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Outreach falls under the supervision of our Evangelism Support Committee.
The mandate of this committee is to inform the Abbotsford community about our
church and what we believe and to encourage members to become involved in the
area of outreach. This is achieved through various programs and initiatives.
Our Host Family program designates a different family each
Sunday for the purpose of welcoming and greeting worshippers to our church.
Offers for lunch or tea provide an opportunity to become better aquainted with
visitors or fellow members.
The Berry Beat Festival is a local festival held in downtown
Abbotsford. Our church has a booth at which we seek to spread the good news of
Jesus Christ to our community. We offer informative handouts, a free Bible
course (done through the mail), free Bibles, and a chance to sign up for our
annual Vacation Bible School.
Vacation Bible School runs each
summer. This week-long program involves children learning about our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ through Bible stories, songs, and activities. Of the roughly 100 children that participate,
about two-thirds are not members of our church. It
culminates in a closing program held at noon on the Friday at which the children share with
parents/family what they have learned over the week.
Operation Christmas Child provides a practical way for us to
share the joy of Christmas with children living in countries that have been
ravaged by war, famine, extreme poverty, disease, or natural disaster. Shoe
boxes are packed with practical and fun things for children who would otherwise
never receive such gifts.with various items and distributing them to orphaned
children as Christmas gifts.
For the past few years we, as a church, have been having food drives to help
out St. Chiara Community House. A former member of our church
is involved with this group of houses in the downtown eastside of Vancouver. It
is a project funded entirely by the individuals who run it. The community house
works on showing three important things: compassion, discipleship, and justice
to the local street people in the east end of Vancouver. They share devotions,
mealtimes, quiet prayer times, Bible Study, and themselves. Upon delivery of
the food (and clothing), members of our church have been able to meet some of
the people who've benefited from our support.
The Cyrus Centre is a local, inner
city ministry, providing a safe and welcoming place for youth
to get food, shelter, do laundry, have a shower, receive referrals, advocacy and exit the streets.
Members of the church support the centre by preparing and serving a meal every third Friday of the
month. Also, financial support is provided through collections.
The first Thursday of every month members of our church come to MSA Manor
to sing songs, read Scripture, and read poems to the elderly. We sing a lot of
the old hymns that are familiar to many of the residents.
Four times a year the Reformed Evangelism Taskforce puts out a magazine called
Evangel. This magazine has write-ups on Christianity, life
application, and Bible stories. We deliver these to the neighbourhood
surrounding our church and to some local offices/businesses.
We also offer a FREE Mail-in Bible Course. This is a booklet
called "Ultimate Questions", in which individuals can work through a series of
questions and mail in their completed answers. The questions will then be
marked and an ensuing chapter will be mailed back to the individual for further
completion. Please contact the evangelism support committee via our
contact page to request your first lesson.
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