OUR STORY
Three years ago, it was all a dream. A dream for the church to be multiplied throughout Prince George, BC. A realization that acknowledges God longs to restore what is broken. God longs to heal what is sick. God longs to reconcile what is fractured. And God is moving throughout Prince George.
We were sitting at a Crossroads, literally and figuratively. I was meeting with Curtis Reimer (Pastor of College Heights Baptist Church) – a pastor/mentor/friend – at CrossRoads Tap & Kitchen, and God put a crossroad before both of us that we were not expecting. God brought our paths together for a specific reason. Our conversation began by catching up on the last few years since we had seen each other. It led to dreams and aspirations for the future. I shared with Curtis my enjoyment of pastoring a church and teaching at a college in Alberta, yet I believed that one day, God would re-ignite a longing for church planting in me. Curtis paused, stared deeply into my eyes, and asked, “Have you ever thought about planting a church in Prince George?” Instantly, heaviness for the city and for friends and strangers who do not know Jesus washed over me, and I replied, “Yes!”
Our conversation ended with a commitment to prayer for the following months. I shared it with my family, my spiritual director, and other key mentors, and after months of prayer, we decided to share this conversation with the elders of College Heights Baptist Church. Our family decided to commit to church planting, and we developed a church planting proposal for the elders of CHBC and the BC Baptist Association. It was well received and launched us into the next step of the journey. Affirmation after affirmation came, and we continued to step forward in faith.
Stepping forward in faith was a cost greater than we could have imagined. For me and my family, there was a relational cost of leaving friends and family. There was a financial cost as we left reliable paychecks. There was a cost of security as we stepped into the unknown. There was a cost of comfort as we took on something we had never done before. There was a cost of vulnerability as we left our established support systems. There were countless other costs we are still processing.
There would also be costs for the sending church, College Heights Baptist Church. There was the cost of stepping out to do something that had never been done. There was the cost of looking beyond themselves instead of strengthening within. There was a cost of time and energy for the leaders committed to creating a sending church culture. There was a financial cost of supporting a new church plant. There was a relational cost of sending some of their members.
However, we agreed that Jesus is worth risking everything for. A life of discipleship must be one where we do not fear risk and can courageously follow Jesus into the unknown and uncertain. As God calls us, we recognize that it is into a dynamic and adventurous life of faith. David Platt’s words in his book Radical speak to this: “Do we believe He (Jesus) is worth abandoning everything for? Do you and I believe that Jesus is so good, so satisfying, and so rewarding that we will leave all we have, we own, and all we are in order to find our fullness in Him? Do you and I believe Him enough to obey and follow him wherever he leads…?” We do believe Jesus is worth abandoning everything for – wherever He leads. God was clearly leading us to step forward in church planting.
In May 2023, CHBC Elder Chair Chris Bowler presented this to the congregation regarding stepping forward in church planting: “In truth, this idea has been in place long before the past year. When CHBC was planted 50 years ago by Fort George Baptist, the idea was always to plant again once the doors were full. Over the decades, the idea was revisited by various boards and elder councils, but something always seemed to impede making this a reality. But we believe that we’re in a time of flourishing and welcoming so many new people into our church family. The time feels right to us to take this step of faith.” The congregation agreed and is committed to supporting the church plant and taking on the responsibility of becoming a sending church.
On February 17, 2024, Garden City Church will have its first interest meeting. In this meeting, it was communicated that we are planting a new church so that new leaders are empowered to create a movement, new people are engaged with the gospel, and new church cultures are established to reach the city.
We launch GCC on September 15, 2024. Who God has brought to the team, and continues to bring to the team has been remarkable. We are a mix of established followers of Jesus, brand-new followers of Jesus, and people who have not yet made the decision to follow Jesus. We are diverse people from many vocations: health care, youth gang prevention, spiritual directors, trades, pharmacists, correctional officers, chaplaincy, stay-at-home moms, sales, project managers, educators, students, and others. We are all trying to figure out what it means to be followers of Jesus and influence our city from the vocations God has called us to. Seeing more Kingdom outposts of the gospel multiplied throughout a city that desperately needs to know Jesus has been beautiful.
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VISION: GROWING TOGETHER FOR RENEWAL
GROWING – Practicing the Way of Jesus as Apprentices who order our lives around 3 goals: to be with Jesus, to become like Jesus, and to do what Jesus did.
TOGETHER – Building missional communities to intentionally connect people and families and institutions to the life-changing presence of God.
FOR RENEWAL – Playing our part to build more than a great church but a great city. A city where people are introduced to Jesus and fulfil their call of extending God’s kingdom.