Establishing a Worshipping Community in Parkdale - Our vision to build a strong, growing, worshipping community of Christ-followers remains our core objective in the city of Toronto. We have spent years (over 25 years in fact) discipling believers, teaching them to listen to God, walk in his ways, be fully healed and restored in body and soul, and then to reach other unsaved people for Christ. To this end, we are most thankful for:
• The steadiness of various outreaches, week after week, that is often quite challenging and unglamorous, but which serve as a springboard for amazing relationships and periodically for God to do truly amazing things
• The steady growth of ministries of evangelism, touching more and more people every year and seeing people regularly coming to faith in Christ
• Bridge-building events that were highly effective last fall where community people are finding their way into our worship services and we are given the opportunity to present Jesus to them and to love them with warm hospitality.
• Significant responsiveness in our own congregation to going deeper with God; strong participation in Set Free weekend, eager prayer for healing and for being a people filled with the Spirit
Rental Properties and Ministry Space that We Use - At present we are renting ministry space from various groups in Parkdale to run our ministries.
1. We now enjoy church services for adults and children based out of the Bonar Parkdale Presbyterian Church near Queen St. West and Jameson Ave. This arrangement is a yearly lease for Sunday afternoons (1:00-5:00 pm).
2. We also rent a store-front space on Queen St. from a mission that operates nearby. This is for our after-school youth discipleship program, serving about 30+ junior high aged children and equipping the small team who lead them.
3. Additionally, we rent space and time at a local public school for ministries to children, providing an after school program, called Run & Read.
4. Lastly, we book a local field every summer to run our annual Soccer League, and a Salvation Army camp at the end of the summer for over 120 children.
Possible Properties for Purchase - At this time we have not become aware of other church (or suitable) properties for sale in this ministry area (south of Bloor St. and west of Dufferin St.) We consult with several realtors on a regular basis, updating them on our needs and asking them to keep a watch on a suitable property (ie. church building for sale) that comes onto the market.
Ministry Highlights this Year in Downtown Toronto – At a recent year-end service, our staff members shared some highlights from 2018 events and relationships. Here are a few things we praised God for:
• The miracle of feeding 100+ people weekly without a real kitchen, clothing and food bank always stocked, and the beautiful partnerships with many churches without which we could not do this kind of ministry.
• Impactful ministry at Jane and Finch among young men, drawing them into a discipling community. A number of these men and the leaders attend our church services regularly.
• The practical provision for the needs of refugees. We saw a significant learning curve occur within the REST team, those of our people who have worked to settle a Syrian refugee family into Parkdale, and then resettle them again in Scarborough. This year we also successfully sponsored a man from Eritrea who came through Cairo, Egypt to be reunited with his family after 5 years in-process!
• The move to Parkdale for Sunday worship services has been challenging (loss of several families) but also wonderful with additional and closer touch with those in Parkdale. We are beginning to see the fruit of what was clearly a work of God.
• Our School of Ministry Training, preparing volunteers and those preparing for future vocational ministry, continues to be a great success. The four (4) interns we are currently training and mentoring are focused on the following ministries:
1. Compassionate Ministry among the street-involved community in Queen West and Parkdale
2. Youth & Children's Ministry among Tibetan, Vietnamese, and Muslim youth in Parkdale
3. Church Pastoral Ministry training with families and youth in Chinese communities
4. Marketplace Ministry training for someone in the fashion industry
• We thank God for His help in preparing many of our people, not just the interns, for effective service by helping them grow in these areas - Ministry Planning & Research, Set Free Weekend- Breaking Spiritual Bondages, Serving through Spiritual Gifting, Loving People, Sharing the Gospel, Hearing God's Voice, Leading Small Group Bible Studies, and Discovering Life Purpose.
Partners in Outreach - We are thankful for the partnership we enjoy with these groups:
• DEXCOM & Funding Partners - for continued partnership and commitment to hold the Re-build Project before the churches of the ECD, and including the commitment to our fundraising activities among them. When the opportunity to purchase a property becomes a reality, we will need to make another strong push for financial partners at that time, ensuring that we retain a mortgage that is reasonable for a small church family.
• Church Ministry Teams - We are so grateful for the continued partnership of church teams who come and serve in various downtown ministries alongside us, including the street-involved and urban poor adults.
Bill Dyck, Pastor