The Bible says that we can participate in the grandest endeavor that’s taking place today. We join what it calls the “ministry of reconciliation” – joining God, who is reconciling the world to himself through Christ.

What does this mean? How can this motivate us, and what can we do? Join is Sundays in September at 10:30 a.m. as we explore the answers to these questions.

Summer Camp Consent Form

Summer Camp Ad

Check out the ad and consent form for the summer camp running from July 19th to August 13th.

Everyone loves a story. Jesus told lots of them on about all kinds of things: sheep, jewelry, family tensions, weddings, and more. But they’re more than just stories. They pack a punch.

Join us this summer as we examine some of the stories that Jesus told, and as we discover what they mean for us today. We meet every Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. at 1548 Kipling Avenue.

Schedule

• June 6 – Stan Fowler, “The Rich Fool” (Luke 12:13-21)
• June 13 – Stan Fowler, “The Lost Sheep, Coin, and Son” (Luke 15)
• June 20 – Stan Fowler, “The Judge and the Widow” (Luke 18:1-8)
• June 27 – Stan Fowler, “Cloth and Wineskins” (Luke 5:33-39)
• July 4 – Cal Netterfield, “The Good Samaritan” (Luke 10:29-37)
• July 11 – Cal Netterfield, “The Lost Sheep” (Matthew 18:10-14)
• July 18 – Jon McMurray, “The Two Sons” (Matthew 21:28-32)
• July 25 – Ian Clary, “The Householder and the Thief” (Matthew 24:43-44; Luke 12:35-40)
• August 1 – Joel Barker, “The Rich Man and Lazarus” (Luke 16:19-31)
• August 8 – Julian Freeman, “The Barren Fig Tree” (Luke 13:6-9)
• August 15 – Julian Freeman, “The Unforgiving Servant” (Matthew 18:21-33)
• August 22 – Barth Netterfield, “The Dishonest Manager, and Talents” (Luke 16:1-9, 19:11-27)
• August 29 – Dave Cook, “The Good Samaritan” (Luke 10:29-37)

In trying the case for Christ, journalist Lee Strobel cross-examined a number of experts and recognized authorities in their own fields of study. He conducted his examination with no religious bias, other than his predisposition to atheism.

Remarkably, after compiling and critically examining the evidence for himself, Strobel became a Christian. Stunned by his findings, he organized the evidence into a book he entitled, The Case for Christ, which has won the Gold Medallion Book Award for excellence.

Strobel asks one thing of each reader – remain unbiased in your examination of the evidence. In the end, judge the evidence for yourself, acting as the lone juror in the case for Christ.

Please join us if you are not sure how you feel about Jesus. If you are looking, to learn more, about the basic evidence for Jesus, you are welcome to come.

Meeting dates are May 27th, June 3rd and 10th at 7:00 PM. Meal included.

Please register with Jonathan at (416) 247-8701 ext 227.

The results are in! Thank you for your support during last Saturday’s garage sale.

Through our community’s generosity, last year we raised enough money to send 5 young people and 6 adults to help drill a well in Nicaragua this past October. Our goal this year was to send 2 teams to provide clean water for villages in Central America in 2011, with the help of Water Ambassadors.

Through the generosity and support of our community, we are able to raise over $38,000. This is over twice what we raised last year.

The money was raised from a variety of items during the sale (see below).

Thank you again for your support!

“Conversations that Count: Sharing and Defending Your Faith” is an interactive workshop with Dan McDonald of the Grace Center for Urban Mission and Joe Boot of the Ezra Institute for Contemporary Christianity. It is designed to help you introduce your faith in conversations with your friends and family in a non-threatening way.

What is the question that you most fear being asked at the pub?

What are the objections that you hear most often?

What are some of your fears when you share and defend your faith?

Evangelism in a post-Christian environment will almost always be a process that involves Christ-centered and Gospel-centered conversations over time. It is not about winning arguments or even about winning people over to our way of thinking. The goal is to help people to move from objections about isolated facts back to the main issue at hand… worship of the Lord Jesus.

Join us to learn how to better engage people with the great news of Jesus Christ!

Please Click Here to Register

Date: May 29, 2010

Cost: $20 includes childcare, lunch, and materials

Location: 41 Britain Street, Toronto, ON M5A 1R7

Time: 9:00 A.M. – 2:00 P.M.

Speakers: Dan MacDonald, Joe Boot

Sponsored by the Ezra Institute for Contemporary Christianity and the Grace Centre for Urban Mission

The presentation by Robin Pifer and Gary Carter, summarizing the results of the consultation process, is now available for download.

A meeting will be held this coming Sunday, May 2 after the morning service to consider endorsing the prescriptions.

Download PowerPoint File | Acrobat Reader File

An article in the Etobicoke Guardian:

Our church is part of a denomination, The Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches. We have asked the Fellowship to assist us as a church so that we can become even more faithful and fruitful in our service. This post will explain the process and what we can expect.

This coming weekend, Robin Pifer and Gary Carter will come to Richview with a team for a series of meetings and training sessions. On Sunday, Robin will preach in the morning service. After the morning service, the congregation is invited to stay for lunch. Robin and the team will present a report summarizing Richview’s strengths, as well as hindrances, and prescriptions for change. Over the next year, Robin will continue to provide coaching and support for our leaders to help us continue to grow.

The entire process is similar to an annual physical. Many churches in our Fellowship have been through a similar process and have found it to be a big help.

Please plan on joining us this Sunday for our morning service at 10:30, followed by a potluck lunch meeting in the afternoon.

We as an Elder’s board believe we must be proactive, rather than reactive. In other words, we want to ensure the long-term ministry of our pastor.

Did you know for instance that numerous studies have reported that 32% of church plants do not survive past the four year mark and that those that do often lose their founding pastor to burn-out within five years? While ours is not a church plant, yet it underlines the importance of adequate time away. Darryl’s been going almost 12 years now without any kind of Sabbatical.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones would always take two months away from the church during the summer (and fill it with reading!) Charles Spurgeon took several sabbaticals to France and other locales throughout his ministry. More recently, men like John Piper have been relieved of ongoing weekly duties for a period of time for refreshment, writing, encouragement and the like. So does Rexdale’s pastor Sunder Krishnan, and the church where Julian Freeman comes from recently granted their pastor a sabbatical.

Why Else?

• Because we are made in the image of a Sabbath-keeping God. It has everything to do with being human.
• It is the picture of the ultimate Sabbath being found in Christ.
• Lev. 25:3-7 giving the land a sabbath, so as agricultural workers they also had a rest – a period of trust in God, for Him to provide, through work, but also rest.

A sabbatical forces faith, in that both Pastor and church learn that God’s work moves ahead even when the pastor is on Sabbatical, and then it encourages longer pastoral ministry.

Our Plan

The elders have approved a sabbatical for Darryl from the beginning of June to the end of August. We have budgeted for guest preachers. We are also working on a plan for covering Darryl’s other responsibilities in his absence.

The purpose is to allow rest and reflection. Such reflection comes often from time away from one’s regular responsibilities, allowing a more objective look at what, where, and why of this ministry. The goal is that Darryl will return refreshed and re-energized for the next phase of ministry.

During his sabbatical, Darryl will visit other churches to worship and to learn. He will devote extra time to being replenished through prayer and God’s Word. He will focus on reading biographies of pastors. He will spend time writing. He will also also meet at least monthly with a mentor, and will also meet regularly with the chair of the elders. While on sabbatical, Darryl will write two updates to the congregation.

Our Request

Please pray for Darryl and for Richview as we get closer to the beginning of the sabbatical.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask us!

The Elders