Merry Christmas!

This year was one that will go down in the pages of history for our family.
We've settled into our Torontonian lifestyle & started a family! #babyboom. Sam, Jess and Baby Picken love you very much.
God has been so good to us and we are pumped for the future!

We couldn't begin to express how much we love all of our C3 Family! We moved to Toronto in faith to impact people's lives for the better yet the impact you have had on us has blown us away. We prayed that we would meet amazing people, and doing life with you has been just that! We regularly thank God for the blessing you are!

Through this season we are also reminded of the miraculous journey we've been on as a young church. Over 50 people have accepted Jesus through the ministry of C3 Toronto and we can't count the many lives who have been impacted through the community. You have made this possible!

THANK YOU!

We wish you an incredible Christmas spending time with family & friends and loving church! We pray that God will pour blessing on you as you walk this new year out and that 2014 is your best year yet. We are believing God with you for the impossible!

Lots of Love,
Sam & Jess & Baby Picken

Hi Everyone! 

It's been a while since our last post, and a lot of exciting stuff has happened over the last few months, let’s take a minute to fill you in on some of the highlights!

Over the summer, we really focused on building our community with lots of social hangouts & Froyo Nights. It brought some amazing opportunity for “unchurched” individuals to realize that church can be fun and full of relevant and real people. Some of these “unchurched” people have even found a home in our community. Incredible!

Another exciting update is that our church services have been in one of the most significant venues in Toronto. The Art Gallery of Ontario has given us a place to call home while we are in a transition period securing a more permanent space. Through this time, in just one month, over 20 people gave their hearts to Jesus! AMAZING!

The final big highlight to share is that we had our first annual Leadership Retreat, up near Wasaga Beach, with 35 people in attendance. We have seen a lot of new levels of buy in, and are definitely seeing the fruit of this retreat in our people.

To sum it all up, C3 Toronto is moving forward with strength!

As you know, this blog serves the purpose of keeping people all around the world up to date with our ministry. Many of you have generously been a part of the giving financially to the vision that is C3 Toronto. The goal God gave us was to raise $100,000 outside of Toronto by August 31st 2013. We acted on this goal from God, believing that 100 people would take part in this goal, resourcing the ministry.

We are so proud to announce the result of this goal. 

By August 31st 2013, 132 people gave a total of $105,897. 

How amazing is that?!

We are so humbled by the generosity and faithfulness of all the people involved. Planting a church in downtown Toronto is no easy task, and without this support we would not have been able to see the results we have seen. 

It is our prayer that you would experience a sense of blessing knowing that you have taken part in a move of God. We are so grateful for you!

With Love,

Sam & Jess Picken

A few testimony videos from some of the amazing people that call C3 Toronto home!


Josh Ombao: My Story from C3 Toronto on Vimeo.

Salamanca Family from C3 Toronto on Vimeo.

Chin Family: Our Story from C3 Toronto on Vimeo.

Ashley's Story from C3 Toronto on Vimeo.

Everyone, it’s official. C3 Toronto has LAUNCHED! Tell your friends, email your neighbors or fax your Grandma! We don’t want anyone to miss out on the exciting things happening in the life of C3 TO!

It’s been one month now and it feels like God has already done so much in and through our community.

Our first series ever was called “IN THE BEGINNING”, where Ps. Sam focused on the first 3 words of the bible as our theme. We looked at how GOD is a creative God and how He is Prophesying into the beginning of our church just as He did in the beginning of creation. Through these prophetic statements we see a clear picture of who He is, what is on His mind and what He wanted in the universe first. 

We see that out of His nature He couldn't help it, He simply wanted to create an element that we all desperately need when surrounded by darkness… 

God said...

"LET THERE BE LIGHT!"

#BOOM! Our GOD is a God of light! 

And not just any kind of light, but the clearest, brightest light!

He is good and wants to take the darkest places, the darkest moments in our lives and speak light into existence. We took this on board as a word for our church, that God wants to use us as a light in the darkness, a light to draw those in, to lead those home… to be a beacon of light right in the middle of downtown Toronto. We are to be this light so that people who feel like they have lost hope and are lost in the darkness can be revived with life in Jesus Christ.

With this locked in our hearts and fresh in our minds, what better idea than to have water baptisms at our first Easter Experience. We could not deny what’s been happening in our people, so we gave them the opportunity to show it. There have been so many lives already changed within the HOME of C3TO! Ahem, did I mention we’re only official 4 weeks old. #CRAZY

Also at our Easter Experience we had the privilege of having Aaron Gillespie from the band The Almost lead us in worship. Then after the service we loaded up a huge yellow school bus and as many cars/trucks/stretch limos as we could and relocated everyone from our Easter Experience to a local swimming pool. Where we witnessed 9 people profess their faith through water baptism in front of 100 people… not a dry eye in the place and that wasn’t due to the chlorine fumes in the air. Right after the last baptism we all got into our swimming suits and celebrated with a church wide pool party and an aggressive match of water polo. 

That’s it, but that isn’t all! March has been amazing and God is SO good. We’re excited to see what unfolds in the next 4 weeks as we start into our next series titled CONNECT, stay tuned for the amazing stories that I’m sure will flow out of it.

Pssst, here are some photos of our first exciting month:

  

 

PREVIEW SEASON Highlight Reel


C3TO Preview Highlght from C3 Toronto on Vimeo.

From end of August (when we arrived in Toronto) to March 3rd (when we officially launched) we've been meeting, praying, connecting and partnering with God to help Him build His church. Here is our story so far!