Faith Evangelical Bible Church
Winkler, MB (Canada)
Faith Evangelical Bible Church is located in Winkler, Manitoba, Canada. We have had the privilege of having Pastor Mike Comtois as our shepherd now for many years, and we appreciate the care and teaching that we receive each week.
Our congregation is a unique group of people from around the world. We have seen exploding growth in the past ten years, and we thank God for each one that comes in the door. Many of the people who have joined us in the last ten years have come from Germany, and originally from places like Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Because of this, we have special areas of ministry that include live translation during both Adult Bible Fellowship (Sunday School) and the Sunday morning worship service. It has been a joy to see each new face, and to hear the stories of how the Lord led them to FEBC. Even more exciting has been watching them learn about the Grace of God. Many of these members have come from churches that were focused so much on outward rules and regulations that growth was not experienced in their lives. They have found freedom in the truth and are excited to share it!
Speaking about this, Helene and Viktor Christleid (pictured above, far right) recently told us:
In both Calvinism and Arminianism we had the same experience. You can never have a permanent assurance of salvation; you tend to judge others by your standards; and you have questions no one can answer to your complete satisfaction. Being confronted with Free Grace Theology was eye opening. For the first time we saw how much sense Scripture makes if you look at it from that point. We were amazed at how much freedom you have if your assurance of salvation is based on God’s promises and not on your own performance. This filled us with a great amount of gratitude. We were filled with a motivation to live for God and tell others about the good news because we wanted them to experience that same freedom in Christ we had found. We were filled with a new drive to study God’s Word in order to understand it better and to see how it applies to life. Once you have understood the freedom of God’s truth in Scripture, you will never want to go back into the slavery of works salvation.
FEBC has many areas of ministry. Once each month, those who are involved in leading the ministries of the church meet together to plan for the months ahead. It is a time of sharing, prayer, and learning to be a team. After a devotional time and prayer, the men and women split into separate groups. The men are all part of Elder & Deacon training, while the women plan for women’s ministries and other church family events.
We are very focused on making sure our leaders have a solid Biblical foundation. In order to all be on the same page, there are various Bible Classes being taught on a biweekly basis. The material we use is from BTCP (Bible Training Centre for Pastors). It is used around the world to teach pastors and leaders. Mike also uses this material when he goes to Haiti to train the local pastors there. Many have taken advantage of the opportunity to get in-depth Bible training right here at our own church. The very first group that started Bible Classes is now in the 9th out of 10 books. We anticipate a graduation in the next year and a half or so.
On the weeks when we are not running Bible Classes, we have small groups. Everyone who is a regular attender of FEBC is in a small group. Our groups study various books and topics, including books from Bob Wilkin, Charlie Bing, Zane Hodges, etc. We also focus on sharing what we are learning and pray for one another. These groups are also a way for us to get to know some of the other members of our congregation, outside of the Sunday morning service.
Thursday nights our youth group meets. We have a great group of around 30 energetic young people, ranging from grades 8 through 12. This year the group is going through a DVD series called TrueU, from Focus on the Family. They have completed the first series called “Does God Exist”, and have started “Is the Bible Reliable. They also enjoy sharing their talents by putting on a coffee house every few months.
Women’s ministries are also a huge part of what we do as a church. Each month we meet together as ladies to encourage and get to know one another better. Our activities include everything from movie nights, sharing testimonies, packing gifts for shut ins and our local women’s shelter, FEBC Ladies Can Cook, and just this past year we had a fabulous Spring Tea.
The theme of our tea was Women Around the World. We were encouraged to dress up as someone from another culture or country, and we shared some great fellowship and food. We watched a video from Project Hannah, and joined together in prayer for women around the world. It was a very encouraging evening, which drew us all closer together as women. Currently we are planning a much awaited Ladies Retreat which will take place at the beginning of June.
This year our Women’s Breakaway group has been enjoying an in-depth study of the Gospel of John. It is not often as mothers and working women that we get a chance to study the Bible so closely. During our study, we each take turns caring for all the children. The group can be large and quite busy some days, but we feel that it is important that we have this time to study and encourage one another, so we each take our turn with the children.
Of course, we also have Sunday School for children ages 2 through high school, as well as an Adult Bible Fellowship. As adults, we have studied various topics and books over the last few years. Mike is currently taking us through Ezekiel.
Our church building is undergoing some major renovations right now. We have added a large addition to accommodate a growing church body. The work includes adding on more classroom space, as well as a much larger entrance and stairwell. We have needed a wheelchair accessible stairwell for quite some time, and we look forward to being able to have our friends join us downstairs for potluck! We have been truly blessed with men within the church who are willing and able to take on the work of this addition.
The focus on the Grace of God has truly set our church apart in a community with a very high number of churches per capita. We pray that this message would be loud and clear and that many more will find the freedom that we have all experienced.
The Details:
Pastor: Mike Comtois
Website: www.febc.ca
Phone: 204.325.7597
Location:
159 3rd Street South
Winkler, Manitoba R6W 2V9
Services:
Sunday School—9:30
Adult Bible Fellowship—9:30
Worship Service—11:00