There are approximately 8,000 small evangelical churches in Canada. They are found in every province and the three territories.All of them face very similar issues and challenges. Too often those small churches are the forgotten element in the national church scene.
For four days next September that is going to change. Small Church Connections is sponsoring the first ever National Forum on the Small Church in Canada.The goal is bring together 140 key denominational, academic, church and para-church leaders together to discuss how small churches can best be served. For those four days the small church is going to be at the center of their attention.
The Forum will be held September 24 – 27 at Jackson’s Point Conference Center about an hour north of Toronto. Some of the people who have agreed to lead sessions are:
Dr. Rod Wilson: Past President of Regent College in Vancouver BC
Dr. Tim Beadle: Co-founder of the Rural Church Pastors Network in AB
Julie Moser: Youth advisor in SK
Ken Taylor: Pastor of Creekside Church, Waterloo ON
Rick Hiemstra: Director, Research and Media Relations for the EFC
Dr L.D. Buckingham: CEO Buckingham Leadership Institute, Moncton NB
Dr. Sam Reimer: Co-author of “A Culture of Faith: Evangelical Congregations in Canada”
Attendance is limited to 140 people in that the conference center only holds that many. In order to get the right balance of different leaders, attendance is my invitation only. It is not open to anyone who might like to attend but if you are reading this and are thinking that you would like to be part of this historic event, email me and let me know. I would be happy to extend you an invitation.
This blog entry is quite different from my normal entry but I wanted to let you know what is coming. I believe strongly in the importance of this forum and would love to have you there. I am praying that this will be the beginning of a much higher focus on small churches across Canada.
Please pray for this forum as God brings it to mind over the next eleven months. Pray that God will use it to encourage and challenge small churches in every part of the country. Pray whether God wants you to be a part of it. It is going to be a very special four days.
Very exciting!!!