To plant or not to plant?

I started doing church planting in 1998. It took a core group for Bible studies, which would eventually turn into a Sunday meeting, and then into a community of believers gathering as much as possible on Sunday mornings. Then came the testing of planters. We were looking for entrepreneurs with a keen sense of God’s call on their lives and who felt ready to answer that call.

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Every neighbourhood deserves a Jesus-centred, disciple-making peace presence

I am convinced more so now than ever before that every neighbourhood deserves a Jesus-centred, disciple-making peace presence. I am also convinced of the truth and wisdom of Swiss theologian Emil Brunner, who wrote in 1931, “The Church exists by mission, just as a fire exists by burning. Where there is no mission, there is no Church; and where there is neither Church nor mission, there is no faith.” It is this conviction that keeps pushing me forward as a leader in the church, even as I encounter the roller-coaster ride of church leadership today.

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From Dormant Winter to Spring

The smell of freshly toasted garlic bread wafts through the air. The tables are set, the wait staff are ready, the coffee is on and the kitchen is teaming with activity. The doors are almost ready to open. For the past nine years, Saturday Suppers@Stirling have provided a hot meal and a place of belonging for 170 guests and 50 volunteers each week. Arising from a need to support the Out of the Cold program in the area by providing a secondary site for suppers, Saturday Suppers@Stirling was open from November through to April, and the coffee was hot.

The pandemic arrived and Stirling closed their doors. “We have certainly been asked by people when we are opening again because they miss the social aspect of what we had,” says Josie Winterfeld, Missions, Peace & Justice and Outreach Worker at Stirling.

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