“So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.” (Acts 19:9-10)
Last Sunday was one for the ages! Due to an unanticipated strike by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), our Sunday Service
meeting location was unexpectedly cancelled on Thursday, just days before it was supposed to take place. Since most meeting spaces require at least 72-hours notice to book their facility, we were not left with many options for our Worship Service. After seeking advice from some of the other leaders in the Church, I made the decision to have Bible Talk House Church Services!
Though we have met in Bible Talks for Sunday Service before, we have never had each Bible Talk create their own service. In other words, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we would create pre-recorded services and have each Bible Talk play the pre-recorded service video on Sunday. We did this to keep each group on the same page, and the Church unified in the same direction. However, this Bible Talk House Church Service was going to be different. We felt that it would be a great opportunity for each Bible Talk Leader to preach to their groups, and to have disciples within those groups be responsible for the different parts of the service. (ie. Welcome, Contribution, Communion,
etc.) In effect, instead of having one Church service in Toronto, we had seven!
Reportedly, each of the Bible Talks did a fantastic job conducting their services; and so did each of the seven preachers: Will Koroluk, Dylan Hoerner, Ghislain Normand, Kirk Hamula, Isaiah Famurewa, Tony Ventura, and Joshua Groves! At our Bible Talk Leader’s Meeting that night, Joshua shared that he actually preached for 50 minutes! This reminded me of Ezra, who “read [the Word of God] aloud from daybreak
till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand.” (Nehemiah 8:3) Thankfully, it also records, “And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.” (Nehemiah 8:3) Our total attendance for our Bible Talk House Church Services was 95, which is consistent with our average weekly attendance at our Congregational Services! So we did not skip a beat! I am so grateful for the faith of all the disciples in the Church, and particularly the Bible Talk Leaders, who did not see the challenge of the strike and of having no meeting location on Sunday as a problem, but rather an opportunity! God was truly glorified!
As I was sitting and listening to Dylan Hoerner preach an awesome lesson on having a child-like heart at the Level Up Bible Talk House Church Service, it occurred to me that the group that was meeting in my house was made up of 13 disciples. This is significant to Kelly and I because 13 is the number of disciples that were left in Toronto when Kelly and I first moved here to lead the Church in the Summer of 2017. Since then, God has blessed the Church many times over, as it has more than quintupled in the five years that we have led it! We are currently standing firm at 70 sold-out disciples… for now!
Why was this so astounding to me? It hit me that if each of our seven Bible Talks in the Church were to follow our example and grow each group to 70, there would be almost 500 sold-out disciples in the Toronto Church by 2027. Since God is sovereign, and everything that happens He has either made happen or allowed to happen, I then understood why God allowed the strike to happen, and why the only option for us was to meet in Bible Talks for Sunday Service. He wanted us to get a vision of what He could do through us if we commit ourselves to the mission, and to the multiplication of disciples!
With all this in mind, I was particularly encouraged by the growth of the Level Up Bible Talk; which meets at Toronto Metropolitan University. This awesome group was planted in November 2021, with just seven disciples. Now, it is one year later, and they have doubled their group! Dylan Hoerner and Isabella Raudales-Montes have done a phenomenal job leading this group of disciples! Excitingly, the Level Up Bible Talk will now divide into two groups, as they start their second Campus Bible Talk at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU). This new Bible Talk will be led by Nero Cabatuando and a female co-leader who is yet to be selected! They will be meeting on Tuesday nights in the student dorms – International Student Living/Learning Centre! Please join us in supporting and praying for this new Campus Bible Talk
that is committed to evangelizing “the lecture hall of Tyrannus.”
The growth in Level Up Bible Talk is not an anomaly. It is the ideal for each of our Bible Talks, and it is absolutely achievable! With great faith, and an unwavering resolve, I believe each of our Bible Talks could double in the next year! Perhaps then, our Bible Talks could become House Churches, House Churches could become Regions, and “all the [Canadians] who [live] in the province of [Ontario] [can hear] the word of the Lord!” To God be all the glory!
Evan Bartholomew