With a new name and a renewed sense of mission, Toronto Baptists are exploring new ways to work together and live as Christ's representatives in our city.

Toronto Baptist Ministries, formerly known as the Toronto Area Association of Baptist Churches (TAABC), is one of seventeen Associations within the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec. Our 82 churches stretch from Oakville to Markham and from Newmarket to Lake Ontario and worship in many different languages.

In recent months we've celebrated new churches, new events for church office staff, a new youth-to-youth drama ministry, and the election of Audley Goulbourne as moderator of our Association. Our churches have participated in community events such as Taste of the Danforth. We've done outreach in partnership with teams of volunteers from the US and Canada. Now we're preparing for our annual Carolfest and special events to celebrate the birth of Christ.

WE WELCOME OUR NEWEST PASTOR

Our Etobicoke pastors and outreach ministries rejoiced Rev. Dr. John Forrester was called to Martin Grove Baptist Church in September. They knew that John and his wife Betty left a strong multi-ethnic church in British Columbia to spend a few years in the Middle East. At John's Induction Service on November 16, they heard how he has already demonstrated a pastor's heart for the existing congregation, and a missionary's vision for the multicultural community around the church. Rev. Terry Smith, Director of Partnerships and Initiatives for Canadian Baptist Ministries, was the guest preacher. He encouraged the new pastor and his people to trust God to guide and provide just as God provided for his people in the wilderness. The service also featured the choirs of Martin Grove and the Korean congregation that shares the building. John 3:16 was read in about seven languages represented in the congregation.

KRYSTAAL SANG FOR LISLE MEMORIAL

Mike "Pinball" Clemons was a "surprise" guest at Proclaiming the Kingdom, a fundraising concert for Lisle Memorial Baptist Church's Building Fund on November 15. This lively event featured Krystaal (the award-winning Congolese group), TC3 (our celebrated children's choir), Michael Tucker, and the Lisle Memorial choir. The church, led by pastor Audley Goulbourne, is a beacon of Chris's love and hope in the Jane-Finch neighbourhood.

BAPTISTS PARTY WITH KRYSTAAL

Congratulations to Matthew House and Krystaal for a superb concert October 15 night at the Ontario Science Centre. It was billed as a benefit for Matthew House. But it was also a huge benefit to the hundreds who came to celebrate what God has done in and through Matthew House during its first ten years of welcoming refugees to Toronto. So thanks to lead singer Fabian Lwamba, for reminding us that Canada is still the best country to live in! Thanks to Julie, the trio's long-lost sister who turned up on the Matthew House doorstep last winter, for her infectious joy as she took centre stage and sang with her brothers (above). Thanks to the exuberant African men who danced in the aisles and turned the concert into a welcome party for a newly-arrived Congolese family.

Thanks, also, to the National Film Board for "discovering" the Matthew House story. The concert began with a preview of Everybody's Children, a new NFB documentary about unaccompanied minors. It follows the lives of two refugee teens, one of whom was a Matthew House resident from Sierra Leone. It will be featured on CBC Newsworld's documentary program, The Lens, in 2009. But you can also show it to your church or group to use as an educational tool. Contact MH director Anne Woolger-Bell (anne@matthewhouse.ca).

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR NEIGHBOUR?

Are people in your congregation curious about their Sikh, Hindu, or Muslim neighbours? Do they wonder what they believe, how they worship, or how they perceive Christ and Christianity? You could teach a seminar or show a video at your church. But here's a better idea--take a group to Brampton and see the real thing. The South Asian Welcome Centre, TBM's partner ministry at the heart of Peel Region, invites you to take advantage of their "Getting to Know Your Neighbour" program. It begins with an introductory seminar on the religions of the South Asian community, and continues with visits to their places of worship. Designed for 14-15 participants, this is an excellent mission immersion experience for your youth group, mission committee, or women's fellowship--and it's right on our doorstep. Call SAWC director Bill Virgin (905-790- 0676) and ask how he can help you get to know your neighbours.

ADMINISTRATORS HOLD FIRST WORKSHOP

If your church bulletin gets a facelift over the next few months, it could be because your church admin assistant attended a workshop sponsored by Toronto Baptist Ministries on Wednesday, October 15, at Walmer Road Baptist Church. In addition to learning some of the finer points of desktop publishing, the 17 participants were introduced to Sandra Weakly and Joan Newsome of the Dover Baptist Association in Virginia, and their professional organization of "ministry assistants". Organizers Rosemary Borja, Ruth Burger, and Elizabeth White hope this Wednesday's workshop will be the first of many such training and networking events for our church office staff.

NORTH AMERICAN WOMEN SUPPORT OASIS

Every year on or around the first Monday of November, Baptist women around the world gather to pray for each other and give to selected projects that benefit women and children. This year some of the money will be coming to Toronto! The ESL Cafe at the Oasis Dufferin Community Centre was chosen to receive a grant of $4,000 from the 2008 Day of Prayer offerings in North America. Toronto Baptist women hosted Day of Prayer programs in churches across the GTA.

THE LION, WITCH, AND WARDROBE COME TORONTO CHURCHES

Fresh from its successful premiere of Everyouth (above), Dramatic Change Youth Theatre (DCYT) is taking ts new professional-quality production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to churches around the GTA. It's a great pre-Christmas outreach to families! Spring engagements are also being booked. Contact: toronto@christianyouthdrama.com or call 416-924-1122 x 2303 today. DCYT (dcyt.org on Facebook) is supported by TBM and the BCOQ.

CROSS-CULTURAL OUTREACH SEEKS DIRECTOR

TBM's partner organization, Toronto Baptist Inter-Cultural Services, mobilizes and equips Christians for ministry to unreached people arriving in Toronto. It is seeking a half-time director....

SALT TO TASTE: ART ON THE DANFORTH

Danforth Baptist Church was the coolest and driest place to be during "the world's largest street cookout," the Taste of the Danforth Street Festival August 9 and 10. The church hosted "Salt to Taste", an exhibit of paintings and photographs by artists whose work expresses or flows out of their Christian worldview. The butterflies above are by Pat Bond.

BELL-RAISING ON YONGE STREET

If you happened to be walking or driving along Yonge St. at about 1:30 PM on August 19, you would have seen a once-in-a-lifetime sight--bells being lifted into the Yorkminster Park Baptist Church bell tower. After almost 80 years of having a bell tower but no bells, the church received a gift of four bells in memory of Dr. Ralph Gerred. A huge crane dropped each bell through a 5-foot square hole in the bell tower roof. The largest bell (pictured) weighs over a ton. Pray that as the bells ring out a timeless message of hope above the bustle of city life, they will be an effective witness to God's presence in the Yonge and St. Clair neighbourhood, and draw people to worship God. Their first peal was heard during the dedication service September 13.

This is the official website of Toronto Baptist Ministries / The Toronto Area Association of Baptist Churches. Updated October 29, 2008