College team gains insight in church planting efforts

After working alongside church planters in Vancouver, Canada, for six weeks, 10 students from the College at Southwestern returned with a better understanding of what it means to “live life on mission.” Students were deployed to Vancouver Island, June 20 – July 29, through the North American Mission Board’s Generation Send program, and there they gained hands-on experience in evangelism, missions and church planting in Brentwood Bay and downtown Victoria.

Bachelor of Arts student Christian Rowland says one of their initial goals was to establish trust through relationships and serving within the community. Within their first few days in Brentwood Bay, they quickly found a volunteer opportunity while prayer-walking in the area.

A local homeless shelter was in need of volunteers and support, so the team immediately signed up to serve in meal lines and assist in various tasks. But even more importantly, Rowland says, they were able to have numerous Gospel conversations with people who frequented the shelter, as well as its staff and other volunteers.

“It was ripe and ready with people receptive to the Gospel,” Rowland says. “We also wanted to share and encourage the staff there. They are going to be the ones who are there long-term, so our hope was that they may receive Christ and continue to work in the lives of people there.”

As reflected in most of their conversations, Rowland says many people are interested in the message of the Gospel, but their apathy and search for tolerance has hindered their willingness to respond. These interactions reminded Rowland of the need for more church planters and missionaries in such areas.

“People are definitely searching for the truth, but they are searching in all the wrong places,” Rowland says. “I was really reminded of the urgency of the message of the Gospel and the need for more workers.”

While prayer-walking later that week, the Brentwood Bay team met a government elder of the Tsartlip First Nations reserve who invited them to an elders’ luncheon the following week and asked them to volunteer during their youth camp. Reflecting on the unique opportunity, Bachelor of Music student Scott Stice says they built a foundation from which they and future church planters can become more involved with this particular community.

Throughout the trip, each student noted the unique unity of the team and their commitment to work toward a similar goal. Master of Arts student Laura Little says God used this to remind her of the importance of community and teamwork for the difficult task of church planting.

“In my prideful nature, I tend to want to do for God instead of waiting to do with Him,” Little says. “This often means I don’t take time to work with others as a team but instead try to do ministry on my own. The past six weeks helped teach me that teamwork is a gift from God.”