Vital Church Planting

This week I had the privilege of attending what was certainly an exciting first for the Anglican Church here in Canada. The Vital Church Planting Conference, hosted by Bishop Colin Johnson of the Toronto Diocese, and Doctor John Bowen of the Wycliffe College Institute of Evangelism, spanned three days from Tuesday through Thursday.

Let me point out first that this was an incredibly historic occasion, demonstrating the burgeoning desire for church planting to become an integral part of the church's mission here in Canada. We've heard for some time of the great things going on with Fresh Expressions UK, and so it was nice to see an initial show of interest here in Canada.

Nearly 60 people participated, most of whom, Anglican clergy, and we were addressed by Glenn Gibson (Outreach Canada), Canon Victoria Heard (Diocese of Dallas), and George Lings of the Church Army's Sheffield Centre in England. George was ill, but sent on his lectures in written form, delivered by Dr. Bowen.

One of the coolest things for me was seeing members of the Anglican clergy, and especially bishops, in workshops and lectures reflecting on the possibility of church planting, and giving a real go of it. They were all highly engaged in the conference over its three days, were asking questions, seeking to learn more, and reflecting an active desire to, in time, become a denomination with a church planting culture.

A very exciting prospect indeed. Hopefully some of their prospective planters will join with us in the coming weeks and months to engage in more conversation around the topic of planting, right here in Toronto.

We'll meet again on Monday March 12th at my house. Directions will be sent out on the yahoogroup.