Dear BCMB family,
Church Planting has long been a vital expression of our heart to share the love of Christ with the people of this wonderful province. Healthy churches bear witness to the love of Christ in community and provide a context of mutual support as we learn to obey him in all things.
This last year has been deeply challenging for us with the release of C2C from Multiply. We are grateful for the many efforts to explain the factors that led to this result, but there remains for us all a sense of loss and regret. We appreciate the courage of leaders who are currently engaged in a careful review of Multiply governance to ensure that we learn from and correct our mistakes.
Currently, the BCMB Executive has formed an interim Church Planting Task Force to oversee BCMB church planting efforts. This team consists of:
- Rob Thiessen (BCMB)
- Denis Federau (BCMB)
- Mike Klassen (Sunridge Community Church, Westbank)
- Phil Collins (Willow Park Church, Kelowna)
- Brett Landry (Christ City Church, Vancouver)
- Joe Haynes (Beacon Church, Victoria)
- Lee Francois (Crossridge Church, Cloverdale)
- Willy Reimer (Willingdon Church, Burnaby)
We have been working since September to ensure that our church planters receive coaching and funding as needed (Currently 23% of our BCMB budget). The BCMB church planting contribution was previously administered by C2C through Multiply. That situation changed in August, following the release of C2C from Multiply, and BC church planting was moved to BCMB. Since that time, our task force has met with all of our church planters who currently receive funding and discerned the following action points:
- We are excited to support new church planters, Shane and Nicole Fox, as they lay the groundwork for a new church in Penticton (see thewinepress.ca). They have gathered a core team of 3 couples in Penticton and are laying the foundation for a launch sometime in the coming year. We envision a unique opportunity this summer for BCMB churches to help this new church launch with strength.
- A new couple Augustine and Arte Dhikvar are moving toward an apprenticeship for church planting under the supervision of New Hope Community Church, Delta, and pastor Wayne Driedger.
- We are bringing to a close our financial subsidy for the ministry of Meta Communities and Denis Wilkinson in Vancouver. This ministry has been financially supported through BCMB and others for over 9 years. We are grateful for the faithful witness of Denis and Mistin and for the fruit that has come from their work. We have provided severance for the Wilkinson’s as they explore the next chapter of ministry in their lives.
- Additionally, we continue support for:
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- Obidiah Kim (House For All Nations)
- Jonathan Headly (Jubilee Church, Maple Ridge)
- Heith Meikle (Christ City, East Vancouver)
- Jake Lefave (Christ City, East Vancouver)
- Ruben Zuniga – Spanish ministry (Broadway MB)
- Reda Hanna (Arabic Evangelical Church)
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Our prayer is that God will continue to call us forward to the communities of our province who need churches where the love of Jesus is overflowing and the gospel and Spirit are at work transforming lives. Please make time in your leadership meetings to pray and consider the role of your church in multiplying disciples through church planting.
If you have previously designated financial gifts for BC church planting through C2C or Multiply, those funds now go to BCMB who directs them to these BC Church planters and church planting initiatives.
We are especially grateful for the work of Reg Toews, with Multiply, who has helped us bridge this season of change. His ongoing coaching of church planters and assistance in helping us negotiate this transition has been invaluable. Reg’s ministry with Multiply concluded at the end of January. We have also contracted the services of “C2C Collective” to provide us with specific resources, such as church planter “assessment” and the church planter “incubator” training modules. These services will be financed through the faithful and ongoing giving of our churches to BCMB, through the subsidy designated for church planting.
As church planting has come back to BCMB, we are reminded of the momentum and energy brought to BC through C2C over the years. We have learned many lessons and saw the growth of a movement of “churches planting churches” that was directly influenced by C2C. To name just a few….
- Jericho Ridge Community Church (Langley)
- The Shore (North Vancouver)
- Christ City Church (Vancouver)
- Reality (Vancouver)
- Real Life Community Church (Surrey)
- Crossridge Community Church (Cloverdale)
- Beacon Church (Victoria)
- Jubilee Church (Maple Ridge)
- The Rock Church (Squamish)
- Gateway Community Church (Pt Alberni)
In addition to these, we have churches who are using a “multi-site” approach to planting. Churches like Northview, North Langley, Christ City, Willow Park, Central, and Westside.
We continue to ask God to use BCMB to be salt and light in communities throughout our province, calling a new generation of leaders to plant churches. We thank God for the faithful churches who resonate with this call and financially support church planting, while ministering in their own communities. We thank God for the new churches and campus-churches that have been planted, knowing that without these obedient church planters and their newly founded churches, BCMB would have experienced attrition over these past years. We rejoice, as Paul did, when brothers and sisters become confident in the Lord and dare to proclaim the gospel without fear (Phil. 1:14 NIV).
Thank you for the many who pray at 10:02 and at other times. Please ask God to awaken our hearts to His mission and calling. Ask the Lord to impart faith and courage to us all so that many will come to faith, be discipled in Christ and establish new churches in our province.
In Christ,
Rob Thiessen
BC Conference Minister
- What We Learned in 2020-Rob Thiessen - January 4, 2021
- Entitlement - December 16, 2020
- Turning Cope into Hope - April 22, 2020
- February 2020 Update on Church Planting BC - February 21, 2020
