It has been said that, "Thoughts disentangle themselves through the lips and the fingertips." That's the spirit of this weekly post, to provide the kinds of questions—the conversation starters—that can help us delve more deeply into the ideas and implications of our Sunday conversations. Use these questions to stimulate your own personal reflections, or use them to start a conversation with your family, friends and especially your Life Group, to walk with each other into becoming more fully devoted followers of Jesus, individually and as a community. You've experienced the service, now …
There is no doubt that this day sparks emotion. For the romantics in the crowd it is a high point in the year offering a great excuse to shower love on their partner. On the other extreme many do not buy into the hype and wonder why all the fuss. (Just don’t forget the card and chocolates). Still others actually loathe this day as it triggers emotions of regret or loss. There is no question that Valentines Day can be packed with emotion.
At Southridge we have committed ourselves to being a transformative …
At Southridge we have committed ourselves to being a transformative …
It has been said that, "Thoughts disentangle themselves through the lips and the fingertips." That's the spirit of this weekly post, to provide the kinds of questions—the conversation starters—that can help us delve more deeply into the ideas and implications of our Sunday conversations. Use these questions to stimulate your own personal reflections, or use them to start a conversation with your family, friends and especially your Life Group, to walk with each other into becoming more fully devoted followers of Jesus, individually and as a community. You've experienced the service, now …
It has been said that, "Thoughts disentangle themselves through the lips and the fingertips." That's the spirit of this weekly post, to provide the kinds of questions—the conversation starters—that can help us delve more deeply into the ideas and implications of our Sunday conversations. Use these questions to stimulate your own personal reflections, or use them to start a conversation with your family, friends and especially your Life Group, to walk with each other into becoming more fully devoted followers of Jesus, individually and as a community. You've experienced the service, now …
Throughout our lives there are ceremonies that mark important occasions, draw lines in the sand of our lives and divide our histories into "before" and "after": graduation, weddings, and others, including baptism. Baptism is an ancient Christian ritual from before the days of Jesus that has been used to symbolize the start of a person's new life with God. Join us as we celebrate with several people who have chosen to mark off their new life with Jesus in the ceremony of baptism and take a moment to reconsider where you are with Jesus Christ, …
Now that VMB has become our newest location some of you may secretly be wondering: “Who are the MB’s? I mean, I get what the V stands for but I’m really not clear on those last two letters – Mennonite Brethren? Who are they?”
If that question has been rattling around in your brain, it might come as a surprise to hear that Southridge is technically the great-great grand child of VMB. It may also be a surprise to discover that we are part of 35 other churches spread across this province …
If that question has been rattling around in your brain, it might come as a surprise to hear that Southridge is technically the great-great grand child of VMB. It may also be a surprise to discover that we are part of 35 other churches spread across this province …
Of these three words—faith, hope and love—that became the early Christian shorthand for a well-lived life with Jesus, love is easily the most popular. We use the word love, in our world, to describe our affections for a puppy or a taco or something we "Like" on Facebook. We use it to talk about our sexual encounters and our encounters of genuine friendship. But we rarely use it to mean what the Bible means when it uses the word, "love": the willingness to give up everything we have to give everyone else …
The Great Date Experiment is back…
Hey married couples. With Valentines just around the corner what better time to take stock of your marriage? How’s it going? I mean, honestly, how is it going? If you were truly transparent and you could trust the person who was asking, what would you say? Dynamic: never been better… Average: considering all that you’re facing… Bored: it’s lost its luster… Broken: we are barely holding on…
At Southridge we want to encourage and inspire …
Hey married couples. With Valentines just around the corner what better time to take stock of your marriage? How’s it going? I mean, honestly, how is it going? If you were truly transparent and you could trust the person who was asking, what would you say? Dynamic: never been better… Average: considering all that you’re facing… Bored: it’s lost its luster… Broken: we are barely holding on…
At Southridge we want to encourage and inspire …
Of these three words—faith, hope and love—that became the early Christian shorthand for a well-lived life with Jesus, hope is probably the most rare. Hope, in our world, is little more than a wish, a dream, a longshot almost destined to disappoint. But Christian hope is the absolute certainty that God is at work in the world, bringing restoration, joy, healing, wholeness and abundance in Jesus, by the Spirit, and through the Church, which he will ultimately complete at the return of Jesus. It is believing in God's promises with such absolute certainty that we …
How does a church community celebrate 80 years of God’s faithfulness? And how does a community of believers prepare to be used by God in the years to come?
Those two questions were very real as Carole and I, joined many others Sunday evening for the Celebration Service. The evening really was a celebration event, one marked with numerous examples to support God’s faithfulness to this local church over 80 years. The entire evening was about giving God honour and worth. Through songs of praise and worship, through testimonies of former pastors, families, …
Those two questions were very real as Carole and I, joined many others Sunday evening for the Celebration Service. The evening really was a celebration event, one marked with numerous examples to support God’s faithfulness to this local church over 80 years. The entire evening was about giving God honour and worth. Through songs of praise and worship, through testimonies of former pastors, families, …
Helping people grow is not easy, especially when the people in your Life Group are at different places in their spiritual journey. Seekers, newer Christians, people who have been Christians for a long time and then everything in between. As leaders, what can we do to help people grow? How can we encourage seekers and newer Christians to grow in their journey? What next steps could we encourage more 'mature Christians' in our groups to take? That’s exactly what we’ll be talking about together during the month of February at our &…
Of these three words—faith, hope and love—that became the early Christian shorthand for a well-lived life with Jesus, faith is probably still the most common. We talk about a life of faith, a community of faith, the power of faith. Yet, what is faith? In the descriptions of the New Testament, faith seems to be a life of unwavering conviction about Jesus, unwavering confidence in Jesus and unwavering commitment to Jesus. It is a whole-person, whole-life orientation towards God that gives us something rock-solid to believe in. It is not blind, but an entirely …
Quietly and peacefully on the morning of December 31, 2011 God called home one of his long time saints - Abe Dyck. Abe would depart just days shy of 87 - from complications of a stroke. Abe was known as a prayer warrior, a farmer, a faithful husband and father, and one who loved the church. He was part of VMB for most of their history.
On Wednesday morning of this week I had the distinct privilege of joining the family for a memorial service. Although I had never met Abe - I have been fortunate to know 4 of …
On Wednesday morning of this week I had the distinct privilege of joining the family for a memorial service. Although I had never met Abe - I have been fortunate to know 4 of …
The beginning of 2012 for the Vineland MB Church represents a significant moment in their history. God has been leading this church for over 80 years. January marks a new chapter in the history of this church as we become one family, represented as the Southridge Church. To mark this special time, Vineland MB is hosting a "Celebration" service. The service will take place on Sunday, January 8 at 7:00pm. Those who have had any connection with VMB in past years are welcome to attend. Please invite your family or friends. This service …
Evangelical Christianity is not known as a Christian tradition deeply engaged in the life of the mind, either in its intellection openness to the complexities of either Scripture or science. It's hard to over-estimate the impact that his has had both on our ability to love God with all of our mind and our ability to meaningfully connect the good news with thinking people who don't know and love Jesus. But what if we devoted ourselves to being deeply engaged with the complexities and ambiguities of the Scriptures and especially their relationship with science? How would that affect …
According to the Barna Institute, 78% of young people outside the Church believe that the Church is "old-fashioned", more relevant to past generations. One only has to look at the Church's definition of the role of women in society, family and the church to feel the force of that accusation. But what if Jesus was actually inviting all women to step into their God-given destiny, to take their place beside the men, as full partners and equals, to bring God's kingdom to earth, for men and women across the globe? And what if it were the men …
It's fairly obvious to observe that the Christian community and the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Queer) community live at odds with each other. They're two "camps" each locked into committed beliefs about homosexuality, and strong passions with respect to each other. They are two camps that seemingly find it impossible to accept each other until they first agree with each other. But what if there was another way? What if both sides "lowered their weapons" to just talk? And what if that conversation elevated love ahead of truth? In what ways could …
“Life change happens best in relationship…” It feels like we’ve said it a million times over the years. And it’s true – God uses people to grow us. God works through relationships to make us more like Christ. But the question is, "Why?" What is it about relationships that God uses?
Here's the cool thing about relationships. Relationships have the potential to highlight the things about us that are both beautiful and broken. The ways that we reflect Christ’s image in …
Here's the cool thing about relationships. Relationships have the potential to highlight the things about us that are both beautiful and broken. The ways that we reflect Christ’s image in …
Many of us that have grown up in the church probably cringe at (and agree with) the charge that we've lived sheltered lives, separated from the world to live the holy lives Christ has called us to live. It's time for us to reclaim the kind of holiness that Christ dreams for us: being purified to be used for the purpose for which God created us, a holiness that demands that we go into the world, rather that coming out of it. Just imagine the healing that God could bring, if we would stop just trying to keep …
The world has rendered its verdict: Christianity is arrogant for claiming to be the only way to God. How do we respond, in order to win a hearing for the good news of Jesus? With humility, the kind of humility that is open to recognizing the truth and beauty discovered and demonstrated by other faith systems in our world, and the kind of humility that is respectful of the humanity and beliefs of others and is willing to engage in respectful, winsome dialogue about spiritual matters. It is only that kind of humility that truly reflects the person of Jesus …
Last week, a few of us from the Connection world here at Southridge had the privilege of participating in the 2nd annual Canada Wide Church planters retreat. Hosted by C2C a BC church planting movement this year's 4 day event took place at Le Chateau Frontenac in old Quebec City. To say that the setting, the accommodations and the food were anything but spectacular would be a lie. It was truly amazing. We felt blessed, privileged - 'spoiled'.
Beyond the environment what was even more spectacular was hearing the riveting stories of individuals and couples …
Beyond the environment what was even more spectacular was hearing the riveting stories of individuals and couples …
It seems that despite the Church's devotion to Christ, from the perspective of the rest of the world, its behaviour often seems distinctly "unChristian", distinctly unlike that of Christ, especially in the way that we are so soft of on our sin (hypocritical) and so hard on everyone else's (judgmental). But what if we learned to celebrate our own brokenness, rather than pretending that we are holier than we are? What if we learned to focus on our own growth, rather than obsessing with everyone else's flaws? How would that change people's perception of …
What is the most important thing in the world to you, the thing that, if you were to lose it, your life would lose all meaning, purpose, identity and significance? What do you think that thing is for God? As it turns out in Jonah 4, God's "thing" is people! He loves pouring out his love and mercy on the people who are furthest from him, the so-called villians of our world, the very people about whom some may wonder whether they even deserve grace (though, whom God sees as spiritual victims as much as villians). And God …
When it comes to conversing with others about faith, most of us fear our own inadequacy, somehow believing that we don't have what it takes to be "successful" at taking the good news about Jesus to others. Yet, if Jonah is any indication, God is not limited by the inadequacy, reluctance and imperfection of the messanger. In fact, what God really requires is not our ability, but our availability, our willingness to just show up and say what it is that God has asked us to say. Jonah 3 assures us that, if we do our part, God …
If you are a follower of Jesus, you have experienced the deep impact of the deep grace of Jesus: that because of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection you can love God with more and more of who you are and what you have. You can freed from guilt and shame through the forgiveness of Jesus and the transformation and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. You can experience relationships of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness and love. You can be empowered by the Holy Spirit to make the world the place he always dreamed it could be. So, how do …
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Connection Strengthening our relationships with each other.
Action Engaging in relationships with those in need.
Participation Unifying our relationship as a church family.
Students Investing in our students from Grades 6-12.
Kids Investing in our kids from pre-school to Grade 5.
Southridge Now Stay in the loop on events and activities with weekly video news.
Twitter The current buzz about Southridge in Twitterland.
Prayer Wall Updates from our community Prayer Wall