Regional Snapshot

From Gary and Tamara Moore, Canada

Canada: Healthy
Christian communities

SURREY, British Columbia—Much has occurred since I wrote this column for the WN a year ago.

The events of Sept. 11 have had an impact well beyond the borders of the United States. Canada has experienced increased concern about public security. The potential of terrorists to strike anywhere against defenseless civilians has shaken us all. Of course, along with the rest of the world, Canadians are dealing with the economic fallout that has taken place. It has indeed been a sobering time.

In the weeks following the terrorist attacks, worship service attendance in many churches across Canada markedly improved. However, the question of whether all of this will lead to a permanent change in the nature of people’s spiritual lives remains to be answered.

If this means a greater openness to spiritual realities, our church—along with the rest of the body of Christ—needs to be prepared to handle the challenge. We need to be prepared to respond as individual Christians, and be genuinely open to the needs and questions of others. Further, each of our congregations needs to be open to receive new people, and needs to provide the kind of environment in which someone may be lovingly discipled.

As I have mentioned before in the Canadian update, we have been working toward a vision for our congregations in Canada to be increasingly healthy Christian communities. As we implement the upward, inward and outward aspects of our vision statement, our desire is that our congregations be places where God is exalted, Christians are nurtured and people are served and have the gospel proclaimed to them.

It is this emphasis on doing all we can to build and support spiritually healthy, vital congregations that serves to focus our attention and direct our efforts. We see the vital role a congregation plays in discipling and nurturing the individual Christian, and recognize that so much of the important organizational activity of the body of Christ takes place at that congregational level. We also recognize that for new Christians to mature in the faith, a strong, stable, caring church family is vital.

An important component in the health of a congregation is its financial stability. Much like in a family setting, the ability to live on the available income is critical to the long-term stability and effectiveness of a congregation. We have reengineered our financial system to provide regular reporting to each congregation. This is necessary, if each congregation is to take responsibility for its financial well-being.

This year we have seen a major effort made to balance income and expenses in our churches. We deeply appreciate the creativity, dedication and willingness to sacrifice that this has entailed.

Our congregations are becoming increasingly peaceful Christian communities. Given the stresses experienced over the last decade, this peace is welcome and needed. However, to be truly effective in fulfilling the great commission Jesus gave his church, we need to become increasingly oriented to reaching out to those living without the relationship with God we are so blessed to experience.

As the record of the New Testament clearly shows, the truth of the gospel is not to be hoarded away, but is to be generously shared with others. We recognize we need to make sure that we seek more than comfort and peace. We need to be motivated by the heart of God, and share in his compassion and concern for the people of the earth (John 3:16).

We desire that care for all people be evident in our congregations, and such care provide the motivation to actively reach out to others both in Christian service, and in the proclamation of the gospel. We recognize that those who are letting the light of Jesus Christ shine in their day-to-day lives share the gospel most effectively. To talk the talk, we must walk the walk.

The idea of establishing a clear congregational vision, and from that a broader national denominational vision, and setting specific goals to work toward, is somewhat new for our congregations. We see that the individual Christian and the local congregation are right at the forefront of spreading the gospel and nurturing those who respond. It is absolutely vital that each Christian understands his or her role in representing Christ as his ambassador in their part of the world.

It is also critical that each congregation recognize its vital role in harnessing the efforts of individual Christians to work together as a community of believers in reaching out to others. Each congregation should ideally be a mission community—a group of Christians who actively share in the responsibility of fulfilling the great commission Christ has given his disciples (Matthew 28:18-20).

One of the important roles the denomination plays on behalf of our congregations in Canada is supporting leadership development. As well as the annual Canadian pastors conference and regular pocket meetings the district superintendents have with the pastors, we have been offering an annual seminar at various locations across the country designed to help mentor leadership on the congregational level.

We are pleased by the high level of interest these seminars have generated, and want to continue to grow in our ability to encourage and support leaders serving in various aspects of ministry throughout our fellowship in Canada.

Our national church board is also going through a developmental phase. The board has decided to adopt a form of the policy governance model developed by John Carver. This process took a big step forward at a board meeting in Toronto, Ontario, last September.

As our board members are scattered across the country, we are using e-mail and teleconferencing to keep the process moving ahead. Our hope is to complete the transition to policy governance at our next meeting together, scheduled for April at the national office in Surrey.

The result we are praying for and anticipating is a genuine strengthening of the accountability of the church management in Canada, and an improvement in the general governance of the church.

We have found that our youths have a wonderful openness to the gospel message. We are seeing increasing efforts in many of our congregations that are focusing on the need to create a receptive atmosphere for young people. The summer camp program involving several regional camps across the country has been fruitful and valuable.

We plan to increase our efforts at spreading the gospel across generational lines to the youths among us, even as we consider how we might reach out beyond our congregation walls to the wider society around us.

Our national office is committed to providing core services to the congregations as efficiently as we can. I am sure you have heard the expression of being "lean and mean." We aim to be lean, without being mean!

As our current five-year lease is expiring this year, we are planning to move the office to new quarters that will be somewhat smaller and cheaper but we feel will be right- sized for what we are striving to accomplish.

In all of this we recognize that the ultimate owner of the church is not the administrators of the church, or even the ministry or the membership. The true owner is Jesus Christ himself, who died to redeem and purchase us to himself. Praying continually for his guidance in all we do—and for his agenda for the part of his body that we represent—is the most important activity in which we can involve ourselves.

When all is said and done, it is him we want to please, and it is his purposes that we seek to advance. Along with you, we are his servants. Your brothers and sisters in Canada wish you a most effective and fruitful year as you serve our Lord and Master!

Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2002