Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - June/90

Contributor - Murray Moerman

Title - A Mandate For Growth - A Vision to Provide an Actively Evangelizing Congregation for each 2,000 Canadians by the Year AD 2000

Topic - Church Growth

As we face the last decade of this century, having witnessed the decline in influence of Christian values in both the private and public life of our nation in a number of fundamental areas, Canadian Christians have begun to struggle with questions of how to re-evangelize our nation. Concern for the implementation of new steps to reclaim Canada for Christ led, two years ago, to the development of a strategy designed to identify the locations in Canada where new churches are most urgently needed to be planted.

How Many Churches are there in Canada?

One of the pre goals of the study was to determine how many churches currently exist m Canada, where they are located, in which language they minister, and in which areas people speaking various languages live in Canada today. Churches were included as "Mainline,' "Catholic," 'Evangelical," and 'Orthodox and Other Eastern Trinitarian Churches." Churches were categorized according to their own self-understand. Table 1 summarizes the traditions and totals of reported churches in Canada. The relative strengths of each tradition are also summarized.

Which Language Groups Most Urgently Require New Church Planting?

During 1986 Statistics Canada asked Canadians: "Which language does the head of this home normally speak while at home?" This is an important question since it reflects the degree to which integration into Canadian culture has taken place, whereas a similar census question inquiring into the country of one's ethnic origin does not give us that information. The language a person speaks at home is normally the e in which one think,. and is commonly known as that person's 'heart language.' It is through a caring community speaking this language that the gospel will most readily be received. It is important that we learn where people in Canada who speak languages other than English and French live, and where evangelizing churches of each e need to be planted.

Where do New Evangelizing Churches Need Most to be Planted?

In order to determine where new evangelizing churches most need to be planted in Canada, the number and location of existing churches were compared with the Canadian population projected for that region by the year AD 2000. Population-to-church ratios and the number of new evangelize churches to be planted by the end of the decade were then calculated and are presented in four basic patterns:

1. Provinces and Territories.

2. Census Divisions: 266 such divisions have been designated by the Canadian government.

3. Census Metropolitan Areas: 139 urban centres of 10,000 inhabitants and over. In 1989 these cities represented 75.4% of the Canadian population.

4. Census Sub-Divisions: 6,009 government statistical units often comparable to municipalities. Of these smaller units, 712 reported no permanent human population in 1986.

While the following data must be viewed as suggestive requiring further confirmation by local research, the areas with the highest ratios should receive priority investigation with a view to planting new churches as required to provide an actively evangelizing church for each 2000 Canadians by the year AD 2000 as we strive together to fulfil the Great Commission in Canada. (In this particular article, we will focus on just one pattern.)

Evangelical Church Planting Needs by Province:

When Canada is viewed by province with a goal of providing an evangelizing congregation for each 2000 Canadians by the year AD 2000, we discover the revealing picture suggested by Table 2 (below). Table 2 has arranged provinces and territories in descending order of new evangelical churches required, then in descending order of population-to-evangelical church ratio.

It is striking that Canadians requiring the greatest number of new evangelical churches to reach them with the gospel of Jesus Christ live in Quebec and Ontario, followed by British Columbia and Alberta. Our greatest efforts must be expended in these provinces. Quebec particularly, as a distinct society within our great nation, requires a concerted effort in new church planting by evangelicals from across the nation.

But even those evangelicals living in provinces and territories where an evangelical church, on average, does exist for each 2000 Canadians living in that region, personally know of many non-Christians living in their area.

Further there are areas and groups in each province and territory where even that interim goal has not been reached.

A Godly Response:

As we consider the vast needs remaining before we reach the completion of the Great Commission in Canada, how might we respond?

Our nation is a land in which many communities are yet without an evangelical church presence.

Our nation is one in which the church, in many areas, has witnessed declining biblical literacy, convictions, attendance, and ability to re-evangelize our great and needy nation.

We see a vast, diverse land in which five to eight thousand new evangelical churches are needed in this decade, with thousands more needed in the early 21st century.

What is needed as we look at our land is not fear, but courage. What is needed is repentance of apathy, prayerlessness, disunity, and complacency together with a fresh commitment to obedience to our Lord as we seek to re-evangelize Canada in response to Christ's Great Commission.

What is needed is sustained prayer, accurate information, bold, clear plans, and the commitment of new human and financial resources to the task of reaching those regions and peoples currently not being adequately reached with the Gospel of Christ.

Steps Toward Providing an Evangelizing Church in Your Community for each 2000 Canadians by the Year AD 2000

Canadian evangelicals need to plant thousands of new evangelizing churches in Canada. Efforts need to cote as denominations, district associations and local churches each pray, plan and implement those plans as God strengthens us to re-evangelize this needy nation He loves. The steps we will need to take are at least these:

1. Prayer: The length of this chapter does not permit the call to prayer required to accompany God's purpose in re-evangelizing Canada. God does nothing of eternal significance without our prayer. The challenges before us are far beyond our resources. God will make us equal to them only as we pray diligently, urgently, even with tears. Will you commit yourself to praying an hour a day for the coming of God's Kingdom in Canada?

2. Understand Accurately the Need for New Evangelizing Churches in Your Community.

a) Determine the anticipated population of your community (by language group, if possible) in the year AD 2000. Your local Chamber of Commerce, library, or city p office will be able to help you.

b) Add the total seating capacity of existing evangelical churches (by language group, if possible). Multiply this number of seats by two (assuming each church will grow to offer two worship services per Sunday).

c) Subtract the number of available Sunday morning church seats from the total number of persons in the community to determine the number of unchurched persons in your community.

d) Divide this number by 2000 (or less) to determine the number of new evangelizing churches needed to give every person in your community the opportunity to see, hear, and respond to the gospel by the year AD 2000. Members of other Trinitarian traditions may wish to include all churches and divide by the unchurched population of your community by 1000 (or less) to determine the number of new churches needed to reach your community.

3. Determine a Significant Location in Your Community where a New Evangelizing Church Should be Planted: Such a location may be in or near a new or projected housing development, an area of particularly high-density housing, or simply in an area furthest from the nearest effectively evangelizing church.

Seek to determine also the kind of people not currently being reached by existing evangelical churches and the style of ministry most likely to reach such unreached people. It is important to remember that many different styles of ministry, some perhaps untraditions will be needed to reach the many different kinds of people (students, blue collar workers, yuppies, ethnics, and people of varying economic and educational backgrounds) in your community. No single or small group of churches, however gifted or vibrant, will be able to reach them all.

A significant help in understanding the demographics of your neighbourhood is available from:

Rev. Jeremy Bell, Baptist Union of Western Canada Committee on Church Planting and Renewal Kitsflano Christian Community 2680 West 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC V6K (206) 737-0169

For approximately $50 you will be supplied with computerized statistical information comparing demographic trends between the last two cen-.il.-. years in any one mile radius of your choice in Canada.

4. Consider the Model for Church Planting most Suitable to Your Gifts, Resources, and Setting:

5. Set Goals and Timelines:

The plans for a denomination win be different from those of a district association, group of local churches in fellowship, or those of a single local church. Many denominations will have the faith and foresight to set goals challenging each of their congregations to plant a new church in the next decade. District associations will set goals of adding additional new churches. Local churches, bible schools, and church planters will prayerfully set further goals. Each however, must seek the Lord of the Harvest for plans unique to their situation according to the faith and resources given to them. Common to these plans in each case however will be at least the following elements:

a. Prayer

b. A consideration of the unchurched peoples in the area where God has called us to evangelize, form churches, and baptize new believers.

c. A consideration of resources and models appropriate to those resources.

d. Planning and dreaming.

e. Setting specific goals and timeliness

f, A public of these goals for encouragement and accountability.

The Choice:

The choice is not between the growing of existing churches and the planting of new congregations. Existing churches must continue to evangelize their communities and grow by making more and better disciples for Jesus Christ. Many additional large and growing regional churches are needed to minister to the complex and increasingly specialized human needs of our urban settings. In fact, large growing churches may be the best environment out of which to plant many new churches.

The choice rather is whether we will also plant the thousands of new churches required to turn around the decline in the percentage of Canadians who are nominal or nonchristain.

What will be required is much prayer, anointing of the Holy Spirit, spiritual warfare, vision, planning, sacrifice, leadership training, and power and mercy from above.

May the God of Glory grant us His grace as we work together to establish an evangelizing church for each 2000 Canadians by the year AD 2000.

For Further Study- Levels of detail beyond the scope of these chapters are available to those who wish to make further study of the needs for church planting in Canada. More comprehensive data may be ordered from World Vision/MARC 6630 Turner Valley Rd., Mississauga, ON L5N 2S4 (416) 821-3030

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