(Above: Baptisms in Lake Ontario with Whitby Chinese New Venture and Toronto Evergreen New Venture. Supported by the Canadian Chinese Alliance Churches Association (CCACA))
New Ventures gives space for new leaders and new expressions of Church to grow, flourish and multiple disciples. We walk alongside and support those who feel moved to do ministry in fresh new ways across the country. We help the local church embrace Canada as a mission field and respond with compassion, hope, and curiosity. Our desire is to see new leaders, in new places, leading new expressions of church across Canada.
This is New Ventures.
It’s not a one-size-fits-all space; it’s an open-handed posture of partnering with what God is already doing in our communities. It might look like a network of house churches, a youth drop-in centre, or even an online gaming platform sharing the hope of Jesus in the digital world. It’s the rebirth of a church that had closed its doors, an international student campus ministry offering support and community to those far from home, or an ethnic community worshipping and discipling others in their native language.
New Ventures also creates space to discern, individually and in community, for those who think God is leading them into ministry via a non-traditional route. This space, in partnership with churches, mentors, coaches, and district-led retreats, allows for the investment of time and energy into listening to the voice of God, and following where the Spirit is leading.
(Above: Tigrayan Fellowship New Venture meeting at Toronto Community Alliance Church, their Lead Church support.)
The Eastern Canadian District currently has 24 New Ventures in various spaces and stages, growing the Kingdom of God in 9 different languages, in partnership with 17 local ECD Alliance churches. Praise God! His Church continues to grow!
New Venture Pastor Brant relays the following testimony:
A family that recently came to faith through our new venture introduced me to their dying father. He was not a believer and wanted nothing to do with the faith his family has embraced.
Last week he woke up in the morning and asked his son if I would visit with him… I told them I would come the next day. A few hours before leaving to go visit, the father cancelled. Knowing this was a matter of the Spirit, I ignored the cancellation and showed up anyway. His wife convinced him to see me.
This man had wanted to die for the last year or more. When I walked into his bedroom I sensed death in the room. His wife brought a chair for me, and I asked if I could talk to her husband. She agreed. He surprised me and asked if I would sit next to him. He then put out his hand and I took it.
I asked what I could do for him. His eyes were rolling in the back of his head and he could barely breathe. It was heartbreaking. He asked if I would pray that God would take him. I told him I couldn’t ask for that.
Instead, I asked the man a question: If God did take him, where would he be going? He answered, “I hope, heaven.”
That was my open door. I spent the next 5 minutes explaining the gospel and the assurance of following Jesus. To be honest, he was in such bad shape that I didn’t know if any of it was sticking. I’m sure he’d heard some of the message from his family before. But when I finished, he slowly told me that he had confessed his sins to Jesus that very morning.
I prayed that our God would be near and bring peace and hope to this man. I told him that as a follower of our selfless Saviour, he might best reflect this selflessness by giving a gift to his family. He asked what that might be. I told him it would bless his family if he would go to the hospital for the care his body so desperately needed. I told him it would also be a gift to himself, as they could help with his pain and suffering.
He sat still for about three minutes. I sat in silence praying. I wasn’t sure if he was asleep or even listening.
Finally, he broke the silence with, “Will you bring me to a doctor?” The man needed more than a doctor; he needed an ambulance and a team of doctors. Amazingly, he asked me, “Will you call the ambulance?”
I left the room and told his family. They were overcome with tears. The ambulance came and they followed him to the hospital.
Get this. He was released a week later with a new lease on life! Doctors said he wouldn’t have made it another twenty-four hours. His blood had been extremely acidic and his organs were failing.
Each of his family members has texted me separately, saying he is a new man. He’s asked me to come visit and share more about Jesus!
From death to life! Our God is a life-giving God!
Stepping into a New Venture space isn’t always an easy thing. There are often more questions than answers, more ‘I don’t knows,’ than plans. And yet, God! God uses our open hands and open hearts and invites us into spaces just like pastor Brandt. He gives us vision, discernment, and creative solutions that stretch and strengthen our trust in his faithfulness. He is constantly inviting us into these rooms, shadowed by death, so that we can shine the light and life of Jesus. He invites us to the table with our neighbours to live in community, and bring the hope of Jesus with us into every conversation.
The New Venture expression of church may look completely different than what we’ve ever known of church. And yet, God! He is still at work multiplying disciples everywhere through our willingness to partner with him in creative, hope-filled, curious, and compassionate ways. He continues to build his Kingdom in and through us.
Rev. Amanda Corbin is the Eastern Canadian District Director of New Ventures & Mobilization. Amanda and her husband Kris have served in the Alliance across Canada for 17 years. Together with their 4 kids they have served in 7 different Alliance ministries and absolutely love the local and global Alliance family.