconds my hearing was fully back. I wanted to let you know and acknowledge God that I have been blessed once again. He has saved in many times and completely gotten rid of my addiction for hard drugs.”  (email received 30 mins. after the service ended)

For others, the proof of healing will come when they are again in the specific environments where they’ve had hearing problems before, and we are eager to know their stories too!

May God be praised!

As a person I am far from perfect.  I have had a life-long struggle with pornography and a negative self image, among other things.  Because of this I had been ineffective in working for God’s kingdom here on earth because I doubted I was capable or worthy of doing anything.  I doubted that I was even a Christian.  I doubted that God could love someone like me.

One thing I have noticed about the people of Overcomers is that they have an incredible awareness of God’s love and grace.  And it shows: they exhibit God’s love in a way I had never before known or experienced.  They know they are far from perfect, they freely admit it, and they know that only God’s grace can save them.  There is nothing they can do to save themselves.  In Overcomers you learn that God wants us to change for the better, and that He (and only He) can help us do that.  You learn that willpower means your will and His power.  Overcomers is a place where God loves you through other people.

Overcomers is a place for anyone who wants to change but doesn’t know how to.  You learn that no matter what you habits are, no matter what behaviours you are engaged in, God loves you.   He wants to change you to become more like His Son.  He wants to help you change and He will if you let Him.  Overcomers is a place where God helps you to change.

This may sound scary to you. It did to me at first.  I had to step out of my comfort zone.  I had to get real; first with myself, and then with other people.  I had to admit my hurts, habits and hang-ups.  I had to face them.  I had to forgive them.  And I had to forget them. It hasn’t been easy: nothing worth doing in life ever is.  But the people in Overcomers support me and help me to do this.  They love and accept me as I am.  They support me and encourage me and help me to grow and change to be more like Jesus Christ.  I’m still far short of being the man God wants me to be but at least now, for the first time, I am moving in the right direction and making steady progress.  Overcomers is a place where you learn to rest in God’s forgiveness, grace and love.  You learn that He covers all things with His goodness, and that He makes a way when you’ve messed up the way.

No matter where you are at or how many times you may have tried and failed in the past to change, I encourage you to give Overcomers a try.  Many of us fall or stray at some point in our walk.  That doesn’t make you a failure.  You’re only a failure if you quit trying.  So, give Overcomers a try.   I did, and my life will never be the same.  Thank God.

Sometimes in life we are overcome with dread.

She was going along in life her happy self, had a career, got married, had a kid (adorable little one 9 yrs). Then something dreadful happened to her right on mother’s day.

C.S. Lewis said this, “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

That mother’s day, through the pain in her life, and the pain caused by her alcoholism, God spoke to her very loudly, like through that megaphone. And at the same time, God spoke to her that through His suffering, His blood, He gave up his only son, was tortured on the cross He died to save us from our sinful selves!

She also heard Him say, “Be still and know that I am God!”

She has now been sober for over a year, and Overcomers in Christ has been a part of her recovery. And for that she expresses her thankfulness.

Yours, o lord is the greatness, the power and the glory and the victory and majesty. For all that is in the heavens and the earth is yours, yours is the kingdom, o Lord and you are exalted as head over all. – 1 chronicles 29:11

Throughout the service we sang songs of worship and remembrance of Jesus’ love for us, listened to the story of the crucifixion (Mark 15:6-39) and learned more about how His sacrifice means that we can be Redeemed/Forgiven (Ephesians 1:7 ), Reconciled (Colossians 1:20), Cleansed (1 Peter 1:2), Justified (Romans 5:9), Sanctified (Hebrews 13:12) and Purified (Hebrews 9:14), as well as receiving Physical Healing (1 Peter 2:24) and Propitiation (Romans 3:23–25).  We were encouraged to consider one of these thoughts and write out our personal thanks to God for His promise and provision in that particular area.  These thoughts were later handed in on papers at the communion stations or texted in to be seen on the projection screens as an outpouring of thanks and praise from our hearts as a whole congregation during the communion portion of the service.

As part of our celebration, we concluded the service with a time of refreshments and visiting – a great chance for us to commemorate the day together as family, not just individuals.  As one couple remarked:

“Thank you for the Hot Cross Buns, fruit and cheese curds each Good Friday. It is such a lovely treat and time of fellowship. We know it is a lot if work and expense but it is so appreciated. The Good Friday service and time afterwards is our favourite in the whole year because it is meaningful and our church feels like a family.”

What follows here are the text messages that came in (with only personal information removed), and as you read them, may your heart be inspired to respond with thanks to God as well!

• When I don’t meet my own expectations You still love me
• Your blood covers all my many faults
• I am alive in You though my mistakes are many
• In my turmoil there is peace that is greater than my struggles
• Thank you for my future husband
• I am grateful I have been blessed with the most amazing husband.
• Sometimes you get carried away but it’s nice to come together at the time of thanks
• Thank you Father for all that You do all the time. I want to Thank you for Your continued healing. I know that everyday You are making me better. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
• I’m thankful for the job You will provide for my family.
• We are so greatful for our bun in the oven!
• Thankful for the Church of the Rock community
• For his grace, mercy, love and forgiveness. For family and blessings abundantly
• I am thankful to God because salvation through Christ does not require money; its paid for.
• God ALWAYS calls us back to His heart and welcomes us with open arms and an open heart.
• Thank You Jesus for Church of the Rock, A Holy Spirit led Church.
• I am thankful that God doesn’t just love, but God IS love and he has only live for me and that he IS good, and expresses his goodness to me
• thank you Jesus for bringing my family together as one, and your continued work you are doing now. I pray that you will give my mom and dad a long life. thank you Jesus.
• I loved you at your darkest Romans 5:8
• Thank you LORD that our names are written in heaven. Wow!
• Thank you for the healing  that Jesus is bringing to my body
• Thank you Lord for your rest and peace that you pour upon my life. Thank you for your provision, love and your overflowing grace.
• Thank you for bringing back our sons to Jesus
• God is still large and in charge and will see my situation through and we will have victory in Jesus name
• Though my sins are many, thank you that your mercies are new every morning.
• He is so good to me that I am at a loss for words. He is absolutely faithful, He never leaves me. He forgives me, disciplines me, loves me, teaches me and saves me
• I am thankful for the healing that was paid through the stripes Jesus bore on my behalf.
• I thank you Jesus you will heal our land. from  family to friends to people that are in our lives.
• I am thankful that God gives me hope for my hearts desire
• Im thankful for the boys
• For forgiveness and his love over me, my academics and my family.
• I pray to God to reveal his purpose in my life, so that I will know his plans for me in his kingdom.
• Thank God for His peace in the midst of the storm because Jesus had made Peace on my behalf through His blood on the cross. Everytime I am in a crisis, a peace overwhelms me and keeps me sane in it and thank God for He  ALWAYS took control. THANK YOU LORD. I love you Lord.
• Thank you God for your forgiveness for all my sin!
• In my dads poor health and wayword brothers terrible choices God will see them through in Jesus name I am thankful that I know Christ today
• I am thankful God for the protection and love . You have shown this protection  and love most clearly during dark uncertain times when fear could take over You came through! Thank you for showing Your presence and giving us peace.
• I am thankful that in my brothers turmoil  God is in charge
• Feeling  so thankful and exciting that our god sat us free. He gave us the freedom to face our true hearts and opportunities  to make our choices.
• What love you have for me
• I am thankful for propitiation -God’s grace to me
• I am so empty by myself but You are with me, thank you!
• You encourage me to bring my eyes back to You especially when I feel unworthy.
• Jesus loved me through my addiction, and I am completely purified. THANK YOU!
• You cover all my faults, Thank You
• I am thankful that you are ever present with me in all situations.
• I am so thankful for the most wonderful wife the Lord has provided for me.
• You have given so much, what love for me!!!
• lord thank you for being so amazing to me! you saved me , cleaned me up! no matter what have done, no matter how wrong I had been. you still embrace me with you wonderful love, telling me how much you have loved and will be keeping loving me internally ! thank you lord! my most precious one
• There is no one like you
• Thank you for your love
• God thank you so much for your immense patience with me and my sins. Thank you for your forgiveness, mercy and love.
• Thank you for all you have done for me
• I’m thankful for the peace of accepting your agenda daily and letting go of my own
• Thank you Lord for that you have done in my life.
• Thank you for the life
• I am thankful for the prosperous life HE gave me.
• God is always faithful in His love for us!
• Thank you for the unending LOVE!
• Cleanse me o’Lord and purify my heart.
• The work of the cross to me is two fold:  Firstly, it frees us from receiving the punishment for what we deserve because of our sin. Secondly, it allows us to receive the blessing of God, of which we do NOT deserve, except by the grace of God,  through Jesus Christ!!!
• Thank you for saying “”No”" because your plan is better than mine ever could have been
• I know you love me
• I am very thankful for God’s purification in me….thankyou Jesus -guilt doesn’t manipulate me….thankyou Jesus! I am righjteous in ur eyes…u hear all my prayers!
• Thank you God for all the miracles and comfort you have shown me in the past 6 months!
• There is greater love than this
• Thank you for releasing me from the ropes that bound me.
• Thank you God that not only do you remove my sins as far as the east is from the west but that you them from my conscience as well.
• Thank you for your sacrifice that has made me blameless
• thank you for the cross lord we wouldn’t be here if it wasnt for you. You are Everlastinf
• Thank you that you smile down on me instead of seeing my faults!!
• You tore the veil
• Thank you for reconciling my relationship to my parents!
• Thank you for taking all my sins to the cross repeatedly!
• Thank you that I am being sanctified, purified, and justified, but not glorified.  Only you are worthy of the glory.
• Thank you for your innocent blood shed for my sake
• As He was faithful unto death, I can’t help but lay my life at His feet to be sanctified by the blood of Him who reigns forever more.  Thank you Jesus. I love you
• Thanks you lord for my family.  Thanks you for the cross and the blessings.
• Thank you that you went ALL THE WAY to the cross for the joy set before you!!!!
• Thanks you Jesus for dying for and my family.
• I thank god and Jesus for the peace and balance he has brought to my life.
• Thank You Jesus for Your ultimate sacrifice!!!!
• Thank You God for bringing me here today with my mom and my son
• Thank you, God, that You made a way, for me, within this day, every day.
• Thank you that in my impurity you have made me pure
• Thank you Jesus I’m forever JUSTIFIED
• You are so worthy to be praised! What a great provider u r!!! U r so so faithful.
• Thank you lord for everything you did today so we could be forgiven for our sins. Thank you for the cross
• To think i am holy is humbling
• Thank you Jesus that you made me pure.
• god thank you for everything you have done for me. thank you for the great plan you have prepared for my life!
• Thank you that your death brings me life
• Thank you for the benefits of the finished work on the cross of calvary.
• Thank you for the cross thank you for the blood you shed for us and taking all our burdens and loving me for who I am
• Thank you God for your mercies and favor today and forever. Thank you for everything.
• Thank you for not turning your back on me when it feels everyone else has. Thank you for cleansing me
• Thank you for your sacarfice lord Jesus
• Thank you Jesus for paying the price for me.
• Thank You for covering my regrets with Your forgiveness.
• Thank you for taking control of my life,for being my guide and for my life in YOU.YOU are the BEST part of my everything.
• You are true to ur word!
• Thank you  jesus for the cross. I receive your healing in Jesus name.
• Thank you Lord for the hope I have in being justified by your blood.
• I’m thankful that I know you. I’m thankful for my family and that they know you. That our sins are forgiven and you live. We might not stop sinning but you keep living. It wasn’t for nothing that you died. I will take your forgiveness and grace knowing I don’t deserve it.
• I would thank you lord for giving grandpa the strength to give up smoking forever. You presence in him will serve us all.
• I am unworthy and yet you say I am worthy. I am unlovable and yet you have loved me with an everlasting love. Thank you Lord
• Thank you for the cross and always lifting me up especially when i feel down and lonely.thank you jesus
• Thank-you for giving your life on the Cross for my life my mothers life and my fathers soul
• To be so loved when i fail everyday is overwhealming
• I am thankful for the complete work of Christ!
• Thank you god for everything. Even the little things. Thank you for giving me this wonderful life. I love you.
• Thank you Lord for salavation, for your forgiveness, for your cross, for your healing and never ending love.
• Thank you Lord for keeping me alive and giving me enough to live
• Thank You for Your unending grace. THANK YOU FOR THE CROSS!!
• Thank you Lord for life, abundant life!
• Thank you for your unconditional love Lord Jesus
• Thank you for your unending love.
• Oh thank you Jesus! Forever thank you!
• Thank you that You’re always by my side even in the times of distress!
• Thank you Jesus that your blood has covered my sins and made me new.
• Thank You for YOUR peace
• Thank you Lord for considering me worth redeeming.   Thank you for continuing to work in me.
• That Jesus see’s the real me and still loves me
• Thank you that everything has already been done! I have nothing to do! Thanks for the beginning understanding to this true reality!
• Thank you Jesus for making it possible for me to spend time in eternity with you.
• Thank you Lord! You prepare the way for me, you shield me and I feel your  wonderful love
• Lord thank you for Your complete work on the cross. Thank you for the complete restoration and healing in my life.
• Thank you Jesus for your death on the cross set me free indeed.I love you Lord.
• Thank you for life and a wonderful family
• Thank you for your blood that covers me.
• Thank Jesus you have always been there. Thank You.
• Thank you Jesus for justifying my life and seeing me as somebody free of sin!
• I am thankful for the church community you have provided for us in Winnipeg.
• Thank You Lord for the cross. Thank You for healing me physically and emotionally. In You I am complete again.
• Thank you Jesus for accepting me as weak and flawed as I am.
• Thank you God for being my Father, who chastised me, healed me and lifted me up again
• Thank you for bearing my pain and my struggles with me. Help me continue to fight back temptations and walk more in the light. I am trying, stay with me.
• Thank you for my wonderful sister and brothers in Christ
• Thank you because although it was not easy…your love for me motivated you to go all the way
• Thank You for Your love, for I am not worthy of such grace.  Thank You.
• I thank Jesus for making a way for me and to give me the hope of an eternal place for me even though I am not worthy of it. I thank  Jesus for being the steady thing in my life that I can always count on in my times of struggle.
• Lord you have moved my heart and guided me to this place help me find that which allows me to fufill everything you have planned. Thank you!
• Thankful for God’s forgiveness regardless of our sin and his unconditional love.
• I thank you lord for a change on my life and my family. Free my brother from alcohol. My father’s health and our relationship. I am blessed
• I am so thankful for your amazing grace that no matter how much I fail, you never leave 
• Praise God, He has taken the sin of those who have hurt me and in turn Him! Now I have freedom to forgive them and to love them!
• For the complete redemption and not remembering my sins amy more.
• I thank you for everything that you have done for me,  everything you are doing for me and everything you are going to do for me. I thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. THANK YOU LORD!!!
• Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for your Love.
• Thank you lord for loving me so undoubtably when i dont even deserve it!.for taking care of me ,for my friends,my family,for bringing me to this amazing house of yours!.I LOVE YOU!
• Thank you for cleansing my sins so that i may one day meet you in heaven.
• Thank you for my wonderful wife, and the soon to be addition to our family!
• Thank you for giving us wisdom to know your plan for salvation
• Thank you for redemption. Because of You. I am free!
• Thank you Heavenly Father that You have sanctified me, that it is finished, it is done and that as I renew my mind and my heart in Your Word You have made me new, perfect and complete in You.
• I thank you, Jesus, for gently guiding me back again and again when I take a wrong turn and think my path is better
• We as a family are grateful for the blessing the Lord has provided to us throught the cross ( healing, physical and spiritual)
• Thank you Lord for all my blessings. Thank you for being my best friend and NEVER letting me down. Praise you Jesus
• Thank you  o lord for all that you placed on your son for me and all mankind. your new presence in my life provides peace for me and my family.
• O what love, thank you lord
• I am thanful for my family and my life
• Thank you for the cross and for your spirit. Thank you for the work that you have started in my life.
• Thanks for your salvation and grace and strenght
• God thank you for your Unconditional Love.
• Thank you Jesus for the blood you shed, that covers my family! To God be the Glory!
• Thank you for healing my knee
• Thank You for what You did for me on the cross
• Thank you for carrying me through. For giving me wisdom. For my continued strength. All because of YOU.
• I am thankful for my friends who have prayed and supported me. I am thankful for my home, my job, my daughter, my JESUS who fills me with hope, joy, peace, forgiveness.
• Thank god for dying for my sin
• If it wasn’t 4 the cross and my salivation and the spirt of The Lord guiding me then I would b on a path that wouldn’t b a pleasant 1
• Ur mercies r new every morning… I always have hope! Thankyou
• I thank you for taking people from me, so that I may know you fully
• Thank you for your sweet presence.
• Thank you for never giving up on me! And for answering prayers.
• Thank you for my family and the blessing of my son
• Thank You for Your unending grace
• Thank you lord for the gift of your son so that we may spend eternity with you
• Thank you Jesus for your redeeming grace in my life
• Thank you for the work you are doing in my son’s life
• Thank you for saving us and for giving us eternal life!
• Thank you for loving me despite the flaws…and all you are to us.
• I thank my Saviour for second chances and for an amazing family.
• Thank You Jesus for who You are.
• Thankful for a wonderful family and great friends. Thank you also for this great country.
• Thank You that You will bring us out of this dark, deep valley
• Thank you lord for consecration. I am saved
• Thank you Jesus for the wonderful family and friends I am constantly surrounded by
• Blessing  wisdom and grace to our beloved leaders and pastors
• I’m thankful to God for everyday protection in our lives and especially when my husband had a heart attack. Thank You Jesus for saving him!
• Thank you for taking all of our sins on yourself
• Although I have sinned I ask for your forgiveness lord god and Jesus.
• Thankyou for watching over me in dangerous countries and situations… Ur sacrifice means i will never be cut off
• Thank you for the real  freedom the cross offers
• I’m thankful for God’s love. I’m thankful for my family and I’m thankful for the [] family.
• Dear Jesus thank you for the cross:) because of you i am free:’-) i freely lay my life before you please take all that i am and be glorified please be gl
• Thank you god for listening to my prayers and healing my dad
• I thank the Lord for the answered prayer and complete healing of my son. Thank you for the peace of mind that encompasses all understanding and the safe and healthy delivery of my son.
• Thank you Father, that in every season of my life when others thought I was crazy , you brought new people into my life to help walk out the things and plan You’ve called me to. You are The Faithful One
• Thank you for the blessing of a wonderful career building  opportunity.
• Jesus thank you
• Thank You Jesus for your unconditional love and mercy for us. I love You!
• Thank you for restoring my parents relationship
• Thank-you Jesus I love you
• Thank God I dont have to save myself.
• Thank you for your faithfulness and for the strength you have given me through the STORMS.
• Thank you for cleansing of conscience, so I can serve you.
• Thank you for everything you did in my life
• I am thankful you know all truth. I am thankful you will protect my live from the lie of the enemy
• Thank you Jesus, for loving me. For loving us all and giving us life.. Forever more we will praise you.
• Thank you god for all the blessings that my family received and the continuous pouring of blessings..
• Thank you Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins and the assurance of eternal life after our earthly life. You are great Jesus
• Thank You Jesus for doing what no else could do and that You paid the ultimate price that no else could ever possibly pay!
• I want to thank God for his mercy, love, care, protection and goodness in my lyf.love you jesus
• Thank you God for treating my inequities as perfect and your everlasting love.
• Eternal life.
• Thank you Jesus for doing what none of us would be willing to do.
• I am thankful for all the blessings You have given me in my life. My God fearing husband, family and friends. You are amazing Lord!
• Thank you Lord for providing day care  in a Christ centered home! Am so grateful for the sweet relief
• Thank you for changing my life – I can’t imagine where I’d be without you!
• I may not be perfect but I thank you Lord because you are made perfect for me. Thank you Jesus
• Thank you Lord for the great sacrifice. You took my place.
• Thank you for healing my hurt heart..
• Thank you Lord for we are created in your likeness and your image that we are not an accident.
• I’m so great full for the blessings and delivery from my addictions and my healings thank you God for your gift of Jesus!
• Thank you Jesus.  Thank you for loving me.  Thank you for connecting me to God.
• Dear father, thanks for your death on the cross, thank you for wash our sin , thanks  you are the God
• Lord, you are the light in my darkness.
• Thank you for your provision in my life
• Thank u Jesus!
• Maraming salamat sa iyong patuloy na pagmamahal at pagpuno ng aming kakulangan. You are the only living and awesome God!
• Thank you for sweet baby Jesus!
• Thank you Jesus for taking the blame for all my sins. Thank you also for my great family.
• Dear Father, Thank You for your death for our sins.  Thank You that You have a perfect plan for us.  Thank You God!
• I receive His healing
• I am thankful for the work YOU  are doing in my family especially in my boys.
• dear father, thank you for putting your hand upon me, thank you for the happiness , thank you very much for the power of healing , thank you for everything you have done for me in my life. thank you father !
• Thank you God for protecting my family in the midst of a car accident and giving us peace when everything was over. You were in total control of the whole situation even though we were not. Thank you Jesus for loving us!!!
• LOVE

“I have been struggling with finances since my husband left me. This morning I woke up and checked my account and there was $1100 in there.  I had applied to have my Child Tax Credit re-evaluated and this is the result. I was able to pay my bills and there is enough to buy groceries!!   Praise God!!!”

If you have any other stories of financial breakthrough, please post them in the comments to this blog.  We want to continue to give glory to God and encourage one another with what He is doing!

Even though the temperatures have dropped below -40, we are dedicated to going out and helping our neighbors. There were a couple of Saturday mornings that came just after a blizzard so there was plenty of snow to shovel. We talked with some of the people who were brave enough to open their doors on those cold days and chat with us for a bit.

Come and help out at Adopt-A-Block this Saturday. It is lots of fun and I think the cold snap is finished, at least for a while. Don’t forget to dress warm and bring your shovels.

Admission is free, as always, and no tickets are required. For more information call 1-877-700-7625.

Friday, February 1, 2013 – Edmonton
Time: 7:30 pm
Place: West Edmonton Christian Assembly (new venue)
Address: 6315-199 Street NW
Edmonton, AB

Sunday, February 3, 2013 – Calgary
Time: 10:15 am (new time)
Place: Church of the Rock Calgary, Cineplex Odeon Eau Claire Market (new venue)
Address: 200 Barclay Parade SW
Calgary, AB
(2nd Floor) parking onsite is $2

Sunday, February 3, 2013 – Vancouver (Surrey)
Time: 7:30 pm
Place: Chandos Pattison Auditorium
Address: 10238 168th Street
Surrey, BC

I have had many addictions which include drugs, sexual behaviour, cutting, and pornography. On many occasions I tried to quit, but always ended up going back to my addiction. I felt like a failure. Nothing I did worked. I felt powerless, out of control.

I joined Church of the Rock just over 2 years ago. I was introduced to a group “Overcomers in Christ”, by a very good friend. Though hesitant and nervous at first, I bit the bullet and dove in head first. To my amazement, I found there were other Christians that were struggling just like I was. As the weeks went by I was comfortable enough with these people to share my hurts, my habits, and my hang-ups. It is great to be in a safe place where you can share your thoughts and feelings, and relate to others as well. I have learned a lot about where my addictions have come from, and also I have a better understanding of how God can help me through my struggles. In this group, I have been able to build and maintain friendships with others, as well as have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

I definitely recommend Overcomers to anyone who is struggling with an addiction and looking for some answers.

I was 29 and had become a Christian 5 years earlier. Jesus was very real to me, and He helped me get free from many other hurts, habits, and hang-ups with the support of the church, but there was one I didn’t allow Jesus to heal.

My 16-year pornography addiction was destroying my relationships, costing me time and money, was affecting my ministry, and was leaving me guilt-ridden and ashamed. I was living a double life.

When that first meeting started, I was surprised by the genuine love and care that the people had for each other and me. When they started going around the tables and introducing themselves and why they were there, I was blown away by the honesty of the people sharing, and the acceptance of the group. But when it was my time to share, I gave my name and very sheepishly said, “I’m just he-ere to see if thi-is is the ri-right place for m-me.” God totally spoke to me through this meeting, and at the next meeting I shared that I was there because of my porn addiction and immediately I began to start getting free.

It’s about four years later, and I have spent most of that time being “sober”.  I have had relapses, but they’ve only been very brief, never as severe as in the past, and the group has always been there for me to help get back on my feet. I am continuing to learn how to walk in a daily dependence on God instead of on my own strength. My relationships are not perfect, but they are much deeper, I am much more productive, my ministry is being blessed, but most importantly, I now understand that I am free.

The humility, authenticity, and sacrifice of many people from Overcomer’s in Christ allowed me to let Jesus heal me in a way I never imagined possible.

We had some great conversations with people and talked about Christmas plans. This year we were able to deliver Christmas cookies to the homes on the blocks and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Many people were very grateful for the Cookies and appreciative of everything Church of the Rock has done for them over the years.

We even received a few thank you cards that people sent, wanting to show their thanks and appreciation.

Made any New Years Resolutions yet? Why not make coming out to Adopt-A-Block one of them! Come and join us this Saturday! Don’t forget to dress warm and bring your shovels.

In our last April trip to Ranquitte area we encountered one man, Louise, who was paralyzed from the waist down.  The team member prayed for his healing, nothing happened, he prayed again still nothing happened and then prayed a third time. Sensing a compassion for the man our team member asked the whole team to come and pray for Louise.  We went to the home of Louise, took authority over the spirit of paralysis, declared healing in the name of Jesus, told the man to stand in the name of Jesus.  We picked him up, holding him up by the arm pits, and praying diligently that he would stand, only to see him fall back into the chair when we let go.  I think that we were trying to imitate Acts 3 where the lame man was commanded to rise and be healed, except that we were raising him by our strength and it was not God who was working.  As a team we went several more times to pray for Louise, praying and praying and praying.  After all, Jesus commands us to ask and keep on asking, to be like the woman of importunity who kept asking the judge for favor, and we are to follow the exhortation to pray without ceasing (Matt. 7:7; Luke 18:1-8; 1 Thess. 5:17). Unfortunately nothing happened, but at least we had done what we could, a little frustrated that God had not done more, but we have to trust that God is God and then still choose to rest in Him when it doesn’t go as we want.

Louise is the man on the right, he is standing without the crutches

So on the Sunday afternoon of this November trip, a man walks from his home, about 1 ½ blocks away, up to our church service on crutches.  He shares that he is Louise, and wanted to say thank you for our prayers back in April.  Though not completely walking without crutches, yet he is standing and mobile where before he was paralysed from the waist down.  He declared his praise to God for healing him in consequence of the prayers in April.  We then gathered around him and prayed again that God, who had started a good work in him, would complete it to His glory. (Phil 1:6)  Of course it was not only us praying but many others from the church,  family and friends were also praying for our team and for the people around us as we ministered in Haiti.  God is faithful, even when we are not, yet will we continue to press in praying and expecting our great God to minister?

We have continued to connect with our neighbors as we talk with them and see what kind of needs they are having and how we can try to meet them. Mostly we are shoveling snow and getting opportunities to pray for people.

One weekend we were out, a random man saw our group and asked how he could get baptized! One of our group members told him that he could contact one of the Pastors at the Church for more information on Baptism. Through further conversations with this man, the Pastor discovered that it was actually a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that he needed first, so the man accepted Jesus as his personal Savior!

There are many other stories as well, where God has been answering the prayers of the community as we simply go out and show them God’s amazing Love. It is truly amazing to see God at work!

Come and join us in all that God is doing and share in the excitement!! Don’t forget to dress warm and bring your shovels.

Click here to view Pastor Keith’s Blog

There were still plenty of yards to rake this month, but at this point it would seem that we have cleaned up most of them. It has been great being able to help our neighbors out and see how thankful they are as our groups show the love of Christ by good deeds.

We were able to hand out some fliers to the blocks, informing the people of more specific areas in which we are willing to help them out with. Also leaving them an email address for them to ask specific requests. This way we can find out what our neighbors needs really are and do the best to meet those needs.

October was a good month with tons of raking!! Soon enough we will be bringing our shovels to help clear snow.  Come on out and join in on the fun!

This was the first words we were greeted with, as our Church of the Rock Ugandan Missions Teams arrived in Kilagi, Uganda, as Pastor Samuel’s wife, “Mama” shouted from the back of the church.

Our arrival in Kilagi was truly a miracle and an answer to prayer, a prayer that has taken seven years to answer, as Pastor Samuel had put it.  People in the community had begun to doubt their God.

Each offering that was collected was saved until they had enough to make a few more bricks, bringing them a little closer to finish the church.  With our arrival and the gift of money that was sent ahead, the congregation now had a new testimony to share of God’s faithfulness and blessing!

Distribution of Mosquito Nets Overwhelming

Malaria is a preventable and curable disease, yet it infects more than 500 million people per year and kills more than one million. Sadly, in Africa, it is children under the age of five, living in high-risk countries, who are most likely to contract malaria. Only 10 per cent of children under the age of five in Uganda sleep under treated mosquito nets.
What an amazing opportunity we had to share about the love of Jesus as we distributed the mosquito nets in a community of approximately 50% Muslim.

750 mosquito nets were distributed during our visit.  The whole community took notice of their God’s provision and his faithfulness.

About a dozen people professed faith in Jesus for the first time.

Children’s Ministry – Great Success

Throughout the week our team had ample opportunity to minister to the children in the community.  On our first day of ministry approximately 250 children joined us.  There were four stations which included Parachute Games with a lesson from God’s Word, Creation Station, Clown Lessons and a popular game of soccer, freeze tag and line tag.

A youth program was well received on day 4 as Al & Preston ministered to 15 young men while Coralee, Tymin & Brenda shared their testimonies with 11 young women.

Medical Clinics Well Received

Joined by three nurses and a doctor from Wentz Medical Clinic in Kampala our team was able to assist in providing medical services to the local Ugandan people. What an incredible opportunity to introduce the people to Christ our Vision Church.

386 children were cared for over 2 days.
Toni did an incredible job brushing everyone’s teeth.

A BIG thanks to Dr. Rogers and Coralee who assisted him.

Thank you for supporting us!

On behalf of the Uganda 2012 Missions team and most importantly, the people whom we assist, we would like to extend our deepest gratitude to you for your belief in our cause and your support in making this trip a success.

We could not have done it without you!

Our next Africa Missions trip is being planned for May 2013 – more details will be available at our information meeting on Sunday, JANUARY 13, at the church.  Application forms can be obtained in the meantime from the World Cafe or downloaded from this link.

Click here for Pastor Mark’s article on ChristianWeek about Winnipeg police chief Devon Clunis leading by example.

You need to read this!

At Power & Praise last night, we took time to pray for impossible situations surrounding people we know. What is impossible for us is NOT impossible for the Lord, so let us continue to be bold in our prayers!

In recent months we have heard stories of how God HAS done the impossible, and below are three in particular that can encourage our hearts. Let’s continue to give thanks together for the great things He is doing!

A Miracle for Darryl…

Date: September 19,2012
Submitted by: Teresa Shawara

I submitted a prayer request a couple of days ago for a young man named Darryl who had fallen off of a grain elevator. The original MRI last Saturday showed multiple breaks in his neck and back, and the worst was feared. After prayer covering another MRI was performed on Monday and only minor fractures were reported. It is now Wednesday and Darryl has been discharged from the hospital and is walking around his house with his little girl!!!
Thank you all for your prayers, and Thank You Jesus for your healing power. Darryl’s entire extended family is in awe!!
This is a miracle

Date: Sept. 25th
Submitted by: Teresa Shawara

I’ve told so many people, that I cant’ recall whether or not I’ve told you:
Darryl experienced a miracle!!
First MRI: neck broken in 2 place, spine broken in 3 places.
Prayer, prayer, prayer.
Second MRI: no signs of breaks, minor fractures.
Next day: up and walking.
Next day: released from hospital.
Next day: two year old daughter just can’t understand why Daddy can’t carry her just yet.
God is so great!!
Thank you all for your prayers.
This has brought glory to His name!!!
Bless you all,
Teresa

Vision Restored…

From: Frances Jacob
Sent: Friday, September 21, 2012

It has been over a year since I first had trouble seeing out of my left eye. I had an ocular scan done and was told the macula had pulled away from my eye and that blood had gone into my eye, causing my vision to be hampered. After a second scan I was told that even though the macula in my eye had gone back together (Praise God), I would always have the blood in my eye preventing me from seeing clearly.

Much prayer has been said and I always believed that God would restore my vision.

If I could pinpoint a turning point it would be when I received prayer from a young couple that attend Power  & Praise. That prayer of faith went deep into my heart and I began to check the condition of my vision on a regular basis, knowing that God could heal me at any time. Then one day I closed my right expecting to see through the net of blood, but it was gone and it was like seeing HD for the first time.

Praise God!

I wanted confirmation, so today I went to see different optician and I did this because I was frustrated with the previous Dr. and not able to get an appointment. I told the new optometrist what had transpired and that I was told it was permanent.

He did a thorough exam of my eyes, and although there is a cataract forming, he couldn’t see any blood and with my new glasses I will have 20/20 vision.

PRAISE GOD!

~Frances

I’m Living Proof…

Excerpt from testimony of Paul Friesen

August 26, 2012 — 10 days ago I had a heart attack in Rosetown, SK.  A pain in my arm woke me up at 4:30 AM. Upon sitting up I realized I had pain all across my upper chest and down the backs of both arms. Sitting there I moved a bit, drank some water and nothing helped ease the pain. Just then, the owner of the truck stop drove in to get ready to open for the day.

I dressed, got out of my truck and went over to him. He drove me to the hospital, and I was immediately put on a heart monitor, given an ECG, had blood taken, then given nitro and an injection to stabilize me. The heart will release an enzyme into the bloodstream when it’s had a problem.  It takes a number of hours for this to show in blood work.

I then notified my kids and Bill and Jeannette Fast to please get a prayer chain going. Faithful servants that they are, this was done within an hour. I know, because I think within an hour and a half I was getting emails and texts of support!

The hospital did the second set of blood work and my enzyme levels were elevated. With the confirmation of this test I was immediately bundled up and transported to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon (which houses the cardiac unit) and I was scheduled for an angiogram the next morning.   They don’t just do an ambulance transfer and schedule an angiogram that fast unless tests indicate a highly abnormal condition!  I was to get my angiogram at just before noon the next day, but due to 3 more severe emergencies I kept getting bumped back to the point that I wasn’t able to get it till Monday! Nothing like adding a little more stress to the situation when you’re 500 miles away from family and friends.

When I finally got my angiogram, the test could not find any heart damage. It showed all my arteries clear and strong. I received no stints. It did, however, indicate a blood clot in my left lung. They then sent me for a CAT scan to check the clot. But when they did the CAT scan they could not find a clot in my lung—it was gone without a trace.  From the time I was stabilized in Rosetown I did not have any pain besides bed sore and the pain the vampire nurses inflicted taking blood.

The doctor was at a loss to explain what had happened to me. He said initial testing shows a heart attack but they can’t find a thing. On my release papers he marked my condition as myocarditis. That’s a virile infection causing swelling of the heart. I asked him to explain my first tests and the fact that if I had an infection how it cleared so fast with no antibiotics being administered. His reply was that he had to put something down.

I told him I could explain it—it’s simple, I have had a Miracle! I’ve been praying and a whole bunch of family and friends have been praying. These prayers have been answered. Praise the LORD!

What miracles happened? What did GOD do for me?

1. I woke up!
2. He gave me enough strength to dress, get out of my semi and walk to the truck stop building!
3. He healed me and protected me!

The Lord tells us in His Word that where 2 or 3 are gathered, He is present. There were many gathered in spirit! He also tells us to ask and we shall receive. Be BOLD and ask!

(AMEN!   – Larissa)

The month of September has been really amazing! The weather is warm for fall and everything looks so beautiful with all the fall colored leaves.

The majority of the work in fall always consists of raking leaves, so it has been nice to have the extra hands come and help out as there are plenty of leaves that fall on the two blocks.

There has been a lot happening this month with people moving in and out, lots of people answering their doors and wanting to chat which is nice. We were able to pray for a lady who almost had a friend of hers pass away in her arms, but has thankfully recovered. Another lady gave us a praise report from her doctor that told her she has 100% full mobility in her hips after being prayed for! Had a conversation with a man about how Jesus came to earth to die for our sins and that our good works don’t actually save us. Shared with a young mother that we do Adopt-A-Block because Jesus has shown us so much love that we want to share that love with other people by helping them out.

All in all it was a fantastic month for Adopt-A-Block. God is doing some great things in the hearts and lives of our neighbors. Come on out and join in on the fun!

The month of August has been a great time to finish off the Summer. There have been several people that joined in helping once a month with Adopt-A-Block and the weather has been beautiful!

August has been a bit slow in connecting with people as many are still on vacation or out at the cabin but for those that have stayed home, we were able to connect with and help out in several different ways. Many lawns got cut and we were able to help some people beautify their gardens by pulling weeds. No matter if we are able to help or not, people are always appreciative of our willingness to be there for them and help them out.

Thanks to everyone who came to help out during the Summer! We look forward and are excited for what God has in store for our neighbors this year. Won’t you come and join us?

That in itself was a miracle.  There can be no doubt that God held back the weather for us.  The weather report for the day was rain, rain and more rain … all day long!  When I looked out the window of my house in the morning, it was overcast and primed for a huge downpour.  But we had lots of people praying for the rain to hold off untill our event was over, and that is exactly what happened.

As we started to set up for the event, the clouds started to go away and the sun started to come out.  We even had a nice little breeze to keep the mosquitoes away.  Then as we neared the end of the event, we could see the clouds rolling in.  After the even was all done and we were just loading the last box into the vehicles to leave the site, the rain started to come down, and it came down hard.  It was like God had the weather on a stop watch for us.  He cleared the skies just long enough for us to set up, have the event, and tear down … to the minute!!

We did have some soggy grounds to deal with from the rain the previous few days, but we made that work.  We had a fabulous time.  We had more activities than ever before.  We brought in more bouncers, had family portraits being taken, and even had caricatures being drawn.  We gave away a whole bunch of plants to people as well as several bikes.  Our hairstylists were amazing!!  I cannot say enough about these amazing ladies who worked tirelessly cutting people’s hair.  Of course, there was lots of food for everyone.  And just like last year, we gave away some rides on a hot air balloon as door prizes.

All in all, it was a huge success.  I want to express my gratitude to all those who volunteered and made this event a success.  Can’t wait ’til next time!

All I see is RED… red t-shirts… red hats… all over Osborne Village…

Is it a dream?  No, it’s our LOVE WINNIPEG KICK-OFF!  Let’s “Paint the Village Red“!

Come out this Sunday afternoon (MAY 27 – starts at 3:00 PM) as Church of the Rock gathers in the Village to sweep through (wearing their RED Love Winnipeg t-shirts) to clean up garbage, hand out cold water, and share the love of Christ.

• WHO:  Every Church-of-the-Rock-er!  (young and less young!)
• TIME:  3:00 – 4:00 PM (THIS SUNDAY, May 27)
• WHERE:  meet at the corner of Osborne and River
• WHAT: bring gloves, garbage bags, and your own water to drink. (Gift water will be brought for handing out by the water team.)

Questions?  Email:  nancy@churchoftherock.ca

I’m pleased to announce that Church of the Rock’s weekend messages are now available as free audio downloads! All messages going back to December 2011 are now available.

There are 3 ways to access them; either by clicking a link to the Audio Podcast, by going to the iTunes store and searching for “Church of the Rock Weekend Messages”, or by accessing our Weekend Messages blog. These links can be found in this article or under the blogs/links header of the website.

If you are unfamiliar with how podcasting works but would like to start, this video will instruct you on how it’s done. Podcasting works on both PC and Mac.

I hope the messages will help you in your walk with Christ, and please feel free to comment or rate the podcast on iTunes. Enjoy!

After the breakfast was served, we had a special guest appearance by Batman and Robin in the Bat Mobile.  The kids loved it and cheered when they entered the room.

Of course we invited everyone to our Weekend Easter Services and I was excited to see several families come back to take in one of the services that weekend.

Next it was time for the Easter Egg Hunt … and the kids had a blast.  We had around 2000 Easter Eggs placed all over in the grass area around the offices.

There were Easter eggs everywhere, filled with candy.  We even had some golden eggs that kids could redeem for an extra prize.

At the end of the day, the kids who found golden eggs came back into the building to the Kidz Rock registration area to collect their prizes.  The looks on the kids faces with the golden eggs was amazing.

All in all, the event was a huge success.  Not only were we able to serve our community in such a tangible way, but I know several families came out to church that weekend because of this event as well.  We could not have done this without such amazing volunteers.  If you were one of the volunteers who helped out with this event, thank you so much!

Now it is time to start planing for the summer carnival … more info to come …

Here is an excerpt from Rick Warren of Saddleback Church—I hope this will give you a clear idea of what this church-wide campaign is all about.

“40 Days of Community will deepen your understanding of how God uses other people – specifically others in your church family – for your good and your growth. It will also show you how God can use you to bless others.

Our focus for the next 40 days will be on fulfilling God’s five purposes together. We’ll do this in two ways: first, by deepening the community of love within our church family, and second, by reaching out in love to the community around our church family. Both are essential for a healthy, balanced, purpose-driven life.

Your participation in this small group will be the most essential part of 40 Days of Community. Real community (koinonia) is caught, not taught. In your group, you’ll not just learn how to build community – hopefully, you’ll experience it…

During the next six weeks, we’ll examine the five reasons we need each other to fulfill God’s purpose for our lives. Here’s an overview of the reasons:

1. We fellowship better together!
2. We grow better together!
3. We serve better together!
4. We worship better together!
5. We teach out better together!

It is no accident that you are part of this 40 Days of Community. Before you were born, God chose you to be a difference-maker and to make an impact for good with your life. Are you willing to take the next step in growing a life of purpose and meaning? Then let’s join together for this 40-day spiritual journey – deepening the community of love within your church and reaching out in love to the community around your church.”

So get ready—in just a few days you will have a chance to sign up for a 40DOC group and begin the adventure!

COMMUNITY ROCKS!

~Pastor Aubrey Krahn

An important theme throughout the evening came from a series of prophetic words that were shared (LINK HERE to listen). The challenge, first to the generation under 35 years of age, was a call to step up to the line, to say yes to God and report for duty. This availability also meant that God would measure and adjust areas in their lives that needed to be changed so that they would be ready to minister, with His hand upon them, to people with broken lives and people with broken bodies.

The second challenge came to people 35 and older. God spoke to the “lists” of reasons why individuals felt they were too old or had missed their chance to minister. He is melting the accusations away and challenging them to be available for service as well. Your season has not passed if you will now say “Here I am, Lord.”

All these people were challenged to report for service before God and say, “YES, here I am, yes, check me out… I will gladly submit to Your work in me, Lord, because I want You in me and working through me.”

You can also notify the church that you have chosen to “report for service” in the way God has challenged. Please send an email to info@churchoftherock.ca as a way to affirm your response.

Other highlights of the evening included people coming forward to testify of how they had been healed at the last Power & Praise night,  others coming forward to receive prayer for healing or other needs, and a bunch of excited worshippers joining the team on stage to dance and sing to close off the night.

Don’t miss the next Power & Praise—please mark your calendar for Tuesday, April 17th!

On Monday morning we drove approximately 30 minutes south of Ensenada to where the Women’s rehabilitation Center is located. We met with Rebecca Ortiz who is the founder of the Women’s rehabilitation Center. Across the road was a  separate building which houses the children whose mothers are in the rehabilitation center.

During the Afternoons there our team was split into two groups. The majority of the women in our group went to minister to the women, while the rest of the team went across the road to do children’s ministry. Each day was a different Bible story that was shared through skits and plays…

Crafts…

and Snacks!

On Wednesday our team went with one of the YWAM translators who had an after school ministry with children from Ensenada. We did some puppet shows for them..

and played soccer with the older kids and did some coloring and games with the younger ones.

On Friday we were able to enjoy the afternoon where the mothers and children were able to spend time together. We had a blast! Playing silly parachute games…

and having some good laughs.

A side from all the ministry and fun we were sharing with the mothers and children, our team used the money the Church sent with us to purchase materials for tilling…

building bunk beds…

kitchen cabinet doors…

and of course, cement work!

Our team really enjoyed ministering to the children and the women in Ensenada. It feels good to put your hands to work to provide some of the necessities of life like bunk beds to children who lack some of the things that we take for granted every day. Many thanks to the women who provided blankets for the children of the women staying at the rehabilitation center.Our last afternoon at the rehabilitation center was a blast! We had such a great time laughing and joking around. After we had left the blankets, toiletries, candy, school supplies, and other things with them. The women surprised our team and really blessed us. They had made these amazing scarves in different colors for each of the women on our team and had given all the guys a pen with our names knitted on them.

Our team headed back home encouraged and blessed by the entire trip!

But don’t take my word for it, here are some quotes from individual team members themselves.

“It was exciting to return to Ensenada to work with the women and children of Genesis.  We were entirely focused on our task at hand, which allowed us to be extremely effective at delivering God’s love, message, and hope to His deserving children.  I want to thank Church of the Rock for providing me with this opportunity, as it allowed me to develop a deep passion for children who are in need.”- Blake

“Going on a mission trip to Mexico was an amazing experience and I recommend it to anyone debating on whether they should go” – Aimee

“It was an amazing experience as this was my first Missions Trip. To go and share the Love of Jesus with these women and children in Ensenada, Mexico. My favorite part of the trip was spending time with the children and sharing a connection with them, even in the midst of a language barrier. I can’t say enough about the team bonding either. I have been able to build some great friendships because of this trip. Thank you so much Church of the Rock for sending me!” – Graham

“My experience on the Mexico Missions trip was amazing! We met a group of people that had so few material things.  Yet they still had such an abundant faith in God. This impacted me more than I could have ever imagined, drawing me closer in my relationship to Jesus. I was also extremely blessed to serve with nine other amazing men and women, making many life long friends in the process.” - Colin

“It was a joy to work with the team and to see how God looked after the difficulties and circumstances we encountered. The ladies appreciated the repairs and construction projects we completed as well as the programs.  The kids loved the sports, skits, snacks and crafts. We pray God’s continued blessing on these people,and may they be drawn closer to Him.” – Ed

“One thing that really impressed me was during the worship time with the women. We were all singing in Spanish, and the women were lifting their voices and praising God with such enthusiasm! It was like a glimpse into heaven, with every nation and tongue praising God together.” – Irene

We started off by serving lunch to the community.

Then we started into the several different activities for the afternoon.  We had face painting, sleds, snow painting and several other activities.

Of course, the the sleigh ride was the big hit.  There was a huge line of families eager for a ride with the horses.  The kids were even allowed to feed the horses carrots while the next group was loading on.

We ended the day with a presentation by a local magician as well as our Family Rockz! team.  We had the adults sit on the chairs, the kids sit on the floor at the front, and even still there were a bunch of people standing at the back because there was not enough room for them.

After the presentation was over, we sent everyone out for a candy toss on the outdoor ice rink. The kids had a blast!

It was such a great time and we had an amazing group of volunteers.  It is so great to be part of a church of people that are willing to serve the community in this way!  I can’t wait for next year!

-Pastor Duane

The band performed several songs from the “Classic Rock” era and then Pastor Mark preached the message “Jesus Rocks”.

I wanted to personally thank all of you who prayed for our trip.  The previous year we had some unfortunate weather issues that had an effect on the events, but this year things were pretty smooth sailing.

The biggest difficulty we came up against was in Surrey.  As a result of the highway construction, we made a wrong turn on our way to the venue to get set up.  We realized right away that we had made a mistake, but unfortunately there was no way to turn around. We had to go over 20 KM, across the river through rush hour traffic, then turn around and head back again.  But we made it and still had the time needed to set up.

All in all, it was an great success.  Once again, thanks for your prayer support and if you were in one of those cities and were able to see it for yourself, please leave a comment below and let us know how you thought it went.

We can’t thank you enough for helping out with the toy drive this year. We had a wonderful response to the request for toys to give out to the kids at our annual Christmas party.

With toys coming from several different churches, it all added up to be enough to give away that night and, with the toys that were left, we were able to add toys to hampers for several LARGE needy families, and a bunch of kids staying at a group home.

Your contribution made Christmas just a little bit happier for kids who often go without a lot of necessities. We saw a lot of joy on the faces of kids receiving their gifts, and on the faces of appreciative parents.

The families who received the hampers this year were extremely grateful, and overjoyed that the kids would have something under the tree this year.

May God bless you with the peace and joy of this year’s Christmas celebration.

~Jim and Jacqie
(Walls of Freedom)

A team  of 11 people, led by Pastor Keith Eberhard, left for Haiti in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday, Nov. 20th, arriving in Haiti on Monday, Nov 21, and staying until Saturday, Nov 26th, in the host missionary’s home.

While there, the team took 3 days for painting the complete inside and outside of the newly built Children’s Home (that Church of the Rock has been partnering with New Life Haiti to build over the past year).

Children's Home before painting began

Finished!

Other activities included ministering in songs, testimony, drama, and preaching in two evening church services.  They shared biblical thoughts, gave testimonies and clothing and school supplies in 5 schools and one hospital for handicapped victims of the Port-au-Prince earthquake.  They distributed food packages to 20 disabled seniors.  They counselled and encouraged the host missionaries that we worked with and helped organize and distribute medical supplies to nearby hospitals and medical clinics.  On two occasions they visited a hospital/orphanage for disabled children, praying for the staff and the children and giving clothing and medical supplies to the children and medical staff.  They visited two other church/school situations but did not have the time to minister in those locations.  Then on Sunday 27th, just before our flights out of Puerto Plata, DR, the team was able to minister in songs, testimony, drama, and preaching in a Haitian church in the city of Puerto Plata.

The support that came in from church members and the team members families and co-workers for this mission project and the people of Haiti was tremendous. In total, over 500 pounds of clothing and school supplies were distributed, and $800.00 of food was purchased in Haiti for distribution to the needy. Donations also provided for the paint and other supplies needed for finishing the Children’s Home.

Clothing Distribution

In the ministry times, many leaders and other individuals were ministered to prophetically. Through prayer and the Word of the Lord there were significant physical healings of chest pains, lumps in the throat, pains in the hips, knee problems, headaches, plus many other infirmities. Over 100 people were personally prayed for by the team.  The host missionaries said that of the 12-13 teams that they have a year, our team was one of the best teams that they ever have had.  They and the other pastors and leaders were greatly encouraged as they felt that God personally ministered to the spiritual needs of them and the people of Haiti.

The prayer support of family, friends, and the church prayer teams was so important, for these days of ministry in Haiti were not done in a situation of ease and luxury.

The team would rise before 6:00 a.m. to get ready for breakfast at 6:30 and then keep going, often till 10 or 11:00 p.m.  On one day, because of the remoteness of where we were, the team was not able to have a lunch break.  The next day we had a piece of bread with ground peanuts for lunch to tide us over till supper.  Three team members picked up some type of stomach disorder from the food, water, or exhaustion.  Many of the team had large itchy welt-like bumps covering their bodies caused by bites from mosquito, spiders, or some other insect.  (Most of the swelling and itchiness did not disappear till well after returning home.)  One team member developed a chest infection and laryngitis by the end of the trip and another had strep throat the day after we returned to Canada.  For many team members, sleep at night was difficult because of the heat, the mosquitoes (even though there were screens on the windows of the home in which we stayed), or other physical things as listed above.  Yet in spite of these negative things, each of the team members  adamantly declares that because of what they saw God do in their midst they are eagerly wanting to go again.  They have adventures and stories to tell of God working through and in them.  They declare that this trip has changed their lives.

THANK YOU FOR PRAYING! THANK YOU FOR GIVING!

From the team members:

CALEB: “The mission trip to Haiti was better than I expected.  I enjoyed visiting and performing skits/songs at the schools and churches.  Seeing the smiles of the Haitians made me happy.  I especially enjoyed the church service we participated in on the Wednesday.  I enjoyed how excited they were during the service.  There was a joy that I had not experienced before.  I had never seen the Holy Spirit move like that before in my life (all 12 years of it;).  I learned that God can move in ways that I don’t expect.

Overall, I’m so glad I got a chance to go with this mission team.  It was an honour to serve with them in Haiti.”

JERRY: “I really appreciated the chance to serve in Haiti with the mission team.  I appreciated the preparations that were made by the team in learning the songs and skits before we left.  It was also an honour to represent Church of the Rock and all of those people who donated money and supplies to bless Haiti.  The trip was exhausting but I feel a sense of accomplishment.  We were able to finish painting the new children’s home on the inside and outside.  I also enjoyed giving out supplies and performing at the various schools and churches that we visited.

“I was humbled by the sincerity and warmth of the Haitian people.  They may not have much in the way of material wealth by North American standards but the joy and passion that many of them have because of Christ reminded me that Jesus is all that you need.  I have come back with a renewed desire to seek after the Lord daily.  My life is nothing without Jesus.  Unfortunately, it’s easy to lose sight of that sometimes with the speed of our life here in Canada.  My experience in Haiti was a reminder to cut through the busyness of life and to focus on the important things of life beginning with my relationship with Jesus.”

NICOLE: “When you know that you are going on a mission trip you have certain things you expect such as the work, what the conditions may be like, what you may be doing but you can never prepare for the amazing things that God will do to you and through you and others while on the trip. Haiti is a magnificent place. Away from the majority of modern day technology and the modern day expectations is a country needing help. Many believe that it is a hopeless country but once you see the hope in the faces of everyone who has Jesus in their heart you would believe that it is a country filled with hope and love.

” Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” James 1:12 NIV.

“That is Haiti. We are the ones who have been blessed in many ways through out our lives and it was an amazing feeling seeing how truly grateful others are to something as simple as a pair of shoes or a toothbrush and toothpaste or…. even a pencil. Haiti and the awesome missionaries who are there will always be in my thoughts and prayers.”

GREG: “Haiti was an amazing journey of growth and wonder with hardships and joy. My heart goes to all the people there. You could feel the presence of God everywhere – although many were poor, you just knew God was overseeing their lives and bringing joy to their hearts.”

ARNOLD: “Haiti: a country with great beauty and in great need. The beautiful, green, tree-covered mountains overlook a poverty-ravaged country. The people try to make whatever living they can. They dig the riverbeds for sand to make cinderblocks. They sell whatever they can get for enough profit to get by another day. But many are learning about the true Saviour and his love from people like Debbie and her son Rick, who hosted us. It was our privilege to go with them to many church/schools and show God’s love to these beautiful people.

“I saw God move and touch the people from the littlest child to a very conservative pastor who allowed us to minister in his church and was greatly ministered to by God. We danced withthem, prayed for and with them, sang for and with them and enjoyed God’s Word.

“It was also a privilege to watch a group of very different people become a team which built each other up, covered each otehr’s weaknesses, learned from each other and reached beyond ourselves to minister to those we came in contact with.”

We are currently accepting applications for two more upcoming missions trips. The first is for the team that will be ministering in Ensenada, MEXICO from Feb. 18-26, 2012, and the second is for the team going to UGANDA for 2-3 weeks in July/August, 2012.  Application forms can be picked up at the World Cafe in the church foyer, or by sending a request to: larissa [@] churchoftherock.ca.

Also, THIS SUNDAY MORNING (Dec. 18, 11:00 AM) there will be an information meeting in room A1 for anyone interested in the February MEXICO trip. Come on out!

~Larissa

1. A lady who came in walking with a cane was touched by the Lord and left walking pain-free (WITHOUT using the cane)!
2. A lady who hadn’t been able to run for 10 years ran a lap around the seating area – on replacement hips!
3. A lady who hadn’t been able to run for 30+ years felt God’s healing power and ended up running a full lap around the auditorium and dancing on stage to express her praise and thanks to God. No more pain!
4. Another lady had an instantaneous clearing of her lungs; she had previously struggled with trouble breathing and was unable to do any physical exertion at all. She, too, experienced God’s healing power and took a test run around the auditorium to confirm the change. We heard from her this morning that last night she had the best sleep in a long time!

There were other healings and more that God was doing that we didn’t have a chance to hear testimony of during the evening.

If YOU have a story to tell from last night, please write it in the comments below or email info@churchoftherock.ca to tell us about it and give glory to God!

Make plans now to attend our next Power & Praise night – mark your calendar for Nov. 22 at 7:30 pm!

Last night our curtained-off seating area was full and our vision is to open the curtains and see the whole auditorium FULL.  We believe we have only just begun to see what God is going to do!

My husband Michael and I were married in 1987. For most of our marriage we struggled with communication and many other issues. Many times, we honestly didn’t know how we could continue to be married. I remember one day lying on my bed just crying out to God, “Please help us … neither one of us is happy and we are at a loss as to what to do.” We loved each other, but we were both miserable.

A couple weeks later we joined the Love and Respect class by the suggestion of the Pastor. I must admit, I really didn’t have a lot of hope that the class would change anything, but I was willing to give it a shot anyway…

We are both so glad that we joined. The class was humorous, relaxed, enjoyable and very thought provoking.  Michael and I are experiencing a peaceful, loving and respectful marriage now ! Soon we will be happily celebrating our 24th wedding anniversary. I really am very grateful to all those who are organizing and leading these groups. I highly recommend the Love and Respect course to everyone who is married!

May the Lord bless you and your marriages always!

Sincerely,

Kathleen

For more information on the Love and Respect course, please click here.

This weekend Church of the Rock is going to be a busy place! We have dozens of ministries setting up displays in the auditorium to let you know what they’re going to be up to this year and where you can plug in and take advantage of what they have to offer.

Our hope is that each person finds at least one place of involvement that will help them keep maturing in their faith over this next season. Please leave yourself a few extra minutes after the service to gather info and talk to the ministry leaders so you can plan ahead now before your calendar gets too full.

Please continue to pray for the people of Eastern Africa—precious men, women and children enduring tragic suffering—asking for God’s hand upon their leaders to bring peace and for the strength and wisdom of those on the ground working valiantly to serve in the midst of such tremendous need.  Please pray for WorldServe and the many other ministries and relief organizations, that they would be empowered with the love and power of Jesus Christ to share  light and life as well as the important practical resources of food and shelter.

Before it gets too busy, why not take time now reflect and express your thanks to God for the specific things you’ve experienced and learned over the past few months?

Summer Camp at Manhattan Beach Retreat Centre

From August 4-7, over 300 of us packed up ourselves and our families to go out to Manhattan Beach Retreat Centre and enjoy our annual Church Camp weekend.  Here is a report from the Summer Camp Team that we’re excited to share with you:

What an awesome time we had out at camp this year! God moved in powerful ways through our guest speaker, Joan Hunter, and through our own congregation as we were challenged to embrace the simplicity and promise of God’s healing and to step out to pray for others to be healed. The weather was perfect, activities were well attended, food was in abundance, worship was uplifting and there was just enough time to relax.

We want to take a moment to thank all of our volunteers who lead events in their bright green t-shirts – camp wouldn’t be possible without all of you. We also need to shout out a few honourable mentions:

• To Chuck Edwards for coordinating all the activity leaders – job well done.
• To our team on the dock organizing the boat and tube rides – we appreciate all the time you spent blessing others.
• To Bill Skelton, Glen & Diane Curtis and Len Derksen – our boat and seadoo drivers – thank you for donating your equipment & gas and sacrificing your free time to spend the afternoons (and more) providing the rides.
• To the worship team and techs – thanks for leading us into God’s presence at each service.
• To the Children’s and Youth Program leaders and volunteers – thanks for teaching & inspiring our children and giving parents that little break, Family Rocks was a hit.
• Who could forget Roger’s bison stew and bannock – yumm!
• To the many others that are too numerous to list – thank you.

KidzRock and Threshold Youth were busy out at camp too, as you’ll see from their reports:

We had an awesome time in our children’s chapels at camp this summer. The mornings were filled with fun activities, games, crafts, prizes and the famous “water wars” battle. Each morning ended off with a little something to satisfy their “sweet tooth” ….yummy freezies.

The evening services were also filled with fun but with the added bonus of learning “God’s Word.” The elementary kids worked on lessons entitled A.I.M-(Agents in Motion). These were lessons that taught them how to cause positive change in their families, their church, their friends, their community and even their world!

The preschoolers were blessed with a panda-themed camp. The children learned all about God’s great big world and His magnificent creations. They learned all about how God cares for them, listens to them, and watches over them, and of all the beautiful things He created, God’s most prized creation is them. The children were able to experience these lessons through sound, touch, smell and movement.

In Threshold, 30+ youth participated, which is the most we’ve had come out in a camp year yet.  The students learned about hearing God’s voice and doing outrageous acts for God, and the camp speaker, Joan Hunter, came and prayed with many teens for healing.  They also had a lot of fun with various activities (group games, late night capture the flag against the YA, and late-night swim).

It’s time to start making plans to attend next year and thinking about who God wants you to invite. Reserve Aug 9 -12, 2012, on your calendar as tentative dates and watch for updates next spring.

Summer Schedule Ends September 6th

Part of our review of the summer includes a HUGE THANK YOU to all the volunteers who so willingly adjusted their schedules to make our summer service schedule such a success. Special thanks also goes out to the summer KidzRock volunteers who pitched in to give our regular volunteers a break.  Sunday mornings were especially busy for everyone here, with all the families attending together at the 10:25 AM service!

This weekend (Sept. 4/6) will be our last Sunday/Tuesday night of the summer schedule.  Starting SATURDAY, SEPT. 10th, we’ll be back in the swing of things with SATURDAY LIVE@5:25 and our two regular Sunday morning gatherings at 9:25 and 11:25 AM.

See you there!

-Larissa

What if we went “viral” with the good news of Jesus Christ and His gift of salvation to all who come to Him?

You tell a friend & they’ll tell a friend & they’ll tell a friend—that’s how it supposed to work. This was how it worked for Jesus’ disciples Andrew & Peter, the woman at the well, etc. It’s is likely how it worked for you too!

On Easter Sunday, a fellow brought one of his employees to a Church of the Rock service. This employee received Christ & signed up for the Discovery Class that was starting the following Wednesday. That fellow brought one of his buddies to the class on the first night & the following Sunday he received Christ as his Saviour. That same Sunday, the two of them brought another friend to church with them & he received Christ & started the Discovery Class with them!

Once our hearts engage with something that we are passionate about or that we understand to be important or helpful or wonderful, it’s a natural thing to desire to share and attempt to influence other people to experience the same. That’s how videos go viral, great recipes get replicated, businesses get swamped by selling too many Groupon deals, and all your kids’ friends end up wearing the same kind of shoes.

Maybe it’s the same dynamic you experienced when your friend told you about a hard situation they were going through and in your heart you longed to say: If only you knew Jesus and the power of His forgiveness and love in your life…He has made all the difference to me!

This summer, let’s live with our hearts and hands wide open, freely sharing what God has done and is able to do. Bring your friends to a Tuesday 6:25 PM service or a Sunday 10:25 AM service.  Or come together to one of our Thursday evening “Summer Discovery” classes.

Tell a friend, bring a friend… be a friend.

Here are some pictures of some of the fun activities that we offered this year:

The folks who came out had so much fun that they did not want to leave.  We had line ups for the different activities right up until we had to shut things down.

The most exciting part about this story is that around half of the people in attendance on Sunday were not from our church but were from the community around the church.  We even had a politician who is running to be a MLA show up and connect with the people of the community—he obviously felt that there were enough people there from his neighbourhood to warrant spending some time there.

The feedback from the door prize ballots was very exciting – most everyone indicated that they want to be informed of the next event we will be holding.  It looks like we may need to start doing more events like this in the community!

Obviously this carnival was a huge success and I want to express my gratitude to everyone who helped make it happen.  We were only able to pull it off because of all the amazing volunteers in our church.

Don’t be surprised if the building is a lot quieter over the next two weeks. We believe so strongly in Love Winnipeg that we put everything else on hold and send everyone out to be busy extending a helping hand to those around us in need!

And let’s face it – the needs are great. Love, joy, peace, and hope are ours to extend as we demonstrate in practical ways the GREAT news of Jesus Christ, our Saviour, loving King and Friend. As we serve and as we share, we become His heart and hands extended to those who need to know He wants to welcome them home.

So, grab your red Love Winnipeg t-shirt and get involved!  We’ve got lots of events planned (click here for details) and there’s room for more! Sign-up sheets will be at the various event displays in the main auditorium this week, plus you can just show up at the church Monday-Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm to join our roaming team’s activity for the night.

First stop – RED SEE RALLY – this Sunday at 3:00 PM in front of the Manitoba Legislature. We’ll kick-off the next two weeks by flooding the streets with red and leaving a clean streak behind us! (…literally! Come prepared with garbage bags and gloves to do street clean-up. Church of the Rock folks, we’ll be serving in Osborne Village.)

If you want to stay better informed, link to our FB page and we’ll keep you posted!

Tweet, Tweet! (Oh yeah!  We are on Twitter and YouTube too.  Please follow us for regular updates.)

It’s an annual tradition where we take a popular theme or movie and retell the Easter story in a unique and creative way.  We’ve seen appearances from Captain Jack Sparrow, Elvis, Spock, and even Michael Jackson in previous years.

Pirates of the Galilean (Easter 2009)

This is our biggest weekend of the year so you won’t want to miss it!  Services are Saturday April 23^rd at 5:25PM and Sunday the 24^th at 9:25am and 11:25am.  Free admission – come out early for a good seat and bring a friend!

Click here to see the commercial!

The Dream Center is a ministry that is dedicated to helping the inner city of Los Angeles. Their mission is provide hope by meeting both tangible and spiritual needs of the community by providing food, clothing, shelter, life rehabilitation, education and job training, biblical training and much more through their 273 ministries and outreaches. We were able to partner with them and serve in many of these activities during the week. We served in the following ministries:

Food Bank/Food Truck: The Dream Center gets loads of food donated each day that get distributed to feed tens of thousands of people each month. Some of us spent one morning sorting through food before it went out. Later in the week were able to go with the “Food Truck” as we delivered grocery bags full of food to those in need.

Under the Bridge/Skid Row Outreach: On Wednesday we spent our morning walking the streets of Skid Row inviting the homeless to a meal we served in the afternoon where we got to interact with and pray for many of them there.

We also spent that evening in Santa Monica inviting the homeless to a meal in the evening, during which our team had the chance to pray for them and hear many fascinating stories.

Project Prevention: We were able to go out and deliver food, baby supplies, toiletries, cleaning supplies, and furniture to families that are at risk of losing their children to foster care because of poverty. We were able to go into various homes to deliver these supplies and pray with those families as well.

Adopt-a-Block: While we were unable to stay for their big Adopt-a-Block ministry on Saturday (when they minister to over 150 blocks of houses), we did serve the area by cleaning up garbage and doing a free window wash at the local gas station.

Our team worked together really well in spreading God’s love through practical service to the city of Los Angeles. This trip also gave our team a passion and desire to come back and bring glory to God by serving our local community.

Are you curious about prayer, but aren’t sure how to get started?

Want to learn more about how to pray effectively for yourself, others, and church leaders?

Prayer Class 1 offers the basics for developing a personal prayer lifestyle as well as learning how to pray effectively for your church leaders and pastors. Our textbook is Partners in Prayer by John Maxwell .

Everyone is invited to attend this 8-week course!

FACILITATORS: Titi Olude / Rotimi Ojo
LOCATION: Church of the Rock—Prayer Room

TO PRE-REGISTER: please contact the church office or visit the Information Centre on the weekend.

Not only was everyone dressed up in their best “western” duds and singing country tunes, but there was a buzz of activity all over the church with tables of pies and cakes, people of all ages excitedly milling around, and the auctioneer and announcer shouting out the play-by-play at full speed.

Our total raised over the March 19-20 weekend was $106,000!  Pie Sales alone brought in $95,000, and donations are still coming in.

Main Stage Auction: $70,225
Silent Auction: $10,000
Buy-it-Now (whole pies for $70 each): $12,300 (and still selling!)
Pie-by-the-Slice (slice with ice cream for $10 each): $2,955

On both Saturday evening and Sunday there was a great increase in the number of pies and cakes donated compared to last year, and the desserts sold for record prices (the top buy was a beautiful Vinertarta that went for $4,000).

But WHY spend so much on PIE?

Because we want to give – joyfully and extravagantly – so that people around the world can encounter the life-changing good news of Jesus Christ and His gift of salvation.  The projects our Pie Auction supports are all in the “10/40 Window,” taking the Gospel to people who have not yet heard.

THANK YOU to our FANTASTIC volunteers and to everyone who created and donated their dessert masterpieces, and THANK YOU to everyone who purchased pie and donated towards the overall project of Missions in the 10/40 Window!

It was a wonderful weekend in every way, and it is not too late to participate. We can still give over the next several weeks to this project by marking “10/40 Window” on  the online donation or offering envelope.

(I also hear there’s a few $70 pies left for sale tonight at SATURDAY LIVE@5:25, so I hope you come early enough to get one!)

-Larissa

P.S.   Here are a few shots of the wonderful desserts that came in, just to keep you inspired for next year!

We need your help to be able to continue this ministry into the years to come.  Is it so easy to do, and it sends a message to our neighborhood so much louder than words can express. Watch this promo video and you will see how easy it truly is.

We are on a mission to find people who will jump at the opportunity to help us once a month.  It is only a few hours on a Saturday morning and can be one of the most rewarding things you do every month.  You can even bring a friend or family member and participate together.

We are told in Scripture that one of our responsibilities is to share our faith with those around us.  Yet many of us never do that.  This is a great way to start, and it really is that easy.  If you are interested in finding out more information—or better yet, want to give the once a month thing a try—just fill out the comment section below and I will contact you with more information.

If you would like to read about some of the things that have happened in previous weeks, check out our blog that gets updated every week.  You will not regret investing in the people in our community!

Come and enjoy a variety of soups, fresh garden salad, buns, and dessert being served by the Uganda Mission Team members and volunteers.

DATES: Sunday March 13, Sunday March 27
TIMES: 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM (following each service)
COST: by donation – all profits will go toward the costs of the May 2011 Uganda trip

The team consists of 10 people from Church of the rock who will be flying to Uganda  and then travelling by van to the town of Ibaare in the Ntungamo region. There they will be staying for just over 2 weeks, living in tents while they will be building a roof on a church, distributing mosquito nets, and ministering to the children and the poor in practical and spiritual ways. We are excited about what God is preparing for this trip!

Thank you for your support!

Our first few days were spent serving with Pastor Francisco, who has been running children’s ministry in two locations in the mountains for 30 years.  For each of the three days, the team split up in the morning to work on a concrete project at the one church outreach while the other team members went to run a children’s program at another site.  Although the area to be cemented was small, it was hard work!   The driveway was steep so it took one person pushing the wheelbarrow and two of us pulling it.  Wow that was tough!

Each afternoon we met back together to have childrens ministry with the kids at the location of the concrete work.  We spent some time playing -  bouncing balls or skipping – with the kids over at a flat area on the mountain side and we shared Bible stories, puppet skits and songs with them.

The Thursday, however, was a completely different day.  We visited both a migrant camp and a women’s drug rehab centre.  Across the street from the  rehab centre was an orphanage, which serves a centre to house the children whose mothers are in the rehab centre.

After a tour of the centre I had a chance to speak with the director about the program.  It is not funded by any organization; donations come from people who send someone there or from others who know about it.   It’s off in the mountains, which offers serenity but also limits the awareness of others.  They are in desperate need of a real stove, tables for their dining hall, and a roof. The leaks in the roof are damaging so much of the little they have.

The director allowed us to invite the children to join the moms for a time of skits and songs.  It was SO cool!  They loved it!  Afterward, the kids and the team went back to the orphanage for crafts and games while I stayed to speak to the moms.  Before this, I wasn’t all that thrilled about our time in Mexico, but as soon as I stood up in front of the women, I knew I was sent for this time.  I shared what God had put on my heart and we had a wonderful time in His truth!

We ended our time at the rehab centre by giving blankets to each of the women, leaving toiletries, candy, school supplies, and other things with them.  The director told me a women had just asked her for shampoo that day as she had run out a few days before.   It was such a privilege for all of us to give as an extension of the kind and generous hearts of Church of the Rock.

I already have a full week planned for when I go back … are you coming with me?

~Nancy Braun
(February Mexico Team Leader)

After spending some time praising our God, we began to pray for people who had pain in their joints.  There were dozens and dozens of people who came forward for prayer. Pastor Mark told them that everyone needed to stay up front until they got healed.  The leaders in the church started to pray for the people, and one after another, people received healing and went back to their chairs.

Some people who were healed had been dealing with pain for years and years.  There were elbows, shoulders, hands, and the list goes on.  It seemed like God was healing everyone there. When Pastor Mark asked for a show of hands from those who had experienced healing that night, there were dozens and dozens of hands in the air.  I am not sure if I have ever seen that many people at one time experiencing God’s healing power.

After we prayed for people to be healed, Pastor Mark invited the youth and young adults to come forward.  He read from Phil. 2:15 and encouraged the youth and young adults to live upright lives in the midst of a perverse generation. Then Pastor Keith prophesied over them.  If you would like to hear the prophecy, you can download Part 1 here, and Part 2 here. It truly was an amazing night.

The next Power and Praise is on March 22nd at 7:30 PM.  You’d be crazy to miss it!

-Pastor Duane Masters

Church of the Rock Marriage Ministry is hosting a special Valentine’s Event in their “Hot Points” series this Sunday night and you are invited to come! The evening will be a combination of teaching, testimonies, table talks and refreshments with Hot Speakers – Pastor Mark and Kathy Hughes and testimony from Marc & Danielle Quesnel.

Marriage Hot Point:  “Speaking My Language”
Time: 7:00 PM
Date: Feb. 13, 2011 (Sunday)
Cost: FREE (no registration required)

As part of W.E. Give, we are asking for a donation of toothpaste, toothbrushes, hairbrushes, wash cloths, soaps, pens, pencils, notebooks and/or work gloves. Whatever you are able to bring will be greatly appreciated! (The dollar store has a great selection of all the above.) Pastor Keith and the missions team will be putting all donations received tomorrow into packages to distribute during the upcoming missions trip later this month.

If you want to, you can dress up in Mexican attire, but more importantly, we want to see you come out for a fun night with fellowship and laughter. We hope to see you there!

Gracias! (Thank you!)

Leigh-Ann DeGagne

As part of our “Help, I’m the Parent of a Teenager!” series, this Sunday night we are holding a special event for parents of teens to provide helpful insight and practical advice on the issues of pornography and teenage sexuality.

Our guest speaker will be Sid Koop from Lethbridge, Alberta, director and founder of Truth Matters Ministries. Sid Koop is a tremendous communicator and we know it will be worth your while to come out!  For more information about Sid, please click here.

Who:    for ALL parents of teenagers or soon-to-be parents of teenagers
What:  “Pornography and Your Teen ~ XXX: Purity is Possible”
When:  THIS Sunday, Jan. 23
Time:    7:00 PM  – NOTE – this is a correction to a previous posting
Where: Church of the Rock Chapel
Cost:     $5.00 at the door

Our first stop was Surrey. We landed on Friday afternoon and then the team and drove over to the Chandos Patterson Auditorium.  At 7:30 PM we began the night.  Derek and the team, dressed in their 50′s outfits, came out on stage and played some classic music from the 50′s.  We even had a visit from Elvis (no one can do Elvis like Tim!).We had a record crowd for our visit to Surrey.  Pastor Mark then got on stage preached his message “A Blast From the Past”.  He talked about the need to “forgive everybody, all the time”. Of course at the end of the night dozens of hands went up indicating that they wanted to accept Jesus Christ into their lives.  It was a great night.

Then we headed to the plane to leave for Edmonton.

When we take these tours, we always stop in Edmonton on the Saturday night and then the next day drive to Calgary for a Sunday night event.  This year, we ran into some unfortunate weather.  There was a huge snow storm in Edmonton and we became aware as soon as we landed that it was going to affect the numbers of people willing to venture out on that day.  But the show must go on and so we went to the Jubilee Auditorium and began to set up for the night.

Once again, at 7:30 PM, we started the show.  Even though the crowd was smaller than we have ever had, we still had a great time.  The people loved the music and once again at the end of the night, dozens of hands went up for salvation.  Even with the smaller crowd, that act of people making a choice to serve God at the end of the night makes the whole thing worth it.

The next day we made our way to Calgary.  The highway was terrible, we saw well over 50 cars in the ditch so we made sure to take our time as we traveled to Calgary.  We made our way to the Calgary Jubilee Auditorium.  Once again, weather played a huge factor and we ended up having smaller crowds than usual.  But as with every other night of the tour, we still had a great time.

That night, we made the announcement about our plan to start a Church of the Rock Calgary in the fall of 2011.  When Pastor Mark told the crowd of our plans, there was a palpable sense of excitement in the air.  Once again, there were dozens of hands at the end of the night and people had a great time.  Despite the weather, the tour was definitely a successful trip.

Our prayer now is that all these people in all three cities who accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour will get plugged into a local church.  Thank you for those of you who were praying for our trip.

The second-annual “One Heart” city-wide church service is taking place THIS SUNDAY, January 9, 2011 at 11:00 AM at the MTS Centre (300 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg).

This year 48 churches are joining together to celebrate our Saviour, Jesus Christ, and the hope we have in Him. Our guest speaker will be Dr. Brian Stiller, well-respected author, leader, and voice in Canada.

Please plan to come early, as we are expecting a full house and it will take some time for everyone to find parking, seats, etc.  The service will begin at 11:00 AM and is expected to conclude between 12:30 – 1:00 PM.

Everyone welcome!

IMPORTANT NOTE: >>> Both the Saturday and Sunday services for January 8th and 9th will be CANCELLED at Church of the Rock so that everyone may attend this city-wide celebration.

James wrote:

When I showed up to the Power & Praise night in November, like all other nights I expected to meet with God. Well He didn’t want to just meet with me, He wanted to heal me as well.

When Pastor Mark said that God wanted to heal those with arthritis I put my hand up . Arthritis had bothered my hands and legs for many years and during the last year or so it was bad enough to prevent me from making  complete fists and I struggled with smaller tasks like holding nails while hitting with a hammer.

When I stood up at the meeting four people surrounded me and began to pray over me. Almost right away I began to feel a tingling in my hands followed by a warming sensation and then my hands grew hot. Without a doubt I began to feel  the healing touch from the Lord. I clenched my fists for the first time in a long time and just about cried (I did actually).

Since that night I no longer wake up with pain in my legs .Some mornings it was a struggle to walk for the first ten minuets without feeling pain. I had watched my mothers fingers become deformed from the crippling disease and I didn’t relish the thought of it happening to me. God reached down and touched me and healed me .

He is an awesome God. And I love Him.

Jacob gave us his story to share as well:

About two weeks before I graduated in June of 2009, I was playing basketball with some friends and an exchange student from Mexico. Being a teenager, I was trying to impress this exchange student, so I was doing some fancy moves and spins and all sorts of things.

Well, one of the spins went bad, and my knee and everything below that point stayed in one spot, but above the knee kept spinning about half a turn. I heard it pop, and the pain was like nothing I’ve ever felt. I went down, but got up right away, so as to not let on to the fact that I was hurt. I guess it hadn’t been too serious, because it went back into place. But since then, my knee has been very weak and extremely painful. Bending down was next to impossible, and playing sports and snowboarding (which is my favorite pastime) were not possible without wearing a brace. It had gotten better over time, but it was still painful.

That Tuesday at church [November's Power & Praise night], I was standing in front of the stage when Pastor Mark asked us to get down on our knees. Well, that has been very hard for me for a long time, but he told me to do it so I did. It hurt, but I was too concentrated on worshiping God to take much notice. James came up behind me and started praying, and with me realizing, I sank down all the way till my heels were touching my rear end, something I could never have done had God not touched me in that moment. Since then, the pain has decreased by about 70 percent at least, if not more, and my knee is feeling amazingly strong and rigid.

I can’t wait to get on my board and see what I can do now!

So come on out to Power & Praise – this Tuesday evening from 7:30 – 9:00 PM in the main auditorium.  See you there!

As you can see from the pictures, we had more than enough.  We even had a lady in the church donate a whole lot of vinartertas for us to give out as well.  We ended up giving one tin of cookies and one vinarterta box to every family that was home that morning.  Every home on these two blocks that we have adopted received some Christmas baking as well as an invitation to our Christmas eve services.

The people on the blocks were shocked by our generosity.  In todays day and age, nothings is given away for free.  To me, this is what Christmas is all about.  Giving generously to those around us.  I want to say thank you to all the Church of the Rock people that helped by baking and also to those that help deliver them.

Merry Christmas!

After hearing from our special guests and enjoying a delicious dessert, lots of laughter was heard as we put the baskets together to our version of hot potato, which included a rubber bath toy and a duck whistle!  Each group signed a card to the mom and her baby with words of encouragement.

On November 16, nine women delivered the baskets to the Crisis Pregnancy Centre.  The staff were overwhelmed and very grateful for the donations!  We were told that the Centre relies on donations and with the colder weather and Christmas around the corner, ours came at a good time. The Program Coordinator, Marlene, shared eye-opening information with us as well as a tour of the facility. Their unconditional, non-judgmental, grace-filled love for the people they serve was very apparent.  One of the women that came said, “I was humbled by the whole experience.  Can’t remember the last time I felt so insignificant and so blessed at the same time.”

A HUGE thank you also goes out to all the volunteers who helped with Operation Christmas Child throughout the months of October and November to distribute  and collected the Christmas Child Shoeboxes.  Thanks also to the generosity of our Church of the Rock congregation who filled and donated items for 450 boxes.  With the participation of 12 other churches, community organizations and schools, over 1240 boxes were collected at Church of the Rock  and are on their way for distribution down in South America!

Thank you for giving!

The call went out this weekend for us to help out the children in our city who will not be spending Christmas with their parent this year. THANK YOU Church of the Rock for responding to purchase gifts for 44 children, from 23 homes. That is huge!

Please remember to deliver your gift to the child or return to the church by Dec 20th for delivery.

Friday Dec 10 was a special night at Threshold. We had a Friday Night Baptism Service and four youth got water baptized. We always invite family and friends to join us for this occasion where they get a little taste of what we do here at Threshold. After a parent edition of the game show Minute to Win It, the Threshold band rocked the house with some worship. Then special guest Pastor Duane came and spoke about what baptism is all about.

The four baptism candidates then came forward and shared some of their journey with God and why they wanted to get water baptized.

They also did something that is unique to the baptisms at Threshold where they read a Declaration of Commitment. This declaration is about committing their lives to Jesus Christ, living a life of integrity, seeing through the lies of peer pressure, refusing to let drugs, alcohol and tobacco influence their lives, and committing to sexual purity.

Then they were baptized and prayed for by our Threshold leaders who shared what they felt God was speaking to each individual. It was a great night of celebration and testimony of the great things God is doing among our young people.

If you would like more information about a future Threshold baptism, or Threshold in general you can check us out on the web at http://www.churchoftherock.ca/youth or email tim@churchoftherock.ca.

This Wednesday, December 8th, from 9:30-11:30 am, we are winding up the fall session with a Christmas Brunch. If you’ve thought about checking us out, this is the perfect time! We’ll be celebrating and we’d love to have you join us for some great food, mingling and music! Door prizes! Free babysitting for new-comers! Hope to see you here!

After what appeared to be significant setbacks and closed doors in the Matamoros area of Mexico, God allowed for the opening of a new opportunity for partnering with a local church in the community of Maneadero along the Baja Peninsula of Mexico.  Our goal was to take a church with only three walls and transform it into a completed church – 4 walls, a roof, doors and windows.

First three walls of the church before the team arrived.

Building the fourth wall.

Starting to put up the roof joists.

Painting the walls of the church.

Walls were assembled and painted, and roof joists were installed to enclose the building.  However, more important than the physical structure was the opportunity to impart spiritual life to the pastor and the church family.  A fledgling church that felt isolated and unable to complete what they felt God had called them to do was given great encouragement as a team of 7 people from Canada came to help the build their church.

Church of the Rock team in front of the church, along with some local people from the congregation.

Evening children’s program . . .
(see more pictures below)

A ladies Bible study and children’s programs along with an evening service helped to encourage them that God was working in their midst.

Thanks be to God for allowing us the opportunity to serve His kingdom and share His love in such practical ways. And thank you to everyone for your prayer support and generous donations toward this project – we are all part of the team together.

Gloria a Dios!

Have YOU been thinking about being involved on a short-term mission trip?   The value of short term mission trips is that often the people on the team are as equally changed as the people to whom they minister.

We are currently accepting applications for UGANDA (May 2011) and MEXICO (February 2011), and there is a Uganda Trip Information Meeting this Sunday, Dec. 5th, from 1:00 – 2:00 pm in Room A4 at the church for anyone interested in learning more about this opportunity to serve.

Outdoors children’s ministry.

Outdoors children’s ministry.

Ladies’ Bible study and craft time.

First service within the church building since the roof and walls were completed.

The final touches are being put on the stage, and the actors are waiting in the wings! This Wednesday – December 1st – is the highly anticipated opening night of “The Ever After,” a lighthearted musical comedy highlighting the relational woes of some your favourite fairy-tale characters as they seek to reconcile with each other.

There are still seats available for the following performances:

• Wednesday (7:30 PM) – Adults: $8.00, Children/Youth (Gr. 6-12): $5.00, Family: $20.00
• Thursday Christmas Dinner Theatre (6:00 PM) – $25 per person (age 15 & over) includes banquet. This is a semi-formal/formal event.

• (Please note that Friday’s Dinner Theatre is already sold out.)

To purchase tickets, please call the church office: 261-0070.

So get those snow-tires on your pumpkin… er… stagecoach, and we’ll see you there!

The preschool kids are asked to wear a brightly colored shirt with dark bottoms on the performance day and the elementary kids are asked to wear all black.

Practices have already begun, so please ensure that your kids are coming to church regularly.

For further information please come to the Kidz Rock Check-in desk.

One Tuesday each month we have a gathering that we call “Power and Praise,” an evening where we come together to draw near to God with our praise and to experience His power as the Holy Spirit leads. Starting at 7:30 pm, the night is full of praise music and time for ministry through prayer and the gifts of the Spirit.

But why is this so exciting?

In recent months 200-300 people have been coming out, and the number just keeps growing. We have seen legs grow, backs healed, shoulders healed, chronic headaches lifted, and the list goes on. And this is just testimonies of healing! Many of the gifts of the Spirit have been in operation any given Power & Praise night.

Come on out this Tuesday (November 23rd) —you won’t regret it!

Bill and Charles from” The Fantastic World” captivated the kids with their zany humor and outrageous stunts. The message they shared of how we are all God’s masterpiece was the perfect endng to such a great show.

In addition the kids had a blast going around and participating in 49 carnival games, ate cotton candy, jumped on bouncers, won door prizes and collected tons of candy.

This successful event could not have been accomplished without the work and dedication of over 100 volunteers.
Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

One of the things that we are really excited about is the area you are currently in. As a  large church, with lots of activities, there are tons of things happening that you will want to be aware of.  Whether it be a significant healing that has happened, an update on a missions fundraiser, or whatever other interesting piece of information comes up.  Not only that, if you are into things like RSS and the like, we have all those options as well so that you will know as soon as a new post has been made to the site.

You will also discover that you now have access to a full calendar of events. Any event that is happening at the church, whether it be a small group meeting, or a large event, you will find listed with the details of the event in the events section of the site.  Or if you visit some of the specific ministry pages, you may find the next upcoming event for that specific ministry.

Some other points of interest:

We have integrated Pastor Mark’s blog into the site. There is a quick link section near the bottom of every page bringing you to some of the most popular pages on the site. Of course, you can still watch the last episode that was aired on TV online if you missed it. We even have plans in the near future to have a video tour of our church.

We would love to hear your thoughts on the new site. Just fill out the “Leave a Reply” section below and click “Post Comment”. Let me be the first to welcome you to our new website.