The Best Place to Live

Dear Redwood Park Family,

This past fall, we’ve been moving further into our Redwood vision and mission. From preaching a whole sermon series on it, to hiring new staff, to moving our Food Bank into our building, to establishing a formal partnership with Northwind Family Ministries, it’s all flowing out of our vision and mission.

God’s vision for us is big:
that Northwestern Ontario
becomes one of the best places to live in Canada
for all people.
We participate in this vision as we live out our mission statement:
We are a Jesus-centered, Spirit-led community of reconciliation
joining God in His mission to see all people
reconciled to God, to the earth, to each other, and to themselves.
As we look to 2025, we anticipate the work God will continue to do in and through us. Here are some things we are excited about:

NextGen Ministries: 
From Redwood Kids, to Jr. and Sr. High, to Young Adults, we are seeing Jesus move in this generation which will impact Redwood and our city in the years to come.

Spiritual Formation:
In addition to the Small Groups, Men’s and Women’s ministries, and the Alpha Course, we are adding to the ways you can grow deeper in your relationship with Jesus through our new Authentic Community Triads.

Missional Engagement: 
We continue to see God opening doors for missional engagement in our city, region, and world. Here’s a snapshot of what’s in the works:

Locally: Some of us recently attended a Vibrant Communities Event that has led to our participation on a steering committee with local leaders to develop a city-wide strategy with a vision that is remarkably aligned with our church vision. In addition, Samuel Sariya, our Missional Engagement Pastor, has been invited to begin partnering with the Thunder Bay Police on community policing initiatives that will begin rolling out in the new year.

Regionally: We are coordinating with First Nations leaders in how we can come alongside and serve their communities.

Globally: An exploratory team will be attending an Alliance Global Gathering in March to build relationships with the International Workers we already support and discern which new partnerships God is calling us into.
Your generosity has enabled us to lean into our vision and mission in 2024 and will propel us forward into 2025. This is a big year - we really sense that we are on the cusp of significant movement in the Kingdom. So, this will require big generosity! Would you prayerfully consider if God is calling you to invest in His vision in the following ways?

  • If you’ve never given before, today is a good day to start!
  • If you’ve given before, but aren’t yet a regular contributor, sign up for regular monthly or bimonthly giving. It helps us so much in our planning.
  • If you are already a regular contributor, prayerfully consider increasing your monthly amount or giving an above and beyond contribution. If ever there was a time for this, it’s now!

Click here to donate and learn more about why we believe giving is a key practice for followers of Jesus: https://redwoodpark.ca/give

I shared some of this last Sunday, and many of you have already responded with an outpouring of generosity. Thank you! Your giving is making a real and lasting impact in people’s lives. 
With gratitude to be in this with you,

Milissa Ewing, Lead Pastor
on behalf of the Redwood Park Staff Team and Elders Board.