1. religion and spirituality
2. christianity

2015
jan
English
Markham Chinese Baptist Church
Living the Good News
The Good News is not meant to only
be said, but lived. It is not meant to
be hidden within a church, but to be
shared with the community. It is not
meant to be about our perfection, but
is about a power breaking through
our weakness that reaches into life.
Missionary Update
An update from Wichai –
Our Missionary serving in
Thailand - Dec 2014
Two weeks ago, Temi, the coordinator of
Serve Asia from New Zealand, visited the
Sriptum Team. Angie and I showed her
around and briefed her about our works
here. God willing, she will have a good
understanding of our needs and the nature
of the ministry. This will enable her to
mobilize suitable young people to serve
short and/or medium terms at Sripatum
and other sites in Bangkok.
I also had the privilege to speak at GBC
(Grace Baptist Church) in Bangkok to the
Thai speaking side of the congregation.
They serve 2 congregations, Thai and
Mandarin.
GBC is the first Southern Baptist Church
in Thailand, established by a small
group of Mandarin speaking locals and
some expatriates who worked for major
international companies about 60 years
ago. I am now attending GBC once a month
while with another smaller Thai speaking
church on other Sundays, trying to involve
in a small church within the community so I
can help build up the congregation there.
Lately, I was led to know one young adult
with great leadership potential. He is also
a graduate from Sripatum. I pray that I can
give him some guidance about vocation
with kingdom purpose in the secular
market place.
Our prayer request:
•
Pray that God will keep me holy and
close to Him, deserving His gracious
love
•
Pray for God’s wisdom in my
preparation of the teaching plan for
next term
•
Pray for my two co-workers Genevieve
and Angie; that they may be effective
witnesses among Sripatum’s faculty
members and students. Pray that
through their lives, many hearts will
be touched
•
Pray that a Bible study group can be
started at Sripatum
•
Pray for my daughter Cha’s spiritual
growth and the preparation for her
upcoming exam.
Blessings from Thailand
Wichai Tum
COMING UP
Jan 4
Vision 2015
Mark 8:34-35
Pastor Kevin
Jan 11
State of Affairs
Nehemiah 1
Pastor Kevin
Jan 18
The Hand of God
Nehemiah 2:1-8
Tim Li
Jan 25
Hearts and Hands as One
Nehemiah 2:9-3:32 Pastor Victor
STAFF INFO Ext.
Senior Pastor
Rev. Dr. Tommy Wong
221
tommy.wong@mcbc.com 222
Mandarin Pastors
Pastor George Lin
george.lin@mcbc.com
245
Pastor Joseph Cheng
joseph.cheng@mcbc.com
224
Cantonese Pastors
Pastor Edward Leung
edward.leung@mcbc.com 248
English Lead Pastor
Rev. Dr. Kevin Houser
kevin.houser@mcbc.com
229
Rev. Victor Lee
victor.lee@mcbc.com
228
Youth Pastor
Pastor Freddy Lam
freddy.lam@mcbc.com
230
Children Pastor
Pastor Ada Yu
ada.yu@mcbc.com
235
Executive Officer
Mr. Paul SK Chau
paul.sk.chau@mcbc.com
223
Secretary
Ms. Shirley Chau
shirley.chau@mcbc.com
222
Admin. Assistant
Ms. Tracy Chan
tracy.chan@mcbc.com
221
Superintendent
Mr. Chester Lee
chester.lee@mcbc.com
241
Caretaker
Mr. Charles Wong
236
As I sit at my desk prayerfully reflecting over
God’s faithfulness and love toward us as a
church over the past year, I can’t help but be
excited to see what God will do in and through
us in 2015. Not only have we grown in our
understanding of what it means to be devoted
to Christ, but we have grown in our sense of
community and service to one another. One of
my greatest joys was to lead a short term
mission team to Chile, were we encouraged
local churches through teaching and music.
During that time, God graciously opened our
understanding to the global nature of the
church by allowing us to love and be loved by
people whose culture and language are distinct
from our own, especially by the native Mapuche
people.
Looking forward into 2015, there are both challenges and great opportunities for us, but with
Pastor Victor and his family joining us recently,
I’m confident that we’ll see God move mightily
among us. Together, Pastor Victor and I desire
to see our church become a more close-knit
community of ardent worshipers, by better
understanding God’s call upon your lives and
learning to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. If you are
here this morning for the first time, our prayer
is that your soul finds refreshment and that
you feel welcome. Let us praise our lord and
Saviour together.
In Christ,
Pastor Kevin
(647-470-9255)
Table of Contents
Announcements
Small Groups
6
Sunday School Info / Picnic
7
Your Story
8
Calendar
9
Prayer Items
10
Numbers / Sports Ministries
11
4-5
Church News
Other
1. The church secretary Mrs. Shirley Chau
is away on vacation from January 12 to 30,
2015 (inclusive).
YLD Children
2. Pastor Edward Leung is away on vacation from January 17-20, 2015 (inclusive).
3. Pastor Joseph Cheng is away preaching
at North York Mandarin Alliance Church on
January 18, 2015.
4. This past November we were blessed
to have Nancy and David Writebol here to
share her testimony of being cured from
Ebola. Thanks in part to your donations,
SIM Canada was able to write a cheque of
$100,000 for the Ebola Response and Education project in West Africa.
Baelde Family
We want continue to remember Jonathan,
Cheryl and Abigail Baelde as they head out
this month to East Asia to serve the Lord
full-time.
The Preschool Ministry has changed its name
to “Bee-liever”, and a new format of worship
has been introduced. To avoid interruption,
please do not bring younger siblings or “rejoin” us after the English worship’s singspiration as we will have our own singspiration
time. Please prepare your child a backpack
with bottled water, a simple snack and offering money. Also, reviewing their learning at
home with them is helpful for their spiritual
growth! If your children are 2½ years old or
older, please join us! Thanks for your cooperation and support.
Parents, besides following up with the
daily devotion (4 days/week) of your children, starting in January 2015, Grade 1 to
6 children will also be given a Family Altar devotional material based on the Book
of Nehemiah. Please follow the book and
spend some time together as a family time
together! Have fun!!!
2nd floor Safety
For the safety of the children, we ask that
you avoid the 2nd floor on Sundays from
9:00 am to 1:00 pm unless necessary. If
you require access to the balcony, kindly
use the stairs inside the sanctuary. Children and their parents who are signing
them in and picking them up, as well as
YLD teachers and helpers, are welcome
to access 2nd floor as usual. Thank you for
your understanding and cooperation.
4
Latest News > mcbc.com
AV Team Recruitment
Communication Team
Do you have an ear for the perfect mix or
an eye for impeccable presentation? If you
answered yes to either of those questions,
we’re looking for you! We are currently
looking for faithful and willing individuals
to serve on the AV team. Please contact Jon
Wong (av.worship.mcbc@gmail.com) for more
information.
Do you have an affinity for words or an eye for
design? Do you have a passion for effective
communication? If so, we’re looking for
you! You could be helping with putting this
very bulletin together and more! Training
is provided. Please contact Jackie Lam
(communicate.mcbc@gmail.com) for more
information.
Children Counsellors
Recruitment of Pastors
Grace Fellowship (for Grades 5 and 6) is
looking for counsellors. If interested, please
contact Deacon Richard Wong (richardbear@
rogers.com) or Pastor Ada Yu (ada.yu@mcbc.
com) for more details.
1. Senior Pastor (Full-Time)
Children’s Ministry
Teachers
Children Worship is looking for small group
teachers and helpers to serve between 11:00
am to 12:30 pm every Sunday for the next
quarter (December 2014 to February 2015).
If interested, please contact Corinne Har
(corinnehar@gmail.com) or Deacon Richard
Wong (richardbear@rogers.com)
Traffic Team
Come and join our Traffic Team to help
maintain a safe and orderly parking lot for our
brothers, sisters, and guests before and after
Sunday Service. It’s a great way to put our
servant hearts into practice! Please contact
Patrick Lum (adm.mcbc@gmail.com) for more
information.
The Senior Pastor is required to have solid
faith in Christ, be compassionate, and
people-oriented with strong communication
and servant leadership skills. A minimum
of 7 years of pastoral experience preferably
under a North American multicultural
setting with a Masters degree in theological
education from an accredited and
recognized institution. A giftedness in
preaching and teaching is expected.
For interested candidates, please visit our
website at http://www.mcbc.com for further
details or to submit your application via
email below.
2. Cantonese Pastor (Full-Time)
The candidate must be a theological school
graduate with excellent communication
skills in Cantonese. His/her task will be to
help nurture the Cantonese congregation.
For inquiry or application, please email us
hiring@mcbc.com.
5
The Birth of Jesus &
The New Year
Having just celebrated the birth of our Savior
Jesus in December and entering a New Year, I am
reminded about the joy and blessing of the whole
process of “birthing” newborn babies. All that is
involved, the planning, preparation, process, pain
… it all results in a new life given by God. When
we apply these concepts to a small group ministry, I am very excited about the thought of birthing out new groups in 2015. The birthing out of
new groups can be done in a variety of ways.
1.
The leader leaves the original group and
births a totally new group.
2.
The apprentice (or 2nd in command) leaves
the original group and births a new group.
3.
A core group leaves the original group and
births a new group.
4.
Every member leaves the original group and
each gives birth to a new group.
There are probably more possibilities, but here at
MCBC we need to begin thinking about preparing,
training and equipping leaders to be able to lead
the new small groups and this requires a vision,
a plan and a long-term approach to be effective
in the long term. Many churches simply grab
anyone who is willing and has a heart to “get the
job done” because of the huge need to develop
more small groups. Even worse is when the role
of leading a small group is simply thrown on an
unsuspecting young Christian who isn’t mature
enough to say “no” to an older, more experience,
and well respected leader in the church. So it
will be our undying need, challenge and privilege
to begin some more formal “small group leaders
training” that will better equip all current and
future leaders and to ultimately put all of our
small group leaders on the same page with our
vision and mission in our EDM. The thought of
birthing out new groups comes with a call to have
adequate preparation and training if our small
group ministry at MCBC is to grow and to thrive in
the many years to come.
Many blessing in Christ,
Pastor Victor
6
Youth
Grace | Grade 5 & 6
2nd and 4th Friday, 7:30 – 9:00 pm
mcbcgracefellowship@gmail.com
Timotheus | Grade 7 & 8
Fridays, 7:30 – 9:30 pm
timotheus.fellowship@gmail.com
Koinonia | Grade 9 – 12
Fridays, 7:30 – 9:30 pm
koinonia.fellowship@gmail.com
Adult/Family
Covenant | Young Family
Saturdays, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Priscilla Wong – info@priswong.com
John
| Young Family
Fridays, 7:30 – 9:30 pm
Wilson Lau – wtwlau@gmail.com
Pneumatos
| Post-Secondary
Saturdays, 5:30 – 7:00 pm
pneumatos.mcbc@gmail.com
Salt & Light | Adult
1st & 3rd Saturdays, 7:30 pm
Paul Hung – phung4jc@hotmail.com
Peniel
| Adult
1st & 3rd Sundays, 1:00 pm
Karen Tsang – ktsanglum@hotmail.com
Patrick Lum – pactrick.lum2009@gmail.com
Fish
| Career
Thursdays, 8:00 - 10:30pm
Daniel Woo – woo_daniel@hotmail.com
Bread
| Young Career
Saturdays, 5:30 - 7:30 pm
bread.mcbc@gmail.com
Baptism Class (Start Jan 11, 2015)
Have you received Jesus Christ into your
heart as your personal Saviour and Lord? Are
you ready to step out in obedience to openly
acknowledge Jesus Christ before others in
water baptism? This class will help you learn
more about God, our sinfulness, God’s grace
and salvation.
Dec 14 ~ Feb 15 | 11:15 am - 12:30 pm
•Why did Jesus institute this right of passage?
•Why do we dunk people in water?
•Why is this step necessary to my spiritual
life?
Follow Me
by David Platt
Teachers // Pastor Kevin
Do you want to know the truth of God, Jesus
Christ and to have eternal life? Starting Point is
for people who are curious about God, or who
have a new relationship with Jesus Christ, or
are returning to church after being away for a
while. The class will have plenty of discussions,
questions.
What did Jesus really mean when he said,
‘Follow Me’? For many Christians, following
Jesus is seen as best done from a distance. We
want to be disciples as long as doing so does
not intrude on our lifestyles, our preferences,
our comforts, and even our religion. But what
if we took the time to look Jesus in the eye and
see who he truly is? What if we really listened
to Jesus’ words and heard what he is saying?
When people truly engage with Jesus’ personal
invitation to follow him, everything changed for
he is worthy of all our trust and all our affections., This class will motivate all of us to experience the grand purpose for which we have been
created: to exalt the glory of God by spreading
the Gospel of Christ—to make disciples who are
making disciples.
Teachers // Larry Chan, Edward Tsang
Teachers // Pastor Victor
Starting Point
Dec- Feb
Bible Studies for Life
Grade 7/8 BoysB-26
Kenny Chan
Bible Studies for Life
Grade 7/8 Girls B-28
Joanna Cheung
Explore the Bible - B-17
Alex Wong
Grade 9
Grade 10/11 Old Basement Chris Pui
Grade 12
B-05
Ellena Tsang
For more information please contact: nurturing.mcbc@gmail.com
7
making fully devoted christ follwers
MCBC Life-Cycle
This month we are starting the 3rd year of our 4 year church “life-cycle” here at
MCBC. In 2015 we are focusing on being followers of Christ, to follow in his footsteps.
To that end, there will be three emphasis over the year: January to March we’ll be
looking at understanding and responding to God’s call in our lives; April to August
we’ll examine what it means to follow Jesus to serve our church and the community
at large; and, in September to December seeing what it means to follow Jesus to
save the lost. This will be a wonderful chance for us to grow in our understanding of
what it means to follow Jesus as a fully devoted disciple. Making disciples is God’s
mandate for everyone who calls themselves a Christian; it is not optional.
As the English congregation of MCBC, we wish to participate with our brothers and
sisters in the Mandarin, Young Life and Cantonese congregations/divisions, to become fully devoted followers of Christ and passionate disciple-making servants of the
Great Commission.
2015
Christ Followers
2013
Devoted
2014
Christ Centered
2016
Devoted Christ
Followers
Over the next year we have several things planned, including:
•
•
•
•
•
“When God Revives His People” – a sermon series on the Book of Nehemiah
where we’ll explore God’s calling on our lives
“What Is The Church?” – a sermon series that will explore God’s purposes for the
church, the people of God
“Loving God’s Abundant Life” – our fall Spiritual Life Retreat
Community evangelism, including an activities during the Pan-American Games
Chile 2015 – a short-term mission trip to Chile December-January
Let us link arms with our brothers and sisters and fervently seek the Lord’s call for us as
a church at this time.
Pastor Kevin
8
9
MT WT F S
2930 31123
* Young Life *Cantonese
*Mandarin
5 6 7 8910
12 13 14151617
11
9am Prayer Meeting
7:30pm Prayer Meeting Scouts
7pm Badminton
9:30am Eng Worship
4th General Member’s Meeting
10am Joint Prayer Meeting
8pm Basketball
2627 28293031
25
7pm Badminton
10am Prayer Meeting
EDM Meeting
1920 21222324
9am Prayer Meeting
7:30pm Prayer Meeting Scouts
9:30am Eng Worship
8pm Basketball
18
9am Prayer Meeting
7:30pm Prayer Meeting Scouts
7pm Badminton
10am Prayer Meeting
9:30am Eng Worship
8pm Basketball
Council Meeting
9am Prayer Meeting
7:30pm Prayer Meeting Scouts
7pm Badminton
10am Prayer Meeting
9:30am Eng Worship
8pm Basketball
Daylight Savings
4
HAPPY
NEW YEAR!
9am Prayer Meeting
7:30pm Prayer Meeting Scouts
10am Joint Prayer Meeting
9:30am Eng Worship
8pm Basketball
S
28
Jan@mcbc
*English
PRAYER ITEMS
Our Church
Leadership // Pray for the retirement plans of Rev. Wong
and a new senior pastor
Pray for stability and spiritual
maturity during our transition,
especially for unity at the pastoral level
Nurturing // Pray for the Sunday school classes this term,
especially for the David Platt
course Follow Me taught by
Pastor Victor.
Small Group Ministry // Pray
for Pneumatos (university age)
as they have need of an outgoing permanent leader.
Pray for Salt and Light, as they
make decisions about how
they will birth a new group.
COME AND PRAY WITH US
Tuesday | 7:30 pm
Saturday | 10:00 am
Sunday | 9:00 am
Pray for the leaders to have
constant fellowship with God
and love for each other as they
seek Him out daily through his
word.
Our world
Pray for counselors to pour
into their cell group leaders in
everyday life.
Children// Pray for the unity
of Scout, may leaders work
together as one body in Christ
Pray for the devotional life of
children that their parents will
follow-up and encourage them
to use the devotional material.
Pray for a better coordinated
system to provide the necessary information to parents
about what their children is
learning and applying.
For more information on unreached people groups please
visit www.joshuaproject.net
Pray for training classes to start
in this new year.
YLD// Pray for recruiting new
counselors, leaders, musicians
and ministry chairs preparation.
Pray for YLD initiative to
notice the unnoticed in our
current youth ministry through
all the environments. There’s
still a few not being noticed,
but praise God we identified
the culture hindering this.
10
nehemiah sermon series
When God Receives His People
Pray:
-that we would know true revivial
-that we’d grow as a community of prayer
-that we’d understand and respond to God’s call upon our
lives
-that we’d respond fully to God’s call upon our lives
-for a clear vision for moving forward in 2015
ATTENDANCE
WORSHIP
2nd
SERVICE
NOV
9th
16th 23rd 30th
English
280
232
327
212
243
Children
112
124
105
139
102
SUNDAY
SCHOOL
2nd
9th
15th 23rd 30th
English
58
43
47
40
37
Youth
79
74
80
83
81
Children
101
96
99
96
98
OFFERING
MCBC
Combined
2014
General
Missions
BUDGET
2,072,405
242,450
TO-DATE
1,342125
190,593
Contact: outreach.mcbc@gmail.com
Saturday Basketball | 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Drop-in basis. All skill levels and ages are welcome to play in
a fun yet competitive environment.
Contact: Cyrus Choy (cyrus.choy@gmail.com)
Sunday Night Basketball | 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Open for those who are attending MCBC in any function
(service, fellowship, small group, etc.).
Contact: Kenny Chan (chan.ck.kenny@gmail.com)
Chinese Christian Basketball Ministry
Sunday Night Games: October to June @ Milliken Park
Community Centre
Contact: Joyce Chau (jee.chau@gmail.com)
Thursday Badminton | 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Family and all levels are welcome.
Pre-registration is required as space is limited.
Contact: Amy Lam (amylam7933@gmail.com)
11
Be Followers of Christ: Understanding and Responding to God’s Call
“ And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If
anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his
cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.”
- MaRK 8:34-35
Core Value #1 Godly Living
We believe that being called to live godly lives, exemplified
by the fruit of the Spirit, means that we are to glorify God by
seeking after and actively growing in holiness.
Scriptures:
1 Peter 1:14-16 (basis of holiness)
Galatians 5:22-23 (Fruit of Spirit)
Romans 12:9 -21 (application of how to live a holy life)
Colossians 3:12-17 (application of how to live a holy life)
Sunday Worship Time
English | 9:30 am - 10:45 am
Children | 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Youth | 9:30 am - 10:30 am
Cantonese | 8:00 am - 9:00 am | 11:15 am - 12:30 pm
Mandarin | 9:15 am - 10:45 am
9580 Woodbine Ave
Markham, ON L6C 1H8
Tel: (905) 887 6222 | Fax: (905) 887 2496
www.mcbc.com | info@mcbc.com