When Seeing is Believing

Have you ever looked at a situation or a person and had the thought instantly come to your mind, 'oh, that won't amount to much - or - they don't have what it takes because...'? 

We ALL do it and for the most part it's not that we want to have these negative thoughts or to categorize.  Maybe it's a previous experience that has shaped your conviction about a particular topic or person.  Maybe life factors shape our preconcieved ideas.  Sometimes it's just difficult to see beyond the "natural" to the potential of what God is doing or wants to do in a situation or life.  It happens...

In August of last year, I led a team to Haiti to help with the earthquake disaster of January 2010.  Truthfully, upon hearing about the disaster I never once had a strong inclination to get involved little own to actually go and serve in this nation.  I was willing to work to get the team prepared but I wasn't even remotely compelled to go.  My thoughts and plans were going in another direction.  I didn't think that there was much hope or potential.

When the time came to prepare the team my earnest prayer was, "Lord, do you want me to go to Haiti?" and basically left the choice up to Him...

His response:  "I'm going to Haiti and I'm going to do some things there.  You're welcome to come with Me if you want".  

Well, not exactly what I was expecting but in all honesty I was definitely intrigued.  I didn't have to go, but what could He possibly have up his sleeve? And do I want to miss out if He does some great things?  My sense of adventure overrided my objections and and so off I went.

Since that time, I've been back twice.  Once in March of this year to lead another team and begin helping the Foursquare leadership with national church development.  And again at the beginning of May to continue working with the national church. 

So what has God been doing in Haiti?  Above and beyond what I could ever imagine or expect.  The team trip in March was life-changing for the whole team as we watched, prayed and led 3 people to salvation.  One of them being the leader of the tent city behind the church.  This last trip one more person that we had connected with gave their heart to Jesus.  I can say with all my heart and being that there is the rumblings of revival in this nation.

The Foursquare church in Haiti is seeing unprecedented amounts of work being accomplished.  This past weekend they held their first Sunday service in their new building.  The story of how this all came together is too long to go into...the team that was there in March was able to witness the delivery of the containers after being held in customs for almost 6 months!  Please read on for more details.

Most exciting of all!!  Most of you may know that Haiti now has a new national leader - Michel Martelly.  What you probably wouldn't know from the news and other sources is that he is calling upon the Church in Haiti to help lead in the rebuilding.  Shortly after his official election in April he requested a gathering with 100 church worship leaders to meet with him for a time of worship and to recieve prayer for his leadership.  He also asked the church to gather outside the presidential palace the night before his inaugeration ceremony.

The following is an update I recieved this morning with more surprising events... 

Hi All,
Well, we finally made it! The roof on, walls in place, and we're good to go.  A great celebration with every chair (and rickety bench) filled with joyous worshipers.  We had a great time and we're all looking forward to next Sunday!  Special thanks to everyone who worked on the building, so many from foundation to finish, and especially Mark Lawrence who stayed "until the building was finished" and worked with Haitians who learned a new trade and did a wonderful job.  We still need windows & doors & stuff, but everybody is loving being inside.  Let us know if you want to help with 'finishes' & 'equipping' the new building.  Still lots to do, but we're in! Thanks for your prayers.

Also, keep praying for Haiti.  Last week P. Guy and I were in a meeting with a couple hundred Protestant Pastors and President Martelly made a surprise visit, just to remind us that he truly believes that this is a new season for Haiti and it is the Church's job to lead the way.  He spoke of darkness & light, good & evil, cooperation & corruption, very sincere - not far from the Kingdom I believe. The light of a new day is rising, don't stop praying!

Thanks for all you have done to bring love & healing to Haiti. Pastor Guy and our Foursquare family want you to know how grateful they are for each one of you. "Well done, good and faithful servant(s)".

Blessings from Haiti
John & Debbie Booker & Base Camp Staff

What absolutely amazes me is that the nation of Haiti has been literally in Satan's grip for years upon years.  One of their own president's dedicated this nation to Satan during his leadership.  But now, the tide is being turned and this new leader (Martelly) is looking to the church to help him lead his nation!  With God all things are possible if we only have eyes to see.

The next team trip is scheduled for August 8-22nd and the invitation is open to you also to come along and see what God is doing in Haiti!  If you're interested in being a part of this team or getting your church connected to the work in Haiti please let me know asap!  Due to the number of teams going in August there is a limit of 10 people. 

"Seeing" is truly Believing!!

Many Blessings,

Rhonda Berkhiem
Lead Pastor
Life Design Foursquare Church

The Simple Message of Jesus

It's been a while since my last post.  Mostly due to the tyranny of the urgent with the new church plant and national church ministry.  But also because I haven't really had anything come to my mind that I could put to paper.  The icy stare of a blank page; the deafening sound of silence.

But, that actually has not been a bad thing.  Let me explain...

For most of my life I have been a consummate planner.  Chalk it up to my life design as the oldest child in my family (first grandchild on both sides and oldest sibling), as well as administrative gifting, professional education, and many other life experiences.  It's defintely proven to be a benefit through chaotic times in my life as it has somehow enabled me to find the balance in the craziest of times.

This church planting experience has however proved to be a challenge for me.  There's so many voices out there that have the sure-fire plan of how to successfully plant and lead a church.  I'm not saying at all that any of these methods are wrong because it has obviously worked.  And I celebrate them and the successes!

For the last 5 years or so I have had the amazing privilege of travelling and working with Foursquare churches in other nations (Turkey and now Haiti).  If you have ever had the awesome experience of ministering in a country that is not Western you will quickly come to realize that planning and structure are not high priority.  In most cases, non-existant.

This can (and does) blow the circuits for most Western-thinking people.  Westerners (that's me) are linear in approach:  the shortest space between point A and B is a straight line so "this is how it is done".  Most other cultures are more circular: there may not be a clear point A and B, and the line is definitely not straight.  When everyone shows up we'll begin and when it's the right time to stop we will...

My observation in all of this, and the challenge, has been that God's work moves forward in spite of the seeming chaos.  People are being miraculously saved, healed, trained and released to be disciples of their people and nation.  There is God-given vision, but not necessarily a plan or strategy per se.  No 5, 10 or 20 steps to building a successful church.  It appears to just happen and it's wonderful!!

Interestingly, this is how our Foursquare movement began as well.  The last few weeks we as a church have been looking back in time to our Foursquare roots and the ministry of our founder, Aimee Semple McPerson.  One thing has become very clear to me.  Aimee never had a plan to be successful, she simply listened and responded to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

In her own words she said "when God saved me and called me to preach the gospel, He gave me a vision of the spiritual needs of humanity.  A vision, worldwide, with a commission to 'go and tell', and a consuming burden for lost souls".  Her message was plain and simple; "we preach Jesus, the Saviour; Jesus, the Baptizer with the Holy Spirit; Jesus, the Healer; and (you guessed it) Jesus, our Soon-Coming King".

The name "Foursquare" didn't come about in order to name (or brand) a denomination, but rather was a vision that God gave Aimee from Ezekiel 1:10, of the gospel to be preached.  The Foursquare Gospel is Jesus and not the other way around.  And though many things may have cluttered the original vision, this is still the truth of who we are as a Foursquare church.  Jesus Christ is the same; yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

So why was the denomination formed?  As Aimee's ministry began to grow it required the acquisition and accumulation of property and assets.  In the culture of her day (Los Angeles, CA in 1923) in order to own property it was required that a legal entity be established that could hold title and conduct the daily operations of the ministry.

That has not changed much in the U.S. or in Canada.  As the Western Church (all denominations), fulfilling the great commission in our culture requires us to operate within the legal and government structures of our country.  I can already hear grumbling from those who dislike administration....  But in comparison to many nations, we enjoy much recognition and great privileges as the Church.  It requires much more in adminstration and structure, but it is the way that has been afforded us to freely preach the gospel and exemplify Christ in our own country.  To whom much is given, much is required.

So back to the silence I started talking about.  As a new church plant in the city of New Westminster, there has been the challenge to make a plan, have a strategy, know where you're going before you get there.  For some the silence has been excrutiatingly painful because we (Westerners) have a need to know before we know!  The automatic response is to fill the silence with something! anything! to fill up the void.  Even if that means we drown out the voice of the Holy Spirit.

For me, rather than being an unbearable time to endure, I have chosen to experience some of the pain (thanks to some of my leadership who are not Westerners).  Well worth the effort because it has brought clarity, direction, and purpose.  And it's very simply this....Jesus.  His name lifted up and in whom we place all our hope and trust for the future.  For He will build His church and draw all men unto Himself. 

I think I need to say that in NO WAY do I aspire to emulate our founder, Aimee Semple McPherson.  5 lifetimes could never form me into a person or minister like her.  She was raised up by God for a very specific purpose in a specific time and I'm thankful for her and her life. 

I do however pray that through the life that God has given me and the leadership of Life Design Foursquare Church, we will continue to take the time needed to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.  And despite the painful times of pressure "to do" we remain faithful to the simple message of Jesus; our Saviour, Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, Healer, and Soon-Coming King...

Where is Your Faith?

At our pastors' convention this April in Calgary someone made a profound statement.  I can't remember who exactly said it, but it was so good I wrote it down.  The quote: "Until the future of the world is more important than the future of your church, you won't have a church in the future". 

If I didn't hear anything else that whole week that would have been enough...  And as we head into our third week as a church replant in New Westminster, that statement has not left me.  How do we do that?  Keep that focus on the main thing and not get subtly nudged into the rut of just doing church? 

As this is my first pastorate (and church plant) it's not guaranteed that this won't happen.  In just this short time we have already experienced some of the pressures that come both from within and from without to just go with the status quo.  We've had to navigate the choppy waters of transitioning an established church congregation into unchartered territory.  And we're not through the rapids yet. 
 
So why rock the boat?  Do we really want everyone upset and risk losing our ratings.  Can the church grow if we don't give everyone what they want!  I don't know the answers.  But the future of the world needs to be more important than the future of the church, otherwise we won't have a church in the future.

So we're going to take some time to challenge our worldviews, presuppositions, culture (yikes!) and traditions (double yikes).  We'll take even more time to look at our identity and values and plumb the depths of where they are rooted.  Who are we as a Foursquare church?  Who are we as a church in New Westminster, Vancouver, Canada and the world?  Who are we?  Where do we need to realign ourselves with the truths of God's Word and purpose for our church?

Most of you who know me won't be surprised that one of the first things we will challenge is how we handle the area of finances and administration.  As long as I have been a Christian I have been involved in this area of church ministry in one capacity or other.  And as I have worked with churches over the years I have seen many testimonies of God's faithfulness and unfortunately some failures (not God's).  I have pondered a lot, searched the scriptures and prayed.

This past week I met with our Administrative Coordinator, Kunal Marwaha.  This young man moved to Canada 4 years ago from Tanzania at the age of 19 years to attend Providence Bible College (Degree in Business).  His testimony of how he came to Canada when the odds were zero (no money & no chance) is amazing.  I told him afterward that anyone with as much faith as he had was absolutely perfect for this ministry!  Not only does he have a heart to serve the church with his skill and education but his experience of what God can do is not limited or shaped by our Western way of thinking about finances.

So, CAN we talk about money?  I know it's a difficult subject for the church (and pastors) but I'd like to just share some of what we've been prayerfully considering.  The most recent statistics that I was able to find (2009) says that 85% of church budgets go toward operational and staffing costs.  That's leaves only 15% that actually goes to the costs of outreach and evangelism.  Barely 2% of that goes to overseas missions.

When working with our Foursquare churches we recommend a 3-way split between operations/staffing/ministry.  For Life Design Foursquare Church we are going to work towards a 4-way split:  25% staffing, 25% operations, 25% internal church ministry, 25% church planting/overseas ministry.  That means that we want to give away 50% of our operating budget to outreach and evangelism.  Maybe more if we are able.

We have a lot of vision for the various ministry areas: education, youth, children, prayer, outreach, evangelism, church planting, missions.  We also have plans to be a resource to all churches (more details for another blog post).  But the bottom line is that none of it will happen without resources.  It will take extra effort to be intentional about what we commit to and be willing to giving generously away from ourselves.  It may mean that we chose not to go with the status quo.

It will definitely require Giant Faith and a belief that the future of our world is more important than the future of our church...


Rhonda Berkhiem
Lead Pastor
Life Design Foursquare Church

Jesus' Gifts for Life Design

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I'm perfectly content to do ministry as a team.  So one of the first things we discussed after making the leap to re-plant into New Westminster was that we needed to start with "building" a strong leadership team.  I put "build" in parenthesis because I didn't really do much from that point except pray and ask others to pray with us.

Doug Friesen chatted it up and got the word out about this new and exciting adventure.  Wes & Gladys Wray took me under their wings and coached and cheered on the process.  Barry Buzza and Rebecca Friesen have also been a continuos source of encouragement and wisdom. 

I also got to know John Nathan quite well during that time as he and his wife Dona had walked the same path to replant a Foursquare church in Burlington, ON.  Their input and insights have been very helpful.

Over the past 3 1/2 months of preparation it was somewhat overwhelming as people and circumstances came together.  Many times it appeared - not out of control - but certainly beyond the control of anyone or our expectations.  I never knew what a conversation, phone call or email would bring. Thankfully it usually entailed gifts being added to the church.

In Ephesians 4:7,8,11-13, it says;

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.  This is why it says:  "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men."...it was he (Jesus) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the Body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."

And He (Jesus) has not scrimped on his gifts when it has come to the leadership team of Life Design Foursquare Church.  Grace upon grace has been poured out in answer to prayer:

Kerry Pretty has faithfully served the congregation of Westminster Foursquare church and will continue to serve with Life Design as Teaching Pastor.  Those of you who know Kerry know the amazing teaching gift he has.  Kerry will bring his skill and knowledge to the leadership team to help develop a strong preaching/teaching ministry as well as discipleship training and studies.

Rafik Daudjee (and Safia) moved here with his family from Tanzania four years ago.  He is an evangelist and church planter with extensive experience in reaching the Muslims.  As Outreach Pastor he will teach and guide the church into ways of reaching the community and the world through evangelism, church planting and missions.

Dawn Waterman bings 34 years of ministry experience in all areas of church life but in particular through prayer and care.  She recently graduated from PLBC with her degree and has a vision to see meaningful connections made in and outside of the church through the ministry of prayer.

Ken & Silvana McNulty have been a part of the Westminster Foursquare Church for 20 years.  Their faithful service and strong connections with the city of New Westminster will continue through their leadership as Elders/Pastoral care.

Sarah Daudjee is a true worshipper and will be serving as the Worship Arts Coordinator.  This past weekend, during our Easter Service, we were able to witness the passing of the baton between Sarah and the church's former worship leader Audrey Husak (Audrey met her future husband while attending Grace Church and so will stay behind to start her new ministry adventure :)  It was a sacred moment as the leadership was able to bless Audrey for her years of service, and then have Audrey pray for and bless Sarah as she takes up her new ministry role.

Kim Hargreaves and Manvir Johal will be teaming together as Youth Interns for the summer.  Kim and Manvir have served together in other ministry activities and have a shared vision to reach the youth in New Westminster through sports activities, the arts and annual camps and events.  Gonna be a fun summer!

Kunal Marwaha just graduated from Providence Bible College (Manitoba) with his degree in Businesss Administration.  As Admininstrative Coordinator he will oversee the financial and operational ministry of the church.  Ask me if I'm excited about THIS :)!!!  God is good!

Razia Daudjee is a student with the Emily Carr School of Arts and will be leading our Design Team in developing our church design and print media.  Looking forward to see the future of our church Life Design.

Last, but definely not least, Sandra Venn will serve as Deaconess and will oversee our Sunday Service offering and usher teams.  Sandra has faithfully served the New Westminster church for many years and will continue to do so "as long as the Lord wills and continues to give her strength" (her words).  I continually marvel at her response when I ask her what she thinks about all that's happening with the church.  Every single time she gets this girlish smile on her face and says "I think it's wonderful".  So thankful for her adventurous heart.

We're currently in the process of confirming leaders for our Children's church and will continue to keep our arms open wide for those the Lord leads to the ministry of Life Design Foursquare Church.

Continually Awed by Him,

Rhonda Berkhiem
Lead Pastor
Life Design Foursquare Church.

The beginnings of Life Design

A new friend recently asked me how I came to be the pastor of a church - Life Design Foursquare Church.  An answer to that question does not come about quickly in my mind.  My life has not taken on the forms and patterns of many I know that have served as pastors or who are preparing to be.  And I have not readily put myself into the category of the called.  For the most part it has just sort of happened along the way; a series of seemingly random strokes that were beyond my control.

I would be mistaken to say that it has been haphazard.  Not long after I received salvation at the age of 27 I stumbled across a Truth in the Bible that radically altered how I perceived my life and the God I had chosen to follow.  This is what I read:

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."  Psalm 139:13-16

To that point, life had done a pretty good job of convincing me that it was all a mistake.  People and circumstances conveniently confirmed the belief I had that my existence was (at worst) at the mercy of bad choices and (at best) tolerated because of it.  On that day the Lord cut the thread of that deception to let me know that He was the One that chose to give me life.  I was free to live it for Him.

It has taken years to rip out the taint of those lies and unravel the knots of thought that would continually pressure me into old patterns of living and relating.  With each strand that has been removed, my Father has lovingly woven in new colors to accentuate the life design He had in mind from the beginning.  Now, 18 years later, a picture is emerging for my life.  New layers and depths are being applied that I would never have imagined or dreamed could be possible.

Most surprisingly this has entailed the role of pastoring.  All that is expected in return for this amazing life is that I live it for His glory AND pick up the needle of God's Word to help others discover the Truth for their original Life Design.  As the undershepherd of this flock, my "job description" is to provide space and opportunity for His people to be guided into will and design of the Father for their lives.  All with the "soul" purpose of being presented to Him at the end so they can hear from His mouth, "Well Done".

So, in answer to the question that was asked by my friend I can joyfully say, "I'm not too sure how I got to this place but I would be an absolute fool to say no to the offer of a life like this...and the unbelievable privilege of helping others do the same."

............................

This past Sunday we had our first service back in the city of New Westminster.  The leadership team pulled together in an amazing way and it was a great day.  More than the fact that we had a great attendance and friends and family showed up for support.  The whole day just felt right - absolutely God's time for the life design of this church to start.  I love it!!!

Designed for Life in Him,
Rhonda Berkhiem
Lead Pastor, Life Design Foursquare Church