On May 10, 2023, over 260 pastors and ministry leaders from across the Alberta and Northwest Territories gathered for a roundtable, family forum-styled conference to discuss what it means to “Belong, Grow, and Serve” together in the ABNWT PAOC family.
The day was buzzing as people made new connections, visited with old friends and dialled into the day’s agenda. Here is a synopsis of what we collectively said.
When you create a safe space for belonging, people respond. Every one of us wants to know two things – that we are loved and needed. Turning from rows to tables and allowing time for deeper connection and voices to be heard gave us the feeling that our voices mattered and, in turn, that we matter.
We asked:
How can we increase YOUR sense of belonging in the PAOC?
You said:
Cohorts are key. We need to have more cohorts and a better way of communicating with them.
Gathering in sectionals. We need to connect as regional churches again. Area pastors and sectionals are missed.
Build affinity groups. We need to create more affinity groups for small churches, large churches, youth pastors, church plants, campuses, ethnic-based, 55+, community pastors, chaplaincy, etc., and facilitate more meetups/collaborations between ministry leaders/pastors of specialized ministries.
Keep facilitating church partnerships. Churches need to come alongside and help each other in this region and develop ways, ideas and innovations to connect better and work cooperatively. Rural and city church partnerships will need intention to develop.
We need to build friendships. Help people make friends outside of their own church circles and develop deeper relationships and conversations with other PAOC leaders from multiple generations. It’s easy to hire and bring in guest speakers from one’s own pool that may be in the local area. If we break out of this, we can showcase a better sense of unity and diversity and grow our sense of belonging so that even those on the outskirts feel connected, appreciated, loved, and known.
We need people who deeply care to reach out to us. Care for the whole person (spirit, soul, body). Don’t over-spiritualize. Ask us to go for lunch. Ask what’s working and what’s not and how can you help. Swap pulpits. Pray together. Get congregations together for prayer, worship and community service projects. Go on mission trips together. Be a family who likes to be together rather than independent silos.
Our gatherings (Ministers Gatherings, Prayer Gatherings, etc.) are crucial. The connection times (After Parties, etc.) are so good. Being part of the District, we get out what we put in. The more a person is willing to foster active belonging, the more they will feel they belong. For example, coming to events like this. I wonder if everyone realizes the importance their involvement plays.
Provide practical training resources. Continue to invest in success coaches. Coach pastors of the necessity to keep revisioning to their boards and congregations the value of being part of the family. Increased support for churches in crisis. Invest in continuous professional development of staff and volunteers.
Teach more about the dynamics of being a fellowship. Do not assume everyone understands what this means. Put a high value on doctrine and credentials. This is a core benefit and part of belonging to the family for both credential holders and churches.
Make room for new leaders. Open your hearts to entrust and train new people who hold a desire, passion and hidden gifts that would have otherwise been overlooked. Those in leadership positions who have served a long time need to equip the next generation and trust them to serve. It’s important to develop the flames and gifts of others, and show love and grace to receive the “least of these.”
The ABNWT District of the PAOC is a growing District. We have a goal to reach the 4.4 million souls in our region with the gospel. We’re seeing soul-winning, disciple-making churches and ministries activated to reverse the trend of declining Christian influence in our region.
We asked:
How do you feel the District Resource Centre could best support you in your ministry?
You Said:
Provide mentoring and leadership development for younger leaders. It can’t always be about “ministry.” It can also be about discipleship and our walk with the Lord.
Keep providing engaging coaches. I absolutely benefit and thrive from the connection with the District. Genuine one-on-ones help me navigate through challenges. It’s important to check with our church regularly to help maintain the positive connection between PAOC and our church community.
Mental health support. Teaching leaders health and longevity in ministry. Provide coaching for how to avoid pastoral and volunteer burnout. Also provide coaching for how to counsel others spiritually and creating emotional boundaries not to let other people’s problems drag us down.
Encouragement and prayer for pastors and ministry leaders. Cheer me on. Believe the best in me. Don’t let me give up. Build me up to fulfill the calling God has placed on my life. The last couple of years, I feel this has been a lot better. Keep on encouraging that we are in this together.
Letting each leader know they are of equal value to the ABNWT PAOC team, no matter their call and challenge. We are not all pastors of a church. There is a different gift mix, and we need to acknowledge and learn from each other.
Validating the smaller churches and the rural churches. Not simply focusing on the larger urban churches.
Getting intercessors mobilized. The ‘retired’ saints could be retooled as a mobilized prayer ministry for the District.
Share District teams’ struggles. When one is hurting for others to offer support, when one suffers, we all suffer. It is okay to be transparent.
Our blogs, podcasts, summits and learning labs have been so helpful in resourcing us to grow a church/ministry by reaching lost people. We cannot do this on our own.
Make our resources shareable. More people who are not part of our fellowship or region would like access to our resources. How can we help the Kingdom? How can churches and ministries connect with others to provide help?
We are entering into a season of greater fruitfulness. Not only do we see over 60% of our churches growing, but there is a sense of urgency amongst the ministry leaders to reach those not yet a part of the community of faith.
When asked, “What are you dreaming for in the next 12 months?” many responded that they were embarking on risk-taking, faith-stepping, and outbound ministry initiatives in their respective communities. Although the PAOC has always gathered creators and innovators, it feels as though there is a heightened desire to do whatever is necessary to reach those far from God.
We Asked:
How can the ABNWT District Resource Centre help your church/ministry in the next 12 months?
You Said:
Continued coaching. Provide discipleship pipelines and help for personal engagement with building congregational relationships and personal evangelism.
Support for children’s ministry. How can we make our children’s ministry even better and reach new young families?
Help for me and my church to reach out to newcomers to Canada in our community, serving their needs, building relationships, sharing Jesus, and making disciples.
Training for recruiting, developing and mobilizing volunteers.
Board training.
Leadership development for myself and how to develop the leaders around me.
Help our small church with projects and ministry. We want to further reach the community through renovations. Also, we’d like to partner with another church—smaller churches could use worship teams to help our teams have a break, people to lead VBS for a week, etc.
Creating a discipleship pathway/leadership development pathway. This could be given to all the churches to create a uniformity of discipleship across the District and/or even a multi-church collaboration. Create a list of discipleship resources for each step of the discipleship pathway from new believer to disciple-maker.
Tell the stories of what’s happening. Share the stories of urban, rural, suburban, and city churches in our region. Highlight positive stories of success in our context and celebrate successes in the ABNWT. Then we can hear and see how they did it and see if we can borrow anything.
Don’t stop speaking about the lost needing to be saved. Don’t let us get comfortable with achieving these initial growth goals. Keep encouraging us and bringing ideas to keep us accountable to save the lost. Keep having different forms of sharing ideas.
If you have any questions or would like to share your learning and/or observations, please email gary@abnwt.com.
We hope you enjoy our content. We want to resource you to effectively lead your ministry into health.