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REVITALIZATION AND MULTIPLICATION Uncategorized

REVITALIZATION AND MULTIPLICATION

The illuminated face of the clock by the bed read, “3:38.” Conscious. Confused. Clear. Awake! O yah, its Thursday and I’m supposed to jet to Vancouver. Belt buckled. Keys in pockets. Shoes on. Groomed! No time for brewing coffee. Grrrrr. Notes? Check. iPhone ticket? Check. Car rental? Check. Ready! Cold and snow blankets everything, delaying but invigorating. Sparse traffic. Silent morning. Slushy roads. Departures! The ripples of 9/11 are reminders that tighter security doesn’t make life feel more secure. Belt off. Pockets emptied. Shoes off. Inconvenienced! The best part of flying. Not. 32,000 feet. 548km/hr -64C Purpose! The planeload empties at almost the identical local time we departed. Rain for snow. Green for white. Mountains for plains. Envious! A rented…
Bob Jones
March 2, 2016
AN OPEN LETTER FROM A MOM: M.A.D.D. Uncategorized

AN OPEN LETTER FROM A MOM: M.A.D.D.

My life changed forever January 27, 2004. My son Ryan was twenty when he was killed by a drunk driver. Your heart knows a pain like no other. Burying your child is the most painful, unimaginable day you will ever endure. Something that is so wrong in so many ways. Your mind is a whirling blur, yet it is ever hopeful that at any moment now, you will awake and find that this is all a nightmare...a mother’s - a parent’s - worst nightmare. I'm grateful to my friend Jane Burak for writing this letter. The Burak and Jones families enjoyed cheering on our sons as teammates through elementary grades to senior high. We were devastated when a call came…
Bob Jones
February 28, 2016
FEARLESS IN BURUNDI: THE KOMANTS’ STORY Uncategorized

FEARLESS IN BURUNDI: THE KOMANTS’ STORY

Look at their smiles. They appear to be a typical, retired Canadian couple holidaying in some exotic, faraway place. The Komants are anything but typical and certainly not retired. Elmer and Sherry Komant are North Pointe's partner missionaries serving in Bujumbura, Burundi. They know what it is to be fearless. Consider their description of neighborhood gunfire as "pressure cooker popcorn." They've faced hostile governments, financial challenges, strange foreign customs, and Elmer's diagnosis of inoperable brain cancer, thirty years ago. Seniors Strong The Komants successfully planted churches in Zambia, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi. They are in their 60's and still going strong. At an age when most Canadians are retiring the Komants ramped up their commitment to serve. In 2014 they…
Bob Jones
February 24, 2016
WIDE-EYED MINISTRY IN THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS Uncategorized

WIDE-EYED MINISTRY IN THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS

I recently returned from a mission trip hosted by Centre for Student Missions (CSM) that enabled my team to explore urban ministry. New York, New York was a whole new world for my team of first year Youth Ministry Institute students of Vanguard College. Dia Tomada is part of the family at North Pointe, a student at Vanguard College and serves as a volunteer youth leader in the Anomaly Youth Ministry with Pastor Jeremy Gifford. She shares her insights having just returned from a missions trip to New York City. The nickname “The City that Never Sleeps” became very real, very quickly as we jumped straight into ministry at 6:00 in the morning, a mere ten hours after settling into…
Bob Jones
February 21, 2016
4 FACTS ABOUT FAITH AND FEAR Uncategorized

4 FACTS ABOUT FAITH AND FEAR

Fear knocks at everybody's door. Phobia comes in a plethora of forms - fear of failure, falling, fire, flowers, flying, frogs, or fog to name a few. How will faith help you face fear? 4 Facts About Faith And Fear 1. If  you give in to fear, it will rule your life. Fear tears away ambition, kind actions or thoughts. It creates resentments, jealousy and anger. Fear will make you doubt life, your friends and the best intentions of others. It can change how you feel and react to things which would not normally bother you. 2. Faith changes everything. A Bible verse, a devotional thought, a memory of past success, an email from a friend, a kind word, good…
Bob Jones
February 20, 2016
RISEN Uncategorized

RISEN

The account of Easter can easily function as a coloring book - the lines are clear that shape Good Friday, the Cross and the Empty Tomb.  How the pages are colored has been limited by the crayons available. Not anymore. Easter Colors Rich Peluso passed up the Crayola 24, 64 and 96 packs and created his own Mega Box 144 to color his Easter story. In producing, "Risen," Peluso made use of shades and combinations no one has seen before. He gave free reign to poetic license and colored outside the lines. But that's OK. As a communicator I know that telling a familiar story from a new perspective or angle helps audiences pay attention. They may even have an…
Bob Jones
February 14, 2016
GOOD NEWS GIRL ON CTV Uncategorized

GOOD NEWS GIRL ON CTV

Faith, joy and hope are timeless qualities that will help you be your best even when life is at its worst. For Kristen Fersovitch they were a trilogy of tested and trusted convictions. When Kristen was diagnosed with inoperable cancer in 2011, she had no idea her story would inspire thousands of people across Canada. She has appeared in national magazines, newspapers, blogs and published in a hardcover book. In December 2015, CTV Edmonton ran a prime time feature on her life of music, family, marriage, parenting, and hope. Thank you, Dez Melenka at CTV for so beautifully telling Kristen's story. Purchase your copy of Ornament online at Chapters.ca or at any of these Edmonton area outlets. Read Kristen's inspiring…
Bob Jones
February 9, 2016
DARING TO IMAGINE Uncategorized

DARING TO IMAGINE

One of the greatest gifts that God has given you is the gift of imagination. Everything starts with imagination. Nothing becomes reality unless first somebody imagines it. The term "Imagineering" was copyrighted by the Disney corporation in 1967 to describe the outcome of combining imagination and engineering. Imagination is the ability to create through mental pictures. The Bible uses the phrase "sound mind" which describes an imagination dedicated to God. (2 Timothy 1:6) I believe God allows us to see things through faith that we didn’t think were possible in order to remind us of our potential. When you see Amy Purdy, you see what imagination - seeing with the eyes of faith - can do. Dancing With No Legs…
Bob Jones
February 8, 2016
OVERHEARD IN A WAITING ROOM Uncategorized

OVERHEARD IN A WAITING ROOM

Waiting rooms are funny places. They are confined areas with very little privacy, making it too easy to overhear conversations you would normally avoid. It was in one of these waiting rooms that I overheard such a conversation. Sue Glover is a wife and mom and a member of North Pointe's Writers Group. The group's purpose is to help support aspiring writers of all ages and stages in a monthly meeting. This true story is Sue's first published piece. We're proud of her. Old Friends Two elderly gentlemen (one stated that he had just turned 88) happened to meet after not seeing each another for a good number of years. It started out as the type of conversation I would…
Bob Jones
February 3, 2016
A SUNDAY IN THE LIFE OF A PASTOR Uncategorized

A SUNDAY IN THE LIFE OF A PASTOR

A Sunday in the life of a pastor...January 24, 2016. Awake at 5:03am - no alarm - just time to be up. Praying at our kitchen table for what the day could hold. Read the YouVersion’s Bible plan - "Digging Deeper Daily." A see-you-later kiss with Jocelyn before heading out the door on a surprisingly mild January morning. Pulling into an already filling parking lot ninety-five minutes before service time. Handshakes, smiles and hugs with staff and volunteers. Good-natured ribbing on my return from a two-week holiday. High-fives with pre-schoolers in the foyer. Pictures with a family of Patriot football fans decked out in the colors, hours before the AFC Championship game kick-off. Prayer with our ministry team before taking…
Bob Jones
January 27, 2016