This is Us! Canadian small churches in action

Rick and Lindsay discuss the latest research done regarding evangelical Canadians approach to parenting faith. The research supports parental involvement - with some interesting twists. The place of the church? Again, a rethinking for many is needed!

Wayne Neumiller has served a small church in Irma, Alberta – two times! Returning to the same church has meant assessing the viability of a return and preparing for a succession. Practical and principled advice is given by Wayne.

Can small churches use networks to provide sustainability and vitality?  Keith Shields tells of three networks that he has studied recently in Canada.  These groups of churches (small groups or small churches) have shown another model for church in the 2020's.

Rick Heimstra and Lindsay Callaway have just completed the final report on the Canadian Evangelical Small Church Survey taken over these past few years. There findings are both predictable and unseen. In this episode we discuss a number of those findings.

David Bradford has been pastor at the Brooks Alliance church since 2011. One of his great loves is seeing the church reach into their community. David offers practical advice along with principles that will steer a small church into community outreach.

Kevin Driver is a pastor in Banff, Alberta – one of the most diverse towns in Canada. He speaks to working with newcomers to Canada, integrating cultures into church life, and generally being the church to all nations.

Paul Warnock serves as a transitional pastor in Alberta, Canada. His observations and insights on pastoral rest and relaxation come from a rich history. The healthy pastor is the best leader of their congregation. Without rest and relaxation the pastor falls apart and the congregation may follow.

Dr. Margaret Cottle works in the palliative care area of medical health.  Her own experiences show that the latest medical termination permission allowed by Canadian legislation falls far short of the vitality of a Christian worldview.  In this podcast she wisely corrects some troubling shifts in modern medicine with a view towards a loving and caring compassion for the humans who surround us.

Kevin Roberts has spent a quater century in pastoral ministry. His own search to understand congregational wellness and long term stability has lead to a number of pertinent observations. Patience, forgiveness, context and other areas are discussed.

Dr. John Scott has been a part of Palliative Care as a physician since the 1970's.  He feels strongly that helping people relinquish life is a gift that our society needs to embrace.  Canadian society has not done this well and has instead opted for MAiD.  Pastors and church leaders can call us into this ministry

A local church pastor of 30 years, Paul Charbonneau, talks of his encounters with real life people dealing with MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying).  His own journey has led him to be pro-active in understanding and practising the culture of pro-living.

Dean and Maxine worked in a small church in Chesley, Ontario, while the pandemic was in full swing. Their food ministry increased over this time. Now they are asking what comes next and what will the church look like.

Sandra Ryan talks of her work in small churches – encouraging them to be community minded

Rod Wilson has pastored churches, served as President of Regent College, worked in the area of psychology, been a father and husband.  His years of experience have led him to forsee personal and institutional relational health - using three phrases:  Thank you, I'm sorry, and Tell me more.

Marshall and Merrie Eizenga direct Kerith Creek retreat centre in Alberta, sponsored by Focus on the Family.  In these past few years they have conducted a number of retreats for couples and singles.  From their experience they share wise advice on how to remain resilient and to restore you soul.

Karen Stiller is a pastor's wife, a co-editor of Faith Today, a writer and much more.  She shares from her experiences in the big church and the small church.  Her wisdom includes vital insight into small church ministry with a passion for the pastor's wife.

Dr. James Robertson is a professor of history at Tyndale University while also serving a two point ministerial charge in Ontario. He has recently written a book titled: Overlooked: The forgotten origin stories of Canadian Christianity published by New Leaf Press

Susan Saunders served on a refugee resettlement committee, bringing refugees to Bridgetown, Nova Scotia.  Her stories are compelling and give a peek into the work a small church may undertake to bring refugees to Canada.

Mark Reece has been working with refugee work in the Canadian Maritimes for over a decade.  As a pastor he has navigated the systems that work towards successful refugee settlement, he has worked with teams to accomplish this, and has seen the fulfilment of love and compassion towards those who are in need.  

Melissa Davis is currently heading up the music program at Tyndale University in Toronto, Ontario.  She has 35 years of experience in music and worship.  Her passion is seen in this episode where she talks about her vision and how worship and music can flourish in the small church 

David Guretzki serves as the resident theologian for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. In this podcast he talks about the foundation that theology provides for the small church.

Albertos Polizogopolous is a founding member of The Acacia Group. His national practice focuses on the areas of constitutional, commercial, and civil litigation. He provides legal and strategic advice to his clients in all matters relating to litigation and liability. In this episodes he focuses on how this impacts the small church.

Jeremiah Thomas is a church planter in Brampton, Ontario.  His family immigrated to Canada in 2009 from Kuwait.  His own journey has taken him through a philosophy degree, work in the legal profession and into a co-vocational pastorate.

Tim Perry is currently the Dean of Providence Seminary and professor of Theology.  He has recently published a book on funerals and the care of souls.  He has lived the pastoral life and knows small churches.

Gil Langerack works with the Canadian Centre for Christian Charities.  The Centre serves thousands of Christian Charities in Canada - facilitating charities in dealing with government, CRA and many other areas.

Heather Malnick is currently the Pastor of Knox Presbyterian Church in Bracebridge, Ontario.  She speaks passionately of the opportunity to serve with others in the process of combining three small churches into a cluster and regional model of ministry.

Shaila Visser has headed up Alpha Canada for the last 11 years.  In the summer of 2021 Alpha Canada undertook a survey of evangelism in Canada in conjunction with Flourishing Congregation's researcher Joel Thiessen.  The results were significant and at some points unexpected!

April Yamasaki served for 25 years as a pastor before venturing into writing as her vocational passion. She speaks to proper care of the soul in order to be effective in ministry and enlivened as a person.

Chris Atkinson has been the pastor at Pinewoods Chapel in Angus, Ontario for 15 years. The church has moved from a very traditional model to a transformational model of outreach and community.

Mike Wood Daly works with the Halo project, a research based effort to show the social economic contribution of faith communities to the Canadian Society.

Neil Bassingthwaite works with Missions for the Evangelical Free Church in Canada. He has pastored small churches in Saskatchewan and Alberta and is well aware of the need for outreach – while remembering that discipleship is the foundation of mission.

Mike and Karen Puddicombe serve as ministers in the Salvation Army, stationed in Burlington, Ontario.  The have been in ministry for over 30 years and currently have an emphasis on church revitalization.  The work is rewarding but not for the faint of heart.

Debbie Iversen pastors the Little Bethel Community Church in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.  Small churches populate large cities.  The need is to see health within those churches, where relationships are positive and all are treated equally.

Morgan and Lisa Hillier are both Newfoundland Labrador born and bred. Working with Salvation Army for seventeen years, their recent transition to a church ministry just prior to COVID restrictions has taught them how to be creative in reaching people for Christ.

Arch Wong helps direct the Flourishing Congregations Institute at Ambrose University (Flourishingcongregations.org). He relates how the Canadian research he is involved in will help small and large churches across Canada.

Glenn Wooden teaches at Acadia Divinity School in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.  He also helps lead a small church and thinks deeply about the Bible's emphasis on small.

Wendy McCready works with Flowers for the Pastor's Wife - a helpful digital platform for encouraging the small church pastor's wife.

Ron Klassen is the director of the Rural Church Missionary Association.  His experience over decades has brought an understanding of small churches this is invaluable.  Ron talks of approaches small churches need to take, and of the theology small church leaders need to develop

Margaret Clarke has just finished her Ph.D. on Clergy Resilience.  She relates a number of her findings and suggests considerations for clergy resilience.  The research was gathered in the midst of COVID.

Robin Haensel serves in the office of the Midwest District office of the Alliance Church in Canada.  His efforts there are directed towards pastors and the local churches.  He has pastored small churches and understands the stresses and joys of ministry.

Brian Thompson pastors a small church in Burnaby, British Columbia.  He serves a multicultural church with a strong sense of mission and vision.

Wes Mills leads that Apostolic Churches Of Pentecost denomination in Canada.  Many of the churches are under 250, with a large portion of those churches under 100.  Wes shares from his own experience, gathering advice that is well worth noting.

Paul Kowtechy worked for years as a retail manager. Then, in a direction only God could have imagined, he was called to be a small church pastor.

Daniel Graham is pastor of the Free Methodist Church in Peterborough, Ontario. He previously served in Prince Albert Saskatchewan and is part of the executive of the Free Methodist Church in Canada. His ministry in small churches spans three decades. He speaks to COVID, small church advantages and regional differences in ministry in small churches.

David Sawler pastors and directs youth centres in Cape Breton – Glace Bay. His heart is for the community. He sees the poverty, addictions and trauma during this period of COVID. How can the church become community centred and at the centre of the community?

Dr. Kevin Driver pastors a small church in the resort town on Banff, Alberta, Canada. He deals with seasonal workers, transient influx during high tourist seasons, and a intercultural mix of congregants.

Paul Warnock is a seasoned pastor who is now working at a transitional pastor. How do you move from a previous pastor to a new pastor with a sense of hope and excitement? Paul gives some hints.

James Watson has recently been a part of the research team for a multivocational ministry study in Canada. The results would indicate a strong need for those with multiple vocations to become pastors of small church. This is not without its challenges – and its rewards.

“I’ve been involved in supporting and encouraging church planting and congregation revitalization now for about about almost 20 years. And just the creativity in different places where churches are popping up and how the Holy Spirit is directing people, the kinds of biblical reflections people are having, as they engage in the creativity of having church in Canada, has been really personally refreshing to me and a very enjoyable journey.”

“With the with the pandemic, every congregation in Canada has been faced with the reality of what it means to adapt, what it means to adjust to change. And I think that’s been actually a gift from this current season. . .  How do we feel about having to change, about having to make adaptations, even for things that we think are important.  We want to protect the health of our communities. So we want to do things to be a healthy contributor for our own people to be healthy, for our neighbors to be healthy.  I think that’s been a real mirror for us as to how is it that we respond to change? And how adaptable are we? And my opinion, from the research I’ve seen and from conversations I’ve had, is that a number of congregations are maybe a little bit surprised themselves and how well they’ve been able to adapt.”

[Should I move into multi vocational ministry?]  “So one of the themes that arose with a great deal of emphasis and passion among the 40 interviewees we had. . . . was calling. So it came up in terms of when they were going through times of stress. Yeah, that it was there – their reflection on their calling, how God had directed them, what Jesus has asked them to do – that would help them to have the strength to acknowledge what God’s role was, in this overall situation.  That it wasn’t all about them.  That God had actually asked them to do something, God was actively participating in this, and would help them get through some of the challenging times.”

“There is sort of four broad patterns that I would discern from the responses people had about how their congregational leadership and other work. . . . The one would be sort of the, the thing I think people often think about when they think about, you know, tent making or by vocational ministry, and that’s about about the money. . . . Another thing that arose was for some people, they indicated that it was really important to them, that there was something they got of personal benefit, that wasn’t money out of the other work. . . . Often, there’s a ongoing work of the Holy Spirit at deeper levels in people’s lives, that takes more time. And so there, for some, there’s a contrast, a number of people said, This provides me with insight into people’s lives. . . . A third category that emerged from a number of the people stories, with certain the idea that their congregational work, and their other work, were actually quite integrated in their mind.  And so they saw either mission or discipleship, or evangelism as being augmented by the other work that they were contributing to.  And the diversity of how people saw them as being integrated, was remarkable.”

Rick Heimstra and Lindsay Callaway are conducting research on Small Churches in Canada. The research was commissioned by Small Church Connections and Rick and Lindsay are researchers from the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

“In terms of what the research project is, we are doing a number of phases or steps to the project. First, we did a literature review looking at what’s sort of been written, what do we know about small churches, particularly small churches in Canada. And then we did a round of interviews with ministry experts. So these are people that would teach in seminaries, we included some denominational leaders, some pastors, some small church pastors as well. . . Then the next phase, we’re in the middle of doing 30 interviews with small church pastors from across Canada. And then finally, we will be conducting a national survey of small church pastors.”

Bill Taylor is the Executive Director of the Evangelical Free Church of Canada. He is Canadian born and bred, has served small churches and understands the diversity of the country.

“I just download my knowledge into somebody, and now they’re a disciple? And somehow Jesus did it? I don’t think that’s what he had in mind. It’s usually a journey. That’s a relational journey. And yes, there’s information involved, but small churches, I think, are uniquely designed to do that, if they’re healthy.”

“When I’m talking to pastors, when they’re going to be in a small church, I want to say, look, really, really embrace the shepherd, Pastor model. Remember what pastor means and get over yourself and get over the hubris of being the celebrity preacher.”

“Preaching as we know it as a post-reformation creation. I’m not against it, I just don’t believe that you make a disciple by preaching. So that’s the other thing. I tell pastors, if you think that your week is well spent by spending 30 hours to talk at people for 45 minutes, and then you’re done making a disciple, you preaching alone does not make a disciple. You’re going to want to be relational, you’re going to want to really embrace that Shepherd motif.”

“I think the churches, whether big or small, the churches that had deep relationships between the believers, you know, really good, healthy, small groups, those churches are going to come out of COVID, I think, fine.”

“One of our largest churches is a new Korean church. I think they have, I don’t know, 4000 people. I asked the pastor. What’s the core of his church? You know, what’s his core responsibility. The senior pastor, he didn’t blink. He just said, All he said was, our small groups, that’s where we make all our disciples. And he spends chunks of his time. big chunks of his time developing small group leaders, and that’s where they make disciples. Sunday mornings, great, but it’s not where they make their disciples, right. That’s where you worship and encourage each other.”