How We Became One Church with Many Locations: A Journey of Faith, Vision, and Community
When people ask how Life Church Peace Country became one church with multiple campuses, I usually smile before I answer, “Because the story is both simple and profound: God spoke, and we obeyed.”
What began as a whisper during a Zoom call in South Africa has grown into a movement across the Peace River Valley. It’s a story of faith, opportunity, and a deep love for rural communities. And while the journey has had its challenges, it’s also been filled with God’s unmistakable hand leading us every step of the way.
It All Started with a Word from God
The seed of this vision was planted long before I ever set foot in Canada.
While still living in South Africa, I joined a Zoom call with pastors and leaders from the Alberta and Northwest Territories District. As I scanned the list of participating churches, one name caught my attention: Grimshaw.
I didn’t know much about Grimshaw, other than that it was near Peace River, the town I was preparing to move to. But as I looked at that name, something stirred deep in my spirit. I sensed the Lord whisper, “Grimshaw will be part of what I’m sending you to do in Canada.”
Then came another gentle but unmistakable prompting: “You are called to the Peace River Valley.”
At the time, I didn’t even realize the Peace River Valley was a region rather than a single community. But the phrase stuck in my heart. It was like God had drawn a circle on a map and said, “This is where I’m sending you. This is your field.”
That moment set everything in motion.
A Shepherd’s Heart for Rural Communities
Months later, while preparing for a pastor’s council meeting, I found myself reading Mark 6:30-44, the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. As I meditated on it, one line kept standing out: “He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.”
In that moment, God broke my heart for rural communities.
I realized how many small towns across northern Alberta had faithful congregations but no pastors. Churches were struggling to find leaders, and entire communities were spiritually hungry, waiting for someone to feed them.
That day, I prayed a dangerous prayer: “Lord, send me. Let us be shepherds for these communities.”
And that’s when the vision for Life Church Peace Country truly took root.
Peace River would be our first campus, but the calling was bigger than one town. It was regional, relational, and rooted in the conviction that every community deserves a shepherd.
Opportunity Knocked, and We Answered
The first opportunity came sooner than I expected.
A church in Fairview reached out. They were in a pastoral transition and asked if we could provide some ministry support, such as sending a preacher, sharing resources, or helping them through the season.
At first, it was casual. “Let’s be friends and help each other.” But as we walked together, a deeper sense of unity began to form. The relationship grew from partnership to family.
We began to pray and dream together: What if we weren’t just cooperating churches? What if we were one church in multiple locations?
That conversation led to one of the most beautiful moments of my ministry. In 2023, Fairview officially joined the Life Church Peace Country family. In January 2024, we launched Life Church Fairview, our second campus.
The joy, unity, and shared purpose that flowed from that step confirmed what God had already whispered years earlier.
Grimshaw Joins the Family
And then, like a full-circle moment, Grimshaw came back into the picture.
The pastor there was nearing retirement and couldn’t find a successor. When we began to talk, it felt like divine timing. Everything in me remembered that moment on the Zoom call years ago, the whisper that had started it all.
After prayerful conversations and discernment, it became clear: Grimshaw was meant to be part of the story.
Life Church Grimshaw will officially launch in January 2026. And with it, the vision continues to unfold: one community, one congregation, one family at a time.
Lessons Along the Way
As we’ve walked this journey, we’ve learned so much about what it means to be one church with many locations. It’s not just a strategy, it’s a way of living out unity, stewardship, and shared mission.
Here are a few key lessons and blessings we’ve discovered:
Financial Peace of Mind
When resources are shared across campuses, everyone wins.
If one campus faces a financial challenge, others step in to help. We operate with one budget and one vision, which means even smaller or newer campuses can offer quality ministry without feeling the strain.
It’s not about equal giving, it’s about equal sacrifice. And when everyone contributes, God multiplies the impact.
Synergy and Shared Resources
We share more than a name; we share people, ideas, and tools. Worship teams, guest speakers, tech volunteers, and even sermon series flow freely between campuses.
When one campus needs help, another steps up. When we launch a new site, other campuses send people to serve.
This synergy doesn’t just make ministry easier; it makes it stronger. We’ve learned that when churches collaborate instead of compete, the Kingdom wins.
Support for Rural Pastors
Rural ministry can be isolating. But in our model, no pastor stands alone.
Our campus pastors meet regularly for prayer, encouragement, and shared problem-solving. We’re not just colleagues, we’re brothers and sisters.
That network of care has become one of our greatest strengths. Pastors stay longer, thrive more deeply, and feel supported in ways they never would on their own.
Leadership Stability and Growth
With one vision, one board, and one decision-making process, leadership becomes clear and consistent.
It also opens doors for new leaders. Young pastors can grow under mentorship. Volunteers can step into paid roles. Everyone has a place to serve and room to grow.
This model creates continuity—something every rural church desperately needs.
Levels of Connection: From Friendship to Family
Along the way, we’ve realized that not every church is ready to fully merge, and that’s okay. We describe three levels of connection that help clarify the journey:
Friendship: “Let’s be friends and help each other.”
Limited synergy, limited commitment.Network: “Let’s be more than friends.”
Shared resources, some collaboration.Family: “Let’s become one.”
Shared leadership, shared budget, shared mission.
Each level has value. But the deepest transformation happens when churches move from friendship to family. That’s where unity becomes more than an agreement. It becomes an identity.
Together, We Can Do More
If there’s one truth that has become my life motto through this journey, it’s this: Alone, we can serve a church. Together, we can shepherd a region.
Life Church Peace Country isn’t about expansion; it’s about obedience. It’s about saying yes to the voice of God and believing that rural communities matter deeply to Him.
The Peace River Valley is vast and beautiful, filled with people God loves. We believe He’s not done with this region. In fact, we’re just getting started.
My prayer is that more pastors, churches, and leaders will hear the same whisper I did. That they’ll see their region not as a collection of small, struggling towns, but as a field ripe for harvest.
Because when we come together, when we share vision, leadership, and love, God multiplies what we could never do alone.
“Together we can do more.”
That’s not just a slogan for us. It’s our story, and it might just become yours, too.
Jacques Lombard is the Lead Pastor of Life Church Peace Country and Campus Pastor of Life Church Peace River in Alberta, Canada. Originally from South Africa, he brings decades of ministry experience and a heart for rural outreach, volunteer empowerment, and legacy-building. Under his leadership, Life Church has grown into a vibrant, multi-campus community known for passionate worship, practical teaching, and love in action.