Welcome!

Derrick Hamre

Lead Pastor

These last two weeks dozens of guest have passed through our doors at Emmanuel Church. Last weekend in Westbank 15 pre-teens and teens were baptized in water and our house was filled with guests. Many of those who were baptized come to our mid-week youth programs but their families do not come to Emmanuel. Therefore it was exciting to meet so many of them as they came to be a part of the celebration. In Peachland we also had a baptismal and park service where visitors dropped by for food and special music. Again, it was a delight to be able to meet and greet those who came to our special event. This weekend is a time many families are hosting friends and relatives. We welcome you as well! We hope you take a visitor card, grab your free beverage at the coffee bar and can feel the warm care & hospitality of our church family. Although there are hundreds away this weekend (over 100 youth and their leaders are at our annual youth convention in Langley), we are honoured to have you with us. You are important to us!

Let me encourage those who are regular attendees of Emmanuel to be proactive in your greeting and hospitality. Look around! Be aware of our special guests each week. Greet them and let the Holy Spirit use you to encourage them. A word of kindness, a gesture of love, a warm welcome goes a long ways for those who are entering a new and sometimes threatening environment. The Bible is filled with exhortations of hospitality. Why not invite someone for lunch after church? Romans 12:13 urges us to “practice hospitality” and I Peter 4:9 instructs us to “offer hospitality to one another.” This long weekend is a great time to practice what we preach. Open you heart, your home, your pocket book and let someone you aren’t familiar with know that you care about them. The greatest testimony for a church family is when someone “new” says they were loving and kind. They invited me in, they valued me and showed me hospitality. Remember, WE are the church. Don’t wait for someone else to organize it or do it … do it yourself!

On a final note but in tune with the theme above, I want to thank all those who have been hosting a small group in their home this year. From September to June Emmanuel Church runs about 25 Connecting Points (great places for study, prayer, friendship and care). Many of those Connecting Points are held in homes. I deeply appreciate the hosts who open the homes God has given them, prepare food and beverage and help facilitate the disciplemaking process in people’s lives. Again, thank you for your hospitality, you are appreciated! Job well done!