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Richview Baptist Church
Annual Report 2014
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Table of Contents
Pastors Report…………………………….……………………………………………………………………3
Deacons Report………………………………………………………………………………………………..5
Richview Baptist Foundation…………………………………………………………………………….6
Property Committee…………………………………………………………………………..…………….8
First Impressions……………………………………………………………………………………….……11
Library…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….12
Registrar…………………………………………………………………………………………………………13
Worship Ministries……………………………………...…………………………………………………14
Outreach Ministries……………………………………………………………………………..…………15
Children’s Ministries………………………………………………….……………………………………18
Youth – Senior High…………………………………………………………………………………………21
Men’s Ministries……………………………………………………….…….………………………………22
Women’s Ministries………………………………………………………..………………………………23
Senior’s Ministries(J.O.Y)………………………………………………..………………………………25
2014 Church Leadership…………………………………………….……………………………………26
Ministry Coordinators……………………………………………..………………………………………27
Auditor’s Report……………………………………………………….…………………………………….28
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Pastor’s Report “On the surface you appear like a swan graciously gliding along, but beneath the surface you’re paddling like a person possessed to get ahead.” Perhaps a ‘swan’ is not the best animal to describe this church year, but it has been a year of asking tough questions, developing muscles of following-‐through, and sacrifices. With changes we have been learning to evaluate as we are making progress in getting people with gifting into areas of lasting significance.
One muscle we are trying to keep front and center is our purpose. We exist to make disciples of Jesus. We want to make more and better disciples of Jesus Christ. When we think about our ministries, programs, staff, missionaries, budget, and even our physical facilities(just to name a few), is that mission front and center?
This past year brought a lot of staffing changes due to financial changes and asking tough questions about how are we doing with balancing our purpose. We let go of two of our operations staff(Evelyne Debana, Dwain Wagg), and transitioned current staff into roles that would allow us to focus more deliberately on discipleship. For over a year we have been in the process of reviewing our Global Outreach strategy and asking what does in look like to make disciples most effectively locally, national and internationally going forward? We have been communicating with our current missionaries and putting in a reapplication and strategic process for 2016. We launched an internship program and had interns from Germany and Australia come and serve with us.
Local outreach initiatives are focusing intentionally on creating environments where conversations can happen that lead to people getting integrated and connected to the wider church body. We have been seeing many new faces due to the foodbank, Mom’s arise, care, foodbank, and other programs.
There is an intentional focus on seeing everyone connected it community. We see that best realized in Community Groups and are seeing a significant number integrate in weekly smaller gatherings to study God’s Word, worship together, and share their journeys.
We have much to be thankful for. It’s exciting to pray, dream, process and dialogue about the possibilities that lie ahead. Let us commit ourselves to growing in Christlikeness and join together to more people in the adventure of becoming like Christ in 2015!
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Our Purpose…
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Deacons Report
In 2014 the board of deacons undertook the following key initiatives:
Studying Deep & Wide by Andy Stanley – This year all of the deacons read and discussed this text at our meetings. It is about creating a church that is both “Deep” where people are growing closer to Christ and “Wide” where we are reaching out to those who don’t yet know Jesus by creating a church that they want to attend. It challenged each of us in a number of areas and we would encourage you to read this book if you haven’t done so already. It’s available in our library.
Reviewing and Linking to RBC’s Purposes – this year the deacons spent a great deal of time reviewing the purposes of RBC. These are:
• Worship • Evangelism • Discipleship • Demonstrating our love by meeting the needs of others, particularly believers
Each of the deacon ministry leads determined how their ministry fulfills RBC’s purposes. We were then challeneged to evaluate how each ministry is doing at fulfulling these purposes and how do we measure it? This is still very much a work in progress and God is using it to bring clarity to the purpose(s) of each ministry.
Missions Strategy Development – to the currently serving deacons knowledge there has never been a missions strategy at Richview. This presented a struggle every year at buget time. Questions like: Are we giving enough to missions? Why do we give to these missions and not others? Should we give a smaller amount of money to more missions or more money to fewer missions? Etc. were impossible to answer. The deacons spent a great deal of time wrestling with these questions. This item was referred to the Elders board for guidance and they have taken it on to develop this strategy in 2015.
Analyzing Finances – the deacons board regularly reviews how the church is doing financially to ensure that we can continue to meet our financial obligations. The deacons also headed up the creation of a very challenging, but exciting, 2015 budget.
Creation of Quarterly Ministry Reports – the deacons headed up the gathering of what’s happening in each ministry at Richview on a quarterly basis. This report was distributed to the Elders, Deacons, and Ministry Leads so that we could all be informed of the exciting things happening in each ministry as well as prayer requests. We are pleased to announce that we will be distributing these church wide starting in April of this year. Keep your eyes peeled for them.
If you have any questions about the above items please feel free to discuss them with any of the deacons: Cheri Arthurs, Bob Dormer, Laurie Dormer, Anicet Kumkum, Lori McMurray, Susan Netterfield, Paul Payne, or Paul Redlich. We’re here to serve.
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Richview Residence Foundation Report
Mission Statement The Richview Baptist Foundation, a ministry of Richview Baptist Church, is a caring and professional team who live out Christian values in the provision of high quality, affordable housing and related services that enrich and vitalize the lives of seniors, their families, and our community as a whole. The Foundation Board is responsible to the Richview Baptist Church to oversee the operations of the Kipling and Clement Seniors Residence next door to the Church. There are 323 apartments and approximately 350 residents living in the 2 residences.
The Foundation Board usually meets the first Tuesday of each month, addressing the many issues that arise while running the 2 buildings including:
• Vacancy Rates and Transitions – there were 48 transitions in 2014, which is roughly a 15% turnover rate, historically a very high rate;
• Capital issues include updating the water, heating, ventilation, lighting and electrical systems. Other capital issues include roof repairs over the dining room, replacement of the CCTV security system, and Clement generator replacement;
• Various Committees -‐ Bylaw, Human Resources, Nominating, Finance, Capital Planning, 2017/2020, JOY Fellowship, RCCSC, and Emergency Planning committees; and,
• The Foundation sponsors the Christmas Day luncheon for seniors remaining at the Residence over Christmas. Thank you Marilyn for organizing this event.
The Foundation helps fund the outreach to the senior’s community through the JOY Fellowship. Jonathan Clarke leads the bible study on Tuesdays, oversees the Hymn Sing every third Sunday and helps out the seniors program where needed. In September 2014, Marissa Magnusson was contracted to supply Compassionate Ministries to the Foundation and seniors in the residence.
Many of the seniors from the Kipling and Clement Buildings are involved at the Richview Baptist Church. Activities include:
• Assisting at the Food Bank on Friday morning and Sunday afternoons; • Assisting in the children’s After School Program; • Hymn Sing every third Sunday night at 6:00 pm; • The May Garage Sale, sorting donated articles and the day of the garage sale; • JOY (Just Older Youth) Fellowship activities; • Jonathan Clarke’s senior’s bible study on Tuesday mornings at 10:30 am; and, • Of course participating and attending Sunday Morning Services.
The seniors that live at the Residence are very busy at Richview Baptist Church.
We are very thankful to have Jane Kuchma and her dedicated staff that are the face of the Foundation to the residents. I thank them for their dedication.
The Foundation Board of Directors for 2014 included:
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Marilyn Awong, Director, John Christopher, Secretary, Gordon Cooper, Co-‐Treasurer Linda Harvey, Co-‐Treasurer, Bill Marshall, Director Bonnie Maginn, Director Don Neverson, Director David Richards, Vice-‐President Lois Tullo, Director Robert Dormer, President I want to thank these Board members for serving on the Foundation Board. Our Annual General Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 24, 2015, at 7:00 pm. Hope to see you there.
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Richview Residence Community Care Matthew 25:40 Jesus reminds us “Whatever you did for one of the least of these Brothers / Sisters of mine, you did for me “ In following directives set out by the provincial government on de-‐linking tenancy from services, the then Richview Residence Supportive Housing Corporation was established on June 7, 1996 as a separate organization from the Foundation. Its mission has been to provide home support to individuals residing at the Richview Residence and now Widdicombe Hill/Blvd needing help with their day-‐to-‐day activities.
We have since that time witnessed a significant and noticeable growth in our staff count and the number of individuals who are utilizing our services each year. The Central West Local Integration Network provides 100% of the funding for our services which include:
• Assisted Living Services with Personal Support Workers
• A Care Centre located in a two-‐bedroom apartment serving as a place of transition from the hospital to the patient’s home or much needed respite for at home caregivers.
• ACTIVA is a congregate dining seniors’ program offering a nutritious lunch, exercise classes and group social activities.
Our relationships with our historic partners and some new ones have continued to develop and together provide outreach to seniors: • With the Central West CCAC and 1 to 1 Rehab, to provide Exercise Classes for the Richview
tenants held on Tuesdays and Fridays in the Richview Baptist Church gym; • With The Good Food Box Program, providing Richview tenants quality fresh fruits &
vegetables in boxes delivered monthly along with recipes; • With Dr. W. Degroot, a flu shot clinic made available in the Kipling lounge to tenants and
staff; • With ESS Support Services, the Richview Home Help Program for tenants. Financial subsidies
available to those who qualify; • With UNB/Humber 3rd year Nursing students, proving community health care focused
workshops; • With other community health service providers and services agencies/companies for a
variety of information sessions about programs, services, health care and access. In 2013 -‐ 2014, we receiving funding from the Central West LHIN through the Community Based Funding Initiative provided by the Ontario Ministry of Health for another Assisted Living Services program. RCCS now provides this program to tenants in the seven apartment buildings along Widdicombe Hill and Widdicombe Hill Boulevard.
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Although we are now faced with the issue of office space, we trust that God, who opened the door for us to share the Gospel with our neighbors, will also provide us with a solution for our growing staff. For His word says: “Be still and know that I am God” Psalm 45:10 Our Annual General Meeting was held on June 19th 2014. A special resolution for our current by-‐law 4.4 was updated and voted on to meet the expectation of the new Canada Not-‐For-‐Profit Corporation Act regarding governance office terms of Board members. Our 2014 Board of directors included: Lisa Mudie, RCCS Director William Marshall, President Sylvia Solomon, Vice President Linda Hill, Secretary Philip Mayers, Treasurer Evelyne Debane, Director Inez Cann, Director Doreen Dennis, Director Christine Lebow, Director Marilyn Awong, Foundation Rep. Director For more on the corporation please go to our website: http://rccsc.org
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In early 2014 our property insurer reviewed the replacement value of our property. We worked closely with them to ensure that the information they were using was accurate. This resulted in a reduced rate increase for our property insurance.
Property Committee This year the property committee undertook a number of projects to maintain and improve other ministries through providing a safe and welcoming environment. Some of these projects included:
Property Insurance Discussions Gym Roof Repairs
The flashing around the chimney near the gym was leaking and water was coming into the kindergarten room. The roof was repaired at a cost of ~$5K.
Main Washroom Renovations
During the summer of 2014 our washrooms underwent a makeover to improve the lighting, replace the defective dividers, replace the sinks and countertops and improve accessibility. Special thanks to Simple Designs for completing this renovation on time and on budget as well as to our decoration team (Heather Boyachek, Lenore Friesen-‐Caven and Dawna Haywood) for selecting the colours, tiles, and artwork.
Grant Caven Dawna Haywood
Joe Tullo Paul Redlich Dwain Wagg
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First Impressions 2014 saw the inauguration of the "First Impressions Ministry" which was created by combining our previous greeters, ushers, coffee/tea & library teams into one ministry.
Our mission statement commits us to "...work with all other ministries, within Richview, to ensure guests are welcomed into our community" and since our inception we have reached out to three people who have filled in information cards. In all three cases these guest were interested in additional information so they were passed on to the appropriate ministry heads (i.e. church membership) so their needs could be addressed. There were also many guests, welcomed by our greeters and ushers, who did not fill in information cards. These people were encouraged to come back and to attend the various functions being held at the church. If you see a guest in our community we encourage you to reach out to them and say hello, but if you feel hesitant we encourage you to seek out one of the First Impression team members. Everyone who enters our community should leave feeling welcomed and encouraged to return.
In 2015 we're having 4 training sessions. If you are interested in learning more about the ministry, or would like to become a member of our team, please plan on attending one of the sessions. (dates to be announced) You can also speak with Kate Widgery if you wish to be added to the email list. Everyone is welcome and we are always open to new ideas. As the team grows we are aiming to have a "traffic" division so if you see a need please bring it to our attention.
It would be remiss of us if we didn't close by acknowledging all the hard work and dedication put in over the years by the previous teams. We want to say "Thank You" for your leadership and dedication and we look forward to growing even more while serving Him.
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Library Ministry
Chapter 1 January to March, 2014
To keep our collection updated, we purged books published before 1990. These were offered to the congregation and leftovers donated to a couple of different causes.
Chapter 2
April to June 2014 With a number of donations and books picked up at the Garage Sale, we were kept busy
organizing and cataloguing books to put on the shelves. The two most popular categories -‐ fiction and children's – were completed first, followed by non-‐fiction.
Chapter 3
July to September 2014 It was a good summer with people checking out books to read and movies to watch
while on holidays or at the cottage. Although we were pleased at the amount of materials returned during September Amnesty Month, there were a number outstanding.
We attended the opening of Agape, a new Christian Bookstore in North York and purchased some newly-‐published books and recently-‐released movies to add to our collection. These
items were catalogued and ready for check-‐out on Ministry Sunday in September.
Chapter 4 October to December 2014
DVDs continued to be an important part of the materials we offer in the library. We received a donation of 4 DVDs in the fall. The new Christmas-‐themed DVDs and books we purchased/received throughout the year proved to be a popular addition.
Chapter 5
Looking forward into 2015 We’ll be contacting people who have overdue materials -‐ especially children's DVDs as
this section of the library is looking very sparse. With budget approval to purchase computer software, we’re looking for volunteers to
help computerize our collection.
Special Thanks to: Nancy Burell, Lora Klatt, Colleen Christopher and Brad Redlich for their assistance during
the past year.
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Registrar’s Report Each year new and interesting events are happening at Richview. We have seen an increase in attendance & membership. This past year our Constitution was modified to remove the Associate Member category. (These were non-‐attending members who had moved or were unable to attend services.) For both statistics and the voting quorum, it’s important to keep the active membership as current as possible. If you have any questions or need to check on church membership, or would like to give me your e-‐mail address so I can e-‐mail a copy of the minutes, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]. My report is as follows:
Active Membership as of December 2014 -‐ 109
New members welcomed in 2014-‐ 9
Deceased Members in 2014 -‐ 0
Child Dedications -‐ 0
Baptisms 2
Attendee or Members Marriages 0
Congregational Meetings -‐ 3
Respectfully Submitted
Bonnie Maginn Registrar
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Worship Ministry BOOM! That's what it felt like to be a part of the Worship Team in 2014. God was blowing up all sorts of things… in very positive ways. We started 2014 with a small, very dedicated core group of musicians, a fledgling Creative Design Team, and sound equipment that worked but had lots of limitations. BOOM! We ended the year with a growing Music Team, an effective Creative Design Team, and lots of new sound equipment. Along the way, we learned from other worship leaders at a conference, wrote a Worship Handbook, created an audition process, started using two new software programs, researched & installed & learned new hardware, started lessons for musicians who are learning a new instrument, and saw God work. Every week, the Worship Team (Pastor Joe, Music Team, Creative Design Team & Tech Team) works to cooperate with the Holy Spirit to plan and lead corporate encounters with God -‐ times where God can transform us by showing us His glory. We strive for consistent, engaging, exciting and practical experiences of worship -‐ for a multigenerational, multicultural, urban, churched/unchurched/dechurched congregation. Our desire is to break down the barriers that prevent people from freely engaging in worship. The Creative Design Team adds sights, drama, videos, things to touch, sounds and other elements that engage people and help us to remember God's message -‐ from blowing a shofar horn to a bridal gown to business cards to Advent candles. The Music Team creates a unified service through music that reinforces the main theme of the sermon -‐ from songs about the church as the Bride of Christ to songs with lyrics from the book of Revelation. We've been asking tough questions, thinking intentionally, and examining what we do and why -‐ such as how to make the celebration of communion more meaningful. And the only way any of this could happen -‐ week after week, with a bunch of volunteers who are amateur musicians, technicians and artists -‐ is by God's grace. He led us through 2014, making each Sunday morning service what He wanted it to be, sharing His grace with the Team, bringing new people to worship at Richview and revealing more of Himself. Sound Report The sound crew has spent much of 2014 preparing and upgrading the sound system with updated technology to help facilitate an environment conducive to authentic worship. • Upgraded microphones and monitors for the musicians. • Removed and replaced all the wires that run from the sound system to the stage • Installed a digital sound board • Increased monitor channels from 2 to 4 which further enhanced the flexibility of the
musicians on stage and provides them with more customized sound This has resulted in a significant improvement in sound quality for the services. Special thanks to Paul Payne, Dean Michalagas and Scott Gould for lending their electrical and soldering expertise and putting in countless hours along with Chris, Dwain and Laurie to get the installation completed without impacting a Sunday morning service.
Next steps include upgrading the speaker system (in 2015) and continuing to look for opportunities to improve the technology support for Sunday mornings. We are also looking for additional volunteers. If you are interested in joining the team please speak to Dwain Wagg.
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OUTREACH MINISTRIES FOOD BANK REPORT It has been a busy and productive second year. The Food bank Planning Committee meets monthly to review and make necessary changes to our operation as we gain more experience.
We have 4 Weekly Managers who oversee the running of the FB. Jonathan, Linda, Vince, Hannah (co-‐managers), Micha. I have the privilege to serve as Administrative Co-‐Ordinator with Jonathan Clarke as the Director/Project Co-‐Ordinator. On an average we need approx. 20-‐25 volunteers per week to operate.
The Richview Food Bank is open every Sunday between 2:30-‐4:30. The food is delivered from the DBFB headquarters every Friday. 5-‐8 volunteers come to help sort and store the food for use on Sunday.
We have shortages of food available to our guests & twice we’ve had to close early. If you can help by provide staples Sundays it would be greatly appreciated:
It has been hectic, busy and interesting to co-‐ordinate the church space with other activities including our monthly potluck. Many thanks to the church family for staying and helping us get ready on Sundays. We also praise God for the many people who have volunteered to come at least once a month to help serve our guests.
This past year we have averaged approx. 60-‐70 families each week (# of people served 310; Dependants served 200)
This winter has again been a challenge. Because of the bad weather conditions, we have opened the door a little ahead of time & placed chairs in the foyer so the guests don’t have to wait outside for the opening.
Thanks to God for providing volunteers, guests and leaders. It’s a privilege to reach out and help people who need food. But also to try and help them pick themselves up by giving them contacts and resources to find help for families and possibly jobs. This is part of Richview’s mission to reach out into our community and show them we care. Please continue to pray for this outreach mission.
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Summer Camp Looking back over the six years that I have been involved with Summer Camp. I think this is the highlight. We strive to get better each year , and this year I think it all came together. By Gods grace we could do better next year. The group of leaders we employed where fantastic, they really bonded together during training. Micah ran a volunteer training during the last three days of camp training and on the second last night of camp training was able to give the gospel call to all the volunteers, leaders and their friends. This and the training set the tone that this camp was about something bigger than us. The theme of the camp was the “tree of life “ and we presented the gospel message through this theme starting with the soil, the roots , the trunk and the branches, we spoke about fruit and the cross and the resurrection all through skit,s and bible stories. The highlight at each camp was the “Final Day presentation where the children presented a song hey had learned. This year the songs and one play each had a gospel message, and we where able to point to Jesus in a very clear way.
We charged $60 per family for camp this year. This definitely had an impact on the attendance and we had an average of 66kids per day in Camp 1 and 70 in Camp 2. Again the kitchen was run by Lori McMurray and as always when the kids where asked what did you like most about camp it was the food..again. well done Lori. The drama and crafts were all a blast. The day trips all went well the weather was cool but we had a lot of fun and no one was left behind.
What was really cool was the way that the enthusiasm of the leaders was so infectious that it drew people from the into the circle. It gave me a picture of what the gospel should be like, people are drawn by the magnetism of Jesus.
Thank You to everyone who had anything to do with Summer Camp big or small, you made it into a fantastic time for 140 kids in our neighborhood.
What can I say Summer Camp this year was just a privilege to be a part of. I am so thankful to God for what he was able to do. I am amazed.
The finances for Camp ran over this year. What is extremely difficult to gauge is the is the amount of donations we receive. This year that was substantially less than it has been in previous years. Even though we charged a registration fee this year. We still were short by approximately $3000.00.
Many thanks for your continued support for the Summer Camp. Please remember this ministry in your giving and that the kids who come to camp this is the Highlight of their summer.
After School Program Spring Term After school ended on the 13th of June and we had a great send for the kids with a BBQ at our house. This year because of the number of kids and leaders we did not invite siblings and Family which was unfortunate, but we can only fit a limited number of people. Again we are grateful to God for his abundant provision for us over the passed year. We have been blessed with ample
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provision of food , feeding the kids a small meal each day. We have been blessed by the volunteers who give of their time to help at the ASP and we always seem to have enough leaders. We are particularly thankful to Phil and Marissa who were always there and provided a level of holiness that we had not experienced before they were a real blessing to us as we pray that we were to them.
Fall Term This year at the ASP we have made some changes. The LIT group comes only on a Wednesday & Thursday. These are the kids grades 7 & 8. We decided that this year only we would allow grade 6 students to attend the program, but next year the ASP would end at grade 5. We have 23 kids coming out daily, 6 of these children are from our church family. We have never had that many from our church family.We have 2 new interns Bradley and Simon from Australia & Germany respectively. They are each leading a group, and finding their way at leading a group of children through the different daily activities. Each Wednesday and Friday we change the program up a bit and do a craft or activity or visit a local park, we have had such good fall weather so far we have visited every Park in the neighborhood. At Bible Story time we have focussed on some of the attributes of God, and the next two weeks we will be focussing on the Holy Spirit. A number of us are running the Scotia Bank Marathon, half marathon and 5km, to raise funds for the ASP. Our goal is to raise $6000.00 we are at $4486 at the time I am writing this, so this has been an effective fund raiser. Pray for us when we run.
The After School program welcomed two interns in September Simon from Germany and Bradley from Australia. Unfortunately Bradley's visa did not work out and he had to return to Australia. We had 24 kids all together in the program in 3 separate groups. The bible teaching this fall term was Who is God, Who/What is the Holy Spirit, Who are we?, Who is Jesus. This took us right from the creation story to the birth of Jesus at Christmas time. We did a lot of park visits on Fridays while the weather was warm, and a lot of skating to end the term in December. Rebecca takes over the day to day running of the program from the beginning of January, as I will be focusing more on Community groups and discipleship.
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Children's Ministries He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. Colossians 1: 28 -‐ 29.
Children's Ministry operates on two different occasions. One is Sunday with Sunday School and the other is Tuesday evening with Kids Club!
In Sunday School we strive to teach the Word of God in a way that the children can use in their everyday lives with the emphasis on learning the overall bible with Jesus connecting the whole bible. In Kids Club we strive to teach the Word of God in a way they can use in their everyday lives with the emphasis on sharing Jesus in our friendships.
Sunday, Sunday School:
Wow, God has provided people to teach our Richview Children on Sundays. Sundays find 11 teens through seniors serving our 17 -‐ 30 children each week.
• Our Nursery Team welcomes the youngest of our congregation and visitors. The Team is ready to welcome families at 10:15 am. Here the children are rocked, read to, played with, fed and comfort. This is where they learn about God from others who are not their parents. Linda Harvey heads up the Nursery Team. Thank You, so very much Linda in your arranging of caring teams who I hear cooing and laughing with the little ones.
• Our Preschool/Kindergarten Team works with our Preschoolers through Sr. Kindergartners. The Team is ready to welcome families at 10:15 am. This is a fun room with a castle, small tables and our assistants and teachers sitting or on the floor with our children. There is time for play, a bible lesson, craft and a snack. The children are beginning to learn memory verses; one/month. Stickers are received for knowing the verse. This class has begun to use the Gospel Light curriculum and will be going through the bible in 2 years. This class begins to learn to apply Jesus and His teachings to their lives. Hannah Redlich lead volunteers to go through the room to sort and wash toys. Thank You, Hannah for organizing and serving our Preschooler/Kindergartners! We have met for some basic training for this Team.
• Our Grade 1 & 2 Team teaches up in the loft. Every bit of the classroom space is used for this class! The children go to their class when they are invited right before the sermon. In this way the children are beginning to learn to Worship with their families and extended church family. The curriculum in Gospel Light. This curriculum goes through the bible in four years connecting Jesus through out and to the children's lives. This year we are working on memory verses for prizes!
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We have 2 new teachers in this class we are very glad to have. Each of them loves Jesus and is learning how to take the written pages of curriculum and apply it to the classroom. Our designer is from this team. At times letters and memory verse charts are designed. Thank You, Heather Boyachek!
• Our Grade 3 -‐ 5 Team teaches in the corner of the activity room. Squeezed around the tables is our largest class of 10 -‐ 18 students. Here too, the children go to their class when they are invited. We are training our children to worship! The curriculum in Gospel Light goes through the bible in four years. The Grade 1 -‐ 5 have concurrent lessons, the students continue to get the whole Bible in four years. This year we are working on memory verses for prizes!
We have met for some basic training for this Team.
• Family Worship: The children join our church family for four times throughout the year: Christmas for two Sundays, Easter and Good Friday
• Children's Security Team: We have two volunteers working each Sunday who know where all the children's classes are located. One volunteer accompanies the children to the loft and the other accompanies the children to the activity room. They listen and watch to make sure all students arrive safely to their classes.
• Sunday School Supervisor: This volunteer phones, emails, facebooks, or talks to the teachers and assistants from Preschool -‐ Grade 5 to ensure the curriculum is in the right hands and that the lesson is being prepared. Last minute switches and substitutions are worked out. Teachers and Assistants are spotted and confirmed on premise on Sunday. Linda Harvey does this for the Nursery!
• Summer Sunday School: The children learned about the Armour of God! Here all the children Preschool -‐ Grade 5 meet and learn together. It is a fun and different setting for our children. Pam Maio wrote and designed the curriculum! Pam and Heather Boyachek worked on gathering and preparing all the craft supplies. Thank You, Ladies! It is exciting, we never know if there will be 7 or 30 children!
This does tend to be a challenging time as our volunteers are vacationing. Please pray that we have our volunteers for the summer of 2015.
Kids Club
Tuesday evenings is a very exciting time for our Children. There are 5 adults who come every week to work with the children. It is an evening to spend with friends learning about Jesus.
The children who are in the After School Program are served a full supper! Sandra Cooper, I can barely make supper for my family on Tuesdays, and there you are providing supper for kids, every single week! Thank You! You know what they like and you cook!
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At 7 pm an amazing Club begins with 20ish children sitting on couches. The evening in a full, fun packed, planned 1 1/2 hours. The whole evening is based around one bible story. The bible story is taught with in different fun ways with many surprises.
The children have a craft and snack that is based on the bible story. There is fun energy game time with lots of running! There is a small group time where the same adult lead application of the bible story to small group of children. This is a time for the kids to get to know an adult and share lives together.
Thank You, Sandra Cooper for planning, organizing and leading Kids Club!
God is Children's Ministries:
I see God working through the teachers and assistants in Sunday School and Kids Club. I hear the teachers tell me about what they are going to do for a lesson, or what they did for a lesson. Their excitement about conveying the word of God through a game, a story telling method or a personal experience is wonderful. I get so excited when teachers or assistants tell me about a new child visiting, or one returning who hasn't been to church for awhile. I also am in wonder when I hear reports about students reacting or thinking about the lesson.
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Enroute (Sr High Youth) Annual Report
2014 has been a good year for Sr High renamed Enroute in September! We had an amazing retreat at Muskoka woods last winter, spent an evening at SkyZone, assisted with the garage sale and enjoyed a Summer Retreat in Muskoka.
In the spring and summer we did some fundraising to assist with renovating the ‘snake room’ to make it more conducive to studying God’s word. This was a great opportunity for the students to feel valued and to develop skills through various tasks. We are in the process of putting final touches on the room. Thank-‐you to all those who supported the renovations through rent-‐a-‐youth, movie nights and donations. Special thank-‐you to Grant Cavin who spent countless hours mentoring students and working on the room.
We continue to meet on Tuesday evenings to study God’s word and encourage application in how the students interact in school and at home. Our most recent focus has been a study from Mathew on Jesus’s life and how he teaches us to live.
We started a student leadership training team this year. Students who applied are paired up with a mentor to meet regularly, be kept accountable and encouraged to grow in their faith. We have also had some leadership training and planning sessions with these students.
We also started a bi-‐weekly drop in on Friday Nights. This is a great opportunity for the teens to hang out, play games and build relationships. We are averaging 30 high school students a night which is a huge blessing. God has also provided some additional adult leaders for the drop in!
We have seen tremendous grow in our students this year. Our numbers have grown significantly and we are regularly seeing new students come out. Praise God that 2 of our students were baptised this past year and one other decide to commit to following Jesus.
In early March we will be going on our Winter Retreat. We have chosen a new location this year which is significantly more affordable then Muskoka Woods but also requires us to plan the whole weekend. This has opened up the opportunity for many of the students in our community to attend. Please pray that they will be open to hear the gospel message and that we will see both lives come to Christ and students grow in their faith.
In the spring we are looking to do a resume and interview workshop to help the students look for summer jobs. This is a practical way we can encourage and support our youth. If you know of any opportunities for summer work, please reach out to Laurie or Micha with the details.
Thank-‐you for your continued prayer and support of this ministry. We continue to see the Holy Spirit working in our students!
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Men’s Fellowship
It has been an honour to serve God by serving the men of Richview Baptist Church through the Men’s Fellowship. We meet monthly for breakfast, a testimony from one of our men or a guest and pray together. This past year we have seen God work in numerous ways.
• We have seen God change lives as testified by those men who gave their personal testimony at a meeting. A few have never publicly given witness of their faith and it blessed them to do so and encouraged us all.
• God continues to grow men such as Bob Fukumoto as he serves in Romania and John McMurray through his outreach within his community.
• Just this last fall one man came for the first time to the fellowship breakfast and felt very loved and welcomed. He attended Richview worship the following morning and has been attending faithfully ever since.
• Each meeting we have a time of prayer. Some of the men have verbally prayed for the first time.
• God has delivered men from the bondage of addictions and has freed them to worship Him.
• We have seen God’s love as we pray for and support one another in each of the circumstances the men have in their lives.
• Just recently men opened up about mental illness by sharing their personal story with mental illness and were much supported by the other men.
We are blessed to have the meetings in the home of Jessey Njau and Jonathan McMurray and for the excellent breakfast prepared by Lisa and her team. We look forward to God growing us together in the future.
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Women’s Ministries
“The power in prayer is not found in the eloquence of the one who prays, but in the power of God who answers.”…Roy Lessin
Again thank you to the Richview Residence for the provision of the Craft Room January to June and September to December on the first Tuesday of the month, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. In July and August we met in our church foyer.
Again we prayed for church ministries, missionaries, persecuted peoples, special church related events, our governments, our own needs, families and friends. An exchange of card requests kept us in touch with one another for the month. Also we communicate during the month by the e-‐mail prayer chain.
At one meeting we had an unexpected visitor who was suffering from deep depression. We were amazed that she physically made it. Through listening and prayer we were able to minister to her.
Alex Clarke’s September e-‐mails from Uganda suggested that we at home should be sharing our spiritual stories with each other. At our October and November prayer times we were blessed when two of our women shared with us.
A joyful evening in December was spent with the euchre club in the Coffee Shop with beverages and delicious goodies. We sang carols and prayed for their requests. We were all encouraged and it gave us opportunities to engage with some of these dear seniors at other times since then. We praise God for this amazing privilege!
At times those who are intimidated by verbally praying, have actually prayed out loud, we had one lady pray in her mother tongue and we are happy when people pray quietly – God hears every word and thought.
Throughout the year we prayed for new leadership for 2015 and perhaps a different time to meet, as some of our women began serving in other ministries on Tuesday evenings. God has answered with new leadership and a new day and time. We look forward to 2015 serving through prayer.
Moms Arise
We have now run 2 sessions of Moms Arise, the 1st in the Spring 2014 and the 2nd in the Fall 2014. The program consists of 6-‐8 week modules addressing Parenting, Self Esteem/Development & Finances, for Moms in the community. Each “Mom” is assigned a mentor (women from our church) who encourages, supports & assists them. The Fall session had 6 women in attendance (4 from Willowridge & 2 from our church). We will be starting another session January 27, 2015.
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This is how the women at Moms Arise are seeing God at work:
• God has provided the Moms. At the last session we had around 5 ladies attending and we now have 15 registered for this session (Jehovah Jireh – God our Provider)
• The blessing of Candice at Rexdale who has provided us with support, mentor training and the program materials
• Emily who is one of our mentors said she has personally seen God at work by the way she has been embraced into the program, even though she is from another church.(Romans 15:7 “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God”)
• Connections that have been made with the Moms and their children in the Willowridge building. Friendships are being formed.(John 13:34-‐35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”)
• God has allowed us to witness to the Moms through the “Life Maps” exercise – some of the mentors were able to share their stories with the Moms. One of the other mentors said “It was such a beautiful way to get to see Christ in the stories” (John 4:39 “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did”)
• God’s provision in the volunteers. He has provided meals and enough workers each week and we are especially thankful for Carole Plevin,who is also not part of our church but has served us faithfully every week.
• Having Muslim women attending our program and be willing to come into the church building.
• The fellowship between the mentors and the way we support and pray for each other. 1 Thessalonians 5:11New International Version (NIV) (1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing”).
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JOY FELLOWSHIP REPORT It was my privilege to serve as the Co-‐Ordinator for the JOY Fellowship for seniors. I understand that the acronym stands for Just Older Youth. We’ve held bi-‐monthly Luncheons with guest speakers. This is enthusiastically attended by 45-‐65 people from both the Richview Residences and others who attend our church. Our speakers have included, Barth Netterfield, Pastor Joe, and Alex Clarke on her mission trip to Uganda. Thanks to Jonathan Clarke and some church volunteers who prepare lovely luncheons for us to enjoy.
We are planning to hold a Luncheon Events about every 2nd month. If you can suggest potential speakers or performers, please let me know.
All seniors are invited, both from the Residences & the community. If you know a senior, please invite them to join us. Ticket are available about 2 weeks before the event and are available from Jonathan Clarke at the church or myself (#909 Kipling bldg. at Richview Residence or in church foyer)
My prayer is that He will use these events to enrich the lives of seniors and draw them to Himself.
Hymn Sing We held the final hymn sing for the year as a Carol Service in the Kipling Lounge at the residence..We had a fine time marking the story of Jesus Birth in Scripture and hymns; with punch and snacks after. Thanks to Phil Meyers, Randy Redlich and Bev Hallett who led the singing and to Bonnie Maginn for organizing the Carol Sing. We ran hymn sing through out the summer. It is so nice to see a large group of people so enthusiastic about singing praise to God. We are very indebted to Randy Redlich who leads us faithfully and Grant and Bev Hallett who provide the power point slides and the piano. They are such a blessing to us. The first hymn sing we almost filled the room with singers, and we had someone share their testimony with us it was so encouraging to here this story of a life changed by Jesus. It is so uplifting just praising God, and people in the residence are drawn by the familiar tunes of their youth and just walk in.
We have had a great year at hymn sing, please come and join us on the 3rd Sunday of the month in the Clement Theatre at 6-‐00pm.
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2014 CHURCH LEADERSHIP ELDERS
Grant Caven Rick Lynd
Joe Tullo Sandy McMurray
Barth Netterfield
OFFICERS
Chair of Elders…………………………………………………………………………………………………….……Grant Caven Chair of Deacons………………………………………………………………………………………………….…..Paul Redlich Treasurer……………………………………………………………………………………………….…………..Anicet Kumkum Moderator……………………………………………………………………………………………………..………Kate Widgery Registrar…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...…Bonnie Maginn Envelope Secretary………………………………………………………………………………………………..Philip Mayers
DEACONS
Cheri Arthurs Robert Dormer
Lori McMurray Paul Redlich
Sue Netterfield Lori Dormer
Paul Payne
MISSIONARIES Pierre & Janine Bolduc – FEB International -‐ FRANCE David & Kathy Cook – OMF – York University Robert & Janice Fukumoto -‐ International Teams -‐ ROMANIA Richard & Lori MacLean – Wycliffe -‐ USA Heritage Baptist College -‐ CAMBRIDGE Jeremy & Jessica Reurich – Urban Promise – TORONTO Church Planting – FEB Toronto – TORONTO
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MINISTRY COORDINATORS
Property………………………………………………………………………….………………………………….…….Paul Redlich First Impressions………………………………………………………………………………………………….…Kate Widgery Library(Resource)……………………………………………………………………………………..…………….Cheri Arthurs Envelope Secretary……………………………………………………………………………………..………….Philip Mayers Tellers Coordinator………………………………………………………………………………………..….Dawna Haywood Communion Preparation……………………………………………………………….….Marilyn and Willard Awong Potluck……………………………………………………………………….…………………………………………David Richards Outreach................................................................................................................ Jonathan Clarke Children’s Ministries ........................................................................................... Susan Netterfield Youth Ministries -‐ Senior High ................................................................................. Laurie Dormer Youth Ministries -‐ Junior High.........................................................................................Paul Payne Community Groups .............................................................................................. Barth Netterfield Finance..........................................................................................................................Joseph Tullo Men’s Fellowship.........................................................................................Rick Lynd / Jessey Njau Seniors Ministry..................................................................................................... Jonathan Clarke Worship Teams.........................................................................................................Lori McMurray Auditor .............................................................................................Bruce Nethercott & Company Richview Baptist Foundation ...................................................................................Robert Dormer Richview Community Care Services Corp............................................................. William Marshall Community Groups…………………………………………………………………………………………….Jonathan Clarke
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