Jane Best composed this song in response to George Mallone’s talks at the R.F. Annual Meeting in Toronto in 1984, and sent the song to Bruce Robertson (a pastor at Burnaby Christian Fellowship, Burnaby, B.C.) for his constructive suggestions. Jane revised the song and submitted it to Channels. … Read more
I Know Not How To Pray
By James B. Torrance. The music and lyrics of this hymn appear in the searchable, downloadable PDF of the original magazine … Read more
Life in the Spirit through Alpha
By George Anderson. The Alpha course is a very helpful renewal evangelism course because it brings together so many spiritual growth principles: an intentional focus on Christ and the Holy Spirit, fellowship over meals, small-group discussion, and friendship evangelism. … Read more
Preventing Divorce, by Greg and Candy McPherson, and Bobb and Cheryl Biehl
Reviewed by Kit Schindell. This book promotes communication by offering over 300 non-threatening, even fun questions for couples to ask each other … Read more
Our Alpha Experience
By Andrew Hutchinson. Nicky Gumbel presents a well-grounded understanding of the Christian faith without apology, in a positive, winsome way. Alpha provides for a personal experience of the presence of God, rather than merely talking about God and His mercy. … Read more
Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, by Richard J. Foster
Reviewed by Mike Cheney. Convinced that mediocrity and superficiality are epidemic in twentieth century society and church life, Foster focuses on rearticulating for the twentieth century Christian, in an eminently practical way, the necessity of spiritual discipline. … Read more
God Is Faithful
By Carol S. Ward. There are wonderful signs of the Holy Spirit moving in great power amongst us in many different ways and across the denominations. The Alpha program is impacting almost every denomination, and the Renewal Network Conferences are drawing people to worship God in openness to the movement of the Holy Spirit in their midst. … Read more
Renewal and Outreach in One Package
By Anne Douglas. Alpha came to one congregation as an answer to prayer for an evangelistic Bible study. Some have made first-time commitments to Christ; others have drawn much closer to God. This is their church's most effective ministry to non-Christians. … Read more
The Beam in Our Eye
By Paul A. Myers. The mandate of seminaries has never been easy. We no longer live in those serene times when both the church and its ministers inherited respect and sympathy. So, we now have the formidable task to articulate more clearly than ever the reason for our hope. … Read more
The Renewal Fellowship Within The PCC
By Calvin Brown. The Renewal Fellowship is a volunteer organization, committed to renewing spiritual vitality and historic biblical witness within and through the church. Renewal Fellowship activities include organizing renewal conferences, days of prayer, and workshops, and publishing Channels magazine, Renewal News and a quarterly Prayer Calendar. … Read more
General Assembly 1994
Olive Regina Anstice asks whether we are a confessional church that is rooted in Scripture, committed to pray, and believes in the necessity of personal redemption. … Read more
The 1989 Annual Meeting photo essay
By Jack A. Harewood. The 1989 Annual Meeting took place March 3 & 4 at St. Andrew’s, Islington in Toronto. Over 200 people attended, and Dr. Roberta Hestenes, President of Eastern College, Philadelphia, was the theme speaker. She spoke about renewal and spirituality from the book of Exodus. … Read more
1988 Annual Meeting
By Paul Philpott. Given the pervasiveness of the leadership crisis that exists in our society today, it was encouraging to have two hundred people attend the 1988 Annual Meeting of the Renewal Fellowship which focused on the renewal of Christian leadership. … Read more
Preaching, by Fred B. Craddock
Reviewed by J.H. (Hans) Kouwenberg. Craddock is one of those in the school of preaching who pays as much attention to those who listen to preaching as to the liturgical reading and interpreting of Scripture. … Read more
Executive Director’s Comment – Contemplative and Meditative Worship Styles
By Calvin Brown. Worship wars are said to be the most common cause of disruption in congregations. When the real cause of unhappiness is examined, the principal offender is not usually the new music but the form of certain types of contemporary worship. … Read more
Obituary – Rev. Robert Leishman Taylor
We wish to remember Rev. Robert Leishman Taylor, former moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Canada and member of The Renewal Fellowship. He will be missed. … Read more
Why Do Churches Need Spiritual Renewal?
By Clark H. Pinnock. Our churches need to be renewed in the Spirit of God in order to be able to be what God intends them to be. If it were just to attain a euphoric spiritual high, seeking renewal would just be another form of selfism … Read more