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BOB JONES

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8 THINGS YOU CAN DISCOVER IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE Uncategorized

8 THINGS YOU CAN DISCOVER IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

A trip to the middle of nowhere can be a good way to find what you’ve always been looking for. Jocelyn and I were enjoying a 10-day holiday cruise that was gifted to us for twenty five years of service at North Pointe. We brought our books and lemonade to hang out on Deck 12 of the “Independence of the Seas.” The Atlantic Ocean was all we could see in every direction. It felt like the middle of nowhere. There I found what I was missing or better still, wasn't missing. 8 Discoveries In The Middle Of Nowhere 1. Twenty-four-hour connectivity isn't all its wired up to be. There is nothing like a cruise to give you reason to disconnect.…
Bob Jones
October 16, 2016
FOOTBALL FAMILIES MOURN MYLAN HICKS Uncategorized

FOOTBALL FAMILIES MOURN MYLAN HICKS

Mylan Hicks shown in a Calgary Stampeders handout photo, released Sunday, Sept.25, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Calgary Stampeders Our church family knows this pastor likes talking football but I wasn’t prepared for the conversation I had Sunday morning. The first thing a friend asked was, “Did you hear about Hicks? He was murdered this morning.” Mylan Hicks was like my sons – dreaming of making it as a pro football player. Football Fraternity Only a professional athlete understands all that it takes to survive minor football, high school, the college ranks, training camps and practice rosters. The 5am long distance runs. Lifting weights. Drills. Coaches trying to break you down – physically, mentally and spiritually. The injuries you don’t tell the…
Bob Jones
September 25, 2016
EMOTIONAL SCARS, BARS AND STARS Uncategorized

EMOTIONAL SCARS, BARS AND STARS

Pinch yourself, Kelita! You’re not dreaming - that is Reba McIntire singing beside you. Yep, the same surreal feeling as being on stage with k. d. Lang. Just like the starstruck stance of Eileen (Shania) Twain when she sang back up for you. Through The Hardships You would never guess from the vibrancy in Kelita's smile that she endured years of childhood sexual abuse, addiction, tragedy and marital unfaithfulness. Kelita’s life history reads like a heart-rending version of Ripley’s believe-it-not. Father - suicide when she was 11. Mother - died of cancer when she was 14. She was repeatedly abused by a step-brother. A younger sister died in a car accident. Her older brother drowned. At 18 she moved 2,200km to…
Bob Jones
September 21, 2016
WARNING: CONTAGIOUS PASSION AHEAD Uncategorized

WARNING: CONTAGIOUS PASSION AHEAD

Elmer and Sherry Komant's places of mission service read like a travelogue through hell. Kigali, Rwanda; Bujumbura, Burundi, Mombassa, Kenya. The Komants led a church in a Muslim controlled city in Kenya, faced the after effects of genocide in Rwanda and planted a church in the poorest country on the continent of Africa. They recently survived a political coup in Burundi. And at an age when most Canadians are focused on retirement, they show no signs of tiring let alone retiring. Komant Adventures The Komants have been held up at gunpoint and had their lives threatened in more ways than one. Elmer nearly died of brain cancer forty years ago. At times they've lived oceans apart from their children. The…
Bob Jones
September 18, 2016
THE POWER OF SHARING by BROCK HARRISON Uncategorized

THE POWER OF SHARING by BROCK HARRISON

“Thanks for writing your piece on depression. It was very moving and it has helped me make the call to go see a counselor. So thanks for helping!” “Thanks for your willingness to open up and share your story. It gives me the courage to maybe one day soon talk about mine. You have no idea what your article did for me this morning.” “If I hear from you, I’ll write my story. I’ve not done that yet: strange, because I am a storyteller and love writing. I guess I’ve just tried to keep this part of me in abeyance.” “I just finished reading your story and it's left me in a pool of tears and hope all at the…
Bob Jones
September 14, 2016
THEY CALL ME JFRANKTANK: JAMES FRANKLIN Uncategorized

THEY CALL ME JFRANKTANK: JAMES FRANKLIN

As a professional football player, James Franklin has learned to avoid getting sacked by 300lb rushing lineman and the crushing weight of unfulfilled dreams. Franklin played his last NCAA college game by winning the 2014 Cotton Bowl in front of a national TV audience and 72,000 fans in Arlington, Texas. He now spends all of his game time for the Edmonton Eskimos on the sidelines signalling in plays to Mike Reilly. His faith, family and focus have kept him in the game. Positive Parents Franklin was born in Edmond, Oklahoma, on July 23, 1991. His father’s ministry work kept them on the move when he was young, taking them to Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Missouri before setting in Corinth, Texas, when…
Bob Jones
September 7, 2016
WHY WE SEND YOUTH MISSIONS TEAMS Uncategorized

WHY WE SEND YOUTH MISSIONS TEAMS

Like many others before them, the Anomaly Missions Team to Mexico returned home far richer than they left. Their increase wasn't in gold or gems but in priceless experiences and golden memories. Pastor Jeremy Gifford has been leading ministry teams south of the border for the past six years. Every trip, like every team, is unique. The 2016 team consisted of eighteen members, aged fifteen to twenty three along with Pastor Jeremy and Kerri Wagensveld (whose age remains a closely guarded secret). Peter and Bonnie Kozak from North Pointe moved to Vicente Guerrero, Mexico to serve as missionaries over a decade ago. They've hosted all of our missions teams. The onsite ministries include an orphanage, special needs care, a halfway…
Bob Jones
August 31, 2016
7 ARTISTS: IMAGINATIVE / PASSIONATE / ORIGINAL Uncategorized

7 ARTISTS: IMAGINATIVE / PASSIONATE / ORIGINAL

Their creativity flows from their passion for a purpose or a person they love. Some create because they want to.  Others create because they must. Either way, artists stir our imagination. The world is a more beautiful place because of them. 7 Artists Of North Pointe 1. Hannah Kaup - Honey And Betts Hannah's enthusiasm is contagious and everything she touches glows. She posts about style, travel, beauty, family life and shopping for her following on Instagram and her website. Hannah's a mom to two pre-schoolers and a husband in law school.Read more in You Can't Out Give God and Hannah's Story. 2. Timothy Fowler - A Platter For Life Timothy Fowler recently retired as a Vice President with Aramark…
Bob Jones
August 28, 2016
3 LESSONS FROM THE UNHAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH Uncategorized

3 LESSONS FROM THE UNHAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH

How to pack for a trip to the world’s least happy place? No, the destination is not Calgary after another dismal season for the Flames. This trip will take you in the opposite direction of Disneyland, the happiness capital of the world. The location is identified in the World Database of Happiness (WDH). Least Happy Nation In The World Ruut Veenhoven, the Director of the WDH, is a Dutch sociologist and world authority on the scientific study of happiness. He’s described as “the godfather of happiness.” According to Ruut the least happy nation in the world is - Moldova - a part of the former Soviet Republic. Moldova is sandwiched between the Ukraine and Romania – two equally unhappy places…
Bob Jones
August 24, 2016
PRECIOUS HERITAGE OF PERSECUTED FAITH Uncategorized

PRECIOUS HERITAGE OF PERSECUTED FAITH

She held her breath under the church floorboards fearing the sickening thud of her mother’s body. Her terrified mind reeled, considering how horribly life had changed since the invasion from the North part of Korea. This is a guest post from Dr Ron Powell about his wife, Anna's mother. Ron is the Youth Ministry Director and Field Education Director at Vanguard College, Edmonton, AB. He and his family are volunteer leaders at North Pointe. The Piano Sure, they were poor and fatherless but in my mother-in-law, Myung Ja Kim’s mind, life had been ideal. She remembered when the Christian pastor had come to the village to start the little church. The best thing about it for her was the piano.…
Bob Jones
August 21, 2016