ABA Updates

Greetings from the ABA,

I trust your week is going well and you are staying warm.  Wow, -42 this morning was a bit much, but oh well, we are tough in Canada.  At least that is what our ABA Administrative Assistant, Pat Hoel says.  I hope you are using this time well to be community impacting people.  Just yesterday, one of our ABA pastors was saying to me that he is seeing many of his church get what it means to be a “community impacting church”.  I agreed with him.  God is using our churches to reach into the community.  Again, let me give you a few examples.

I heard from Harry Kelm at Grace Baptist in Calgary.  This is what he says: We decided to reach out to the kids of that school by having a Toque and Mitten Drive. We called our drive "Warm and Toasty" Our hope was to bring together enough Toques and mittens that every child could have one. We gathered in the month of December 450 items to distribute to the kids of the school. I was asked by an administrator of the school if they could give our church some recognition for the things that we were doing.  I had the joy of being able to tell him that we did not do it for recognition but we did it because our heart is to serve the community that God has placed us in. Praise the Lord that we are getting a chance to serve the families of our community by serving their children.

This past Sunday I was at Stony Plain Baptist.  What a great time I had hearing stories of people being touched in the community.  They are looking forward to their new building in the spring, and I am looking forward to seeing what God will do through the use of their new building.  I truly believe it will be used to impact their community in a significant way.

Last week I had a couple very intriguing visits with people from Trochu Baptist.  They have a unique opportunity as 40 people from the Philippines have moved to Trochu for work.  They are trying to determine how they can impact this group of people in their community.  Pray for them as they welcome these people to Canada and specifically to Trochu.

Some updates from our ABA Churches:

Leduc Fellowship Church has called Dennis Gulley to be their pastor.  He has accepted and will beginning his work on February 1.  Thanks to Ed Fuellbrandt in his work as interim pastor.

From Zion Baptist in Drumheller, I received this:

In the summer of 2006, we had an outdoor baptism in the Rosebud Creek in Rosebud, AB.  Five young people were baptized.  This was special for Pastor Leon as this was his first baptism and one of the young people was his own daughter.
The Pastor and some members went on a mission trip to Mississippi, USA to provide some Hurricane Katrina relief in July 2007.
In the fall of 2007, Pastor Leon received his Doctorate of Ministry through C.I.U.  Another milestone was Pastor Leon's Ordination in December of 2007. 
We are growing spiritually and are looking forward to what God has planned for Zion Baptist Church.

This coming Sunday I am looking forward to the start of the Pastors and Family Retreat at Camp Caroline.  We have a full house.  If you would still like to come, we can make some arrangements at a hotel in Caroline.  The ABA will share the cost with you of the hotel.  If you are coming on Monday, let Pat know at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it so we can inform Camp Caroline.  It all starts with a Super Bowl Party starting a 7:00 PM.  Bring your favorite snack to share.

The ABA Annual Sessions are coming on March 28 – 29 at Sturgeon Valley Baptist in St. Albert.  I can’t wait to hear the stories of what God is doing through the ABA.  Attached is a brochure.  Please register soon.

I have lost a number of names on one of my ABA Update Distribution lists.  If you are aware of someone who has not been receiving this, please let me know. 

Have a wonderful week and stay warm,

Bob

January 10th 2008

Greetings,

I trust you had a good Christmas Season and you are looking forward to the year of 2008.  I anticipate this year to be exciting as I hear of many of our ABA Churches desiring to determine what it means to be a “community impacting church”.  This coming year I hope to share with you stories of how this is happening.

For this update I want to bring you up to speed with some events that are coming up in the next couple of months.

Saturday, February 2—Dr. Rob McCleland, NAB Executive Director Welcome Reception at Central Baptist Church in Edmonton at 4:00 PM. 

Sunday, February 3—Dr. Rob McCleland, NAB Executive Director Welcome Reception at Brentview Baptist in Calgary at 2:30 PM

If you need further information, please contact the ABA Office at (780) 438-8852 or email Pat Hoel at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .  Lets make our new Executive Director feel welcome with a great ABA Welcome.

February 3 – 6  “Re:new” ABA Pastors, Staff & Family Retreat.  This is going to be a great retreat.  We are pleased to be able to have Dr. Rob McCleland, NAB Executive Director as our speaker.  As we started the cluster gathering with the theme of Pastor/Staff/Volunteer Relations, On Monday, Rob is going to be addressing this topic from his experience.  If you are planning to come for just Monday, we still need you to register so we can make arrangements for meals etc. with Camp Caroline.  Daunavan Buyer will be leading us in worship.  Free time is important and you will have time to rest, read, swim, tube, or whatever you would like to do to Re:new.

We had some cancellations in our children’s programming, but we are working on it and you can be assured of your children being taken care of.

Saturday, February 23—Camp Caroline Annual Meeting for representatives from our ABA Churches.  Please plan to send representatives from your church.  If you are not sure who is eligible to attend, contact Leslie at Camp Caroline at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Friday, March 28 – Saturday, March 29—ABA Annual Sessions at Sturgeon Valley Baptist in St. Albert.  The brochure with information and registration will be coming to your church and this update soon.

There are more activities happening and I will list them in the coming week.  Have a good weekend as you strive as an individual and church to be a “community impacting church”.

Blessings,

Bob