“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20
Dear fellow disciples of Jesus and labourers for the Harvest,
As we heard in our Trinity Sunday Gospel reading from Mathew 28:16-20, before our Lord Jesus ascended to heaven he commissioned his followers to go make disciples of the nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all his commands. As a family of churches we want to obey his great commission with every resource we are given. Two ways we have felt called as a diocese to pursue this mission together is by training young leaders and by planting new churches.
We believe there is no better place to proclaim the good news of Jesus, baptize new believers and obey his commands together than in faithful local churches. We believe that all across our continent there is a great need for more churches which are biblically grounded, Gospel centred, Spirit filled, and loving communities. As a diocese of parishes, looking for opportunities to plant these kinds of churches is one of our highest priorities. New congregations and church plants have been formed and are forming, but many of these need our special support, both in prayer and finances, to become rooted.
“And Jesus said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Luke 10:2
As we seek to build and plant churches we are in continual need of new leaders who can shepherd these congregations and train labourers for the Lord’s harvest. One of the ways we’re hoping to raise up and prepare these leaders is through our Curacy Program, where young clergy are given the opportunity to serve and learn in an established congregation. In this way they can gain real experience and mentorship while serving the ministry of that parish. But this program can’t function without support and special financial giving.
Friends, these among other things are initiatives we agreed to support as a family of churches at our past synod because they multiply our Gospel mission, and yet we are in great need of giving to see them funded. Would you and your congregation pray to the Lord of the Harvest and consider giving financially toward them? If we are to grow and flourish as a diocese by effectively making disciples of Jesus, we need to support these kinds of initiatives to which we’ve committed.
Let us pray together as to how the Lord would have us give generously. May He use us mightily in His work as He spreads his glorious gospel of grace around the world through His Church, bringing in the harvest of his beloved people.
Yours in Christ Jesus,
+Dan
The Right Reverend Dan Gifford
Diocesan Bishop of the Anglican Network in Canada
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