Written by Mike Penninga | 31 July 2010

Well KGF church family, you’ve done it again!  Your generosity continues to amaze me.  In our second annual ‘Christmas in July Food Bank Campaign’, we set a goal of collecting 2,000 pounds of food.  When all was said and done, the final tally was 2,234 pounds!  That’s equivalent to a $6,702 donation.  Way to go!  This will go a long way to helping those less fortunate in our community, feeding 55 families for a week.  Find out more about the Food Bank’s good work online at www.kelownafoodbank.com Check out photos from our tour of the Food Bank here.

Pastor Mike

Written by Mike Penninga | 31 July 2010

As we walk through our summer series “Building on the Rock”, looking at the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 – 7, it is impossible to cover all the material in just 11 weeks (something I have discovered as I’ve tried to cover all the material in just 11 weeks!)  I realize that each of these subjects needs a full unpacking, but in lieu of that, I wanted to share some perspective on Matthew 5:31-32, where Jesus talks about Divorce.  Here’s the text 

“You have heard the law that says, ‘A man can divorce his wife by merely giving her a written notice of divorce.’​  But I say that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery. And anyone who marries a divorced woman also commits adultery. 

That is a hard passage. You know why it’s hard? Because I know so many good people walking through this world of divorce. And I put them in this passage and it’s hard. Hard because we live in a broken world where broken people go through incredibly hard things.

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Written by Mike Penninga | 28 July 2010

Getting to Know Gardom Lake Bible Camp

This past year, KGF became the sixth supporting church of Gardom Lake Bible Camp just outside of Enderby.  This is so exciting, as camp is truly a place God seems to work to draw many young people to Himself!  I know he did that in my life!  As a supporting church, we can come alongside Gardom Lake by sending our kids there for camp, having our youth work there, volunteering ourselves, being a part of fundraising opportunities, promotion and prayer!

Gardom Lake’s mission is to present the gospel of Jesus Christ; educating and discipling youth and their families, by giving them opportunities to see and experience practical Christian living in the beauty of God's creation.

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Written by Mike Penninga | 25 July 2010

Why in an era of Costco cards and gym memberships, of reward programs and air miles, are people running away from the concept of church membership? The plethora of membership cards in my wallet alone suggest it’s not because we are unwilling to sign our name on the bottom line. So why are so many people choosing to live common-law with the church? What is keeping them from committing to membership of a local church? How has membership changed in our churches, and what is it going to look like in the next generation of churches? And can we do anything to change the tide? This paper looks at these important questions, and provides some potential solution that are worth a shot.  KGF is having a membership class on Sunday August 29th, 7 - 9pm for those who are interested in officially joining the family!

Written by Mike Penninga | 25 July 2010

Sexual purity is a challenge in our culture.  But Jesus calls us to a standard of purity that we can not ignore.  As part of our summer series, "Building on the Rock", we are unpacking Jesus' teaching on lust and adultery in Matthew 5.  We recognize that men especially have struggles in this area, and have put together a helpful document you can download here .  Also encourage you to watch Shea Nicholson's testimony on pornography in his own life here.  Shea is going to be sharing at church August 1st, so if you miss that message, you can catch it (and all other messages) here.  

Written by Mike Penninga | 22 July 2010