Welcome!

Let’s jump right in because I have lots to cover this week. I encourage you to read John 12 and 13 for this Sunday. I’ll be reading that passage and sharing a little on how this passage connects to communion. I’m excited to share what God has been speaking to me. If you’d like some help conceptualizing the second half of the book of John please watch this video (https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Training/Post/View/221229). Once again, if you don’t use RightNow Media, it’s a free gift, just ask me to sign you up – it’s like Christian Netflix!

So, this fall our Kid’s Church will begin on September 17th. We’re bringing in some needed changes to make way for the growth in the number of kids we have had. Of real importance is the number of volunteers needed. We are going to split the kids up into three classes. A pre-K group, a K-2 group and a grade 3-6 group. So, we will need three teachers per Sunday and one Kids Church assistant. The assistant will help with snacks and bathroom breaks and float between the classes as teachers need help.

We’ve also purchased some really high quality curriculum for each class and we already have a coordinator for each age group. My wife Liz will be leading the oldest group, Tamara Speidelsbach will be leading the K-2 and Waylon and Rachel Kardash will leading the younger group. These people are going to be the lead team for our Kids Church and they may be contacting you regarding volunteering and teaching because we are not expecting them to teach every week! Please consider serving in this area.

If you would like to volunteer please let us know. We’ll be requiring every teacher and volunteer who will be downstairs with the kids to do an application and have a criminal record check on file (note: the criminal record check must include the "vunerable sector check"). Please see me if you need an application. All you need to get the check done is head to the Broadview detachment and have 2 pieces of government id (one of them has to be photo id). If you need a ride to Broadview pastor Lindsay or I would be happy to drive you. I’ve got more to tell you about our Kids Church this year, but I want to save some of the surprises. I am so excited about it.

Please continue to pray for me as I share this Sunday and for the worship team as well. Pray that God would anoint us and give us the grace to lead the service according to his will.

Just a reminder that I will be on vacation from August 7th – 21st. If you need pastoral care during that time please contact Pastor Lindsay or one of the elders. Pastor Lindsay and his family will be taking a little holiday from the 10th to the 16th as well so please pray for them that they would have a refreshing time as a family.

God bless. Thanks for being a great church to lead.

Pastor Dave

Welcome to another week! Isn’t it wonderful to enjoy this heat. I love it!

This Sunday we are going to continue our look into the book of John. I can’t say it enough how much I have been impacted by simply reading and re-reading scripture and then using the SOAP method (which I have talked about in previous posts). By the way, all of the Pastor’s Garage are being archived at this website. So if you need to look back there is an easy place to find them. Pastor Lindsay has been spending some time revamping our website, so keep checking in from time to time for updates.

This week we are going to look at John 10 and 11, so please come having at least read through that passage at least once or listen to it online or whatever. If you’d like me to email you the mp3s let me know. If you need a refresher of where we are at in the book of John don’t forget to watch the video in this post, https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Training/Post/View/221229.

I’m going to zoom in on a couple verses from chapter 11 that I think have something to teach us about struggles and trials in our life and where God is in them and during them. It’s been a profound reminder for me. I’m curious to know what God is saying to you as you read these chapters?

Please be in fervent prayer for me and for the worship team. It’s truly uplifting to know you are praying. Even if all you are able to do is a whisper of prayer in the midst of your day please do it. God hears our prayers. It’s not dependent on eloquence or length.

1 John 5:14: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

Just an fyi, but I will be on holidays from August 7-21. August 13th, Mike Zorn will be speaking and on August 20th, our district director Dave Wicks Sr. will be speaking. I respect and trust each of their leadership and wish I could be present to hear what they have to say.

One last note regarding Liz’s brother Nathan. He’s recovered well from his surgery and it seems that the combination of surgery and chemotherapy has been very successful in fighting his cancer to which we are very thankful and excited for – yah God! He’s not out of the woods yet so I’d appreciate your continued prayer support for him.

God bless y’all!

Pastor Dave

This Sunday is July 23rd! The summer is marching onward. I hope you are taking advantage of the beautiful summer days and evenings. Get out there and enjoy our beautiful little community. There is lots of things to see for those who are willing to look. A hidden gem is the old town reservoir just south of town. I’ve never seen another person out there whenever I have gone out, but the town cuts the grass and keeps it maintained. It’s like a little park out there. Seriously, check it out. Would be a great spot for a picnic. Thank God for all we have to enjoy living here.

Camp was an absolute blast. I am already looking forward to next year. At one point there was something like 172 people registered. If I were you start considering making it a priority for next year.

This Sunday I am continuing our study of John. Please come having read John 7-9. I have been absolutely blown away by how God has been speaking to me as I simply read and meditate on scripture and study it using SOAP. I can’t reiterate enough how God has been profoundly speaking to me. Let me know what God has been saying to you. I would love to hear it! Please pray for me as I preach this Sunday, for God’s anointing and for clarity as I speak. Please also pray for the worship team- I know from speaking to all our worship teams that they covet our prayers.

Also, please bring your own bible and remind your kids to bring their’s as well. I think we can all take in a lot by simply reading the bible -kids too!

Finally, one of the things that I want you to be aware of is one of the leadership shifts we’ll be making this fall. Particularly in terms of the children’s department and the worship teams we’re going to be moving to a lead team model as opposed to a single volunteer leading each program. Rather than one person carrying each department, there will be a lead team meeting regularly and working together. Please be in prayer for this over the next month. The point of this is that it will hopefully spread the load and give us strength to move forward.

God bless you all!

Pastor Dave

So this will be brief this week. Why? Because I am out at camp and using a phone or any other technology just seems wrong! It is so nice to unplug and just be with family and friends and make new friends.

It’s been a great week so far. Great services. Great weather. Great food. And tonnes of people! I mean camp is hopping – so exciting.

If you can comeout for an evening service they start at 7. And a reminder that there will be no service in Grenfell. We’d really encourage you to come out Sunday morning. Service is at 10 am.

God bless you all.

And don’t forget to study John 4-6 this week using SOAP. Remember you can listen to it online using biblegateway (google it) and I’ll try and attach the mp3m – no promises.

Pastor Dave

Once again, welcome to the garage!

I’ve got more of an information download for you this week than other weeks, but I want to prep you on how things are going to look as far as the sermon’s this summer. Last summer we worked our way through the book of Mark. This summer, we are going to work our way through the Gospel of John. Once again, we’ll be reading large portions of scripture uninterrupted during the service.

Here’s a great introduction and overview of the first 12 chapters of the book of John from RightNow Media: https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Training/Post/View/221229. If you don’t have an account you won’t be able to access this, so please let me know and I will help you get signed up (it’s free!). This short video will help you get some context of the rest of the book.

This Sunday we’re going to be looking at John 1-3. These three chapters are a fairly easy read and so I would encourage you to read these three chapters ahead of time. If you like you can also listen to these three chapters here, https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/John.1-John.3. For those who’d like to put it on their mp3 player, I’ve attached an audio file of these three chapters.

I’m going to be using the SOAP bible study method as a framework for working through the book in the hopes that your will become familiar with this method and perhaps use it yourself. If you are not familiar with it, you can google it or you can wait and I’ll explain it a bit on Sunday. As we work through John week by week over the summer I’d like you to follow along with me as we study the book and do your own study and application of the book using SOAP. I’m anticipating God speaking to you! I’ve been profoundly impacted this week as I have studied the first three chapters this week us good old SOAP 🙂

Pastor Lindsay and I spend a good chunk of the day planning and dreaming about next year and what we’d like to see happening in the church through September to June. Prayer came up again and again in our discussion. I’m already excited to unveil what I believe God is putting on our hearts. What about you? What are some of the things you dream about seeing happening in our church this next year?

Please pray once again for our service and for the worship team. It does make a difference!

On a personal note, please continue to pray for my brother in law. I know many of you have been. He has a fairly major surgery planned for monday so please remember to hold him up in prayer.

Lastly, remember that next Sunday the 16th we won’t be having a service here in Grenfell. Instead our service will be out at camp. I encourage you all to come out and enjoy the service with us there on Sunday morning.

God bless,

Pastor Dave

Hey everyone,

Yesterday was the last day of school. Summer is officially here. Summer is well, a different season. For many of us, summer is a time of rest or "time-off." It’s time with family, camping, travelling or just sitting by the BBQ or the lake. It’s time spent differently than the rest of the year – most likely because it’s -40 for like 10 months!

I know I look forward to more time outside, more time fishing, more time on my motorbike, time at the pool or time just relaxing and trying my best not to do too much. But what about our spiritual lives? Are we supposed to take "time-off" from our spiritual growth or pursuits? I’m not even sure that this is even a valid question. I don’t think that our spiritual lives are supposed to be something we do or something we "work at" and need time off from. Our spiritual lives should be something that is integrated into everything that we do and a part of our character. Now, I will grant that there are certain practices that are essential and that we need to be disciplined about, like daily prayer and daily scripture reading, but these are not "my spiritual life." They may be practices which feed and foster spiritual growth, but they are not my source of strength and faith and life. God, living within me, transforming my mind and my heart are my spiritual life. The maker of the universe, who came as a man and died for my sins, who gave me new life and redeemed me is my spiritual life. He is the source of LIFE, not the things that I do.

Rather than seeing it as work or something we do, maybe we need to use the word intentional. Let’s not use the summer season as an excuse to check out of our spiritual lives or our spiritual work, rather let’s be intentional about acknowledging and inviting God into our lives – no matter what we are doing! Let’s practice being aware of Him, whether we are on the beach or in the car travelling to a destination or sitting by the campfire. Let’s pray while we are fishing, let’s worship Him while we are driving. Let’s be intentional about growing in our spiritual lives as we rest. In fact, what could be more restful that leaning on God? What could make for a more refreshing summer than enjoying God and all He has for us.

Please pray for the joint worship service this Sunday being held at the Presbyterian Church. Pray for me as I will be sharing the sermon and for the other ministers in town who will be leading the worship and the kids time. I’ll be speaking from Psalm 46 on trusting in God. My sermon title is "Canada for 150, God for Eternity."

This morning Pastor Lindsay and I spent a couple hours in prayer for all of you and for our town. We ask that you would pray for us for wisdom, strength and for clarity. We also would ask that you prayer for our town and the people in it – that God would have his way.

If you haven’t registered for camp please register (https://www.springsidecamp.com/register-online). It helps the cooks and everyone to know how to prepare. All the cabins have been booked, but there is still lots of room for campers. It’s gonna be a great summer!

God bless,

Pastor Dave

Good morning and welcome to the garage,

Yesterday I changed the oil in my dirtbike. I love and hate changing the oil in things. I love doing it knowing that I am doing something to maintain and upkeep what I own, but I hate dealing with the mess it creates (probably a good sermon illustration in there somewhere). Can’t wait to get out on the trails and backroads some more!

I was out last weekend on my bike around El Capo Lake just south of Wolseley. For those who like to explore old buildings there is a couple of neat spots out there. There is an old United Church and an old school house. I’ve attached a couple of pictures for you to look at. I love old buildings like that. I’m always fascinated thinking about them. Who was in there? What were the person’s dreams when they built it? What did they hope the building would be used for?

Speaking of old buildings, this year is the 50th anniversary of the old part of our current church building. This Sunday I’m going to show some footage of the building process and speak from Hebrews 12 on building upon what has come before us as a way to honor and celebrate those 50 years.

Please pray for me for this Sunday, that God would anoint me and use me. I can honestly say that I know when people are praying for me. I can feel a sense of confidence and strength when people are supporting me in prayer. Please also pray for the people leading worship this week. Leading worship can be a challenging and stretching time even for those who are experienced; and for those who lead they are busy like the rest of us and need to sacrifice time and energy to prepare and practice. They need our support!

Lastly, just wanted to let you know that Pastor Lindsay and I will be dreaming and planning out the next year in the coming weeks. We’ve got some exciting ideas up our sleeves and we will be making some changes to a few things that I think are gonna make for some positive headway. One of the things that will be a focus is prayer, so stay tuned for some creative ideas about prayer.

Thanks for being an awesome church to lead.

God bless,

Pastor Dave

Hi and welcome to the garage!
I trust that you are having a good week this week. I am so thankful for the rain that God has given our community. A couple weeks ago a farmer told me that if we don’t get rain in the next two weeks, things might not be looking so good. Thank you God for sending the rain.

Saturday the 24th is the Food Festival. It’s hard to believe it’s the 3rd one that we’ve help to put on. I think that this is a real blessing to our community and it’s a wonderful opportunity to get to know people. Volunteering for it over the last three years has helped me to build some relationships that I otherwise would not have been able to develop.

The 25th of June is our last Kid’s Church for the year. I’m so thankful to Tamara for her hard work over the last year. She’s really done a great job! Her and I did some reflecting on the last year and have been planning for the fall already. What we are thinking is building a leadership team to oversee Kid’s Church rather than just one person because it’s growing to the point where one person can’t manage 3 different classes for 30 or more kids (which we have had sometimes)! If you’d like to be a part of this team please let me know. We are looking for 4 people. One to manage the pre-K kids, one to manage kindergarten to grade 2, one to manage grade 3 to grade 6 and one person to help manage volunteers and some other administrative tasks. It doesn’t mean you’d need to be down there each week, but it does mean you’d be responsible to make sure your age group or duties are covered. We are also looking into purchasing some curriculum for the whole year which would make teaching a whole lot easier. Please respond to this message or come and talk to me if you are interested.

(Seriously people, consider volunteering for Kid’s Church. They are a treasure and without them our church has no future!)

I’m really excited about the message this Sunday. The sermon is geared towards fathers but it will be applicable to everyone. There’s no flowers but every man at the service will be going home with something. It’s something handmade by myself and Dean Drinnan. It’s unique and I think you will find it inspiring. My sermon title is "Legacy" and the scripture is Psalm 112:1-3.

Please pray for our worship team. Pray that God would strengthen them and anoint them. Please pray for me and for Pastor Lindsay. Pray that God would strengthen us and give us wisdom. Pray for me that God would use me and inspire me as I deliver the message this Sunday.

God bless,

Pastor Dave

Hey everyone,

Welcome to the Pastor’s Garage!

I hope you are having a good June in preparation for summer. I’m starting something new that I hope to have the bugs worked out of by September. I’m calling it the Pastor’s Garage. It will be a weekly email where I spend some time sharing with you the inner workings of what’s going on in my heart, letting you know about important dates and events and being open with you about some prayer needs, both personal and to do with the church. If your are not interested please let me know and I will take your email off the list.

Why call it the Pastor’s Garage? Well, I love tinkering and dreaming and building things in my literal garage (you’ll see me riding around on my custom bicycle over the next couple months). In some ways our congregation and church is a garage too. We’re constantly tinkering and trying to make things work a little better and I think it will help if you are invited in a little more into some of the things I’m wrestling with and thinking about as I try to build things like God would want them. My desire is that through your prayers and interaction that you’ll be able to help and feel more a part of things. I also hope it will be an encouragement to you too!

I’ll have a signup sheet out over the next couple of Sundays so anyone not on here already can join in.

Please pray for our service this Sunday. Pray for the worship team and that God would anoint me. I’ll be sharing on giving this week from 2 Corinthians 9:6-11.

God bless,

Pastor Dave