The 2009 XTM Toronto Team: (back – l to r) Mike Vinson, Greg Sceviour, Tom Briggs, Trent Herbert, Kem Chapman, John Gonciarz. (front – l to r) Chris Wood, Cory McKenna, Jeff Mardling

This past Saturday May 16th, The Cross Current came together for another ground-breaking and life changing event: The 2009 Xstream Team Mission (XTM) Toronto! We praise God that He graciously gave us favour as we hosted one of the world’s most multi-cultural cities to almost twelve hours of fun-filled, power-packed Gospel outreach!

Here was our itinerary for the local mission trip:

8:00am | Met at Cory’s house for team worship, prayer, and briefing

9:30am – 12:30pm | Traveled to downtown Toronto together in Trent’s twelve passenger van (thanks Trent!)

12:30pm – 2:30pm | Witnessing one-to-one and prayer at the crazy corner of Yonge-Dundas

2:30pm – 4:00pm | Took a lunch break during “rain delay”

4:00pm – 9:00pm | More witnessing one-to-one and prayer at the crazy corner of Yonge-Dundas

9:00pm | Team “take a knee” prayer at the crazy corner of Yonge-Dundas

9:30pm – 11:30pm | Shared a meal together in Mississauga

11:30pm – 2:00am | Traveled back to London

Do you know that there are over 100 languages spoken in Toronto and virtually every type of false religion is practiced? This past Saturday the Lord allowed us to preach His precious Gospel to dozens and dozens of  Atheists, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, Scientologists, New Agers, and Roman Catholics – just to name a few! We also passed Gospel tracts to thousands more and prayed for several too.

Special thanks to: Mike Vinson of Harvest Bible Chapel Oakville for partnering with us to represent for this event and all those who committing to praying for our time in Toronto. Praise God that He’s brought us all together to keep the Cross current in our culture!

Our next XTM event is scheduled for the Freedom Festival in Windsor, Ontario on Saturday, June 27th. This will be our very first local missions trip to Windsor, so please pray in advance for God’s favour on our time there and for Him to help us develop strong partner church relationships for this event.

Click here to view the entire 2009 XTM Toronto photo album

Click here to submit an application to join the XTM Windsor Team

Click here to contact us about having your church partner with us at XTM Windsor

Click here to contact us about sponsoring a local missionary for this event

Well, that’s all for now…stay tuned for more 2009 XTM Toronto testimonies and we’ll make sure to provide a full field report in our next newsletter!

Seeking And Saving,

Cory

Reflecting on our outreach in Toronto (May 16th), I have come to the point of a greater love and appreciation for all team members who sacrificially gave of themselves to sow the seeds of the Gospel among such a diverse and ethnically mixed population. Furthermore, I am thankful for all of the brethren who prayed for the team and who prayed for those touched by the Gospel message.

I thank God for His love that lives within us and flows from us. This is manifested in our burden for the lost and in our desire for all to be reached and saved (1st Timothy 2:1-4; 2nd Peter 3:9).

My continuous prayer for the TCC Team is that God will strengthen and embolden us through the gifting and fruit of the Holy Spirit. Of course “the greatest of these is love”: love for God, love for one another and love for the lost. Through love our unity is enhanced, and through the loving encouragement of the Scriptures we are assured that our efforts (in the Lord’s strength) will have eternal worth and value (1st Corinthians 15:58; Galatians 6:9). Love is further extended when we have the “servant’s heart”, upholding all others in higher regard and esteem than ourselves (Philippians 2:1-4; Hebrews 6:9-12). I believe that the divisive spirit of pride and competition is overcome when we, together as a team, seek and grow in a spirit of humility and cooperation. Each believer needs to be the servent of the servents in order to be servents to all (Matthew 23:11-12). In all of this God is glorified; that’s the bottom line.

Tom Briggs

Welcome to our local missions field report for March and April of 2009! These brief, bi-monthly, Good News letters are specially designed to give you the bottom line on all the latest and greatest happenings, highlights, and Gospel glory stories we encounter as we serve the Church to keep the Cross current in Canada.

WINNIPEG WITNESSING!

We praise God that this past March TCC was invited to equip and lead an army of 75 witnessing warriors onto the streets of Winnipeg!

Above: 75 “souled out” students praying together in downtown Winnipeg

Though it was a frigid day weather-wise, we praise God that our breath wasn’t all we saw! We also saw the Holy Spirit move powerfully in the hearts and minds of the young believers we trained and the non-believers He allowed us to share the Gospel with!

Here are a few excerpts from the many Gospel glory stories that are pouring in from the students who continue reaching out in their everyday lives:

“Wow! So much has been happening in Winnipeg since the conference, my whole family has totally changed the way they see people. I just wanted to thank you again for coming here and sharing this amazing truth with us. What is really amazing is the love God puts in your heart for these people. You just so want to see them in heaven and their lives are so important to you all of a sudden. I used to not even think about the people around me but now everywhere I go I can’t help but think if they are going to heaven or not. Nothing else can compare to the feeling of telling someone else about God. I have told all my friends about witnessing and they absolutely love it. You have no idea how this has helped my Christian walk as well.” ~ Sarah T.

“I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed all the sessions. I’ve been moved to share the Gospel with people that are lost. I don’t have any friends that are not Christians but time is running out and I know God has called us to tell others about Jesus. I’m so very grateful for The Cross Current team who are willing to teach others how to witness to the people that are lost. I am very moved by what was taught and I have never felt this strongly to go and tell other people about Jesus. Thank you so very much.” ~ Raechelle P.

“My life has been totally changed by the message you spoke last weekend. After the course I was so pumped up. My friends and I arranged to go witnessing the following Saturday. When we drove home we stopped for groceries, I wanted to give a million [dollar bill tract] away so badly, but my mind was like, “No, this is not the right time”. Then I told myself, I am not walking out of this building with this million in my hand. So I went to the lottery centre and placed it by the coupons. “Someone will get a million”, I thought, and even though I didn’t speak words to someone that same joy returned – the joy of sharing the truth and promise of our savior. I had stepped out and “dropped” a tract!” ~ Jenni T.

Jenni’s email went on to testify as to how she has not only been actively sharing the Gospel with many of her family and friends, but her new-found fire for seeking and saving the lost has become so contagious that one of her Christian friends commented on how obviously excited she is about her “new real, living, talking” part of her faith. Praise God!

On behalf of our entire training team, we extend a very special thanks to all those who took the time to pray for God’s favour on our ministry in Winnipeg. As always, your prayers made all the difference! We also ask you to keep praying that God by His Spirit will continue fanning the flames of evangelism that He has lit through our time together in Winnipeg.

View the entire Winnipeg Witnessing online photo album

Access more information on having TCC train your youth or adult group for more effective life and witness

SHARING THE GOSPEL WITH THE GIDEONS

In Romans 10:13-17, the apostle Paul writes:

“For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

If anyone trusts in the reality that faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of God, it’s the Gideons! That’s why we jumped at the invitation to preach the Gospel and offer free evangelism training at their regional camp meeting on April 20th. As partners in the preaching and distribution of God’s Word and the Gospel, the Gideons and TCC form what you might call “A Romans 10 Tag Team”!

Here are a few encouraging words of feedback we received from the Gideons after our time together:

“Of course, I’m quite accustomed to the great zeal you possess to get out on the highways and byways to reach lost souls for Christ, and your enthusiasm is just the inspiration we Gideons need to help us continue to get out there to put scriptures in the hands of a very hungry world.”

Don Paulton, Secretary/VP of Gideons London

We thank God for the Gideons and trust that this posting will inspire you to commit their ministry to regular prayer!

HANGING WITH MARK CAHILL!

Above (L to R): Chris Wood, Jeff Mardling, Mark Cahill, Cory McKenna, John Gonciarz, Tom Woodburn

Wow! I know that I safely speak on behalf of our entire TCC Team when I say that taking in Mark Cahill’s teaching at Morningstar Christian Fellowship in Toronto on April 11th was nothing less than a speechless experience! Author of the now legendary evangelism books One Thing You Can’t Do in Heaven and One Heartbeat Away, Mark is also an amazing man of God with a sincere love for the Lord, His Church, and the lost.

A very special thanks to Mark for graciously taking the time to personally hang with us for a few minutes after a long couple days of preaching and also for recording a hot promotional plug for TCC Radio.

Hear Mark’s promotional plug now as it will be heard on TCC Radio

Here is the encouraging email Mark sent our team the day following the seminar:

“It was great to meet you and your team Cory! You guys are doing awesome work for God. Thanks for understanding how valuable it is to do things that will matter for eternity.

Let me know if there is any way that I can bless y’all.

Please tell the folks in your network that I said hello and to stay bold!”

Mark

After we spent the morning taking in two of Mark’s seminars, we then took full advantage of our time in Canada’s most multicultural city by hitting the streets and experiencing the power of God’s Word first-hand through several one-to-one witnessing encounters!

Hear our team debrief on the way home after hearing Mark’s seminars and hitting the streets in TO

View more photos from our Easter weekend witnessing adventure

Let’s all be encouraged and let’s also take Mark’s words seriously to stay bold in our life and witness!

BREAKFAST WITH BONNKE!

On April  25th, TCC Reps Chris Wood and Cory McKenna had the privilege of sitting in on a special event breakfast with Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, Founder of Christ for all Nations (CfaN).

On May 1st of this year, Reinhard celebrated his 50 year anniversary preaching the Gospel! However, for the past 30 years he has been called specifically to seek and save lost souls on the continent of Africa – with hundreds of thousands at his massive crusade meetings and as many as 1.6 million people attending one single meeting!

We thank Reinhard Bonnke for graciously taking the time to encourage us in our evangelism ministry and also for recording a promotional clip for TCC Radio too! We also thank John Mitchell of CfaN Canada for connecting us with Reinhard through this event.

Hear Reinhards promotional plug now as it will be heard on TCC Radio

THE TC/TCC TEAM-UP!

This past March The Cross Current had the privilege of training over 30 on-fire Christ-followers at Teen Challenge Farm! The Witnessing Workshop started onsite with several hours of interactive learning before we all boarded a bus and took the training to the streets of London, Ontario.

When we arrived back at homebase, we all let out a shout of praise to the Lord of Jericho proportions and then gave many “glory stories” as to how God impacted our lives and the lives of those we shared the Gospel with!

Here are just a few of the powerful comments that were shared by the Witnessing Workshop graduates:

“I’ve spent my whole life passing death to people, but for the first time in my life…tonight I was passing life!”

“Of all amazing time I’ve spent on the Teen Challenge Farm, this was the most personally impacting yet!”

“Thank you for taking the time to help get started with something God has been calling me to do for my entire Christian life.”

Special thanks to Wayne Flonders and Craig Carlisle of Teen Challenge for taking the lead on evangelism in-house and making our training time run so smooth!

SHARING AND SERVING AT ARK AID MISSION

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warm and filled, “without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also  faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2:14-17, ESV)

TCC is a local mission that exists to partner with leaders and their local churches to spread the Gospel in Canada. Serving the needs of the disadvantaged in Jesus’ Name is not only an act of obedience, but it also facilitates a wonderful environment to help precious lost souls see and hear the truth that the only reason it’s even possible for us to demonstrate Christ’s love to them is because God first demonstrated His own love for us! How? In that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…Amen!

Our team serves specifically at Ark Aid Mission in our hometown of London, Ontario because it’s a Gospel-centred outreach ministry that allows us to serve the needs of lost people while freely sharing the truth of eternity.

Here is a thought about the experience from the servants’ heart of our youngest Ark Aid Mission Gospel outreach team member to date:

“I feel it is important to serve at Ark Aid because I think serving is good to do because it is helping people.” ~ Joshua M., Age: 7

TCC SEED SOWING STATS | March – April 2009

By God’s grace, The Cross Current continues to share the Gospel on the streets of Canada each week and equip other Christians to do the same!

Here are the bottom line seed sowing stats over the past two months and our accumulated field report since January of this year.

• Evangelism Training – Over the past two months, TCC has equipped approximately 125 more Christians to biblically share their faith with loved ones and strangers. That’s an accumulated total of 200 since January!
• Witnessing – Over the past two months, our local Gospel outreach team personally shared the Good News with over 150 more lost souls and passed over 1000 more Gospel tracts! That’s an accumulated total of over 300 Gospel conversations and 2000 tracts passed since January!

Access more information on how TCC can equip you and your church to more effectively share Christ

TCC RADIO REVIEW | March – April 2009

Thou Shalt Not? | March

Law. Some people consider the idea of God laying out a Holy Law which demands complete obedience to be oppressive. This series looks at the rule of law, which the Canadian Constitution Act of 1982 affirms as one of the fundamental principles of our society, and the various purposes it plays in our nation and our spirituality. Does “thou shalt not” mean that you shouldn’t unless you have a good reason, or does it mean never ever do it? What could be the purpose of a Law that none of us seem to be able to keep? Oppression, depression, or obsession? In this series we law down the law.

Listen to this series on TCC Radio

Operation: Unknown Christian | April

There is an army of secret operatives in our midst. These soldiers are so far “underground” that most people – even their allies – are not aware of their presence. The shocking truth is that one might even be hiding right under your nose! What are we going to do about it, Canada?

Listen to this series on TCC Radio

Access the TCC Radio broadcast schedule

Subscribe to the TCC Radio Podcast

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ISN’T IT NARROW-MINDED TO SAY THAT YOU KNOW THE TRUTH?

Click here for your TCC Radio “Quick Q & A” 1-minute answer!

We thank God for you and your ongoing partnership in spreading the Gospel with The Cross Current. We humbly ask that you prayerfully consider becoming a “Cross Carrier” who will commit to regularly praying and donating to our local missions ministry in Canada. In turn, we will continue praying that the Lord uses these brief updates to impact your own personal life and witness for Him!

For His Glory,

The Cross Current Team

Charles Spurgeon said “The power of the Gospel does not lie in the eloquence of the preacher” for that would be the wisdom of men. In 1 Cor. 2 1-5  the emphasis of Pauls preaching is the redemptive plan of the Christ crucified, and fear and trembling (anxiety) for something urgent. Paul puts faith in GOD and not in his own opinion, no enticing words or persuasion, just Gods transforming Power. I Praise God that I have been privileged to witness  Gods Power at work this week.  I challenge all whom are able to join us in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ and walk with us in prayer and witness into this mission field which is our very own back yard. Thank You to all active participants in the TCC and a special thank you to the men of teen challenge whom have put on the armour of God, stepped onto the battlefield living in victory and not defeat.  Please read Cory’s selected passage for this week   2 Chronicles  20, 1-30

Gods word says that his faithful love endures forever. Knowing the Lord seems relativeley easy, TRUSTING in him is much more difficult. my prayer is for us to Trust in him in all we do and say, through prayer, action and his spoken word. May the Lord Bless all of you for your service and obedience.

Tom Woodburn, TCC Rep

A very special thanks to all those prayer warriors who joined us both in person and at a distance for our monthly day of fasting and evening of prayer last night! As we always say at TCC: “If you pray without witnessing you’re a hypocrite. If you witness without praying, you’re a lunatic! The battle is won in the prayer time.”

Opening Scripture Passage

We began our time together reading/meditating on 2 Chronicles 20:1-30. The story takes place during the days of the divided kingdom, where Jehoshaphat serves as the fourth king over the separated kingdom of Judah. He is a zealous follower of the commandments of God who “sought the Lord with all his heart” (2 Chronicles 22:9). In this text, Moab, Ammon, and the Meunites are coming to war against Jehoshaphat and he is understandably afraid…that is, until the Lord spoke the following to God’s people through a a man named Jahaziel:

Meanwhile all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. And the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you.” (vv. 13-17)

We then shared together in a glorious discussion about how the battle truly belongs to the Lord and all he asks of us is to faithfully stand firm in the truth of His Word to see His salvation on our behalf! Wow! What a powerful framework for the following prayer requests…

Our Goals for 2009

1. Donor Development (Cross Carriers)

• For God to give us a viable donor development plan
• For more donors giving more donations

2. Partner Churches confirmed and Church Champions network established.

• For volunteers to help us follow-up with all those we train for the purpose of establishing an evangelists network

3. Balance radio and television program production

• For us to record fruitful video footage for The Stream TV
• For a like-minded/gifted video production contact to help us assemble the footage for broadcasting

4. Promotional materials and media branding

• To get more promotional materials out to pastors, churches, and other Christian contacts

5. Ministry development

• For volunteers to help us contact churches and meet with pastors

6. Grow street team

• For week-to-week Gospel outreach to grow and to run smoothly

7. Stabilize all things web

• To help our web-developer complete final site requirements
• For greater online community connection with evangelists
• For e-Reps to help us follow-up with those who hear the Gospel on the streets

Specific Calendar Items (May)

Weekly Witnessing (Fridays and Saturdays):

• More labourers and fruitful harvest throughout the summer

Exodus 2009 Pro-life Rally on Thursday, May 14th (Ottawa)

XTM Toronto on Saturday, May 16th (Toronto):

• God’s protection and provision
• Fruitful outreach
• Strengthen our partner church relationships
• Fruitful video footage for The Stream TV

TCC Team

For our team to be “fitly framed together” to honour all of our ministry responsiblities towards fulfillment of our God-given mission as a local missions ministry to His Church.

Personal Needs

Cal Smith (Board Member) and his wife, Ang

• Pray for Cal’s mother-in-law Doris who has recently had a brain aneuism

Kevin Lane (Writer and Producer) and his wife, Joanne

• Pray for God’s wisdom and discernment to resolve a conflict with a fellow believer and evangelist

John Gonciarz (Rep) and his wife, Marie

• For God’s provision during this time of transition

Tom Woodburn (Rep)

• For God’s grace and provision during this time of difficulty

Cory McKenna (Founder and Program Host) and my wife, Dawn

• For our son Joshua’s complete healing from heart-related health challenges
• For Dawn’s health and our new baby’s health in the final stages of pregnancy and delivery
• For our son Caleb’s continued health

In closing, I again personally thank God for you and for your prayer partnership with us! Please click here for more information on how praying with and for our ministry.

For His Glory,

Cory

Click here for an audio version of these helpful hints.

Hi and welcome to the helpful hints for the TCC Radio series called “What’s The Word?” about the Bible.

It seems like everyone has an opinion about the Bible, it’s all true, it’s partially true, it’s just a bunch of stories, it’s a tool of the Church to control the population.. hey I’m sure you’ve heard a bunch of different opinions as well. With everyone talking about what they think of the Bible, do you ever wonder why so few people seem to want to check it out?

Well we’re checking it out in this series, and you can invite others to come along for the ride. We’ll start with what the Bible is, and if such a thing would be reasonable in a universe that actually had the kind of God that the Bible describes. Then in part two we’ll be talking about Science and the Bible. From the glory days of Science when men and women used science to explore God’s creation to find the things written of in the Bible right up to this moment when it’s become clear that most scientists use science to try to disprove that very same Creation. If we cut through all the politics and religion is the Bible scientifically sound or not?

In part three we come to the point that we have to start considering what the Bible says about us as people and what we can expect in this world and the next. Because if it stands up to historical, prophetic, and scientific tests then it only makes sense for us to at least pay attention to the rest of the message.

Through the original production of the series we realized that we needed to do a part 4 that answers the question “Who’s the Word?” The Bible says that a particular Person actually was, is and ever will be the “Word.” What does that mean in the grand scheme of things, and what does it mean to each of us personally?

This series is a remixed, rebroadcast from 2007 and that means that you’ll hear from people on the street in each episode but you’ll also find this series is jam packed with information.

Do you know someone who’s got lots of opinions about the Bible but has never been given the opportunity to test what its claims are? They are just the right kind of person to listen to this series. Maybe you or someone you know has been challenged about trusting the Bible. This series is a GREAT primer for anyone who wants to see IF the Bible is true or not. God’s not afraid of your questions so ask away!! Get a Bible ready, and tune in to TCC Radio because the only foolish question is the one that goes unasked.

Let someone know that they can hear TCC Radio Friday nights in London, Ont at 7pm on GraceFM 105.9, streaming online at TheStreamTV.com and TCCRadio.com and podcasted through iTunes or directly from TCCRadio.com

There’s also a resource page at www.tccradio.com/WhatsTheWord.htm that gives a bunch of resources for the investigative mind.

Thanks for listening, and thanks for sharing too!