Register for Alliance corporate prayer:
Apply for the Leadership Training Fund:
Donate to the Global Advance Fund:
Download the year end recap video to show at your church:
Transcript:
As we approach the end of the year, I want to provide a few tangible updates for us. Financial, ministry and a recap video to share with your churches of our shared story over this last year.
Let me start with financially. First, praise God, together we reached our Jaffray Offering goal with $510,000 raised. These will be essential funds as we get to partner with courageous local pastors who risk everything to proclaim the name of Jesus. So, thank you for your generosity and sacrifice.
Also, secondly, an update on our Global Advance Fund, our church families shared fund for mission here in Canada and around the world. We’re currently just over $1 million under budget in our giving, but have also trimmed expenses so that they do not exceed revenue, for which I am again grateful. There is so much to be thankful for, which you will see and hear very shortly here, but I believe with all my heart, the Lord is inviting The Alliance into more, much more. And so I am asking you as our churches and also us individually, is there an above and beyond gift the Lord would ask of you towards our shared mission this year? And thank you for prayerfully considering that.
Perspective Lesson: The Fighter Pilot
Now, a quick story. My childhood dream—truthfully, maybe even a lifelong dream has always been to fly an F-16 Fighting Falcon. To this day, I’m trying to find ways to get permission for a fly along, maybe in Canada, CF-18 Hornets or anything that would help me meet this lifelong dream to have it come true.
Now I recognize I would likely throw up, pass out, but to break the sound barrier, to go from slow to almost still floating in the air in just a few seconds, or to be shot out of a cannon in an instant.
It sounds fantastic to me. And I was reminded of a story recently that I heard from my other pastor a few weeks ago. The story is, and maybe you’ve shared it before, that a star pilot invited his mom and his girlfriend to watch his solo F-16 flight. He performs this impressive routine.
Now as soon as he takes off, he goes immediately vertical into a climb after take off, the G-forces are almost unbearable to all but a few. He punches through the clouds, and then dives towards the ground, breaking the sound barrier in between. Dramatic aerobatics, full on speed breaks to almost an instantaneous stop mid-flight. All combined with a perfect landing.
When it comes to piloting, This is nothing less than a masterpiece. An artist that has perfected their craft. He’s proud of his performance. He gets out, all smiles, admiration
from his colleagues, and he’s expecting admiration from his girlfriend, and the pride of his mom beaming at him. Instead, they come up to him, maybe slightly downcast and they seem to be trying to comfort him as if he had failed, saying to him, “It’s okay, son.” “Next time, you’ll be able to fly straight.”
They completely misread what was happening.
Perspective Lesson: Seeking God’s View
Perspective is powerful, isn’t it? A difference between leaders and followers is often perspective; the difference between good leaders and great leaders is often just better perspective.
These days, as most days, we are faced with many items that simply, if you’re like me, I do not know what to do with them. But I do know. I desperately need Christ’s perspective. Because when I rely on my own, If I just think of biology, my amygdala kicks in, emotions want to quickly rule the day, and then I try to calm and train my thinking and my mind to pause, to reflect and move the issue from my amygdala to the prefrontal cortex and use logic, and yet I know my human logic is fully flawed in the face of divine wisdom and the creator of all.
And so I pray Jehoshaphat's prayer. Oh God, we, I do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you to work in and through us.
Ministry Update: Prayer & Intercession
As we follow your leading to double our reach by 2034. Our desire is to be a people marked by prayerful dependence, bold imagination, and a relentless pursuit of Jesus.
And we are witnessing a renewal of pervasive and persistent, prevailing prayer and listening to God for his voice to speak to us. We are embracing a deep conviction of: “Therefore, we pray.”
Last week, we’ve just had another one of online corporate prayer meetings over zoom. Thank you to all of you who attended.
And my ask is, please, could you even now perhaps mark down this next future call? I'm praying these would become even more and more normative for us.
The next prayer time is February 12, at 9am Eastern, and we’ll be praying for and with our International Workers. Please invite your churches.
Ministry Update: Leadership Development
Also as an update, as we go into deeper life, we’re building our leadership capacity. And I am so very thrilled to report that we have over 30 apprentices in our church hub program.
And by the end of December, we believe we’ll have all 33 grants approved for leaders who are discerning what full time ministry looks like for them as they work in our local church and study formally.
Because of this, we have doubled our capacity to now
provide an additional 30 grants, moving us up to a capacity of 60 students in only the past few months.
My dream, Lord willing, is to have 200 students in theological formation by the fall of 2027.
If you know someone who should apply, please tell them to fill out the application. A link will be below this video.
Now, here is a recap of some of the highlights from this past year that we have intentionally created in a format that you can share in and with your local church as an item of prayer, praise, and encouragement.
After the video, a short devotional thought to tie it all together.
2025 Year in Review
Across the globe, God is stirring hearts in ways that are quiet yet unmistakable. In busy cities, remote villages, and places most people will never travel.
He is drawing his people into spaces where hope is fragile and deeply needed. And every one of these stories begins the same way—with prayer.
If we believe in the power of prayer. A prayerless church is a powerless church. Prayer is the heartbeat of this movement. It’s the early morning whisper, the late night plea, the steady trust offered when the next step feels uncertain.
Prayer opens doors that seem sealed shut. It breaks down barriers that stood for generations. It fills ordinary people with courage they never knew they had. And as God answers, he raises up leaders—humble, faithful men and women who simply say, “yes.” They don’t see themselves as heroes, but God uses their obedience in extraordinary ways.
We are seeing these young people that have leadership potential. Just give them that opportunity at a young age to explore and to experience and to be able to lead where God has gifted them.
Through those leaders, ministries are taking root in the most unexpected places. The church, 50 years from now must and will look different.
How can we be listening and watching for like, “Jesus, what are the new things you are doing and how can we align and respond?”
A shared meal, a small act of kindness, a simple presence. They become seeds planted in hearts, hungry for hope.
Even in the toughest environments, God is moving. Lives are being reshaped. Communities are experiencing healing. The Gospel is crossing languages and cultures, drawing people together in worship, gratitude and renewed purpose. We’ve been blessed to be a blessing to others.
This is a moment that calls for unity, collaboration, and bold steps forward. Together, we commit to the journey by joining in prayer, by giving, or maybe even going and trusting that God will multiply every act of love. This is your invitation to be part of the story.
Will you say yes?
Devotional: The Posture of Worship
I hope you’re encouraged. I began with the story of my dream to be a fighter pilot and how perspective matters.
In a London gallery, and art historian Robert Cummings was studying a Renaissance painting by Filipino, Lippi of the Virgin and Child.
This is his field, he was studying this picture. Something appeared off with the proportions to him. In fact, other critics had said the same thing.
In many ways, the picture was imperfect to the critics. It was not balanced. And the story goes, perhaps guided by an unseen force or I would suggest, perhaps a moment of divine clarity.
He recalled that the painting was commissioned for a place of prayer, not a modern art gallery, and was intended to be viewed from a position of kneeling.
To test his theory, the distinguished critic self-consciously knelt down in front of the painting in the public gallery.
And from this new posture, looking up as a worshiper would, the perspective became perfectly proportioned. The background receded, the saints appeared appropriately bowed in worship, and the Virgin Mary’s gaze, which had seemed ambiguous, at first, was now directed at the viewer in kindness.
Kneeling in surrender, kneeling in submission, kneeling in obedience to the one and only true King. Eyes up to the King.
And from that posture, a new perspective and the painting’s proportions changed. The picture suddenly became perfect.
Our posture determines our perspective. Our vision from GA 24 vitally declares, “In full dependance on the spirit.” I know of no other way to effectively live, lead and love than from a posture of full submission, surrender, and obedience to our King Jesus. And we do this imperfectly, of course. But He alone is our example.
And as the eyes of the Lord in 2 Chronicles tells us, range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him, my prayer is He would see us. Amen?
My prayer is Lord, let it be so. For your name, Lord. Your fame, Jesus. Would we become less, eyes looking up to the King, so that You would become more, for the sake of Your name and fame.
Merry Christmas, Alliance Canada. And I pray as we celebrate Jesus in these days of advent looking to the light of the world, that our posture would be in submission to Him and our perspectives would change, to see all people with his love and care in mind.