One week left – Register and Join us onlineAlpha
24 & 25 May 2023
Stream And Screen Live
Leadership Conference is an opportunity for all of God’s people – across traditions, generations, and cultures – to gather as one, encounter Jesus, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. We believe in the power of the gospel, through the global church, to change lives and transform the world.
To explore more leadership focused content from Alpha, including extended interviews from LC22, head to hope.alpha.org
EXERCISE 1: At the end of each night, ask yourself:
EXERCISE 2: After feeling comfortable with Exercise 1, you may want to ask yourself:
Next, ask yourself:
Be realistic, select, and focus on just one help and one hindrance to avoid frustration.
The MCF is inviting you to join with many across the nation for a National Communion Gathering hosted by the CRY / NDOPs
Please plan to join us on APRIL 6th (3 pm ET) for our Annual National Communion Service (online) for Passover
2023
As we have entered into 2023, there continues to be a strong emphasis across the Body of Christ on the power of the Blood of Christ.
It is as though, while the nations shake and shift, there is a call from Heaven to continue to intentionally hide our hearts and homes under the covering of the Blood of the Lamb.
There is a pull in all of us to gather again for another time of humbling our hearts together before the Lord. We hope you will join us.
During the online gathering, there will be worship, prayer, special exhortation and communion together led by senior national leaders.
Click here to register now.
A link will be sent to all registrants to join live or watch the replay.
French translation will also be provided for those who participated via the Zoom webinar option.
God bless you and God bless Canada,
Faytene Grasseschi
Passover ’23 Host, TheCRY / NDOPs
“Without faith / belief / trust, no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that He is real and that He rewards those who truly want to find Him.” Hebrews 11:6
Recently I listened to the testimony of a gentleman (Pierre) who had immigrated to Canada from South Africa. I’ve only known him since August, but I can see he is a God-fearing, bible believing, Jesus-trusting believer. His testimony about his faith in God was touching and encouraging. It reminded me that faith will compel us to invite God into our lives daily and maintain a relationship with Him through prayer.
Pierre’s testimony started in Cameroon, where, as a 16-year-old, he was robbed and all his assets stolen; he made sandals from scrap rubber. He decided he must leave Cameroon to work, and so, with a friend, he went on foot. In pursuit of this new life, they had walked and hitchhiked thousand of kilometres, working along the way. They eventually found steady, backbreaking work in Zimbabwe making bricks out of the mud. Pierre lost his friend to drugs and felt it was time to move on. He had been saving money for a flight to Cape Town, South Africa but was robbed again. Through the mercy and grace of a local businessman, he went to college to learn a trade, shipbuilding. He was offered a job in Cape Town and was flown there by the company. Pierre met his wife in Cape Town and started a family. For the first time in a long time, Pierre felt he was looking at God’s blessing from a mountaintop view.
During his testimony, Pierre spoke of His faith in God, who he believed would be with him no matter what, both on the mountains and valleys. While in Cape Town, he was offered a two-year contract in Miramichi, New Brunswick, in the shipbuilding industry. He moved to Canada last August. His wife and children were supposed to accompany him, but a bureaucratic glitch prevented this. His testimony contained much more about the ups and downs of his journey, and he gave example after example of how God stepped in when he was at a low point. Pierre, ended his testimony by saying that his faith in God strengthened during his journey.
Last Sunday, after service, I saw he was a little upset, so we talked. He had been laid off on Friday; this was a complete surprise, especially since he had been promoted only a week earlier. I admit my initial thoughts were, “Why God.” We talked, cried, and then prayed. We agreed to get together later to talk about the next steps, which included visiting the immigration office to try to prevent his deportation (he was short several months of receiving Permanent Residence status). We ended our prayer, asking for peace and restating our trust in God.
We met on Monday, and before I could speak, he excitedly explained he was called by the president of another shipbuilding firm who offered him employment in Moncton or different places in Quebec. Pierre is a skilled worker specializing in a rare process that not many have in Canada. The owner knew of Pierre’s work ethic and had heard about him being dismissed. This job offer prevents his residency status from being affected, and he can bring his family here soon. Praise God.
Too often when faced with seemingly difficult tasks or hardships, people close in on themselves and put their trust in their ability to fix the issues. In the end, there may be something they will have to do to lessen the problem. But too often, people begin to worry, especially when they can’t figure out what to do. They shy away from seeking the advice of others. They avoid prayer until they weigh the pros and cons of talking with God because they want a quick fix, not a conversation which may suggest they need to change themselves or the hole will get deeper.
We can pray for protection, forgiveness, guidance, understanding, and peace. We can express our love, our gratitude, our needs, our worries, and our fears. We should pray boldly and be generous with our prayers for others.
Trust, believe and have faith that God will hear your prayers and respond. Listen and watch for ways that God may be speaking to you and when your prayers are answered, remember to thank God.
Saturday, 25 February 2023 the MCF will be hosting the Annual General Meeting (AGM). Time TBD. We will meet using the teleconferencing application called “ZOOM”. All members are invited to join us and if you are not a member yet support the MCF and receive this newsletter, you are most welcomed to join us as well.
It is crucial that members attend the AGM and to help us ensure that the AGM proceeds smoothly, pre-registration for attending is required no later than 24 Feb at 4:00 pm EST. We will send everyone the zoom connection information Friday evening. Please reply to the MCF office. We do need your correct email address to be sure you can log in on Saturday 25 February, 2023.
For the best experience please download the application to whichever device you will use to connect to the AGM. You should likely use a device that will permit you a viewing screen larger than a smart phone. There may be documents and power point viewing necessary during this meeting. You can access the application either through your device’s application functionality or at this web-site – https://zoom.us/signup.
We know that He can do infinitely more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, so to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus in this generation and all those that are to come. Blessings on you, chat with you soon.
It’s time to consider whom to invite to our next Alpha course. Registration is underway and we would love for you to join us on the online Alpha course the MCF is offering this winter.
The Alpha course is an excellent tool we use in accomplishing the core mission of the MCF, “to bring the gospel to the Military Community”.
If you haven’t been on an Alpha course, please consider joining us this February. If you have been on the course, then talk to your military community friend or family member about joining us, we are using the online platform and there is plenty of room for everyone.
Watch the ‘trailer‘ then get out there and invite (virtually) your colleagues, your friends and your family, and register soon for the MCF Alpha course. The experience will change them and you…forever.
Are you ready to join us, is someone you know ready for an extraordinary life change? Here are the coordinates for the group:
Sunday, 05 February online at 7:00 pm EST
Leading the sessions: Gerry Potter
Alpha Coordinator: Nicole
To register and for more information: Connect with us
First, direct your conversation to God.
Lament is not directed toward our enemies, toward our suffering, or toward our pain. We direct our conversation to God, the One who hears us. It acknowledges God’s sovereignty in all things, and He is the One in control.
Second, describe your suffering and your pain to Him
The Lord knows our deepest innermost thoughts, but we should make it a point to tell Him what we are feeling! How angry are we about the pain we are experiencing? How frustrated we are that He seems to be silent?
Thirdly, depend on Christ for your help and your hope
We don’t simply pour our sorrows and pain before God and end there. Instead, we then turn to the gospel of Christ to find help and hope in our suffering. We turn a corner, begin to speak the gospel of peace and hope to ourselves, and turn to Jesus and ask Him for comfort, for His perspective, and for Him to act.
In the Bible, lament isn’t about blame, or anger.
Lament is when we acknowledge, in grief and pain, that there’s no getting back what we’ve lost.
Our fixes haven’t worked.
Our world will never be the same again.
We’ve all lost by what’s happened during the Covid-19 crisis, whether or not we’ve been ill or bereaved.
We’ve lost work opportunities, the company of friends and family, the ordinary privilege of doing what we like.
Perhaps most of all, we’ve lost the illusion of invulnerability.
The idea that life will just keep getting better, because scientists and technicians will always keep us safe, healthy and comfortable, turns out not to be true.
These have been dark times, and it’s right to acknowledge that without joining in those calls for someone to take the blame for it.
We shouldn’t try to be cheerful, or to peddle a false optimism about COVID
We shouldn’t pretend we can soon, if at all, go back to how things used to be.
But we are also people of hope, because we follow a crucified and risen Saviour.
We’re familiar with the sadness of Good Friday and Holy Saturday, when hope seemed buried in the tomb; but we also know the rejoicing of Easter Sunday, when Christ rose from the dead. So for us, lament is not the same as despair.
Our hope, though, doesn’t rest on human skills or achievements.
But so is hope, grounded in a faithful God.
We want to move forward to be part of the mission God has called us to.
We want to look at where he wants to lead us and what plans he has for our church family.
But we have to acknowledge the damage COVID did to us and the church, talk with God about it and be ready to move forward.
I read these verses on Pastor Carols O’Donnell’s Facebook page, do join me in speaking them into our lives.
Give praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He is the Father who gives tender love. All comfort comes from Him.
He comforts us in all our troubles.
Now we can comfort others when they are in trouble.
We ourselves have received comfort from God.
We share the sufferings of Christ.
We also share His comfort.
If we are having trouble, it is so that you will be comforted and renewed.
If we are comforted, it is so that you will be comforted.
Then you will be able to put up with the same suffering we have gone through.
Our hope for you remains firm. We know that you suffer just as we do. In the same way, God comforts you just as He comforts us.
Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the hard times we suffered during COVID
We were having a lot of trouble.
It was far more than some could stand.
We even thought we were going to die.
In fact, in our hearts we felt as if we were under the sentence of death. But that happened so that we would not depend on ourselves but on God. He raises the dead to life.
God has saved us from deadly dangers. And He will continue to do it. We have put our hope in Him. He will continue to save us.
This ministry helps to restore and find healing for any soul and moral injury you may have. The format of the program helps veterans and spouses understand the hidden impact of combat and provides a safe place for their emotional healing. Whether you are suffering of any trauma or know someone who is, prayerfully consider joining others for moral support and care.
You are invited to come to the next Welcome Home Initiative©️ taking place 7-9 November at Christ the King spiritual Life Center, Greenwich, NY 12834. There is NO CHARGE for veterans or their spouses.
To learn more, apply to attend, or to support this initiative: www.ctkcenter.org
Registration for the Retreat: https://christthekingcenter.campbrainregistration.com 
In partnership with:
www.accts.org
Sessions have started and we are excited to explore with friends, family and many the experience of seeing first-hand the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation. This encouragement helps the entire military community recapture the joy of evangelism. The MCF is offering an online Alpha where people bring their friends for a conversation about life, faith and Jesus.
Watch the ‘trailer‘ and pray for us as we connect with a group from across the country this fall.
For more information don’t hesitate to contact at mcfoffice@themcf.ca
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