Posts Tagged ‘E-Tools Newsletter’

E-Tools Newsletter | July 2010

Saturday, July 31st, 2010

Welcome to our E-Tools Newsletter for July 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.

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GO Canada!


Canada needs Christ. This three-word phrase has become the cry of our hearts as we hit the streets of our home and native land each week to preach the Gospel. And what better day to connect with Canadians in Jesus’ Name than on Canada Day?

This past July 1st, The Cross Current partnered with the Gospel Outreach (”GO”) Team of Harvest Bible Chapel London to celebrate the birth of our nation and to share the grace and truth of Christ with our community.

Left: The Gospel Outreach “GO” Team of Harvest Bible Chapel London

Securing a “salvation station” is the first important step we take towards enjoying a fruitful day of outreach during special events. This is simply a team base whereby we can set up all the resources necessary to connect with the community and plan for follow-up as the Lord brings opportunity.

GO Team missions leader, Chris Wood, sourced us a prime location for our salvation station; a high-traffic hotspot in the centre of the city where we set up two tables: one containing free Canada Day souvenirs and the other containing Bibles and church information.

Our Gospel outreach team of men, women, and children then spent the afternoon sharing Bibles, balloons, and the Good News of Jesus Christ. The most popular conversation starters proved to be Canadian million dollar bill tracts and Canada Day surveys.

Above: Our “salvation station” table of Bibles and church information

Both enabled us to break the ice and build a quick relationship with non-Christians before talking with them about matters of life, death, and eternity.

Right: TCC Rep, Jeff Mardling, and GO Team member, Rebecca Coyne, pray for a man after sharing the Gospel on Canada Day

We thank God that many people heard the Gospel, were prayed for, and are continuing to be followed up with. In fact, we have already re-connected with a young man we prayed for that day named Doug who is still anxiously awaiting a kidney transplant. Would you take a minute right now to pray that Doug will receive a healthy kidney and that he will keep his promise of joining us for church to receive the ongoing support that he needs?

View our entire Canada Day Outreach Photo Album

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Xstream Fishing at the Falls


What do you call it when 15 plus seed sowers set aside an entire Saturday to hit Canada’s premier tourist trap for the purpose of passing tracts, preaching open air, and witnessing one-to-one? We call it Xstream Team Mission (XTM) Niagara Falls 2010! Though we have invaded the Falls several times, little did we know that this time the Lord would “pour out” a special lesson in faithfulness for our entire team…

Right: The 2010 Niagara Falls Xstream Team Mission Team

Never before had we been faced with a 90% chance of rain the day before an Xstream Team Mission. Would we postpone the trip or would we push on through? After much prayer and consideration, our key leaders decided that we would step out in faith and complete the mission rain or shine.

Left: XTM newcomer, Tanner Morrison, breaks the ice into a one-to-one witnessing encounter

We arrived in the Falls shortly after lunch and were greeted with overcast skies. After about three hours of witnessing, the heavens opened up and torrential downpour fell like I haven’t seen in years! Again, we debated about aborting the mission. However, this time our entire team agreed together that we weren’t going to allow a little mid-day moisture to dampen what God wanted to do through us amidsts hundreds of thousands of lost people. Needless to say that by the end of day we were very thankful that we persevered through the storm…and so were Dan and Toby. Cory shares the story:

Let’s just say that when Brad (our cameraman) and I initially encountered Dan and Toby, neither of us were too optimistic about the potential for a quality video interview. However, something compelled me to ask the question anyway: “Hey, could I interview you guys for The Cross Current TV?” Toby was not interested, but Dan was.

Right: TCC Rep, Thomas Woodburn, preaches the Gospel open air

I began by asking Dan the “million dollar question”: “Dan, where do you believe that you will spend eternity?” He gladly shared his view that whatever any individual believes about the afterlife is what happens in the afterlife. I responded with a very thought-provoking question that we teach in our witnessing workshops: “Dan, are you looking for something to believe in, or are you looking for the truth?” The change in Dan’s tone led me to believe that he had never been confronted with the truth about truth.

Initially, Dan was quite flippant in his responses and Toby soon chimed in with the same nonchalant attitude. However,  as our dialogue unfolded, their change in countenance confirmed that the Holy Spirit was somehow working in their hearts and minds. In fact, by the end of our talk together, they both gladly give me their email addresses for further follow-up! But God wasn’t finished working on them yet…

In the late afternoon we began open air preaching. It was when TCC Rep Jeff Mardling began preaching Christ crucified that Dan and Toby came back to listen. Both were arrested by the Good News and stuck around to talk more about the truth of life, death, and eternity. In the end, both Dan and Toby received Bibles to take home with them and were very thankful that they had encountered Jesus Christ that day at Niagara Falls.

Above: TCC Cameraman and evangelist, Brad Young, talks with Dan and Toby for the second time around

I am also excited to report that just a few days after our conversation, Dan emailed me back on behalf of he and Toby to express his gratitude for us talking and giving them free Bibles. He also wanted to know when their interview would be streaming on The Cross Current TV outreach broadcast.

The moral of the story? “…faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). We needed faith that day, and so did Dan and Toby. So let’s preach the Gospel (rain or shine) and pray that the Lord justifies ans sanctifies all those who hear His Word!

~ Cory

We also want to congratulate Brad Young for “breaking the sound barrier” and preaching open air for his very first time! This bold demonstration of faithfulness resulted in Brad becoming our first “open air extraordinaire” and being awarded his very own portable open air preaching pulpit. We thank God for you Brad!

Right: Brad Young “breaks the sounds barrier” by preaching open air for his very first time

Please continue praying for the salvation of all those who encountered Christ through our team that day.

View our entire XTM Niagara Falls 2010 Photo Album

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TCC officially flows onto The Stream TV!

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In early 2009, it was announced that The Cross Current had received an exciting offer from The Stream TV network to launch an Internet-based reality TV show to preach the Gospel and equip the Church in Canada and around the world. Well, after a year and a half of praying, preparing, recording, and editing, The Cross Current channel is officially live and the first series of episodes are available online for viewing!

TCC exists to preach the Gospel in talk and walk and to help pastors equip their churches to do the same. TCC TV will support this mission by enabling our viewers to experience the encounters in everyday evangelism that we experience for themselves. This program will also evangelize non-Christians and disciple Christians into more faithful proclamation of the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Click here to visit The Cross Current channel on The Stream TV

Are you interested in having us TCC come onsite to equip your church to share the Gospel with your community in word and works? Your church can not only leverage our experience in the local mission field, but we may also feature your Gospel outreach event on The Cross Current television program.

Contact us today

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The Power of Applied Apologetics


For the past 3 years, TCC has been invited to equip teen aged students at a very specialized conferenced called CYWAL (Christian Youth Worldview And Leadership). This is a very solid training ground designed to prepare senior teens for life and ministry in the real world. Featured speakers/ministries include: Ravi Zacharias International, Creation Ministries International, Truth Matters, and several others. Our role as a ministry is to help wrap-up a jam-packed week of apologetics with a special time of field application.

Left: The CYWAL class of 2010 boards the bus bound for their field witnessing trip

On Thursday July 29th, Cory conducted an interactive session called “Witnessing in One Hour” at the conference centre in Cambridge, Ontario before we boarded a bus and hit the streets of Guelph that same afternoon.

Right: CYWAL students Samir and Jacob share the Gospel on the streets for their very first time

Special thanks to all those experienced evangelists who took time out of their busy summer schedules to serve as street team leaders. By God’s grace, your investment into the lives of His preacious young followers will bear fruit forever!
CYWAL offers student training in worldviews, apologetics, evangelism, and leadership. For more information, visit: www.cywal.org

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3 Minutes to Live!

What would be most important to you in you only had 3 minutes to live? What would you say to an unsaved loved one or stranger if they only had 3 minutes to live? Is there something, anything you could possibly share to help make the difference between Eternal Life and Eternal Death for this dying person? In this candid series, our street team confronts the culture with a “truth or dare” challenge to prepare their souls for the journey we all must take into eternity. This is literally the series of a lifetime!

Witness with your loved ones using Listener’s Resources for this series

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Your for July

Let’s continue partnering together to keep our for TCC and the Church in Canada strong!

This month we humbly ask you, your family, and your church to remember to pray for the following TCC outreach and training events in August:

> Barrie Local Mission (Caribfest) – August 13th & 14th

> Ambassador’s Academy Los Angeles (2 TCC leaders attending on scholarships) – August 25th to 29th

Continue keeping a pulse on our prayer needs

Bookmark our ministry calendar to continue praying for our local missions

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We again thank God for you and your partnership in preaching the Gospel and equipping other Christ-followers to do the same.

In Christ Alone,

The Cross Current Team


Keep Connected with TCC

Share TCC on Facebook

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Subscribe to this newsletter

Bookmark our Blog

Donate to our mission in Canada

E-Tools Newsletter | June 2010

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

Welcome to our E-Tools Newsletter for June 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.

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Leaving the ninety-nine for the one

It was another one of those Friday nights when my fears were getting the best of me. I felt like preaching the Gospel about as much as I felt like skydiving without a parachute.

I truly wish I could tell you that sowing into the local mission field every week is a sure-fire solution for becoming becoming a fearless super soldier for Christ – but this has simply not been my experience. Yes, God rewards our faithful witnessing with increased confidence in conversations, but the fluttery feelings of trepidation and insecurity just never seem to go away. So all I can do in those tough times is cling to Christ’s call and command to leave the ninety-nine to go after the one who is lost and remind myself again and again that (thankfully!) all my God asks of me is to be faithful.

Why Gospel preachers must pray

During our pre-witnessing prayer time, I received a strong sense from the Lord that I was going to encounter someone who professed to be a follower of Christ. I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but I was certainly open to being used by God to share with whomever necessary.

We arrived at the International Food Expo in the heart of our hometown and the public park was buzzing with people. An evangelists’ dream! After giving out many Gospel tracts and sharing the true Gospel of Christ with a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses, we encountered two young ladies named Jennifer and Susan (names changed).

The Million Dollar Question

I passed each a million dollar bill tract and asked, “Has anyone ever asked you ‘the million dollar question’?” “No”, they responded. “It’s the single most important question of your entire life! Can I ask you?” “Sure”, they both said. “OK, here it is…”. I paused. “What do you believe happens after you die?” Jennifer quickly responded, “Well, I’m a Christian.” Both believed themselves to be good enough to be with God in heaven, until I lifted up the mirror of God’s law in front of them and they saw themselves in truth before Him.

After hearing the Good News about the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, Jennifer confessed that she had been attending a church for about a year, but had since wandered away. That’s when I explained to her what God had revealed to me in prayer just an hour earlier and how He commands us to leave the ninety-nine to find the one…and she could very well be that one tonight! We both agreed that this encounter was no accident and she received my invitation to come to church with great joy.

I am very pleased to report that Jennifer did come to church that same Sunday and was powerfully impacted by the worship and preaching of God’s Word. Not surprisingly, she also committed to coming back again the next week.

Rejoice!

This encounter in evangelism reminds me of the parable of the lost sheep Christ shared in Luke 15. First, the man was compelled to leave the ninety-nine sheep to find the one that was lost. In our context, this is much like the Spirit of God compelling us to leave the church to go into the world to find His precious souls who are lost.

Christ also said that after the sheep was found, the man came home and called together his friends and neighbours and said to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” That’s why I share this story with you all as friends, neighbours, and brothers and sisters in Christ. Let’s encourage one another to continue leaving the ninety-nine for the ones that are lost. And let’s rejoice that the lost are being found…in Jesus’ Name!

Witnessing lessons learned

The Lord has already taught me several valuable lessons through this particular Gospel glory story. First, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind. Second, the qualities are in the seed, not the sower. But there is another very practical principle that can’t be missed, and it’s this: how we get people to church is typically how we keep people in church.

Jennifer was not lured to church by my eloquent wisdom or some shallow promise of an entertaining church service. If that were the case, then only by offering her more of the same will she keep coming on Sunday. However, I have to believe that Jennifer was moved to come to church by the Spirit of God after hearing the foolish preaching of His precious Gospel. Praise God! For now I can continue leaving the ninety-nine to go after another lost one with a clear conscience that Jennifer is not in my hands, but in the hands of The Great Shepherd Himself.

For His Glory,

Cory

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A weekend with Paul Washer

If you appreciate such classic preachers as Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and Charles Spurgeon, you likely appreciate a modern preacher named Paul Washer.

Paul serves as the director of HeartCry Missionary Society and is known for preaching strong truth surrounding the biblical Gospel.

Left: Missionary Paul Washer (middle) with Cory and Tom of TCC

Cory and Tom had the privilege of taking part in a leadership luncheon with Paul Washer on Friday, June 18th and several more of our leaders came together to hear Paul teach on Saturday, June 19th at a small camp in Campbellville, Ontario.

Paul was one of the most humble and gracious conference speakers whom we have ever had the privilege of meeting. He spent hours sitting with the conference attendees to get all their questions answered. He skipped lunch to counsel one single soul who desired a more biblical understanding of the Gospel. And he joyfully did all this despite dealing with a debilitating bone condition that causes him constant pain and stiffness in his neck and joints.

Further, not only did Paul gladly record a liner for our radio show, but he also took the time to personally email Cory after the conference just to encourage us in the Lord.

Please remember to pray diligently for Paul Washer (and family) as he continues direction his missions organization and looks to plant a church in the near future.

Click here to listen to Paul Washer’s liner for TCC Radio

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Homosexuality

Homosexuality. In one church extreme, it is seen as the ultimate sin. Not true. In another church extreme, homosexuals are encouraged to serve in the ministry. Wrong again. But we see both of these, and many other variations going on both inside and outside churches all over North America.

So if there really is something called Truth, then what’s the truth of this subject? What does the Bible really say, and how should that make the Church engage the culture on this hot topic? Are homosexuals born that way? If so, is there just condemnation for them or might there actually be hope even for those who supposedly have little choice in their sexuality? In this series we tell the truth about homosexuality.

Maximize your witness with your loved ones using our Producer’s Notes and Listener’s Resources for this series

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Your for July

Let’s continue partnering together to keep our for TCC and the Church in Canada strong!

This month we humbly ask you, your family, and your church to remember to pray for the following TCC outreach events in July:

> Canada Day Outreach – July 1st

> Niagara Falls Local Mission – July 24th

> Christian Youth Worldview And Leadership (CYWAL) Conference – July 25th to 30th

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Continue keeping a pulse on our prayer needs

Bookmark our ministry calendar to continue praying for our local missions

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--Canada needs Christ.

We praise God for overseas missionaries who are taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth. But as you look across your own community and country, there is also lots of missions work to be done locally for the Lord right here at home.

If you agree that Canada Needs Christ, will you pray about giving to our great cause of sharing the Gospel? A gift of even $25/month would result in at least 2 people every week receiving the Gospel, a Bible, and church follow-up information. Your gift will literally keep giving the Gospel again and again right here in Canada!

Click here to donate to our mission in Canada

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We again thank God for you and your partnership in the Great Commission.

In Christ Alone,

The Cross Current Team


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E-Tools Newsletter | May 2010

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

Welcome to our E-Tools Newsletter for May 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.

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Taking Our Witness TO the Xstream!

The XTM Toronto 2010 Local Missions Team

On Saturday May 15th, The Cross Current lead a team of fifteen witnessing warriors into the heat of battle in the heart of Canada’s largest and most multicultural city.

We set up our “salvation station” on Yonge and Dundas in downtown Toronto and we praise God that He allowed thousands of lost souls to receive Gospel tracts and hear the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ through the one-to-one witnessing and open air preaching of our local missions team.

Left: “Lazarus” lays it down to draw a crowd before Cory preaches open air

Watch video highlights from XTM Toronto 2010

TCC exists to unify the Church in the Gospel and help pastors equip all Christians under their care to be Christ’s witnesses. That’s why every Xstream Team Mission (XTM) is conducted in partnership with a qualified local church. Special thanks to Ryan Sinclair for joining us in the field and representing Morningstar Christian Church as our partner church for this event.

Here are a few testimonial tidbits from several first-time XTM attendees who joined us in TO:

Planting seeds in the Lord’s field with not only Cory and his team, but other evangelists, was the best day I think I ever had in my life. ~ John B.

The harvest is ready but the laborers are few. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Handing out tracts in downtown Toronto reminded me of the urgency of the Gospel. ~ Mike B.

Right: Mike (L) and John (R) give God thanks for a great day of Gospel outreach in downtown Toronto

May 15th 2010 is a day that will have a lasting effect on my life and Christian witness. God convicted me that I needed to be faithful in presenting the Gospel and praying for these individuals and leaving the rest up to him. ~ Duane C.

I’m not an eloquent speaker with the art of persuasion, but I do have the truth. In spite of me, God will use His truth to speak to people. All that He requires of me is to be faithful and obedient.” ~ Ange S.

Left: Ange takes the time to share the Good News with a fast-talking Torontonian

What a great day. The need is truly great in preparing the ground (prayer) and planting the seed (witnessing). I find it hard to explain, but say I believe it is “the joy of the Lord.” ~ Bill D.

Right: Bill listens to the spiritual views of a passerby before sharing the Gospel

Read full XTM Toronto 2010 testimonials

Check out the XTM Toronto 2010 Photo Album

Is God calling you to step out in faith to take your life and witness to the xstream? Then plan on joining the team for these other XTM teams of 2010:

XTM Canada Day

July 1st

London, ON

XTM Niagara Falls

July 24th

Niagara Falls, ON

XTM Barrie

August 13th and August 14th

Barrie, ON

XTM St. Thomas

September 25th

St. Thomas, ON

Click here to submit your application today

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Here Comes the Bride!

The Church. Who or what is the Bride of Christ and what is her purpose in the here and now? What is it about “going to church” that gets people so excited about inviting others to join them? Is a church a social club or a community program? Or is there something that makes those faithful Sunday morning worshipers really different than everyone else? Does the Church really need to entice people to visit? Join TCC as we take you on a humbling journey to discover the truth about God’s family.

Maximize your witness with your loved ones using our Producer’s Notes and Listener’s Resources for this series

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Experience Eight Episodes of TCC TV!

Eight exciting episodes of TCC TV are available online now!

Highlights of these encounters in everyday evangelism include: going with the Gospel Outreach “GO” Team of Harvest Bible Chapel London, fishing at farmers markets, storefront soul-winning, open air Gospel preaching on Good Friday, and more!

Remember: the clips are raw, the conversations are real…but TCC TV promises to help you experience what happens when we step out in faith to share our faith together for God’s glory.

Experience TCC TV now!

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Equipping the Saints

The Bible says that God gave evangelists to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. Our Witnessing Workshops are designed to help Christ-followers leverage our experience in the local mission field to “normalize” sharing their faith in all their personal relationships and beyond.

This month TCC had the privilege of conducting life and witness training at two special venues:

Teen Challenge Farm

Teen Challenge (TC) is a 12-month, faith-based, residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. The Cross Current has the privilege of facilitating the students at TC with hands-on life and witness training twice a year. The training this past month took place over two Wednesdays nights and we are very pleased to report that not only did four TC students join us for XTM Toronto, but several more are also scheduled to take the training to the streets of London with us as well.

All Ontario Youth Convention

Every year the All Ontario Youth Convention brings together over 800 youth from all over Ontario for a full four days of fun, excitement, and opportunity to learn more about God. This year Cory McKenna was invited onsite to share TCC’s new one-hour witnessing workshop. Believe it or not, it is possible to learn how to become a more biblical, confident, and effective seed sower in just sixty minutes! In fact, would you believe that this mission was accomplished in just fifty minutes?

More info on TCC Witnessing Workshops

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Our for June

Let’s continue partnering together to keep our for TCC and the Church in Canada strong!

This month we humbly ask you, your family, and your church to remember to pray for the fruitfulness and protection of our families and ministry together throughout this busy season of weekly witnessing.

Continue keeping a pulse on our mutual prayer needs

Bookmark our ministry calendar to continue praying for our local missions

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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

Share TCC on Facebook

Follow TCC on Twitter

Subscribe to this newsletter

Bookmark our Blog

Donate to our mission in Canada

E-Tools Newsletter | April 2010

Friday, April 30th, 2010

Welcome to our E-Tools Newsletter for April 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.

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Bad Cop/Good Cop…on Good Friday?!

What better day of the year to share the Good News than Good Friday? But, unfortunately, the two policemen who moved us off a public street corner this past April 2nd didn’t share our enthusiasm for preaching the Gospel to the lost of London, Ontario.

Our team of twelve seed sowers hit the streets of our hometown with a simple plan: pray and preach. After sharing the Gospel one-to-one with several people downtown, we busted out the soapbox and began open air preaching. Cory McKenna was the first to break the sound barrier, preaching a message called “What’s so good about Good Friday?”. Tom Woodburn stepped up next, opening the Scriptures to share the true meaning of Easter. However, it was when Jeff Mardling began preaching that we were confronted by the “Bad Cop/Good Cop” tagteam.

“Good Cop” told us that we had to move because we were blocking foot traffic on the sidewalk, which we were not. When that angle didn’t work, “Bad Cop” abruptly announced that we were actually breaking a municipal noise by-law, despite the fact we were not using any form of amplification. Though we knew that our rights as Canadian citizens were being violated, we humbly assured both policemen that we respected their authority and would comply with their request to move, so as not to corrupt our witness for Christ.

Watch what went down on video

As this is the second time we have been moved off public property for preaching the Gospel, we are currently seeking legal counsel and will soon be providing comprehensive training to local missionaries on municipal, provincial, and federal laws pertaining to Gospel preaching in Canada.

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“With Outstretched Arms”: Taking the Gospel to the Jew First

Why does God’s Word say that the Gospel is to the Jew first, and then to the Gentiles? Why was Paul the Apostle willing to give up his salvation for the sake of the unsaved Jews? Many Gentiles seem to forget that Jesus was a Jew. In fact, nowhere was the link between God’s redemptive plan and Jesus more clear and powerful than in the suffering servant passages in the book of the Jewish prophet Isaiah.

Do you know that more Jewish people have come to faith in Yeshua (Jesus) in just the last two decades than in the last two millenia? This special series of will reach out to the Jews with the Gospel and help Christians learn how to reason from the Scriptures and allow the Holy Spirit of God to reveal Yeshua’s true identity to the Jewish people.

Maximize your witness with your loved ones using our Producer’s Notes and Listener’s Resources for this series

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TCC TV Pilot Episodes

Join The Cross Current “In the Studio and On the Street” for this pilot series of encounters in everyday evangelism!

In Part 1, we take you into the studio of Grace 105.9 FM in London, Ontario to talk about witnessing with Pastor Norm Millar of Harvest Bible Chapel. In Part 2, you will experience an encounter in “wireless witnessing”; a Gospel conversation from the studio to the street via cell phone in real-time with a non-Christian!

The clips are raw, the conversations are real, and this is what happens when we step out in faith to share our faith together.

Watch these pilot episodes of “The Cross Current” TV program

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Important Donation Information!

Will you pray about planned giving towards our cause of local missions in Canada?

There are still several ways to give to TCC. However, at the request of several current monthly ministry supporters, we have recently set up an Automated Funds Transfer (AFT) service to securely transfer your tax deductable donations between your bank account and TCC.

For more information on setting up AFT with TCC, please call our office at (226) 663-1822 or email us at admin@thecrosscurrent.com.

Donate to our mission in Canada

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Our for May

Let’s continue partnering together to keep our for TCC and the Church in Canada strong!

This month we humbly ask you, your family, and your church to remember to pray for the following:

  • Xstream Team Mission (XTM) Toronto (May 15th) – this is our first local mission trip of 2010. We’ll be personally training a large team of believers from several local churches to witness one-to-one and open air preach in the largest and most multicultural city in Canada.
  • Teen Challenge Training (May 12th & 19th) - Cory McKenna will be onsite at Teen Challenge Farm to teach a 2-part witnessing workshop.
  • All Ontario Youth Convention (May 22nd) - we will be training a large group of youth onsite before venturing offsite to reach out to the community with the Gospel and good works.

Continue keeping a pulse on our mutual prayer needs

Bookmark our ministry calendar to continue praying for our local missions

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

Share TCC on Facebook

Follow TCC on Twitter

Subscribe to this newsletter

Bookmark our Blog

E-Tools Newsletter | March 2010

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

Welcome to our E-Tools Newsletter for March 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.
God gave Evangelists AND Pastors…

“…to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12)

The Cross Current exists to help pastors equip all the saints under their care to be Christ’s witnesses.

Right: TCC Field Rep Jeff Mardling equips the saints for the work of evangelism during a TCC Community Witnessing Workshop.

We know that pastors are accountable before God to protect their flocks. As a servant ministry to the local church, all evangelists serving with TCC and are required to come under the full authority of pastoral leadership AND be actively ministering in their respective local churches. That’s why we thank God for our pastors…and our pastors thank God for us too!

Norm Millar of Harvest Bible Chapel London is the pastor of several TCC evangelists. Here are a few of his words about The Cross Current:

Our evangelistic temperature has risen significantly, which has resulted in more adults coming to Christ, more baptisms, more excitement and energy in all our ministries. We recognize that this is all of God but we can clearly see TCC being God’s hands and feet to help be a key element in bringing this about.

Plus, as a pastor, I love to see people and ministries committed to the local church. Cory and his entire team are fully devoted to the local church and helping it become what Christ has called it to be, practicing Acts 1:8, as it seeks to fulfill the Great Commission.

Read Norm’s entire letter

Hear an inspiring testimony of a TCC trainee from Harvest Bible Chapel London

How TCC can help your church “normalize” personal and community witnessing

“Upon this Rock”: Reaching out to Roman Catholics

Who and what “Rock” is the true Church of Jesus Christ built upon? After over a year of research and rep training and several months of street interviews, preparation, and production, this highly anticipated 4-part series of seeks to reach out to Roman Catholics and equip Christians to do the same. With nearly 46% of Canadians baptized into this deeply rooted religious system, we are preparing for a truth war like never before as this special broadcast hits the airwaves.

Maximize your witness with your loved ones using our Producer’s Notes and Listener’s Resources for this series

NEW! TCC Witnessing Workshop – DVD Series

The new TCC Witnessing Workshop DVD series is scheduled for release this fall!

For the very first time, The Cross Current’s flagship training stream for unifying your church in the Gospel will be available in DVD format for large or small groups.

Watch a 7-minute session sample

This DVD-based curriculum, comprised of 7 interactive sessions, will help you and your church leverage our experience in the local mission field to “normalize” sharing your faith in all your personal relationships and beyond. This series will also be supported and supplemented by several web-based leader and member resources.

Stay tuned for more information!

Are you ready?

With the winter witnessing days almost behind us, The Cross Current is now getting geared up to make the most of spring and summer seed sowing!

You reading this right now. Yeah, you!

Are you a Christ-follower? Then you, too have been commanded to be His witness within the context of a community of other blood-bought believers.

Left: TCC Rep Chris Wood preaches open air last summer on a busy street corner in downtown Toronto.

So, this season we invite you to experience the power of the Gospel first-hand as we video record encounters in everyday evangelism for TCC TV and Radio during our regular times of weekly witnessing and our Xstream Team Missions (XTM)! We’ll be hitting the streets of Canada’s largest and most multicultural hotspots to pass tracts, preach open air, and witness 1-2-1.

We thank God for you and look forward to “leaving it all on the field” with you this spring and summer!

Visit and bookmark our online ministry calendar

Our for April

Let’s continue partnering together to keep our for TCC and the Church in Canada strong!

This month we humbly ask you, your family, and your church to remember to pray for our team to faithfully embrace the busy season of witnessing, training, and radio/TV production that lies ahead.

Continue keeping a pulse on our mutual prayer needs

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

For His Glory,

The Cross Current Team



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E-Tools Newsletter | February 2010

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

Welcome to our E-Tools Newsletter for February 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.-


We will go, Lord.

A similar version of this story is scheduled to appear in the upcoming Easter edition of the Christian Life in London newspaper.

Jesus said, “go”. Go into all the and preach the Gospel. Go and make disciples. To be a follower of Christ is to “go”. The Cross Current is taking this command seriously.

The Cross Current (TCC) is a London-based local missions ministry and outreach broadcast that exists to help pastors equip Christians to “go”. To “go” and personally share Christ with loved ones, and to “go” as a team to share Christ together with the community. We help local churches develop and equip Gospel Outreach “GO” Teams of Christ-followers to preach the Gospel while serving the spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and material needs of the lost in the community.

The Go Team from Harvest Bible Chapel London huddles together for a team picture before reaching out to the disadvantaged in downtown London.

After enjoying several other fruitful ministry missions together earlier this season, on February 13th TCC and the GO Team of Harvest Bible Chapel London partnered together to reach out to the disadvantaged in our community with the Good News, a cup of hot chocolate, and a warm winter coat.

Of all the praiseworthy field reports from that day, we especially thank God that He moved our team to leave the ninety-nine to find the one named “Tim”. Tim heard the Gospel and encountered Christ through the GO Team on Saturday, and then joined us for church the next morning. What joy the Lord brings when we obey Him!


Above: and TV Host, Cory McKenna, shares the Gospel with our new friend Tim on Saturday. Right: TCC Field Rep Tom Woodburn welcomes Tim at church on Sunday!

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It has also been our experience that Gospel outreach brings a sort of “double blessing”. Not only are non-believers blessed by encountering the power of the Gospel first-hand, but we as the brethren also enjoy the blessings of authentic biblical fellowship when we die to self and love the lost as Jesus did…together!

GO Team Testimonies

GO Team missions leader, Chris Wood, says: “There is something amazing and eternal about stepping into the community and serving, praying, and preaching the Gospel. It makes me think: this is the Church the way it should be.”

“Since serving with the GO Team, my focus has totally changed! It is now more of Him and less of me”, says Donna Feica, a GO Team member serving in the area of prayer and follow-up ministry. “The teaching and example the GO Team provides in witnessing continues to encourage me and give me the confidence to actually look for opportunities to share God’s love!”

Norm Millar, senior pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel of London, candidly shares, “Evangelism tends to leak out of the ministry life of any church and so we are very thankful to God for the Harvest GO Team and the TCC leaders who help us keep Biblical evangelism front and centre in all we do.”

It has been said that the mark of a great church is not in its seating capacity, but its sending capacity. May the Lord continue to build great churches that will “go” for His glory in Canada.

More on how TCC can help your local church develop and equip a Gospel Outreach Team to share Christ with your community

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See “The Faces for Radio” on TV!

In our January – February 2009 Newsletter, it was announced that The Cross Current had received an exciting offer from The Stream TV network to launch an Internet-based reality TV show to preach the Gospel and equip the Church in Canada and around the world.

The program was tentatively scheduled to air in the spring of 2009. However, this date had to be postponed after our video editing contact relocated.

An urgent prayer answered!

Late last year, our program director at The Stream TV told us that The Cross Current TV program could be airing on their network today if the episodes were already edited. That’s why we believe that the Lord orchestrated a way for us to purchase a computer from a local church for a very reasonable price to begin editing and producing these shows within our existing team.

Left: TCC Field Rep, Chris Wood, enjoys an “encounter in everyday evangelism” during the production of The Cross Current reality TV program.

So, though we totally understood the seemingly bad timing of sending out an appeal for support so close to the holiday season, late December we stepped out in faith and invited believers to pray about sowing into this urgent ministry need. Our hope was to receive at least half the money required from supporters. This would enable us to move forward while continuing to exercise responsible stewardship as a ministry.

Well, we were humbled and overwhelmed when several supporters stepped up and gave so generously that we were able to purchase the computer outright, with no money owing. Praise the Lord! Now that we have the computer, The Cross Current TV program is already in production and we hope to have several episodes ready to broadcast by late this spring.


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Our for March

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

Expansion

Please pray that The Cross Current Radio Show will enjoy exposure into more cities in Canada to facilitate greater Gospel preaching coverage and increased ministry support.

TCC TV Production

Please pray that The Cross Current TV production will run smoothly and that the Gospel-preaching program will begin streaming online as soon as possible.

Continue keeping a pulse on our mutual prayer needs

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

For His Glory,

The Cross Current Team



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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.

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Keeping the Cross current…through current events!

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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!

LIVE: When sharing the Good News goes bad

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 LIVE

On this month’s episode of 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 for February

Let’s continue partnering together to keep our 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



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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 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 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 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 website!

: 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 . 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 for January

In fact, to equip you for more effective life and witness, please click here to access your new 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 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.

Continue keeping a pulse on our mutual prayer needs

For His Glory,

The Cross Current Team


Keep Connected with TCC

Share TCC on Facebook

Follow TCC on Twitter

Subscribe to this newsletter

Bookmark our Blog

Donate to our mission in Canada