What motivated you to plant your church in the city that you are in?
We moved from Florida to Calgary, Alberta because we spent our 10th anniversary in Canada and felt an unmistakable call to leave the life we knew to start a church in a country and city where we knew no one. The need for life-giving churches in our city was so much stronger than any fear.
What do you love about your church and community?
Before launch day we prayed for our church to represent the city in its full demographic. 40% of Calgary is foreign born and on our launch team we had 11 different countries represented and 5 continents. Just as the church grows, so does our diversity, but we all are united in Jesus.
What has been one of your greatest moments since planting your church?
For our very first event we served the community by putting together a Food Truck Rally. We expected around 800 people to show up, but 3,000 people decided to come! This summer we will host our 5th annual Food Truck Rally. Over the past few years we have averaged between 4,000-5,000 people in attendance and we have been able to donate all the proceeds to the local community to help build a park. In total we have given over $50,000 to the project.
What has been one of the toughest moments you’ve experienced in ministry?
It has been a collective of investing so much effort and energy into equipping some leaders and then seeing them walk away. We pray that our investment still builds the Kingdom even if it doesn’t help build our own church.
What is the biggest change you’ve seen in yourself or your church since you planted?
We have grown a heart for church planting and planters more than I ever expected. Church planting was not even in our minds until we visited Canada for the first time, and now its all we can talk about! So much so that we made a podcast called New Church Hustle. All we want to do is empty the cup in us that others so graciously filled.
What do you want to share with someone thinking about becoming a church planter?
Church planting is harder than you think it will be. If someone can talk you out of it, let them. But its also far more rewarding than we ever thought it would be as well. The bigger the responsibility the more preparation required, and it is a heavy responsibility building the church.
How has being a part of ARC impacted your life + family?
If we had not found ARC our church would not be what it is today. More specifically if we had not had the strategic goal, accountability from the very beginning, our own ministry mindset would not be the same today. ARC is family, but it’s also the strength to help us plant deep roots in our city.
