Church In  A Tent ... An Old Testament Idea... Today!!

For the first time in our lives, Kim & I found ourselves “ doing” church in a tent ... Yes ... I said a tent ... even though I told my sister Sandy that it looked more like an igloo from the outside!! But let me reassure you, that once we got settled into our seats and started to worship God we weren’t cold ... we were very hot! Kim and I were SO blessed by our time of worship at the Steele Creek Church Of Charlotte, North Carolina. This large, vibrant church reaches out to the needy in their neighbourhood and embraces missions abroad as well. Awesome... eh?!

I couldn’t help but think of the Israelites and how they moved their “tent” every time they set up camp. The difference here in Charlotte is that this tent never moves  … and it was full of people from all nations ... ranging from Liberia to Nigeria to Trinidad to African Americans to Latinos to converted Jews and even Canadians! Kim & I felt like this will be a preview of what heaven will be like .... people from all nations... worshipping one God!

As I looked around the tent I noticed that there were flags from a variety of countries displayed on the walls ..... wait ... I even saw a Canadian flag!! Sandy was able to enlighten me that her church had 2 missionaries who were working with a group called “La Clef” in the greater Montréal area. By the end of the service Kim and I were introduced to Frankie and Brendan. These 2 young men had just come back from Montreal. As we talked to them in French and then in English, we got excited about our new ministry in Quebec.  After a 30 minute phone conversation with the Founder of the “La Clef” ministry (who happened to be Brendan’s dad), we came to understand more how these  Christians from Charlotte, N.C. came to have a burden for those in Quebec.

 As it turns out the Founder has French roots traced back to Louisiana (Cadjun) and the Acadians in Eastern Canada. In 1994 Brendan’s dad attended a French heritage conference in Eastern Canada ... and the rest is history. God placed on his heart the burden to reach out to those in French countries ... notably Quebec, Canada and France. Since then God has used his vision to start up this new endeavour. He had asked God what the “key” was in order to reach out to the French in these 2 spiritually needy countries. That is how he came up with the name “La Clef” ... which means key in English.  

While having my devotions the next morning I was touched by the fact that 2 young men from an English part of the USA felt called to become missionaries to the province of Quebec! Kim and I are excited about the possibilities of networking with Frankie and Brendan. Our short visit with these 2 men was like a shot of adrenaline to us as it confirmed to us that we are not alone in seeing Quebec won for Christ and seeing some , if not many, folks committing their lives to serving our King either in Quebec or abroad. We need your prayers as we embark on this new phase in our lives ... we know that the task is enormous and difficult ... we also know that as we ...

“Are afflicted on every side, conflicts without,

( 2 Corinthians 7: 9)