Community Camp for Kids
for children ages 3 through 9, camp runs July 16th to 20th. begins at 10:00 am and ends at 2:30pm. Activities include crafts, games, storytime, snacks, lunch and much more!
THIS CAMP IS FREE!Pre-register by calling 416-247-8701 or register in person at 9:45 a.m. the morning of the 16th.

Creative and Performing Arts Camp
for ages 9 and up, camp runs August 13th through 17th, begins at 10:00 am and ends at 3:00 pm. Instruction in guitar, percussion, drama, vocals, scultping, painting, creative writing, rubber stamping and more. $50.00 fee required.
Pickup a registration form from the information desk in the church foyer or call 416-247-8701.

Summer Ministries Coordinator
Open to College or University students who are returning to fulltime studies in the fall.
Preference will be given to students with an interest in pursuing a career in education, healthcare, social services, church ministry, arts, counselling.
Must be willing to work 40 hrs. per week for 14 weeks

Summer Ministries Coordinator Assistant
Open to Highschool students 15 years of age or older who are returning to fulltime studies in the fall
Must be willing to work 40hrs per week for 9 weeks starting July 3rd.

ACCEPTING RESUMES NOW!
Email your resume along with a cover letter to darlene@richview.org or in person at the church office during business hours.

* interviews for the Summer Ministries Coordinator position begin next week

From Look at All the Lonely People | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction:

One wonders what it would take for the church, the new community, the friends of Jesus (John 15), to hold equal fascination for our lonely culture. To draw our culture to Christ, evangelical churches spend enormous amounts of money on slick marketing materials, enormous amounts of creative energy crafting "authentic" worship, and enormous amounts of intellectual capital on postmodernizing the faith. We're not convinced these strategies get to the heart of our cultural malaise.

Perhaps another "strategy" is in order. What if church leaders mounted a campaign to encourage each of their members to become friends, good friends, with one unchurched person this year?

Oh, but that would require so much commitment, sacrifice, and humility! Exactly.

If you were at Richview yesterday, you received a loonie in an envelope marked "Love". It's money that bears the mark of the Kingdom of God.

Your challenge is to keep it in your wallet or purse and wait for God to show you how to use it. You can read more on this challenge here.

Just a reminder:

Don't spend it yet! Keep it and ask God to show you how to use it to bless another person.

Don't give it to a ministry or charity That's too easy.

Keep your eyes open. A dollar isn't much, but God will eventually show you how to use this money to bless someone else's life.

Finally, tell us your story. Create an account at the Richview Blesses site and leave a comment about how God is prompting you to use this money.

Yesterday, I talked about the importance of preparation - that before we do anything, it is important to know who we are. Charles Colson says it much better than I could in this quote from The Body:

Ask about the local church's role in the world, and most Christians immediately begin hauling out mission statements, actions plans, and strategy schemes. They are already lacing up their Nikes, asking, "What should we do?"

That eagerness is wonderful, [but] we need the Big-picture view of the body, alive and vibrant—the holy, presence in the world. For the church's role in the world is not a series of independent items on an action checklist.

Instead, the church's role (what it does) is dependent on its character (what it is) as a community of believers. What we do, therefore, flows from who we are.

This character oriented perspective is totally foreign to our achievement-oriented society, however, where we look at what people do rather than who they are. And it goes against everything in our consumer oriented religious culture, where we pick and choose churches on the basis of fellowship [personal clique's] or outreach programs or music or location or convenient parking.

Rarely do we hear believers say, "I decided to join this church because of its character as a holy community." Nor do most choose a church on the basis of it capacity to disciple and equip them for ministry.

Yet that should be our very first consideration. If the church is the body, the holy presence of Christ in the world, its most fundamental task is to build communities of holy character.

The goal of Richview Blesses is "to bless our community because of the Gospel, individually and with the support of the entire church."

Soon we'll be opening an online forum for members of Richview to post their questions, prayer requests, and challenges, as well as God-stories. We're also moving into the preparation phase, in which we make room in our lives to bless others.

This week's challenge: please pray that God would use this emphasis over the coming year so that we would be a blessing to the community around us.

In Genesis 12:2-3, God said to Abram:

I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.