BCY News

About 255 pastors, spouses and lay members of Canadian Baptist churches came together on the July long weekend for The 2010 Gathering, a very full weekend of fellowship, workshops, worship and restoration.

For two days, 12 candidates submitted themselves to the questions of the Ordination Examining Council about their faith journey and their discernment of ministry. Presented to the OEC by their congregations, all 12 candidates passed through this rigorous process and were accepted for ordination.

“I truly believe this is the strongest group of candidates who have ever come before the OEC,” said Jeremy Bell, Executive Minister. We are pleased to welcome 12 newly ordained pastors and recognize the prior ordination of 3 pastors.

We also welcomed 16 new churches to the Canadian Baptist Family – an amazing 10% expansion in the number of churches affiliated with the CBWC. They will join us officially at our next Assembly.

Click the link to see the full list of churches introduced as well as the 12 candidates ordained

Churches Introduced at the Gathering 2010

• Emmaus Community Fellowship – Janet MacPhee
• Greenhills Community Christian Fellowship, Vancouver – Hizon Cau
• Peninsula – Travis Stewart
• Riverside – Dennis Webster
• God’s House of Many Faces, Vancouver – Jodi Spargur
• U-CBC – Ruth Wang and Guojon Zhao
• Awaken, Calgary – Scott Cripps
• Bridgepointe – Dan Taylor, J.B. Crocker
• Brooks International Gospel, Brooks – Maureen Chelemu
• Crossover – Yoichi Taniguchi
• Faith Evangelical – Joseph Kibwaa
• Goodtree Christian Fellowship – John Huh
• Greenhills Christian Fellowship, Calgary – Cliff Gonzales
• Greenhills Christian Fellowship, Winnipeg – Reymus Cagampan
• The Well, Lethbridge – Patrick Hazelwood
• VantagePoint – Gary Mullen

Ordination Examining Council 2010

Newly Ordained Pastors

	Joy Banks, Grandview Calvary Baptist, Vancouver, BC
	Tim Coleman, First Baptist, Kitimat, BC
	Peter Elias, First Baptist, Thompson, MB
	Shaun Jessop, Gateway Baptist, Victoria, BC
	Jeremy Keay, First Baptist, Edmonton, AB
	Doug McLellan, White Rock Baptist, White Rock, BC
	David Nacho, Grandview Calvary Baptist, Vancouver, BC
	Wally Pohlmann, Peace Community Church, Taylor, BC
	Mark Rajan, Grace Community Baptist, Vancouver, BC
	Allan Tam, Grace Community Baptist, Vancouver, BC
	Clark Taylor, First Baptist, Penticton, BC
	Jim Walton, Burnaby North Baptist, Burnaby, BC

Those for whom we are recognizing Prior Ordination:

• Darrell Johnson, First Baptist, Vancouver, BC
• Dan Rutherford, Gateway, Victoria, BC
• Mary Widmer, Southwest Community, Kamloops, BC

More On Gathering 2010

“Gatherings like these are important because they let us have glimpses into the lives and ministries of our partners serving in the kingdom, where we are personally encouraged, gather ideas that might work in our own church communities, and have an opportunity to bless one another in Jesus' name and pray for the many needs common to us all,” said Jan Paasuke, President of the CBWC Board.


The long weekend began with the BCY Pastors and Spouses Retreat. 110 people engaged each other on two topics: Creating Shalom in High Demand Environments and The Phenomenology of Helplessness, otherwise titled ‘Keeping Swine off your Pearls’. Participants deeply appreciated the compassionate insights offered by retreat leaders Paddy and Carole Ducklow.

Other key events included a keynote address by Darrell Johnson, senior pastor of First Baptist, lunches hosted by Women in Focus and Jeremy Bell, and a dessert reception hosted by the CBWC Foundation. While all this was going on Friday, the BC-Yukon Convention held its annual meeting which was attended by about 120 delegates and spouses.

Saturday’s workshops on topics like Care ministries, refugee sponsorship, board and clergy relations, clergy care, and justice and mercy issues were thought-provoking and well-attended. About 25 delegates attended a lunch at Grandview Calvary Baptist Church to explore justice and mercy ministries in depth and to tour the ministries fostered by this church.

For many, a highlight of the Gathering was a wonderful multi-ethnic meal cooked and served by members of Trinity Baptist on Saturday night followed by a lively concert by the Russ Rosen Band that included a creative dance performance. The Gathering concluded with a heartfelt worship service at First Baptist on Sunday morning.

Many who attended the weekend expressed gratitude for the opportunity to connect with other members of the Canadian Baptist family. They came away with a renewed appreciation for the many expressions of ministry in the BCY region and welcomed the opportunity to rejoice in the giftedness of the men and women who serve God through ministries and churches of the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada.