Thank you for your faithfulness throughout this past year. Your support has enabled us to bring Christ’s message of hope to a world that seems increasingly on the edge. As we forge ahead together into 2023, we look forward to witnessing all that God makes possible through His enduring love.
We at CBM are grateful for you and your church. We know it’s been a difficult season, and so we wanted to offer you a gift- a pre-recorded online service for you to use on Sunday, January 1st. We hope this will give you a much-needed break, and be a gift to you and your church.
Executive Director Jennifer Lau gives an update on CBM’s work over the last few months and announces a new partnership.
Ongoing and newly developed conflicts have driven displacement across the globe. According to the UNHCR, 89.3 million people have been forcibly displaced worldwide. Sixty-nine percent of refugees and displaced people originated from just five countries (Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Myanmar). Children, who account for 30 percent of the world’s population, account for 41 percent of all forcibly displaced people.
The ads for back-to-school shopping were everywhere, and while I tried to ignore them in the middle of summer, my daughters were thrilled with the idea of picking out their school supplies in early August!
For over 40 years CBM has sent individuals and teams from Canada to visit our global partners. These experiences were put on hold in March 2020 due to the pandemic. However, we are excited to be planning SENT experiences again for 2023.
We hear a lot about the value of hard work. Our parents, grandparents, and teachers all promote the message. My husband’s grandfather always asked only one question: “Are you getting enough work?” My paternal grandfather was a teacher, boatbuilder and pattern maker who worked into his mid 80’s, still building boats. Both men lived through two world wars and the Great Depression. They both had a deep-rooted faith and knew that living it out through their work and in all aspects of life was integral and essential to life itself. But somehow this has gone astray, and our lives reflect the unbiblical sacred/secular dualism where what happens at Church on Sunday is ministry, and Monday to Saturday are for secular activities.
At Christmas, churches around the world celebrate God’s gift to us - the Word becomes flesh. This Christmas, CBM wants to help your church community offer this gift of hope to others through our local church partners around the world.
Rob lives in Ottawa with his wife Jill, son Isaac, daughter Nevaeh and two dogs. They moved to Ottawa so that Rob could serve as the pastor of Bromley Road Baptist Church. Previously, Rob served at Heart Lake Baptist Church in Brampton as their associate pastor, West Edge Community Church as their youth pastor, and at Yonge Street Missions Evergreen Youth Center. Rob completed his undergrad at Tyndale University College and received a master’s degree from Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto and another master’s degree from Tyndale Seminary. He also went through the Arrow Leadership Program a few years ago, which was a transformational experience. Rob is currently a student at Acadia Divinity College in their Doctor of Ministry program.
One of CBM’s key causes is to Build the Church around the world. We believe that God brings healing to a broken world through local churches. That’s why we aim to equip and empower congregations to share the gospel and proclaim God’s love in their communities.
