Ministry Update :: Fall 2021

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Fall 2021

We have been enjoying an unusually warm Fall here in Central Alberta, which was really helpful in doing yard work and cutting and splitting wood. Winter is coming, and they tell us it will be cold and snowy. Two of the kids have snow shoveling jobs, so they are hoping for snow!
Here are some highlights from the Fall:

Oct 19: We started an online weekly Bible study with two ladies through our church. We’re teaching them through No Ordinary Story. The material seems to be answering a lot of questions for both women and they are very appreciative.

Oct 29: Ethan turned 13! We’re so thankful for our growing young man (who has now surpassed in height all the females in the family).

These pictures are from the moment when we discovered he had grown taller than both his sisters in the previous month, and this was just a few days before his 13th birthday. Thrilled him to the core. The girls? Not so much.

 

Part of celebrating his birthday was going on an icy walk to the waterfalls in Johnson’s Canyon in Banff National Park, and Cows Ice cream in downtown Banff. A beautiful day in God’s creation!

 

Nov 2: New warehouse shelving arrived in our office, desperately needed to organize our very crowded warehouse. It has taken a great deal of heaving and hauling over many days to get cases of books lifted off the pallets on the floor and up onto the shelves, but our warehouse is becoming much more efficient and manageable as a result. With so many supply issues, and paper costs rising rapidly, we are thankful to have a full warehouse ready to ship evangelism resources.

 

Nov 11-14: “No Ordinary Weekend” retreat – We weren’t sure if we’d be able to have one in 2021, but thankfully 50 others joined in for this evangelistic weekend. The series No Ordinary Story was taught to the teens and adults, and The Lamb to the kids. Troy and Naomi assisted in the presentation to the adults and Ellie, Adelaine and Ethan helped with the childrens’ program. While it was a smaller group than previous years, it was clear that a number were coming to a clear understanding of the Gospel for the first time and we know there were those who “passed from death to life” over the weekend. And there is a lot of excitement and interest building for the one planned for February! Praise the Lord! Check it out at noordinaryweekend.com and talk to us if you want to know more.

 

Nov 15: Finally, after many delays, the Radio Theatre version of the No Ordinary Series arrived in our office. This dramatic/musical presentation presents a creation-to-cross message through the lives of 3 individuals. Their stories (based upon the true testimonies of 3 individuals) are blended with 17 songs to present the Gospel message. We look forward to sharing more about this new tool with you!

 

Thanks so much for your prayers and support for us. We are keenly aware that none of the great things the Lord is doing through the ministry of GoodSeed would be possible if it weren’t for people like you giving generously and praying faithfully for us and the ministry. We’re so grateful.

Troy & Naomi

Do I Really Believe This?

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About 15 years ago, a church in Des Moines, Iowa start using The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus as a key component in ensuring their people had a clear understanding of the gospel. Basically, anyone new to the church, looking to join a small group, or wanting to become a church member first gets funneled into their “Starting Point” class. Over eight weeks, the class studies The Stranger book, and that way the entire congregation has the same foundations on which the pastors can build.

Do I really believe this?
This is Tyler’s story, and it comes from a public Facebook post from this church.

I have been a church goer all my life. Thus, Jesus, or at the very least the idea of Jesus, has always been a part of who I am. I am also a very factual person. I question and look for evidence and proof before making decisions. This inherently lead me for a few years to occasionally ask the questions “Do I really believe this?” or “How can I be sure? I began to look at church as a chore and something I had to do. It was not a productive or fulfilling time for me. I didn’t seek out Bible study groups or spend any time in the word.

So, although I was a church goer, it wasn’t until I went through the Soteria’s Starting Point Class where things began to click. The factual nature of the “Stranger on the Road to Emmaus” started giving me the insight I was looking for. The ever-lingering questions of “Do I really believe this?” or “How can I be sure?” began to fade and were replaced by requests like “Lord help me understand” or “Lord use me to do your will”. Fast forward a few months or so and pastor Mike did a two-week series on “Can We Trust Our Bibles?”. This put the final nail in the coffin and gave my annoyingly inquisitive mind the resolution I didn’t realize I was looking for.

In summary, in the past I could put up a good front and say the right things when asked, but it wasn’t until recently that I truly believed for myself that Jesus dies for our sins and credited us his righteousness. There is a new energy in who I am. I am excited and eager to go to church, be part of a growth group, and spend time in the Word. I look forward to growing and strengthening my faith in the years to come and leading my family in a God fearing, God first manner.

It is amazing what a clearly understood Gospel can do for people, even for people who have been going to church their whole lives!

This church is not alone
It seems that their approach to using The Stranger has caught on with other churches around them. We recently had a large order of books going to a nearby church, and we gave them a call to ask what they were doing. The church secretary told us that about 10 years ago, another church in the area also created a “Starting Point” course, which studies The Stranger as well. They run 3 courses each year and often have around 30 people attend each course on average. She also shared a quick story of her own. Her daughter started dating a fellow who wasn’t a believer, but began coming to church with her. The mother taught him through the course and he became a believer by its completion.

In the past week alone, we’ve had orders from five other churches in and around Des Moines, Iowa, plus a number more in the last few months. We don’t usually have the opportunity to speak to those ordering the books, but from what we can see, it seems that this approach to grounding a congregation is catching on in that area and we think that’s pretty cool!

Together with you for the Gospel.

Troy & Naomi

Skiing in the Canadian Rockies

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We played with gravity!
It is hard to believe that we have lived so close to the mountains for 14 years and haven’t learned to ski before now. Recently a friend taught our crew to ski at a local river valley ski slope, then a couple weeks later we went big: Banff Sunshine Village.
We were given some money for this trip and had a wonderful time as a family. Spent the night before in Banff, which means a visit to Cows Ice Cream, then hit the slopes in the morning.
It was painful to go to such a beautiful place without a better camera, but I figured it would be more painful to land on a better camera. Which I would have done…
It was simply amazing to be up at mountain tops with some fresh snow from the day before. We had beautiful blue skies, and since it was mid-week, hardly any lines for the lifts. It was a really great day!
Cows Ice Cream – taste of Maritimes in Banff
Stayed in Banff the night before. First time the kids have been in a pool in almost a year
15 minute gondola ride up to the ski hills
Last run of the day – just made it for the final 4PM lift up, then had the place pretty much to ourselves (except for ski patrol making sure we got off the hill). Amazing.
Dropped off rentals, then supper at the Rose & Crown in Banff.
Dropped off rentals, then supper at the Rose & Crown in Banff.
It was painful to go to such a beautiful place without a better camera, but I figured it would be more painful to land on a better camera. Which I would have done…
Only our second time skiing, this time at Banff Sunshine Village, one day after a snowfall and on a weekday, so hardly any lines.

Ministry Update :: Missions Reality

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We recently shared about George, an evangelist in Kenya, who is using GoodSeed tools to teach pastors and bishops about a Gospel of faith and grace. Some might be surprised to hear that this is needed in a nation with so many missionaries and churches. Syncretism–the mixing of different beliefs–has always been a major problem in missions and the church.

In teaching my own children about syncretism, I explained that many people think it is a form of addition, like 10 + 1 = 11: Biblical truth plus one other “truth” equals more truth.

The reality is more like 10 + (-1) = 9. Tacking on unbiblical “truth” usually ends up taking away from biblical truths.

Pastor George wrote last week about his experiences after sharing the Gospel with hundreds of pastors:

“We’ve found that, when teaching believers, you never know what and where the gaps exist in people’s minds. But when you teach from Creation to Christ, most of those gaps get filled in. Then you have true understanding, and an understood gospel is a powerful gospel.

Yesterday at our Pastors conference, several Pastors were surprised at the Biblical worldview of life after death … It became a major point of questions. Many of them not only strongly believe but also preach that when people die they turn into spirits and they hover around watching their families and often torment their families if they were evil. They believe that the evil dead turn to nyawawa. They have sermons about those who died poor, barren, single, sick, etc coming back as jochiende to inflict those pains on others that they are angry at…

In African traditional religion, every tribe has their own worldviews regarding origins, life, death, and the afterlife. Our worldviews teach us that we have the living, the dead, the living-dead, the ancestors, and that we have a relationship with these dead, living-dead, and ancestors. We are to respect them lest we hurt their feelings and invoke their wrath. We have rain makers, magicians, and other spiritists who can mediate between us and these evil spirit relatives.

Some people come to Christ with these concepts and they become pastors. Their idea of a pastor is just like the magician and spiritist mediator between the living and the spirits. So people need to give them money or property … to get deliverance from demonic harassment.

We are thankful to simply teach a Biblical worldview as tell the Bible story from Genesis to Christ and to watch lights go on for many as the Holy Spirit opens their eyes to behold wonderful truths in God’s word.“

Syncretism is always harder to see in your own culture but obvious for someone from outside. From North America, we can clearly see it in churches in other lands, but sometimes people from outside the Western culture visit North American churches and are shocked by what they see added in here.

Solid and foundational Bible teaching is so necessary, and we are thankful to play a small part.

Together with you for the Gospel,

Troy & Naomi