Alberta Conference SDACC Session Report 2021
Central Alberta Church Planting The Seventh-day Adventist Church began as a church-planting movement. Back in 1901, Ellen White challenged our people, both pastors and laypeople, to be about the work of planting new churches. She wrote, “Upon all who believe, God has placed the burden of raising up churches” (Medical Ministry, p. 315, emphasis added). White also declared the following: Our ministers are not to spend their time laboring for those who have already accepted the truth. With Christ’s love burning in their hearts, they are to go forth to win sinners to the Saviour.… Place after place is to be visited; church after church is to be raised up. Those who take their stand for the truth are to be organized into churches, and then the minister is to pass on to other equally important fields. Just as soon as a church is organized, let the minister set the members at work. They will need to be taught how to labor successfully. Let the minister devote more of his time to educating than to preaching. Let him teach the people how to give to others the knowledge they have received. (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, pp. 19, 20, emphasis added) I’m thankful that there are Seventh-day Adventists in Alberta who are strongly committed to church planting. In Central Alberta, there are currently two church plants: The Friendship Company (TFC) was officially organized as a church company one year ago, on Sabbath, October 17, 2020, at 3:00 p.m. at the College Heights Church. The congregation meets for Sabbath School
and worship in the Burman University gym. Including children, there are over 50 people who attend. TFC celebrated their first baptism in the Burman Pool this past August. The company leader is Dr. Kevin Burrell. The Blackfalds Company is currently meeting via Zoom. The congregation has not met in person since March 2020, when churches were closed because of COVID-19. The Blackfalds Company hopes to resume meeting in person early in 2022. Prior to COVID-19, attendance was about 12–16 people. If you would like to help reach the community of Blackfalds, the leaders of this company would be delighted to hear from you. Let me know if you’d like contact info for Gerrit or Merle Steenbergen or Patricia Marshall. Sadly, our Oikos church plant has been derailed by COVID-19. The core group of about 12 individuals had been meeting on Friday evenings in Lacombe for over a year. Following the outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020, the group met via Zoom for a short time. Sadly, the group is no longer meeting. Many of the members of our large churches are doing comparatively nothing. They might accomplish a good work if, instead of crowding together, they would scatter into places that have not yet been entered by the truth… Many of the members are dying spiritually for want of this very work. They are becoming sickly and inefficient. Transplanted, they would have room to grow strong and vigorous. (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, p. 244, emphasis added) Could God be calling you to help plant a new church?
Submitted by Jeff Potts Senior Pastor at College Heights and Blackfalds
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