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Tags: E-Tools Newsletter, February 2010, GO Team, Harvest Bible Chapel, Prayer Pulse, TCC TV, The Stream TV, Tim
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E-Tools Newsletter | January 2010

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

Welcome to our first E-Tools Newsletter of 2010! This monthly TCC field report also includes strategic outreach resources to encourage, equip, and empower you to more effectively share the Gospel with all the loved ones in your life as we faithfully serve Christ in Canada together.

Keeping the Cross current…through current events!

I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

(1 Corinthians 9:22-23)

TCC exists to equip the Church to keep the Cross current in our culture, both for the sake of the Gospel and for the salvation of the lost.

Keeping connected with current events in the news can facilitate fantastic ways to become all things to all people, so that by all means we might save some.

World Class Witnesses

First, through keeping connected with current events, God graciously allows us to become “world class witnesses” for Him who love the lost beyond just our own Jerusalem into the uttermost part of the earth. This results in a commitment to pray for the salvation of souls all around the world and for the missionaries who have been called to reach them.

It’s also been our experience that the eternal impact of becoming world class witnesses often extends beyond our personal life and witness into our family life and witness as well! For example, to keep the Cross current with current events, one of the evangelists with TCC now leads his family to set aside the first workday of every week as “Missions Monday”. This involves his children doing basic research on a country and their family taking the week to pray together for God to grant repentance to those who live there.

Conversational Common Ground

Second, through keeping connected with current events, God graciously gives us the conversational common ground we need to relate to as many people as possible in our own local mission field about the bigger matters of life, death, and eternity. The recent earthquake tragedy in Haiti continues to facilitate many such opportunities for Gospel outeach…

By now you have likely been exposed to many of the horrific images of the devastation in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, after the city was hit with a 7.0 earthquake. As local missionaries, it’s times like these that we can feel as helpless as the rest of the world in the wake of disaster.

However, in addition to continuing to pray diligently for the physical needs of all those involved in this tragedy, as per Jesus’ words in Luke 13:1-5, we have also been using this current event as conversational common ground to share the message of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ…while there is still time.

In effort to more effectively equip the Church to “normalize” evangelism with loved ones and strangers, TCC is now developing a special section of our Studio/Street Blog called “Current Events”. Here we will post field reports and audio files of our radio reps using current events in the culture as conversational common ground to lead the lost to the Cross.

Click here to access our very first “Current Events” posting; a Gospel encounter on the street surrounding the subject of Haiti

We sincerely pray that these “Current Events” encounters in evangelism will serve to help you continue growing strong in your own evangelistic giftings!

TCC Radio LIVE: When sharing the Good News goes bad

TCC Radio host Cory McKenna is thanking God for “nine lives” – but not in the way you may think. Not only has He now allowed us to broadcast nine live radio shows, but He also continues to show Himself strong on our behalf…even when doing the right thing seems to go wrong.

Right: Norm Millar of Harvest Bible Chapel of London was our most recent special guest on TCC Radio LIVE

On this month’s episode of TCC Radio live, we extended the program to one full hour in hopes of helping Pastor Norm Millar and Harvest Bible Chapel of London spread the life-giving message that Christians need never be silent about the Gospel. In addition to dialoguing in the studio about various aspects of biblical life and witness, we also enjoyed another real-time Gospel conversation from the studio to the street via cell phone in a segment that we call “wireless witnessing”.

What would you do if things got tripped up by circumstances out of your control when sharing your faith?

Hear what Norm and Cory did when sharing the Good News went bad on live radio!

Our Prayer Pulse for February

Let’s continue partnering together to keep our prayer pulse for TCC and the Church in Canada strong! This month we have a praise report and TWO main prayer points that we humbly ask you, your family, and your church to remember for us in February.

Praise Report from “Urgent Ministry Need”!

In late December, Cory and The Cross Current Team sent out an important message inviting all those on our distribution list to pray about sowing into an urgent ministry need. We praise God for the faithful response of so many of our partners in the Gospel! Thanks to you, we are now in production for The Cross Current TV show after having received sufficient donations for acquiring the computer we need for video editing!

Prayer Points

Expansion & Exposure

Expanding our ministry of equipping local churches in cities across Canada to more effectively share the Gospel message with loved ones and strangers, and
Exposing The Cross Current Radio Show into more markets to facilitate greater Gospel preaching coverage and support for the local churches we partner with

Continue keeping a pulse on our mutual prayer needs

Important Donation Information!

In response to several requests, The Cross Current has now added Automatic Funds Transfer (AFT) as another way to simply and securely give to our local missions ministry in Canada.

For more information on how your tax deductable donations can be set up to transfer automatically between your bank account and TCC, please call our office at (226) 663-1822 or email us at admin@thecrosscurrent.com.

Donate to our mission in Canada
We again thank God for you and for your ongoing partnership in preaching His Gospel in Canada.

For His Glory,

The Cross Current Team

Keep Connected with TCC

Continue keeping a pulse on our mutual prayer needs

Tags: Current Events, Donation Information, E-Tools Newsletter, Harvest Bible Chapel, January 2010, Norm Millar, wireless witnessing
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Prayer Pulse – January 2010

Sunday, January 10th, 2010

This brief posting will provide you with strategic points of prayer that we thank you in advance for lifting up to the Lord on our behalf this month.

On Saturday, January 2nd, our core ministry team came together for our annual prayer and planning meeting. More results of the meeting will be reflected here on our online ministry calendar in the weeks to come. In the meantime, here is where we sense God is leading our ministry in 2010, based on our mission as a ministry.

Here is the mission of TCC:

His Gospel. His Gifts. His Glory.

The Cross Current (TCC) is a local missions ministry and outreach broadcast bringing glory to God’s Name in Canada by unifying His Church in His Gospel and helping pastors equip all Christians under their care to be His witnesses everyday, everywhere, to everyone, as one body serving in accordance with the various gifts He has given each.

Everything we spend our time, talents, and treasures taking part in this year will directly contribute to this mission. Conversely, time is of the essence, and we will not be doing things that fail to contribute directly to this mission.

Our main ministry goals for 2010 are as follows:

1. Prayer as Priority 1
2. Secure Home Base (London)
3. Donor Development (Cross Carriers)
4. Expansion & Exposure
5. The Cross Current Television Program Production
6. Ministry Development
7. Stabilize all things web

Thank you in advance for your prayer support! Please also click here to find out more about praying with and for The Cross Current.

Tags: goals, January 2010, mission, Prayer Pulse
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E-Tools Newsletter | December 2009

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

Welcome to our new E-Tools Newsletter! This monthly TCC field report also includes strategic outreach resources to encourage, equip, and empower you to more effectively share the Gospel with all the loved ones in your life as we faithfully serve Christ in Canada together.

“Open Airwaves” Preaching for Christmas!

For the glory of God, this December The Cross Current stepped out in faith to take live outreach radio to a whole new level.

We titled this very special series of TCC Radio Live, “Giving the Greatest Gift”. Just as God freely gave the greatest gift of His only Son, our goal was to freely give His Gospel to all those in our world this Christmas and to equip our listeners to do the same.

In the studio, both Dale Elliott and Richard Spruyt of Grace FM 105.9 in London hosted

TCC founding president, Cory McKenna in discussing the topics of personal witnessing, community outreach, local missions, and overseas missions.

Right: Cory McKenna talks to a non-Christian live on the air during another “wireless witnessing” segment of TCC Radio this December.

On the street, TCC team leader Chris Wood coordinated our Gospel ground troops and also set up the “wireless witnessing” encounters between Cory and two non-Christians from the community via cell phone.

Left: Harvest Bible Chapel Gospel Outreach “GO” Team member, Sharon Enwright, gives a passerby a warm welcome with a hot cup of Christmas cider.

However, the greatest groundbreaker of the entire series had to be the “open airwaves” preaching!

We praise God for the faithfulness of our Director of Ministry Relations, Jeff Mardling, for preaching the Gospel message open air live on air.

Right: Jeff Mardling breaks the sound barrier by preaching open air live for the first time in TCC Radio history!

After leading a group of carolers from the GO Team of Harvest Bible Chapel of London in the singing of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”, Jeff used the lyric about “God and sinners reconciled” as a beautiful springboard to powerfully proclaim the true meaning of Christmas to those passing by on that frigid Friday night. TCC has open air preached in several Canadian cities, however, this is the very first time that we have attempted breaking the sound barrier on live radio before. Praise God!

We know that faith comes through hearing the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). As such, we are so thankful for the many

testimonies we have received from Christ-followers across our city of how the Lord has brought faith to the hearts of many loved ones who were invited to tune in to the show and just “happened” to hear Jeff’s preaching. Chris has also been following up with a student of the Baha’i faith who heard the Gospel for the first time throughout the production of this live series. Click here for more on Chris’ Gospel glory story and please continue praying that the Lord brings the increase now that the seed of His word has been sown in their hearts.

Click here to listen to this entire live series on the new and improved TCC Radio website!

TCC Radio: Encountering Islam

Do you know that Islam is the second largest religion in the world after Christianity? Do you also know that there are second and even third generation Muslims living in virtually every major city across Canada and that number is consistently rising every single year? The Lord desires that none should perish and that Christians would be a blessing to Muslims by sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Now, we all know that the mere mention of Islam can spark intense and often hateful controversy. But let the record show that we are not going to go there in this series of TCC Radio. When the final credits roll, we are hoping and praying that it will serve as a great Gospel outreach resource that you can confidently lend to your Muslim an non-Muslim loved ones.

Our Prayer Pulse for January

In fact, to equip you for more effective life and witness, please click here to access your new TCC Radio Listener’s Resources including “behind the scenes” Producer’s Notes and special Listener’s Scripts. We trust that these brand new online outreach tools will help you make the most of each episode of the program when sharing Christ with your family and friends.

Let’s continue partnering together to keep our prayer pulse for TCC and the Church in Canada strong! There is only ONE main prayer point that we humbly ask you, your family, and your church to remember for us in January.

Early in the month, our core leadership team will be coming together for our third annual prayer & planning meeting. We have found this time together to be invaluable for helping our team seek the Lord’s face for the year and to grow in stewarding our time and talents for Him.

Please pray that the He will give us the vision and direction we need to continue moving forward in His service to make His Name even greater in Canada this year!

We again thank God for you and for your ongoing partnership in preaching His Gospel in Canada.

For His Glory,

The Cross Current Team

Keep Connected with TCC

Donate to our mission in Canada

Tags: December 2010, E-Tools Newsletter, GO Team, Islam, Muslim, Open Air Preaching, Prayer Pulse, TCC Radio LIVE!
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The Penguin God Doesn’t Care

Friday, December 4th, 2009

By Kevin Lane (Writer/Producer TCC Radio) Pengiungod400

Just a couple of days ago I received an e-Mail from the President of The Cross Current. The opening ought to give a sweet chuckle to those in ministry.

“Kev,

If you have time (yeah, I know…the email is funny already:), I would REALLY like for you to author a brief blog posting about that National Post article I sent you.”

Yes I am very busy, and my schedule includes many things that really shouldn’t be put off. However, in ministry there is always time for what’s important.

The article El Presidente sent is God Is not here? by National Post Deputy Comment Editor Marni Soupcoff based on the implications of a child’s surprised and innocent question “God is not here?” The admirable author of this honest work deserves a response of like kind.

Dear Marni,

Thank you for your very honest article ‘God is not here?’ Your writing is far more lucid than anything else I’ve read recently relating to religion in the popular media. I am the writer/producer of The Cross Current Radio Show, which is an outreach broadcast. We’re different from the crowd in that we don’t just do a passive radio broadcast. We focus on helping Christians actually engage the culture in very sane, very real ways by modeling just that every week.

I truly did enjoy your article and so, if you will indulge me, I would like to offer some answers to the questions you asked. I recognize most of these are rhetorical, but since there are answers I would like to give them. You asked, “You see my dilemma?” Yes I do, and I’m confident you are far from the only one facing such. “—how can I not?” You can’t, and I’m thankful you know it. “Is it fair to saddle a child with your own prejudices?” Fair or not, you’ve recognized it can’t be avoided, and the parental responsibility of showing a child “how it should be.”

It is pleasant to read just how aware you are of these facts, and somewhat shocking to see this presented in the National Post (NP). Truly reasonable thinking about “god and faith” is far from the norm in secular media, and similarly in non-secular for that matter. For the first time I’m considering subscribing, if only because what is deemed reasonable to print in NP can be reasoned – seemingly even if this is not the popular approach to a particular subject.

The last question in your article is, to use a technical term, a doozy. “How should children be taught religion?” I’m no parental expert, but the short answer is this; they shouldn’t be. You’re actually closer to what “should” be done for them with your new but incomplete plan.

“…to tell my son what I really think about god and faith…” Oh that parents would be this honest with their children. Here’s a question for you; why do so many parents make a practice of lying to their children? From Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy, to taking kids to some church just to cover the bases; it truly is no wonder children have a hard time believing (and obeying) their parents when it counts.

There is much in the article worthy of discussion. Such as “I’d sooner he be indoctrinated by me than left with a moral void of ‘choice’ and ‘openness.’” Previous to this you accurately identified how almost all media has an agenda. Your child wouldn’t be left to “openness” but would be programmed by someone other than yourself. I’m constantly amazed when parents tell me how entertainment media doesn’t influence their children all that much only to see their child with the new ‘insert movie/tv show title’ action figure, lunch box and sneakers they just had to have. It seems reasonable to me then that the only unfair way of teaching your child about “god and faith” would be to let someone else you have not vetted do it for you.

Your new plan is a pretty good one, yet it lacks a solid foundation. “What I really think about god and faith” really needs to be replaced with “What I have found to be true about God [sic] and faith.” Kids have been fed enough fairy tales. You and your son’s father come from different backgrounds. I checked the comments on a NP blog posting of your article and found people suggesting reconciliation of your views as a solution. One poster specifically suggested reading the Old Testament as a family. That’s not an entirely bad idea, but it misses the real issue. Neither you, nor your son’s father actually knows for sure what is true about “god and faith.”

You said “I’m a believer in something (even if I haven’t figured out exactly what)…” I apologize right now for all those who will make fun of this, or use it in a way to try to discredit you. Like the rest of your article, I enjoy the openness of this statement. Replacing the concepts of “god and faith” with “math and reading” ought to relieve us of the pressures of presupposition. So for just a moment; if you were planning to teach your child math and reading I’m confident you’d want to do so with accuracy. Not that you would have to be an expert in either, but you would desire to teach accurately.

Most people we speak with think it doesn’t matter which god they believe in, or don’t. The truth is, the ‘Penguin God’ doesn’t care if you believe in him/her/it or not. The point you reference in the movie ‘Happy Feet’ is actually true, there is no such ‘Penguin God.’ So in that respect, it doesn’t matter if people don’t believe in him. This does leave the sticky problem of believing in him even if he doesn’t exist. However, if there is one true God who actually does exist, then believing in Him might be a matter of great importance. Depending of course on if it matters to Him. If such a God does exist, then the subject of Him and faith in Him becomes a lot more like math and reading. Accuracy is no longer just a preference, it’s a requisite. Yours is not the only will involved so the consequences of inaccuracy are neither solely internal, nor determined by you alone. If this God exists, then His own will may well be exercised even to the exclusion of yours.

Just like with the ‘Penguin God’, if there is no ‘one true God’ then believing in Him is a problem that parents need to address as well. Be sure this fact is not lost on me. I will not portray such as unreasonable or unprintable. We few of The Cross Current actively meet people right where they are in life. One question we like to ask, frankly because it cuts through smokescreens really well, is “Are you looking for something to believe in, or do you want to find the truth?” We know there is only value in believing something if it is actually true. Someone might choose to teach their child to believe in the ‘Penguin God’, but he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care if you believe in him, and he doesn’t care about your child. He doesn’t exist. One danger of believing a falsity is denying something true and that is always harmful. For example; if I believe Santa is real, I’m denying the truth that he is not. When I finally find out my trust has been abused and through deception I have been denied the opportunity to know the truth, I am harmed.

Through evaluation of many related subjects at length it has been determined that the Bible is the true Word of God. It does accurately reveal the one true God, not just another fairy tale character. I don’t expect, or even want you to take my word for it. What I offer is an out stretched hand. To help you determine what is true, not however to convince you. If I were to offer a convincing argument, someone more clever will surely come along after me to convince you of something different. Right now, you lack a firm knowledge of what is actually true. As an individual you not only need the same general revelation of truth as everyone else, but you have your very own concerns, questions, objections, ideas, and the like particular to yourself. Until they are answered you won’t be able to know and be sure of the truth. However, the wonderful thing is that the moment they are you won’t be able to honestly deny the truth you will then know. You will be convinced without me convincing you because your needs will have actually been met.

Would you like to be truly sure of what you’re telling your child? Not just hoping you’re giving him the best information you can, but actually sharing trustworthy truth? The ‘Penguin God’, and his peers will never care either way, but you ought to.

You are a smart, insightful woman. Even if you do not respond I’m pleased to demonstrate, as is reasonable, how it is perfectly OK to admire the people we encounter who none the less need help. During His earthly ministry the Lord Jesus Christ made no qualms about showing people they were in dire danger because of sin, but He reached out to them (and us) in that need. One woman He met knew her need more than many other people do. He admired her for this, and for going for the true solution. Mat 15:21-28 The Lord demonstrated His love by meeting our need through bearing our guilt and shame unto death, though He deserved none of it.

Based on your article, I’m sure no one has ever given you, or your son’s father a reasonable explanation of why He died for our sins, was buried and rose back to life on the third day all in accordance with the same Hebrew Scriptures you were likely introduced to in your youth. I’m sure no one has ever helped you determine if all this actually happened or not. We would like to.

By the way, the sight of a crucifix makes me shiver too, but probably for different reasons. His suffering in our place on the Cross is over, His sacrifice has been accepted and He is risen. I shiver when I see people putting their faith in anything other than this.

I was asked to make this brief, and I did try. Thanks for reading!

Tags: is God real?, media, National Post, parenting, religion
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E-Tools Newsletter | November 2009

Monday, November 30th, 2009

Welcome to our brand new E-Tools Newsletter! This monthly TCC field report also includes strategic outreach resources to encourage, equip, and empower you to more effectively share the Gospel with all the loved ones in your life as we faithfully serve Christ in Canada together.

“GO Team” Go!

The Harvest Bible Chapel of London “GO Team”

Left to right: Chris Wood, John Gonciarz, Donna Feica, Jordan Baert (Berean Baptist Church), Randy Lutchman, Rebecca Coyne, Bill Dawson, Matt Ainsworth, David Herbert (Southdale Bible Chapel), Tom Woodburn, Tom Briggs. Taking picture: Cory McKenna.

What do you call a group of Christ-followers commissioned by their local church and equipped by The Cross Current to preach the Gospel, while working together to serve the spiritual, emotional, and material needs of the lost in their community? At TCC we call it a Gospel Outreach (GO) Team…and we can help you and your church launch one!

On Saturday November 21st, two months of evangelism training and preparation converged on the campus of the University of Western Ontario (UWO) where TCC and several members of the Harvest Bible Chapel of London (HBCL) GO Team partnered together for an “all-original” outreach.

Right: The HBCL GO Team works together to turn a busy public street corner into “seed sowing central”!

This year marks a double anniversary in the life of Charles Darwin: his 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of his controversial classic, Origin of Species. Not only did we enjoy origins/Gospel conversations with over 85 students, parents, and professors surrounding this subject, but we also managed to round up over 40 emails and distribute close to 100 copies of the special “Gospelized” version of Darwin’s book, as republished by Living Waters Publications.

Left: HBCL GO Team member, Rebecca Coyne, uses an origins/worldview survey as a springboard to build a relationship and share the Gospel.

Perhaps the most memorable encounter of the day involved a student named Dan who had an overtly critical reaction to the origins resources we were giving out. Cory was the recipient of Dan’s four-letter words of welcome! After letting our new friend vent for a few minutes, Cory responded by saying: “You must have pretty strong beliefs to react that passionately about a supposed science book! Maybe we’re more alike than you realize!” Cory then began to dialogue with Dan about the fact that we all have faith about what happened in history because none of us were actually there to observe it for ourselves. Further, it’s this personal faith commitment about the past that determines how we interpret the same evidence that we all share in the present. After somewhat diffusing Dan’s desire for fighting about the issue, the Lord then opened up the door to share a very candid conversation about the Creator, His Word, His Son, and His Gospel. Though Dan didn’t commit to showing up at church the next morning, he did give Cory his email and request recontact. Praise God!

TCC exists to equip all the saints in your church for the work of evangelism. We offer both personal and community witnessing workshops to help you more effectively share the Gospel in all your personal relationships and beyond.

In addition to taking the HBCL GO Team through our workshop training, here are a couple other online resources we used in preparation for our origins outreach together that we encourage you to take advantage of as well:

Origins/worldview series called “What On Earth Is Going On?” (TCC Radio)

Article on witnessing to evolutionists called “Hitting the Nail on the Head” (CMI)

TCC Radio: Giving the Greatest Gift…LIVE!

TCC Radio is going live for Christmas! We trust that God will help us help you keep the Cross current and keep the Christ in Christmas in a very unique and special way this holiday season.

Starting on Friday December 4th, our regular radio broadcast and podcast will feature inspirational in-studio Christmas commentary and real-time reports from our field reps on the streets. Invite your family and friends to tune in to hear Gospel glory stories from across the country, open air preaching, and live “wireless witnessing” encounters via cell phone!

Listen to the “TCC Radio LIVE! @ Christmas” commercial

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Just as God freely gave, we want to do the same by freely giving God’s greatest gift of all to the loved ones in our lives this Christmas! To get equipped for more effective personal evangelism at this most wonderful witnessing time of year, we have produced a free audio tract to share with all of our family and friends.

This very special Christmas episode of TCC Radio has been carefully remixed and reinforced with a Christ-centred introduction to provide non-Christians with an accurate biblical context for the Christmas story. So, instead of just giving your unsaved loved ones another pair of socks this season, why not stuff their stockings and their hearts with a free gift of the greatest free gift of all eternity?

Hear, download, and distribute your free TCC Christmas audio tract

Our Prayer Pulse

Let’s continue partnering together to keep our prayer pulse for TCC and the Church in Canada strong! Here are three strategic prayer points for you, your family, and your church to remember in December:

For the Lord to draw more and more listeners and supporters to TCC Radio, and for Him to bring the volunteer production team we need to launch and sustain our upcoming reality television program on The Stream TV.
For the Lord to help us plan and produce the “TCC Radio LIVE! @ Christmas” series for His glory.
For the Lord to speak to the hearts of more believers about giving generously to TCC’s work of preaching the Gospel in Canada through witnessing, training, and expanded radio/video production.

Continue keeping a pulse on our mutual prayer needs

We thank God for you and for your ongoing partnership in preaching His Gospel in Canada.

For His Glory,

The TCC Team

Keep Connected with TCC