Gord Martin - Vision Ministries

Sincere thanks to the brothers and sisters at Wallenstein for the financial gift forwarded to us recently.

As you know we've been very involved with the Thinking Shrewdly conference. It was a true blessing. There were a very significant number of diaspora leaders present. I was a part of providing a training cohort for them. We had a great time together! They talked and laughed and were excited to be together.

Yesterday I received a piece of video from Ishmael in Kenya. He was visiting an area for the first time ever. A pastor had planted 12 to 14 churches in that region and invited him to come and provide some leadership training. Of course whenever Ishmael is doing this he's using material that we have written and provided for them. So it's exciting to see this happening.

Especially fun to see children and women and young people singing and dancing, escorting him to the Village from a kilometer away. Talk about enthusiasm!

Thank you again,

Gord Martin

Russ & Meredith Martin - Singapore

The State of the Great Commission Report Launches!

WBC Friends, we've been praying that this would be a defining moment for the global church.

Launching on Tuesday morning (eastern time), Tuesday night in Asia, The State of the Great Commission Report brings together the best global data and insights from 150 strategic thinkers.

The report from the Lausanne Movement seeks to guide us through the current state and future trajectory of global missions up to 2050, delving deep into ten crucial questions that will shape the church and global missions between now and 2050.

Meredith has guided the implementation of Lausanne's refreshed brand over the past year enabling this defining moment to happen. She oversaw the creative process of the web version of the report including the image selection. She was also a key contributor to the marketing and distribution plan.

Russ has lead the overall marketing, communications and digital strategy that undergirds this effort. Refreshing the brand, launching a refreshed website and building a team capable of translating a report into seven languages (in print and digital) and launching it out across all the movement's touch points are what he spends his day shepherding.

We would be honoured to have you join us at the launch event together with the body of Christ.

WBC Friends, your partnership has made this happen. We couldn't do it without you!

Ray & Carol Jones - Guelph

Dear family and friends,

We appear to have survived another Canadian winter, though quite frankly it didn't put up much of a fight this time. We did have the odd blast of snow but very little compared with some years. I remember one year when we lived further north, in the 'snow belt', there was an accumulation of eighteen feet in total! Over all these years we have been grateful for all the prayer and the safety the Lord has given us.

The last days have been very difficult, particularly for Carol. Our much loved brother and brother-in-law went to be with the Lord last Thursday, over in Wales. We are, of course, deeply grieved at the loss, but also very happy that the day Carol was baptized he trusted the Lord as his own personal Saviour. Over all those years he has been a faithful and humble servant of the Lord and, with his precious wife, Angela, have been a vital part of our ministry. Before that he served with Operation Mobilization, on their ship.

Last Monday I had the task of conducting a funeral of an old friend - and I do mean 'old' - Elsie was well over a hundred and one. Like Colin, she is now free from the ravages of the old body and is safe in the very presence of the Lord. That is the power of the gospel!

Carol continues to deal with health issues and was recently told by a specialist that she 'couldn't do any more for her.'  It didn't seem to me that she did much in the first place; that being the case, Carol has been doing her own research.

I am still very busy preaching, etc., etc. Currently enjoying speaking on "Confidence Through Growth", which appears to be being appreciated. Many people suffer difficult times, and knowing the God of all comfort and being encouraged through the Word is very meaningful to them.

The summer season will soon be here with all the opportunities at guelphbiblecc,com, There will be lots of children and young folk coming  plus the family camps, etc. 

That's all for now. Love to hear from you. Our phone number is 519-767-3335 and WhatsApp works well too.

Much love to you all, 

Ray and Carol

Russ & Meredith Martin - Singapore

Accelerating Global Missions

“Wait, wait, wait,” said the CEO, just as the senior executive team was about to end their weekly video call. “I just need to say that the 2023 impact report the communications team sent is outstanding. It shows where we are headed as a movement. I love it.”

 

Russ smiled at the encouragement knowing that over the past three years God has brought a team of people together to serve mission leaders around the world through the partnership of the Indigitous network and Lausanne Movement. Launching new formats of engaging content, supporting a dozen on the ground events on every continent and building a global audience online is a complicated and perilous endeavor. But by God’s grace, it’s happening.

Meredith’s creativity and leadership shone in creating the graphics for this report in print and digital channels. It’s a joy of hers to give detailed consideration in choosing the right tone, focus and design elements to communicate the work of Lausanne through the visual designs. 

You can check out the full report here: https://lausanne.org/about/blog/impact-report-2023 

Pictured above is a group of leaders we gathered in Thailand for a week of intensive work (and some play). They are the leaders we get to serve and serve alongside.

WBC Friends, thank you for the part you play in leading the next generation of missions in a digital age.

Family Snapshots:
1. Celebrating our 15 year anniversary with ice cream
2. Gwen’s new bird, River
3. Three wet boys after slipping on rocks

Trevor & Hannah Martin - Power to Change

Commonly on campus, we meet students that are hesitant to be a part of a faith tradition that has inflicted harm on others (think: The Crusades, colonization, the residential school system, etc). Through the generous gift of a partnering church, we were able to host an outreach-oriented speaker event that addressed this common barrier to the Christian faith!

On March 13 & 14 at UWaterloo and Laurier, we provided space to hear from a trained apologist, have discussion around a table, and ask questions. (O and have some food!) We were so thankful to see over 130 students come out to these two events, and would invite you to pray for the connections and follow-up taking place as a result. Our speaker, Wesley, was encouraged to have many non-Christian students come up to him after the event at UW who were open, curious, and willing to engage and ask questions.

Please pray over the Christian and non-Christian students who participated in this event, and for those we are following up with who wanted to know more about our club or the Christian faith. Pray also for future opportunities of this nature - to engage with the broader campus community in a hospitable, trusted way in matters of the Christianity.

A Baptism!


Earlier this school year, we shared with you how Simon* became a Christian after spending time with Christian students in the Power to Change community. Through their witness, and the Spirit’s work in Simon's life, he decided to put his faith in Jesus as Saviour and Lord, and began to follow Him! Today, we can celebrate that he was baptized at a local church and publicly testified to Christ’s saving work in His life on Sunday, March 24th!
After the baptism, a family at his church invited Simon and about 50 of his friends over to celebrate. Some of those friends are not Christians and this was another opportunity for people to know Jesus. It is so exciting to partner with the local church to help people grow as disciples of Jesus.
Please continue to pray for Simon, those discipling him as a new believer, and for our community - that we would be a space for lost students to find their way Home. Thanks for your part in making these stories possible!

FAMILY FUN!