“Why should I join the church?” That’s the question that many people have when the topic of church membership comes up. Many people are reluctant to formally join the church. After all, we don’t see membership ceremonies in the early church. We can participate in worship, we can get involved in various ministries, and we can certainly feel a part of the family of God, all without official membership in a local church. So what’s the big deal?

I’d like to offer several reasons to join the church.

1. Biblical Precedent. While we don’t see membership ceremonies in the New Testament, the New Testament does speak of those “inside the church” and those “outside the church” (1 Corinthians 5). The context is not about physical location but about formal association. Likewise in Acts 5, when the judgement of God fell upon those who had lied to God, the result was that “no one else dared join them” (5:13). The word “join” indicates a formal commitment, a bonding. Clearly there were those who had formally bonded with a particular body of believers and were then “inside” the church.

2. Identity. By formally joining a church you are identifying yourself with a local body of Christ. You are saying that you stand by and support the work of a particular church. This does not mean this church is perfect and other churches are not good, it simply means you are prepared to identify yourself with the work of the Lord where you worship. This is not only significant for yourself, but significant for others who have also identified with the church body.

3. Accountability. No Christian should live his or her life in solitary confinement. One of the benefits of being part of the church is accountability. It means I can’t go off and do whatever I want, however I want and whenever I want. It means I have to think about others and even answer to others. Many people shy away from accountability, but without accountability we run a very high risk of wandering around spiritually or creating our own spirituality. We may have good intentions, but good intentions aren’t always enough to keep us on the straight and narrow.

4. Responsibility. The whole reason why the Lord talked about the church as the Body of Christ was to indicate that we all have various areas of responsibility and service. Certainly there are responsibilities that can be taken without formal membership, but when we become members we are taking on greater responsibility for the life, health and direction of the church. As members, we are responsible for electing our leaders in the church and making important directional decisions.

5. Commitment. When someone joins the church, it indicates a formal commitment. It means I’m going to stick with it even when the going gets rough. It doesn’t mean that a person can never change their commitment but it means that a person isn’t so loosely associated with a group that the first time something strange happens they are quick to leave the church. They are there for the long haul to see that the church does indeed function as it should.

A word of warning: Joining the church does not make you a Christian. A right relationship with God comes only through repentance and faith in Christ as your Saviour, not by church membership. You can have your name on the church membership roll but it is only when your name is written in the Book of Life that you can be assured of eternal life.

If you have made a commitment to Christ and if you are enjoying the fellowship and life and ministry of this local church, I encourage you to give church membership serious consideration. We would be glad to welcome you.

Norayr Hajian

Routines. We love them, but we hate them. On the one hand they make it easier to go about our daily lives; we know what to do, when to do it, and what to expect. On the other hand they can deprive us of new experiences. We go to work (or school, or church), week after week, month after month, and year after year. We fall into a routine. Time slips by. At some point, we stop and wonder if we are making any progress or just spinning our wheels.

Once a year I have the responsibility to gauge any progress made in the church. It is called “annual reports”. Having just completed our fiscal year (April 30), I will be writing a report for our Annual General Meeting (this Thursday, May 7 at 7:15) as well as a report to our District Assembly (June 18 in Victoria, BC). One of the things that I invariably need to consider as I reflect back on the year is the question of what happened during the past year. Did anything significant happen or were we just spinning our wheels?

I have all sorts of records I could use. I could tell you how many times we’ve had communion, how many pot-lucks we’ve held, who became new members of the church, our average attendance and about the great growth in our youth group. I could tell you about our exciting VBS, Caravans and other programs, our worship team, the band, and all the people that volunteer so willingly in 101 different ways. There are lots and lots of exciting things that have been happening. New people are coming to church. This church truly is “a great place to worship”, and I thank God for all of it’s people.

As wonderful as all that is, the bottom line is none of the above. The bottom line is not even the “bottom line” (financially). The bottom line of the church is what difference has the past year made in the lives of individuals. Who has crossed over from death to life? How have you and I grown in the Lord? What difference has your participation in the life of the church made in your life? What is different today from a year ago? Has anything changed or have we just put in some time? Have you taken any steps of faith? Have you experienced a deeper, more meaningful spiritual life? How has the Word of God become a part of your life? Have you drawn closer to God through regular times of personal prayer? This is really what church is about. Of course, these are difficult questions to answer, so we usually stick with “statistics”. Statistics have their place, but they are not the bottom line.

This year, I want you to help me write a meaningful report. I want to ask you to think about what God has been doing in your life, particularly in the last year or so. Ask yourself some of the questions in the paragraph above. If you are new to the church, maybe you can share what it was that led you here. Take some time with it and if you would, write down some of your thoughts and share them with me. I would help me write a real report instead of giving facts and figures.

Please note, however, this request isn’t about me. I’m not looking for people to say, “Pastor Norman did this or that”. I’m looking for people to tell me what God did in their lives, and, where applicable, how the church was instrumental in that work.

For those who are reading this on-line (the “Pastor’s Perspective” is on our web site), you are welcome to respond by making a comment on line, however, if you wish to write something on paper and slip it under my door or give it to me in person, that would be wonderful too.

If you do respond, please do so by May 6 so that I have an opportunity to reflect upon your comments before writing my report. Thank you very much and I look forward to hearing from you.

Pastor Norman

It’s been asked that if a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it, does it make a sound?  It might be appropriate for us to ask, if the church meets weekly and nobody pays attention, is it still relevant?

There are many things that draw people’s attention.  Work, education, family, recreation, television, internet, cell phones, shopping, Blackberries, vacations, renovations, litigations, mortgages, repairs, maintenance, upkeep, planting, weeding, and for the last six months, snow shoveling!  In the midst of all this “noise” do people even hear the church?  Is anyone listening?  Does anyone even care?

I believe that many people do in fact care.  In the midst of all the “noise” they are desperately looking for something to fill the void in their lives.  Pastor Jud Wilhite (Central Christian Church, Las Vegas) wrote, “I believe with all my heart that the church is the world’s hope. Government can’t change the heart. Education, as important as it is, can’t change the heart. Healthcare and Social Security reform won’t change the heart. Only God can do that. And He uses people–the church–to reach out and impact others.”

If what this pastor said is true, and I believe it is, the answer to man’s needs will only come through the presence of God in their lives, and often that presence is realized through the work and ministry of believers; people who are being “salt” and “light” (Matthew 5:13).

But how have we been doing?  Is it possible that in our good-intentioned efforts to maintain the “sanctity” of the Church we have become so closed-in that we are unheard and irrelevant in the 21st century? Certainly our doors are still open.  We put out the “Welcome” sign, but how welcome will some people feel?  Does the stranger, the one who looks different, acts different, or has a whole set of “problems” really fit in? How about the person who is obviously struggling with an addiction?  How about the person recently released from prison?  Are they made to truly feel welcome?  Would you have them sit beside you?

It seems to me that there are at least three essentials before a person can truly make a church their home.

1. People need a sense of belonging.  This is more than a handshake or a greeting.  It’s the sense that they are a part of the fellowship; that their presence matters, that their voice is heard, that they have something valuable to offer.  It’s a sense that there are people there that care about them; that if they didn’t show up, someone would notice.

2. People need to feel that they won’t be judged.  This goes hand in hand with the first item, because if they feel like they’ve been judged, they certainly won’t feel they belong. This is a tough one because we need to be very careful not to accommodate sin, but at the same time we can certainly understand the struggles people have and empathize with them, unless of course, we’ve never sinned.

3. People need to be challenged with the truth. It might feel good to hear what you want to hear, but people look to the church to guide them in truths of God’s Word. At no point should the church try to be “relevant” by watering down the gospel.

Those are my thoughts.  What are your thoughts?  How are we doing?  How can we do better?  Are we truly an approachable people?  Are we prepared to go out of our comfort zones and meet people who are different than ourselves?

I love our church.  We do many things well.  But we’re not perfect either.  I pray that as we ponder these questions, we will become more sensitive to the needs of the community around us and thereby become the Salt & Light Jesus calls us to become.

Pastor Norman

It is a blessing to be a part of a church where people take initiative in responding to needs, sometimes before they are even mentioned.

• Three weeks ago we had another snowfall on a Saturday.  One person was gearing up to bring a bunch of people to shovel on Sunday, another brings out an ATV with a plow with them on Sunday, while a third beat them both and sent over a loader to do the job on Saturday night.
• On a previous weekend, after a record snowfall on Saturday, eight people show up early on Sunday morning to clear enough of the parking lot to make it useable.
• Our Sunday School leader announces the formation of a second Sunday School class and requests some help: two people respond immediately.
• A Pancake Breakfast is announced: at least three people offer to help in the kitchen, while others show up to clean up after the breakfast.
• The Youth hold an indoor sale and several people come out to help.
• The donated clothing begins to pile up and volunteers show up and sort the never ending small mountain of clothing.
• The church van is being prepared for a trip south and someone donates the cost for two more new tires.  Then the new auto repair shop on Copper Road (Northside Auto Repair) checked over the van at no charge (to make sure it was ready for the trip). Another person goes through the trouble and expense of getting a Class 4 license so she could take time off work and help drive the youth to Saskatchewan.
• A person discovers hundreds of books available in the library and makes them available for people to read, while another person completely reorganizes the library with the help of yet another person.
• Someone senses an area where the church can be ministering to people and volunteers to begin/offer such a ministry.  Someone else sees that childcare is a necessity for such a ministry to happen and offers it.
• There are the countless times dishes are mysteriously washed, floors vacuumed and bathrooms cleaned, all without anyone assigned to those tasks.

The point is this: the Church can not function without such people.  In most of the above situations, I personally had very little or no involvement.  If people were waiting for me, it probably wouldn’t be happening.  No one person can do everything.

It’s great to be part of a church where people work together.   Are we perfect at it?  Not at all.  We miss things sometimes, but by and large there is good participation and ample opportunity.

I want to encourage you; if you are not actively involved in some area of ministry, please feel free to get involved.  This is your church.  Take a look around.  Is there something that is needed?  Is there something that is lacking?  Perhaps YOU are the answer.  Not sure what you can do?  Call me up.  We can sit down, have some coffee and talk about what you see is needed and what some of your interests are and how you can get in the picture, because one thing is for certain, there is room for everybody in this family.

Pastor Norman

It seems like a long time ago now, but it was only a few short years ago that our church was facing a significant financial challenge. At the end of the 2004/2005 fiscal year we had received only $32,200 in tithes and offerings (for the year) and we were projecting a deficit in the following year, of $6,000. In April 2005 I spoke to the congregation about this need and suggested that in a sense we were tying God’s hand when we were not faithful to him because we were closing the doors to his blessing.

Those of you who have been with us the past few years know just how much God did in fact pour out so much blessing. It started when, for the first time in my ministry here, I asked people to make pledges. We received over $9,000 “extra” in pledges. This enabled us to move forward with our plans for 2005 - 2006. By the end of the year, all the expected funds had come in. Each progressive year, we received more and more funds. We ended the 2007/2008 fiscal year with just over $82,000 in tithes and offerings. Clearly God was blessing both the church and His people. This enabled us to first give an honorarium to our youth pastor and then, this past year, to give an actual 1/3-time salary. God is still faithful. And God’s people are still faithful. We also recognize we are facing more difficult times ahead.

This fiscal year we budgeted an income of $80,000 in tithes and offerings. At the current rate of giving, we now expect that we will receive $76,000. While this may not seem like a large shortfall, our other sources of income have also fallen short another $4,000. This will have serious implications on what the Finance Committee will be able to do in the upcoming fiscal year. We may be able to absorb a budget shortfall one year, but we will need to budget accordingly so it doesn’t happen again the following year, meaning that the Finance Committee will have to make some difficult decisions. Either we will be cutting programs or we’ll be cutting back positions, or maybe both. But we believe God to be faithful and we believe God’s people have a desire to see us not only maintain what we’ve been doing but expand it, as the Lord gives us opportunity.

If you have been contributing faithfully to the church, please be assured that we are being extremely careful with every dollar we spend You will be interested to know that in the “expense” side of things, we have kept within (and even a little under) budget. If you haven’t been giving regularly to the church, perhaps you should consider doing so; not just because of our budget, but because it’s the right thing to do in accordance with scripture. The times when we have seen God do the greatest work in His church has been when God’s people have given faithfully. God loves a cheerful giver and those who do tithe faithfully can attest of His abundant provision and joy.

The times ahead might be uncertain, but we have absolute confidence in God’s faithful-ness. May the Lord bless you as you remain faithful to Him.

Pastor Norman

Family. What images does the word bring to mind? For many, “family” brings warm thoughts of happy times, growing, learning, being taken care of, being loved, being supported, being encouraged. You might think of special holidays, maybe Thanksgiving or Christmas when the family gathered together. If you’ve been raised in such an environment, consider yourself blessed. If as an adult, you continue to enjoy time with your siblings and/or your parents, consider yourself doubly blessed.

For others, “family” reflects pain, memories of bad times, neglect, maybe abuse, a childhood that wasn’t. Sometimes the difficulties of family come out in adulthood, often when adult relatives disagree over an inheritance or when one adult child is making sacrifices to care for an elderly parent when others don’t seem to be involved. These can be among the most difficult experiences for anyone. I can not imagine what it is like to feel alone, nor would I wish it on anyone. Over the years I’ve seen the pain in the lives of numerous people who are living in such situations. I’ve also seen how important the church family is. The Church is the Body of Christ. We are a family. It’s for a reason that Jesus considers all who do the will of His Father in heaven to be brothers and sisters; because that is ex-actly what we are—family! The reality is that for some people, the church is the only meaningful family they may have.

On our recent road trip, my children and I experienced the blessing of family. We spent approximately 120 hours together in our van. We’ve always enjoyed doing that. We were able to enjoy plenty of time with brothers, cousins, parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts. We enjoyed all those experiences. We counted on them. We expected these happy experiences.

We also experienced something we weren’t expecting; the outpouring of love, generosity and concern by other members of the family of God.

On our return trip home, after much delay due to mechanical matters, we arrived in Edmonton with one night rest in the previous three nights. I could have easily re-written the dictionary definitions for both exhaustion and frustration (and, for that matter, “gratitude” that we were actually going home). But still, exhaustion was a strong reality. We arrived in Edmonton expecting a bowl of soup, a bit of rest, and then we would be carrying on to Whitehorse. Instead, we were greeted with an incredible feast, literally.

There must have been enough food for our family and every teenager in our church; and it was all so good. BBQ chicken, T-bone steaks, shrimp and of course all the trimmings that go with these things. We were spoiled. Totally. But it wasn’t just the food, it was the care that came with it. For the first time since starting work on my engine, I was able to relax. Certainly my family in California helped me tremendously (especially my brother working with me through the night). My parents provided me with every comfort they can give. But I was under a lot of stress at the time, making it difficult to relax. In Edmonton I relaxed. When it was time to leave, they loaded us up with enough food for about 3 days (I was hoping this didn’t mean we would need 3 days to travel home!). Lots of good food, all packaged and ready for a road trip. And, on top of it all, being the eve of the Armenian Christmas, they gave us wonderful gifts to take home. What a blessing. All that to say, they became family for us.

Christmas is over. We’re all back to our regular responsibilities. Let’s not forget one of our chief responsibilities - being family to those around us. I can guarantee you one thing, you won’t have to look far to find someone you can be family to.

Pastor Norman

On February 14, 2009 a group of very ambitious men and women will be competing in the 26th running of the Yukon Quest. The annual 1000-mile race, known as the “toughest race on earth”, will be starting in Whitehorse this winter and finishing in Fairbanks, Alaska. Already there are 40 mushers signed up for the bone chilling adventure. While some of us wonder why anyone would put themselves through such an ordeal, one musher has not only competed once or twice, he’s competed 24 times in the race’s 25 year history. If anyone is a veteran of the race, it’s the Yukon’s Frank Turner. To compete at that level takes an extreme level of devotion. The Yukon Quest isn’t for your Sunday afternoon dog musher. Research has shown that it takes eight-to-twelve years of training for a talented player/athlete to reach elite levels. This is called the ten-year or 10,000 hour rule, which translates to slightly more than three hours of practice daily for ten years. Simply put, the 10,000 Hour Rule says no one gets to the top of their field unless they log at least 10,000 hours of practice. That’s right - 10,000 hours! Can you imagine 10,000 hours behind teams of dogs? You got to love dogs to do it!

Dedication is one necessity; another necessity for Yukon Quest success is teamwork. Frank Turner puts it best; “In the Yukon Quest race we live by the team: it’s all about the team. There’s no I or me, it’s only we and us.”

I’m no dog musher, but I do know that a team of dogs going in different directions won’t get anywhere fast. The dogs not only need to work hard, they need to work together. For a successful run of the Yukon Quest you will need to dedicate ample amounts of time and have unparalleled teamwork.

Interestingly, these two necessities (time and teamwork) were identified as key factors in the growth of the early church (see Acts 2:42-46). They are also two of the greatest challenges the church faces today. In Jesus’ prayer (John 17:11) He prays, “Protect them by the power of your name… that they may be one as we are one”. Unity doesn’t just happen on it’s own. At times it is a lot of hard work. It means putting the interests of others before myself. This is not something easy, sometimes it seems impossible. Maybe it takes 10,000 hours of practice (in which case I’m sure I have at least another 9,000 hours of practice to go). But I do know that Satan thrives on creating discord within the church and for that reason we must always be on our guard against it.

As I mentioned last Sunday from the pulpit, we do have a church were there is good teamwork. Where there is a need, people respond, almost always without being asked. I not only see this myself, others who visit this church see it as well—and they tell me about it.

I thank God for such a church. Unity and teamwork are the greatest “gifts” you can give your pastors, and you’re giving it throughout the year.

On behalf of Megan, Clayton and myself, let me thank you for this gift and encourage you to continue working together as the Body of Christ because in the end, it’s not about “I or me”, and it’s not even about “us”; it’s all about Him. To Him be the glory.