New Churches in Vancouver

Do we really believe in diversity in the body of Christ? There are some brand new church in town that high light how different things can be.

Urban Community Baptist Church went public in October. They seem to be a very traditional church plant that meets in the Rosedale on Robson at 11AM and 7PM on Sunday. It will be interesting to see how things go for them. I'm a little surprised at their suit and tie, twice on Sunday, King James only, hymn singing approach. But it's a good stretch for me. They will connect with people that are not like me. http://www.urbancommunity.ca/

Church on the Westside is in the Kitsilano area and is taking a contemporary approach. Meeting in a movie theater they are to plant a church that is Jesus modeling, missionally engaged, culturally redemptive, truth seeking, authentic in community and extravagant in worship. Their purpose is to be a church that will be active in the west side community through practical acts of service in the name of Jesus. They plant to be purposely invitational and involved in the marketplace, relevant to the culture through participation in the fine arts, and aware and helpful in key needs that become apparent as they minister. This is the kind of church that I expected to plant when we moved down town. They will connect with people kind of like me. http://www.churchonthewestside.com/new/index.php

Then there is this little condo church with no name that meets in a couple of living rooms. I guess you could call this the radical approach. We haven't mailed out 20,000 pamphlets with the Gospel of John and Epistle of Romans. We haven't had a big article in the Vancouver Courier or been on TV. (Okay, we made a splash in the Testimony!) But we have the same dream as our brothers, just a different approach. It's not a contest to see who wins. It's all about the Kingdom of God. http://vancouvercondochurch.blogspot.com/

God bless us all. God bless Vancouver.