One of my hopes for a national blog is to generate conversation amongst our wider community. The challenge of Canada's huge geography for any denomination is how do we keep in touch with what God is doing all across the country. In fact the stories of the Kingdom, what God is doing, have been the lifeblood of our movement all along. We are not in this alone, so we cannot believe the lie that doing it on our own is sufficient. I know how easy it is to simply isolate, buckle down and do church. But it is not enough. So here is the challenge: What are your God stories? What is God doing now in your community? We need to hear the amazing, the good, the bad, and even the downright ugly stories. It is how we grow. It is how we remember we are part of something bigger, something worthwhile for all of us. So be challenged - share some stories in the comments or, if you like, send them to me and I'll post them up in a new series: Vineyard Stories. Help us to laugh, rejoice, wrestle and even cry with you as you pursue God's heart.

Also I have been greatly encouraged in our ThoughtWorks efforts. There is talk that a group of African pastors will be using the ThoughtWorks curriculum to train up leaders. This is exactly what we had hoped would happen when we developed a free, accessible resource to serve the Vineyard. If you haven't checked out the curriculum the head on over to the National ThoughtWorks Website and see if it can serve your community. It is simple, choose what will be helpful, contact your regional ThoughtWorks rep to arrange mentoring and have at it. For material you would like more indepth training each region has set aside budget to run ThoughtWorks seminars in local churches: that's right we will bring the training to you. We help you organize it too. We are here to serve the Vineyard in Canada. But, like with any kind of help, we cannot help you until you ask.

Hoping to hear from you all soon!

Frank Emanuel - Ontario Region, National ThoughtWorks Chairperson