Q&A

Here are some questions some have asked us about our ministry with SIM.

What is the name of the church John will be serving in as Youth and Young Adults Pastor?
Oakridge Baptist Church

When will John begin?
John and I will be meeting the youth, the young adults, the English and Chinese congregations during a weekend in December. After that, the congregations will vote to accept us and if John is accepted, he will begin his ministry January 1st, 2011.

Will his position be full-time?
Yes.

Will you still need financial support if John gets this pastoring position?
At this time, the answer is yes. Because we haven't officially been accepted yet, we don't know the details of John's salary. From what we know so far, it does look like we still need both sources of income. When we find out the details of John's salary, we will let our financial donors know where we stand in regards to our needs.

Why do you need to be with SIM to be a pastor at this church?
That's a good question. At this time in our lives, we feel we need a larger umbrella organization to receive some guidance and direction. SIM has been helping us bring clarity and direction in how we should view missions. Although John feels this pastoring position is what God wants at this time, he does not know whether this is the only direction He will be leading John. We believe SIM not only provides a balanced view of both global and local missions but it also gives us some needed accountability.

How is John's position as Youth and Young Adults Pastor at this church related to ministry with SIM?
Another good question.  SIM has a ministry in Canada called Cultural Connexions which we are a part of.  This ministry focuses on getting churches in Canadian urban centers to reach out into their communities.  It's a multi-faceted ministry that deals with the complexities of multiculturalism.

Oakridge Baptist Church consists of four different groups: Anglo-Canadians, Chinese Canadians (who are mostly youth and young adults), Chinese (Mandrin speaking) and Chinese (Cantonese speaking).  This body as a whole is wanting to be more multicultural in that, they are wanting to be more 'blended'.

At the same time, this church is also wanting to look into the future.  The leadership's vision is for the church to reach out into the community and somehow be a beacon of light where this building sits.

On many levels, Oakridge's vision coincides with what SIM's Cultural Connexions is wanting to do.  It just seems to fit.
 
Do you have other questions? Feel free to ask us.