Jasper, sapphire, emerald, chrysolite, topaz, amethyst. These are just a few of the precious stones that make up the foundation of the holy city in the Revelation. Can you imagine? Gorgeous, full of colour, sparkling, solid and reflecting the beauty of our Creator God who made it all. What a sight that will be!

Peter in his first letter says that we as the church like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:5). We are meant to be beautiful, full of different colours and patterns with sparkle and swirls that reflect the beauty of God but placed together side by side to create this spiritual house. We are to be a holy people who will give ourselves in ways that please God because of our redemption in Jesus Christ.

That is the image that has inspired a group of people to create a new church entity in Canada called Living Stones: A Movement of Reformed Churches in Canada. April 5, 2024 was an historic day in Guelph, Ontario as Living Stones held their inaugural National Engagement Conference to mark the first official gathering of these precious stones.

Living Stones has been taking shape since 2019 as a small group of Christ-followers began to dream and seek God for a way to connect churches and people for mutual accountability, mission, church planting and more. A church that was forward-looking, focused on the Kingdom of God and that held structure lightly in order to step away from some of the institutionalized characteristics of Christendom. At its foundation, Living Stones holds the Scripture as its base, Jesus Christ and his life, death and resurrection as the cornerstone and relationships with one another as central to being the church. In a world that is seeking spiritual life while moving away from the idea that there is an overall truth to be found, Living Stones seeks to be a witness to the solid rock of the gospel of Jesus Christ expressed in the Word incarnate and the written Word of the scriptures.

Recognizing that they are just one stone in the big picture of what God is doing around the world. Reflecting that vision of the kingdom where all tribes, tongues and nations together worship God, celebrating the beauty of different cultures. Delighting in welcoming and receiving the wisdom and leadership that is offered by brothers and sisters in faithful, non-Caucasian churches.

The inaugural conference focussed on the themes found in their mission statement: To plant and grow expressions of the body of Christ that produce flourishing disciples of Jesus. Workshops were offered on: Plant – church planting and re-imagining; Grow – evangelism through the experiences of Alpha Canada; and Flourish – discipleship through the scriptures. Together, voices were raised in praise and worship to God. Eating with grateful hearts and sharing their lives and stories in meals and coffee breaks. The day was very encouraging to those gathered and there is already a second annual conference in the works for next Spring to be held In Markham ON, hosted by Arabic brothers and sisters.