How are we supposed to do this? (a model for following Jesus in 2025)

IThe scriptures are great for so many things. 2 Timothy 3:16 say that they are useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that we can be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Thoroughly. And truly, that's what I need. I know that even when I apply my best learning and all my effort to living for Christ, I don't have what it takes on my own. I need more. I need to be taught what it means day by day to live a godly life. I need someone to show me how to walk in the light and live worthy of my calling, pleasing God in every way (Colossians 1:10).

Why is this so important? Well, for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that the time is short and we've been told to be ready for Jesus to return at any moment. This mandate is ours to carry every day in the midst of a culture that is very far from God. There are pressures all around us to compromise, to become tired of doing what is right, and to choose apathy.

Over the next several weeks, we're going to study 1 & 2 Thessalonians together with an eye on how the scriptures are modelling for us just how it is that we can be people who are ready for the challenges of today and, ultimately, for the return of Christ.

Like we did in Nehemiah, we'll be taking a different path through these letters from Paul to the church in Thessalonica than Pastor Del's course from 1 Thessalonians called Get Faithful. But, I'd still encourage you to use it as a devotional guide in the coming weeks to get a more robust look at this short but powerful book. You can find it here: learn.freedomchurchkw.com

I'm excited to get started with our first message on Sunday called "A Model for Waiting." The Thessalonians have given us a beautiful model for what it looks like to set our intention on being ready for Jesus.

See you then, Pastor Tracy

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, May 8 @ 10am

PEOPLE GET READY
A Model for Waiting
Tracy Dunham

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

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Let's Get Political (praying for our leaders)

,

I'm writing this the morning after the federal election. Before I got out of bed I was searching the Elections Canada site for results, especially for the ridings in Kitchener. As of this moment (9:15am on April 29th), Kitchener Centre is split between three parties with only 423 votes between first and second; Kitchener South - Hespeler is only 1,148 votes between first and second; and Kitchener-Conestoga has only a 371 vote difference. I do not envy the candidates waiting for the results to be finalized. (And why is there always one poll that hasn't reported??) Of over 179,000 votes, 1,942 is the difference in the three Kitchener ridings.

I'm not a political expert. I'm sure these results will be analyzed exhaustively over the coming days by those trained to do so, and certainly, the results across the country don't all look like Kitchener. But these results certainly show you that in the community where we live, work, raise our families and worship together, there are some pretty big differences in how we think. This election shows what we likely already knew - we are divided in what we believe is best for our country. We are divided in what we value and our vision for the future of Canada. And, until Jesus returns and makes all things new under His Kingship, this will be true.

So, how do we respond in the meantime? We do what Christ-followers have always done. We pray. If your candidate was elected, pray. If your candidate wasn't elected, pray. If you excited or disappointed, worried or hopeful... pray.

I found a great resource from Life Church to help us know how to pray for our leaders. I encourage you to click the link and read more but I will include two of the prayers that I found especially meaningful.

A Prayer for Protection and Safety for Government Leaders
God, You are very good to me. I pray You will be very good to those in public service at all levels in my country and the world. I pray You would keep them safe, bring health to their bodies, and protect their daily routines and travel. You are the ultimate provider, and I pray our leaders will come to know and experience You as a strong refuge. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen. 

A Prayer for Our Country
God, thank You for loving every person in our country. Please help me to love, care, and believe the best about others. Even though people in our country disagree on many issues, please don’t let political divisions cause us to see others as enemies. Instead, provide us with unity that leads to kind, respectful, and constructive actions. Amen.

Join me in praying especially for Prime Minister Carney (and his wife, Diana) by name as he leads his party to lead our country.

In Christ,
Pastor Tracy

Don't forget Pastor Ethan's farewell service on Sunday, followed by ice cream sundaes and a gift card shower for him and Angeli!

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, May 1 @ 10am

PEOPLE GET READY
Pursuing the Call
Pastor Ethan

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

, , ,

Now What? (resources when sharing your faith)

, , ,

You've likely heard us mention the page on our website with information about what it means to follow Jesus. I wanted to point your attention to it and invite you to click on the link and see it for yourself.

If you're talking to someone about your faith, you know someone who has questions, or you've led someone to accept Jesus, this is a simple but helpful resource. You'll find a way to connect with the pastors, a link to a booklet called "Now What? Your First Steps with Jesus," and an invitation to Alpha.

Also, we've provided our prayer team with an additional resource that you also may find helpful. It's a short booklet called "Why Jesus?" by Nicky Gumbel (the founder of Alpha) and is something we encourage you to read it through and keep a copy that you can share with someone if they have questions about what it means to be a Christian.

We will continue to point people to these resources when we gather, but we know that the most effective tool in sharing Jesus with others is your own story of life transformation. As you share, we hope you find this website helpful. You can reach out to us at any time to help you disciple those the Lord has put in your life.

In summary, let me just share it in a bullet-point list!

  • Website: "Now What?" booklet, connection form, Alpha information

  • Alpha: runs 2-3 times per year

  • Booklet: "Why Jesus?" for you to help someone understand your faith

We're praying that many, many people will know Jesus through our church!

Blessings as you share Him,
Pastor Tracy

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, April 27 @ 10am

BEFORE & AFTER
Alone to Surrounded
Pastor Tracy

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Easter Weekend: The Before & After (celebrate with us...)

This weekend, we will be sharing some very good news. The best news, in fact. He is risen indeed! We are so privileged to know that regardless of any bad news that we've received in our lives and no matter what comes our way, we have this good news each and every day as our anchor. Thank you, Jesus!

On Friday, Scott Corkill will be sharing in our Before & After theme with a message titled "Red to White" from Isaiah 1:18. We will gather around the communion emblems and consider what the "after" of our lives is because of Christ.

On Saturday, we will rest, considering that quiet and grief-filled day of the first Easter weekend but with the full knowledge that the story doesn't end in death.

On Sunday, we celebrate. As Pope John Paul II said, "We are an Easter people and hallelujah is our song!"

If there is someone you'd like to invite, we want you to know that they will hear the message of the gospel on Friday and Sunday. Good Friday is a family service for all ages. Sunday will have regular Preschool Kids Church and the Jr and Sr Kids will join together for Kids Church after a time of worship at the beginning of the service.

We have an Easter page on our website with lots of FAQs answered if someone is new to our church. freedomkw.com/easter

Also, we will be livestreaming on Friday and Sunday. That might be a great way to invite someone who is hesitant about attending in person. Details for that are always on the homepage of our website.

I can't wait to see you this weekend and celebrate Jesus together!
Pastor Tracy

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, April 20 @ 10am

BEFORE & AFTER
War to Peace
Pastor Tracy

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

A Long Obedience... Seeking God's Ongoing Favour (lesson 12 of the Get Building course)

This week, we are finishing up the Get Building course with Lesson 12: Seek God's Ongoing Favour.

Nehemiah has taken us on quite a journey of learning and leadership over the past 10 weeks. I trust that the Holy Spirit has used this book to speak deeply to you in your own life.

If you missed the message, you can watch/listen here: freedomkw.com/messages.

Here are your options for Lesson 12:
PDF Download (Lesson 12)
Online Course (LearnDash)
Printed Copy (available at the Welcome Centre)

I'm looking forward to starting our Easter series next week with you!

See you then,
Pastor Tracy

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, April 13 @ 10am

BEFORE & AFTER
War to Peace
Pastor Tracy

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Establish Worship (lesson 11 of the Get Building course)

This week, we are working through Lesson 11 of the Get Building course we covered in Sunday's message: Give God the Glory.

This lesson reminds us that we're not establishing worship at a temple like the Israelites did. We are the temple.

“As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
— 1 Peter 2:4-5

If you missed the message, you can watch/listen here: freedomkw.com/messages.

Here are your options for Lesson 11:
PDF Download (Lesson 11)
Online Course (LearnDash)
Printed Copy (available at the Welcome Centre)

(Prefer to get the whole course at once? Click here.)

Let me also remind you that this Sunday is our CP Welcome Lunch and the first Easter Choir rehearsal. Click the images below for more information!

See you then,
Pastor Tracy

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, April 6 @ 10am

REBUILD: LEARNING FROM NEHEMIAH
A Long Obedience in the Same Direction
Pastor Erin

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Guard the Gates (lesson 10 of the Get Building course)

This week, we are working through Lesson 10 of the Get Building course we covered in Sunday's message: Guard the Gates.

This lesson takes a different track than we did on Sunday and I strongly encourage you to work through the material this week. It works through the importance of gatekeepers and what that means in our lives.

If you missed the message, you can watch/listen here: freedomkw.com/messages.

Here are your options for Lesson 10:
PDF Download (Lesson 10)
Online Course (LearnDash)
Printed Copy (available at the Welcome Centre)

(Prefer to get the whole course at once? Click here.)

And don't forget that it's Name Tag Sunday! We'll end the service with testimonies and a potluck. Bring a main dish to share and we'll have dessert to purchase in support of our missions partners.

See you then,
Pastor Tracy

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, MARCH 30 @ 10am

REBUILD: LEARNING FROM NEHEMIAH
Establish Worship
Pastor Tracy

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Experience God's Word (lesson 9 of the Get Building course)

This week, we are working through Lesson 9 of the Get Building course we covered in Sunday's message: Make Yourself Accountable.

As it says in Lesson 9, "Most people do not like what accountability costs them. Making a concerted effort, being willing to hear and accept the truth, owning personal responsibility to repent, and aligning with God’s will require a major investment of oneself. However, accountability is an indispensable element for facilitating personal growth and maturity." I encourage you to take a deep dive into this topic.

If you missed the message, you can watch/listen here: freedomkw.com/messages.

Here are your options for Lesson 9:
PDF Download (Lesson 9)
Online Course (LearnDash)
Printed Copy (available at the Welcome Centre)

(Prefer to get the whole course at once? Click here.)

I am praying that we respond to God's Word with action and accountability like the Israelites in Nehemiah 9 & 10!

Pastor Tracy

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, MARCH 23 @ 10am

REBUILD: LEARNING FROM NEHEMIAH
Get Your House in Order
Pastor Tracy

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Experience God's Word (lesson 8 of the Get Building course)

This week, we are working through Lesson 8 of the Get Building course we covered in Sunday's message: Experience God's Word.

As Ezra read the law to the people, there was a lot of weeping and then a lot of rejoicing. The Word is powerful and transformative.

If you missed the message, you can watch/listen here: freedomkw.com/messages.

Here are your options for Lesson 8:
PDF Download (Lesson 8)
Online Course (LearnDash)
Printed Copy (available at the Welcome Centre)

(Prefer to get the whole course at once? Click here.)

I am praying that we have fresh encounters with the Spirit of God as we spend time in the Word this week!
Pastor Tracy

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, MARCH 16 @ 10am

REBUILD: LEARNING FROM NEHEMIAH
Make Yourself Accountable
Pastor Tracy

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Strengthen Your Hands (lesson 7 of the Get Building course)

This week we are working through Lesson 6 of the Get Building course This week, we are working through Lesson 7 of the Get Building course we covered in Sunday's message: Nehemiah 6 & 7. Remember this from chapter nine:

“They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.”

But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.””
— Nehemiah 6:9
 

What do you need God's Spirit to strengthen you for?

If you missed the message, you can watch/listen here: freedomkw.com/messages.

Here are your options for Lesson 7:
PDF Download (Lesson 7)
Online Course (LearnDash)
Printed Copy (available at the Welcome Centre)

(Prefer to get the whole course at once? Click here.)

I am praying that we learn to look out to the needs of others and up to the provision of God.

Pastor Tracy

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, MARCH 9 @ 10am

REBUILD: LEARNING FROM NEHEMIAH
Experience God’s Word
Pastor Ethan

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Look Out and Up (lesson 6 of the Get Building course)

This week we are working through Lesson 6 of the Get Building course we covered in Sunday's message: Nehemiah 5:1-19. We talked about how important it is to be able to look out from your building/rebuilding work and see the needs around you, knowing that God is strengthening you for more than just the task at hand. He will use you to meet the needs around you even as He does a good work in your life. If you missed the message, you can watch/listen here: freedomkw.com/messages.

Here are your options for Lesson 6:
PDF Download (Lesson 6)
Online Course (LearnDash)
Printed Copy (available at the Welcome Centre)

(Prefer to get the whole course at once? Click here.)

I am praying that we learn to look out to the needs of others and up to the provision of God.
Pastor Tracy

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, MARCH 2 @ 10am

REBUILD: LEARNING FROM NEHEMIAH
Strengthen Your Hands
Pastor Tracy

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Stare Down the Opposition (lesson 5 of the Get Building course)

This week we are working through Lesson 5 of the Get Building course we covered in Sunday's message: Nehemiah 4:1-23. This one is all about recognizing the enemy and standing your ground, choosing to continue building brick by brick. If you missed the message, you can watch/listen here: freedomkw.com/messages.

Here are your options for Lesson 5:
PDF Download (Lesson 5)
Online Course (LearnDash)
Printed Copy (available at the Welcome Centre)

(Prefer to get the whole course at once? Click here.)

I am praying that we grow in our ability to recognize the tactics of the enemy and that we keep building.

Pastor Tracy

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23 @ 10am

REBUILD: LEARNING FROM NEHEMIAH
Look Out and Up
Pastor Tracy

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Something Worth Giving Your Life To (lesson 4 of the Get Building course)

This week we are working through Lesson 4 of the Get Building course we covered in Sunday's message: Nehemiah 2:11-3:32. If you missed Pastor Erin's message, you can watch/listen here: freedomkw.com/messages.

I hope you'll follow along with us and take some time each week to go deeper with this excellent material. I know it will be worth your investment.

Here are your options for Lesson 4:
PDF Download (Lesson 4)
Online Course (LearnDash)
Printed Copy (available at the Welcome Centre)

(Prefer to get the whole course at once? Click here.)

And please keep in mind as you're going through the course: if you find any typos or errors, don't hesitate to let us know! We promise not to roll our eyes and we will definitely say thank you.

I am praying that we all grow in our confidence and trust in the Lord's leadership over the coming weeks.

Pastor Tracy

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16 @ 10am

REBUILD: LEARNING FROM NEHEMIAH
Brick by Brick
Pastor Tracy

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Get Building (go deeper in Nehemiah)

We started our new series this past Sunday - a dive into the book of Nehemiah. As promised, this email (and all the rest of our devotionals during the series) will provide you with the lesson(s) from the Get Building course that we referenced in the message.

I hope you'll follow along with us and take some time each week to go deeper with this excellent material. I know it will be worth your investment.

Here are your options for Lessons 1, 2 & 3:
PDF Download (Lesson 1)
PDF Download (Lesson 2)
PDF Download (Lesson 3)
Online Course (LearnDash)
Printed Copy (available at the Welcome Centre)

(Prefer to get the whole course at once? Click here.)

And please keep in mind as you're going through the course: if you find any typos or errors, don't hesitate to let us know! We promise not to roll our eyes and we will definitely say thank you.

I am praying that we all grow in our confidence and trust in the Lord's leadership over the coming weeks.

Pastor Tracy

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9 @ 10am

REBUILD: LEARNING FROM NEHEMIAH
A Vision for the Future
Pastor Erin

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

One More Resource (keep learning about prayer)

As we close the series on prayer (and get ready to talk from Nehemiah about rebuilding when life is broken), I wanted to point you to one more resource that you may find helpful.

Pastor Del (our former Lead Pastor, now retired) serves us so well by writing accessible, practical, and foundational discipleship courses. There is a lot to explore. Some focus on a book of the Bible and some on a specific topic. I invite you to take a look at freedomkw.com/next. You'll find the Life Transformation courses (the original four core studies) and then the Next Courses (written subsequently). We are also in the midst of moving our courses and training to the LearnDash platform and so some are also available on learn.freedomchurchkw.com.

The course I want to draw your attention to is The Lord's Prayer. In it you'll walk through some fundamentals of prayer and how to apply them to your life with The Lord's Prayer as the backbone of the teaching. I encourage you to work through it in your devotional time and dig just a little deeper into prayer as you start into 2025.

Excited for what's next!
Pastor Tracy

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2 @ 10am

REBUILD: LEARNING FROM NEHEMIAH
When Life is Broken
Pastor Tracy

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

A Little Extra Time (join us for Sunday Night Service)

On Sunday, we're going to be gathering for Sunday Night Service. We've been lovingly calling it Deep Roots 2.0 in the office because it will function in much of the same way. You can expect a time of worship in song, a short devotional and then an extended time of worship and prayer, both personal and guided.

Why Sunday Night Services? We simply wanted to give a bit more structure to our Deep Roots prayer and worship time while continuing to give folks some extended time to seek and enjoy the presence of God. There just aren't that many places in life where you can go and be undistracted for a period of time with other believers. We hope that SNS can provide a venue for that, encouraging us all to dive deeper into our relationships with the Father, continually re-focusing on the Son, and being open to receiving ministry from the Holy Spirit.

Also, it's not too late to join us for Fast & Pray Days. Head over to freedomkw.com/prayer to choose a time today, tomorrow, or Saturday!

Hope to see you Sunday night at 6pm,
Pastor Tracy

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, JANUARY 26 @ 10am

BETTER THAN CHRISTMAS: TALKING TO JESUS
Why You Pray
Pastor Tracy

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Waffles & Gratitude (pausing to thank our teams)

On Sunday after the service, we will be hosting our in-person Abuse Prevention Training. This training is mandatory for almost all of our ministry team volunteers, even if they aren't directly working with children, youth, or vulnerable adults. I wanted to take a moment to give you some insight into this training and hope it will be helpful for those of you who are going to be attending on Sunday and for anyone new(er) who doesn't know about our measures to prevent abuse here at Freedom.

From Sunday to Sunday, almost everything that happens at church is open to anyone who would like to join us. We will have those who have been here for decades sitting next to someone who is here for the first time. The time and effort we spend to create environments that are safe for minors and vulnerable adults means that you don't have to be a long-time member of our church to know that we take the trust we are given seriously. It should be obvious from day one.

We're not sure where this quote came from but, "Abuse prevention is not about us trusting you; it's about our community trusting us." We would not bring someone onto a ministry team if we didn't trust them, of course. So, Abuse Prevention Training isn't about gaining trust, it's about everyone being up-to-date with how we are protecting our most vulnerable. If we all have the same information, we can all work together to protect one another.

And this is not just for our kids ministry team and youth leaders. We ask that everyone who serves in a way that a child or youth might see as "a position of trust" go through the screening and training. For example, someone on the tech team, worship team, or host team might be seen as a leader a child could go to because they are clearly set apart from the congregation on Sunday (on the stage, in the booth, or with a name tag). These team members also have a unique vantage point on Sundays to spot potential issues as they may arise. And so, we see the advantage of all of our teams having the same information and training around abuse prevention.

Let's be honest, though - it's hard to not roll your eyes and see this like WHMIS training at work. Yeah, we get it. We've had to change our own attitudes about this a few times over the years, too. But here's our promise: we will be as clear, concise, relevant, and time-sensitive as possible. We'll feed you lunch, look after your kids, and thank you for investing this extra time with us for the sake of healthy and safe ministries at Freedom.

With gratitude for all the ways our teams serve us each week!
Pastor Tracy

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, JANUARY 19 @ 10am

BETTER THAN CHRISTMAS: TALKING TO JESUS
What You Pray
Pastor Ethan

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Our Community Trusting Us (a note about abuse prevention training)

On Sunday after the service, we will be hosting our in-person Abuse Prevention Training. This training is mandatory for almost all of our ministry team volunteers, even if they aren't directly working with children, youth, or vulnerable adults. I wanted to take a moment to give you some insight into this training and hope it will be helpful for those of you who are going to be attending on Sunday and for anyone new(er) who doesn't know about our measures to prevent abuse here at Freedom.

From Sunday to Sunday, almost everything that happens at church is open to anyone who would like to join us. We will have those who have been here for decades sitting next to someone who is here for the first time. The time and effort we spend to create environments that are safe for minors and vulnerable adults means that you don't have to be a long-time member of our church to know that we take the trust we are given seriously. It should be obvious from day one.

We're not sure where this quote came from but, "Abuse prevention is not about us trusting you; it's about our community trusting us." We would not bring someone onto a ministry team if we didn't trust them, of course. So, Abuse Prevention Training isn't about gaining trust, it's about everyone being up-to-date with how we are protecting our most vulnerable. If we all have the same information, we can all work together to protect one another.

And this is not just for our kids ministry team and youth leaders. We ask that everyone who serves in a way that a child or youth might see as "a position of trust" go through the screening and training. For example, someone on the tech team, worship team, or host team might be seen as a leader a child could go to because they are clearly set apart from the congregation on Sunday (on the stage, in the booth, or with a name tag). These team members also have a unique vantage point on Sundays to spot potential issues as they may arise. And so, we see the advantage of all of our teams having the same information and training around abuse prevention.

Let's be honest, though - it's hard to not roll your eyes and see this like WHMIS training at work. Yeah, we get it. We've had to change our own attitudes about this a few times over the years, too. But here's our promise: we will be as clear, concise, relevant, and time-sensitive as possible. We'll feed you lunch, look after your kids, and thank you for investing this extra time with us for the sake of healthy and safe ministries at Freedom.

With gratitude for all the ways our teams serve us each week!
Pastor Tracy

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, JANUARY 12 @ 10am

BETTER THAN CHRISTMAS: TALKING TO JESUS
When You Pray
Tracy Dunham

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

What's Better Than Christmas (talking to Jesus every day)

As we get back into our regular schedules next week, let me briefly share with you where we are headed on Sunday as our launching pad into 2025.

Our new series is entitled "Better Than Christmas: Talking to Jesus." The simple idea is this: Christmas is wonderful but Christ's enduring presence with us and the ability to talk to Him anytime, anywhere, about anything is the best gift we could imagine. (Other than Jesus Himself being the best gift ever, of course!) Prayer is simple, powerful, and often overlooked or crowded out. Let's reset our understanding of and passion for the precious gift of prayer over the next few weeks.

Praying for us as we begin another year in Christ,
Pastor Tracy

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, JANUARY 5 @ 10am

BETTER THAN CHRISTMAS: TALKING TO JESUS
How You Pray
Tracy Dunham

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.

Reset in the Word (join the 2025 Bible reading plan)

Welcome to that wonderful time of the year when we don't know what day it is, what time it is, or where we are supposed to be next. I'm writing this before Christmas but imagine that when this hits your inbox on Boxing Day morning, I will be happily drinking coffee in sweatpants. My prayer is that you will receive the same blessing!

I have been anticipating these next couple of weeks for a while now. It's a season of reset; one for getting things back on track, trying something new, and re-organizing. I definitely have a few projects in mind but what I have been thinking about mostly is changing up how I am engaging in my devotional life. As seasons change, it's been a good practice for me to add, subtract, or modify how I engage with the spiritual disciplines. It certainly helps to keep this time fresh, meaningful, and life-giving.

As you (hopefully) have some downtime this week, I encourage you to not only think about how you are going to re-organize your Christmas decorations into their storage bins but to ask the Lord to breathe new life into your time with Him. It's a great moment in the calendar year to be intentional about this!

Perhaps this year you'd like to read through the whole bible (again or for the first time). We're starting our next plan on January 1st and invite you to come along for the ride! Here's the link to get things set up on the YouVersion app.

I trust that as you rest and connect with others in these weeks your heart will be refreshed and you will sense the presence of God in a very special way, preparing you for the year ahead.

Many blessings,
Pastor Tracy

THIS SUNDAY

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29 @ 10am

WHEN IN ROMANS
Greetings
Tracy Dunham

Join us for our IN-PERSON SERVICES OR
LIVESTREAM on Sunday!

10:00 - Live Service & Kids Church (+Church Online)

Follow along with the message on YouVersion.