It’s not summer without the annual family reunion known as national conference. This year, it will be held in Toronto, Canada, as the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches gathers at Margins|2016 to celebrate 20 years of church planting in the northern portion of North America.
In 1996, the conference was first held in Toronto to mark the beginning of a new church planting effort in Canada. It was not an easy task, but growth has been steady, as the GBCanada team has intentionally planted the seeds of the gospel in a land that is so similar to, yet so different than, the U.S.
Today, there are four churches, totaling five congregations or campuses, with two more in the planning stages. One of those four churches is a mature congregation that has seen the benefit of being connected to a larger network – for encouragement, prayer, and united ministry – and is seeking membership in the FGBC at the upcoming conference.
As we planned this issue, we used the theme of multiplication – one of the values expressed by the FGBC leadership in the Identity Initiative discussions over the last several years. But multiplication can take place on so many levels. In these pages you’ll read a little bit about some of those tiers – in the local church with one-on-one mentoring, nationally as five churches join the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches, and internationally, with the development of the Charis Alliance.
Multiplication cannot happen without being connected and relationships are vitally important. It is simple to connect with others in the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches by subscribing to the GraceConnect eNews at graceconnect.us/subscribe. Follow breaking news and find prayer requests on the GraceConnect Facebook page at facebook.com/graceconnectus/timeline or read developing stories at graceconnect.us. — Liz Cutler Gates, editor, GraceConnect magazine
This first appeared in the Summer issue of GraceConnect magazine, the publication for the people of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. A downloadable pdf version of this issue is available by clicking here. It also may be read online at issuu.com. If you would like to receive the magazine delivered to you at no charge via U.S. Mail, click here to subscribe.