By Peter Biggs

Three cities – one community

BARRY BUZZA, senior pastor of Northside Community Church (with two campuses in the Tri-Cities), believes there is a consciousness of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody as one spiritual community.

“Historically there has been a competitive spirit between the cities, but there’s been a real change.” he said. “In the early 80s we brought the three ministerials together for a monthly gathering.”

Dave Barker, a pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Coquitlam, facilitates the Tri-Cities Ministerial along with Buzza; 15 – 30 church and ministry leaders gather on the last Wednesday of every month.

“Geographically we’ve always prayed for God’s touch ‘from the mountains to the Fraser [River], from North Road to the Pitt River, sensing that this area is our spiritual responsibility.”

Buzza described an initiative of prayer in 2000.

“We had a season of prayer, divided the cities into 77 sections; 20 – 25 churches were involved and had people, small teams, go out on prayer walks. Every home, school, business was prayed for.”

Asked about the ‘results’ Buzza responded, “things began to turn around. For instance, there was a shift in the city council, with a more generous relationship toward the church.

“It was at this time that the whole Pickton Farm murders came to light, and we began an annual Prayer Breakfast with all civic and political leaders. In addition, the Alpha course began, and we saw more people coming to Christ – things definitely opened up spiritually.”

The Tri-Cities Ministerial repeated this prayer initiative last fall.

Hillside Community Church’s lead pastor Durwin Gray remembers the aftermath of the first prayer initiative.

“We got involved in Alpha and saw for the first time adult conversions.” Gray deeply appreciates the impact of the ministerial on his life. “At the time I was going through a personal storm in the church; I was able to process things with a fellow pastor that helped me come through.

“I remember one pastor who separated from his wife, he kept coming to the ministerial, was loved, prayed for and gently challenged. These relationships were a lifeline to him and helped him maintain faith in the body of Christ.

“We’ve seen something like this with two or three leaders. We have not been primarily about ‘mission,’ but prayer and supportive relationships.”

Members of the ministerial will meet March 26 for their annual ‘Day of Prayer and Fasting’ when, according to Barker, they will “seek the Lord, to intercede for the each other and for the Tri-Cities – and then conclude by celebrating communion together.”

Catholic churches

Tri-Cities has five Roman Catholic churches. Fr. Tien Tran of All Saints Parish estimated that together they have up to 10,000 people attending each Sunday.

“We are involved with other denominations every year in Christian Unity Week and the World Day of Prayer.”

Youth ministry

Up to a dozen Tri-Cities youth pastors gather monthly to pray and support each other. Chris Price, from Calvary Baptist described some of the issues youth face.

“Youth are dealing with identity issues: ‘Who am I, why am I here, what am I worth?’ They desire acceptance.” He said more than 25 percent of youth in their groups come from broken homes.

“There is a deep fear in a lot more of their parents divorcing. This produces a skepticism that anything will last.

“It doesn’t help that the average youth pastor’s tenure is measured in months. A fellow pastor told me of his recent ‘appreciation booklet’ – every comment from his youth expressed appreciation that he’d stayed with them [5 years].”

Asked what issues youth pastors face, Price responded, “One thing that is always on our minds and hearts is how do we reach youth who are not coming into our church subculture, and how do we equip our Christian youth to be mission aries in their schools.”  

Tri-Cities Young Life leader Ryan Mann  told BCCN about a team of leaders that hold a weekly ‘club’ for students of Terry Fox and Riverside high schools. “We see up to 35 youth every week,” he said.

ΩLocal children’s pastors also meet monthly.

Soulfood / God Rock

Churches are responding to social need in the area. Soulfood, headed by Michele Ames, is an interchurch ministry to homeless and low income people. They serve a meal in Northside Community Church every Sunday.

“The focus is on connecting with people, forming relationships and both praying for them and helping them practically, where we can,” said Ames. Started in February 2007 with 10 guests, they now see up to 60 guests every week.

“The majority of the homeless have addiction and/or mental health issues . . . We’ve seen a few of our guests get a home and we’ve helped with practical needs,” she said.

“Some have attended the Alpha Course, and two were baptized last December!” Ames is quick to credit the “exciting unity and cooperation between the churches in our community” as a catalyst for much of this.

Grace Christian Fellowship now also serves a weekly meal (Fridays) to the many of the same guests Soulfood sees.

Northside has also been very intentional in crafting its Saturday evening service God Rock, to be helpful to people in stages of ‘recovery.’

MAT – Cold Wet Weather

Hope for Freedom Society’s (HFFS) managing director Rob Thiessen has been at the vanguard of pressing Coquitlam’s council to allow five churches (Coquitlam Alliance, Calvary Baptist, St. Andrew’s United, Northside and Eagle Ridge Bible Fellowship) to use their buildings in a limited way to provide shelter for the homeless.  

“Since December 1 we’ve laid out 1,400 mats for around 100 people,” said Thiessen. The MAT program is funded by a grant from Service Canada, a federal agency which told Thiessen it is the only program of its kind in Canada.

The program ended last month with each church taking about three weeks. “We have funding for next winter; beyond that we are working for a more permanent solution.”

HFFS is also involved in running outreach and long-term addictions programs.

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COQUITLAM, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody together are commonly referred to as Tri-Cities. Although separate municipalities, they share resources such as a single school board and local newspapers.

The Tri-Cities are one of the most visible expressions of Metro Vancouver suburban growth, as travellers over the Port Mann Bridge have seen vast new sub-divisions grow to the north of No. 1 Hwy. Indeed, the east-west traffic corridor in and out the area has become one of the most congested areas in Metro Vancouver. With mountains to the north and the Fraser River to the south, views and rural parkland is never far away.  

Maxine Wilson, the mayor of Coquitlam, is an outspoken Christian; she attends Calvary Baptist. “I see the church playing a real role in helping form healthy community life,” she said. “But Christians have to go out,” she said. “Philippians 2 is a model of sacrificial living.”            – PB

Coquitlam
Pop: 114,565 (Census 2006)
No religious affiliation: 38,825
Protestant: 29,175
Catholic: 25,175
Eastern Orthodox: 1,910
Muslim: 3,375
Buddhist: 2,980
Sikh: 985
Hindu: 795
Eastern: 575
Jewish: 415
Other religions: 355
(Census 2001)

Port Coquitlam
Pop: 52,687 (Census 2006)

No religious affiliation: 18,245
Protestant: 14,710
Catholic: 10,655
Eastern Orthodox: 560
Muslim: 1,000
Sikh: 805
Buddhist: 660
Hindu: 715
Eastern: 180
Jewish: 125
Other religions: 130
(Census 2001)

Port Moody
Pop: 23,735 (Census 2006)
No religious affiliation: 8,490
Protestant: 7,450
Catholic: 4,640
Christian: ,1,280
Muslim: 575
Christian Orthodox: 410
Buddhist: 370
Hindu: 180
Eastern: 150
Other religions: 110
Jewish: 50
Sikh: 20
(Census 2001)

Population Growth

Port Moody’s population increased 15.5% from 01 - 06 (14.2% from 96 - 01). Coquitlam only grew 1.5% and Port Coquitlam 2.8% from 01 - 06; their populations did grow quickly from 96 - 01 (10 & 11%).

EAGLE RIDGE Bible Fellowship, which started 25 years ago, is poised to open its renewed $3 million facility April 6. The building program adds a new youth room, offices and a multi-purpose room that will seat 480.

Lead pastor Doug Monkemeier (pictured) is enthusiastic. “After 25 years of meeting in a gym, it’s going to be a real treat! “he said. The church raised roughly a third of the cost, with the Mennonite Brethren denomination mortgaging the rest. “We also had huge volunteer help from church members,” he said.

Monkemeier is enthusiastic about reaching the community, but clear about values the church needs to communicate. “We want to reach the community, but we need to communicate a ‘kingdom culture.’ I believe the kingdom  is best expressed through a multicultural expression of church community. We have had ethnic groups that want to rent our building. I am more interested in congregations that will explore ‘partnership,’ where we are not simply remaining in our own ‘silos’ having little to do with each other – but that is challenging!”                      – PB

April 2008