We find ourselves in very interesting conversations as a ministry in Winnipeg’s North End these days. Though our foundation is firmly placed on Jesus Christ, we are constantly pressured to compromise that foundation. If we did, all kinds of financial support would come our way, so I understand how many Christian ministries fall into the temptation.

We are all familiar with Paul’s metaphor in his letters of the church being a body, and it is common to talk about being the hands and feet of Jesus in the world. A number of years ago, we noticed one part that doesn’t usually get attention: the ligaments.

A mixed group of people from a Muslim community meet almost every day online to translate Jesus’ teachings in the Gospels into their mother tongue. One of them said passionately, “Jesus’ teachings are important for everyone; we need to make them accessible to all the people in the area, so that their communities can be changed by them.”

What does stewardship in local churches look like regarding global missions? Is it just a matter of finances—bang-for-the-buck kind of thing—or could we include the time given by individuals and congregations to study missions, to hear reports from mission workers, and intentional time in prayer for mission efforts?

A poetic devotion by Brigitte Toews

I was first introduced to the sonnets of John Milton in college. One in particular, no. 19, “On His Blindness,” has stuck with me. In it, Milton reflects on the question of his value to God as a writer now that he is going blind. He ends by observing that a king with thousands of servants rushing about doing his bidding is equally served by others who stand by, waiting.

When historians tell of our ancestors’ arrival from Russia, they also never fail to mention two other creatures: ravenous crop-destroying grasshoppers, and hordes of bloodthirsty mosquitoes. These insects added insult to injury during years of drought, poor crops, and other struggles. It seems that life for our newly-Canadian forebears could be a hungry, itchy one. Being a people of the land was not always an easy task.

It was probably the most pickles I had seen in my life. Whole dishes, in fact, were dedicated to containing vast quantities of the canned cucumbers. This was one of my first experiences with an Anabaptist congregation outside of the Sunday morning service: a funeral for a beloved member of the church.

During the early hours of December 20, 2025, a fire was reported at the sanctuary of Island Gospel Fellowship (IGF), Burns Lake, B.C. By the time volunteers from the Fire and Rescue team arrived, the church sanctuary was completely engulfed in flames.

♪What does Sabbath look like for you? I need to confess that I have not modelled Sabbath well to the next generation. Growing up, Sabbath meant not doing work—no yard work, no cleaning, no changing the oil.

Have you heard this preacher tic? “I know we’ve all heard this story many times before but let me tell you about David and Goliath....” Why do we preachers say this so often?

My (nonexistent) artistic career came to a definitive end at Bible camp. Each summer, my friends and I would carefully select the skills we wanted to participate in during our fun-filled week. The craft option was always the most desirable choice, in our juvenile estimation.