Quebec Alive moments

Jean Sauvageau (right, with coach Gilles Paquin on left) was quite active in a church prior to 2001.  He was a deacon, worship leader, EE evangelism participant, and led a cell group.  Shortly before 2001 he and his wife, Hugguette, began attending the church in Chatteauguay because it was close to where they lived.  Therefore, when he joined the 2004 Cohort, he was not involved with his new church other than participating a little in the music ministry.  Since then he has become involved with all the same ministries at Chateauguay that he had in the previous church.  However, over the six years of his SEMBEQ experience, he is doing all these with greater wisdom, grace and understanding.  He is also doing some preaching and teaching.  He loves all the activities he is involved with and has been praying for wisdom and guidance as to which ones to concentrate on.  He is most passionate about teaching and evangelistic work and has indicated that through his training at SEMBEQ, he has become a better teacher as he became a better listener and facilitator, not just transmitting information, but teaching the participant how to “dig out” information themselves.  His passion for evangelism has been renewed and become deeper as he has changed from the door-to-door EE method to the NET method of following up on those who the church comes in contact with through personal interaction.

What attracted Jean Sauvageau most to SEMBEQ and the cohort was the coaching method of training.  Having someone to be accountable to and to rely upon as you grow in your academic, spiritual and ministerial areas did not only seem like the best way for training, but has proved to be true over the six years of his training.  He also indicates that having the training spread out over a longer time was easier to work into his schedule and more efficient.  Also, the strong fellowship with one another that developed by being together in so many courses and similar activities, and the mutual challenge and encouragement given, were a blessing that was not readily seen at the beginning.  Jean is practicing what he has learned by being involved with the coaching of several other men.  Pray for Jean, Huguette and their family as they continue to serve the Lord in Chateauguay and as they look to the Lord for wisdom, discernment and guidance as to how the Lord would desire to use them in the coming years.

Hugo Ethier (see the summer ‘08 issue of Quebec Alive) is one of the original cohort students.  When he began his studies in the Montreal Cohort in 2004 he was a full time math teacher in one of the Montreal high schools and he and his wife Lyne were involved with their church in Longueuil.  Hugo was an elder in charge of evangelism, training and leading the church in her mission to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost world.  He was leading a cell group in his home and also preaching every couple of months during the Sunday evening service and occasionally during the morning service.  He and Lyne were also busy raising their four children for the glory of the Lord.  The Cohort Program of SEMBEQ appealed to Hugo because he could pursue his training in his church, keep his job and still be more intentional about his training while spreading it over a more reasonable time commitment.  Hugo stated that, “the quite long process of SEMBEQ’s cohort gives a reasonable time to improve and test our inner maturity, so that the ministry experience has more “chances” (I use man’s language as Paul would say) to be successful.”

After his first two years in the cohort, he left his home church and his math teaching position and took his wife and four children five hours north east of Montreal and planted a church in Riviere-du-Loup.  The Lord provided him with a nucleus of 20-25 people and now, four years later, the Lord has increased the number to around seventy people.  His hope is to lead the church to maturity so that they may become financial autonomous and begin to plant “daughter” churches.  He hopes to have leaders emerge from the church to plant these churches and to take over some responsibilities at Riviere-du-Loup.  He also desires to continue his own theological training with SEMBEQ and be able to teach some theological topics for SEMBEQ.

The coaching model of SEMBEQ is dear to his heart and credits his coach, Gilles Lapierre, with helping him immensely with his development through and past the many challenges which surfaced in both his personal and external situations.  He has been coaching two men himself and is planning on starting “la Releve” program next fall, a program similar in nature to SEMBEQ’s cohort model, but smaller and only with members of the local church.  Pray for Hugo, Lyne and the family as they look to the the Lord for wisdom, discernment and strength to reach out to the Riviere-du-Loup region to bring the lost into the family of God and to bring the family of God to maturity.

January 10, 2004 was the beginning of SEMBEQ’s Cohort Program.  There was prayer for the Lord to provide 10 students who would be willing to commit to a six-year program of study to prepare for pastoring, church planting, and evangelism.  However, the Lord once again provided beyond what was asked or thought and provided 24 students.  Praise Him!  This year marks the end of the six-year commitment for this first cohort, which has been meeting in Montreal.  In 2005 a cohort began in Gatineau (2 hours west of Montreal), and additonal cohorts were added in Sherbrooke (2 hours east of Montreal), Laval (short distance north of Montreal), Granby (1.5 hours east of Montreal) and, most recently, a sixth cohort started again in Montreal.

The Cohort is a group of 10 or more students who commit to a six-year program of theological study while develping both their character and ministry ability under the supervision of a coach. The program involves a minimum of 10 hours of study and 10-15 hours of local church ministry each week.  The students generally meet together one Saturday a month for a full day of formal instruction.  Each student must be a member of a local church which recommends him for the program and encourages and supports him with their prayers, ministry opportunities, and often financial help.  Each student must possess a teachable heart and a willingness to be coached.  The Lord has produced much fruit in and through these students and in the upcoming weeks we will be highlighting some of the students from the original cohort who will be completing their six-year program this year.

This past week Dr. Donald A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL, gave a four-day intensive course on the Gospel Centered Ministry.  Dr. Carson was born and raised in Quebec where his father was one of the early evangelical pioneer pastors in Quebec and where Dr. Carso himself served as a pastor prior to teaching at Trinity.  Because of his close association with the Lord’s work in Quebec, he has regularly come to SEMBEQ to offer intensive courses.  The course this year developed the challenge to not be too broad or too narrow in the understanding of the Gospel, but to faithfully interpret the Gospel so as to correctly guide every aspect of church ministry, i.e. evangelization, discipleship, church discipline, training leaders, small groups, and compassion ministry.  Over the eighteen sessions of the course, Dr. Carson opened God’s Word to demonstrate faithful interpretation, allowing for discussion as he proceeded.   There were over thirty participants and they were actively involved with lively discussions and thoughtful questions.  Each participant had reading and writing assignments prior to the course and have additional work to complete over the next several weeks.  Pray that the participants will use what they have learned and will faithfully present and apply the Gospel for the Lord’s glory and man’s salvation.

We  mentioned in Moment #16 that SEMBEQ had sponsored a 3-day conference concerning the characteristics of an healthy church.  The Friday evening session covered the necessity and obligation of church membership.  It was encouraging to see more than 250 people, many of whom were young people, attentively listening to Mark Dever expounding on the absolute necessity and responsibility of church membership.  He states (Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, 3rd Ed., pp. 20, 21, 23), “By identifying ourselves with a particular church, we let the pastor and other members of that local church know that we intend to be committed in attendance, giving, prayer and service.  We increase others’ expectations of us in these areas, and we make it known that we are the responsibility of this local church.  We assure the church of our commitment to serve Christ with them, and we call for their commitment to serve us in love and to encourage us in our discipleship…This membership is not simply the record of a statement we once made or of affection toward a familiar place. it must be the reflection of a living commitment, or it is worthless, it is dangerous.  Uninvolved members confuse both real members and non-Christians about what it means to be a Christian.  Church membership means being incorporated in practical ways into the body of Christ.  It means traveling together as aliens and strangers in this world as we head to our heavenly home.”  May the Lord bless the thoughts of church membership by bringing each of us into a deeper commitment to our local church assembly.