Love Your Neighbour

Outreach Canada Blog

 
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Empowering the Church: 5 Steps to Impact Your Neighbourhood
I remember sitting in a seminar once hearing the presenter ask, "If your local church disappeared, would anybody ...
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Empowering the Church: 5 Steps to Impact Your Neighbourhood
I remember sitting in a seminar once hearing the presenter ask, "If your local church disappeared, would anybody in the...
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Residential Schools: How should Followers of Christ Respond?
The revelation of 215 Indigenous children’s remains found at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School (IRS) ...
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Residential Schools: How should Followers of Christ Respond?
The revelation of 215 Indigenous children’s remains found at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School (IRS) in 202...
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My Dream: Humble Spaces of Connection
I had a dream recently. I could be wrong, but I think it was a dream from God with a message for me. And maybe it...
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My Dream: Humble Spaces of Connection
I had a dream recently. I could be wrong, but I think it was a dream from God with a message for me. And maybe it’s a m...
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Deny Yourself: My Story of Self-Denial & Abundant Life
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” -Mark 8:34 I...
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Deny Yourself: My Story of Self-Denial & Abundant Life
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” -Mark 8:34 I still...

Love your Muslim Neighbours this Ramadan: Ways to Pray and Engage

Jesus exhorts us to love our neighbour as ourselves. Are you looking for opportunities to pray for and engage with the Muslims in your neighbourhood this Ramadan? Here are six opportunities to pray, and six opportunities to engage with the Muslims in your community... 

Love your Muslim Neighbours this Ramadan: Ways to Pray and Engage

Jesus exhorts us to love our neighbour as ourselves. Are you looking for opportunities to pray for and engage with the Muslims in your neighbourhood this Ramadan? Here are six opportunities to pray, and six opportunities to engage with the Muslims in your community... 


Shaping the Church of the Future: The Diaspora Effect

Many of us have mixed feelings about the changes that diaspora movements have brought to the world and to our neighbourhood--there is no question that it represents both challenges and opportunities.

For those of us who love and follow Jesus Christ, what should our response be to those from differing religious worldviews; to those who've chosen to follow Jesus; to Christ-following communities; and to those who are sent?

Shaping the Church of the Future: The Diaspora Effect

Many of us have mixed feelings about the changes that diaspora movements have brought to the world and to our neighbourhood--there is no question that it represents both challenges and opportunities.

For those of us who love and follow Jesus Christ, what should our response be to those from differing religious worldviews; to those who've chosen to follow Jesus; to Christ-following communities; and to those who are sent?


Digital Bibles: A Key Discipleship Tool for Multilingual Speakers

There are more opportunities today in Canada than ever before to reach out as a local church and welcome people of different language communities around us!  From sponsoring a refugee family, to hosting a neighbourhood celebration, to simply getting to know our friends and neighbours who speak different languages and letting them know they are welcome here – and welcome in our churches.  

With over 450 individual languages identified in the 2021 census there may be more languages spoken by people already in your church than you realize. Deb & Ramón share how you can find and use digital Bibles and digital Bible-Based discipleship tools in different languages...

Digital Bibles: A Key Discipleship Tool for Multilingual Speakers

There are more opportunities today in Canada than ever before to reach out as a local church and welcome people of different language communities around us!  From sponsoring a refugee family, to hosting a neighbourhood celebration, to simply getting to know our friends and neighbours who speak different languages and letting them know they are welcome here – and welcome in our churches.  

With over 450 individual languages identified in the 2021 census there may be more languages spoken by people already in your church than you realize. Deb & Ramón share how you can find and use digital Bibles and digital Bible-Based discipleship tools in different languages...


A Vanilla Life: 5 Questions to Consider as you Build Cross-Cultural Friendships

 

5 Questions to Consider as you Build Cross-Cultural Friendships.

Vanilla describes most of my childhood: Food was predictable, community was homogenous, and the exotic or unusual was reserved for travelogue shows on TV.

Vanilla was my ice cream flavor of choice. It was safe, predictable, and delicious. All those other flavors might not be as good…and risking ice cream disappointment seemed unimaginable to me. It wasn’t until my teens that I discovered the delights of Mint Chocolate Chip, Maple Walnut, and other wonderful flavours.

A Vanilla Life: 5 Questions to Consider as you Build Cross-Cultural Friendships

 

5 Questions to Consider as you Build Cross-Cultural Friendships.

Vanilla describes most of my childhood: Food was predictable, community was homogenous, and the exotic or unusual was reserved for travelogue shows on TV.

Vanilla was my ice cream flavor of choice. It was safe, predictable, and delicious. All those other flavors might not be as good…and risking ice cream disappointment seemed unimaginable to me. It wasn’t until my teens that I discovered the delights of Mint Chocolate Chip, Maple Walnut, and other wonderful flavours.


Making Disciples of All Nations in Canada

Statistics Canada has just released the CENSUS 2021 data on population and reported that “millions of people from all over the world have chosen, and continue to choose, Canada as their new home. In 2021, more than 8.3 million people, or almost one-quarter (23.0%) of the population, were, or had ever been, a landed immigrant or permanent resident in Canada.”

It is clear to me that God has created a huge opportunity for Christians to share the gospel with the world in Canada; the nations of the world are in our neighbourhoods.

Have you ever considered that those of Muslim faith who live among us might have been sent by God to Canada in order to find Him?

Here are 5 ways to be intentional about making disciples in your neighbourhood among those of Muslim faith ...

Making Disciples of All Nations in Canada

Statistics Canada has just released the CENSUS 2021 data on population and reported that “millions of people from all over the world have chosen, and continue to choose, Canada as their new home. In 2021, more than 8.3 million people, or almost one-quarter (23.0%) of the population, were, or had ever been, a landed immigrant or permanent resident in Canada.”

It is clear to me that God has created a huge opportunity for Christians to share the gospel with the world in Canada; the nations of the world are in our neighbourhoods.

Have you ever considered that those of Muslim faith who live among us might have been sent by God to Canada in order to find Him?

Here are 5 ways to be intentional about making disciples in your neighbourhood among those of Muslim faith ...


Wasting Seed

Anybody who has visited my house knows I like to garden. A few years ago, my husband and daughter built me a greenhouse so I can start my plants from seed. Each precious seed is carefully placed in prepared soil and carefully nurtured to grow strong before being transplanted into the garden to grow up and produce a harvest. 

Recently I’ve been rereading the Parable of the Sower (or maybe better called the Parable of the Soils) from Matthew 13. 

What is startling to me in this parable is the complete disregard of the sower for all the seed that is wasted. No gardener deliberately throws seed on the path, or amongst weeds, or on rocky ground. Seed is reserved for fertile soil.  

So why is this sower apparently happy to waste so much seed?

Wasting Seed

Anybody who has visited my house knows I like to garden. A few years ago, my husband and daughter built me a greenhouse so I can start my plants from seed. Each precious seed is carefully placed in prepared soil and carefully nurtured to grow strong before being transplanted into the garden to grow up and produce a harvest. 

Recently I’ve been rereading the Parable of the Sower (or maybe better called the Parable of the Soils) from Matthew 13. 

What is startling to me in this parable is the complete disregard of the sower for all the seed that is wasted. No gardener deliberately throws seed on the path, or amongst weeds, or on rocky ground. Seed is reserved for fertile soil.  

So why is this sower apparently happy to waste so much seed?