Learning the Word: Ecclesiology

From WOLBRANOS

Pastor Bob Snell grew up in New Brunswick in a godly pastor’s home and was converted as a young boy. From 1972 – 1976 he attended the University of Guelph where he received an Honours BA in sociology and history. Between 1977 and 1980 he studied at London Baptist Bible College and Seminary graduating with his Masters of Divinity. In August of 1980 he was married to Joanne Higginson in Meaford, Ontario. He has pastored for more than 30 years in southern Ontario at Emmanuel Bible Church in Simcoe and First Baptist Church in Waterloo, where he currently ministers. Pastor Snell has been privileged to travel worldwide to places like Bolivia, Israel and the Philippines in service for the Lord. He has spoken often at conferences, retreats and Bible Colleges. He also serves as a member of the Word of Life Canada Board of Directors as well as on the Advisory Council of ABWE.

Pastor Snell shared with us that:

"In examining the Scripture teaching of the “church” we learn that it is a purely New Testament truth. Used 114 times in the New Testament it is referred to in terms of ‘the church which is Christ’s body’ as well as a group of believers locally gathered together in worship to the Savior and committed to the spiritual disciplines of the Acts chapter 2 Jerusalem church. Praise God that the church (Ecclesia) of Jesus Christ is a unique body of people believing in His death, burial and resurrection having been called out of darkness into His marvelous light  (1 Peter 2:9). Let us therefore live as the church is admonished to-----as children of light."

Students have said:

"I love learning the biblical principles behind church leadership."

"I always wanted to learn what the church is exactly and how church leadership should work.  I enjoyed hearing what Catholics believe and what a mission field we have."

Recharge Recap - What God has done!!

From WOLBRANOS

We have seen 22 youth groups come to Recharge this year.  That is around 530 campers and leaders. 530 + lives touched by the Word of God and the testimonies of staff and students right here on the WOLBI campus. As I have been reading the comments written by leaders and campers over and over again what stands out is how much they appreciated the sessions and the positive influence the students and staff have been on the teens.  Out of 530 people we had 31 Salvation decisions, 7 were counseled for assurance of their salvation, and over 400 teens dedicated their lives to God.

Students also had opportunities to minister off-campus at 3 Satellite Snow Camp locations.  We traveled to Huntsville, Cochrane, and Goulais River, Ontario to share God's Word through testimonies, skits, music, and messages from God's Word.  It was incredible to share God's Love with 100 teens and to see 7 young people trust Jesus as their Saviour.  God also prompted 21 teens to dedicate their lives to serving Him.  What a great ministry season it has been!  Praise God!!

"It was so awesome and incredible to be part of the snow camp ministry this year!!  Being able to watch each week what God is doing in the lives of the youth was such a blessing.  It was so sweet to be able to minister to the girls and to show Christ's love to them, and it also showed me that we all have different skills and we can work together in an organized body.  I learned that its always for God's glory and that we should never do it for the reward."

"It was a great chance to practice what we have been learning and I loved meeting the new girls and getting into their lives.  I just love camp!!"

Be sure to register early for Recharge 2012 or if you are too far away, contact us for a Satellite Snow Camp near you.

Learning the Word: Proverbs

Last week our Guest Lecturer was Pastor Steve Faulkner.  Pastor Faulkner received his BA from Tennessee Temple University and his ThM from Dallas Theological Seminary.  He has ministered as Youth Pastor, Police Department Chaplain, and Pastor in the US and Canada.  Currently he serves as Pastor of Emmanuel Bible Church in Simcoe, ON.
We have loved to have Pastor Faulkner here and to be learning about Proverbs because they are so practical for everyday life.

"He taught us to be able to make our own outline for Proverbs and really emphasized that the fear of the Lord is what gives us wisdom."

"His explanation of the fear of the Lord helped me to really see what that looks like or should look like in my life."  

"During the class, God showed me some verses that I may not have noticed before and that helped in working on the issues in life.  Its so sweet how He reveals truths to us as we are in certain situations."

"It was really neat learning how to better study the book of wisdom especially since we didn't get to go through it all since there is so much in it.  I liked having to make our own Bible studies from Proverbs."

Recharge Weekend Six!

Our final Recharge weekend has come to an end and what an amazing weekend it has been.

This past weekend we had 72 campers and leaders visit our campus.  Among those 3 accepted Christ and roughly 60 dedicated there lives to the Lord.

Seeing hearts changed and lives impacted by God’s Word is great.    

Here are a couple of comments made by teens and leaders this past weekend:

“Praise God for two salvations in our Youth Group this weekend! Thank you for your ministry!”

“This was a really good weekend. I had so much fun and the sessions were really good!”

“Loved the zip line! Food was amazing...! Thank you!!”

“It was an amazing time and all the staff were great! The message taught me a lot and was relative to what I am going through.”

Thank you for all your prayers and support during the last couple of months. It was really encouraging knowing that people were praying for our staff, students, and campers.

God bless 

KD

Learn the Word: Judges

Teaching the book of Judges last week Pastor Mark Lowrie joined us did an incredible job.  Pastor Lowrie was born in Ontario but orphaned at age ten.  He then lived with relatives in Tennessee.  He was saved at 13 and later attended Tennessee Temple.  After seminary in London, he pastored several churches in Ontario.  He is married to his sweetheart Margaret for over thirty one years.  They have three married children and are expecting their first two grandchildren in the spring!  He currently is the pastor of South End Fellowship Baptist in Owen Sound, Ontario.

This week we really learned how nothing is new under the sun, people back in the time of Judges did what was right in their own eyes, and we do as well!  Its up to us to be the difference in this crooked and depraved generation!

There is a constant battle between the flesh and the spirit, we learned that the flesh screams persuasively at us, while the Holy Spirit whispers gently to our souls.  We can't break the hold of the flesh on our own, we need the power of God to do so!

Learn the Word: The Gospel of John

Mr. Gary Stairs recently taught the Gospel of John here at WOLBI.  Mr. Stairs received a BA with Honours in History from McMaster University and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Western Ontario. He taught history in high school for many years before joining Word of Life Canada in 1993. He is currently the Executive Director of Word of Life Canada.
Here's what Mr. Stairs is learning as he  taught the gospel of John again this year:

"I love the way John presents the humanity and deity of Christ in such a convincing and easy-to-understand way.  His style is warm and flows through a narrative of miracles and controversy surrounding His claims to be the Son of God.  For the reader it is hard to arrive at the last verse without declaring with conviction that "truly Jesus is the Son of God!"  Even the Gnostics of today are confronted with powerful claims and statements of Christ as to His deity.  Cults cannot accommodate within their teachings the claims of the opening verses.  New believers are assured of their eternal security.  In John's gospel we see clearly that the purpose of Christ's life is to show us God!"

NW

Recharge Weekend Five!

From WOLBRANOS

Wow this weekend has been just amazing! With 125 extra people on campus it was an extremely high energy, and I must admit tiring time but God is good. 

One of our students commented on Sunday during our staff meeting that he had an amazing opportunity to stay up till the crack of dawn with two campers (one was very sick during the night). He shared with us that the opportunity he had to just minister to these teens was wonderful. It was really exciting to hear how God is using the students and staff.This weekend 3 campers accepted Christ as there personal Saviour, 1 was counseled for assurance of their faith and 95 dedicated their life to the Lord!

The more that I have been around youth and childrens ministry, the more I realize how much young people struggle with assurance of their salvation. I have struggled with it too as I have grown in my faith but I am just amazed of the assurance provided by God's Word. One of the verses I love from the Scripture Memory program during my Bible Institute year was Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor power, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Nothing can separate us from God’s love. I praise God and thank Him everyday.

Here are a couple of comments made by leaders and campers from this past weekend:

“The weekend was amazing and the sessions really hit home.”

“The benefits of having a camp where student’s minister to younger teens is awesome, makes it so much more relevant for them.”

“I loved this weekend for so many different reasons. I simply get a lot out of it.”

“This weekend, I felt I really grew closer to my leaders by hearing their testimonies...”

Prayer Requests:

- Please pray for our last weekend of Snow camp.

- Pray that the students and staff will be dedicated to finishing strong and to make this weekend the best one yet.

- Pray that the campers coming on property will be encouraged and challenged throughout the weekend.

KD