As we begin a new year in ministry and look forward to the one year anniversary of Frontline coming up in March we thank God for all the blessings he has shown us in our first year of outreach as a Frontline community.  There are definitely many things for us to be thankful for. I have shared some of these things with you already in previous newsletters, but there are many more that I would like to share with you now.

We have seen Frontline come from very humble beginnings. During the first few weeks and even months of operation our guests consisted of a few people that we knew who would join us for coffee. On occasion we would have one or two musicians join us. Much of the time was also spent in solitude.  In spite of this we still were able to see God working and the potential for outreach was huge.

Today, we see this ministry continue to grow. God has brought people to us who we have been able to minister to and in whom we have been able to see God working. We have a large number of regulars on both Friday night and Saturday night. Friday night has predominantly become a crowd of middle aged to retired people who love having the place to “jam”. Saturday night has now become more of a youthful/ young adult night. Each night brings its own flavour of music and occasionally the two flavours converge with the addition of newcomers who drop in or when regulars from one of the nights decide to stir things up a bit by coming out on the opposite night. Overall, it has become a positive community of musicians who feel supported by and have developed strong friendships with others and especially by the staff of volunteers. In fact, one night as a volunteer was discussing “the church” with a regular this regular commented on how Frontline was more like a church than any church he had experienced. I believe that this speaks volumes about our mission and importance in the community.

The interesting thing has been to see how people have begun to attend the church as a result of coming to Frontline. One of these people speaks often about how he noticed something different at Frontline. Though he did not know about the faith that drives Frontline upon his first visit, he immediately sensed a positive mood and felt at home among the volunteers and regulars. Words like these are so rewarding.

As we first began our journey we did not know how everything was going to connect between the church and this outreach, but we did know that relationships was the place to start. God has truly blessed this as we see many people with a hunger for the bread of life who are seeking this bread through the church. This was so evident a few weeks ago when we had a Friday night regular come with an idea to have a Frontline concert at the church saying that it would be great to allow others in the church to see what’s going on at Frontline. A couple weeks later we hosted this concert, had a great turnout, and had nothing but positive feedback from all those in attendance.  Please pray that we will be able to provide a valuable witness and to disciple these people into a fuller understanding of God.

Thank-you all for your prayers and support,
Matthew Duggan

We continue to trust that God will meet our financial needs.
If you would like to support us financially any donations
can be sent to the Synod Office.

Cheques must be made payable to “Powell River Reformed Church” with “Frontline” written on the memo/note line.
Please include your full name and home address for income tax purposes.