“Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the
Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.” (Acts 16:6-7)

Welcome to our Super Sunday Service! Although every Sunday Worship Service is “super,” we call this particular Church Service “super” because it falls on the same Sunday as the National Football League’s Super Bowl! Excitingly, the Philadelphia Eagles will be facing off against the Kansas City Chiefs this year! Approximately 200 million people worldwide will tune in to watch this momentous sporting event. That’s over five times the population of Canada! In other words, it is a BIG deal!

Since our Church is, for the most part, made up of international disciples and may not be as familiar with North American football, you may not be acquainted with the key terms associated with football (such as “end zone,” “touchdown,” “blitz,” etc…). But I want to introduce you to one term: “an audible.” An audible is “a play called at the line of scrimmage to supersede the play originally agreed upon as the result of a
change in strategy.” (https://dictionary.com) Simply put, the quarterback must sometimes react to the defence and quickly change a play on the field before they snap the ball. An audible happens quite frequently in professional football as the quarterbacks try to figure out how best to move their teams down the field. Believe it or not, this also happens a lot in the Kingdom!

During Paul’s second missionary journey, God redirected him to Macedonia instead of Asia. The Bible does not tell us the circumstances surrounding this “audible,” but only that they were “…kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.” Why would God do this? Why would He call an audible and keep Paul and his mission team from preaching in Asia? Did God love the people in the
province of Asia (modern-day Turkey) less than those in Macedonia? Definitely not. Perhaps it was because God was trying to stretch Paul’s faith and push him beyond where he had previously been willing to go. There is no way we can know why God did this. However, we can be as sure as Paul was that this was indeed God’s doing. It was the Holy Spirit! In other words, the Holy Spirit quarterbacks God’s team and
occasionally changes the play on the field. We see this indicated in Jesus’ words to the bashful Nicodemus, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of
the Spirit.” (John 3:8)

Just three chapters later in the book of Acts, Paul is finally allowed by the Holy Spirit to go into Asia. In just two years, through having daily discussions in the Lecture Hall of Tyrannus, “…all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.” (Acts 19:10) The Holy Spirit may call a running play, and at other times a passing play, but all of the Holy Spirit’s moves are for the same purpose – to score! Therefore, as God’s people, we must trust the coach, God; we ought to trust our quarterback, the Holy Spirit, and our star player, Jesus, to get us to the end zone!

In light of these things, I would like to announce a significant change in our plans for the year. Although we were going to plant a Church in Ottawa in November, the Holy Spirit has determined that we will have to postpone the Church planting and instead plant a new Region of the Toronto Church. Therefore, this Summer, we will plant the Peel Region! The Peel Region will include the cities of Caledon,
Brampton, and Mississauga. The total population of these cities is 1,498,702, about 20 percent of the greater Toronto area! This incredible territory is home to the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) and Algoma University Brampton, which includes approximately 18,000 campus students. Also included in this Region are Lambton College Mississauga and Sheridan College. Isaiah and Elizabeth Famurewa will plant this new Region and a new Campus Ministry at UTM!

The Peel Region will include the cities of Caledon, Brampton, and Mississauga. The total population of these cities is 1,498,702, about 20 percent of the greater Toronto area! This incredible territory is home to the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) and Algoma University Brampton, which includes approximately 18,000 campus students. Also included in this Region are Lambton College Mississauga and Sheridan College. Isaiah and Elizabeth Famurewa will plant this new Region and a new Campus Ministry at UTM!

We originally were going to be financially supported by the Movement to plant Ottawa, but since we are no longer planting a new Church, part of our Special Missions Contribution in May will go towards this effort. Planting Peel region will include the Famurewa’s salary, the cost of moving disciples to the Mississauga-Brampton area, and potentially a Campus Intern. Please consider this encouraging fact as you prepare
to give your Missions Contribution in the coming months.

You may wonder why plans to plant a Church in Ottawa got postponed. Maybe you’re speculating that God loves Ottawa less than He loves those in the Peel Region. That’s definitely not true. Perhaps you view this as just being a decision made by man. That’s not exactly true either. We can’t control circumstances. The truth is that “Why?” doesn’t matter. That’s why the Bible doesn’t say what kept Paul from preaching
the Word in the province of Asia. God is our coach, and the Holy Spirit is our quarterback! Although we don’t see what they see, we can be sure they are calling the plays for a reason! And eventually, we can be sure that those plays will lead us to a touchdown!

I hope you enjoy your Super Sunday Service! Of course, every Sunday Service is super because we have God – the super coach, the Holy Spirit – the super quarterback, and Jesus – the superstar! I pray we would have more enthusiasm for the advancement of God’s Kingdom than the 200 million plus worldwide fans’ enthusiasm for the Super Bowl! To God be all the glory!

Evan Bartholomew