2012 FCA National Convention in Winnipeg

From October 16 - 18, 2012, the Fellowship of Christian Assemblies held its Annual Convention at the Delta Winnipeg Hotel, right in the heart of the city in the heart of the continent.

The theme for this year's Convention was taken from Isaiah 43:19, "Behold, I will do a new thing!"  The "new thing" that is emerging and springing forth in the church is that people from different cultures, different nations, different ethnicities, different languages and different generations are beginning to find their distinct voice while remaining relationally joined and connected through a love that is much greater than a mere toleration of diversity.

This unity within diversity is emerging is such a way that celebrates our uniqueness and diversity with the recognition that we need one another to find our rightful place in God's diverse, many-membered Body.  This is pre-requisite to our becoming a Body that will more fully reveal His image and likeness into a world where there is so much darkness, prejudice and misunderstanding.

Autumn Sellen and her team of able helpers opened up the registration windows to welcome the delegates from British Columbia to Ontario with special Convention Packets on Tuesday morning of October 16.  Some 174 delegates officially registered for the Convention, while a good number more came for the evening sessions which were open to the public.

Opening Banquet, Tuesday Evening, October 16, 2012



 Some 208 people from right acrsoss the nation, and even from other nations (eg. the United States and Cuba) were there for the Opening Banquet on Tuesday evening of October 16.



Island Breeze Manitoba, in conjunction with Island Breeze Hawaii, ministered near the beginning with a powerful song and dance, "Summon Your Power, O God!  Show us Your Strength as You have done before!"  Psalm 68:28, KJV.

After his introduction, Mayor Sam Katz received a standing ovation just before welcoming the FCA Convention delegates to the city of Winnipeg...

 ...right from the heart of the city in the heart of the continent!  Special recognition was given by the Winnipeg mayor to ministries affiliated with the Fellowship of Christian Assemblies, such as the Lighthouse Mission, which has been a source of light in the heart and core of the inner city of Winnipeg for over 100 years, and is a connecting link between the compassionate with the wounded and broken.  Ministries like this are restraining spiritual darkness, and are contributing to the wellness and to the degree of light in the inner city.

Isi Masi, director of Island Breeze Manitoba protocolled with special gifts from the South Pacific Islands leaders such as Mayor Sam Katz, as well as Arnold Ouskan, former Grand Chief of the Keewatin Tribal Council, and John and Doris Lucas, respected pioneers within the Fellowship of Christian Assemblies.

Island Breeze then sang a powerful honour song a capella with beautiful harmony, with the words in the Fijian language taken from Joshua 1:9, "Have not I commanded you?  Be strong, and of a good courage, do not be afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go!"

These leaders were protcolled with necklaces made out of the ku kui nut in Fiji (from which the anointing oil comes that is used for healing), and also with works of art from the South Pacific Islands.

Here Mayor Sam Katz is picking out a name for a door prize, the prize being a special menorah or golden candlestick that was purchased right in the land of Israel!  This candlestick speaks about being a source of light that brings inner revelation knowledge of the living God so that we in turn can be lights in this dark world, and reflect His image as a God of justice, mercy and compassion.  By letting our light shine from within, and by imparting revelation to people's hearts, lights of understanding will come on, and others, too, will see something of the glory, the splendour and the lovingkindness of our God!

The women present were prayed over that evening, with Manitoba FCA Area Rep Duane Siemens, along with his wife Tamera, leading out in prayer along with the national elders in agreement.

These women were honoured and blessed for the wonderful gift and blessing that they are to the Body of Christ, as joint heirs together of the grace of life and fellow heirs of our glorious inheritance in Christ.

The national elders then distributed special gifts to each of the women, the gift being a special mug with a special word of appreciation, along with the Convention logo on it.

The anointed praise and worship that evening was led by Earl Toews, and his team from the Dayspring Fellowship in Ste. Anne, a team which comprized children, youth and adults--an intergenerational mix that communicated visibly what our theme Cross Cultures -- Across Generations was all about.

The worship that night was awesome, powerful and intergenerational--all to the glory of the living God who is worthy of our praise!

The evening was then brought to a stirring conclusion with an anointed message from David Macfarlane, who spoke on the importance of coming into the world of other ethnicities and cultures, and of communicating in their own heart language, especially since the demographics in Canada point to a greater and greater portion of our population being immigrants.

Wednesday Morning, October 16, 2012

Here are the delegates who assembled for the first morning plenary session on Wednesday morning of October 17.

 The main speaker for that first morning was Raymond McLean, pastor of the First Nations Family Worship Centre in Winnipeg.  He brought a powerful message on First Nations Coming into Alignment in the Body of Christ in Canada, and made the delegates aware of the importance of the healing of the land. 

God wants to use the special connection that the original stewards of the land in Canada have always felt towards the land, not in a rebellious way, but in a redemptive way that will open the door to the King of Glory to cleanse the land of its defilements, and bring true transformation that is from glory to glory. It was a ground-breaking service.

The workshop speakers that morning included Irvin and Dolly Wilson from the Peguis First Nation.  They carry the legacy of Chief Peguis who welcomed the first Red River Settlers into the Red River Region.  Chief Peguis was a Christian who understood that the earth is the Lords, and belonged to the Creator, but that He distributed the stewardship of the land to those who were to welcome the alien, the outsider, the foreigner and the stranger, and who recognized that they had a sphere of stewardship to which we are to be faithful, but not an ownership of the land which belongs to God, the Creator who made it for people to live together peaceably. 

The Year of Jubilee had this principle in mind:  "The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine: for you are strangers and sojourners with Me.  And in all the land of your possesion you shall grant redemption of the land" (Leviticus 25:23, 24).  Jesus came to bring a Year of Jubilee (Luke 4:19) in which we can forgive one another for past wrongs, and live together in community in the land that belongs to Him, not living selfishly as isolated and disconnected, independent,

autonomous individuals.  Many of our disputes are over property, and most wars are over land issues because the nations do not fear God nor respect His right to rule over the land which He owns.  Many of the borders of our nation-states have been established by wars and by colonization in which authority over the land has been imposed without a respect for the Creator's ownership of the land in every part of the earth.

At these workshops, powerful intercultural, intergenerational themes within the Body of Christ were expounded with a view towards God's House becoming a House of Prayer for all nations (ethnos), and for all generations.

Stephanie Muzyka from the Alberta Project in Edmonton, Alberta, spoke in her workshop to the heart of the intergenerational issues that pertain the baby boom generation (born between 1946 and 1964), the gen x generation (generally born between 1965 and 1982), and generation y, or the millennials (born roughly between 1983 until around 2002 or the turn of the millennium).

This workshop dealt with restoring the ancient paths, and raising up the foundations of many generations.  Isaiah 58:12; 61:4-9.  Stephanie is a strong advocate of generation x (which has left the church in droves) staying connected to the Body of Christ, and of being willing to die to self so that gen x can form a bridge between the baby boomers and the millennials with a vision to see the generations inherit the promises of God together. 

There are righteous roots in the baby boom generation, even though it has been a generation that by sheer force of numbers has dominated the public agenda, and has held most of the positions of power.  The approach of gen x is more relational, and less top down, and most of them exert their influence through the internet rather than through positions of power which really turns them off when they see how that power has been abused so much, both inside and outside of the church.

God wants to release Kingdom authority to those who will not abuse it, and who will also respect other spheres of influence and authority without being rebellious, independent or disrespectful.  The cry of the hour is for true fathers in the faith who will both bless the next generation, and give godly counsel while differentiating what is precious from what is worthless in our past, and releasing the next generation to go further.

Paul Reich, the president of Living Faith Bible College in Caroline, Alberta, also did a workshop that same morning with a similar theme.  He is a true spiritual father in the faith who is raising up a new generation of leaders in a Spirit-filled Bible College that is directly a part of the Fellowship of Christian Assemblies.  He understands the importance of insuring successful intergenerational leadership that connects relationally and empowers the next generation.

His message clearly underscores the importance of engaging, identifying and empowering emerging "next gen" leaders who are committed to impacting the world, and in making disciples of all nations.  He provides strategies for relationally mentoring and equipping next generation with shoulders to stand on, where one generation's ceiling becomes the next generation's floor.

Carolin Sadler of Youth With a Mission's Kings' Kids and Children Arise! Ministries introduced Stephanie Muzyka's workshop, and shares the vision that we need to think even more about "children in ministry," and not just children's ministry, or "youth in ministry," and not just youth ministry.  The youth and children are the church of today, not simply the church of tomorrow, and they have gifts and graces that God can use powerfully in our generation as God pours out of His Spirit on all flesh, and uses our "sons and our daughters" as well as the older generation.  There is no "junior Holy Spirit" for the children and youth, and a "senior Holy Spirit" for the older ones.

It became clear that if the generations are to inherit the promises of God together, that each generation must die to itself, so that Christ can be formed in us, and the world will then see a more accurate representation and reflection of what the true Jesus is really like.

Tabith Lemaire from Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Québec, flew from Montreal to Winnipeg at her own expense in order to join Stephanie and Carolin in this intergenerational workshop, and to lead in a time of worship to the King, a worship which brought a heavy sense of God's Peace and Presence.

When God's Presence shows up, what can one do but to kneel in the Presence of the King of kings and Lord of lords, and to honour Him who sits upon the Throne?

Wednesday Evening Service, October 17, 2012

The praise and worship that evening was once again led by Earl Toews, and the intergenerational worship team from the Dayspring Fellowship in Ste. Anne, Manitoba.  The praise and worship was once again energetic, whole-hearted and passionate.

This was followed up by a heart-felt song from the Teen Challenge Choir, sung by men whose lives are being changed and transformed.  These men, led by Terry Thiessen, brought an incarnational element to the Convention, and made us all aware that God is indeed changing lives in our day and age, and is able to save, even unto the uttermost!

The Teen Challenge Choir shared that night both in song and in testimony to the glory of God!

The two pictures above give us an idea of the crowd who attended the service on Wednesday evening at the Delta Winnipeg Hotel on October 17.

That evening the main speaker was Evangelist Lott Thunder of Lott Thunder Revivals.  Lott lives in Winnipeg, and has been a respected native minister for many years, and hosts meetings at the Winnipeg Convention Centre every year on both Easter and Thanksgiving week-ends, and draws between 2,500 and 3,000 people.

He preached a powerful message on revival, and how that the key to revival is still prayer.  He stressed the importance of a family altar, beginning in our homes.

Lott's message was backed up with his own personal life and testimony, having had a godly example in his own parents who established a family altar in his home on a daily basis.  A fire of the Word and of the Spirit was ignited in his own heart through the godly influence of his parents.

Fire begets fire!  Consequently, God has used Lott Thunder to ignite revival fires in communities and reservations all over our land, and he certainly lit a fire in the souls of the Convention delegates that evening, as the service ended in a time of strong corporate prayer and intercession.

Thursday Morning, October 18, 2012

On the final morning plenary session, Pastor Lovelace St. John from the Progress Church of God in Toronto was the main speaker.

He brought an awesome, heart-probing message that opened many eyes to a biblical understanding that the Bible uses the term "sons" generically to include both men and women, even as men and women also become part of the "bride."  He made crystal clear how father-son relationships are to work in the Body of Christ.  They are to be relational and personal, in which mentorship takes place primarily by spending time with each other, hearing one another's hearts, inner struggles and feelings.

When there is a strong heart connection, correction can take place in a redemptive way in which the next generation can avoid making mistakes that the previous generation has made, and yet building on the righteous roots from the past.  There is also the reality that the generations can learn from each other, and accountability needs to be mutual so we don't require one thing of the next generation but live differently ourselves. 

When it comes to our relationship with the heavenly Father, we are all "sons," we are all "children" who need to grow up into His image, so that we can truly reflect the Father's love to the whole world, and see real relationships formed based on the Father's love rather than on human selfishness.

Lovelace was followed up by Duane Siemens who leads the Harvest Family Church in Winnipeg who explained how father-son relationships have worked out in his own personal life, and within the sphere of our relationships with the Fellowship of Christian Assemblies in Manitoba.  This father's blessing transferred from a father to a son is gradually allowing the next generation to go further, and to allow new ministries to be properly birthed and matured.  Just as Duane was fathered by men like his father-in-law, Edwin Wiebe, a pioneer within the FCA, even so he is now fathering others like Sean Goulet who leads the Lighthouse Mission as a beacon of light, and of the Father's heart in the inner city of Winnipeg that is making a difference.

This was a powerful "one-two punch" that ministered to those present on a very deep level as it re-enforced the importance of personal relationship in raising up a new generation of leaders, both men and women, to the glory of the Father, and of His Forever Family.

The follow-up workshops by Irvin and Dolly Wilson (on cross-cultural issues) and Stephanie Muzyka (on cross-generational issues) were repeated on Thursday morning, with the addition that this morning, there was also a very practical and useful workshop on leadership (both morning and afternoon) that was led by Linton Sellen, a brother to Terry Sellen, the pastor of the Oakbank Christian Church, and the chairman of the steering committee for the Convention.

Linton has a very sensible, practical and biblical approach to understanding effective leadership, and deals with fundamental misconceptions and concepts head-on.  He conducts in-house training of managers and supervisors for businesses and other organizations through the company Training Plus.  He specializes in the area of leadership development, and those who attended his workshop gave rave reviews of how valuable and helpful his insights were, both in the morning workshop, and in the afternoon as well.

Thursday afternoon, October 18, 2012 Tour into the Heart of the City

 During the afternoon of Thursday, October 18, some 25-30 of the Convention delegates went on a guided tour of the inner city ministries that are either affiliated or partnered with the Fellowship of Christian Assemblies.  Transportation was kindly arranged through drivers and vans provided by Teen Challenge.  That afternoon, the delegates were able to spend approximately an hour between 1:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. at each of the following three inner city missions. 

Lighthouse Mission, 669 Main Street, Winnipeg

Director:  Sean Goulet       

Teen Challenge of Central Canada, 414 Edmonton Street, Winnipeg

Director:  Steve Paulson

Walls of Freedom Outreach Centre, 294 Ellen Street, Winnipeg

Directors:  Jim and Jacqie Wiseman

It was a real eye-opener that made the message of the Convention come alive through the testimonies of changed lives that God is rescuing in the inner city, the heart of the city, from which can flow out either blessings or curses.  The places where the darkness is greatest is where the light needs to shine the brightest, and where curses, murders and suicides abound, the resurrection power of the gospel can manifest as greater than the power of death.

The newspapers are filled with stories of the crime commited in these inner city areas, but God is raising up a people with the same spirit as William Booth, who once said that "some may live their lives within the sound of church and bell, but I would run a rescue shop within a yard of hell!"
God is doing something right in the heart of the city in the heart of the continent in reaching out to those for whom the heaven Father has a heart--for the lost, the last, the least and the lonely.  The Father puts the solitary and the lonely into families (Psalm 68:5, 6), and takes them out of a dry place into a place where there are rivers of living water that flow from a deep place that bring refreshing, healing and power to change to people who are destitute and broken. 

 "Out of the heart, the centre, the core will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:39).  "Behold, I will do a new thing, do you not perceive it?...I will make a road in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert" (Isaiah 43:19).



Final Evening Service, Thursday, October 18, 2012 



The capstone of the entire Convention was laid on the final evening when the Youth from the Followers of Christ Fellowship, a Filippino Congregation pastored by Randy Casillan, a minister ordained with the Fellowship of Christian Assemblies.

They led in a rousing time of praise and worship, re-enforcing the theme of bringing the light of the gospel to every nation (ethnos) in every generation.

The Teen Challenge Choir did another special number with the song "Redeemed," which speaks of those redeemed and rescued from the deepest sin, which the Book of Revelation tells us will include the redeemed from every tribe, every nation, every language, every people group, all redeemed, restored and forgiven by the power of love, and transformed into a kingdom of priests unto our God.  Revelation 5:9, 10.

The intergenerational theme was brought home as John Lucas II, a pioneer within the Fellowship of Christian Assemblies, introduced his son, John Lucas III, to bring the final keynote message.

His text was taken from Isaiah 54:1-3, where John Lucas III pointed out that we are not being asked to just enlarge our tent, but to "enlarge the place of our tent."  We need a vision that does not limit God to what He has done in the past, but where we enlarge the place for God to keep working from generation to generation, always going further and building upon what He has done in previous generations, but exercising the faith for Him to do greater things in our day.

To get the full impact of this message, one needs to listen to the audio that is on YouTube.  You will find not only this message in audio in YouTube segments, but also most of the other messages referred to  in this report right here.