Canyon View just gave sacrificially to missionaries last Mission Sunday by giving over $67,000.00.  The economy has been hard for all of us for the past few years and yet you gave generously, perhaps beyond what you could afford, like the poor widow that Jesus proudly boasted about.  I was told many times by our missionaries, how much it means to them and how they are grateful beyond what words can describe. 

The Elders are proud of all of your giving too.  It is not a small thing for a church our size to raise $90,000.00 year after year designated exclusively for mission work.  While we are not yet there, I am confident that we will make it as we always have. 

Please pray for other congregations to be able to continue their support and for our Missions to serve and share the gospel to the world as boldly as the apostle Paul did during his ministry.

Thank yu,

Thank you,

Thank you!

Dan McCutcheon

For the Elders

You may just see yourself giving to the Perkins and the Raines (and your other mission endeavours) but I want to impress upon you that the scope is much broader! We are blessed with the opportunity to teach, baptize, disciple, mature and train for leadership so your contribution is exceedingly magnified beyond just ourselves. 

I was blessed to recently visit graduates in Thailand. Neung, who is a part of the ministry team at a large congregation in Bangkok, told me that an old preacher at a smaller church wants him to go there. This preacher has asked Neungs’ elders to bless this move. I asked Neung what he wanted to do. His reply was, “I want to serve God all of my life, I respect my elders and this other preacher.  I will go wherever they decide.” Wow that brings joy to your heart, putting aside all desires of ones’ own self and serving where called to. But my point is this; you here at Canyon View have been a part of that!

Back at SPBC we have two young men from Chile in training (yes we have a tri fold connection Canyon View – Chile – New Zealand). These two men have a passion to preach, evangelize and be involved in mission.  I can picture them preaching at a local church in Santiago, teaching and baptizing, joining their father on mission trips to other South American countries.  Imagine further the possibility of one of them perhaps coming to the USA and preaching at a Spanish speaking church. That would be giving back to your country that has given so much to world missions over our lifetimes.  But don’t miss the point, it is not just a Chilean preacher, or me, or Zane, it is you who partner with us all and make this possible.

This is just the tip of the ice berg, and I could go on and on, but then I would be preaching (I’ll leave that to Zane). In class, I look forward to bringing you up to date on mission work in New Zealand and surrounding regions. It’s a blessing to be here today, we praise the Lord for you and thank you for your willing gift to missions. 

Steve Raine

 Canyon View has been fortunate to be part of the success at our sister congregation Iglesia de Cristo in the Providencia neighborhood of Santiago, Chile.  In 2000, the church began with a few young, willing missionaries. It has grown over the last 11 years to a group of 130. The work in Santiago has been slow at times because it is among the middle upper-class, who are slow and hesitant to begin studying the Bible and even more reluctant to leave behind their Catholic heritage.  However, the challenge of the work has been no match for the power of God.  The church now has a tool: “Marriage Encounter” that allows the church to evangelize entire families. These families are giving their lives to Christ and bringing with them their children, who comprise about 1/4 of the attendance. In the last couple of years, the church has experienced a fast paced growth in spiritual maturity. There are 20 studies going on every week and most are led by Chileans. The work is growing strong with a bright future with Chilean leaders stepping up to the task ahead.

As of March 1^st, the church has a fulltime evangelist paid solely from the contributions collected from the church. Claudio Zalaquett was restored to the faith five years ago and spent the last 3 years in an Ecumenical Biblical Seminar training for a life in ministry. Claudio has been working side-by-side with the missionaries for the last three years as an intern. He and his wife Pamela have two children.

Luis and Veronica Hasbun have been Christians for more than 11 years. He has quickly become one of our strongest leaders.  On Sunday, Februrary 26, 2012 he preached an awesome sermon about perseverance. Of all the people who could understand perseverance he has done just what God wants him to do. He is now a man whom God is using in the lives of others.

The men below with their wives are likely to be appointed Elders this year.

Patricio & Alicia Navarro,    Cristian & Sandra Rodriguez,      Francisco & Dragana Lerma

The departure of missionaries will begin with the Emery family the end of this year, then the Hatchers in 2014 and the Perkins in 2016.

Please pray for our sister congregation in Santiago, Chile during their transition because it is a time when Satan prowls around looking for ways to attack the church. Zane will have much more to share when he is here. Please take the opportunity to spend time with them while they are here. May the Lord bless the church in Santiago, and Canyon View for your support and generosity.

In His service,

Dan McCutcheon

Mike Mazzalongo will be speaking on the topic of “In Spirit and In Truth” addressing how men can enhance and empower their personal and public worship.

We will be meeting where it all started 10 years ago – at Camp Buckhorn in the picturesque mountains of Idyllwild, California. Registration is open to guys of all ages – youth through adult.  The Cost is $80 per person – but scholarships are available.   For more information see our board in the main foyer.

Sign up in the main foyer or talk to Jim Hinton ASAP!

REGISTRATION DEADLINE:   MARCH 19

The purpose of this event is to raise funds to help and support CV kids who will be going to Bible Camp this summer; every year the chili dishes get better and better.

After lunch we will have an auction of pies and other items that you can  bid on.  Who knows?  You might bid on a pie that has a $100 bill inside, or you could bid on some lovely knitted bed socks for next winter!

Stay and enjoy the day, and help our kids go to camp.

TEAM CHAPARONE: Chaperone a younger team to their next destination. This frees up the parents to watch their own children in auditoriums.

FOOD SERVICE: For 1 hour distribute food in a food line either in the morning (snack), OR at 11:30 AM (lunch) OR in the afternoon (snack).

MODERATORS: Morning or afternoon commitment during buzzer rounds on Saturday, March 5th. Fluency in  English required. Read the questions during buzzer rounds using a microphone.  Must be able to pronounce names and places in the book of Matthew.

TIMERS: Rotate with other Timers during buzzer rounds to monitor the time that each person has to answer questions. Use a kitchen timer and stop watch.

SONG LEADERS: Intermittent all day (Need experience with camp songs).

JUDGES: Rotate with other judges during buzzer rounds. Sit with 2 others to gives a “thumbs up/down” to borderline answers. Morning or afternoon commitment.

CUBE JUDGES: Sit with 3 others and scores the number of correct answers during the cube round.  Rotate with others.

SECURITY: Ensure safety in the building and that no participant leaves the parking lot.

CLASSROOM TEST MONITORS: Read the directions of each written test and ensure the time limitation is              followed. Ensure honesty (Morning commitment).

TEST GRADERS: Work with other graders to grade each test twice. All day commitment. Lunch provided.

DATA ENTRY: Input scores to an Excel Spreadsheet in the grading room.  All day commitment. (Lunch  provided.)

COURIERS: Collect completed test from class rooms and take them to the grading room. (All morning)

BRAKET KEEPERS: Keep the double elimination bracket up to date from  9 AM to 4 PM (with breaks) Can team up with another person.

ELECTRONIC SCOREKEEPERS: Keep an accurate visual scoreboard during buzzer rounds in one auditorium. 9 AM to 4 PM (with breaks).

CLEAN UP: Ongoing—monitor and empty trash cans as well as check restrooms for supplies & cleanliness. At 1:30 PM for 30 minutes reset classrooms following the last test.

FINAL CLEAN UP AND TAKE DOWN: From 5 PM until completed ensure that the auditorium, Fellowship Hall, all classrooms, and restrooms are worship ready.

So, on Sunday, February 26, during the Sunday School hour and immediately after worship services, we will hold a “Ministry Fair”.  A ministry fair is much like a job fair – except that the jobs are service opportunities and the applicants are volunteers looking for a place to serve.

This is a wonderful way for you to see all the ministries that are going on at Canyon View and which ones might be a good fit for you. Each ministry will have a booth in the courtyard using photos, graphics, or other information explaining what they do and how you can be involved.  Leaders or members of that ministry will also be standing by their display in order to answer any questions you may have and sign you up!

On that Sunday all 9:00 AM children’s classes (through High School age) will be held as usual.  However, adult classes will dismiss so that you can browse the fair, explore the booths, talk to the Ministry Leaders, and choose one to join.

THERE WILL BE BREAKFAST FOODS, CONTESTS, AND PRIZES!

“Mr. McKeel, the CAT scan shows you have a 6.5 mm stone in your right kidney but just a tiny little 2.5 mm stone in your left kidney. Normally we operate on anything over 5 mm but we think you can handle it naturally. Nurse, can you help me pry Mr. McKeel’s hands off the gurney?”

“How long will it take for the stone to pass?” Jan asked.

“We’ve scheduled surgery for three weeks but hopefully it will pass naturally before then. Nurse, can you help me pry Mr. McKeel’s hands off my throat?”

The elders have decided to postpone the congregational meeting until after I get back. Thank you so much for being patient but one comment I heard disturbs me. Someone said it doesn’t matter when we have the meeting because “no one ever listens anyway.”

Frankly, that bothers me more than the kidney stone. Perhaps, it may seem that way to some people because the changes aren’t announced with a lot of fanfare or perhaps it’s because changes are introduced slowly or perhaps it’s because someone’s project wasn’t chosen for implementation.

As I’ve been lying in bed the last few days, I’ve been thinking about the past four years together. At the congregational meeting last spring, people pointed out we only had three choices on Sunday mornings for adult classes. After the meeting, we increased the Sunday morning offerings to five and offered three classes for adults on Wednesday nights. Some people expressed concern about activities for our young adults and we added a Sunday evening small group just for them. Others were concerned that our Sunday morning Children’s Bible Hour was too short and so we rearranged the order of worship giving the CBH an additional fifteen minutes. (We also added a second part-time staff member to help Wendy.) People were concerned about evangelism and this past year saw a huge increase in the number of new Christians.

It is now 4:00 in the morning and I need to take another pill. I just wish my body was as healthy as our congregation! I can hardly wait for this to pass so I can return to serving the church on the hill. You all are the best.

John McKeel

With tears in his eyes, last Sunday morning after worship, our dear brother, George Riley, announced it was time for him to step down from his tenure as an elder of the Canyon View Church. George has faithfully served us, first as an elder at Pacific Beach and then after our merger with the Clairemont Church, the Canyon View Church of Christ. He and his wife Helen are dearly loved for their more than 25 years of service.

As an elder, George has worked closely with our benevolence program often getting up in the middle of the night to provide assistance to those in need. In addition, he led songs, taught classes, served as a liaison between the staff and the elders, supervised the building and grounds, and worked on countless other projects but it was as an elder that he excelled. George wrestled in prayer, praying for each of us by name. He diligently studied God’s Word, looking for answers to difficult questions and offering sage advice to those of us who were struggling. George also loved us with “tough love.” He was often called on because you can always count on him to “speak plainly” – yet he always did it with love and you knew he felt your pain even as he lovingly told us we needed to change.

We’re going to miss his voice in the eldership but Canyon View is blessed with five great elders who will carry on, inspired by George’s loving example. Rob Fuller said it best when he pointed out, “University professors never retire – they just become emeritus. George is now an ‘elder emeritus.’”