By Jim Coggins

"MY deep conviction is that we need both 'hard copy' and 'wireless' churches," said David Wells, general superintendent of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.

In a thoughtful document he wrote when assuming his current position, he pointed out the tremendous cultural gap between those who prefer hard copy (books and newspapers) and those who prefer wireless forms of communications (cellphones and the internet) -- and how the Canadian church can reach such diverse populations.

In the first place, Wells said, church leaders need to strengthen the existing "come and gather" church with its warm fellowship, gospel music, traditional Bible-based preaching and family programs. Such churches continue to minister to many Canadians.

But, Wells continued, "over half of all Canadians will not be reached by the existing hard copy 'come and gather' church." Reaching the rest of Canadian society will require "new ministries with an entirely different DNA" -- churches whose main ministry takes place in the community, outside of a church building on Sunday morning.

Recognized need

Church leaders from many denominations have recognized the need for change, realizing that the status quo is no longer good enough.

The Strategic Plan of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster reveals that up to three-quarters of the parishes in the diocese are unsustainable in their current form, because they lack the people and finances to support a building and full-time priest. The plan envisions a time when the diocese will consist of "well resourced centres of vital and sustainable ministry, comprised of a variety of ministry models . . . congregations of all shapes and sizes working together."

The Plan offers several possible ways of achieving the vision. These could include merging congregations, "meeting outside of a building" and "shared ordained leadership" (one priest serving several small parishes).

Doug Goodwin, executive secretary of the B.C. Conference of the United Church of Canada, said many congregations in his denomination are also struggling to maintain a church building and a full-time minister. Therefore, he expects to see "some experimentation" in both areas -- an increasing number of small congregations, emerging congregations that don't own buildings, some bigger congregations and more part-time ministers.

The consensus of the church leaders we talked to for this series is that the church of the future is going to have to be much more diverse.

In an increasingly "diverse and splintered society," said David Horita, regional director of the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches in British Columbia, there are going to have to be "a lot of models of church -- every social and ethnic group wants something different."

Evangelical action

What the mainline Protestant churches are talking about, many evangelical and Pentecostal/charismatic churches are already doing.

Some, such as Connexus Community Church in Barrie, Ontario, were profiled in Global TV's Hip 2B Holy documentary on 'new evangelicals' in May 2009.

Like Connexus, Westside Church in downtown Vancouver meets in a theatre. The four-year-old congregation now has three Sunday 'gatherings' in two different theatres, with total attendance around 600-650.

"Our mission is to make Jesus known in the city of Vancouver," declares the church's website.

Westside is open to "all sizes, shapes and ages," lead pastor Norm Funk told CC.com, but about 70 percent of attenders are "the just out of college crowd." There is also "a good and growing 40-plus group" who have been "praying for the city for a long time." There is no youth group, because the church has few teenagers. The church's demographics reflect the demographics of the area and of the pastors (all but Funk are in their 20s and 30s).

Funk noted that the biggest group of attenders are "people coming back to church." For them, meeting in a theatre removes barriers. So does downplaying the church's denominational affiliation. The church does not hide the fact that it is Mennonite Brethren, but Funk says "denominations are irrelevant to most people" who are looking for a church. Sometimes people walking past the theatres where the church is meeting walk in just out of curiosity.

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While Westside did not deliberately target one demographic, other churches do. Artisan Church began meeting in October 2009, in Vancouver Public Library -- with the specific goal of reaching 'artists,' a group often disconnected from church. The church's gatherings include not only music and preaching but also "silence, poetry, visual art and videos."

Other models

Another growing trend is "multi-campus" churches. This model is different from the mainline practice of having one minister serve several small congregations which cannot afford their own pastor. Many of these multi-campus churches are quite large.

Relate Church, formerly Victory Christian Centre, attracts a couple of thousand people each week -- to two Sunday morning services and a Saturday night service at its own building in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey; and to services in rented facilities in nearby Abbotsford Sunday morning, and in Vancouver Sunday night. The satellite campuses have a 'host pastor'; but founding pastor John Burns commutes back and forth to preach at all three campuses.

Burns said the church is deliberately 'contemporary.' It uses high-energy music, screens, projectors, video clips, drama, smoke -- anything that will grab and hold people's attention.

Burns said that since God is Creator, "if anyone is on the creative edge and making life exciting, it should be the church." He freely admitted that Relate's style won't appeal to everyone, but the church still attracts a broad demographic. There are a lot of young adults attending, but the church also has vibrant children's, youth, men's and women's ministries. There are also a significant number of older adults, who "have the same heart" for reaching young people as Burns, who has six grandchildren. "It is a dream...to grow a church without walls, touching every segment of society, bringing a living Jesus to a dying world," says the church's website.

"Things have certainly changed," said Cam Roxburgh, national director of Forge Canada and Church Planting Canada. Roxburgh is also founder of Southside Community Church. It has five locations (four in British Columbia and one in Albania), which tend to operate more like closely related neighbourhood churches, served by their own local leaders.

Large models

Canada has no megachurches on the scale found in the United States, but another 'model' of church is the very large church. There are large Roman Catholic and mainline Protestant churches, but again the largest and most comprehensive churches are often evangelical and charismatic.

Willingdon Church in Burnaby, B.C., is one of the largest churches in Canada, with attendance in the 5,000 range. It offers Sunday ministry in at least eight languages besides English, and has a range of spiritual and social ministries to match. "Willingdon is a community church, international in attendance . . . committed in its service to all ages from all walks of life," its website says.

A church which combines a couple of these models is Christian Life Assembly. A Pentecostal church, it has a large multi-purpose complex in Langley, B.C., with multiple services and programs serving about 2,500 people. It also has satellite campuses in the nearby communities of Maple Ridge and Coquitlam, serving another 500 people. The satellite campuses have campus pastors, but the Sunday sermons are delivered via video feed from Langley. Vijay Manuel, who was executive pastor of the church until moving on to another assignment this month, said the satellite campuses have the best of both worlds: a small church feel, in a barrier-free setting, backed by all the resources of the big church.

At the other end of the scale are the uncounted scores of 'house churches,' gatherings of 15-20 people in a private home. Like larger churches, they can have a wide variety of theological positions. Some are loosely grouped into associations; many are not. With no buildings or paid staff, they escape many of the logistical problems of other churches, but can have disadvantages such as lack of resources and visibility.

It's not the form of church that matters, said Wells. It's understanding the current situation. Due to work schedules, conflicting responsibilities and opportunities and shifting attitudes, even church leaders don't show up for church on Sunday morning. Therefore, any church, whether big or small, whether in its own building or a rented space, which focuses its attention on Sunday morning, will fail. "Changing the visuals and the music won't be enough."

On the other hand, Churches which find multiple ways and multiple times "to be genuinely relational and touch people spiritually at the core of who they are," churches which "make a difference in their community," will succeed.

January 27/2010