CHURCH PLANTING
CHURCH PLANT
In January 2022, St. John’s announced a church planting project aimed at sending a new congregation into a location between East Vancouver and New Westminster in 2023. Church planting is an integral part of St. John’s vision to see our church family live out a gospel-proclaiming, gospel-forming, gospel-applying life in Christ. As we develop pathways for our congregation to grow in Christ, the aim is for this church planting project to work alongside all of our ministries in prioritizing evangelism and outreach to our neighbours. We want this project to bear fruit for the entire body of Christ at St. John’s, not just those who will be sent as part of the launch team. It will require us to help one another in sharing the gospel effectively and seek out opportunities for hospitality the Lord is calling each of us to.
What are the practices of a sending church? • Commitment to prayer • Sending a launch team • Financial support • Accountability and oversight for the planting team How can you support this church planting project? • Pray – join our prayer team by emailing joel@sjvan.org • Participate – reach out to jeremy@ sjvan.org and joel@sjvan.org to begin a conversation • Financial partnership – visit stjohnsvancouver.org/churchplant
The work of being sent out into the world as ambassadors for Christ is always risky and costly. In preparing and practicing for bold witness, we are also committing to regular, urgent prayer in our life together. As the sending church, St. John’s serves as a type of “greenhouse” for the church plant “seedling,” encouraging and equipping the planting team until the new congregation is selffunding, self-governing and self-propagating. Our vision is to establish a church planting culture that is repeatable so that St. John’s can become a church which regularly plants churches. We value your engagement, feedback and questions as this new venture begins. For an introduction to the project, visit stjohnsvancouver.org/churchplant.
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