A growing challenge for denominations and municipalities is empty churches. What do you do with them?
How can congregations survive and even thrive. Graham Singh outlines a new approach and talks about what it takes to plant churches in Canada today.
Welcome to Episode 016 of the podcast, which you can access on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.
Guest Links
Graham on Facebook | Twitter | grahamsingh.org | stjax.org
Links Mentioned
Canadian Church Leaders Conference
A Mission Partner
Looking for a mission partner? Compassion Canada helps release children from poverty around the world, and they do it through the local church.
They can help you develop a mission strategy for your church that can change the world, whether your church is large or small.
For a free consult, contact them at church@compassion.ca.
Want to Reach More People?
How different is ministry in Canada?
Join us June 14-16, 2018 in Barrie, Ontario for the Canadian Church Leaders Conference, a conference designed to help Canadian Church Leaders reach people. Intimate, interactive and featuring all new talks. This years speakers include Laurel Buckingham (Moncton Wesleyan), Shaila Visser (Alpha Canada), Jon Thompson (C4 Church), Jeff Brodie (Connexus) and Carey Nieuwhof.
Registration is officially open. Secure your spot now before tickets sell out!
3 Insights from This Episode
1. Make the most of the space your church has to offer
Are you fully utilizing the square footage within the walls of your church? Could rooms currently collecting dust be repurposed and provide opportunities for greater missional contact with people who don’t know Jesus?
Consider opening your doors to organizations and even other churches who want to make a positive impact, but lack the space to fully serve. Supporting them with a place to gather can improve relationships and unify a diverse community while creating opportunities for your church to grow its reach and share the gospel.
2. The church cannot remain solely suburban in a multi-cultural, urban movement
Society is trending towards an urban way of living, while the bulk of church energy remains on suburban ground. To hold a place of influence and have opportunity to shift a growing culture, more churches need to be established inside urban society.
Once there, a church cannot limit itself by being uni-cultural. Canada has missional impetus from all around the world and the church must learn how to respond by understanding different cultures and hearing each others languages.
3. Church planters must recognize the challenges that come with being a minority culture
Christians are the minority and have lost influence in today’s culture. Because of that, church planters must be ready for the challenges by transitioning from traditional pastoral roles into true missionaries.
A church planter has to have full trust in the movement, a willingness to collaborate and share resources with others outside of the church – for the greater good of the community – and focus the ministry on the needs of the unchurched and people who have been hurt by the church.
There is a great opportunity to be a part of a huge awakening for those willing to get out of their comfort zone and put in the work to see a new community created in Canada.
Quotes from This Episode
CCLP 016: Graham Singh on What to Do With Empty Church Buildings in Canada, Church Planting Trends and More Click To Tweet CCLP 016: Graham Singh on What to Do With Empty Church Buildings in Canada, Church Planting Trends and More Click To Tweet CCLP 016: Graham Singh on What to Do With Empty Church Buildings in Canada, Church Planting Trends and More Click To TweetThe podcast releases the first Thursday of every month
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Next Episode: Peter Roebellen
Peter Roebellen is the president of The Charis Foundation and has been in ministry for over 30 years. We discuss his newly released book, Mercy: Life in the Season of Dying, and much more.
Subscribe for free now and you won’t miss Episode 017.
