Leading people to intimate places with God where his voice can be heard.
Bringing People Together
September
- October 2006
Bringing People Together
Steve Klassen
“Gather to me my consecrated ones…” (Psalm 50:5)
One of the things I love about life with God is the thrilling potential
of what could happen any day with him leading us. We really don’t
know what is around the corner do we? I am finding that listening
to God and being directed by him sometimes opens new doorways to
exciting opportunities and meaningful relationships.
Recently a group of men came together to listen to God through Psalm
50 and a small verse in the psalm grabbed my attention. “Gather
to me my consecrated ones…” As we took time in the silence,
this verse came alive to me and seemed to redefine my purpose. I
found myself understanding the ministry of the MARK Centre as a
place to gather people. I went to another meeting that morning and
heard a friend talk about the need for businessmen to come together.
“There are many of them,” he said, “living lonely
lives…” Later the same morning a spiritual leader made
a decision to get together monthly at the MARK Centre for spiritual
direction sessions. He wanted “to grow deeper” in his
walk with God, but didn’t think he could do that “on
my own.” A few days later a different leader admitted he was
wounded and wanted to meet together with two other leaders rather
than try to sort things out on his own.
What started with a listening session in psalm 50 has become a strong
focus of my days. God is gathering gifted and devoted people together.
All over the world he is calling individuals to band together with
others and work in teams. We are not meant to live like islands.
Fire begets fire. God is bringing his people together to inspire,
encourage and strengthen each other. He is also bringing people
together to accomplish things that they could not possibly accomplish
alone. We are aware of this at the MARK Centre where God is bringing
people together to carry the vision like never before.
Have you thanked God lately for the incredible people he has placed
around you?
Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. - Henry Ford
Volunteers banded together to create a beautiful space in
the northeast corner of our property. The hot tub was set in place
and fired up just in time for the TREK debriefing weeks in early
June. Very soon a structure will be built to cover the hot tub.
Financial Update
A few men came together last fall and decided to match gifts that
would be given to eliminate our remaining building phase debt. (At
that time it was about $120,000) With the added motivation, donors
have been giving throughout the year and these five men have been
matching donations up to $10,000 each. At this point we are still
waiting for donations before the last 10,000 will be matched. Then
we will be about $20,000 away from eliminating our building phase
debt.
Since our grand opening last May we have tasted the joys and challenges
of launching the MARK Centre. Through regular supporters and a growing
clientele making use of the MARK Centre chalet and services, we
are slowly building up a steady income. Yet, like most companies,
our first year of operation has not yielded profits. Our overall
occupancy for the chalet in this first year was about 35%. Two projects
- buying the hot tub and developing that corner of the property,
as well as the construction of our tree house – together cost
us about $14,000, but have greatly enhanced our centre. General
expenses for running the chalet have exceeded income by about $6,000.
With a few generous gifts we believe we will see our building phase
debt entirely eliminated and our operating expenses being met from
month to month. Your participation is much appreciated. We are inviting
you to give generously to help make the MARK Centre a thriving retreat
and training centre.
We Have Moved to Mt. Lehman!
Evy Klassen
June 28th brought the close of the school year and our family home at the MARK Centre. With the changing needs of our family and the growth of the MARK Centre ministry, we sensed God was leading us to move off site. Our house that shares the same driveway as the Chalet now houses the MARK Centre office and two great single women - Theresa and Joanna - who are happy to be the welcoming hosts for the MARK Centre during off hours. We relocated to the very north end of Mt. Lehman road just above the Fraser River. I spent my teen years in this home with my parents and am back again bringing 7 people with me. Due to deteriorating health, my Dad now lives in the Menno Hospital, so Mom downsized to a newly renovated suite within her house to make room for the Klassen gang. We spent the summer finishing off renovations and trying to reshuffle Mom’s possessions and ours to make room for us all in the house. Now the kids are back in school adjusting to new faces and routines and the drive back and forth to town. Along with the house comes a hazelnut farm which is nearing harvest time. In about two weeks we will be opening the farm to u-pickers interested in stocking up on certified organic hazelnuts for the Christmas/winter season. If interested feel free to call Evy at (604) 856-3568 or stop by the second last house on the North end of Mt. Lehman road.
TREK Training Phase Underway
15 young adults have come together from all over North America for
a two-month discipleship training phase. Luke Haidle, former TREK
participant and TREK intern from South Dakota, is giving leadership
for the first time. When their training phase at the MARK Centre
is completed, TREKers will be sent out on 4 teams to Thailand, Mexico
, India, and Peru for 7 month assignments. In June we will have
the privilege of welcoming them all back together for a couple weeks
of debriefing.
For those of you who are giving to this ministry monthly, the option of automatic electronic debit is now available.
In Canada, cheques can be made payable to MARK Centre, and sent to:
31605 Old Yale Road, Abbotsford, BC V2T 2B4
In the United States, cheques can be made payable to MBMS International, and mailed to:
4867 E. Townsend Avenue
Fresno, CA 93727-5006
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MARK Centre Board Members
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MARK Centre Advisory Council Members
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Steve Klassen, MARK Centre Executive Director
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