Celebrating five years of the Lord’s work
By Abe Dyck
A beautiful rainbow appears over the tents of the Gospel Music Jamboree, which Bow Island Gospel Church hosts yearly for the community. (Photo supplied)
Greetings from Bow Island Gospel Church (BIGC)! This year will be five years since BIGC opened its doors. We have been continuously amazed at the growth and changes occurring during this time. We can look and say, “Look at what the Lord has done.”
So here are some of the highlights within this past year with moments of great rejoicing, and a small glimpse of what our church looks like. This year Pastor Abe Dyck has preached through the books of Malachi and Jude. In our adult Sunday school we completed the book of Acts (which only took us a few years!) as well as Jonah. Currently we are discussing where to take Sunday school next, possibly a study of the Great Commission, but we shall see where the Lord leads.
We rejoiced greatly back in May to have 11 candidates testify what the Lord has done in their lives and publicly announce their faith via baptism. We also added more members to the church. It’s amazing to see the young church grow not only in numbers but in maturity, and we look forward to continuing to work together.
Also on the list of highlights and a view of how we serve our local community: our Gospel Music Jamboree was successful with a number of bands, a testimony shared by an inmate, a children’s ministry program, and, of course, food, which was largely provided and cooked by our sister churches in Region 2. Funds raised through the event were sent to Prairie College’s Prison Encounter Program.
We also join a rotation of local churches ministering to our local long-term care home, assisted living care centre, and a designated supportive living home. With the abundance of children in our church, we leave smiles on the residents’ faces every time. We also have wonderful youth leaders who encourage the next generation of believers and join them in serving within the community.
This year we are looking to expand our ministerial team as well, hoping to add more deacons and pastors-in-training. Pray earnestly for these men and the Lord’s guidance in their lives as they seek to do his will.
BIGC’s mission is to live out Ephesians 4:12–13, “To equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” So when you think of BIGC pray that we constantly press toward this mark, regardless of what season, trial, or year. Our Saviour’s sacrifice should never be taken lightly, and we should always aspire to glorify God and make his wonders known; please pray that we will be strengthened and equipped to do so! Pray also for discernment as we put on the full armour of God (another recent sermon series), recognizing the enemy and fighting the good fight.
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