New Season, Next Step (ready for what's next?)

I walked my dog this morning and checked the weather before I left the house. It was -1. If I didn't feel it before, I'm certainly feeling the fact that we're in a new season! You're probably feeling it, too.

New seasons often come with the desire to reprioritize, learn something new, or create a change in your life in some way. So I wanted to take the opportunity to invite you into any next steps in church life that you might have been thinking about.

Everything we do here at Freedom needs to CONNECT people to God and others, TRAIN us to be more like Jesus or IMPACT the world for Christ... preferably more than one at the same time! These are our core values and we're looking to have each one active and growing in our lives so that we can experience daily life transformation.

We've talked a lot about Connecting Point groups (which connect and train us and may even give us opportunities to impact the world!). We absolutely believe these groups are invaluable. They start next week so don't miss out on the chance to grow with others. LEARN MORE

There are also steps in church life that are available to you throughout the year. Allow me to draw your attention to some of them and encourage you to take these steps if they are what's next for you...

Water Baptism: coming up on Sunday, October 30

Church Membership: apply any time on our website

Child Dedication: can be coordinated on a Sunday that works for your family

Ministry Teams: find a fit for your gifts and interests

Pavilion Project: financially invest in this project

Life Transformations Blog: invite someone to be a part of this devotional

We're here for your next step - whatever it is!

Take a look at freedomkw.com/next and let us know how we can help you with what is next for you in this new season.

Stepping into NEXT with you!
Pastor Tracy

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THIS SUNDAY

GREEN LIGHTS
The Call to Worship
Del Wells

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Boots on the Ground: FUNCTION (September Studies: Week 4)

In the last week of this 4-part series, we're focusing on how we stay connected to the body. We know the foundation - the body of Christ, we understand the metaphor, we see how each part of the body is gifted by the Spirit and now, we focus in on how each of us needs to remain vitally connected to the Head, Christ Himself.

Linked below is a chapter from First Steps that teaches about being devoted to the fellowship and the benefits of belonging to the body of Christ. (For the full course, head over to our website to download or request a hard copy.)

I'm really looking forward to talking about this with you on Sunday morning!

Together in Christ,
Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

BOOTS ON THE GROUND
Fusion

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Facebook Live)
11:00 - Kids Church Live in Freedom Kids FB Group
We also post the service to YOUTUBE on Sunday afternoon.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Boots on the Ground: FUNCTION (September Studies: Week 3)

This week's study will again help you both prepare for Sunday and deepen your understanding of biblical teaching about the Body, the gifts of the Spirit, and how it all works in our lives and as a church family.

Linked below are two more chapters from Learning to Serve that teach about ministry gifts. It is from Romans 12, one of our main texts for Sunday morning. (For the full course, head over to our NEXT page to download or request a hard copy.)

I'm really looking forward to talking about this with you on Sunday morning!

Together in Christ,
Pastor Tracy

PS - Be sure to check out our Financial Update for August and the details for the Corn Roast below!

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This Sunday

BOOTS ON THE GROUND
Function

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Facebook Live)
11:00 - Kids Church Live in Freedom Kids FB Group
We also post the service to YOUTUBE on Sunday afternoon.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Boots on the Ground: FORM (September Studies: Week 2)

Continuing on in our devotional series for the month of September, this week's study will again help you both prepare for Sunday and deepen your understanding of biblical teaching about the Body, the gifts of the Spirit, and how it all works in our lives and as a church family.

Linked below is a chapter from Learning to Serve that teaches about what ministry looks like in the Body of Christ. It is from 1 Corinthians 12, one of our main texts for Sunday morning. (For the full course, head over to our website to download or request a hard copy.)

I'm really looking forward to digging into this passage and Romans 12:1-5 with you on Sunday morning!

Together in Christ,
Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

BOOTS ON THE GROUND
Form

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Facebook Live)
11:00 - Kids Church Live in Freedom Kids FB Group
We also post the service to YOUTUBE on Sunday afternoon.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Boots on the Ground (September Studies: Week 1)

Our Impact Leadership Training group last spring was studying the course Learning to Serve. During one of our Zoom MeetUps someone said that serving is like being the "boots on the ground" for Jesus. It stuck with me.

We're kicking off the fall with a series named just that: Boots on the Ground. All of our messages will revolve around one primary theme - what does it mean to be the body of Christ, his boots on the ground, so to speak?

First up, I've invited Pastor Del to set the stage with the FOUNDATION of it all - the literal body of Christ, broken for us on the cross, remembered and proclaimed during communion (1 Corinthians 11:26).

Then, we'll be looking at the FORM, FUNCTION and FUSION of Church as He lives in and works through us as His body.

Through the month of September I'm going to set you up with a study each week that will help you both prepare for Sundays and deepen your understanding of biblical teaching about the Body, the gifts of the Spirit, and how it all works in our lives and as a church family.

To begin, linked below is a chapter from First Steps that teaches about the foundation of communion (and water baptism). For the full course, head over to our NEXT page to download or request a hard copy.

I'm really looking forward to digging into these passages with you this month!

Together in Christ,
Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

BOOTS ON THE GROUND
Foundation

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Facebook Live)
11:00 - Kids Church Live in Freedom Kids FB Group
We also post the service to YOUTUBE on Sunday afternoon.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

NEW and NEXT (FAQs that you haven't asked yet!)

I'd like to call this week's devo "Frequently Asked Questions"... but we know you're likely not sitting around thinking about how Sunday is going to work as we go back to in-person and add a second service - yet. So consider this a preemptive FAQs as you get closer to the weekend and plan how you are going to connect and train with your Freedom family so that you can be ready to impact your world for Christ in the coming week.

What's happening this Sunday?
With the opportunity to gather with 15% capacity and the desire to worship together with as many people as we can in person, we are having TWO services on Sunday morning: 9:30 & 11:00

Each service will be able to have up to 45 people in the sanctuary, plus there will be 15 children able to attend Kids Church in each service.

What about OFF Campus? Will you still livestream the service?
Absolutely. We know that not everyone is able to return to in-person gatherings just yet so our 9:30 service will be livestreamed to FB Live and hosted by a member of our team. We'll still be including OFF Campus in all of our service interactions and we are still encouraging everyone to share the livestream with friends, families and co-workers, knowing that this is going to continue to be a great way to be introduced to the gospel and our church family.

Is Kids Church still happening online?
Yes but with a big change... it will be LIVESTREAMED for the first time! All OFF Campus kids can tune into LIVE Kids Church at 11:00 in the Freedom Kids Facebook Group and join in with what our kids are doing during service. Cool, right?!

What kinds of rules and things will be in place?
If you've been to an in-person service in the last year, things will pretty much be the same:

• masks are mandatory (due to provincial and regional regulations)

• social distancing is maintained

• entrances and exits are clearly marked for good traffic flow

• surfaces are frequently cleaned and sanitized

Do I need to register for church?
Yes indeed. Registering does two things for us: it ensures that we don't exceed our 15% capacity and it gives us a record of who was in the building in the event that contact tracing is necessary for Public Health. These records are confidential and are only kept for a couple of weeks and then deleted.

Did we forget anything?
Contact us at any time and we'll do our best to get back to you very shortly. Email any of the staff (addresses on our website) or DM us on social media!

Church, I love to be together with you. I want to see your faces if possible and if it's not possible, I want to read your comments and see your engagement with one another. However you can, join us on Sunday morning and bring someone with you - in person or online.

Connecting and training to make an impact with you,
Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

FAITH IS A VERB
Enoch: Faith to Seek

Join us on Sunday at 10am for church online.
FOLLOW THE LIVESTREAM ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.
We also post the service to YOUTUBE on Sunday afternoon.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Local Church | Global Reach (first missions update of 2021!)

We count it a privilege to have such excellent missions partners around the world that we get to support financially. God is moving and using our local church to make a difference in the global church. So grateful!

Our 2021 goal for giving to Missions is $22,000, which is over and above our General Fund budget. We are believing that we will meet and exceed both goals this year.

2021 Missions Giving Plan: CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

Pastor Erin gave a report on Sunday and shared some of the great things that are happening with our partners. Take a look at the video and continue to ask God how He is leading you to give to His work at home and with our partners this year.

Partners in the Kingdom,
Pastor Tracy

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Don't forget about Alpha!
Invite someone to meet Jesus with you.

Wednesdays, April 21-June 16 on Zoom

REGISTER HERE

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This Sunday

(YOUR) WORLD PEACE
Peace in a Driven World

Join us on Sunday at 10am for church online.
FOLLOW THE LIVESTREAM ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.
We also post the service to YOUTUBE on Sunday afternoon.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Questions About Life? #TryAlpha (so excited for this!)

We have such an exciting opportunity this spring to share the life-changing faith we have in Jesus with the people in our lives.

A team has been trained and is ready to lead Alpha online. Now it's our turn to figure out who we are going to invite.

Would you pray specifically this week for the Lord to give direction - and also the courage - to invite someone to attend Alpha?

It's running on Wednesdays from April 21-June 16 at 7:00 on Zoom. (You can participate from the lawn chair in your backyard!)

I can tell you from being a part of the training that it is going to be the perfect place to introduce people to Jesus and also, answer some of the questions that long-time believers have wondered about or struggled with. It's just simply going to be a great investment of your time.

Thank you for partnering with us as we launch Alpha. We are believing for God to do great things and ready to step out in faith and invite people to learn more about the One we love and serve with our lives.

INVITE: Share our socials or download a graphic to email/share.
REGISTER: Sign up on our Connecting Point page.

So excited for what's next!!
Pastor Tracy

Want to learn more about Alpha? Check out their website.

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This Sunday

(YOUR) WORLD PEACE
Peace in a Noisy World

Join us on Sunday at 10am for church online.
FOLLOW THE LIVESTREAM ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.
We also post the service to YOUTUBE on Sunday afternoon.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Easter Weekend and What's Next (He is risen indeed!)

Church - we have an amazing opportunity in the next few days. Similarly to Christmas, Easter is a time when people who don't typically attend church or think about spiritual things are open to coming to church and hearing about Jesus. My question, then, is simple: how can you use this opportunity to share with someone else the incredible life-change you've experienced?

It may be intimidating to think about but really, it can be as simple as a conversation with a neighbour, an invitation to watch our livestream, or a meal dropped off at a door. In all of this, we simply ask God to open our eyes, give us courage and lead us however He wants to.

Here's what's happening at Freedom now and next. Who could you invite to come along and hear about Him?

NOW...
Good Friday - April 2 @ 10:00 - In Person & Livestream
Easter Sunday - April 4 @ 10:00 - In Person & Livestream

NEXT...
Alpha Course - begins April 21 - Online (Invite someone to take it and join them!)

We are asking God to use us in this season for His Kingdom as we celebrate Jesus together.

He is risen indeed!
Pastor Tracy

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This Friday & Sunday

EASTER… SO WHO IS JESUS?

GOOD FRIDAY
The Power of the Cross

EASTER SUNDAY
Conquering

Join us on Sunday at 10am for church online.
FOLLOW THE LIVESTREAM ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.
We also post the service to YOUTUBE on Sunday afternoon.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Shout Out To The Men! (and a little on water baptism)

I love Father's Day... except figuring out how to help my kids get a gift for Rob... but otherwise, it's a great day. I have a lot of great men in my life: my husband, my dad, my father-in-law, my brother, and on it goes. The men who call Freedom their church home stand out as examples of honesty, humility and service. So many of you are like the men from Issachar who understood the times and knew what to do. (1 Chronicles 12:32) Really, I am so blessed. I know that my son can look at his family at church or home and see example after example of men who are following Christ. So, l'm glad that we got to celebrate you guys on Sunday. I pray for all of you that:

“...out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

— Ephesians 3:16-19

And while we're talking about great things in church life... if you have made a decision to follow Jesus but haven't been baptized in water, it would be our honour to help you take that step of obedience. All the information you need about why we believe in water baptism and what steps you need to take to get baptized can be found by clicking the link below. Maybe this is what's next for you!

See you on Sunday,
Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

Speaking The Truth
"Generosity Leads to Blessing (I Can’t Afford to Be Generous)”

Join us on Sunday at 10am as our Pastor Tracy continues in our series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

More on Spirit Baptism (lots of resources for you)

On Sunday we celebrated Pentecost and I shared about how vital it is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I know that a lot of us don't come from a pentecostal background and this might be something new that you'd like to study more. Here are some resources to get you started and as always, don't hesitate to reach out to me with more questions or insights. I'd love to hear your story and share in your journey.

Be filled!
Pastor Tracy

SCRIPTURE: The Book of Acts

BLOG: Why do Pentecostals care so much about SPIRIT BAPTISM? (Andrew Gabriel)

COURSE: Life in the Spirit (Del Wells)

EBOOK: Sprit Baptism in the Old and New Testament (Andrew Gabriel)

BOOK: The Charismatic Theology of St. Luke (Roger Stronstad)

BOOKLET: A Scriptural Outline of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit (George Gilles)

POSITION PAPER: Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Assemblies of God)

NEXT STEP: Deep Roots (next one is July 3rd @ 6:30pm)

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This Sunday

Speaking The Truth
"WikiHow to Dad”

Join us on Sunday at 10am as our Pastor Del shares a Father’s Day message.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Need a NEXT step? (we can help!)

All this month we've been asking the question, "What's next?" The truth is that nothing in your life stays the same for very long. Even if we feel like we're in a rut of some kind there are still things changing all around you, one season moving into the next. We see in scripture that this truth applies to our choice to be a follower of Jesus as well. There is no instruction in the Bible to have faith in Christ and then check that off of your life goals list. There is a constant calling to grow and be challenged, to study and learn, and to step forward day by day as a fully devoted disciple.

As we've been considering this we want to follow it up with the most practical next steps that we can think of. When you're ready to take on something new and go deeper in your spiritual life and your knowledge of God, how do you choose from the ocean of content that is available these days? That's the question we want to help to answer.

You're invited to NEXT. It's simply just a page on our website that will help you to step into your next discipleship challenge. It's separated into three categories:

• Life Transformation Courses (a place to begin if you need to build a foundation)

• NEXT Training (courses and resources to take you deeper)

• Connect & Train (options for discipleship that you can do with others)

Check it out! We're only just getting started and there are already lots of options for you. Next month we will be launching our first ever video/podcast course that will be accessible to you from wherever you have an internet connection. And, there is lots more on the horizon. Our intent is that tomorrow, a month from now, a year from now and beyond, you can just keep coming back to NEXT and literally find something to help you with what's next on your personal discipleship journey.

Oh, and by the way, if you have ideas for content or topics that would help you take your next steps as a follower of Jesus, I would LOVE to hear them. Find me here.

So, what's next, Freedom?
Pastor Tracy

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This Sunday

WHAT’S NEXT?
Part 3

Join us on Sunday at 10am as Pastor Tracy continues our series.

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.