Hope Mennonite Church navigates growing numbers
At Thomson Funeral Home on Sunday morning, you won’t find a hearse, or the building filled with mourners. Instead, it is bursting with life. The space is home to Winnipeg’s Hope Mennonite Church, a thriving community of around 200 active participants and members. The congregation moved into the funeral home last September because it faced…
Why do I need to be part of a church?
“Why should I participate in church? What does the church offer that I can’t find elsewhere?” Before I could respond, my friend proceeded to explain how he has experienced God, Jesus, Spirit, worship, purpose, spiritual growth, healing, community and opportunities to serve others in meaningful ways outside of the church. By the end of our…
Tending the in-between spaces
In the midst of significant structural change in Mennonite Church Canada, a group of Canadian Mennonite University students came together in December 2015 around the question, “Do young people care about the future of the church?” This initial gathering generated surprising energy among the participants. Soon a group of 15 of us began gathering over…
Living in the best of times
The church in North America is shrinking. We see signs of it everywhere. God is pruning back his church. We have a choice to frantically hold on to all that is dying or to pay attention to what Jesus is doing and join in with his new growth initiatives. It is difficult to remember that…
Mosquitoes are part of life
I recently told someone that our family holiday plans this summer included tenting for 10 days in northern Ontario. They replied, “Why on earth would you do that? That sounds awful.” Unfortunately that’s the same reaction I get when I tell certain people I go to church. I reflected on this last week while our…
Wandering in the wilderness
This past weekend, I was invited to one of our small rural congregations to help it discern the future. The concern, as expressed by the congregation, is that if the status quo remains, the church will have to close its doors in a couple of years. Some options were presented: cut pastoral time from the…
What is the Spirit saying to our churches today?
“Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches” (Revelation 3:22). These words of John from the Island of Patmos are as relevant for us today as they were to the seven churches in the province of Asia who were struggling to adapt to the ever-changing realities of…
A big fan of Jesus . . . the church not so much
A lot has been said and written about millennials: What’s wrong with them? What’s influenced them? What does their future hold? Google “millennials and the church” and dozens of articles pop up: “5 things millennials wish the church would be,” “12 reasons why millennials are over church,” or “Is Christianity dark enough for millennials?” So…
Who’s winning at church?
Over the past while, a number of people have inquired about my thoughts on a recent “Theology matters” study conducted by Canadian scholar David Haskell that draws a strong connection between theological conservatism in Canadian mainline Protestant churches and church attendance. According to the study, mainline Protestant churches that interpret the Bible more “literally,” hold…
A new recipe for church
Why do you go to church? One of the main reasons is that there is something there that feeds your soul. If there was nothing nourishing there, you would find other things to do with your time. Jesus fed people. He fed them literally . . . and he fed them with stories. They had…
