Manna Church

Next month guys!  Next month!  By this time next month Josh, Amanda and I will be able to say that we live in Calgary!  (Have I mentioned that it’s the greatest city on earth?)

With that said, here are a few things to talk about.

1. Manna Prayer Weekend

Tonight, tomorrow and Saturday we are hosting the Manna Prayer Weekend.  This is a three night event where people around the world pray for the leaders of Manna, the people that have (or will soon) agreed to join us in Calgary, and the city that we will soon be serving.

The first night will be centered around me (I feel weird saying that).  We will spend an hour praying for clarity of vision, boldness in leadership and passion to reach the city for Jesus.

The second night we will be praying specifically for Josh Hopkins, our Pastor of Worship Arts.

Night three will be spent praying for those God has either called or is in the process of calling to join us in Calgary.

Some of the things we will be praying specifically about:

• Jerry’s visa situation
• Fundraising (both church and personal)
• Housing for Josh and Brock specifically

If you’re in the Halifax area, we will be meeting at Deep Water’s meeting space affectionately known as The Abbey.  If you’re not in Halifax, feel free to pray where ever you are; in groups or by yourself (we prefer groups though… cause of the community aspect).

2. Brock MacDonald

Since the last time I updated this, our good friend from university Brock MacDonald has decided to join our team!  Brock is a passionate follower of Jesus and one of the biggest (not in size) servants I’ve ever met.  He will be helping us solidify our outreach events and discipleship program.

After she complete’s her degree, Brock’s girlfriend Kim will also join us out west.

3. Housing

We haven’t signed the lease yet, but Amanda and I are fairly sure we’ve found a place to live in Calgary.  The apartment is right in the area of Kensington we want to live, just the right size and seems in every way perfect for us.

We have been talking with the landlord and will sign the lease next week when he is available.  This is a huge answer to prayer.  God provides!  God provides!  God… provides!

4. Our visa situation

Last week Amanda and I got letters in the mail from Citizenship & Immigration Canada.  Amanda received her visa, which is good for three years and allows her to work anywhere she wants (once again a huge answer to prayer).

However, I did not get my visa.  I needed to submit a labour market opinion at the time I applied, and since I failed to do that they rejected my application.

What dos this mean?  Well, to start with, I had to stop working at my Starbucks in Halifax.  This happened rather abruptly (I was actually scheduled for a shift on Monday which had to get covered), and unexpectedly.

However, there are still options.  First of all, while I’m not working any hours, I am still technically a partner at Starbucks.  Which means if the Starbucks out in Kensington is willing and able to complete the Labour Market Opinion form and receives a positive LMO, then I  still could get a work visa and transfer out there.

Option 2 however, is that I cannot transfer - either due to a negative LMO or Starbucks being unable to complete the form for me - and would have to apply for a clergy visa.  While this would allow me to stay in Canada and work at the church, I wouldn’t be able to work bivocationally to support myself while the church is still young.

There are obvious pro’s and con’s to both options.  Please continue to pray for this situation as it is literally the last hurdle that we need to overcome.  We still have faith that God will work something out, after all we have seem Him provide at every turn, but we want to make sure that we are listening and attentive to His direction in this process.

5. Amanda’s job

Today Amanda got an e-mail from her boss about a potential job out in Calgary.  While nothing is set in stone, it is very possible that Amanda could have a job before we even get out there.  Once again, the ways God is providing for us are huge!

I believe that is everything we have right now.  I’ll be in touch. (I promise!)

Well this is kind of embarrassing.  It’s certainly been a while since I’ve updated my blog, and for that I’m truly sorry.

I think I’d make an excuse about just being really busy, but that’s not true.  I think the reality is simply that there isn’t much going on.

Planting a church is a lot of work, but when you’re in the pre-pre-launch phase (aka not even living in the city you’re planting in) there isn’t much to talk about.

But with that said, I do have a few updates that I can talk about:

1. Fellowship of Believers

In September, Amanda and I went down to Hobbs, New Mexico.  Amanda’s parents live in Hobbs and are heavily involved in Fellowship of Believers, a non-denominational church that has been a huge supporter of what we will be doing in Calgary.

The awesome thing about Fellowship of Believers is that they are, in some ways the polar opposite of Amanda and me.  The majority of the church is of retirement age and yet in their 10 years they have seen tremendous growth.

Right now they are running two services, a “traditional” service and a “country western” service.  While neither are what Amanda and I are used to, both seem to fit perfectly with the culture and community of Hobbs.  It’s really inspiring to see God working through a group of people that is so different from us.

Because of Amanda’s parents, Fellowship of Believers already agreed to be one of our supporter churches before we got down there.  Even still it was great to be able to stand before them and talk about what we will be doing in Calgary and to thank them for their support.

2. Josh Hopkins

Back in May Josh and I had the opportunity to go through the Church Planting Assessment Centre in Brockville, ON that the Central Canada District put on.  While we were there, I had the opportunity to talk with Josh about what we plan to do in Calgary and also to talk about his desire to plant a church in Red Deer, AB.

While we were both given the green light to plant our respective churches, Josh has decided through much prayer and discussion (as well as an eventful trip out to Alberta) to join us in Calgary!

Josh is going to be a tremendous help to everything we hope to accomplish.  His love for God and his heart for people is obvious in just about everything he does.  While I’m still working on his “title” (does Pastor of awesome work at all?) his primary role will be in providing overall leadership and direction for the Sunday morning gathering.  This will free me up to focus more on teaching and overall church leadership.

Our current plan is to have Josh spin off our first church plant roughly three years after our public launch, probably in Red Deer.

3. Starbucks

Over the past month my manager and I have been working on getting me a transfer to a Starbucks in Calgary.  My preference would be to work at the Starbucks on Kensington Ave, since it is exactly where I want plant.

Today I got a call from my manager saying that she heard back from Kensington and that they would love for me to transfer out there as a Shift Supervisor!  So now it’s about as official as it can be that I will have a job when I move out west.

Well, those are all the updates I have.  Although here are some things I would love for people to be praying about:

1. Housing.

Amanda and I need to figure out what we are going to do for housing.  It seems like the few options we have found in Kensington are more expensive than we can afford, but I’m not sure it would be a good idea to live outside the area simply for cheaper rent.  We really need to either find a ridiculous deal on something in Kensington or feel at peace about paying more for rent trusting that God will find a way to pay our bills.

2. Anxiousness

The closer we get to leaving Halifax and moving to Calgary the more excited and anxious I get about everything.  I’m glad I’m getting excited, but I also need to be okay with Halifax for now.  At this point we’re still looking at being in Halifax for about 2 1/2 months and I need to not be impatient about that.

3. People/Pennies

The biggest things we need in Calgary are people and money.  Without other people the church will be me, Amanda and Josh sitting around, which is lame.  So please be praying for God to bring the right people our way.  Also, if you know of people in Calgary that might be interested in working with us on this thing let me know.

The other obvious need is for money.  Church planting in an expensive endeavor, both for us personally, and for the church.  We need people and churches to support us as people and as a church.  Once again, please pray that God will be working on the hearts of people and churches to respond in whatever way He is asking them too.

Okay, I think that wraps up everything for now.  Peace out girl scout. #anniestory

Since moving to Halifax, I’ve been working at a local Starbucks.  The experience has been great, and it looks like in a few months I’ll be able to transfer from my store to a Starbucks in the area of Calgary we want to plant Manna.

However, I never would have thought Starbucks would teach me anything about how to lead a church.  But in reality, there are a lot of things that Starbucks does that we as the church could probably learn from.

So without further ado here’s a list of things Starbucks has taught me about leading a church!

1. Educate the people

At Starbucks we don’t have small, medium and large.  We have tall, grande and venti.  And if you order a shot of espresso, you don’t get single shots and double shots, you order either a solo espresso or a doppio espresso.

Starbucks has done very well at creating the “Starbucks experience.”  But at the same time, they recognize that when you’re new, you’re clueless about it all.  Everything feels weird and foreign.

I’ve had to explain what an Americano is to countless numbers of people.  I’ve heard a ton of people come to the counter and order a “double double” (which is Tim Horton’s speak for a coffee with 2 milk and 2 sugar for those of you playing along south of the border).

It would be easy for Starbucks to do one of two things.  They could stop attempting to create the unique culture they have; they could change and start acting like everyone else.  Or they could decide that education is too time consuming.  They could stop teaching people about the Starbucks experience.  After all, it’s not Starbucks’ fault others are on the outside.  I’m sure if people really wanted to break in to the Starbucks culture they would find a way.

The difference with the church is that we don’t have the option.  There is no way for the church to be effective and not be a unique sub-culture.  So the fact remains that new people will always come in and feel awkward.  Which means it becomes our job to make sure we effectively educate people on “the church experience.”

There is a little booklet you can find at a lot of Starbucks called “Make It Your Drink: A Guide to Starbucks Beverages.”  In the booklet, you will find everything you need to know about Starbucks and their lingo in order to join right in with the sub-culture.

I want that.  I would love to have a little Manna booklet.  Don’t know what we mean by “worship gathering”?  Wondering how to get involved on a deeper level than attending on Sunday mornings?  Curious about how the average Sunday morning plays out?  Whatever you want to know, it’s in the book.

2. Expansion

Everyone knows the jokes about how Starbucks is everywhere.  It’s ridiculous.

In fact, if you’re standing at the right spot in the Minneapolis airport, you can literally see two different Starbucks at the same time.

I think Starbucks understands the reality of addition versus expansion.  They realize that they can get more customers by adding stores than they ever could by having one really good, really big store.

Likewise, no matter how big a church gets, it can never compete with a chain.  So without trying to sound sacrilegious, let’s start thinking of the local church as a chain, or a franchise.  The more churches we can have, the better.

More churches will always mean more people, and more people means more opportunities to share Jesus with people.

3. People over product

A few months ago I had an interview with our district manager for a shift supervisor position.  During the interview she brought up that Starbucks believes they are in “the people business serving coffee, not the coffee business serving people.”

That sounds cliche, and at the end of the day Starbucks is still a business, which means they’re out to make money.  But at the same time, one thing I appreciate about Starbucks is that I have never once been told to push a certain item because we make have a higher markup.  I’ve never seen Starbucks try to nickle and dime people.

Sure, we offer certain pastries because the go well with certain coffees.  But the concern is always that people have an enjoyable experience.  Starbucks wants people to enjoy their time at Starbucks.

In a similar way, leading a church ultimately comes down to connecting with people, and helping people to connect with Jesus.  We can do everything right, be the coolest church around, with an eloquent teacher and a hipster worship leader; but if at the end of the day we’re in the church business and not the people business then we’re failing.

So that’s pretty much it.  Starbucks has helped me realize that it’s important to educate as you invite people in to your sub-culture.  I’ve learned that expansion will always beat addition.  And most importantly, I’ve seen how people will allows matter more than product.

Let’s talk about mission and vision for a minute.

Every organization has a mission.  A good organization can articulate it; a great organization can put it on a t-shirt.

I think a lot of times we like to pretend that the local church is not an organization.  We use organic terms and dream about the day when everyone will simply do their part to accomplish what needs to be done.

The problem with that mentality, I think, is that it fails to remember that leadership and administration are two of the spiritual gifts Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 12.  While they might not be as glamorous as preaching, prophecy or evangelism, they’re still spiritual gifts useful for building up the body of Christ.

The most poignant display of leadership I have ever seen came while I was still attending Bethany Bible College.  I was sitting in my Church Music & Worship class on a day that students were giving book reports about, well, church music and worship.

One student got up to give his report, but before he did, he asked for a few students to volunteer to pray.  Considering I was at a bible college in a class called Church Music & Worship, this was by no means a bizarre request.

After three people volunteered, he said, “Okay… go ahead a lead out whenever.”

…

The room was probably only silent for ten seconds, if that, but it was one of those times when the silence seemed to stretch on for an eternity.  Finally one of the volunteers spoke up, then another, finally the last one finished praying.

The student went on to give his report, but I was still stuck on the prayer.

I realized in that moment that leadership is not about being pushy or making sure you get your way.  That’s just you being a jerk.  The purpose of leadership is simply to give a direction.  The purpose of leadership is to give purpose.

It would have been no big deal for the student to say, “Frank can you start, Sally you pray next and Jim you close us up?  Thanks.”  (Although that would be weird if those weren’t their names.)  No one would have thought, Wow… just let us do this how we want.  What a tool.

I like how the King James Version (yeah, I’m quoting KJV, get over it) puts Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”  Without vision, people don’t do things. 

The whole purpose of leadership is to provide the mission and vision necessary to drive the organization of the local church.

Which brings me back to my initial topic of mission and vision.  What are the mission and vision of Manna Church?

Jesus, before he ascended back into heaven, gave us the only mission that counts.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”  (Matthew 28:19-20)

Now we can break this down and discuss what exactly Jesus meant.  Whether he meant “As you go out, make disciples” or if he meant “intentionally go places to make disciples.”

In the end though, that doesn’t really matter.  What matters is that the church has already been given our mission.  We’re in the business of making disciples.  At Manna, we’re saying it like this,

Turning the people of Calgary into Disciples of Christ.

That’s it.  You can put that on a shirt.  And we probably will.

Now vision, that’s a little bit trickier.

A church’s vision is how it will look when it’s accomplishing the mission.  However, the vision of a church will invariably look different based on the local context.

So with that said, here is my vision for Manna:

1. We will have 200 people in attendance on Launch Sunday.

In most of the books on church planting I’ve read, there is something significant about having at least 200 people.  Churches that can gather a crowd of 200 or more on launch Sunday grow bigger, quicker.  Churches that are able to average 200 people or more on a Sunday morning have an obvious momentum shift.

As Steve Sjogren puts it, “With fewer than 200 people, a church will need to fight just to stay alive.  With fewer than that number of people, you will not have hit your stride.  It is inevitable that your attention will be focused upon trying to maintain the basics of church survival.”

A modern trend in churches is to belittle the numbers game.  We like to talk as if numbers don’t matter.  But they do matter, because numbers represent people, and people matter.  The more people we can gather on launch Sunday meaning that more people we can influence and help transform into disciples.

While we can never allow the use the numbers to determine our worth, we still need to remember our mission of turning people into disciples.  All people.  Or at least as many as we can.

2.  We will daughter a new church every three years.

I have read in more than one book (and heard in too many church planting classes to count) that if a church does not daughter a church (meaning to plant another church off of itself) within the first three years that it is statistically less likely to ever plant another church.

The logic behind this is that most churches become at least mostly self-supporting within the first three years.  And it’s also during those three years that the church develops its identity.

So in these first years, you have a unique window to shape what is important to your new congregation.  How will you spend your finances?  What will you spend your time on?

If you don’t plant within three years, your church will most likely become inwardly focused, and as a result never plant.

We’re not going to do that.  We’re going to plant churches.  We’re going to reach more people with the gospel then we ever would by being a really great individual church.

3. We will discover the discipleship needs of the community around us and provide for them.

The way I see it, there are two main ways we can help people become better disciples: education and activation (I suppose I could have said activism, but this way is more fun).

On the educational front, I want us to be able to… teach.  This will obviously come in the form of Sunday morning teaching, but will also extend to other forms like small groups and classes.  If we truly believe that God wants to be Lord of your entire life, then we should teach people what that looks like.

That also means that financial education is a spiritual issue.  Your health becomes a spiritual issue.  Cooking becomes a spiritual issue.  Everything eventually is a spiritual issue and something I would like us to tackle, even if it is through one time classes or partnerships with other organizations.

On the activation front, there will always be things that simply can’t be taught in the classroom, but rather need to be experienced in order to be understood.  At Manna we will not only teach people how God wants them to live, but we will also provide ways for them to live that out.

Sometimes that activity will be asking people to directly respond to a Sunday morning teaching.  Other times that will look like volunteering at a soup kitchen or building a playground in a rundown park.

Obviously each of these three vision goals will manifest themselves differently as the church progresses, and for all I know new ones will develop as the church matures and grows as an organization.  But for know, this is what I have, and I think it works.

Comments

In recent years there has been a growing trend to name churches symbolically rather than geographically.  While many of the churches that were started in the 20th century used names such as “First Wesleyan Church of Oakland” or “Beacon Hill Baptist Church,” many of the churches of the 21st century are relying less on that geographical identity.

For example, while attending college I did an internship at Epic Community Church in Portland, Michigan.  Epic was a daughter church of Impact Church in Lowell, Michigan and subsequently planted Pathway Church.  While we live in Halifax, Amanda and I have been attending Deep Water Church.

If you ask any of the people that planted these churches, they would be able to tell you exactly why they chose the name for the church that they did.  They would have a reason.

During the entire planning phase for Calgary, I have consistently stuck with the name Manna Church, and I would like to take this post as an opportunity to discuss the meaning behind that name.

1. The Exodus Story

The first reason I chose the name Manna is because of how it relates to the Exodus story.  In the Exodus story, the Israelites are out in the desert after being freed from slavery in Egypt.  At this point in the story the songs of praise to God for salvation have given way to the harsh reality of life in a desert.

With no food and no water, the Hebrews start to grumble against Moses and Aaron, saying that it would have been better for them to remain slaves in Egypt than to starve to death in the desert.  As a response God provides manna for them, which is like an odd flaky bread that comes with the morning dew.

Each morning the Israelites were supposed to go out and gather only what manna they would need for that day.  If they tried to gather more than they needed, what was left over would just rot.

This story is a powerful reminder of God’s grace and provision.  Like the Hebrew people, we need to rely on God daily to provide for our needs, both spiritually and physically.

As an extension of this story, we also realize that Jesus is the fulfillment of everything God promised in the Old Testament.

At one point in the Gospel of John, Jesus references this manna event when he says, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my father who gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. […] I am the bread of life.  Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

I love how Jesus takes this event that happened centuries ago and reveals a deeper truth about it.  When they were eating the manna in the desert, it was a foreshadowing of what was to come.

2. The Fresh Bread Story

I read the following story a long time ago in a book, but I can’t for the life of me remember where.  If you know who should get the credit, please let me know.

—-

One day a poor, hungry man was walking down the street when he came across a bakery.  The smell of the hot, fresh bread permeated the air outside as his stomach growled.  When he stopped to breathe in the scent, he noticed a large sign in the window:

“Hot Fresh Bread only $1!”

Reaching into his pocket he counted up his change and realized that had just enough to buy a single loaf of what had to be the most delicious bread he had ever smelled.  With eager excitement he ran into the store; he could practically taste the bread as he entered.

When he got inside however, the store was not what he expected.  He expected to see bakers rolling dough into loaves.  He expected to see flour and mixers.  He expected to see bread, fresh from the oven, cooling on racks.  But there was none of that.  There were no ovens, there were no bakers, and most importantly, there was no bread.

Instead he found a small handful of people standing around talking about the fresh bread.  They were talking about how good the bread was and how important it was to tell more people about the fresh bread.  There were conversations about how they could get more people excited about fresh bread.  As it turns out even the smell from outside was artificially produced, part of the plan to help get people excited about hot, fresh bread.

And there were flyers.

Flyers advertising the same deal that had enticed him to enter the bakery in the first place, “Hot fresh bread on $1!”  In fact the people who were already there encouraged him to take some flyers to pass out to his friends.  But nobody was eating any bread.

In the end the man left feeling alone and slightly betrayed.  But most importantly, he was still hungry.

—-

At Manna, we want people to feel free to invite others into the community we are creating, but it must be birthed out of our own experiences with the One True, Living God.  We first want people to experience the fulfilling, nourishing grace of God, and have everything from our actions to our emotions pour out of that.

3. What is it?

The third and final reason that I like the name Manna is for its literal meaning.

When God gave the Israelites this odd flaky bread they called it manna, which directly translated means, “What is it?”

Here was this thing that they had never seen before.  They had never even seen anything like it.  They didn’t know what to classify it as.  And as a result they called it “what is this?”

On a personal note, I really like that.  I like doing church different.  Not simply for the sake of being different, but for something greater.

I think that when we are genuinely connecting with God and he is really leading us to be the body of Jesus in our community, we will naturally look different.  We will automatically look different than other churches (not that all other churches look the same either) and more importantly, we will look and act different than the world around us.

If we are supposed to be the incarnation and manifestation of Jesus in our community, we will naturally take people by surprise.  Which means when people come to Manna, I’m sure they will take a look around and say… “What is it?”

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One of the first questions I always seem to get when talking about church planting is: Why Calgary?  Why did I decide to plant a church in Calgary, Alberta?

While every now and then a person will ask the question cynically (I’ve had at least one person tell me that if God wanted me to plant a church in Calgary I would have been born there), most people that ask are genuinely curious.

I was born in Phoenix, Arizona and raised primarily in Rapid City, SD.  However, in the summer of 2000, after grade nine, I went down to Phoenix to visit my dad and brother.  I remember thinking that it would do me good to spend more time with the male members of my family and decided to stay down in Phoenix for the remainder of high school.

At the time my dad was starting to get involved in a business venture in Alberta and frequently had to travel to Calgary.  Once, right before my junior year in high school, I got the chance to go up with him for a couple days.  We flew into Calgary in late August and I distinctly remember the smell of pine in the air outside our hotel.

Compared with Phoenix, Calgary was clean, pristine and most importantly not ridiculously hot!  I loved that the grass was green.  I loved the metric system.  I loved that there was an obvious feel of “foreign” while still holding something familiar.  After spending a few days in Calgary we returned to Phoenix and resumed life as normal.

During that coming school year I started to look at colleges.  I’ve always been the kind of person that values my individuality, and as such was in a predicament.  When my sister graduated high school she immediately went to university in California.  My brother on the other hand decided to take of few years off before going to school.  I was stuck.  If I went directly to school I would be following my sister; if I stayed out I would be following my brother.

For whatever reason the idea of going to university abroad popped into my head.  The only place I could think of (as it was the only place I knew to think of) was the University of Calgary.  After all, I enjoyed my time in Calgary (all four days of it), why not consider going to university there?

As the school year progressed however, it became more and more apparent that it would not be financially feasible for me to attend university right after high school.  I stopped looking at the University of Calgary and got back to my life in Phoenix.

During my senior year of high school a series of events, including the reading of the Left Behind series, led me to seriously consider becoming a pastor.  Up to this point in my life I had always dreamed of being a “business man” like my dad, whatever exactly that meant.

However, the problem with become a pastor is… how do you become a pastor?

I moved back to South Dakota in February of 2004, eight months after graduating from high school, because my mom promised to help me look at and get into college.  I got a job at the local Walmart and my mom’s college help became, “Did you apply to any college’s today?”

However, I suppose the move was still providential.  Through Walmart I met a group of friends that I spent many nights at Perkins with.  They were all Christians and we spent a lot of time talking about God, Jesus, the Bible and the general idea of truth.  Everything was great until during one conversation about legalism I made a comment about the Wesleyan Church, the denomination my mom grew up in and often spoke out against.

The table went quiet.  Everyone looked around at each other in silence, until one guy spoke up.  “Actually, dude, we’re all Wesleyans,” he said motioning to everyone else sitting at the table.  “But we’re not like that at all.  You should come check out our small group some time.”

Shortly after that conversation Dave Pusey, the young adult pastor at their church Word of Hope Wesleyan Church, began joining us at Perkins on a semi-regular basis.  Word of Hope was a new church plant in Rapid City.  I joined the small group and started developing a great relationship with Dave.

Right before I joined the group they had all just got back from a missions trip to Calgary.  Being the moderate fan of Calgary that I was, I loved hearing the stories of their trip.

After a while, Dave learned that I was thinking about becoming a pastor and suggested that I check out Bethany Bible College, the college he went to, along with Ambrose University College, a school up in Calgary.

A month later Dave and his wife Kat announced that they were resigning from Word of Hope and would be moving up to Calgary to help with The Summit, a Wesleyan church plant there.  Apparently the only reason Dave even mentioned Ambrose was because they were already planning to move up and thought it would be great if I could join them.

On Dave’s recommendation I decided to attend Bethany instead of Ambrose, but my affinity for Calgary continued to grow.

After my first year at Bethany I led a second mission’s trip from Word of Hope to Calgary.  We spent a week there, mainly helping The Summit get ready for their upcoming Vacation Bible School, with a few side projects as well.

Compared with my first trip to Calgary, I had a much greater chance to interact with the city this time.  I walked the streets, I met the people, and I started to get a feel for the city.

As the week came to a close, the others all expressed their anxious anticipation to get home; they were ready to be done with Calgary.  But as for me, I was home.  I was in love with everything about the city.

If our van breaks down and we’re forced to spend a few more days in this city… I wouldn’t complain in the least bit, I thought to myself.

That solidified it.  What was a dream during my freshman year at Bethany became a plan after that trip.  After graduation I would move to Calgary and join The Summit.  When Dave and Kat left plant a daughter church off of The Summit and I would go with them to that.  Eventually it would be time for me to plant a daughter church off of their church and I would leave them in order to plant that church.  It was so simple, so elegant, so wonderful.

That was the summer of 2006.

There are times in life when you receive news; you hear about something, and the event is so important, so prominent, that it leaves a lasting memory in your mind.  Both of my parents can still, to this day, tell me exactly where they were when they hear that JFK had been shot.  I can describe exactly where I was and what was going on when I first heard about the September 11th attacks.

This was one of those events.  It was during the fall semester of 2006.  I was sitting in my room getting ready for my next class when I got an instant message from my friend Deborah.  Her dad, a pastor in Halifax, Nova Scotia, had just heard that The Summit had decided to close down.

I went to my next class and sat in the corner with my back against the wall.  It was Synoptic Gospels and Dr. Peed was teaching, but to be honest I wasn’t there.  I was in Calgary.

The Summit has closed?  That can’t be.  What about my dream?  What about my plan?  I didn’t know what to do with myself.  What seemed to be my perfect future went up in flames in an instant.

And yet, in what I’m just now realizing was a “Phoenix” moment, I distinctly remember having an inner dialogue:

“Crap, The Summit is gone.  What am I supposed to do now?”

“I’m still gonna go.”

“What?  Go where?”

“I’m still going to Calgary.”

“But there’s nothing there!  The church is closed.”

“Then we’ll plant another one.”

“But you don’t have anyone.”

“Then I’ll go there by myself.”

It was a moment of resilience, conviction and determination.  A moment that I said “Yes,” either to myself or God, I’m not sure which.  Maybe both.  In that moment, I made the decision that come hell or high water, that I would plant a church in Calgary.

I remember once hearing Jess Allen, the lead pastor of The Summit, talking about the statistics of Calgary.  He said that although Calgary is a city of just over one million people, only 6% attend any sort of religious service on a regular basis.  Only 3% of the population attend a Christian service regularly.  That means that there are roughly 970,000 people in Calgary that do not attend a Christian church regularly.  While I don’t want to make the assumption that everyone that does not attend church is a “heathen” it’s pretty easy to see that Calgary is a massive mission field.  The city currently has a growth rate of 12.4% and there is no sign that it will be slowing down.

That decision to plant a church has since grown into a bigger dream.  As I’ve read and learned more about the idea of churches planting churches I’ve started to see my potential church plant as a church that would plant a series of churches around Calgary.  But even more than that, I have started to realize the need for more churches all over Alberta and Western Canada.  Manna Church will be the kind of church that plants church-planting churches all over the Western Provinces.

Since then I have married a wonderful woman that shares my passion for Calgary.  I have had the opportunity to share my vision for Calgary with many people, some of whom are considering coming out with us.  And if God allows it, we will move out to Calgary sometime between September and January and will have a team that will move out with us.

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