“In that day I will restore David’s fallen shelter—I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins—and will rebuild it as it used to be.” (Amos 9:11)
The theme for the new year across our movement is “The Year of Restoration!” In 2024, we witnessed God moving in the Toronto Church in powerful, unprecedented ways. Most remarkable was the baptism of 86 souls, along with the restoration of Great to close out the year in December. Additionally, the Church grew from 95 to 147 totally committed disciples, we saw the number of Bible talks increase from 10 to 15, and we raised over $160,000 for Special Missions Contribution! On a personal note, 2024 was especially meaningful as my dear son was baptized at just 11 years old. God is awesome!
Although God blessed us abundantly, 2024 was not without its challenges. From intense persecution to financial struggles brought on by an economic recession, the Church endured. As disciples, we understand that such storms are tests—meant to reveal whether our lives and our Church are truly built on the rock (Matthew 7:27). On October 18th, we faced what may have been our greatest storm yet. Because we no longer agreed with the direction of our former fellowship, we stepped out in faith with nine other churches to form our new movement: Restored Church Worldwide. Our vision is not simply to return to how things “used to be” in our former fellowship—or even in the fellowship before it—but to restore things to how they “used to be” in the Book of Acts.
Therefore as a leadership, we would like to put before the Church the following eight prayer goals:
1. “He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.” (Colossians 1:28) Perhaps our most important goal is that every disciple grows spiritually in 2025. To facilitate this, we have scheduled a First Principles and Mature Christian’s Class for June. We will also host several Congregational Devotionals focusing on key areas like singing, discipling, and giving. Our hope is that every disciple will “move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity” (Hebrews 6:1).
2. “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:8) Last year, we celebrated 86 baptisms! This year, we are aiming for at least 100 souls baptized into Christ. We believe this goal will be achieved through the multiplication of disciples, as we equip and raise up our many new Christians to “bear much fruit.”
3. “Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.” (Acts 9:31) As our Church baptizes, it is crucial that we retain our new disciples. In 2024, the Church grew by a record 55%. Historically, the Toronto Church has averaged a 35% growth rate per year, and we believe that if we stay the course and continue the work we have already been doing, we will surpass 200 disciples by the end of 2025!
4. “When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching.” (Acts 18:5) Unlike many denominational churches that maintain a clergy-laity separation, we believe every disciple is called to ministry (2 Corinthians 5:18). While not all can devote themselves “exclusively to preaching,” it is essential that as the Church grows, we add full-time ministers. Our goal is to hire at least two full-time interns this year, who will focus on preaching and training to become future church leaders and planters.
5. “But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.” (Acts 19:9-10) Looking ahead to planting new churches across Canada, we must first plant new regions—and in order to plant new regions, we must establish new Campus Ministries. Currently, the Toronto Church has five fully-functioning Campus Ministries: York University, Toronto Metropolitan University, George Brown College, Humber College, and Seneca College. In 2025, we aim to plant at least two additional Campus Ministries.
6. “Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand.” (2 Corinthians 10:15) In addition to planting new Campus Ministries, we hope to establish at least one new region—the Durham Region. With almost one million lost souls and several key universities and colleges (including the University of Toronto Scarborough, Trent University, Durham College, and Centennial College), this will be the fourth region of the Toronto Church.
7. “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” (2 Corinthians 9:6) In 2024, the Church contributed a 20-times Special Missions Contribution in the Spring and an additional 3-times contribution in the Fall. While we do not anticipate a Fall collection this year, we plan to raise an 18-times Special Missions Contribution this Spring. Seven and a half times will go to Central Missions for global mission-related needs, and the remaining 10 and a half times will be used in Toronto to hire and train new staff.
8. “All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.” (Galatians 2:10) Our final goal is to create and support a new benevolent arm within Restored Church Worldwide. This initiative will enable us to organize and support charitable projects both locally and internationally, demonstrating Christ’s love through our actions.
As we embark on this new year together, let us stand in awe of what God has already done. For surely, God is restoring His standards in our great city, and He is rebuilding things “as [they] used to be.” To Him be all the glory!
Evan Bartholomew
