God has brought the mission field to us

Local Focus

Jul 16

It has been said, “If your church wasn’t there would anyone notice? Would anyone care?” When EFC was built on its current location in the late seventies, a lot of the surrounding area was open field. Today we would say that God has brought the mission field to us.

Whitby Crescent, just north of us, has many young families and a large Filipino population. Many are blue-collar or first-time homeowners. To the west, there are nine different multi-story apartment buildings, hosting immigrants and low-income families. Included in the mix is The Bridge, a housing project seeking to transition people out of homelessness. To the south of the church is L. A. Barkman Park, known locally as Abe’s Hill, with a walking track that extends to the soccer park to the north, and McKenzie Avenue to the south.

I have frequently said that there are other churches in Steinbach that would kill for our location. What an opportunity! How have we responded to this opportunity? With an annual event called the September Community BBQ. I’m not sure when it began, but it’s been going on for almost 20 years. We advertise to the community, and every year, more than half of the folks who attend are not regular EFC attendees. Perfect! Beyond the barbecue, we rent bouncers so that it’s family-friendly.

Two years ago we agreed that we needed to escalate. So, on October 31, we hosted an EFC candy party on our parking lot. In addition to free candy for the kids, we had coffee and hot chocolate for their parents and multiple fire pits for connecting and staying warm. Given the number of firefighters that attend EFC, we were able to get permission to bring the aerial ladder—a highlight for the kids.

We recognize that two annual events are insufficient in trying to reach or bring value to our community. So we are hoping to continue to escalate as we think of further ways to reach our neighbours. Part of our strategy going forward is the formation of a go-and-grow committee. The plan is to gather a small group of creative people to brainstorm new initiatives we can implement to support and advance our efforts at reaching our community.

Finally, I should point out that God has blessed us with an increasingly diverse community of faith. Our diversity is reflected in different ethnicities, social statuses, and backgrounds. This makes it easier for someone to feel at home in our worship gatherings.

In my humble opinion, it reflects a small taste of heaven’s diversity that Revelation 5:9 talks about: “And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.’” We long for your prayers and God’s direction and wisdom as we seek to be his ambassadors where he has placed us.

– Ernie Koop