♪ In his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul reminded the Ephesians that God “chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4 NET here and throughout). As if his point wasn’t clear enough, Paul in the very next verse adds, “He [God] did this by predestining us to adoption as his legal heirs through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of his will” (Ephesians 1:5). This is far from the only time Paul mentions predestination. In Romans 8:29 Paul talks about those who are “predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.”

♪ GORDON UTZ WAS one of those guys who, like me, got into a little trouble in high school. Tall, handsome, hilarious and a good hockey player—I’m talking about me, of course (just kidding!). I’m talking about my classmate, Gord. Recently his brother Stan said, “You gotta talk to Gord; you won’t believe his story.” So, I did. As we spoke, it was like we pushed rewind and were back in grade 10.

ON MAY 3, 2024, Canadian Christian Communicators Association (CCCA) announced their awards that names the best work of its member community for 2023. The Messenger (and EMC) won in six categories. Check them out!

STEINBACH BIBLE COLLEGE is saying goodbye to long-time Bible professor, worship instructor and registrar Arlene Friesen.

♪ ALEX IS THE boy nobody wants in their class. He’s in grade two and has seemingly limitless energy and zero attention span. His comments and questions are never on topic, and everybody is convinced that he is learning nothing. He’s usually facing away from the teacher, making faces or jokes as they try to teach, and the end of the year is a relief because he is finally somebody else’s problem.

♪ WHEN I ENTERED the academic world recently, I noticed changes in Christian education I had not been aware of. I had not realized education had become so focused on leadership development. Across Canada’s Christian colleges there are now academic degrees in leadership, reams of Christian books written on leadership, and faculty whose sole role is to teach leadership development.

♪ AT THE BEGINNING of this year, I read that DaySpring, the greeting card company, had a Word of the Year Quiz on their website. By selecting a few personal descriptors and Bible verses that resonated with me, I could find a pre-baked, pithy word to construct my life around for the next 365 days (366 with the leap year).

STEINBACH BIBLE COLLEGE concluded its 2023–24 school year by awarding a hard-working collection of servant leaders with their Bachelor of Arts, Associate of Arts, and Certificate degrees during graduation weekend on April 26–27, 2024.

Letters published in the May/June 2024 issue.

EVERY DAY, WHEN Mr. Khong awakens in Myanmar, he has two challenges: One, avoid being captured, conscripted or killed by the military junta that is struggling to hold onto its power to govern. Two, get food to people who have fled to remote mountainous areas of the country to avoid the reaches of the junta.

“PEOPLING IS HARD,” said main speaker Connie Jakab at the first session of Awesome KidMin Conference 2024. And, she said, “It’s gotten even harder post-COVID.” Yet Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 emphasizes the importance of community.

Evangelical Fellowship Canada, Steinbach, Man.
Four couples participated in a parent-child dedication on April 14, 2024.