Cookies, Conversations, and a Cornerstone

When someone talks about planting a new church, a question that inevitably comes up will be: What kind of church is this going to be?

And for those thinking rightly, that shouldn’t mean what brand of music or what preaching style - but really, what are we building here? What are we hoping will still be standing in 50 years if Jesus hasn’t returned yet?

My wife Kim and I recently took the opportunity to deliver some cookies to some of the new neighbours that have just moved into the neighbourhood (we live in an area that’s still being actively developed, so there’s the constant chaos of new construction with mud and noise and the whole bit). 

We had planned to deliver 8 boxes of cookies, so in anticipation of a quick “thanks for the cookies - now please leave and don’t ever talk to us again” kind of response, we figured we’d only be out of the house for maybe 20-30 minutes. We’ve lived in neighbourhoods before that have seemed friendly to a degree, but for the most part, people liked their space and would rather keep themselves to themselves. 

We were actually shocked, however, when nearly every house we went to, we found people excited to engage in conversation and surprised at the simple act of hospitality. Within the first hour and a half, we ended up conversing with 5 different families - getting to know where they’re from, why they moved to the neighbourhood, and we even had one gal nearly shedding a tear that there are people around her who would be willing to get out of their houses to deliver homemade cookies (to be fair, she was a sleep-deprived new mom with a preemie baby - so the emotions may not have entirely been due to being overwhelmed with our generosity).

We gave them each a card with our names and our phone numbers, and as the question came to us, asking what brought us to the neighbourhood, we had the opportunity to tell them about the church plant and the Bible study we’ve been hosting in our home. It felt like an easy and natural way to tell them about ourselves, without making them feel like we were there just to sell them something, like some door-to-door evangelism techniques end up doing. None of them took any real interest in engaging much in talking about the church plant, so the conversation usually moved on to something else fairly quickly, but that was okay. They now know who we are and that we want to be good ambassadors for Jesus’ Kingdom (even if not thinking about it in those exact words). For us, the goal is to build relationships, to love and serve and be a real part of this community, not just to treat people as projects or markers on a scorecard. 

As a few of the houses we had planned to visit didn’t have anyone home, we ended up having a few boxes of cookies left. Even though we were already out more than an hour past when we figured we’d be back home, we decided to go check in on one more house on the other side of the block. And it was in this house that we were asked a very insightful question.

In most of the other interactions we had had that evening, we just chatted on the front step, or maybe even in the front entry of the house. But after we presented the box of cookies to the couple in this last house, we were immediately invited upstairs to hang out and watch the Oilers game, which had just started (remember, our plan was to be back home an hour earlier, so we were never intending to interrupt one of our city’s most important events). 

The next thing you know, we’re learning all about their life story - what brought them to Edmonton, the trials, tribulations, and hurts of previous relationships, difficulties in parenting adult children, along with stories of adventures in teaching mining and farming techniques across the globe. We transitioned back and forth between cheering as the Oilers scored to learning more about each other, as if we’d been friends for years.

As the conversation came back to us, and we told them about our hopes and plans to see Jesus establish a new church here in Edmonton, the question was asked, “What kind of church is this going to be? What makes your church different or necessary?”

One of the prayers I find myself continuing to ask is that Jesus would give me the opportunity to present the Gospel clearly and organically. I don’t know who else is like me, but even though it seems to come naturally to me, I’m not a big fan of being awkward. So to have someone just point-blank ask that question felt like a direct answer to that very prayer.

I didn’t have to find a way to awkwardly weasel the Gospel into the conversation. He wanted to know what our church was all about, and I was able to simply tell him: our church is all about Jesus and what he’s accomplished for us, and we want to teach people about this amazing good news from the Scriptures.

By the time the second period ended, even with the Oilers playing in the background, our neighbour was engaged enough to where I was able to share both the historical account of what Jesus accomplished in his death and resurrection as well as my own personal testimony in discovering the joy in realizing that even though I was more sinful that I had ever thought I could be, Jesus’ love for me was more abounding than I could have ever hoped or imagined. 

There was a genuine interest in hearing a version of a grace-based Christianity that they weren’t familiar with. They had grown up with what many would identify as a moral-therapeutic-deism: a “christianity” consisting more of an attitude of “do right, think right, feel right” so that you can save yourself from hell, than any real understanding that we could be made right with God through Jesus’ work on our behalf. 

We ended up saying goodbye before the third period started, feeling hopeful that Jesus was at work. They didn’t ask to receive Jesus and be baptised right there on the spot, they didn’t ask to be added to a mailing list, but as we were just stepping out the door, we were asked one more time about when the Bible study was happening and if anyone could just pop in. They haven’t shown up on a Friday yet, but I like to think we were able to leave them to watch the rest of the game with a bit of a pebble in their shoes - a gentle, holy discomfort that might just lead them to Jesus.

But as we think back to this very question, “What kind of church is this going to be?” - this is what we want to talk about at our next vision meeting this Sunday, May 25th, from 3-5pm at West Edmonton Baptist Church.

And it will be more than just a presentation. There will be music. There will be coffee. And there will be lots of space to ask questions. But at the center of it, we’ll be looking at 1 Corinthians 3:10-17 together, where Paul, the Apostle, reminds the church that the only foundation worth building on is Jesus Christ.

He warns that the “Day” is coming when the fire will test every work. And only what was built on the true foundation will remain.

That truth both sobers us and sets us free.

It reminds us that the church doesn’t need to be flashy to be faithful. That our goal isn’t perfection, polish, or numbers - but Gospel-rooted longevity. A church that exists to make Jesus known, not ourselves.

Over the past year, we’ve had slow days and hopeful days.

Some weeks we’ve had full living rooms and other weeks it’s just been our families around the table. Some conversations have ended with “we’re all in,” and others with “maybe let us know when you’re bigger.”

But slowly and surely, something is forming. And it’s forming not around personalities or programs - but around the Person of Jesus Christ, and a group of people who want to make much of Him in this city.

Although we’re trying to figure out timing, we’re not launching services just yet. This is about building the right foundation first. And as we gather this weekend, that’s what we’re inviting you into - whether you want to pray, give, encourage, or come and be part of it.

Whether you live in Edmonton or are supporting this plant from afar, we hope this meeting gives you a sense of what God is doing - and how you might be called to join.

Thanks for praying for us. Thanks for sticking with us. We can’t wait to share more.

If you would like to contribute at all to any of our expenses or the ongoing cost of serving in these roles of missionary-church-planters, you can do so at https://graceyeg.com and click the “Connect” link on the top left.

If you'd like to read previous editions of the newsletter, you can do so here: https://graceyeg.beehiiv.com/

On behalf of our families,

Clay Bitner and Jared Klassen