By: Julie Lane

As we get ready to flip the last page of the 2022 calendar, I cannot help reflecting on the year: the good, the bad, and the stuff we wish we could forget.  Dear reader, I pray that your 2022 was filled with more good things and less stuff to forget. But don’t get me wrong, in many ways this has been an amazing year.  Ministry-wise, I became Executive Director of the ministry that I have given my life to since 2018, a ministry that I have seen help so many people. 

The good really has outweighed the bad. In 2022 FBB held one of the first post-covid live events in Alberta. It was amazing to be around people again, and to hear from an electrifying lineup of speakers! We also had our first Engage camp to prepare 17 to 22-year-olds for post-secondary experiences, and beyond. Seeing this come about after nearly two years of shutdown, the attendance and spirit at Engage blew expectations out of the water! (Stay tuned for registration to open up for 2023.) Then, in the fall, we beta-tested not one but two new courses for FBB.  Shafer Parker wrote and taught the Worldview Course 2.0 - Going Deeper, and Jon Rendall wrote and taught Identity Project - Christ Alone.  These are two powerful courses and we are blessed to be offering them as free webinars again in the new year!!  (Shameless plug: you can register for each of these on our website here and here!!)

Jon Rendall, who joined FBB back in the spring, found himself run off his feet this fall. He spoke multiple times at some wonderful Christian schools, and led an evening ministry school in Calgary for many weeks. His teaching has been focused on training youth and preparing them to defend the faith in a culture that seems determined to turn them against God. Jon has also been instrumental in helping us create new content that will focus our ministry on the next generation.  He has set up connections for us to plan our first-ever High School Conference in partnership with Prairie College. Called Deeper, this youth conference will be February 10-11, 2023. (Here’s another shameless plug; register your youth group today for early bird pricing!)

Speaking as a mother, 2022 has been the year I watched my kids mature into young adults with whom I actually want to spend time. They are becoming the leaders God has called them to be. Unfortunately, for many families this is not the case, and that explains some of the things about this year that I wish I could forget. Almost daily I hear stories from parents whose kids have left the faith. Or good friends confess the sorrow of seeing their adult children adopt the false doctrines of Progressive Christianity. In addition, my kids tell me about peers who are absolutely lost. Depression and thoughts of suicide run rampant among the younger generations. It is heartbreaking to watch these kids go down paths that lead to death, and not be able to protect them.

Over the past few years, we have seen a series of prominent Christian “celebrities” renounce the faith, or begin to promote some form of Christian deconstruction. And in other cases prominent Christians have been caught up in scandal. We can be tempted to dump all the accused in the same basket. But not all accusations are true, and we must never forget there are two sides to every story. Some Christians may choose to remain silent, not because they have no defense, but because they have no stomach for returning slander for slander. They would rather trust God to defend them like Jehoshaphat of old (II Chron. 20:20). 

Reflecting on the current state of the world, my mind has frequently returned to the early church. As hostile as culture is against Christians today, the early church dealt with much worse.  I just finished reading 1 Thessalonians. The church was under constant threat, Christians were beaten for no other crime than living for Jesus; their lives were daily at risk, and they could have easily been discouraged. Instead, they were thriving. Today, when we are wronged by an individual, someone at church looks at us the wrong way, or the service lasts too long, right away we turn our backs on God. We find excuses to stop going to church, to ignore our Bibles, or to stop praying. And then we wonder why we fail to make a dent in culture?

I am about to finish my 4th year of reading the Bible in a year, and I have noticed a pattern.  People worship God, God blesses them, then they get comfortable and congratulate themselves for their good fortune. But the moment God is left out of the picture, they get in trouble and have to ask God to save them. In some cases this happens over and over. If there is a “You Are Here” marker it will probably be at the point of congratulating one’s self and turning from God. The answer, of course, is to turn back to Him. Stop pretending you are in control. Repent, and once again seek God. 

I don’t know about you but I am a broken and flawed person. Left to my own devices I can, and often do, make a mess of everything. Thus, Paul tells us to boast of the things that show our weakness (2 Corinthians 11:30).  So when I feel inadequate to run FBB, I can say, “Yup that's me.”  And if people choose to slander me, I can say, “Here are even more things I am not good at.” Why am I able to be comfortable in the face of false accusations? Because when things do work out I am not the least bit tempted to take the credit for myself. I know that I cannot do anything without the guidance and strength that only comes from God. When God turns my world upside down, I know that all I have to do is trust Him to guide me back to equilibrium, one step at a time. When I’m in His will I’m never without resources.  

So, as we turn the page from December to January and begin a new year, I realize that I should not forget the parts of 2022 that I didn’t like. I needed to spend time humbled before God, seeking His will, and realizing my blessings come only from Him. And today I can say with assurance that God wants FBB to reach young people, to train the next generations to stop waiting for life to be perfect and start depending on Him for purpose and happiness. He wants us to show people that true happiness comes from living out God's plan. 

With God’s help, in 2023 we will expand our ministry to have more content specifically for youth.  But if you are an adult, you need not worry. We have not forgotten you; our Be Ready Conference in April will have sessions for seniors along with expanded offerings for youth. We will also launch our brand new Identity Project Foundations for elementary-age children. This course has been in production for most of this year and we can hardly wait to launch it in 2023 with a classroom curriculum, as well as a DVBS package! And, as I mentioned, our Deeper youth conference will happen in February and will focus on Identity in Christ for High school students. Engage camp in the summer of 2023 will once again reach the 17 to 22-year-old group.  And IP and WV will be free online to reach all ages!

FBB is determined to shine God’s Light in this dark world. But to be completely open with you, we do not have the funds to accomplish any of this. We are asking you to join us financially as together we lean into dependency upon God more than ever. He is the true leader of FBB, and we who are blessed to work here simply seek to follow His direction.  So, if you have a heart for youth, and would like to see the body of Christ stand strong to defend the faith, would you consider supporting FBB throughout the coming year? Join us as we step out in faith to turn this world upside down, I mean rightside up!

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