Pursuing the Presence of God
If you haven’t yet reserved your seat for our Pursuing His Presence conference, STOP reading this blog post right now and do that! You can find a detailed breakdown of the day and register your place here, and it’s totally free!
At Trinity Central we love to spend time in God’s presence – in our worship, in our prayer meetings, in our Life Groups, and in our relationships. It’s challenging to set aside all the other “things” in our lives that tug us in a million different directions. We are living lives that are more full of “stuff” than ever before and often we have to fight through the clutter, business and the ever growing to-do lists that clamour for our attention.
There is always something that needs to be done, but as we were reminded a couple of Sundays ago (you can listen to Rhys’ preach on Reclaiming Mission here), it is not everything else and then we squeeze God in at the end. Biblically, it is God first and then everything else finds its good and rightful place.
GOD IS GOOD, and He truly and deeply desires to be at the very heart of all we do, all that motivates us, indeed, at the very heart of us. He gives us His Holy Spirit, Word, community, and gifts to lead and guide us on our pursuit of Him. One such gift is PEOPLE – people who have a passion for, and spiritual anointing to encourage, lead and help others in this very pursuit. We are blessed to have friendships with such a team of people!
This Monday a team from King’s Church in Horsham (UK), will be joining us for a week. They are here to pray and prophesy with us, encourage us and build us up. If you’re a youth, the team is going to be spending some focused time with you. If you’re in business, there is an exciting opportunity to have breakfast with some of the team and find out more how to live our faith in the marketplace. One of the things we are most excited about is the conference on Saturday October 20th, where they will encourage and challenge us to PURSUE GOD’S PRESENCE!
In a nutshell, our focus will be on:
- Going deeper with Jesus
- Stepping into freedom
- Growing as a prophetic people
- And, growing as worshippers who praise God in Spirit and Truth
When we make the intentional pursuit of God and His Presence a priority, He richly blesses us with Himself, and His love, kindness, affirmation, encouragement, grace and every good thing. He Himself, is indeed our Greatest Treasure!
Take a minute to read Luke 15:11-32 – the parable of the Prodigal Son. You can not even begin to fathom how much He desires to be with you!!!
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What’s on in October?
Due to the demands of the Vancouver International Film Festival, we are temporarily moving our MORNING service to the Roundhouse Community Centre for two more Sundays: October 7, and October 14. The evening service at UBC is not affected and will continue to meet in the usual location at Hillel House. Pray with us Oct 16 at the Roundhouse
We love seeing God at work in and through our prayer. You are cordially invited to join us for our next prayer meeting on Tuesday, October 16. We will be joined by the Pursuing His Presence team.
When: 7:30pm Where: Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown Sign up for Pursuing His Presence conference Oct 20
We are so looking forward to welcoming our good friend Andy Robinson and his team from Kings Church Horsham to Vancouver next month. Andy and his team last visited us in March/April of 2017 and they were a huge blessing to us, particularly in building our faith in God’s provision.
There will be various opportunities to interact with the Horsham team throughout that week but we would particularly like to highlight the Pursuing His Presence day conference on October 20th at the Polish Community Centre. This will be an exciting day of worship, teaching and workshops and it is absolutely free!
PLEASE REGISTER FOR THE (FREE) CONFERENCE HERE
Make it your business to have breakfast with AndyIf you want to integrate your faith in Jesus with the work / employment God has given you, don’t miss the businesswo(man)s breakfast with Andy Robinson. Before getting into church leadership, Andy worked for 20 years as a programmer and then as the sales and marketing director for a large international software company. We will be starting at 7am SHARP so please come a bit before then. Chat to Sam Coggan for further details.
PLEASE REGISTER HEREWhere: Denny’s West Broadway When: October 17 from 7 – 8:30am Cost: $20 Pray for Gift Day October 21
Gift Day is an opportunity to express our worship to God through financial generosity. It enables us to do everything that we do – from running Alpha courses and putting on conferences to hiring venues for Sunday meetings and special events to paying our staff.
We love to use some of the funds we raise to bless others – last year we made generous donations to United Gospel Mission – which does great work with homeless people and recovering addicts in Vancouver – and Christ Central Church in Fredericton for their church-planting work in Atlantic Canada. New to Trinity? Join us for lunch Sunday, Oct 28
The Newcomers’ Lunch is a great way to meet people. If you are new to Trinity and enjoy eating lunch please do come along! All you need to bring is yourself as food will be provided. If you’re interested in coming please let one of our Welcome team know on Sunday or email office@trinitycentral.org.
When: Sunday, Oct 28 from 1:30pm Where: To be decided
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Meet the Pursuing His Presence Team
Andy is married to Hazel and they have two sons. He is the lead pastor of Kings Church Horsham and leads several teams in the church as part of this role. Andy worked for 20 years in the IT industry as a programmer and latterly as the sales and marketing director for a large international software company before joining the staff at King’s in 2006. Together with his wife Hazel, he also serves CCB, a Newfrontiers church in Brasov, Romania, as well as other churches in the UK and abroad. For fun, Andy loves getting out on his motorbike and particularly enjoys riding to far flung places across Europe. Andy is passionate about God’s people encountering Him and living their life the way the Bible says is possible!
Jos & Jenni Wintermeyer
Jos is married to Jenn and they have three children. Jos is the Worship Director at Kings Church Horsham. He is also part of the Eldership team. Jos was part of the band Phatfish and has played live and in the studio alongside worship leaders such as Stuart Townend, Matt Redman and Lou Fellingham. He has also helped lead worship at numerous Christian events in the UK such as Devoted, Spring Harvest and Big Church Day Out. Jos has also worked as a professional sound engineer and has a degree in Music Production. He is passionate for excellence in both musicianship and production whilst pursuing the presence of God.
Jenn is a full time mother who is very involved in Church life, leading a thriving mother and toddlers group. She is also gifted pastorally, helping people to work through various personal difficulties with gentleness and good humor.
Nick Tasquier
Nick has his own business and is a Financial Advisor. He and Andy Robinson have been friends for many years and Andy loves to have Nick alongside him when he travels. On a recent trip to Zambia Nick spent considerable time speaking with business men and women about their businesses and bringing Godly wisdom and insight to bear. He is prophetically gifted, particularly expressed in words of knowledge.
Jo & Paul McCulloch
Jo and Paul have two adult children. They enjoy travel and reading. Jo is a gifted prophet who hears and speaks the word of God clearly and concisely. A gifted communicator, Jo loves to teach, impart and activate prophetic gifting in others. Jo is a Deacon at King’s Church Horsham overseeing the wide and diverse prophetic ministry within the church. She also oversees the Kings Church Prophetic Academy (www.prophetic.academy) where she leads the teaching & tutor team. Jo’s passion is to see people inspired and equipped to hear God and be part of bringing prophetic encouragement and direction in every sphere of life.
Paul is a Director and part owner of a legal company, now semi-retired. He enjoys making bread and fishing when he gets the chance!
Irene & Keith Brooks
Keith & Irene have four children and seven grandchildren. Irene is a Deacon for King’s Church Horsham and serves the Pastoral Support Team and the Pastoral Care Academy. She is an accredited counsellor and supervisor with the Association of Christian Counsellors and has designed and trained a number of pastoral care and counselling courses.
Keith is a Trustee of Kings Church and a Chartered Electrical Engineer. Keith is also a Justice of the Peace (magistrate) sitting in both Adult and Family courts. When he retired from engineering in 2003 he felt God calling him to join the judiciary as part of the church’s service to the community. If asked what his ministry is today he will tell you it is looking after his wife Irene and enabling her to carry out the calling that God has put on her life.
Roshan & Jen Cheraghvandi
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Pursuing His Presence Day Conference Oct. 20
We are delighted to have a team from King’s Church Horsham (UK) leading our Pursuing His Presence Day Conference. It is the highlight of their week-long visit with us. The team are experienced in hosting the presence of God and enabling others to encounter His presence for themselves.
We will have a main session all together with Jos Wintermeyer leading worship and Andy Robinson speaking. Then after a short break there will be three workshop ‘tracks’ to choose from; a Worship Track, a Prophetic Track, and a Spiritual Freedom Track.
WORKSHOP TRACKSEach workshop track is comprised of two sessions – one before lunch and one after. Everyone is welcome!
New Testament Worship – We were created to worship God! Come grow as a worshipper and in leading others in Spirit-filled times of worship such as life groups.
Growing in Prophecy – “Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.” (1 Corinthians 14:1) Come discover and nurture your prophetic gift as you grow in faith and intimacy in hearing God.
Spiritual Freedom – “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1) Come and experience the freedom we have in Jesus Christ and learn to pray for freedom for others.
VENUEPolish Community Centre, 4015 Fraser St, Vancouver, BC V5V 4E6
SCHEDULE10:00am-11:30am Welcome & Main Session with Andy Robinson speaking
11:30am-11:45pm Short break
11:45pm-12:45pm Workshop Session 1
12:45pm-2:15pm Lunch break (lunch not provided)
2:15pm-3:00pm Worship time all together
3:00pm-4:00pm Workshop Session 2
There are a number of coffee shops and food outlets nearby where you can buy a drink before the conference starts and food at lunchtime. Water will be available throughout the day.
CHILDRENChild care is not provided but children are very welcome to attend.
COSTThere is no charge for the conference.
DATE & TIMEOctober 20, 2018 from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
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Trinity is on the Road starting Sept 30
Please be aware that Trinity Central’s MORNING SERVICE will be moving to a temporary location at the Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown on the following Sundays:
- September 30
- October 7
- October 14
Coffee will be served from 10am, and the service will begin at 10:30am.
We will return to our regular location at the Vancity Theatre on Sunday, October 21st.
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What’s on in September?
Starting September 9th, and for every Sunday in September thereafter, we are hosting a (kosher) barbecue outside our venue (Hillel House) before the UBC evening service. It’s going to be delicious, it’s going to be free, so don’t miss it! Pray with us September 18 – 20
We love to launch each new term with a Week of Prayer (okay, three days of prayer). We’re here in Vancouver on Jesus’ mission – He is our Lord and the source of our freedom and power – so that’s why we love to pray. As we have done in the past, we will be praying in the mornings from 10-11:30am and in the evenings from 7:30-9:30pm. Evening prayer will be at the Roundhouseand morning prayer venues are TBA. Like Brunch? Try Alpha – beginning Sept 29
We are running another home Alpha course this fall. If you have questions about life, the universe and everything, this is a great opportunity to hear the Christian faith’s answers to life’s big questions and talk about it in a chill atmosphere. Plus there’s great food!
If you are interested in attending Alpha, or would like to help out, please contact Doreen Aquino at doreenaquino@telus.net
If you would like to register, please click here. Join us for the Newcomers’ Lunch on Sept 30
The Newcomers’ Lunch is a great way to meet people. This month we are lunching at the home of Ben and Rebecca Aston in the leafy heart of Shaughnessy. If you are new to Trinity and enjoy eating lunch please do come along! All you need to bring is yourself as food will be provided. If you’re interested in coming please let one of our Welcome team know on Sunday or email office@trinitycentral.org.
When: Sunday, Sept 30 from 1:30pm Where: 3837 Angus Drive, Vancouver BC, V6J 4H8 Save the Date
Sept 9 – Membership Sunday
Sept 12 – Family Meeting for members
October 15 to 22 – Horsham Team visit
October 20 – Pursuing His Presence Day Conference
October 21 – Gift Day
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Looking back at Thirst 2018
When we attended our first THIRST back in 2013, we never expected our Trinity Central annual weekend away to become one of our most favourite weekends of the whole year – for the whole family. All year long our kids ask us when we are going back to Camp Sunrise. They pack and repack their bags from about April (the weekend is usually in June)!
Beyond the warm fuzzy feelings of family time (in both senses of the word), THIRST has become such a pivotal weekend to Trinity Central. God speaks, God moves, and God brings direction and healing.
I am always encouraged that God moves through the whole body, not only in individuals – although he most certainly does that too. One of my favourite parts of the entire weekend was hearing Sangah’s testimony – if you haven’t heard it, ask her! You will leave the conversation richer for hearing her humble testimony of God’s redemptive love; AND, she was baptised on the Sunday, whoop whoop!!
God’s desire for change in, among, and through us, is for all of us! God does open heart surgery if you have the courage to let Him. One of the main themes of the weekend was liberty. Liberty in the personal sense, yes; but also corporately – freedom from the fear of our Goliaths, such as finances and depression; and the faith and courage to overcome them by God’s strength and grace.
We shook up the way that we lead our sessions with an assertive effort to incorporate more of the young adults and children. In fact, we had an entire session dedicated to the kids. One of my boys has been carrying around a little piece of paper with the words “He will show you the way” for months, and recently gifted it to a friend. Sometimes we don’t see what God is doing, but children have a simple faith that is wonderful to witness! Some children brought prophetic words, some were healed, and some prayed for others – what an absolute delight to our Fathers eyes and ears, and what a blessing to our church!
THIRST would not be complete without our hilarious and largely unscripted Talent Show. As always Jonny was the MC, providing laughs, filling in the awkward silences, and expanding all of our minds and hearts with his soulful yet kinetic Japanese hiphop (some things you just have to experience). Some performances were more serious, others were funny, and there was an epic fail or two, which everyone enjoyed anyways! Who could forget Kath tap dancing to Ash’s fresh ukelele stylings, the standout musical performances, dads telling dad jokes, children jumping up and down, and of course several people cruelly deceived into smashing eggs into their own faces.
Each of us headed to the ferry on Sunday afternoon with something to take home. Some of us perhaps aware of drastic changes we need to make and emboldened to do so. Perhaps new faith for an old, hard place, person, or situation. Others felt more a part of the family, or experienced a new sense of peace. For others our intimacy with God was deepened or we discovered our gifts in Him for the first time. Sometimes our lessons are humble and seemingly not profound, yet they are a revelation from God! On the ferry ride home, we unpacked what God had done in us and were encouraged that God had met with us in so many different ways. God is faithful!!!
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What’s on in August?
We love seeing God at work in and through our prayer. You are more than welcome to join us for our next prayer meeting on Tuesday, August 14.
When: 7:30pm Where: Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown New to Trinity? Come to lunch with us August 26
Our Newcomers’ lunches are a great way to meet people. If you’ve never been to one of our Newcomers’ lunches please do come along! All you need to bring is yourself as lunch will be provided. If you’re interested in coming please let one of our Welcome team know on Sunday or email office@trinitycentral.org.
When: from 1:30pm Where: to be announced Rhys on sabbatical – please pray
Our lead elder, Rhys Scott, is on sabbatical for the summer, returning in early September. He will not be answering his email or otherwise involved in the day-to-day running of the church, so if you have any church-related questions please email our administrator, Robina Cousins.
We would also love it if you would take some time to pray for Rhys and his wife, Sara, while he is on sabbatical – that they would be rested, refreshed, and renewed – ready for what God has in store for Trinity Central in this new season. Save the Date
Sept 9 – Membership Sunday
Sept 18 to 20 – Week of Prayer
Sept 30 – Newcomers’ Lunch
October 15 to 22 – Horsham Team visit
October 20 – Pursuing His Presence Day Conference
October 21 – Gift Day
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What’s on in July at Trinity Central?
We are very pleased to welcome Ann and Jeremy Simpkins and Barb and Gary Gallant. The Simpkins are from the UK where Jeremy leads the ChristCentral apostolic team. The Gallants are based out of Christ Central church in Fredericton, and Gary is part of Joe Crummey’s apostolic team in eastern Canada. Be sure to say hi this Sunday as this will be their last Sunday with us. Join us for our Calling on God prayer meeting July 17
We love seeing God at work in and through our prayer. You are cordially invited to join us for our next prayer meeting on Tuesday, July 17.
When: 7:30pm Where: Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown New to Trinity? Come to lunch with us July 29
Our Newcomers’ lunches are a great way to meet people from Trinity. This month we’re having lunch at Joseph Tinlin and Zac Bosma’s place. If you’ve never been to one of our Newcomers’ lunches please do come along! All you need to bring is yourself as lunch will be provided. If you’re interested in coming please let one of our Welcome team know on Sunday or email office@trinitycentral.org.
When: from 1:30pm Where: 388 East 49th Avenue, Vancouver (rear entrance)
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No morning or evening service this Sunday, June 24th
Due to this weekend being our fabulous annual church weekend away (aka Thirst 2018), there will be NO SERVICES in the morning at Yaletown or the evening at UBC.
The Yaletown service will return as per usual on July 1, 2018.
The UBC evening service is on a summer break and will return August 26, 2018.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
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Thriving at Thirst 2018
THIRST 2018 is just around the corner, and we are all very excited! This is the one of the best weekends of the year where we can hang out, chill out, catch up and get caught up in the things of God together!
Trinity Central has grown a lot over the last year and we have many people joining us for their first Thirst, so I asked some friends for tips for you to get the most out of the weekend.
Top 10 Tips- Bring some kitchen supplies. The main cabins have fridges and kettles (the guys/girls cabins do have fridges but do not have a kettle, so come on over to the main cabins and come have some tea with us!) – why not bring along your favourite coffee mug and some tea/coffee/sugar/creamer and snacks to enjoy early in the mornings or when you have some down time. Don’t forget to bring along some dishwashing liquid and dish towels so your crockery and cutlery don’t get funky! There is also a canteen with chilled water, so bring along a water bottle so you can stay hydrated throughout the day.
- Plan for Friday night dinner. Food is not provided on the Friday night – why not bring along some food to share so you can hang out with other people/families and get to know some people?
- Ear plugs!
- If you have kids, bring along some low energy activities they can do when they are feeling overwhelmed or over stimulated. Colouring books, puzzles, or even an ipad with some pre-downloaded audio books/spotify playlists/movies (there is no wifi!) are all great ideas.
- If you have young kids, make use of your tribe! There is no pressure on you to do it all and to do it all alone. You will be put in cabins with other parents, so tag team babysitting at night, watching kids at the park etc. Get each other’s numbers early on, and work together to ease the load. The kids will have fun and will be busy, but if we work together, we ALL will. Also be aware that there are families with older kids who also need their tribe – hang out with them and get to know them, they are really cool!
- Come expectant!
- Know who you are and be comfortable in the way God made you – you are accepted just the way you are by God and by us! Many of us are insecure about our friendships (or the perceived lack of them). Know that you are a precious and beloved gift of God to His body – you are a GIFT to us! There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, so put on the weapons of your warfare and fight hard against the enemy who will try and sow doubt/fear/anxiety/lies/division to rob you of your inheritance in God.
- Know your limits. Make sure you take time aside to be still and refreshed – the waterfront is a peaceful spot to breathe in some fresh air and process what God is saying to you or doing in you.
- Try and keep this week leading up to Thirst uncluttered. Try not to get too busy, and try to make time for rest. Thirst is awesome and there’s a lot going on, so make sure you are giving yourself a bit of a backlog of rest and energy so you can get the most out of this weekend and really thrive.
- Pray!!
Bonus tip from a four year old:
Have fun with Jesus and eat ice cream.
Favourite. Tip. Ever.
God is all about fun! I think sometimes we get so caught up in the serious things of God (which are of course good, true and really important), that we forget that God is fun, full of adventure and to be enjoyed! In His commissioning, in His refining, in His work in and through us, one of His ultimate goals is that we would know Him and enjoy Him as we live out the lives He has called us to. I imagine that when God created the world, and when He created you, He had a big smile on His face, and a laugh in His heart, don’t you?
You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:11
**Don’t forget to hashtag your photos on social media #Thirst2018
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What’s on in June?
Thirst is our annual church weekend away (June 22-24). We’re heading back to Camp Sunrise on the beautiful Sunshine Coast to spend a great time together encountering God in teaching, worship, prayer, nature and fun. We’re particularly excited to welcome back our good friends Jeremy and Ann Simpkins. Don’t miss it!
Check out Elvanto to find out more and to register.
***JUNE 4 IS THE LAST DAY TO REGISTER*** Hit the Streets of Yaletown June 16
Join us Saturday, June 16 for an exciting day of seeing the Holy Spirit move in peoples’ lives on the streets of Yaletown. Daniel and Sarah Duggan will lead a time of equipping, worship and prayer and then we will head out in teams to “hit the streets” to pray for people. This is an amazing opportunity to stretch your faith and see the Holy Spirit move in peoples’ lives.
We will meet at the Roundhouse Community Centre for training, worship and prayer from 10:30am to 12:00pm and then go out to pray with people – we plan to be done at about 1:00pm We welcome the Simpkins and the Gallants
We are very excited to have our good friends Jeremy & Ann Simpkins and Barb & Gary Gallant with us this June. Both couples have played significant roles in the shaping of Trinity Central over the years. The Simpkins will be with us from June 19 – July 2, and the Gallants will be with us from June 26 – July 3.
Click here for more on the Gallants. Click here for more on the Simpkins. Join us for the Calling on God prayer meeting June 19We love seeing God at work in and through our prayer. You are cordially invited to join us for our next prayer meeting on Tuesday, June 19th. Bonus: Jeremy and Ann Simpkins will be with us.
When: 7:30pm Where: Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown
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God Meets Us in Prayer – Kath’s Story
“Prayer girds human weakness with divine strength,
turns human folly into heavenly wisdom,
and gives to troubled mortals the peace of God.
We know not what prayer can do.”
– Charles H. Spurgeon
Next Tuesday (May 22) we have our monthly Prayer Meeting at the Roundhouse Community Centre. If you’ve been a part of Trinity Central for a while you will know that prayer is one of our highest priorities. Why? Because God speaks, God listens, God moves and God awakens us when we wholly turn our attention to Him. Come along, you will be changed!
God meets with us.He grows us in our faith.
He enlarges our expectancy.
He heals us.
He adds the lost to us.
And He always encourages us.
He is a kind, loving, compassionate and all powerful God, and He is waiting to meet with us! He has purposes for us to step into, if we will take the time to hear Him and obey. So, as you consider your upcoming week and schedule, I encourage you to carve out some time to come and pray with us.
Let me share a testimony from one of our recent prayer meetings.
Kath Wade is a busy mom with three young kids. As a result, she doesn’t always get a chance to attend our prayer meetings so she always really looks forward to it when she can. On this particular Tuesday, however, she had just been so busy with one thing after the other that she hadn’t really had a chance to stop. She headed out the front door to the Roundhouse in Yaletown, where we usually have our prayer meetings, with no kind of expectation for the evening. In fact, she hadn’t even really thought about the meeting at all.
The prayer meeting started as it usually does, with a time of worship, followed by an exercise about how to engage with God led by Sam Coggan (which involved singing). It was at this point that Kath had a profound encounter with God:
“I realised that what I was singing to God had this sense of “Everything that I have is Yours, everything that I do is for You”. That was so amazing for me to realise that that really was my heart… because I was going through quite a difficult time – a time of feeling quite heavy and struggling a little, and then I really just had this encounter with God that’s really difficult to describe.
It felt as if I was in some way before Him, that I could actually see His glory and it was very bright. My response was not to look at how I’m failing or how I’m not stacking up, which is often where I get to, but it was more about how when you stand in front of His glory you are just in awe. And that’s the main thing that you focus on: how incredible God is, not where you don’t measure up.
Out of a response of seeing His glory my heart was towards God in saying “of course I will do everything for you, of course I will give up everything for you, of course I want to give my life to you afresh”.
It was just amazing! I had a sense of repentance for not always feeling that way, and a sense of real awe of God and His grace towards me that He wanted me to have an encounter that really brought me closer to Him.
What was really cool was then Jarrett and Benny both had prophetic words for me. Jarrett started off by saying: “I can see you before God, it’s like you can see His glory in heaven” and it was amazing that God had spoken to him just in the same way that I was experiencing God at the same time. It was awesome to hear them prophesy over me and pray for me.
What was so wonderful for me and an encouragement to others is that of course you can be expectant of what God’s going to do, but even if you’re not feeling it, even if you’ve had a really tough time, even if you’ve not had a second think about the prayer meeting, it’s amazing what God can do and that God wants to get hold of you. He’s been thinking about it and He knows exactly what you’re going through.
I was completely taken by surprise and I really haven’t had an encounter with God like that for a very long time. It’s really helpful for me now to think back on that prayer meeting and remember how I experienced God in that way, especially if I’m having a difficult time, because I know and can remind myself of the fact that God is close, that God speaks to us, that God is awesome, and that everything that we do is for Him.”
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Welcoming back Jeremy and Ann Simpkins in June
We are very excited to welcome our good friends Jeremy and Ann Simpkins back to Vancouver in June – they have loved and served us so well over the years. They will be with us from June 19th – 30th, including the Thirst weekend.
Jeremy & Ann have led various Newfrontiers churches in the UK in the past 25+ years from Hastings and Eastbourne in the south of England to Teesside and Manchester in the north. In early 2017 Jeremy and Ann followed a call to join City Church Sheffield in Yorkshire.
Jeremy leads ChristCentral, a group of NewFrontiers churches under his apostolic leadership. He and Ann love to visit churches within ChristCentral to support, encourage and develop local eldership teams and other ministries. The ChristCentral apostolic team currently serves over 130 Churches on 5 different continents – North America (Canada, Mexico & USA), South America (Bolivia & Peru), Asia (Cambodia), Africa (Tanzania & Zambia), and Europe (England, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, Sweden & Wales).
When they are not travelling, Jeremy and Ann love to walk in the countryside near their home – usually ending with a visit to a local pub. This will be their seventh visit to us in Trinity Central Vancouver – they say it’s one of their favorite places to be!
For a brief explanation of the relationship between ChristCentral and Newfrontiers, have a look at the video below:
Newfrontiers: Then and now from Relational Mission on Vimeo.
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Why you should consider School of Leadership
Me and some of my SOL peeps
by Danielle Earle
If you and I have had any kind of in depth conversation over the last 9 months or so you will know that I sure do bring up School of Leadership all the time. School of Leadership (SOL) has been AMAZING in many ways: it’s encouraged me, challenged me and changed the way I approach the Bible, view God, see myself, and understand the world around me. It has been a catalyst for serious growth in my faith.
If it’s done all that for me, maybe it can do that for you, too. Here are three reasons why I think you should consider signing up for the September intake of SOL:
FRIENDSHIP & FELLOWSHIPSome of my closest friendships have formed in SOL over the last few months. I’ve befriended people who are in different life stages, have different gifts and skills, and who have different challenges – indeed, finding this diversity has helped me better understand my place in our wider church community. Every time we get together we have deep conversations about life, our mission, who we are and who God is, and His plan for this world. These times have been convicting and encouraging and they have grown me beyond what I even thought was possible.
FAITHIf there is one thing I’ve learnt since starting SOL it’s how little I actually knew or understood about the Bible. I grew up going to Sunday school and have been a Christian for over a decade, and yet, there is so much to learn. It is so exciting to dig deeper into the wealth of the Bible: its context, cultures and so on. Without a doubt, SOL will help you better understand how incredibly amazing the Bible’s actual existence is, how to read it so you can fully understand the context and weight of it, and how profound the gospel truly is. It seems like every time we gather I have a new revelation.
FUTUREFor the past year I have attended School of Leadership once per month (there are 20 sessions over two years with a break in July and August). These 10 days over the course of one year have changed the trajectory of how I move forward in this life. SOL has given me the tools I need to read the Bible, worship, pray, interact with the lost, and trust for healing. Exploring biblical history has better helped me understand my place in this very moment in history and how I can live life to the absolute fullest on this mission of making Jesus known among the nations. Best of all, SOL has given me new friends to walk with as we live out God’s purposes.
But don’t just take my word for it. Here is what some present and past SOL students have said:
Emy Lou Berry:
My favourite things: 1. The discussion times. I often got the most out of them as they were when I got to chew through some new and old beliefs and sort through the truth and the somewhat/totally twisted views I had. Also, it was so practical and helpful. 2. We got to go over the Old Testament and for the first time I saw how it was a story with a redemption story being drawn out of it all along. Growing up I studied the Bible in great detail and depth, and had often found it to be disconnected and hard to understand the purpose and themes of it – SOL helped me understand that this was not the case! This was so interesting and helpful for me. 3. We would always pray beforehand which was hard to get into but it was so good and so necessary.
Steve Jones:
School Of Leadership helped me to appreciate the overall story and themes of the Bible, and has given me tools to better understand and apply passages from anywhere in scripture. The teaching was excellent, and the discussions were an excellent way to explore the topics in more depth and to work out how I should respond to what I’ve learnt.
Jessica VanderEyk:
My favourite part about SOL was learning to read the Bible as one great connecting story of God acting throughout history to redeem and rescue the creation He loves – not to read it in parts but as a whole. My understanding of God and His character grew during this time and He revealed Himself to me in ways through His written Word that I had never seen before despite reading the Bible since childhood.
Joseph Tinlin:
Rhys’ leadership of our discussion times in terms of applying the course content both generically and in our specific Trinity Central context has for me been a very valuable part of the course that has tied it up together and helped me make sense of it.
Emma Marsh:
I’ve loved going deeper into the Word of God, having time to discuss, in depth, different aspects of it. I’ve found SOL has opened my eyes afresh to the wonder, greatness, and sovereignty of God and His heart/plan for His people, the church. It makes space to explore this and helps you think, together with your group, how it applies to life, church and leadership.
If you would like more information regarding School Of Leadership, please email Robina Cousins at robina@trinitycentral.org, or sign up here.
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Simon Pettit: Remember the Poor
Last Sunday we did something a little different for our sermon and watched Simon Pettit delivering his heart and movement-changing preach entitled “Remember the Poor”. If you weren’t with us last Sunday, or if you’d like to watch it again, it is below. Enjoy!
Remember the Poor – November 1998 from Feeding 5000 is no picnic… on Vimeo.
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What’s on in May?
Join us Sunday, May 6 as we gather together in God’s presence in the morning at Yaletown and in the evening at UBC. Benny and the band will lead us in worship. We will be doing something a little different for our preach this week as the late Simon Petitt will continue our Galatians sermon series with his message (on video) entitled Remember the Poor (Galatians 2:1-10).
Kids Church – Adventurers (ages 1-2) is on and will leave at the break; all other children are in the service. We celebrate and thank God for our babies – May 20
God has been blessing Trinity Central with lots of wonderful babies! Join us at Yaletown on Sunday, May 20 as we give thanks for two of our new arrivals: Haven Piper and Una Lee.
Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
Calling on God together – Prayer Meeting May 22
We love seeing God at work in and through our prayer. You are very welcome to join us for our next Calling on God prayer meeting on Tuesday, May 22nd.
When: 7:30pm Where: Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown We welcome new members Sunday, May 27
On Sunday, May 27 during the morning service in Yaletown we are celebrating new members. If you would like to become a member of Trinity Central Church you can begin the process here. New to Trinity? Come to lunch with us May 27
Our monthly Newcomers’ lunches are a great way to meet people from Trinity. This month we’re at the home of Rebecca Bagonza and Kim and Mark Jarder. If you’ve never been to one of our Newcomers’ lunches please do come along. All you need to bring is yourself as lunch will be provided. If you’re interested in coming please let one of our Welcome team know on Sunday or email office@trinitycentral.org.
When: from 1:30pm Where: 5187 Sherbrooke Street, Vancouver
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God has given you a story to tell
by Rhys Scott
It was such a joy to hear Benny, Kim and Sandro and Cheri tell their stories of God’s life-changing power and tenderness this past Sunday. As we gathered in our LifeGroup last night it was profound listening to one anothers’ ‘short testimonies’. I hope you found joy in doing so too!
It can be easy to walk into a church meeting, hear the laughter, observe the friendship and see the hands lifted in worship, assume that everyone else has it all together and feel “I’m the only one who doesn’t”.
Stories like the ones we heard on Sunday remind us that God is powerfully at work in the mess of real life, restoring and healing us, bringing joy where there has been pain, giving hope to hopeless people and peace to fearful hearts.
Each of us has a story. A God story.Jesus is a life-giver, and He has given each of us a powerful gift to give away: our story of His kindness to us. He wants to use our stories to reach out to others with his love. He met us in the reality of the gritty reality of our lives, turning failure into freedom and shame into adoption, and people need to hear that.
You may think your story is nothing special – but if you will learn to tell it, with Jesus as your story’s hero, you will be surprised at what God will do through it in the lives of others.
We would love to hear more stories – stories big and small, of salvation, healing, freedom coming, provision, grace in the midst of difficulty. Each one encourages us to believe God for more of His transforming power at work in us and in those around us. It may feel daunting to tell your story, but you never know how much of a gift it is to someone else until you tell it.
Can I encourage you this week to take half an hour and write down your story?Start with trying to tell it in 3-4 minutes (that’s the hardest time frame – because you have to work out what to leave out!). The trick is to make sure you give a good overview of life before God’s intervention – but not to give that so much focus that you don’t have enough time to talk about how God intervened, and what the impact of His intervention has been ever since.
In a conversation you may well only have 3-4 minutes to share your story. But if you will be ready with it you never know what kind of seed you might plant in someone’s heart.
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Trinity Youth Serve: Belkin House
One of Trinity Central’s core values is that we are a family on Jesus’ mission together. So you know that when we tell you we’re excited about our youth stepping into serving opportunities, we really, really, (REALLY) mean it!
Belkin House is a homeless shelter in the heart of Vancouver. The facility can house up to 24 men, women and children, and can feed even more than that, with the help of 114 full and part time employees as well as volunteers. Their mission statement is to “share the love of Jesus Christ, meet human needs and be a transforming influence within our community”. This is where WE come in!
Our youth have been serving here a couple of times each year, making meals and serving them to the Vancouver’s most vulnerable. What an honour and privilege for the youth to be Jesus’ hands and feet in this way. It’s immensely inspiring to speak to them and hear about their experiences, so don’t forget to ask them about it!
Here is some of the feedback the youth gave us:
Niamh:
I enjoyed serving because it made people smile and appreciate that we were there helping them
TJ:
I loved making food and then seeing others eating it!
Eden:
I enjoyed the opportunity to serve our community in Vancouver. There are so many needs to be met and I am grateful to be a part of the solution to bring hope into people’s lives in a practical way. The staff were amazing and very welcoming, as were the people we served. I look forward to doing it again soon!
Lyndon:
(I) liked serving the food and helping those that came along.
Dylan:
(I) enjoyed washing the dishes using the machine. And (I) was happy to serve those that need support to get on their feet
Ning:
I felt all the youth worked very cooperatively with each other in their assigned kitchen and serving duties and the chef was impressed with and appreciative of them. … During dinner, I sat with a resident, chatted with her and got to pray for her back pain. She returned to find me afterward to report her back felt better. She then invited two other residents to join the Sunday service!
For more information about Belkin House, you can call them at (604) 681-3405.
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Come hear Stories of Hope April 29
Come and hear how people’s lives have been changed in all sorts of extraordinary ways by Jesus. There will also be an opportunity to receive prayer.
10:30am Vancity Theatre, 1181 Seymour St, Vancouver
6:30pm Hillel House, 6145 Student Union Blvd, Vancouver
Refreshments will be served after the service
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