Why We Are Sending a Team to Montreal this Weekend

By Jeremy Jackson

Jesus said he came to seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19:10). We want to give our lives while we're on earth so that others might know the love of God which has given to us through the cross. Next weekend, from May 28 - May 31st, five members of Fenway Church will be driving six hours north across the Canadian border to spend a few nights in Montreal, Canada.

Currently there are very few born-again Christians in the province of Quebec where Montreal lies. Though at the top of the hill at the center of Montreal there is a cross, very few of the city's inhabitants believe in the God of the Bible. Attendance in Christian churches is lower than 0.1% of the population (although that statistic was taken some time ago, there is not much to suggest that it has changed dramatically). A trip down St. Catherine street, the main drag, and a visitor to the city is treated to a series of images of nude women on giant fluorescent signs advertising strip clubs. Further down the street...
 is the home of many clubs and bars, and also a place where male prostitution is commonplace.  Prostitution and drug dealing are rampant in the city's underbelly, as much of the popular night scene is secretly influenced by these and other illegal industries. Homelessness is a very evident problem in certain parts of the downtown core. Quebec is historically a forgotten, neglected, and abandoned place, a place that today is still searching for an identity, for something on which to put its faith and trust. The Quiet Revolution allowed Quebecois to leave the church in the 1960's in pursuit of material wealth and social promotion. Since then, Quebecois have rallied around their identity as a "nation", separate from Canada. These pursuits, however have not satisfied the desire to know God and experience the grace of forgiveness of sins through Christ.
Since we are not far from Quebec and we are able to go there fairly easily, I've awakened to the idea that we as a church could send a missions team there to reach the lost and encourage the body of Christ there. Harry Katz, Becca Nelson, Kelsey Shelton and myself have committed to going this weekend to do just that. We are spending a few hours in prayer together each day, and we are planning to do outreach consistently in the parks while also planning for some time of fellowship with believers there. We are doing outreach Friday afternoon, Saturday morning and Sunday from 10AM - 2PM. We are excited about what God is going to do during this time, as we plan to set up tables with images that will stimulate spiritual conversations with locals in parks or in public places. Please keep us in your prayers and ask God for the following with us:

That God will give people we meet a desire to turn from sin and follow His ways.

That God will use us to water seeds that have been planted.

For lost children to return to their Father.

Romans 5:3-5 for perseverance in prayer as we are there.

For gift of evangelism to be given to even the most unlikely in our group.

For the time/opportunity to spend time with the church and for fellowship.

In the laying on of hands, healing of sick.

To develop deep relationships with those we talk to.

That God will reveal not good plans but His plans.

Finally, most important I feel is a need to pray for protection for our group. We go into hostile territory doing work that many people and the enemy oppose us for. We are confident in God's grace, his provision for us and his sovereignty, but as we go we ask that He'll protect us from the evil one as we seek to worship Him in such public ways.

Thanks for your prayers and support for us, Fenway Church.
 
Jeremy Jackson
 
The document I've co-worked on and link to here can tell you more about Quebec & Montreal:


https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B6UVgj_e4_sjZjFkMWNlOGUtMGY5ZS00ZTRmLTk3MzItYWM2N2UzZWUzMDc0&hl=en