Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Oct/90

Contributor - David King

Title - Satellites: A New Strategy

Topic - Church Growth

In the spring of 1987, New Life Community Church in Burnaby, BC was conducting two services every Sunday morning and as numbers grew, we began to question how far we could go with multiple services in one location. At the same time, Rev. Murray Moerman, the Senior Pastor, was doing course work in church growth at Fuller Seminary and was reading extensively on different approaches to church growth coming from various parts of the world.

He came across a concept which has worked with great success in Latin American countries; the use of "preaching points" or "satellite services." The concept involves having a mother church which sends out preachers (in the Latin American models these were unordained preachers) to various locations at which services could be conducted. The mother church handles the organization and administration of the satellites, leaving the local leaders free to concentrate on evangelism and follow-up.

Working within North American cultural expectations, we have adapted the Latin American model and attempted to begin new churches in a simplified and more concretely supported way than the traditional "church plant." We have attempted to retain close ties with the satellites and to involve ourselves in close supervision of the processes of decision-making and the evolution of governmental structures within each satellite. We have had some encouraging successes and some frustrating difficulties, but overall would have to say that we believe in the concept. It is working and we are committed to continuing the process as the Lord enables us.

In the fall of 1987 our first satellite was "launched" in the municipality of Port Coquitiam, about 15 minutes drive east of the Burnaby church. A group of about 50 people left Burnaby to form the core group for the new fellowship (a relatively large number for a new work). In 1988, their average attendance was 67, in 1989 that number increased to 80 and currently they have III names on their friendship list. The mother church adopted a support plan for satellites which involves a reducing amount of direct financial support over three years. Port Coquitlam is currently in the third year of that program and will be financially autonomous in 1991. They have moved away from the structure of the steering committee with which they began. Instead of a leadership team whose responsibilities are focused on getting the mechanics of a church plant organized, they are now becoming more focused on meeting the spiritual needs of the people within the church and within the community.

In January of 1989 our second launch took place in Surrey, a community to the south and east of Burnaby with tremendous potential for growth in the next decade. The core group there was smaller, about 25, but that number has grown steadily and they ended 1989 with an average Sunday attendance of 60 and currently have 83 names on their friendship list.

Port Coquitlam and Surrey have full-time pastors, with Seyi Etim in Port Coquitlam and Jon Manlove in Surrey. But in the fall of 1989 we began a different sort of experiment - a satellite meeting on the campus of Simon Fraser University, only five minutes from New Life in Burnaby. This one would not be staffed by a salaried person and would not involve rental of facilities and so was an experiment in a low-budget satellite. Staff workers from Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship and Campus Crusade for Christ were attending New Life Burnaby and agreed to help with the launch up at SFU. In addition, two other men have given great amounts of volunteer time to coordinate the outreach at SFU. This experiment has not had the kinds of results we have seen in the more traditional church plants, but those involved are committed to a renewal of the effort this fall.

Plans are underway for a further satellite work in the Pitt Meadows/ Maple Ridge area, a relatively underchurched area to the east of Port Coquitiam. We hope to begin services there sometime in 1991, but there are a number of factors yet to be weighed in preparation for that decision, including potential staffing, the ability of the mother church to sustain momentum here in Burnaby while sending out another group, and the development of a committed core group in that area.

While satellite launching has not created major problems in the area of church finances, people resources have been taxed more noticeably. Leadership for the many programs and ministries of the mother church must continually be replaced as good leaders are sent out to begin the new works. We have been blessed again and again by the arrival of new people to help pick up the slack, but 1989 proved a difficult year with the start of two new works (and problematic issues, including taking a strong prolife stand) and average attendance at the mother church dipped from the year before. We continue to pray that the Lord will supply all that we need to carry out the Great Commission through what has been clearly shown to be one of the very best ways of reaching the unchurched for Jesus Christ, the planning of new works. And we hope that what has begun here will not only continue, but will capture the imagination of church leaders across the country and result in more growth for God's Kingdom. Murray Moerman's research (see June 1990 issue of PCM) ably demonstrates the need in our country for more churches and we believe that the Lord will give us yet new strategies for filling that need. If you would like to ask more detailed questions concerning our experience with satellites, please feel free to contact Murray Moerman or myself (David King) at New Life Community Church; 8765 Government Street, Burnaby, BC V3N 4G9.

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