• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
light magazine logo and tag

Light Magazine

Inspiring Faith For Everyday Life

Voice of the martyrs Jun 9, 23 - B
  • Arts
  • Community
  • Faith
  • Family
  • Leadership
  • Life
  • Mission
  • Jobs
    • Job Dashboard
    • Post a Job
  • Events
  • Directory
  • About Us

Buying a church building in the midst of a pandemic

October 2, 2020 by Rev. Dr. Ed & Janice Hird Leave a Comment

Buying a church building in the midst of a pandemic

Raising funds and buying a church building in the midst of a global pandemic seems like a crazy idea. But then again, so does crossing the Red Sea and surviving life in the desert for forty years as the nation of Israel did 3,500 years ago. Or walking on water; healing the sick; or being resurrected as Jesus did 2,000 years ago. The history of the people of God is filled with stories of faith and the miraculous. Project Oikos is one of those stories.

One of the meanings for the word oikos in New Testament Greek is “a house” or “dwelling

place.” The people of All Saints Community Church have called this proposal Project Oikos

because they believe it is time for them as a community to have a home base. A place where they can worship God, provide a Christian world view for the community and serve their neighbours.

The community of All Saints Church believe God is calling them to make the Holy Cross Church in Crescent Beach their home. In order to do that, they need to raise $3 million: just over $2 million to buy the building and parking lot and just under $1 million to refurbish the inside of the building and parking lot.

The Vision

The opportunity for a Christian community to purchase a church property for the purpose of

serving the wider community is a once-in-a-lifetime privilege. For that to happen in the

neighbourhood of Crescent Beach, borders on the miraculous. The vision for purchasing this

historic church is threefold:

Sacred Space

The first priority is to maintain a sacred space. The historic tradition of Holy Cross Church is that people have prayed in that church since 1946. Keeping a sacred space will honour the historical integrity of the congregations who have gone before. It also means that the wider community will have access to the sanctuary during the day for prayer, reflection and rest.

Ministry Centre

The second imperative for purchasing this church is to ensure that a ministry centre will

complement the sacred space. A ministry centre will provide the Church community a place to serve the wider community.

Ministry opportunities include:

• caring for senior citizens

• ministry for youth and children

• welcome and care for new immigrants (especially those who are experiencing immigration abuse)

• providing English as a second language

• collecting food and goods for the food bank

• a day care and nursery centre

• supporting local restaurants and coffee shops

• help and support for refugee families

• providing a place for lonely people (one of the greatest needs in our communities)

• providing a memorial garden

• hosting an annual summer festival (as we have done in the past)

Debt Free

The third priority for buying this building is to entrust it to the next generation of church leaders – debt free. The success of the church and its ministry is largely dependent on the fact that the future church community will not have to pay off a previous debt. Rather than paying debts, the church community should be engaged in serving the local community.

This may be one of the most important investments a person could make to uphold a Christian presence and serve the community for generations to come. Project Oikos will have an eternal significance.

Should you be interested in supporting this vision, saving an historic church, and investing in the Kingdom of God, please contact The Right Reverend Peter Klenner, pastor at All Saints Community Church (604-209-5570).

About Rev. Dr. Ed & Janice Hird

Ed & Janice HirdBooks by Rev. Dr. Ed & Janice Hird include God's Firestarters; Blue Sky, a novel; and For Better, For Worse: Discovering the keys to a Lasting Relationship. Dr Ed’s newest award-winning book The Elisha Code is co-authored with Rev. David Kitz. Earlier books by Dr. Ed include the award-winning Battle for the Soul of Canada, and Restoring Health: Body, Mind, & Spirit.

View all posts by Rev. Dr. Ed & Janice Hird | Website

Filed Under: Community

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Taylormotive Jun 26, 23 S
FV Gleaners
Intercede Jun 26, 23 - S
Ed Hird 360 x 240 Jun 29 23 S
Pacific Academy Jun 26, 23 S
Jack Taylor Salome 360 240 Jun 29 23 S
Visionvest Jun 26 23 S
Better books and bibles 360 x 360 web ad sep 18 23
CSB August 1 23 S
Alistair Young sep 11 23 - S

Secondary Sidebar

Upcoming Events

Sep 14
September 14 @ 8:00 am - November 30 @ 5:00 pm

White Rock, BC: A Seven Week Living Bible Camp

Sep 23
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Calgary, AB: The Worship Experience

Sep 24
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Event Series

North Vancouver, BC: Jazz Vespers

Sep 24
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Calgary, AB: CORE Celebration Choir Fall Concert

Sep 27
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

MHSBC Perogy Supper Fundraiser

View Calendar

Recent Jobs

  • Senior Portfolio Manager, Fixed Income 

    • Langley, BC
    • Capstone Asset Management
    • Full Time
  • Custodian on-call

    • Surrey, BC
    • Pacific Academy
    • Part Time
  • Education Assistant

    • Surrey, BC
    • Pacific Academy
    • Full Time
  • EA on call

    • Surrey, BC
    • Pacific Academy
    • Part Time
  • Teacher on call

    • Surrey, BC
    • Pacific Academy
    • Part Time

Directory

Businesses
141
Ministries
616
Schools
209

Articles Archive

Copyright © 2023 · Light Magazine · Website by Shannon Stange · Log in

Change Location
Find awesome listings near you!