On April 18, McDaniel Phillips will help us see how discipleship connects the church and community, and discern how intentional discipleship can happen in our contexts.
And don’t forget about John Bowen on The Unfolding Gospel coming up quick on March 28, and May 30: Post-Enlightenment Evangelism with Merv Budd, Ontario Regional Director, Forge Canada.
Don’t miss this great learning opportunity! Evangelist, author and Wycliffe College’s Professor Emeritus of Evangelism John Bowen will be joining us to share a big-picture understanding of the gospel, to challenge us to consider how we might respond to the people around us who have concerns and questions.
CBWC has partnered with Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec (CBOQ) and Salvation Army to hear and share stories of everyday pastors and leaders engaging on mission in our complicated culture. In this series of Evangelism Masterclasses, you will hear disciples on the ground talk about joining God in many different aspects of having relational conversations with folk from wherever they are in a journey of curiosity about life, meaning, hope, love and joy. Here’s a preview of other upcoming classes:
April 18, 2023: Discipleship Culture
“How discipleship connects the church and community is essential. Identify how intentional discipleship can happen in your context.”
Presenter: McDaniel Philips, Discipleship Essentials Ministry Ambassador, TWR Canada
May 30, 2023: Post-Enlightenment Evangelism
“Evangelism has been thought of as a tool for converting, if we simply find the right way, we could get people to become Christians. Perhaps it is time to not simply rethink our evangelistic methods but rethink the whole enterprise and the assumptions on which it has been built.”
Presenter: Merv Budd, Ontario Regional Director, Forge Canada
Sign up for any or all of these classes here.
We hope you’ll join us for this great lineup of Masterclasses we’ve got coming, in partnership with CBOQ and Salvation Army.
Here’s a preview of upcoming classes:
February 28, 2023: Inspired to Multiply
“Encounter stories of new faith in Canada. A leader/evangelist with experience in Canadian communities will provoke discernment of how we can discern the opportunities around us.”
Presenter: Arash Azadi, Pastor
March 28, 2023: The Unfolding Gospel
“A ‘big picture’ understanding of the gospel is shared to challenge us to consider how we might respond to the people around us who have concerns and questions.”
Presenter: John Bowen, Professor Emeritus of Evangelism, Wycliffe College
April 18, 2023: Discipleship Culture
“How discipleship connects the church and community is essential. Identify how intentional discipleship can happen in your context.”
Presenter: McDaniel Philips, Discipleship Essentials Ministry Ambassador, TWR Canada
May 30, 2023: Post-Enlightenment Evangelism
“Evangelism has been thought of as a tool for converting, if we simply find the right way, we could get people to become Christians. Perhaps it is time to not simply rethink our evangelistic methods but rethink the whole enterprise and the assumptions on which it has been built.”
Presenter: Merv Budd, Ontario Regional Director, Forge Canada
Sign up for any or all of these classes here.
It’s not common for us to post twice in a single week, but we have a few exciting resources to share with you!
First off, you may remember how excited I was at Banff Pastors’ Conference about Matt Canlis’ film Godspeed, and his more recent book, Backyard Pilgrim. I even rounded up all the slightly-used copies I could get my hands on from my own church friends and handed them out to folks at BPC. Well, as it turns out, our friends at Forge Canada are providing an opportunity to walk through the book during Lent, beginning with a webinar with Matt Canlis on January 23. Here’s what Forge has to say on the topic:
We invite you to join us in the journey of becoming Backyard Pilgrims this February as we enter into the Lenten season. Starting the week of February 19, we will be running two book study groups that will be walking through the book, Backyard Pilgrim, by Matt Canlis. The groups will be led by Deb Judas and Bob Baumann, who are both pastors and members of the Forge Canada team. Groups will meet once a week, over the course of 6 weeks to discuss what they are learning and how they are seeing God at work in their lives and in their neighbourhood.
Being part of one of these groups will give you an opportunity to go on this pilgrimage for yourself, while also seeing if this is something that you might want to take your church through at a later date. Each day there is a reflection (the Bible path) and a time to get out into your community (to walk the parish path). It will give you new lenses in which to see both the scripture passages as well as the people and places in your neighbourhood.
In preparation for the groups, you’re invited to join us for a webinar with Matt Canlis, January 23rd at 10:00am Pacific. During the webinar you’ll get the opportunity to hear a bit more about Matt’s journey and we’ll explain more about what the Backyard Pilgrim journey looks like in our cohorts.
Here’s the link to signup for the webinar, and here’s the form if you want to get involved in the reading groups.
And of course, I again want to draw your attention to the next series of Evangelism Masterclasses being offered in partnership with CBWC, CBOQ and Salvation Army.
February 28, 2023 : Inspired to Multiply
Our very own Pastor Arash Azadi from Emmanuel Iranian Church will be sharing at the Evangelism Masterclass in February. Join us to encounter stories of new faith in Canada. Arash is an evangelist with experience in Canadian communities who will help us envision how we can discern the opportunities around us.
March 28, 2023: The Unfolding Gospel
“A ‘big picture’ understanding of the gospel is shared to challenge us to consider how we might respond to the people around us who have concerns and questions.”
Presenter: John Bowen, Professor Emeritus of Evangelism, Wycliffe College
April 18, 2023: Discipleship Culture
“How discipleship connects the church and community is essential. Identify how intentional discipleship can happen in your context.”
Presenter: McDaniel Philips, Discipleship Essentials Ministry Ambassador, TWR Canada
May 30, 2023: Post-Enlightenment Evangelism
“Evangelism has been thought of as a tool for converting, if we simply find the right way, we could get people to become Christians. Perhaps it is time to not simply rethink our evangelistic methods but rethink the whole enterprise and the assumptions on which it has been built.”
Presenter: Merv Budd, Ontario Regional Director, Forge Canada
Sign up for any or all of these classes here.
CBWC has partnered with Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec (CBOQ) and Salvation Army to hear and share stories of everyday pastors and leaders engaging in mission in our complicated culture.
Here are some of the upcoming Masterclasses, offered free of charge as a gift to you.
January 24: Dreams as Mission.
Sign up for 2023 Sessions here
This article is part of a series. Read the introduction “Same but Different: Implementing New Faith Communities in Rural Canada” here.
A reality facing many rural pastors is the need for bivocational ministry, that is, taking on another job in addition to their roles in the church. We spoke with two CBWC ministers, Tim Challen and Joel Usick, about their perspectives on the opportunities and difficulties they face as pastors in small-town Manitoba. I hope their stories encourage you towards deep thinking on the nature of pastoring as a calling, job, lifestyle and more!
CBWC Church Planting: Tell us a bit about you and your ministry context?
Tim Challen:
I’ve been a pastor now for three and a half years, serving in Virden, MB: a small town of 3000 people in South-West Manitoba.
When I started looking for pastoral jobs, I didn’t give any thought to working as a solo pastor of a small town church. I expected to find a job as a youth pastor or associate pastor in Greater Vancouver, which is where I grew up. But after more than a year of searching, with no success, I decided to expand my search to the rest of Canada.
I found that there is less competition for jobs in rural churches. So, when people ask me why I moved all the way out here, I usually respond, “this is the first place that offered me a job.” Although, to be fair, I wouldn’t have taken the job if I had not genuinely felt that God was calling me to serve in this particular church. And after all this time, I still believe that I made the right decision, and that this is where God wants me.
Joel Usick:
Shoal Lake Baptist Church became my first solo pastorate in July of 2021. In a town of about 700 people, we are located on the main street a short walk from the school. Through an incredible succession of God’s providence, it was clear to the church and us that we were to begin pastoring here. After a few years of ministry and completing my undergrad in Saskatoon, we ventured home to small town Manitoba where Heidi and I grew up.
CBWC Church Planting: What does bivocational ministry look like to you?
Tim:
Because my church is quite small, I am employed in a 0.8 position. So, I have a second job, part-time, to supplement my income. On Mondays and Tuesdays, I work at a water and ice business here in town. It’s a good job, and my bosses are ok with giving me time off occasionally, so I can attend things like the Banff Pastors and Spouses Conference and go serve at a Christian camp for a week in the summer.
But it is also physically draining work, and there are a lot of weeks when I just don’t have enough energy to put in a full day at the church on Wednesdays.
Joel:
Between our relocation to Shoal Lake, and beginning at the church, I served as a substitute teacher amongst five schools within a 20-minute drive. In this way, I met much of the community not as a “professional religious person,” but as a contributing member that allowed teachers to take a day off—a practical way to meet and bless teachers in our area. This opportunity continues to bear fruit of trust, relationships, connections, and cultivated some different skills in me!
After starting at the church, I also began working for the municipality as a casual laborer (mowing lawns, upkeeping roads, operating machines for snow removal, garbage and recycling, and many other jobs) as teaching became harder to swing while working mornings at the church.
Finally, I pivoted again to becoming the maintenance man for two elderly living complexes with 26 suites (and common areas and utilities) working under a committee appointed through the municipality. In this role, I was on call 24 hours a day, every day of the week. While this opportunity was best financially, it came at a considerable cost to my home life and ministry.
CBWC Church Planting: Share your thoughts on having other work beyond your pastoral role.
Tim:
Having a second job is a necessity for me. I would much rather be employed full-time by the church, but that is simply not an option, given the size and financial capacity of my congregation. There is probably some indirect benefit to me having a second job, in terms of staying connected with the marketplace and getting known and respected by the non-believers of the town. But to be honest, in terms of my ministry, there haven’t been any explicit or obvious benefits to having a second job.
The closest I’ve come to having my worlds collide was once when I was out delivering some bottles of water, and someone parked so close to my work van that I couldn’t open the side door to get the bottles. And that driver had lots of room on the other side, so it was completely unnecessary for him to park so close to me. I would have been well within my rights to snap at him. But I didn’t. And once he realized what he had done, he apologized, and he said “hey, you’re the Baptist pastor right?” So, I’d like to think that I made a positive impression on him that day, which I might not have had the opportunity to do if I didn’t have this second job.
Joel:
Vocational ministry, particularly in a rural context, is what I would call lifestyle work. Meaning, pastoring spills into all areas of one’s life – right from the way you make money, to the friends you have, to the way you use your time – pastoral ministry influences your life.
The question, then, is can one effectively pastor while inserting another occupation into their life? You’d expect my answer to be a resounding yes since I committed to bivocational ministry. However, even with the best time-management, the best boundaries, the highest communication, the best bosses and boards, there will always be tension between two vocations pulling you in separate directions.
Here are some pros and cons I’ve come to discover in the past 18 months or so as a bi-vocational pastor:
Pros
Cons
CBWC Church Planting: Would you say there are unique challenges or opportunities when it comes to mission and ministry in rural Canada?
Tim:
Though my church is small, the people really know their Bibles well, so I can tackle a lot of controversial or unconventional topics in my preaching. I get to explore the nuances of Scripture passages, and challenge assumptions about theology, and that makes my job really interesting. While my church may be small (The most I’ve ever seen on a Sunday morning was 39 people, and that was before COVID), I have the freedom there to preach really intellectually-stimulating sermons. So, I’m very grateful for that.
The challenges mostly have to do with the fact that rural areas are generally in decline, and their populations are generally getting smaller, or at least older. Family farms are increasingly being consolidated into large corporate farms, which require relatively few workers, meaning young people have more reasons to move to a city to find work or to attend college. Granted, some young people do stay, and some small towns are growing because a certain industry is thriving. But most rural areas are not growing, and it’s hard to grow a church in an area that itself isn’t growing.
Joel:
There’s nothing like the joys and challenges of rural ministry. In just a few months, a person can make a real impact and impression on a small town. Unlike the urban context, a new person in a small town moves quickly from stranger to acquaintance to friend. There’s a natural assimilation that happens in the rural culture of togetherness.
CBWC Church Planting: If someone was planning to plant a new congregation in a rural setting near you, what advice would you offer them?
Tim:
People who live in small towns are often very family oriented. Many people who choose to live in small towns know that they could have a more exciting life, and often a better-paying job, if they lived in a city, but they’re willing to give those perks up so they can raise their kids in what they consider to be a more wholesome environment. This means that ministry in a small town doesn’t need to be flashy. Don’t devote too much attention to the “production value” of the service. Be authentic and dedicated, and that will be enough for most people.
Joel:
Before taking on a side hustle, ask yourself, “Can I swing this financially by decreasing my expenses rather than trying to increase my income?”
Through your work, volunteer committees, coffee shops, or bars, meet people where they are at. Find the cultural “good” and serve in that good. If you’re in rural Canada, think about the community rink, family events, foodbank, school programs/sports. Pretend you’re a missionary to a culture you’ve never been in before – implement the same cultural assimilation strategies and efforts in learning what makes your community (both the Christian and secular community) tick.
And no, it won’t be exactly the same as the previous town you were in—just 10 minutes down the road can make a huge difference in the needs of the community. Be curious.
This article is part of a series. Read the introduction “Same but Different: Implementing New Faith Communities in Rural Canada” here. Jenna Hanger is part of the CBWC Communications team and, having grown up in rural Alberta, has a first-hand view of the joys and difficulties of small-town church life. Thanks, Jenna, for your honest and thoughtful reflection!
By Jenna Hanger
I live in the middle of nowhere.
That’s how I jokingly describe my small rural community. To many people who are used to bigger centres, that’s exactly right. The hamlet of Brownfield has a church, community centre and a K-9 school with approximately fifty kids. We drive at least 25 minutes to get to the nearest grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, and approximately two hours to the nearest city. Most people out here are involved with agriculture in one form or another, and the weather is a constant prayer request.
I grew up attending Brownfield Baptist Church, as did my dad and his parents before him. I was dedicated as a baby there (see the photo above!), baptized, married and dedicated my own kids (second photo) in that same building. Many people in the city say that their church is their family, having few family members around them. For me out here, that is literally true when it comes to my church. I am blood-related to many if not most of the members, if you go back far enough!
It takes everyone to keep things running. The adults are hands-on involved with the kids’ programs and youth group. Many people end up running several different events at once, and our limited number of musicians means the same faces are often up on stage every week faithfully leading worship. I love that aspect of our church: the intergenerational community that we have. My daughters are learning from the same men and women who taught me when I was young. It’s a beautiful thing to see. “It takes a village to raise a child” is a serious saying out here. We all feel it and live it out.
I remember growing up watching the adults in church on their knees during worship, and hearing their powerful emotions when their voices were raised in song. I didn’t always understand the words of the sermon, but I understood the importance of faithfully gathering. That is something that can be missed, I think, when churches separate kids, youth and adults from each other. There is something significant that occurs when a child is able to learn from those older than themselves. To watch the adults they respect engaged in worship or sharing their testimonies or being vulnerable in prayer is incredibly influential. I learnt much about my own faith from witnessing these moments as a child.
Relationships run deep in our small church community. There are generations of families that have sat virtually in the same spots for the past fifty years. It is quite a thing, to be not just another face in the crowd, but to be known––all the good and the bad parts of you––by everyone. The people in my church have watched me grow up; they have comforted me in my most painful times. They have celebrated all the milestones of my life. In down times I know I have people who will rally beside me. It’s a kind of intimacy that is hard to replicate, but it comes at a price.
Lack of diversity is one of the major challenges rural churches face. At times, it can be hard to feel you have a place, especially if you think a bit differently about certain things. In a bigger centre you have options, you can find your niche. Out here, you have to just force a way for yourself to fit what’s in front of you. That can be hard and constantly feel like an uphill battle simply to belong. I know many in our area who would relate to this feeling.
Relationships run deep, but so do hurts. That is a truth about a rural community. There are long memories and histories that can at times be painful. Problems cannot be solved by simply moving to a new church, even if you felt the drive would be worth it every Sunday. You are so closely integrated with people and family that running from problems and conflicts is not an option. Whether this is a good or a bad thing depends on who you talk to.
One of the biggest challenges for a rural church when looking at local outreach is how do we be a welcoming option for all types of backgrounds and remain true to our identity? How can we be light and truth in the community when everyone knows your faults and flaws?
It’s a tricky line to walk: being welcoming but firm in truth, being a leader but also authentic. The responsibility of being the only local church in a small area means in theory our doors should be wide open and inviting. Although we strive for that, we sometimes miss the mark, and going backwards is very hard to do. There are people who refuse to come to our church because of a hurt that took place nearly a decade ago, and some of them rightly so.
Despite all that, I am blessed to have been raised in such a community, and even more blessed that I now get to raise my own girls in the same environment. I know my children are loved and cared for when we go to church on Sunday. I know we have a solid community to stand with us whatever might be down the road. We might not get everything right (indeed, what flawed human does?) but we do our best to serve God in the area He has placed us in, and I know He will continue to use our little congregation to further His Kingdom.
CBWC has partnered with Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec (CBOQ) and Salvation Army to hear and share stories of everyday pastors and leaders engaging on mission in our complicated culture. In this series of Evangelism Masterclasses, you will hear disciples on the ground talk about joining God in many different aspects of having relational conversations with folk from wherever they are in a journey of curiosity about life, meaning, hope, love and joy.
On November 1, join us for “Gospel of Reconciliation” Masterclass with Jeremy McClung.
This article is part of a series. Read the introduction “Same but Different: Implementing New Faith Communities in Rural Canada” here.
Hubert Barton attends Grandview Church in Vancouver, BC, and has been serving as the coordinator for the Indigenous Studies Program at the Vancouver School of Theology, after graduating from the program himself in 2019. We had the opportunity to connect with Hubert, hear his story and get his perspective on rural church planting in western Canada. You won’t be able to miss his pastoral heart and huge love for Jesus and for his community in this interview!
It’s great to meet you, Hubert. Tell us a bit about where you came from.
I’m from the North Coast of British Columbia, from a community called Ging̱olx, BC, right at the mouth of the Nass River. There are four communities that make up the Nisga’a nation. The furthest inland is Gitlaxt’aamiks, with 2000 people in that community. If you drive about 15 minutes down the highway, you get to the smallest community, called Gitwinksihlkw: roughly 150 to 200 people. Drive a little bit more towards the coast. You will travel along a lava bed, you will travel along the river and through the mountains, past hot springs and waterfalls and you get the community called Laxgalts’ap. It’s similar in size to my community: roughly 250 or 300 people.
Drive another 30 minutes to the end of the road, and you’ll get to Ging̱olx, where the river meets the coast. We’re surrounded by mountains and wildlife; still very, very untouched by the outside world. We have a few mom-and-pop type corner stores, but up until a few years ago, we didn’t have cell service or paved roads.
It’s so peaceful. It’s absolutely beautiful and very pristine. That’s probably my favorite thing about it. If you stop and listen you could hear two rivers flowing by. You can hear the birds, the eagles in the air.
And what was life like for you growing up?
I’m the youngest of four brothers and one sister. They’re all really close together in age, and there’s a seven-year gap. And then there’s me. I just remember being surrounded by family, all the time.
When I was 13, I had two options because there was no high school in my community: I could either move to Prince Rupert or to Gitlaxt’aamiks. I chose initially to go to Prince Rupert because that’s where a lot of my brothers had gone, but I only lasted for a couple months because I just couldn’t stand being away from my community, staying at some strangers’ place. It was pretty tough. So I ended up doing high school at Gitlaxt’aamiks.
At that school I stayed in a student residence with all the other students from the Valley. So even moving away for high school, I was surrounded by my people.
I’ve actually been really homesick lately. That’s the thing about being an urban indigenous person. Growing up in Gingolx and in my culture, I was always surrounded by family. Living in Vancouver, that’s not the case anymore. I appreciate the opportunities of city life, but I really miss home—even something as simple as meals. These days I usually eat alone. I’m used to eating with my whole family, or my 17 closest friends at high school! Totally different.
Share a bit of your own faith journey?
I grew up in a Christian family. My parents are Christian. My grandparents were Christian, so I was the kid playing in the pews. I grew up in that environment, but it didn’t actually become real until 2010. That’s the year that I lost my mother. We were finally approaching that point in our relationship where we could become friends. We were getting close. But she just left, and my world kind of fell apart at that point.
I remember very clearly: I was sleeping downstairs in my bedroom and my dad came running downstairs. He said, “Son, come upstairs. Your mom’s not doing well.”
She was in a lot of pain and she couldn’t say a single word. We rushed her to the hospital in Terrace, which is about a two-hour drive. She was only in the emergency room for about 15 minutes, and I was rubbing her back and trying to comfort her. In true mother fashion, she was more worried about us than anything. She was telling us to get food and check into a hotel. And then, just like that, she took her last breath while I was literally rubbing her back.
My world fell apart. In the weeks and months that followed, my family would have family dinners to encourage each other, to bring a laugh and lift each other up. It worked for a while—sitting in my living room being surrounded by 30 or 40 brothers and sisters, nieces, nephews and cousins and friends of the family. But two or three months into this, I remember being surrounded by my loved ones, but feeling really, incredibly alone.
It was during one of these dinners that I felt something inside me kind of stir up. And it told me to get up and move. So I grabbed my sweater and I just walked out the door. I went for a walk and I had no idea where I was going. But I eventually found myself outside my home church, Gingolx Church Army.
I snuck up the stairs, opened the door as quietly as I could and peeked inside. I could see everybody inside peeking back at me. About a dozen of them, having a Bible study. But their faces lit up when they saw me and they immediately welcomed me in. They asked me if I wanted to have tea and to hang out with them. I remember stepping inside that church and feeling this Presence. I remember feeling this calm, this peace and this love that I didn’t quite fully understand at that moment. So, I kept going back for a couple of weeks after that to the regular church services.
A lot of my aunties and uncles, especially on my mom’s side, were part of the church, and I just remember learning from them about the love of God and Jesus. During one of these services, I recognized who that Presence was. That Presence that I could sense continued to go with me after that moment. And I remember just bawling my eyeballs out, just saying, “God, I can’t do this anymore. Here: You take complete control. Just take over because I can’t do this anymore.”
I poured out all my garbage, and in return I felt Jesus’ peace, and this love. From that moment, He kind of just put the pieces of my heart back together. Losing my mother was one of the biggest challenges in my life, but that’s also when everything became real for me—when my relationship with God, Christ, Holy Spirit came, one-on-one, and I realized what this was all about.
And that kind of started the path I’m on right now to be living in Vancouver.
So how did you end up in Vancouver?
One of my aunties invited me along to summer school here at the Vancouver School of Theology Indigenous Studies program. I happily said, “yes!” and I came down to audit some courses. I got to meet so many people from different cultures and backgrounds and different places across Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand. It was so encouraging to hear everyone’s stories, I kept coming back to audit courses and eventually was encouraged to work towards the Masters degree. Through a lot of hesitancy, I said yes.
I studied at a distance for the first few years, but in 2016 something stirred up inside me again. I needed to stretch and to grow. So in 2016 I left my home and moved down here to study through the VST Indigenous Studies Program full time. I graduated 2019 and I’m very blessed in the fact that I’m now coordinating the program that I graduated from.
Tell us more about your work?
The Teaching House that Moves Around is a smaller part of the Indigenous Studies Program. My favorite thing about it is it’s all Indigenous-led. Typically, Ray Aldred or myself will visit a community and will have a meal or coffee with either the community or the leaders. And we’ll see what they need and we’ll do our best to help them now. Then we go through the planning, we secure appropriate faculty members—qualified facilitators, and we do our best to keep it Indigenous.
We do our best to help strengthen their strengths versus trying to build something new. We do our best to help them with what they’re good at already so that they can do it better and help people more. The two most popular courses that we offer are “Ministry in the Midst of Trauma” and “Indigenous Christology.”
One of the biggest things for Indigenous communities is trying to wrestle with your Christian identity and your Indigenous identity. But also there’s a lot of trauma in communities and it’s not uncommon to experience so much loss and death in a short period of time. And that tends to compound on each other. And so that’s probably the most popular one: “Ministry in the Midst of Trauma.” Especially with the recent discoveries in Kamloops and other places of the unmarked graves at Residential School sites. There has been a lot of grief in our communities and so training on trauma has become even more important. Grief is hard to process—especially to do it in a good, healthy way, to know that it is okay to feel like that. So we aim to help equip people with these types of tools and skills that they can help themselves and use to help others.
Each course goes anywhere from three days to five days at the most. In the morning there are teachings and then in the afternoon, we try to do the fun activity or a land-based activity. This structure helps balance the intellectual side and the grounded and connected, relational side.
Sometime later we’ll do a follow up and just go for coffee, have a meal and check in to see how everyone’s doing.
We have done them as far as Ontario, Alberta, we’ve even done them in Hawaii.
Is there a place for Settlers to be the ones bringing the Gospel into Indigenous communities, especially in light of Canada’s history?
Most Indigenous peoples really love the Gospel. They love Jesus, but when it comes to the institution of the church, that’s when it gets quite challenging.
It would depend on the community honestly. I can’t foresee it being an overall positive thing—unless you go with the Anglican approach back home, where it’s a very long vision: kind of just show that here you want to be a part of the community and you genuinely care for the people.
Yes—tell us about the history of Christianity in the area you grew up?
Unfortunately, it didn’t work out so well with the first missionaries to arrive in in our area. They came to our communities and basically were very, I guess, stereotypical when it comes to the history. They looked at us as evil or devil worshippers. They made us scrap all of our traditions. They did their best to make us get rid of all of our traditional ways of knowing and being. It went so far as, in the community of Laxgalts’ap, they made them gather all their regalia, traditional drums and totems and they put them in the center of the community and they burned them. They just made a big bonfire of everything we were as Indigenous peoples.
And then they ditched us. They left.
However, after that the Anglicans arrived, and they did things very differently. They didn’t try to change us completely. Yes, they shared with us the Gospel and shared with us the love of God, but they also lived with us. And what I mean by that is right beside my house growing up was a big Christ Church that was built in early 1900s. Right in front of it was a place called the Mission House, and that’s where they stayed. And so they literally came to live with us. They stayed with us. They learned our culture, they went as far as to learn our language.
They journeyed alongside us. They became so close to us that the Bishop of our diocese was adopted into the Wolf clan. He was so welcome and loved, they gave him a Nisg̱a’a name, loosely translated in English as “Wolf Shepherd,” because he came in and just cared for the people.
I remember church services being packed out as a kid. We had two churches in my community. One is Christ Church, which is the typical Anglican church. Services are very liturgy-filled and the space is very sacred. But then afterward they would make us breakfast and we’d all eat together. Even something as simple as boiled egg, toast and jam, and coffee. This is truly why I believe that Anglicanism is strong as it is in my area when it comes to denominations.
We got excited about the stories, and can easily get with Jesus’ ways of knowing and being. We wanted an opportunity to celebrate. So, in the afternoons we’d gather at the second church: Church Army. That was more expressive, more Anglican-Evangelical, with guitars, drums and bass guitars.
People would be standing, singing, clapping, raising their hands and praying. And to be honest I think we kind of drove the regular Anglican church nuts at times because we would take the Gospel and make it our own. We started preaching ourselves and we started reading and learning ourselves, and we started sharing testimonies. It was our way of living out the good news they had brought.
But in terms of bringing the Gospel, they did it in a really good way in the sense that they actually came and journeyed alongside us. They lived, celebrated, cried with us. They genuinely care about us and basically lived the Gospel to us. In essence, they embodied God’s love when they came versus trying to completely change us.
What advice would you give for those considering rural church planting?
Your question reminds me of when I did chaplaincy training in the Downtown Eastside. And I remember arriving there for my first day, and I just reminded myself over and over and over and over again: “God, I know you are already here, so I’m not gonna be bringing You anywhere. You already exist everywhere and in all things. You created all things, you are already here. So just give me the eyes to see You. Just help me to stay grounded in love through the process.”
One of the questions I would get asked about the most is “Why? Why are you a Christian? Why did you go to VST?”
I would tell them, for me personally, it’s never been about a denomination. It’s never been about a building or worship space or about a Bishop, priest or anything like that. It’s about when my story of brokenness collided with the gospel and the story of Jesus. He got broken. And beautiful love was displayed in that moment.
One piece of advice that I tend to give the most is don’t be afraid to make mistakes. I notice a lot of people, especially non-Indigenous people, often get afraid to take a chance because they’re afraid they’re going to do something wrong. They might offend someone, so they end up being paralyzed in that fear, and they don’t do nothing at all, right? But mistakes are kind of expected from us, you know, Creator expects some mistakes from us. There is forgiveness. Do it in a good way, from a genuine place, and especially grounded in love.
By Shannon Youell
How many of us hear that word evangelism and roll our eyes or quickly disengage from the conversation? Many of us have our own horror story version of evangelism on steroids and how, rather than draw people towards looking deeper at Jesus, sent them running faster than cows out of a burning barn.
The result is that the church in our western world has lost the deeper richer joy of journeying along with others who are looking for hope in a rapidly-changing world. Evangelism is far more about listening and telling our stories with one another and, from within our stories, watching to see where God has been all along and where hope in community flourishes as we draw ever closer to the well of living water – Jesus.
CBWC has partnered with Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec (CBOQ) and Salvation Army to hear and share stories of everyday pastors and leaders engaging on mission in our complicated culture.
In this fall series, you will hear disciples on the ground talk about joining God in many different aspects of having relational conversations with folk from wherever they are in a journey of curiosity about life, meaning, hope, love and joy.
These webinars are our gift to you – sign up today for free for all or one or two.
CBWC Church Planting 