We love generous people.  We want to be known as a generous person.  Generosity means living open-handed lives, not closed fists.  

As part of our series, "Church. . .Why Bother?" we have turned our attention to Generosity, that church is designed to be a place where generosity is encouraged and developed.  Here's what happens when we live generous live:

1. Honors God & reveals our trust in Him. 
2. Breaks grip of greed in us
3. Is a witness to those around us.
4. Allows for kingdom impact. 

You can catch up on this message (and the whole series) online here: 

Love to get your feedback here. . . what does it mean to you to live "generous", open-handed lives?  Why is it important to do so?  How has it made a difference in your live as you have done so?  Please join the conversation below!

Pastor Mike Penninga

Fathers Day Sunday, June 19th, is the day we're inviting you to return your baby bottles, filled with change, bills & checks for the Okanagan Valley Pregnancy Care Center.  We are partnering with churches all over the Okanagan to bless this great ministry, which helps women wrestling with unplanned pregnancies.  

This video with Executive Director Theresa White is a great way to get an overview of the ministry, to see what takes place, and to be excited about our partnership with it.  Watch the video here:

Our heart is that you are generous in your support, and that God will surprise us with what He does in our midst!  See you Sunday!

Pastor Mike Penninga

We believe that the Love Kelowna day on June 11 is a great opportunity for us as a community to build on as we desires to make Jesus' love known to the people of Kelowna. 

We truly desired for it not to be just a one day event, but a chance for us as a church to begin to establish a culture of love and blessing that would flow out from each and every individual who is following Jesus at KGF. 

We believe that the love of Jesus in our own lives calls us to be carriers of that love and to demonstrate his good news to others. 

God's love is meant to holistically transform our lives. Therefore as a church we felt that building on both the love Kelowna event (June 11) and the Global Day of Prayer (June 12) we want to mobilize the community of KGF to 90 days of love and beyond. 

We are asking you to consider how God is leading you to holistically love your neighbor (family member, work colleague, classmate, neighbor ect.) over the next 90 days. 

We have devided the 90 days into three 30 day components that will allow us to holistically engage those God has put in our lives to love:

1) Spiritual - praying for those God is asking us to love 

2) Physical - meeting practical needs in their lives

3) Emotional - meeting relational needs in their lives

How it could work:  Read on!

The church of Kelowna will be hitting the streets this Saturday June 11^th for a city-wide project called “Love Kelowna”.  15 churches representing 4,000 people are partnering together to serve the city in tangible ways, from street and park clean-up to graffiti removal, free bar-b-q’s to random acts of kindness.  Children will also be preparing and presenting encouragement cards and gifts to members of our emergency services community.

Love Kelowna stemmed out of a desire by the leaders of area churches to demonstrate our love for the city in practical ways.  A meeting with Mayor Shepherd has helped shape the events of the day, and momentum is growing . 

Love Kelowna runs Saturday morning from 8am – 1pm, so keep an eye out for those wearing green shirts around the city. 

KGF has several specific projects, and you can get involved by emailing Pastor Jinger Goma, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .  All welcome!!

The weekend wraps up with a gathering Sunday June 12^th from 6 – 8pm at Island Stage in Waterfront Park for a Global Day of Prayer event.  Everyone is welcome to join in, and people are encouraged to bring a bag of food for the Kelowna Food Bank. 

Video Explaining the Love Kelowna day is available online here:

It was exciting to hear the response of individuals to our invitation to "get our feet under the same table".  As part of our series, "Church. . . Why Bother?", we talked about the value of belonging, and what it means to come to table where there is not only a spot for you, but your nametag at that spot!  It's a sign that you belong, you are welcome, you are part of the family. 

We encouraged you (and still do!) to invite people to dinner, setting a special place at the table for them, to share a meal and our lives together.  Several of you took us up on that, and even sent us pictures of your meal. . .how cool is this!

May God continue to create places of belonging at KGF where people can discover Jesus and be equipped to follow Him!"

Pastor Mike Penninga

This morning I found myself in Proverbs 20, and was struck afresh by this verse:

"The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?"  Proverbs 20:24. 

That verse is amazingly comforting.  I am not out on my own.  God is directing and guiding.  He is in control.  He is never out of control.  And even when things don't make sense, I can trust.

Not sure where your life has brought you, but may you be encouraged today that God is on the throne, that He is in control, and that you are not alone!

Pastor Mike Penninga 

I know what you are thinking, "wow Josh is clever for spelling Music Mondays that way", I thought it was pretty good too :0)

It is a beautiful day outside and a beautiful day calls for an awesome beautiful song! This week's song is called "Search My heart" and is written by the Hillsong Team in Australia, from their latest album titled "Aftermath". This is a simple tune, but is a great one to foreshadow Mike's upcoming message on Generosity.

Enjoy today and Love Kelowna!

Search My Heart

Joshua, kgf Music Director,

I never tire of hearing stories of God’s transforming work in individual lives!  That’s why I love when we get a chance to post new Life Stories on our website.  This week we have 19 new stories, individuals who are coming into membership at KGF on June 12th.  Each person who shares their testimony is sharing a witness of the living Jesus Christ.  And when we do that, it makes an impact. 

I love the account in John 9, when Jesus heals a blind man, and the Pharisees are upset that Jesus was showing his power when they thought he was a sinner.  Look at the man’s response.

“I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” John 9:25

That’s a testimony.  There are so many things we don’t know.  But this we do know.  God moved me from there to here.  I used to be like this, now I’m like this. 

I received an email recently that warmed my heart. It simply said, “I don’t have family in Kelowna, KGF is my family.” It’s a comment I hear time and again and shows that God is doing something special in our midst!

Our vision is to create places of belonging where people discover Jesus and are equipped to follow him.

That’s partly why we put together this Newsletter Update. We believe you matter. We want to make sure you're fully aware of what's happening in your church family in this exciting season!

Click here to download the June 2011 KGF Family Newsletter

So Jinger is speaking on prayer this coming Sunday, and I thought, "hmmmm, what could I have for a song that speaks about prayer?".  Well, this is an old classic, a song I used to sing at my house as a kid. The song is sung by Allison Krauss, one of my favorite female vocalists and is called "As I went down in the river to pray".

Enjoy the mood of the song, the lyrics too, take time this week and reflect on what God is doing in your life.

As I Went Down In The River To Pray

Have an incredible week!

Josh, Music Director, kgf

Dear KGF family member!

Your spiritual growth is of vital importance to our church. Whether you’re just starting to explore the Christian faith, or you’re a long-time Christ-follower, we want to do everything we can to help you on your spiritual journey.

That’s why we need your help.

If you consider KGF your home church, then we're asking you to click on the link below to take the REVEAL Spiritual Life Survey, which asks questions about your spiritual life and the role Kelowna Gospel Fellowship plays in it.

Since the survey touches on a wide range of thought-provoking issues, you should anticipate needing 30 - 40 minutes to complete it.