Lights up for new church

Matt Preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca

It was a great start for Rev. Shannon Stange as he launched Fort St. John’s newest church earlier this month.

Two dozen worshippers turned out to the Lido where the first public services for the Northern Lights Church were held on Sunday, March 5, a year after it began with a small group in Stange’s living room.

“Obviously you can’t fit this many people into a living room so moving into a public space is the key to taking a church from that initial stage of getting it going and getting a core team going,” said an energized Stange after the two-hour service that included music and guest speakers Chris and Marilyn Byberg of the National House of Prayer.

Northern Lights is Stange and his wife Rita’s fifth church plant, half of which are still going today, he said.

“Anytime you can make a new attempt for a launch, you’re trying something new. And when you try something new, it’s sort of like Elon Musk, he was like, you never know whether or not it’s going to work this time. But if you try enough times, you’re going to have a good possibility of a great launch,” Stange said.

“There’s something about Fort St. John that I think is going to be a great launch. I think that we’re going to make it out of the stratosphere and into orbit and that there’s going to be a future here for this church.”

“There’s something about this city… the heart for the city is something that we have,” Stange added. “It’s hard to put in words but I really believe that God is calling this city to experience

Him in a new way that they have never thought of before.”

The Bybergs were in the city as part of the 2023 Mission Vision conference, and were encouraged by the turnout to launch Northern Lights. Chris Byberg noted many came different places and socioeconomic backgrounds.

“I really sense there are a group of people here that want to reach out and love this community,” said Byberg. “I think the more love the better.”

Special guests also included Dean and Kelli Eklund of King’s Valley Camp as well as Peace River North MLA Davies. Davies said he was honoured to attend the launch.

“I believe any group that brings people together with a positive message is a good thing,” he said. “Their guest speakers, Chris and Marilyn Byberg, with the National House of Prayer, provided a strong poignant message of being positive and looking at what is good in our lives.”

He added, “I certainly also appreciated the prayer for politicians!”

The launch happened to coincide with the 2023 Mission Vision conference held at Peace Lutheran Church March 3 to 5, which brought congregations from across the city together for a weekend of workshops and worship. Its theme this year was “In One Accord” and Stange says he looks forward to working with the church community to help advance that vision.

“After this weekend, we’ll be able to get some time and begin to reach out to the other ministers in town and begin to form those friendships, and really bring the message of One Accord from Mission Vision into action amongst the Christian leaders in the city,” he said.