Operation Christmas Child – Canadian Style

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For the past several weeks, both Southwinds Church and our sister church, Trinity Baptist have been collecting filled shoe boxes for Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child.  By our celebration weekend, both campuses had collected a combined total of 321. This is our highest total ever.

Since the Samaritan’s Purse Canadian National office is located here in Calgary, Trinity & Southwinds arranged a team of volunteers to go to the warehouse and prepare these boxes destined for Latin America, South America and Africa ready for their flight.  A combined group of 18 braved the -15F temperature and icy snow packed roads and headed out to the warehouse.

Our group along with many other volunteers, sorted, repackaged, taped and crated up 3,200 boxes during our 2 hour shift.  The excitement and energy was flowing all around the warehouse as we knew the blessing not only the children were going to receive, but the blessing given to those who provided these boxes of Christmas joy.  We had many new first time volunteers who said the experience was uplifting and they are ready to sign up to volunteer again next year.

Pray for the safety of the staff and volunteers that will transport these boxes to their destination.  Pray for the precious little hands that will receive these boxes.  Pray that they will receive the most wonderful gift of all – Jesus Christ.

Do You Believe?

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On Sunday November 7th, Tim was asked to preach to the Southwinds’ congregation since Pastor Bo was away. Tim’s message of  “Do You Believe?” focused on the word believe. Tim referenced John 3:16-18, God’s gift and promise to all the world; John 20:24-31 & 1 Peter 1:8-9, blessed are those who believe in the unseen; Jude 1:5-7, examples of what happens to those who do not believe or rebel against God; Romans 10:8-13, the GOOD NEWS is here to save you. Tim was thrilled to be able to share the good news with Southwinds members and a few visitors.

Later that same evening, Tim & Andrea traveled to northeast Calgary where Tim preached to the Filipino congregation of Bridge International Church.  This Southern Baptist church is currently searching for a new pastor and has been using seminary students and others in the interim.  This congregation uses the building facilities of another Canadian Baptist Church.  Of the 25 Canadian National Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist) churches in Calgary, only 5 own their own building. All other churches rent their space, just like Southwinds Church.

Tim and Andrea were greeted by many smiling faces. Tim took this opportunity to share God’s word using the message presented to Southwinds earlier that day. Although Tim had this message placed on him back in late July, he had no idea he would get to share it twice the same day, especially to a Filipino congregation.

Also, during this service, Tim was asked to lead the church family in the Lord’s Supper. Although Tim had participated many times, he had never facilitated this special event. But God was present and the remembrance of the Last Supper proceeded without a hitch. Tim was also able to pray for a woman who was flying to the Philippines due to the death of her sister.

This was a special night for them both. New relationships were made as some members of Bridge International Church  knew of Southwinds Church because they had even attended Southwinds’ community block parties held in Cranston. God is awesome!

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus in Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him form the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:9 NIV

Do You Believe?

To hear the audio sermon, click on the link above which will take you to the iTunes page for Southwinds Church, and then select “Do You Believe?” from November 7, 2010.

Fall Life Groups with Tim

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Tim is leading two Life Groups this fall.  What is a Life Group?  A Life Group is a small group Bible study that meets in someone’s home, much like a traditional Sunday School class, just without a church building.

Life Groups are for anyone.  You do not have to be a member or attendee of Southwinds Church or any church to get involved in a Life Group.  The purpose of a Life Group is to create fellowship and encourage dialogue for spiritual growth.

Tuesday nights, Tim leads a life group in the Whitesides’ home.  The present study is “Purpose Driven Life DVD Series.”  Participants are asked to read the book, one chapter per day, and attend the weekly session for the video and discussion.

Wednesday nights, Tim leads a life group at the home of another family, where the discussion is on “How We Got the Bible.”  It is similar to a Bible 101 type class, with historical and factual information about where the Bible came from, who wrote it, why was it written, and how can I apply the Bible to my everyday life.

Anyone can join and participate.  Contact Tim for more details.

Summer Thank You 2010

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With your help, Southwinds Church had a great summer.   Here is a summary of everything that happened.

Over 9000 door hangers delivered.  3 Giant Block Parties. Over 2000 hot dogs.  84 Children in Soccer Camps.  53 Kids in Upward Basketball Chaparral and 64 for Parkland.  85 Children in Tee Ball Camps.  21 Tweens in Wacky Camp Chaparral.  3 Mini Kids Fun Days.  2 Community Service Projects.  30+ Children in Saddle Ridge Ranch VBS Kids Club Southwinds.  Dozens of moms at the craft tables.  Over 100 new Bibles taken.  104  summer missionaries.  3 summer interns and 1 soon-to-be missionary.

Our summer mission teams represented this year were:

Mountain Creek Baptist Church, Greenville, SC

Boyd Avenue Baptist Church, Casper, WY

First Baptist Church, Sumter, SC

First Baptist Church, Kings Mountain, NC

Mountain View Baptist Church, Hickory, NC

Fallston Baptist Church, Fallston, NC

Dawson Street Baptist Church, Thomasville, GA

Oak Grove Baptist Church, Burleson, TX

East Leesville Baptist Church, Leesville, LA

First Baptist Church, Taylors, SC

None of these events and camps could have taken place without the help from the over 100 summer missionaries and church partnerships.  We thank you so much for your continued support and prayers for us, and for your love for the people of Calgary.

Hands and Feet

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Canada Mission Trip – 2010. Click on the link to view the video.

Upward Basketball Camp July 2010 in Chaparral

Family Block Parties in Silverado & Chaparral

Family Night Barbeque in Chaparral for Upward Families

Thank you First Baptist Kings Mountain!

Missy, Craig, Sharon, Bruce, Cheryl, Eddie, Larry, Michael

“It Reminds Me Of a Song”

Thank you Mountain View Baptist of Hickory, NC for serving with this team also!

A Special Thanks to Missy Short for creating this video slide show.

Don’t Be A Tumbleweed

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Southwinds Church Kids Sing “Tumbleweed”.  Check out that awesome dancing and singing!  I think we have some future superstars on our hands! ">/0.jpg" alt="YouTube Preview Image" />

We are joined this week with some fabulous kids and teachers from Wyoming and South Carolina who are here to assist us with our Soccer Camps.  These kids know that they don’t want to be a tumbleweed, they are going to be planted deep in God’s word.

Meet Our Summer Missionaries 2010

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We are blessed to have three full time summer missionaries to serve with us this summer!

Kinsey Galyon is a Senior at Reinhardt University in Georgia and a member of the Women’s Basketball Team.  She is a member of Sevier Heights Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.   This is Kinsey’s third year in Calgary with Southwinds Church.  Kinsey is majoring in Sports Medicine.

Adam Velez is a Senior at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs where he is Men’s Discipleship Coordinator.  He is also a member of Mountain View Baptist Church of Hickory, NC.   This is Adam’s third year serving alongside Southwinds Church.  Adam is a gifted musician and soccer player.

Denise Shirley is a Freshman at North Greenville University in South Carolina where she is a member of the Ladies Golf Team.  She is a member of Mountain Creek Baptist Church of Greenville, SC.   Denise has been a part of the summer team for four years, and this is her first full summer with us.

Please pray for these young adults who are giving up their entire summer to serve Christ.  Pray for each of these as they are seeking God’s will for their futures and how they will continue to answer God’s call on their lives.

Upward Ball Hockey Camp 2010

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During the week of April 19 – 23, Southwinds Church sponsored its second annual Upward Ball Hockey Camp. Last year’s camp was the first ever Upward Ball Hockey Camp in the Province of Alberta. 30 boys & girls came out to Lake Chaparral’s upper rink (without the ice) to run around, learn hockey skills and rules, and hear and lessons from the Bible. Over 20 volunteers from Southwinds Church, Trinity Baptist Church, and even friends from outside the church came to help. God blessed us with great weather and no injuries.

On Friday night, we held a family BBQ event serving hot dogs, chips, pop and a giant Dairy Queen ice cream cake, which was donated by a parent. Afterwards, the kids were back out on the rink for their last games. The kids received their own pro-style hockey stick decorated with their Upward award star stickers, hockey ball, Upward water bottle, and Upward Ball Hockey Camp tee shirt. Most importantly, these children now know that Jesus loves them.

Thank you for your prayers for the children, the volunteers, and the weather.

Enjoy the photos, and don’t forget to watch the brief video clip!

View 2010 Upward Ball Hockey Photos


We Need Bibles! Thank you!

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This summer, we will have the opportunity to minister to over 300 children and youth with our summer camp programs.  We were honored last year to give Bibles to dozens of children who had never owned their own Bible, some who did not even own a family Bible in their home.

The Bibles we need are specific:

The Beginner’s Bible: Timeless Children’s Stories    (Zonderkidz, $16.95 USD)

Teen Study Bible NIV (Zonderkidz, $22.95 USD)

VBS New Testament with Psalms & Proverbs, Holman Translation (Holman Bible Publishers, $2.49 USD)

We are pleased to have many churches who will be sending mission teams to assist us this summer.  We are asking that if you are willing to purchase a few of these Bibles, that you would send these with the summer mission teams, as this is the least expensive way to transport these across the border.  We have found that many Christian Book Stores offer excellent sale prices, and sometimes the books are less than half the normal retail price listed.

Please email us at whitesides_tim@yahoo.com or andreawhitesides@yahoo.com if you would like to send us Bibles or if you have further questions.  Even if you can only afford to send one Bible, we will be grateful, because the life of one child or adult could be changed forever.
THANK YOU For the Bibles.  We have 150 Bibles coming on the way to us from some friends in Georgia.  We thank you for answering this much needed prayer request.